Thursday, August 12, 2010

Bacon Strip: Argyle Road South?



The Bacon Strip loop is a popular, known 10-mile dirt road loop to the Northeast of Fort Collins. There's even a low-key Fall race held every year. I had never been, and with my days in the Fort being numbered, I figured I needed to check it out. Also, a rolling dirt road would be the perfect practice for Argyle Road at Lean Horse, the hilliest part of the course that makes (or breaks) the first and last 16-17 miles of the course.

To the bike, then, as I headed East. I thought it would be a matter of putting in the miles begrudgingly on a boring course, but I quite enjoyed the hills. There were just enough of them in just the right places, and gridded road crossings every mile, so I could keep splits on my basic watch.

Indeed, this road was Argyle-esque, and I found it enjoyable. It's a nice break from pounding absolutely flat miles. Now I'm telling myself, for Lean Horse, I'm going to look forward not just to reaching Argyle again at mile 80-something -- I'm going to look forward to having some hills to tackle and actually enjoy them. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I planned 2 loops, but consistent with the week's theme, I watched a moderate cumulus cloud puff up and spread darkness to the west. Being the highest thing around the plains, on an aluminum bike, I cut it to one lap, but picked up the pace in the 2nd half for an impromptu progression run.

Anyway, Bacon Strip is more fun than I thought, and worth checking out. As Alex suggested, it's probably perfect for mid-winter runs when the roads and trails are all mud and ice, and it's definitely good practice for Lean Horse.

2 comments:

  1. When is the race? Need an excuse to head up there and visit some breweries.

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  2. Oct 2nd - it is hard/obscure to find online since it's low-key, but it's here

    Unfortunately, late Sept/early Oct is 'aspen season', so I'm usually gone and miss out on that and the highly recommended Blue Sky marathon. My opinion is there needs to be more races in early November!

    Speaking of breweries...nah, time for a separate post!

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