21 miles (34 km) - Total so far: 49 miles (79 km)
The decision was a no- brainer. We got the details on the snowstorm heading for the front range, and heard forecasts of up to a foot of snow with sustained winds as high as 60 mph, and gusts to 90! The options were easy to weigh:
1- Ride it out (HA!)
2- Get a hotel (almost as outrageous)
3- Ride back from whence we came and try again after the storm moves through
Since we were only 20 or miles... on a direct route... it was easy. We packed up my first touring camp and turned back.
Normally, this would seem like a setback, but not so. I discovered about 20 minutes in to the ride the day before that I had packed entirely too much! It was suddenly becoming obvious what I could do without, and that list was getting longer with the mile. By Wednesday morning, I was glad to be able to drop that stuff off!
We initially inteded to just retrace the C-470/ Platte Trail, but my experiences on the 470 Tuesday didn't exactly leave me missing it. We stopped off for breakfast at Le Peep at Quebec & 470, and relaxed for a few minutes and decided this would be a good opportunity to get some real street riding experience, fully loaded and good practice at finding our way on the fly. So up Quebec to Dry Creek, etc. We cut and weaved our way home, at a nice slow pace (no hurry, right?) and enjoyed it!
Just as the first rain drops were falling, we got back. Some 27 or 28 hours after we left! Eventful 27 hours it was. The place had a different vibe when I walked in. Now and again, it's good to disturb the 'assumed course' of events. For those of you who've seen "The Hunt for Red October", I equate it to a 'Crazy Ivan'. The look I got from one of our roommates when she walked in to see me was PRICELESS!
Roommates: Bad idea.
But, it's fun to stir the shit now and then! I was particularly interested in the visitor she had while her hubby was at work and my GF was headed out to her job! It makes me appreciate what I have. A little perspective does one good.
As I went to bed, no snow. It's supposed to hit Thursday AM....
(γνῶθι σεαυτόν) Ongoing travel tales include hitching a ride across the Rockies with a cop-killer, a weekend with a terminally-ill billionaire, meeting my siblings for the first time, two-months in Mexico, and scores of random people from Massachusetts to Slab City to Chiapas who are often even more interesting! If you're driven by a particular agenda, for your own protection please see the disclaimer below.
"The trouble with self-delusion, either in a person or a society, is that reality doesn't care what anybody believes, or what story they put out. Reality doesn't "spin." Reality does not have a self-image problem. Reality does not yield its workings to self-esteem management." -J.H. Kunstler
"Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; ... rain without thunder and lightning; ... the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will." -Frederick Douglass
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows", "He not busy being born is busy dyin'", "Don't follow leaders-- watch the parking meters." -Dylan
"Hope Floats, but so does bullshit. The trick is to know the difference." -unknown
DISCLAIMER
This is a sometimes raw, always brutally honest, and personal perspective account of my travels & the people I've met; NOT another cliche' travel journal. While pondering the word "perspective," please also remember: I am neither a travel writer nor engaging in public relations. Those seeking tourist reviews, happy talk, or support for any dime-store religion or ideology should leave... right now. This will be a HUGE disappointment, and offending you is quite literally the least of my concern. Comments are encouraged, but are necessarily moderated for the time being. As the movie said: "While agreement is not required, thinking for one's self is." Please check the agenda at the door... and enjoy!
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