schnauzers.ws

Great singletrack, plenty of shade, and awesome views.

I don't think I will ever get tired of this place. It was the first trail I hit upon arrival in Colorado.

And so I kept going the opposite way that everyone else seems to go (I guess there is more downhill in the counter-clockwise direction)…

when I spot this out of the corner of my eye.

Normally, I would just say it's a gouge in a tree, but after watching those survivor shows on the Discovery Channel, I recognized it immediately. Looks like the furry community have been busy thgis year.

Just as I'm about to start up again, my private ride is disrupted.

There were six of them and they actually passed me twice. Well, that was because on my stop at the top I fell asleep on a bench for twenty minutes.

It seems like the trail was roughed up a bit since last year.

Then the camera was put away. Hey, Iearned the downhill and I was going to enjoy it!

I certainly wouldn't make this a destination, but from Westminister it wasn't that bad.

See Stifler's Mom LIVE!
Saturday, July 28 at the Buffalo Rose in Golden (9:00 PM)

Within a few minutes, I am struggling near the back of the pack. At this point I am not getting full breaths at all and I am dizzy. Asthma is the only thing I can think of. We pause at the lift before heading up to the Colorado Trail. By now I am ready to chuck. I have never felt this way on a ride.

Not wanted to blow the whole day, I trek on. I figure as long as I can keep a few people in sight, I should be ok.

Once on the CT, it's downhill to the meadows. This is a fun part of the trail. I'm not thinking about my condition right now as I blasting down and keeping an eye on 10 mile range views.

We regroup at some more awesome singletrack.

Unfortunately for me, it's uphill some more and the sickness returns. I am wheezing pretty bad now and my heart rate is sky high. Not a good thing, but there's no turning back now.

Then another great decent to the bog.

More skinny singletrack to the rec complex. Of course, I take a nice digger trying to escape from a muddy rut.

Finally, a bailing point, but do I bail? No. What was I thinking?

It's uphill to the Blair Witch Project (every state has one of these). At this point, I am starting to think I will not make it. Visions of Search and Rescue having to fly me out and the bill that follows keep me going. I am not having fun anymore.

Finally some downhill. At this point I barely see the people ahead of me who are hanging back purposely to keep me on the trail.

We make it to the residential neighborhood and just before the Aquaduct Trail I give out. Only three miles to go and I just can't go another inch. I seek shelter in the shade and try to keep from retching as the others head on to fetch the car to pick me up. Even after fifteen minutes of laying down, I am still at a 120 BPM heart rate. Scary!

I don't know what it was that caused it, but I certainly hope it never happens again.

Thanks for TE being so patient with me.