October 24-25th, 2015

What happened…

Andrew writes: Savannah and Forrest saw us off this morning, and rode with us part way through Fort Collins on their way to the weekly farmers market. Then we headed towards our next Warmshowers in Niwot!

I have a couple of rants today. First, infrastructure for cyclists is great. It keeps cyclists safe, and it makes drivers happy that they don’t have to slow down or avoid us. I struggle though sometimes, at how much slower these bike paths and whatnot are compared to just cycling on the road. I know, I know, in our case it isn’t a race, and we aren’t in a rush to get anyplace, but since today we were trying to figure out the plethora of instructions on how to navigate from River Path to Canyon Trail to Unicorn Alley etc. all the while avoiding dog-walkers, strollers and weekend warriors, it can get a little bit on my nerves at how different the pace is.

Next up, pizza. It strikes me as odd, that with all of the crap I like to ingest, I haven’t had a decent slice of pizza since Rocky Mountain Pizza Co. in Radium Hot Springs. That was a helluva long time ago. The pizza place we tried today, in Longmont, was expensive and sub-par, despite being really busy. I don’t get it. Maybe Americans have lower standards for pizza, but they shouldn’t, I mean isn’t it practically one of their national foods, up there with hot dogs and hamburgers?

Ok, there was some good to come out of today; Leslie, Jeff, and their two kids Hannah and Micah. They were our hosts tonight, and they have not only a beautiful guest house which is set up as a studio apartment, but the family is also quite musically gifted, and the guest house includes a stand-up bass, violin, drum pad, banjo, mandolin and guitar. I read one of the instruction books they had handy, and learned how to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the violin. Now I want to buy one! Leslie made a delicious cornbread chili, and we all sat around the table talking about the family’s trip to Quebec and New Brunswick last summer.

We decided to spend another day, and I got to go down to the local brew pup with Leslie and Hannah, and participate in an Irish folk music jam that they have every Sunday. There was Hannah’s cello, and a guy on mandolin, a woman with her guitar, and then 4 violins. Way at the back, piping in whenever I could, I sat and played along with my tin whistle. It was so much fun! The group was so inclusive, joining in on any song that I could play, and then embellishing it with their talent. Bar patrons toe-tapped along with us, rollicking and reeling, and jigging. It was great fun!

Amanda writes:

While Andrew didn’t enjoy the pace I thought the ride today was lovely. As we get closer to Denver we are entering more suburban and populated areas. The vibe in Colorado is really nice. Sure when you get into bigger cities you get a few impatient drivers and apparently impatient cyclists too. But overall I enjoyed zigging and zagging to avoid traffic.

Arriving in Niwot was nice too. Leslie and Jeff have a beautiful home and the whole family was such a treat to sit around with and chat. Micah plays soccer and was pretty excited for his morning game. Their suite that they shared with us was so nice and comfortable and I’m so grateful they opened it up to us for two days. I was able to sit back and watch some Sunday football. Good peeps.

Today’s Photographs