August 19, 2018. Colorado to Home.

I was on the bike before 7 this morning; I wanted to ride before everything else that was planned. I chose a route that was mostly on trail. I started on the road but there was no traffic that early. I rode past Colorado University and waited while scores of freshman girls hurried excitedly across the street from the coffee shop back to campus (today is Freshman move-in day). I found the entry to Boulder Creek Path easily enough.

The path ran along Boulder Creek and I rode sections of the path that Germaine and I rode last week. It was different in the early morning--there were homeless people sleeping in the underpasses, and not many people on the path.

Most of the time the path was well marked, but I got lost anyway! I found myself miles away from where I had intended to get on the US 36 Bikeway. I looked at my trail map and still could not figure out where I was. I think if I had had a cup of coffee before I started that I would have found my way, or at least thought of telling my smart phone to take me back to Kathy's house!

I asked a couple of people for directions (by then it was 9 AM and there were more people out). It was crazy--I kept passing the same roads! Finally I saw a road I recognized and got on it. I texted Kathy to tell her I had been lost but was now on my way back.

She had warned me that there was a big hill on the US 36 bikeway between  Boulder and Superior, but I took that route anyway--she was right! I climbed 1,000 feet in a mile! I was very glad to get back to her home in Superior! I rode 26.5 miles this morning, giving me a total of 219 miles in Colorado.

We went to breakfast, did a little shopping in Boulder and then I cleaned Kathy's bike. I packed up and Kathy and Germaine took me to the bus stop where I caught the express bus to the airport. The bus stop was less than half a mile from Kathy's house--how convenient is that! While walking to the bag check-in a wheel fell off my favorite suitcase. Darn.

My plane loaded on time. but we sat confined at the gate for an hour and a half waiting for maintenance to sign off on a faulty armrest. We finally took off and in less than an hour a man had a seizure--they called for medical help and removed him to the back of the plane. This blocked the rear restrooms, leaving just one available in the front of the plane. It did not matter much because then we hit some very strong turbulence and had to buckle in and stay there.

When we landed at DTW we had to remain seated until medical personnel evacuated the sick man. Finally I was out of the plane and on the way home at 2 AM. What a great trip!