Thursday, June 14, 2012


Gratitude
Animas Valley, La Plata County, CO

I was out on a training ride today on my current bike “Tramp” and I snapped this photo. I like to name my bikes. This particular bike is special, as they all are I suppose but this one is extra special because it was found in a dumpster.  The guys at Lemonade Bicycles (local non-profit trying to build and give or sell usable bicycles) breathed some new life into it and I gave them $123.00 for the parts and labor they put into it to get it in running order. The crank is bent and maybe I will replace it someday but it gets me around for now and I like the idea of riding it. From the other photos, you may have noticed a Brooks saddle and a handlebar bag set up. These did not come with the bike, I added them.
Anyway, I love the more wild places and seeing them from a bicycle is all the more profound. There is something about arriving on foot or by bike that makes the trip really, really worth it. In the end I believe it is what will save the planet. But that’s a whole other discussion. Here is another shot from the saddle:

I get to do this stuff. I have worked very hard to create a life that makes experiencing the world in this way very easy. I know most of the planet is not as graced. I don’t want to say “lucky” as I’m not sure it was fortune that gt me here. No, it was something else…God maybe….
And speaking of God, here is a photo of my next destination:
This is a shot of the Pine River as seen from hanging off one of our local climbing crags. I was there climbing the other day with some friends. Yep, this is my life but I'll save the climbing stories for another day or blog perhaps.
Thanks for reading this...

2 Comments:

At June 15, 2012 at 4:07 PM , Blogger Suze said...

Mabe you'll write a little someday about what you do as "training" rides, since you mentioned this (extraordinarily beautiful) ride was one. I'm always interested in reading other people's routines.

And this was another good post to read. Looks like you are in a great place to ride.

Suze

 
At July 21, 2012 at 9:36 AM , Blogger Where is she now? said...

Hello Suze,
Excuse my extreme lateness in replying to your query, I'm still learning about blogging and I'm just now learning about returning to questions asked. Anyway, Mostly I commute around town and then one day a week at least I do a short loop "ride out in the valley" as we locals call it. It's about 20 miles and my current bike being about 25 years old and loaded with stuff to add weight takes about 2.5 hours.
One of my upcoming posts will be more about training. it's kind of a joke really but I tell people, I'm training by eating donuts, drinking gallons of coffee and smoking cigarettes. As you know touring is about the ride. I don't race and I don't look good in Lycra.
Thanks for asking

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home