Since moving to the cottage in Emerald City a half dozen years ago, I’ve made a tradition of celebrating my Birthday by riding my age on the glorious gravel of the Eastern Colorado High Plains. This year I turned 63, so I had to find a fun ride that was at least 63 miles long. […]
I checked the weather forecast again, to confirm the wind speed and direction. So far April has looked a lot like March; cold and windy. The wind’s been ferocious for several days now and on the High Plains, the wind doesn’t blow, it sucks. I wrote a poem about it around this time last year,
An Old Road Dog escapes his chores and hits the gravel for a bit of Winter Solstice wheeling. Thanks to global warming, on the second shortest day of the year, I escape the doldrums of my wintertime tasks to go pedaling about on the High Plains. The weather forecast for today is mid-sixties, with wind
An Old Road Dog Enjoys a Warm December Afternoon Read More »
It’s early May and I finally got out for a gravel ride on “Double Cross”, my gallant gravel steed. So far this year all my serious mileage has been ridden on rollers down in the dungeon. I tuned up “Double Cross” last weekend. She was covered in dust, one of the tires flat, chain caked
Vickie and I decided to take a drive last weekend. We’ve been holed up at The Cottage for most of the Winter. With Spring in the air, we decided to stretch our wings, so we grabbed the cameras, topped up the fuel in the Subie and headed north. The sun was out and felt pretty
The plan was to climb West Spanish Peak, (13621’) on Tuesday with a couple of friends. Four miles and about a half mile of elevation gain; most of that in the last mile, straight up a steep, gnarly, scree slope. Nothing but shattered rock and steep. It is not a place for mortals, it is
Memorial Day marks the beginning of the outdoor season but it was cold and wet here on the High Planes, couldn’t even barbecue. The forecast though showed the possibility for a spectacular day, the day after, so I started forming a plan. I was thinking a good long bike ride but I still have a
Post Memorial Day Half Century Gravel Grinder Read More »
Cuchara Canyon was a lucky find for me. I’ve driven past it a number of times on the way to other places and have always found the country interesting. Interesting but not really worth a stop, not with the plethora of outdoor opportunities and some of my favorite places in the state, just a little
Cuchara Canyon – On The Edge Read More »
I’ve been pondering a bike ride to Mount Sunflower (the highest point in Kansas), for quite awhile but the conditions have not been right or I lacked ambition, until a couple days ago. I was down at the local pub on Friday night having dinner and a few beers with Vickie. A younger friend of
Mount Sunflower Pilgrimage Read More »
A Backpack Fishing Trip We first hatched the plan a few moons back, in May I think. I had just come back from my trip to Lost Creek Wilderness and my oldest son Patrick was looking to get away from the Houston heat for awhile during the dog days of summer. He is a school
I have driven past Picture Canyon dozens of times over the years but was always in a hurry. I had someplace to be or didn’t feel like driving the 34 miles of dirt to get there and back. That all changed a few weeks ago and I finally got a chance to visit Picture Canyon
I left the cottage by 7:30 and headed west, across the high plains with low wet clouds and a few sprinkles of rain. The windshield wipers were running on low for the first hour. It was cold, I had to wear a fleece jacket while packing up, to leave. I arrived in the Springs around
Lost Creek Wilderness Read More »