Colorado Trail (Segment 1) + Indian Creek Loop

I was able to get out to the first segment of the Colorado Trail on Saturday. It had been a couple of years since I had ridden either this segment or Indian Creek Loop, so I wanted to try and hit them both. I spent the morning getting the GPX track loaded onto my Garmin, then headed out...Only to return a half-hour later for my shoes...I finally arrived at the very crowded Waterton Canyon trailhead, turned on the GPS only to find out the batteries were dead and I had no spares, unlocked the rear shock only to find out it had lost almost all of it's air, and thought "What else will go wrong today?" Oh well, did I really need the GPS? No. Could I ride my Dawg as a hard-tail? Yes. So I headed out. Oh, and I mixed my Gatorade too strong but didn't realize until I was already on the trail...What a way to start huh?

The ride up the road was uneventful, just lots of people...as usual...but I figured it wouldn't be as crowded once I got past Lenny's Rest...So I didn't stop on top...However, it was unusually busy. Maybe a dozen groups of 2 or 3. I had forgotten how much climbing there was after the first descent from Lenny's. I took a picture and gave some encouragement to an unknown rider:

Finally got to the overlook, ate a peanut bar, a Gu, and watched other riders pass me by. My goal was to eat at the top before the downhill so that I could quickly turn around and head right back up with little to no rest. I thought about refilling/diluting my Gatorade from the South Platte but I really didn't want to carry that extra weight back up the hill. I checked my bag...still more than half full...So I bombed down the circuitous singletrack.

Stopped just long enough to get the picture at Gudy's Bridge:

Then headed right back up. I was proud of myself for not stopping. I had never climbed this hill and I was pleasantly surprised that it was pretty easy. Although there's lots of switchbacks, the climbing was fluid for the most part. I filtered some water back at the creek that parallels the trail about half way between Lenny's Rest and the South Platte trailhead.

Indian Creek was desolate in comparison to CT01, I only ran into 2 horses between Lenny's and the campground, and then only one group of bikers on the second half. I was starting to feel some fatigue at the campground so I took a couple Excedrin and Endurolytes...Within minutes, I was feeling good as new.

I was nervous that I'd miss the turnoffs for the trail since I was GPS-less but it was well signed and easy to follow.

It was about at this point that I realized my pedal was loose. Lateral play that I hoped wouldn't get any worse. I guess this is a typical problem with the eggbeaters. I've ordered a rebuild kit so I'm hoping to have it fixed in a couple of days.

I think it was roughly 45 miles, 8,000 ft of climbing, and it took 6:20. I was pretty happy with my efforts, and my calves have been hurting for the past couple of days. I know I didn't eat enough, but I think I kept up with my liquids. When I finished, I had almost no liquids left...I estimated that I drank somewhere around 150oz.
Sunday was flying and a family gathering.

And Monday I wasn't able to get Misty to shuttle me so I stuck around the house. Not all that disappointing considering the weather wasn't all that great

I'm thinking of starting at the South Platte trailhead next Sunday for a 'lollipop' ride around Buffalo Creek. Anyone interested?