Quite likely the best thing about winter in Denver

It's 75F/24C on January 27th, I'm wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and taking an afternoon ride on a suburban trail with the sun on my face. Sure, I know winter will be back soon, but it's great for spring to stop by for a visit.

Thinking of snow

Scout and Pugsley are ready for a blizzard.

The past couple of weeks brought us some unseasonably cold weather and a bit of snow, but not a lot is left around these parts. During our daily ride today, we were caught in a brief swirling of granules that looked just like crumbly pieces of Styrofoam, but they quickly melted. It's usually around this time of year that I'm in the mood for a nice, substantial snowstorm. In a couple of months I'll likely change my tune, but at present, a thick layer of the white stuff would be most welcome.

Mountain towns, bikes, and rain

The Mountain Fair in Carbondale had lots of bikes around, and perhaps the biggest concentration of Xtracycles per capita of any place I've been.

We managed to squeeze in a little travel before school starts again, by making a (rare for us) trip into the mountains. It takes so much coordination for all of us to go anywhere that we don't often lug ourselves someplace where we're not obliged to go. It was refreshing to get away, even for a little while, though the traffic both ways didn't do much to dissuade my frustration of crowded driving in the mountains. We ended up visiting Aspen, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs.

Mountain towns offer some great bike spotting opportunities for an aging bike nerd such as me. The bikes to be seen did not disappoint. Foremost in my notice are the many vintage mountain bikes, some of which exhibit evidence of years of heavy action, while others appear nearly unused.  I saw far more neat old bikes than I had the chance to photograph,  but here are a few that I captured.

This circa early 1950s cantilever framed Schwinn has a bent seatpost and a newer saddle, but otherwise looked to be in fine riding condition with an admirable patina.

A matched pair of retina-jarring early '90s Klein Rascals shod in old time-y Specialized Ground Control skinwall tires, now pressed into kid transport service.

Lousy photo aside, this 1988 Fisher Hoo-Koo-E-Koo was mostly original, sporting a pair of Fisher Fattrax tires. Fisher Fattrax were my favorite treads from the old days, but were discontinued nearly 25 years ago.

Aspen's bike sharing system, known as We-Cycle, appeared to be well utilized and contributed to the town's bike-friendly vibe.

Of course the girls found lots of things to experience. The townspeople were friendly and happy to accommodate, especially at the Aspen Volunteer Fire Department.

A balloon unicorn and balloon Elmo came along for the ride. 

Back at home, we've had a lot of rain since Monday. Although this is Colorado's monsoon season, it seems as though the rain has been more intense the past couple of years. I suppose that's good for keeping wildfires at bay, though I'm certainly not accustomed to overcast, wet days. I don't know how people in wet climes survive.

The view from my office window is of pouring rain.

I took advantage of a break in the weather to take a Denver B-cycle ride, and ended up riding the elusive white B-cycle.

An enterprising fellow poses with his super chopper near the South Platte river.

A little tough to see in this shot, but that's a guy on a penny farthing commuting home from Denver to Golden. He's been an icon in the area for decades. I've talked to him on several occasions, but can't remember his name at the moment. 

Cherry Creek had been flowing over this bridge along the bike path moments before, as a result of an intense thunderstorm.

To complete a trifecta of oversized bikes spotted, I waited for the train with a doused hipster and his double decker bike. 

New bike instructive stickers in a light rail vehicle.

A fairly recently installed bike box near the Webb Building in central downtown Denver seems to be well utilized. 

My intrepid aspiring photographer enjoyed shooting some art at the Denver Art Museum.

The difference 24 hours can make

72 degrees on January 3.

One of the best things about Colorado is that we sometimes get a wide variety of weather over a short time frame. For example, this past Friday, it was a sunny 72 degrees F at about 1pm. T-shirt weather. Mind you, it was January 3. I enjoyed the day.

However, about exactly 24 hours later on early Saturday afternoon, things were quite different. The thermometer on our back porch showed 22 degrees F; a drop of 50 degrees. Large, billowy flakes of snow were swirling down from the sky. I enjoyed the day.

22 degrees on January 4.

Like many people who live in Colorado, I appreciate warm weather and I appreciate cold weather. Hot weather, or overcast and rainy weather, not so much. So, for me, the seasonal temperatures of this time of year that swing back and forth like a pendulum between about room temperature and snowy cold is just about right. As long as the wind isn't blowing strongly, either case is great riding weather. Of course, that's just what I did. Afterward, I was pressed into service for pulling duties for a little street sledding.
 

Whatever they call it, around here it's Bike Friday

As is our tradition, we refrained from spending any money today, and instead took the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful late November day. We are very fortunate to get quite a few terrific days with 60 degree F weather sprinkled throughout the winter. When fine weather coincides with a day off, there is no better way to soak up some precious sunlight.

