Fly N' Ride - Pueblo, CO

I'm headed out West...Pueblo, CO to be exact.  After 2+ years, I'm finally getting back on an airplane again.  Considering all that's happened in those years, I'm a bit nervous about getting my ass up on a jet again, so I decided to focus on something else.  I'll be in Pueblo for about 10 days - work related.  There will probably be some down time.  I'd thought about buying a car and driving back, but since I'll be solo and since Mrs. VCH would like me home ASAP, I nixed that idea.

Instead, I decided to buy a bike.  I checked out the local craigslist, responded to some ads, and should be picking something up Wednesday night.  The plan will be to explore as much of the area as I can after my job is done each day, more on the weekend.  I haven't decided yet what to do with the bike when I'm leaving, but that's the least of my concerns right now.

Pretty excited- looks like there's some cool trails in the area, and since I'll have a rental SUV I might toss the bike in the back and explore a little further afield. 

Also, any recommendations for sustenance and libations in the area would be greatly appreciated. 

Pueblo is pretty sleepy w=from what I've seen, being honest... but big mountains are not far away, and there is some amzing MTB riding in the Southern San Juans.  Find the local bike shop, drop a 6 pack of beer on the counter, and ask for the goods.  Just ease into it, as elevation is no joke if you're a flatlander like me, haha.  I was good by day 3, but days 1 and 2 were a damn struggle to find my lungs. 

In reply to golfduke :

I've been seriously lax on my biking the past few years, so I'm pretty out of shape.  I plan to take it slow and easy.  Fortunately the weather looks like its going to be good.  I would like to get up to Pikes Peak, perhaps on the weekend- not for riding, just to see it.  Hopefully its not still snowed in. 

You could see if there's anything happening at Pueblo Motorsports Park while you're there. 

Look up the app Ride MTB.  That'll show you all the trails down there.  I'm just up the road from you in S. Denver suburbs and know the trails up here much,much better.

The Riverwalk is the best part of the town, it would make for some nice rides or walks, but it's not that big. They still make, I think, a lot of wind turbines just south, which is cool to see.

Pike's Peak is most of a day, even in good weather. The cog rail to the top is working again, but maybe not yet this season.

Canon City is a fun town about an hour west, with the Royal Gorge the highlight.

I just checked and the cog RR is running, that's a definite list-topper.  Hmmm.  How about this:  Fly to Colorado, buy some random mountain bike, take it up to the top of Pike's Peak on the train, and ride it down?  lol

EDIT: looks like they don't allow bikes on the train.  Boo. 

I'll be flying into Denver tomorrow night; work starts first thing Wednesday morning.  I'll have Saturday and Sunday off, then Mon-Thurs the following week working.  My flight leaves Denver on Friday morning - the 16th, to keep track here.  Depending how early we wrap up Thursday I might get up to Denver Thursday night and spend the night in the vicinity of DEN. 

I saw Pueblo Motorsports Park, but it seems like just a registration or something is happening that Saturday.  Too bad, looks cool. 

Airports are the very definition of a liminal space. I hadn't been in one in over 2 years; the experience was both odd and familiar at the same time. It's like time paused for those two years, and now is picking up again in an alternate universe. 

My favorite concourse establishment was still in operation, thankfully.  

And now, a 4 hour flight, a people mover ride through the Denver airport to get to the rental car shuttle to get to the MAD DASH FOR CAR that is the National Emerald Isle, and an hour and half blast down I-25 at some very Colorado speeds, and I'm in my hotel room, finishing my second Native Colorado beer and about to call it a (very long) day. 

yeah, 80mph on I-25 is 'furthest slow lane and getting blown by' speed...  Colorado drivers are nuts.  

golfduke said:

yeah, 80mph on I-25 is 'furthest slow lane and getting blown by' speed...  Colorado drivers are nuts.  

I can confirm the answer to the question, " what kind of car is the fastest?" Is indeed "a rental car".

In reply to golfduke :

Haven't found that to be the case at all.  Lived in lots of places around the country, the craziest drivers, by far, are in Massachusetts

docwyte said:

In reply to golfduke :

Haven't found that to be the case at all.  Lived in lots of places around the country, the craziest drivers, by far, are in Massachusetts

I second that.  There may be traffic laws in Massachusetts but they're different from the rest of the country, they don't tell outsiders what they are and they get pissed off if you don't follow them.

