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Cycling in the West – Pagosa Springs to Alamosa

Bicycle Touring In The West
Day 17 – Pagosa Springs to Alamosa

“I’ve learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”
  ~ Unknown

Pagosa Springs

Today we’re back to a little more mileage, but still a tad shy of a 100 mile day. We cross the Continental Divide this morning at Wolf Creek Pass. It’s a day I’ve looked forward to throughout the trip – as much as a test of my fitness as for the beauty of an 11,000’ pass. Continue reading “Cycling in the West – Pagosa Springs to Alamosa”

Feathers

FEATHERS

Image from IWishICouldFly.com, Alan Stankavitz

Everything that lives wants to fly,
a Mohawk friend said to me one winter afternoon
as we watched grosbeaks take seeds,
fluttering close to our eyes.

Those were dinosaurs once, he said,
but they made a bargain.
they gave up that power
in return for the Sky.

Joseph Bruchac
(Thanks to Miss Peggy for the contribution)

Cycling in the West – Durango to Pagosa Springs

Bicycle Touring in the West
Day 16 – Durango to Pagosa Springs

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. 
  ~ Vaclav Havel

Durango is a big bicycle town. There are some world-class cyclists who hail from these parts, and I’ve heard many times of the great road cycling in the area. In addition, there’s a tremendous road cycling club in the area, and Ft Lewis College in Durango has what they bill as the “#1 cycling program in the nation”, with 17 national championships. There’s a really fun ride I try and do most years down here over Memorial Day – they call it the Iron Horse Classic and it’s a ride/race from Durango to Silverton where you’re racing the old Steam Engine up into the mountains. Lot’s of climbing, about 50 miles, and they close the road for a couple hours for the race.

Perhaps understandably, I have again set some expectations for the day. I’m imagining that cars in the area are accustomed to cyclists, and that the roads will accommodate safe riding. Continue reading “Cycling in the West – Durango to Pagosa Springs”

A Candle in the Wind – Part 3

At it’s heart, the words and the imagery are so true. We often feel so important and permanent – as though much of the universe revolves around our giant ego. But really, each of us is no more than a flame burning atop to candle of our life.

This isn’t a bad thing. Well, I suppose it’s bad for our ego. But ignoring the ego for a minute, (and we know how that ego hates to be ignored…), it’s really a good way for me to see my life. Just a flame atop a candle.  Continue reading “A Candle in the Wind – Part 3”

Cycling Through The West – Towaoc to Durango

Day 15 – Towaoc to Durango

“Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.”
  ~ A Ute Prayer

 

We’re riding at early light on a cool morning. There’s actually a little wisp of fog now and again on the road this morning – something I haven’t seen since I left the Pacific coast. I can feel the moisture in the air as it hydrates the membranes of my lungs and sinuses. I’m surprised at just how good it feels.

Colorado isn’t a place known for moist air. When folks come out to visit us in Colorado, they usually complain about how dry the air is. But this morning, as I begin to climb back into my home state, I’m struck by how much more humid it is than the desert air I’ve been riding through for the last couple weeks.

I didn’t expect to feel a sense of “homecoming” yet, but I’m feeling it this morning. There’s active irrigation along this highway, so the fields are green and lush on both sides of us as we ride. The sprinklers are running, pouring water across the green that surrounds us, sparkling like fountains of gems in the early morning light. In the distance, the peaks of the Rockies are growing closer and closer with each mile. I’m back in my home state, and it feels good.

Our day today is a short one. We want to get to Durango early enough to do laundry, so we started early, though not as early as we might have if we had a long day. When we revised our route, we thought about planning a rest day along southern Colorado somewhere, but decided instead to just plan short days. Yesterday was our last long mileage day at about 108 miles, and today and tomorrow are both only about 60 miles. In our original schedule, today’s miles were the last 60 miles of a 146 mile day. I’m happy we changed, so I could enjoy this stretch of road early in the morning.

A cyclist’s perspective on the wildlife in an area is often a reflection of the dead stuff we see smashed on the road as we roll past it. This morning, the roadkill is reflective of a big change in habitat. I’m seeing possum and raccoon, as well as a snake now and again. The moist environment created by the irrigation supports a whole new community of critters. Continue reading “Cycling Through The West – Towaoc to Durango”

Wind in the Hackberry

The wind blew pretty hard a couple days ago as I sat in my treestand. The gentle rocking of the tree in the wind gave me a sense of security.