We had a nice Thanksgiving meal yesterday and the girls really enjoyed the food. Perhaps the pinnacle of their enjoyment was getting to lick the beaters from the whipped cream.

Unbridled joy.

A sampling of two types of pumpkin pie, and a slice of pumpkin cheesecake.

Today marks the second anniversary of Scout coming home to live with us. She has been a good dog and continues to learn how to live in the world of people. Here's to many more rides.

Scout is my shadow, much more often than not.

First snow

No, this is actually not snow. We went camping at Great Sand Dunes National Park last weekend, just ahead of the government shutdown.

We awoke to a smattering of snow this morning, the first of the season. Snow is not unanticipated this time of year, but it always requires a bit of adjustment. On my way to the office, I checked out a Denver B-cycle bike for a somewhat chilly but pleasant ride. The snow had all but stopped by the time I got to my office. The great thing is that Denver B-cycle will remain open all winter this year, so I'll have many more snowy commutes capped off with a B-cycle ride.

No, this is not a fatbike, but a B-cycle has quite acceptable snow riding capability.

Lazy summer riding: 215 days and counting

Smile from the trail.

A few odds and ends from the past week or so. It is now at the point in the summer when the time seems to be speeding toward Labor Day; it's the same sort of phenomenon that made it difficult for me to enjoy Sunday afternoons as a kid. Looming responsibilities and school somehow seem to cut into enjoying the moment.

In any case, I have maintained my consecutive days of riding, which total 215 as of today. What may have been a bit of a challenge to continue early on has considerable momentum now, and even a family road trip coming up soon doesn't hold much threat to breaking my streak. Daily rides for transportation and daily rides to keep either kids or dog happy contribute to the mass of the spinning flywheel.

A few nights ago, we came upon a fire burning near the dirt trails in our neighborhood park. Julie saw a few teenage boys running from the direction of the flames, but I was too concentrated on the flames themselves and whether anyone had yet called the fire department to notice them. Within minutes, the flames were more than ten feet tall and the area was crackling.

Julie rode to the site of the fire to see if anyone needed help.

Several people at the park called fire and police, and trucks arrived within a few minutes.

We haven't yet found out exactly what happened, but it's likely a group of teenage boys were up to no good. For our girls, it was exciting to be on the arriving end of a fire truck excursion. The firemen had the flames out within a couple of minutes, but smoke and falling ash stayed in the area for some time. Fortunately, there were no injuries and the damage was minimal. A couple of days later, we surveyed the site.

Poor quality phone cam doesn't show a lot, but much of the underbrush here was turned to ash.

The trees in the fire area appear mostly unchanged.

A day after the fire, we attended a local outdoor concert. The highlight of the music was Sousa's Washington Post March, which seemed just about perfect for an evening ride.

The Dummy makes a good seat or picnic table, or provides a little shade during outdoor events.

The low evening sun and a backdrop of threatening clouds makes for some great imagery that I am just barely capable of capturing.

Earlier in the week, our out-of-town guests departed, but not before I took the girls out for one last ride. They took the opportunity to practice some skidding, and were impressed with my stories as a kid of skidding my way through tires all the way down to the cords. Perhaps their parents will have to foot the bill for some new tires for their bikes back home.

Yesterday, I was among a small group who took a B-cycle ride with Mayor Hancock of Denver. The purpose was to observe some infrastructural improvements in a couple of neighborhoods, as well as to see where there are shortcomings in the network. From an advocacy standpoint, it is encouraging to see bicycling issues taking a higher profile than they have in the past, though I have enough experience to know that improvements are hard won and take a lot of time and effort.

Mayor Hancock on the left, as Phil of Denver B-cycle leads the way.

After the ride and on the way to the office, I spotted a derelict and partially stripped Fisher Advance, predating the Trek buyout, circa 1990. It's always sad to see a nice old steel bike go out like this. 

Mother's Day recap

Julie and the girls at the park.

It's been a busy week already with no letup in sight, so I'll make this brief. This past Sunday, we had a nice day of riding and relaxing, and of course a little more riding. In between, we were able to fit in some little stints of food and fun. They weather could not have been more perfect, and we are all ready for Spring to finally do its thing. Here are a few photos. Enjoy!

She is now officially a very determined walker.

She's also made good friends with the Big Dummy.

We did a few circuits on our old standby dirt trail.

Daughter number one can't contain the thrill of speed...

...much like Mommy, on her new-to-her Raleigh XXIX dirt machine.

Daughter number two got a taste of off road riding on her newly reconfigured Big Dummy rear seat. Details of the construction coming soon.

After our first ride, we went home for some much needed lunch and napping. During the down time, I worked on my Mom's bike so that we could take another ride in the evening.

My Mom's trusty c. 1984 Univega Rover Sport. A very solid bike that will be going strong for years to come. 

Out of focus shot of my Mom on the Univega.

For our evening ride, both girls rode on the back of the Dummy. They really seem to enjoy riding together.