Stardate 2015.214

Spring is Spring'n

Spring is on the horizon! The Canada goose (Branta Canadensis) is arriving, and deer are laying around the yard scheming ways to raid Snowcatcher's blooming bulbs and bird feeder. I'm also getting in some rides.




Meet Dieter and Wolfgang. I met these two miscreants on my last ski trip to Copper Mountain. They were on the lam from a Friday night Spinsters Dance, over the divide in Leadville. Banned from ever returning to the Bavarian Alps — I can only imagine why — I've kind of taken them under my wing for some sort of altitude rehab. They're so small, their "small man syndrome" is at times too much for them bear.



I'm getting some good road rides in at Chatfield Reservoir. It's mostly flat riding, and easy to cruise fast while soaking up rays of sun. Moreover, the reservoir ice is quickly disappearing; in time the reservoir will be full of ski boats.



"Hey Lee Zardo, wait for us!" Wolfgang hollered.

"By the way, Wolfgang thinks your handlebar tape is girly," quipped Dieter.

See what I mean? "Bite me, Wolfgang! I hope you impale yourself on a fence splinter. Better yet, perhaps a hawk will swoop down to see if you have enough meat to make a meal," I badgered back.



Deer Creek Canyon to Pleasant Park Grange is another ride I like. It's a bit hardy and eats up 3 hours or so. The route climbs from about 5,800 feet to 8,500 feet. It's a guaranteed lung-buster this early in the season. During the riding months, locals keep a cooler or two full of water and Gatorade at the Grange. Actual home-baked cookies are feasted upon too. A blue room (portable outhouse) is provided by the same generous people. As riders, we all throw in a few dollars throughout the year to enable this treat to continue.



I can't keep these two out of the snow drifts. I'm not sure what they will do come summer. I'm not sure I want to know. How about you?

See ya next time.

Adios