It’s not a particularly old tree – probably 30 or 40 years old would be my guess. In those years sitting on the edge of the Kansas prairie, it’s seen wind far greater than anything I’d want to sit through. It’s bent and swayed in the fury of winter blizzards and summer thunderstorms.

Though the wind felt big and strong the other evening, it was nothing compared to what my tree had seen in its lifetime, and knowing this made me feel particularly secure. As the tree swayed back and forth, creaking and groaning occasionally, I knew this flexibility was what made it strong. Rather than spending all it’s energy fighting the wind, it learned to use the wind to stretch and build a pliable strength. Roll with the breeze, bend with its fury.

It wasn’t a particularly good evening for hunting, as the wind made it unlikely I’d take many shots – the wind would make the flight of the arrow too unpredictable. But the gentle rocking ride was worth the time spent waiting for the wind to subside.

Eventually, it did indeed subside, and I watched the cover of a full-moon night slip over the quiet prairie in front of me, and the woods behind me. A doe came out and spent a little time in the meadow as darkness grew. A possum made his way noisily through the underbrush, and a couple raccoons squabbled briefly but loudly over some territory nearby. The songbirds tucked away one by one, and a beautiful sunset unfolded over my shoulder.

There was still enough breeze to carry the smell of a newly lit fire in a wood-stove somewhere upwind from me, as somebody settled in to enjoy a room warmed by a fire. It was past shooting light, but I was in no hurry to climb down out of my tree. I felt particularly good, and the bright full moon would light my walk back home.

Life was, indeed, quite good.

A Candle in the Wind – Part 2

Part 2 – Fragility

It’s mid-November, a time when I disappear into the woods for a while each year. First for several days on the western slope of the Rockies hunting elk with my son, then into the Kansas prairie for a couple weeks of hunting whitetail deer where the prairie and the timber meet.

Continue reading “A Candle in the Wind – Part 2”

Bicycling in the West – Kayenta to Towaoc

Bicycle Touring in the West – Day 14 – Kayenta to Towaoc

“Take a breath of the new dawn and make it a part of you.”
  ~ Hopi proverb

Today is a longer day for us, and we’re on the road before dawn. We’ve got a little over 107 miles to ride today, and if the wind’s not kind, it could be a long 107 miles. We feel confident that we’ll be able to find water every 25 or 30 miles, which puts our mind to ease that worse case, it’s just a long day.

At first we’re a little disappointed that we’re not on the road 30 minutes before we are because of the long day ahead of us. Riding east out of Kayenta, the landscape around us explodes into magical shapes and beautiful pre-dawn colors. As the sun washes across the mystical hills and rocks to our north, we stop often to take pictures of the breathtaking sunrise. By the time we’re 10 miles down the road, we realize how lucky we are that we didn’t leave earlier, or we would’ve missed a spectacular sunrise show.

Once again, I’m struck by just how much I treasure the early morning on a bicycle. The remainder of the day happens – sometimes good and sometimes less good. But dawn is universally spectacular, sometimes mind-numbingly so. This morning is one of those mind-numbingly beautiful mornings. Continue reading “Bicycling in the West – Kayenta to Towaoc”

Cycling Through the West – Tuba City to Kayena

Bicycling in the West – Day 13 – Tuba City to Kayenta

The desert flowers seemed to be in full bloom, and beautiful in the morning

 

 

 

“Time isn’t used, it’s experienced.”
~ Hopi Proverb

 

 

 

We’ve got an easy day ahead of us today – only 75 miles. Unless the wind is hard on us, we should get done in less than 8 hours. We take our time and enjoy breakfast, and meet some interesting folks as we’re walking out of Denny’s.

It’s a small group of folks – sounds like just 2 couples plus an extra person. They’ve got a truck with a trailer, and the trailer holds a couple of little Vespa-type scooters. The women ride the scooters along the highway, and the men follow along in the truck. When they get tired of “scooting”, the men pick them up and trailer the scooters. It’s a grand adventure for them. They’ve always wanted to take a trip like this along the highways of the Southwest. When they hit the high plains of Texas in a few days, they’ll just ride in the truck to avoid the heat.

I’m curious about why the little scooters rather than just everyone taking motorcycles? Well, a good part of the reason seems to be that the scooters are so much more fuel efficient. Plus, they’re cute. That’s important for sure… Continue reading “Cycling Through the West – Tuba City to Kayena”