Bear Lake

This was a Saturday I did not have to work so I got up to meet with the group to see what kind of ride they had planned. A few had to work later in the morning so they planned on a quicker ride around the "gultch's". A few others wanted to do something longer so I blurted out "How about Bear Lake?"

So, off we go, a group of four.

Nice morning to be out early with my shadow!

After rolling through the Park entrance station here is the first view of Longs peak this morning.

I stayed with Andrew and Justin, who was a visitor from Ohio and joined up at the coffee shop meetup, for just a little while, but away they went....because they are strong riders!!!

This ride is all about the climb up to Bear Lake but really it is about the views! Rolling through Morraine Park gets it all going.

I felt really strong for this ride, not fast strong but just pumped along never really out of breath and never felt any pain or tired muscles. A real joy to be out. Flower season will be winding down here these next few weeks as it gets cold in the nights.

I have lived here for over 35 years and it never gets old for me to just enjoy my surroundings.

When they rebuilt Bear Lake road they built these nice retaining walls that I think are a cool piece of civil engineering.

And here we are at the end of the road, Ranger station at Bear Lake, 9424 foot elevation.

Snack and finished off a water bottle for the rock and roll back to town. A quick stop to peek over the Morraine Park bridge.

An excellent ride on an excellent morning. Not much traffic because the upper parking lot at Bear Lake was full early so everybody was riding the shuttle bus and those drivers are great about going out and around you.

Hope everybody has a great week ahead!!
Jim