Stardate 2019.814

On The Keyboard Again

Hmmm... I seem to have forgotten how to code. Nonetheless, we'll see if I can come up with something.




Fall has been warm, and we could use some precipitation, although it's been mountain bike heaven.






A change is in order; I wonder if these bighorn ewes could sense it?



Several days later, a handful of little Fahrenheits, sporting their finest smirks, set a new record low temperature of 8 degrees, beating the old record of 22 by 14 notches. Then, most leaves lost color and dropped.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...





That's it for now.

Adios

Stardate 2019.129

Is That Spring in the Air?
Not quite; albeit I was in shorts and long sleeves today. Not bad for February 13th. Our snowiest month, March, is still to come. We can get some cold temps, too. Nonetheless, a lot of melt was taking place. Locally, all but the northerly aspects are snow-free. The Denver Water access road up Waterton Canyon was mostly dry with a few icy and muddy spots.


Today may have been my best ride since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last August. I hate the word disease! Don't you? It is what it is. Better yet, I felt good and strong throughout the ride. Take that Parkinson's! Following are a few more pics from the ride. Enjoy!


Looking upstream at impounded water behind one of several diversions.



The diversion dam is downstream in the distance. Can you pick it out?



There is lots of shore ice.



Main channel ice development is ice buildup on large in-stream boulders.



That's it for now. Think spring!

Lizard: 6
Parkinson's: 0

Adios

Stardate 2019.030

Finally
Greetings!

We finally received some snow at lower elevations. It was the heavy wet stuff that falls at warmer temperatures; a good ground soaker. When said and done, we had a little under a foot of snow. Believe it or not, I was on dry rides in shorts and long sleeve jersey as recent as January 10th. We need some winter! However, north aspects are still dicey in spots and require some hike-a-biking.




There's still a fair amount of shore ice along the South Platte River.






How about some bighorn sheep skating?






Here's a little plug for Giant Bicycles. It's a fun 29er.



Lizard:2
Parkinson's:0

Thanks for reading!

Adios

Stardate 2019.022

Cambria Bluffs

2018... The Good The Bad And The Now What?
Lizardly greetings!

The Good...
A very brief 2018 summary follows. I wish I could blame the lack of blog posts on traveling the globe, but I can't. Now that I'm semi-retired — as of 11 days ago — I hope to do a better job posting. I certainly need the writing and grammar practice.

Off we go! January 2018 started with a lack of snow, allowing for mountain biking Front Range trails well into early winter.

Post fall rut and everyone was back to being friends.

April deposited us in California for a wedding. We visited two of our favorite coastal towns — Morro Bay and Cambria. Much of the coastal California Lupine was 3 feet in height, much taller than back in Colorado.


Cambria


Cambria


Mom eventually got junior out of the water.


Morro Rock dominates the view from the southern end of the bay.


Northern half of Morro Bay marina


Mid-July took us to 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels, my favorite 14er.

The Bad...
After a miserable summer progressing in body tremors and the "need" to crawl out of my own skin, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in early fall. A decent med coupled with my long-time existing, and active, lifestyle has brought me back to life, and I hope to chronicle "things" a bit via this blog.

September and available food-nuts brought out foraging bruins.


The boys are back in town and waiting for the girls to arrive...


Mountain snow arrived in October. Lower elevation mountain biking was sublime well into December.


An eerie harbinger of what came in November.

The Now What?
Take out Parkinson's Disease with extreme prejudice. I will make a great Parkinson's enemy!

Thanks for reading! I wish you all cheery and exciting 2019!

Adios

Stardate 2017.304

Coming to Life
Hi everyone, I think spring has sprung. The bighorn sheep — both ewes and rams — are lounging together. Other reclusive ewes will soon be showing off reasons for being solitary in the form of little newborn lambs with doey wide eyes full of wonder. Rattlesnakes are sunning themselves. The ubiquitous anglers are infiltrating Waterton Canyon. And, more and more cyclists are enjoying the warming days. Following are several rides worth of pics. I hope you enjoy them.




Warming days become lazy days...




Beautiful and toxic, all in one package...






Classic singletrack zigging and zagging through the forest...




Late afternoon light wafting through coniferous tree boles...



Always be on your toes...




Stay tuned!

Adios

Stardate 2017.047

It is winter, after all.


This is one of Snowcatcher's numerous methods of photographing flakes of ice.


And Now Some More Waterton
Currently, it's snowing cats and dogs. So, I'll share some pics from about a week ago, before the snow returned. Let's start with a patio paw-print from the illusive and domesticated Felis Catus.




The cold and icy narrows portion of the ride is just that, cold and icy.




This is the segment of the narrows that is always shaded.




The CT was too icy and rutted to try riding up.




The day was warming up nicely.




The South Platte River




All I saw today was ice, snow and water — no wildlife.




The ever elusive and now mud-splattered Snowcatcher came along for the day too.








Now I need to wash the bikes. Here are some words to live by; a clean bike is a happy bike.




More to come, I'm just not quite sure when more will be.

Adios