I ended up working late tonight, and the seller I'd been in touch with ended up...taking a nap, or something. But, around 8 o clock tonight, we met at a Loaf N Jug (which is basically Pueblo's version of a 7-11), and I became the proud owner of this:

The tires held air...some quantity of it, at least, and everything seemed to work as expected in the lap of the parking lot. I stuffed it into the back of my rental whip and headed back to my hotel. 

Cant wait to try it out tomorrow in the, um, daylight. Not super excited about sharing the mean streets with this guy. 

Yow.  Full rigid.  I wouldn't take that on the trails around here, my body would hate me

docwyte said:

Yow.  Full rigid.  I wouldn't take that on the trails around here, my body would hate me

I've never had a bike with any sort of suspension. My body has come to terms with the fact that my brain is actively trying to massacre it, and at this point is just holding on as best as it can. 

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

If you enjoy mountain biking on trails with rocks, roots, etc I highly suggest you try out a bike with at least a good front fork.  It makes a HUGE difference, let alone a full squish bike like I have...

Yesterday was the inaugural ride for the Acupulco.  I cruised around the Pueblo Riverwalk for a bit at low speeds, checking it out. 

They did a really nice job with this in town water feature. Beautiful, clean sidewalks, picturesque bridges, and a couple of waterfalls, too.  I hadn't yet had dinner, so this gave me a chance to scope out someplace to eat, later. 

The bike did okay. The tires wanted air, but the gas station near my hotel wanted $2 to use their air pump, so I passed. The front derailleur had a tendency to creep, causing an occasional, annoying clattity-clack.  I finally figured out how to tighten it up, which helped. The chain didn't seem happy in the very smallest rear sprocket gear, so I stayed out of it. 

Feeling more confident, I headed for the trail the runs down south and east of the city. 

Found another waterfall of a more natural variety.

The trail paralleled an old, defunct rail line. Most of it was in good shape, though the first wood deck bridge was a little sketchy. 

The trail wound down the Arkansas river, and by a sports complex and Lake Runyun.

As it got down closer to the river, swarms of tiny black bugs rose up and dive-bombed my head.   I kept my head down and powered through, and eventually the pests subsided in intensity. 

Got to the other entrance to the park. 

And did some sweet jumps. 

At the BNSF line it was the half-hour mark...I wasn't tired, but I didn't want to push it, so after waving to the engineer, I headed back. 

Wanting to avoid the plagues of black flying dealies, I hopped off the trail at the sports complex, where several games of softball we're ongoing, and took Santa Fe Ave back to the hotel. 

Right as I was pulling up next to the rental Traverse, I pulled the rear brake lever and something snapped.  

Oops.  The 30 year old plastic gave it's all.  I decided to go have a drink while figuring out how to fix it with no tools or spare parts. 

I would like to grab a wrench somewhere and move the seat up a few inches- it was set far to low for comfortable sit down riding. 

Not too bad for a first outing, however. Looking forward to some more riding tonight, if we get done with work at a reasonable time. 

Friday night we didn't wrap up work until about 6:30, and I just wasn't in the mental state to do any riding.  I went for sushi, came back to the hotel room, checked my emails, and went to bed.

I was done with work a little earlier on Saturday; on top of that, I was able to borrow a crescent wrench and a roll of duct tape to raise the seat and fix the brake lever, respectively.  I also stopped at the nearby Wal Mart and was able to sweet talk the mechanic into shooting a little air into the tires.  

It ain't pretty, but it worked.  Time to hit the trails!  

Saturday's ride ended up being more scenic and less buggy.  I headed west on the Arkansas river trail, with several scenic views along the aqueduct and on the pedestrian bridges.

The Giant.

According to this informative placard (and my phone's GPS), this ride went out to City Park and back to the south end of downtown.

On the return trip, I crossed over the river and managed to get some better views of the BNSF yard and the Pueblo Railroad Museum.

I don't consider myself a foamer, but I do have a historical appreciation for old stuff in general.  

Security was apparently pretty lax at the museum, as while I was riding by I saw these two teenage girls running along the top of an old Amtrak car, apparently making a video for the ticks and tocks.

