Big Wheels

The new Picture Rock Trail is a new commute option heading from Lyons into Boulder. It’s definitely not the most efficient route from town to Boulder, but in my book beats dealing with the traffic on 36 and adds a little adventure to the morning (in addition to eight extra miles and a bunch of climbing).

There were a handful of local folks out this morning breaking in the new trail. The sunrise over Plumley canyon was great.

(Crumby camera phone picture)

Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the Earth yet?

This weekend was bittersweet, an opportunity to get together with people, share a great ride and say a last goodbye to a friend. Chuck passed away last year and as he spent a good portion of his life in pursuit of “conscious suffering in nature”, whether climbing, paddling, biking or sailing, so it seemed fitting that his final resting place be on one of his favorite trails – the Monarch Crest section of the Colorado Trail.

A whole gang met up for the weekend and shared stories of Chuck’s adventures, rode bikes and drank tequila in his memory. Chuck and I rode this together last summer and it was hard not to still imagine him tearing down the trail this time out. He had a funny way of bringing people together and even after his death, he still managed to get a group of friends out to all participate in our own  little piece of the “pro leisure tour”.

Keep pedaling Chuck…

Did I say Permit? I meant H instead of P, silly me. There are some okay trails in this neck of the woods. But it’s mostly sandy, loose double track covered in old cars parts and shotgun shells. Maybe I could be convinced to go check it out again (perhaps in a couple weeks when the Aspens are all golden yellow).

No camera today – photo courtesy of Retsin.

WOW! What a night.