October Colorado Populaire 100k

I was in Boulder this weekend and had some time so I figured I'd try to squeeze in my P-3 100k Populaire ride. This would be the third consecutive month of riding 100k,

I rented a bike from University Bicycles in Boulder, a Specialized Allez.  Aluminum frame, compact (?) double, 10 speed.  Pretty basic  bike but so much lighter than my steel Fuji Touring (which, to be fair, is loaded with a rack, trunk bag, and fenders).  I brought my seat and pedals, which they installed, along with front and rear lights because I figured it might get dark as, due to other events, I had to start at 1:00 PM and sunset is right around 6:00 PM these days.
Here's the bike all put together:

I was going to ride the Cherryvale Populaire:

Starts in Boulder, heads south, east, north, west, and then south.  There are some hills, in fact most of it is sloping one way or the other, but they aren't long or steep.  And there are some flats.

The middle part has just some long roads that don't vary much:

so it's often a matter of just pedaling and pedaling without too much new stuff to see.  But there ARE things to see if you keep your eyes open.

Like an old schoolhouse from 1911:

Cattle (there were patches of cattle all throughout the ride):

Pumpkin patches complete with bouncy houses, rides, and mazes:

And best of all, a  collection of prairie dogs.  When I came upon these guys, there were about 6 above ground, but they saw me and dove into their holes.  There were two who were the designated bouncers.  Here's a video of one of them, and you can hear the other one in the background;




I managed to finish the ride at 6:30 PM MT, 5 1/2 hrs after starting.  Of course that includes time taking pictures, eating, comfort stops, and the like.  I liked the bike OK, it got the job done, but I'm not ready to rush out and replace the Fuji yet.