I've been on top of a rail car.  It's sketchy as berkeley.  I was wearing fall protection and steel toed boots, and I was watching my step the whole time for fear of falling.  Ah, the ignorance and fearlessness of utes.  

On the way back to the hotel from the trail, I found the actual entrance to the railroad museum and was able to get some closer pictures of the old iron resting there in suspended animation.

And a trifecta of Real Off Road Machines (tm)

Meandering through the streets of Pueblo, I happened upon a massive collection of old Neon signs.  How did they get here?  Where did they come from?  Why were they here?  I have so many questions.  

Finally, I made it back to the hotel.  The ride had been an unmitigated success.  The seat was in a more comfortable position, the tires rolled much easier, and the brakes worked.  After tossing the Acapulco in the back of my rental Traverse, I walked on down to Shamrock Brewing for some of their fine house-brewed ale and the thickest piece of meatloaf I've ever seen.

So there you go...from raw fish to a loaf of ground meat, Pueblo has it all!

Sunday was awesome.  I had the full day off, and still another week to be out here 1600 miles from home.  Time to check out some places a little further afield from home base.  First, I gassed up.  The elevation does funny things to octane ratings.

Then, it was off to motor on up a small hill.

Unfortunately, due to winds and drifting snow, the peak was closed.  They still charged the same 10 bucks to drive the road, but it was worth it, even if I was only able to get up to around 13,000 feet or so.  I snapped dozens of pictures, and won't post them all here, but...oh, man.  Such an awesome drive.  It's been on my "to do" list ever since I was a kid.  And luckily, on a Sunday morning, the traffic wasn't too bad.

The 3.whatever V6 from the General was a monster.  I put the shifter in 'L' to prevent the 9 speeder from hunting around annoyingly in its everlasting quest for the holy Em-Pee-Gee, and was able to claw up pretty much every grade in 5th gear.  

The snow clearing equipment used on The Peak is...impressive.

End of the road, today.

I found it odd they disallowed even walking any further up the road, though I guess a 3 mile hike up hill at 2-1/2 miles above sea level in 20 degree weather with 40 mph winds for a flat lander like me probably wouldn't have been the wisest choice.  

Like a rock.

I descended the Pike's Peak Toll Road in L1, as per the park's recommendations.  The 6 banger redlined at 6700 RPM or so, and several times I had to pulse-brake to keep from over-revving the engine.  It did, however, succeed in saving the brakes.  Annoyingly, at one point I got stuck behind some Chrysler minivan whose brake lights were illuminated for miles.  They finally pulled off to let me by, and presumably allow their minivan's poor rotors to cool.  

Back at the sensible altitude of around 6,000 feet, I stopped for lunch.  The orange-spice iced tea at Adam's Mountain Cafe was one of the best non-alcoholic drinks I've tasted in my life.

So, that was the pre-bike portion of the day.  But, it was only an hour after noon, and I had this cheap, 30 year old black mountain bike stuffed in the back of my SUV...

I just saw this but for some riding there in the Springs, There is some good riding in the red rock canyon area especially for a rigid. If it was a suspension bike I would have said Ute valley but that is tough on a rigid. 

bmw88rider said:

I just saw this but for some riding there in the Springs, There is some good riding in the red rock canyon area especially for a rigid. If it was a suspension bike I would have said Ute valley but that is tough on a rigid. 

I found out, after a few days here in Pueblo, that everyone calls Colorado Springs, "The Springs".  Henceforth, I shall refer to it as such.  

I'm a few days behind here, and between work and riding, there's not much time left.  Sunday after lunch, I parked the Chevy at one of the lower lots of the Garden of the Gods, unloaded the Giant, and started pedaling.

The park was magnificent.  Lots of trails, and some of them were pedestrian only.  In my attempt to be a "good" tourist, I walked my bike past pedestrians, and kept the speeds down.  I did ride the entire outer loop of the garden, which was a regular traffic road with a bike lane.  The grades were killer, but he downhills were worth it.  

Along one trail, I dismounted to walk past a fellow walking his dog.  He complimented the bike as I walked past- said he had one like it when he was younger- he knew it was a 90's vintage Giant.  

Nature plays with rocks.  Man drives through them.

I believe this formation was called "Kissing Camels".  I assume that's not referring to the cigarette.

