Not a Bad Tour for 50+er
 

I've been enjoying my new (used) Bike E so much, that I decided to take it for a tour. I rode from Fort Collins, CO to Colorado Springs, and back (5-6 days with 2 days of goofing around in the Springs). It was a fun trip. Here's some pics of the Bike-E, which turned out to be a workhorse for me. Although I didn't have an odometer, I estimate I rode a total of about 500 miles.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89892855@N00/201366772/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89892855@N00/201366773/

I was surprised at how well my body held up. The worst of my problems was the sun. Even with 50 SPF sunscreen, I got pretty dark, although I wouldn't call it "burned". I was a little sore in the small of the back, and the upper butt area, but I put some extra padding in that area, and that seemed to help.

Is the Bike-E a folder? Nice-lookin' rig. Were you able to take trails/MUP's most of the way? Or highway riding?

you got guts

Congratulations on a great ride.
I do day long rides at most, but
that will change soon. I intend
to do a ride to San Diego and back
from the LA suburbs next spring or fall.

Sounds like a great trip you took.
I have done a Century on my EZ-1
a couple of times and it was bearable.
You did have guts loading that Bike E
up that heavy for your trip, but they
made a good bike I must admit.

Somebody else asked me about my route. The nice thing is that I went totally through Denver on paved trails. The route I took was as follows (with comments):

Hwy 14 (Mulberry) from Fort Collins to Ault. Hwy 85 South to 104th St. This was a nice highway to travel, because of the wide shoulder (5-6 feet), with rumble strips separating the shoulder. I left on a Sunday, and traffic was low. As you'll see, I altered this route slightly on the return trip (Friday), because there were a lot of trucks, and it wasn't near as pleasant.

West on 104th Street to the Platte River Trail, which was taken to downtown Denver, where I picked up the Cherry Creek Trail to the Cherry Creek reservoir. The trails were great, and there were very few detours. They are paved, but could use a few more signs. I saw deer, snakes, prairie dogs, great scenery, and a lot of other cyclists. There were quite a few times where I veered off on the wrong trail, and had to backtrack. My advice is to ask questions a lot. I camped at the Cherry Creek Reservoir State Park (swam and showered here).

The next morning I took the Cherry Creek trail South from the reservoir (awesome scenery). This trail goes all the way to Parker, CO. Unfortunately, I somehow veered off this trail to a Southeasterly trail that eventually ended. I took some ugly steep roads to get back on track, with some helpful directions. This was about 30-mile detour. From the trailhead go about 1 mile East to Highway 83 South. You'll be in Franktown shortly. This is the last place to fill up on water until the Springs.

Take 83 South all the way to Colorado Springs, where it turns into Academy Blvd. This isn't the greatest cycling road. The shoulders are narrow. I had the usual problems with some drivers who got a little too close for comfort. On a number of occassions, I saw a Semi in my rear-view mirror, and one coming from the front, so I just pulled off the road, and let them pass. I highly recommend this. Don't mess with those guys. Going there, I ran out of water on this road, but I was pretty close to the Springs, so it wasn't too bad.

The only difference in the return trip was that, around Platteville, I left Hwy 85, and took Hwy 60 into Milliken, where I picked up Hwy 257 North to Windsor, and on to Fort Collins. This is a shorter route, and the roads were generally very good with wide shoulders.

Good luck. If you go, let me know how you liked it. I'd like to do the Cherry Creek reservoir trip again, but I think I'd skip the Springs. Or I hear there's a Hwy from Littleton through the mountains, and Manitou Springs that might be better. Mountains are tough with the recumbent, but there were also a lot mountains on Hwy 83 too, and I started negotiating them fairly well.