Colorado Journal, Day 4 part 1

Longmont to Carter Lake...

Started out heading West into the Front Range on a ride I'd found on Bikely - this route. Passed a HealthNet rider on Hwy 23 - he was heading South- I was headed North.

The ride was awesome- went up the switchbacks to Carter Lake and rode across the 3 dams that form the lake. The lake itself is pretty big- it's about 6500 feet above sea level if I had to guess. The valley below isn't picturesque by any means, but it was still a cool view.

Rode down to Hwy 18 from the top of the mountain that forms the Northern edge of the dam- a 50mph descent into a swooping turn (look ma! no brakes!) That was the highlight of the ride.

Hwy 18 is a mild descent down to Hwy 29, which ended up being a false flat that seemed like it would never end.

Getting back into Longmont proved interesting- there's a Hwy 66 (not Route 66) that goes from the valley just outside of Longmont into Longmont, and I'd chosen to ride this without knowing what it would be like. Upon reaching Hover Road with a tailwind and riding at about 25mph, I have to jump into traffic to avoid the concrete island that's coming up. The pavement in the intersection turns out to be not much better than the concrete island, and I bounce around between and through the potholes- jostling my rear wheel loose (skewer was tight) and spinning my computer magnet 90 degrees. After exiting the intersection, an old woman in a Buick is trying to merge into 40mph traffic at about 10mph. I slow down, the truck beside me slows down, and she decides to stop in the entry lane. I sprint around her, and continue on. She drives up beside me, with the passenger window down, and yells "F%$K You" out the window.

I am not making friends in Longmont.