At one of the park tourist stores (which I didn't go into), I saw this pairing of distant cousins:

I feel the thumb obscuring the lower left corner gives this picture a very period feel.  

I was pretty well through riding the park by mid-afternoon.  Since I still had some time before dinner, I cruised downtown 'Springs and found a nice, level trail paralleling a creek.  The views weren't as spectacular, but neither was the exertion level.  

The concrete area on the far side is some sort of "beach".  I dunno either.  On the ride back on that side of the creek I played around a bit, jumping and riding up and down the ridges.  

Headed back to Pueblo after this ride, about a 30 minute cruise down I-25 in the Traverse.  I was just a mite voracious at this point, but stopped at the hotel first for a quick shower so I didn't offend the other diners.

Ah yes. I have ridden that trail beside the creek a lot over the time I was there. 

So a funny little history story on Balanced Rock (Your 4th picture) That was not originally part of the park. It was a separate tourist attraction that they would charged a quarter for a picture next to it. Mind you this was around the turn of the twentieth century. A young teenage entrepreneur just started doing it and the business was so good that his dad bought the land around it. Then in 1915 as the father was going through a divorce, the property was brought into a number of suits regarding right of way and access to the Garden of the Gods. The father finally sold it in the early 1930s.  

In reply to bmw88rider :

Love learning local history like that.  The stuff that doesn't make it onto the roadside signs and tourist placards.  Garden of the Gods was a beautiful park, would definitely go back.

I realize it's Saturday morning, so the traffic here is probably nil, but I'm sitting here at a terminal pub at Denver International, nursing a Bloody Mary, with an hour to go till my flight boards.  Time to pick up where we left off.  

Monday we had some...delays with the work I was being paid to be out here for.  After bullE36 M3ting around for most of the day, we finally threw in the towel mid-afternoon.  I headed back to the hotel to regroup and take care of some other work, and let the crew go home for the day.  

Even though I'd resolved to not turn this trip into an arrive n' drive (home), I had still been casually perusing the local Craigslist and FB MP sites to see what all was selling out here.  And Monday I saw this:

1974 Dart 4 door sedan.  The son of the original owner was selling it as part of his dad's estate.  The car was so original- original paint, original interior; 57,000 miles were claimed, and it looked like it.  On top of all that, the car was a bit of a factory sleeper- under that baby blue paint and white vinyl top (which again, the seller claimed to be original) was a 318 V8.  There was even A/C.  

The decklid paint was faded through, and a bit of rust poking out in the rear spats- the seller claimed his old man always parked it facing head-in in his carport, so the back bore the brunt of the elements.  Still, it was rock solid underneath, and the interior was very well kept.  A real survivor.

Bought new an hour West of Pueblo.

Of course, I rode the Giant to go see the Dodge, so I got in a good 5 mile or so ride.  

I was --this-- close to canceling my flight home and taking on the adventure of driving home a 48 year old Dodge, but delays in work kept me here longer than originally planned, and I wanted to make it home before Easter to see Mrs. VCH and the VCH-lettes.  So, reluctantly, I had to pass.  

The Dart was pretty sweet, in a Frank Sinatra economy car from the early malaise era sort of way, but in retrospect I'm kinda glad it didn't work out.  My stable at home is already full, and a hell-bent-for-leather drive cross country in a 48-yea-old Mopar could have ended disastrously.  COntinuing with the original mission of the trip (work) required my full dedication and attention.  And I still wanted to get a few more rides in before winging my way back East.

Having a bike at one's disposal in a small town with decent support infrastructure for human-powered transport was a relatively different concept for me, being that my primary residence back home could be well described as "rural" and "car-dependent".  Small stuff, like running off to the post-office to mail home some post cards, becomes an excuse to break out the 2-wheeler for a quick adventure, and a chance to spot more high desert cars being used as, well, cars.  Like this boattail Riv, boasting Montana plates:

I haven't seen a J body in probably decades, at least not out in the wild.  And a wagon?

Truck does truck stuff, like going to the clutch and driveshaft shop.

Tuesday turned out to be much like Monday, which was frustrating from a work perspective in that we didn't get E36 M3 done on the actual project I was out there for.  Turns out a mountain bike and a few hours of daylight is a good presciption for curing work-related stress.  After leaving the site early afternoon, I headed west, ready to check off another city on my 'to-visit' list...