The Gauntlet

Most refer the drive on CR-93 from SOBO (South Boulder) to Golden as "The Gauntlet." During the day, the drive is quite scenic. The road winds through giant hills adjacent to the rolling foothills of the Rockies and ends at the Coors Brewing Facility (bonus!). However, during the evenings ... the drive can be chilling. No street lights to guide your drive and most sections are only 2 lanes ... one heading north and the other south. I've driven the road many of times during the day and night. To this day, nervousness sets in everytime I drive the spooky road at night. Enter Halloween weekend 2005. On the evening of Oct 29th, we left SOBO for a costume party in Lakewood, CO hosted by the one and only Ben Porter. Passengers of my vehicle include Brown, Uni, and Choke, which meant a minute on the road ... spark the dank. It was unanimous. The anticipation caused much anxiety ... enter foutie-deuce! Obviously, there was no rational in my decision making as I agreed to the session while driving the dark haunted Gauntlet at night. A few minutes later and 3/4 finished, I was in poor shape. Eyes blingin' red, heart beating faster than a Lenny-D track, and picturing the disaster of a big ol' cow jumping in front of my vehicle. Paranoia set in ... my brain was humming. We were about a mile north of Golden and all I wanted to do was get there. Then my life flashed before my eyes ... sobriety check ... guilty!!!
I couldn't believe my eyes. I was about to have heart-failure. What would I say? Don't say anything stupid? Worrying about what would I have said was the least of my worries. My eyes were glowing lava red ... visine please. I'm going to jail! There wasn't much I could do other than roll at a slow 5 mph towards the check point. I will admit that for a quick second, I thought about turning around ... but then ... auto-guilty. I'm sure they were prepared for cars that turned around suddenly from the check point ... one of the 30 cops would of caught me. There was no where to go but straight to certain jail time. As I rolled into the check point, day time set in. The lights were overwhelming ... more than likely because I was wrecked. The check point was set up so that 5 vehicles could be checked at one time. I was set up as #3 in the chain. I rolled my window down, "Hello officer!" Instantly, I wondered did he notice the shakiness in my voice. It began! Then I thought of my costume and was about to burst out in laughter. What was my costume? Of all things ... a candy-raver (I know ... its a costume party ... ha-ha!). Pacifier around the neck, candy necklace, glow-stick, Mind, Body & Soul staff pass ... everything but xtc written on my forehead. "So, you guys are on your way, huh?" says the officer. We respond, "Yes." No BS there! The officer proceeds to tell us how drinking is good and driving is good but the two don't mix. Thanks for the info buddy ... that was made abundently clear as I approached the little patch of daytime on this damm road. He continues to make small talk for a minute of two then I heard it, "Have a good evening and be careful!" "Will do ... I'm out!" I released my trembling foot from the break pad and glanced to the right as a fellow driver was walking the line ... sorry bud ... better you than me! I passed the last cop and we were off. The moment we passed the check point, silence left the car and we all exploded into a cheer of relief. A truly surreal moment! We passed!! We were going to make it to the party. We were going to be drinking ... soon!! And no awkward explanations of why we didn't make it to the party. Hallelujah! Thankfully, my heart eventually slowed down to a normal pace and my hands stopped shaking. Lesson learned ... no deucing in the Gauntlet ... ever!