HIGHLINE Canal – Highlands Ranch segment
TUNAGE: Steey Dan
With the Fat Bike out of the shop, today is an easy cruiser ride on a sunny late February day.
This is a southern segment of Highline Canal, going from Writer’s Square Park at Mineral Rd, ending down by Santa Fe road half mile south of C-470 junction. I passed by 2 golf courses, a complex of assisted care living centers, and a unique little pond and park just south of C470 underpass.
Pictures show the highline canal is dry with some snow at the bottom. It’s a sandy bottom but clear of rocks and obstacles. When the canal is dry, you just ride the bottom of the canal which is often untouched. The challenge with these is getting in and out of the canal because often the side walls are too steep to walk out of.
There is a fair amount of mud of the sticky kind. It glues itself to the tires and can add a lot of weight temporarily to the bike. I avoid a few concrete sidewalks and opt for the dirt single track adjacent. I try to keep the studded tires on dirt, and snow and avoid concrete or ashphalt which could wear down the tire studs.
The return ride is cold because I did not bring the 3rd outer layer. The ride started at around 43 deg but moved down to mid-30s and the wind made it a chilly ride.
The bike service included some replaced front fork bearings, new brake pads, new pedals, and some new cabling w/brakes bled. The crew at Elevation Cycles fixed things up just right.
I learned today about what a ‘gravel bike’ is. Seems my hardtail Trek DS with 2.0 Mountain bike tires is in fact a gravel bike. Not a road bike, not a mountain bike. But a gravel bike. Hmmm.
Oh well, I am studying full suspension mountain bikes. There is a lot to learn with the technology in bikes these days. I plan to demo a few models through Elevation cycles. I need to know how these bikes perform on tough trails with rocks and obstacles.
