Garmin Data:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/81908163

I surprised myself by getting up at 5:45am after less than 5 hours of sleep! Beth and I took advantage of an opportunity to attend the Denver Nugget’s playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Had I known the game wasn’t going to start until 8:30 pm, I might have passed. Fortunately, the Nuggets managed a win. It was a pretty ugly win, but a win none the less. It took them until about midnight to get it done though and by the time we got home it was a tad after 1:00 am !!! Waaaaaay past MY bedtime.

As my head hit the pillow, I remember doing the math and thinking how silly I was to leave my car at work because it was going to be a very short night. When I got up, I felt pretty good. Not great, but not awful. I went through my now normal preparations on ‘auto-pilot’. I was ready and riding before I even realized it.

My legs went around without complaining and as Scooter and I headed south down our road, I felt alert and alive. Kinda surprised myself actually. There was little or no breeze initially. It was clear and crisp out. The recent snow was visible on the nearby peaks.

Over the course of the ride, there was a slight tail/cross wind but nothing to write home about. What was noteworthy was the fog we encountered about 45 minutes into the ride. As we approached Hwy 119 / E. Cty Line Rd intersection the world started to disappear.  I was thankful that I thought to put my red blinky light (Cherry Bomb) on the back strap of my helmet before I left the house. I was also wearing a new “Screaming Yellow” Pearlizumi barrier jacket.  Scooter had his rear triangle 5-LED blinky light on as well. We were visible — I know this because cars slowed down and gave us a wide berth as they passed us.

The fog remained for several miles — until we got to CO-7. It was noticeably colder while we were in the fog. And damp. It was the only time during the ride that I felt a bit chilled. Then it slowly cleared and by the time I got to work, it was just a normal cloudy morning. I was no longer chilled and I was glad (as I usually am) that had gotten up early and ridden in.