Start:  Denver, CO

Finish: Evergreen CO

Weather:  Sunny, 90 degrees

Bike Time: 3.5 hours

Miles:  29

Distance to date: 85

I loaded up this morning as if I were venturing on my own, my full set of saddlebags, water bottles, lock, the whole deal, and set off across Denver and up into the foothills, where I was going to meet my brother in route to Copper Mountain.  The first half of the ride was through Beaver Creek Trail, a bike trail that winds through Denver from the South Platte, rising slowly to the Beaver Creek Dam, where it leads to Morrison, the first of the foothill towns.   From Morrison I took my first serious up hills, past Red Rock Canyon, onto US 40 (which is practically empty due to the adjacent Interstate 70), through Genesee to Evergreen.  Eight miles going straight up.  I was a heavy vehicle, but hit the McDonalds along I-70 by 11 am, plenty of time to catch my ride to Copper.