My first words of wisdom...yes you can forget to ride a bike. I probably have not been on a bike in at least ten years. Its not that I forgot to pedal or something like that but changing gears and what does what can easily slip my fragile mind. Anyway, the day I bought my bike Kurt and I decided to take it for a spin. We did some bike paths, dirt roads and single track. I could not sit comfortably for at least two days..ouch. However...as all the locals have told me, your body gets use to it and after a few weeks of riding they are right. A couple of my favorites rides are up swan mountain road and then turn around a bike down. It is an 11 mile trip, the 5.5 getting there is straight up and takes about 40 minutes; however, the 3.5 straight down is awesome and takes about ten minutes. Great work out. I also have done 3-4 20+ mile rides around lake dillon. Really enjoying it and still waiting to go hit the ski resorts. I am almost confident enough in my abilities to navigate those obstacles.
Hiking has become a huge passion of mine out here. I have already done several big hikes. First, I went up to Loveland Pass and did the Loveland Pass West trail. This is a 4.2 mile there and back hike to the highest point on the Loveland Ridge. It has some amazing views...I'll share a few pictures but this just does not do it justice.
And here is me at the top. Just a few statistics (because I have learned out here quickly that vertical feet and distance are the most important thing EVER). There was an elevation gain of 489' for a high point of 12'479. Although my GPS said 12,504' but who's counting:)
The following day I climbed my first 13,000 foot mountain. It is called Mt. Sniktau (don't ask me how to pronounce that). It was my first true ascent on some rugged terrain...some steep climbs, and a bit of bouldering in some areas. However, it was definitely gratifying to make it there. At the halfway point, people were stopping at that peak so I was one of maybe 2-3 people that day (out of hundreds) who made it to the top. Here's me crossing the 13,000 foot barrier
And just a couple of view from the top...the ski resort you see is Arapahoe Basin. The left side of the mountain is the East Wall and has some pretty nice steeps to it. Then you can see the trails. Again, statistics, it was a 3.4 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of 1244' for a high point of 13,234'
I finished the day off with a lift ride to the mid-point of A-Basin where they were having a BBQ and band. It was a great way to cap off a pretty intense hike.
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