Exploring the 'burbs sans auto

I've been thinking about transportation today, as I've been relying on bikes and sharing rides for the past four years. I can do a lot more things by bike and foot in Hamilton County than I have given myself permission to do. I have the idea of wanting to buy a car, but I may wait to hear back from a job I'm applying to in Madison before deciding, as a no-car life seems totally feasible there.

In the meantime, I'm seeing how much I've let myself limited when I've been home by not having a car. I went running this morning and went exploring the nooks, crannies, and cul-de-sacs of my subdivision that I never go down. It's really a pretty place to live, and I don't know if I've ever truly noticed before.

Here's someone else taking full advantage of a bike for transport and hauling

Photo from Sevilla in Fall 2009

Mini Culture Shock

As compared to rural Colorado, in suburban Indianapolis.....

1.  There is humidity.  Everything sticks to me including myself.  I miss mountain air, but my skin feels healthier. 

2.  Everything is so alive and green.  No risk of forest fires here! 

3.  IT'S SO FLAT! 

4. There are overweight people. 

5. In casual conversation, being outdoors is often referred to as an inconvenience rather than the purpose of living. 

6.  Likely as a result of #5, people wear much less "gear" and generally have less dirt on their clothes and possessions.   Yet they still all wear New Balance shoes.  

8.  People don't wave at each other from inside of cars as they drive by. 

7.  There are no cows crossing the road and no horses or hay bales anywhere. 

9.  Everyone drives a freshly washed, shiny car.  And next to no one drives a Subaru.

Airport poetry

Y cuando llegue el día del último viaje,
y esté al partir la nave que nunca ha de tornar,
me encontraréis a bordo ligero de equipaje,
casi desnudo, como los hijos de la mar.

And when I reach the day of the last voyage, come that moment
The ship of no return is set to cast the anchor free,  
You'll find me boarded with the crew, with barely any luggage
My body bare beneath the sun like children of the sea. 


From Retrato by Antonio Mechado
Translation by A.Z. Foreman
Found on a window at the Denver Airport

Freight Train

This song has been stuck in my head for the past week, since I heard it for the first time played on the banjo by my friend Stella at the Telluride bluegrass festival.  Of all the songs I've had stuck in the past few years, this brings me the most joy.

Suggestion

1.  Listen to it ten times through.
2.  Sing the chorus to yourself over and over for a week.
3.  Have a better life.

Cow Clinic

For one of the first times in my life, I felt confident in my technical riding today.  While I can't help wishing  I had experienced it earlier in my time here, I am glad to have spent this morning riding a wonderful horse named Babe out on the early morning Breakfast Ride and then in a cow clinic until lunch.

After only a few scattered times on trail rides and sitting in on riding clinics during my time here, I understand the concepts of turning, backing up, and moving forward, but when in a clinic setting, I have always felt self-conscious about how little I know.

Today I learned how to drive cows through a gate on horseback, practicing in the outdoor arena with 20 cows.  My horse was more responsive than other horses I've ridden, so I didn't have to cue anything very hard.  I don't like kicking a horse hard for it to move forward.  I don't like yanking on reins.  I prefer horses where I can use shifts in posture, gentler pressure, and purposeful reining for direction.

Babe was a dream come true.

I love driving cattle.  Who knew?

Dirt Bikes

This afternoon I tried dirt biking for the first time with Nate, one of my coworkers.  I had no idea what to expect and ended up loving it more than I would have ever imagined.

Racing at 20-30 mph up and down dirt roads, around rocks, through puddles, into meadows all across Routt National Forest helped me piece together my mental map of the area more than anything else I've tried, largely because of how quickly you can cross the land compared to hiking or driving on main roads only.

The rush of wind whistling through your helmet, the splash of water on the back of your calves as you go through a puddle, holding your breath on a descent that seems just a little too steep and exhaling when you make it out fine, looking down at the yellow wildflowers growing out of the road then up to the perfect clouds floating in the endless sky then across to some of the most impressive peaks in the region and realizing that everything around you is truly beautiful....

Now to find my map and figure out where I have been!

Paddle boarding

I spent this afternoon on Pearl Lake trying out paddle boarding for the first time.  Are you looking for a combination of the best parts of a kayak, surfboard, and air mattress combined?  Paddle boards might be just the right thing for you!