Where do blogs come from?

Since moving to the Bay Area, void of car, I've taken to biking nearly everywhere. It doesn't hurt that inclement weather is minimal and the generally cool conditions keep you comfortable when you're riding. But coming from Chicago, and already being an avid biker, there is one thing I was unprepared for: Hills.

Mind you, when I say Hills (see that capital?), I really mean small mountains. San Francisco has 47 hills over its 46.7 square miles. 7 of these are said to be the "Seven Hills of San Francisco," a claim in reference to Rome, the "City of Seven Hills." This claim is not exclusive of San Francisco and Rome, 49 other cities have claimed to be built upon seven hills, including San Diego and Seattle.

Outside my window, just a mile away, sits Bernal Heights. At 443 ft, it stands at a median point of all of 47, but is a challenge nonetheless. After accomplishing a bike ride to its summit earlier this week, I decided I was ready for something a little harder.

Twin Peaks is the second highest "hill" in San Francisco, behind Mt. Davidson. At 910 ft, it may sound like a casual jaunt, but to make matters more interesting; I was working with a second hand 29er mountain bike, 4 miles of road between me and it, and 1 hour in which to complete the ride (before returning to work).

Suffice it to say, I completed the ride, but have been useless ever since I got home. And that's how blogs are made.

View from Twin Peaks

Back Again - This Time From Oakland

So, it's been another year without posting. And since then, Sonia and I have set out on yet another adventure and have moved just outside San Francisco to start the next chapter in our lives.

In moving, this blog gains new importance as I can keep all my new experiences current with all those wondering how things are out West.

Hopefully we don't disappoint.

DM

Whatever happened to Colorado?

So you may have noticed that the Colorado trip summary never did quite end.

Distractions, Distractions.

We ended up spending a few days in Aspen, hitting the slopes and having them hit us, before heading home. All in all a good time.

I just got back from a few weeks in Australia and will not attempt a day by day posting, but will put together a few posts summarizing the experience.

As a teaser, these little guys taste like SoCo and Lime. Delicious. Also utilized by the Aborigines in medicine, it successfully prevented one onset of migraine with the application of one ant in my presence. Scientific breakthrough? Remarkable...

Day 3: Frisco and Glenwood

I awoke the next morning at 6 am, feeling groggy, because I feel asleep around 7 the previous evening. I watched Gladiator while I packed my bag. The house was slowly coming awake and we decided to go into town to get some food. Butterhorn Bakery was our choice in Frisco's little thoroughfare of log-built storefronts. If you ever go, make sure you get the "Eggy Bread".

After returning back to Ben's place in Frisco, we found two people snow biking down a small hill across from the house. We joined them, though weren't nearly as adventurous. Then, we headed out for Glenwood and Aspen.

We'd been told at REI that the drive through Glenwood Canyon is among the most beautiful in Colorado. We'd also heard there had been a rockslide through the canyon the previous week, cutting off traffic in both directions for a while, resulting in a 150 detour.

When we reached the Canyon, we found that the first statement was true, and the second was true, though already cleared, except for some extensive road damage. Realizing that Sara's proposed hike was in this canyon, we decided it was worth it. Hanging Lake is a natural formation of a lake on the side of a mountain due to some strange limestone formation. Half way up the mountain, the snow hadn't melted yet and a chute of ice had been created running halfway down the mountain. Which lead to fun results.

Afterwards, we joined Sara's friends, Chappy and Liz in Glenwood for brews before they put us up for the night.

Day 2: Onward to the Breck

We woke up early, myself earlier than most, and prepared for our trip to Breckenridge aiming to be there as the slopes opened. Everyone but myself seemed to nursing hangovers largely blamed on absinthe the previous evening. Lethargy was definitely present as we began our trip west and Colyn proved his inability with directions, but as we approached the mountain range to our west, the excitement certainly increased. Well, except for Sara.

The mountain had gotten half a foot a few days earlier in the week, so the snow was good, but well run by the time we arrived. It was exciting to be on a mountain again, but overall found Breckenridge to be a fun, but not terribly challenging mountain.

Ed, Colyn and I really began getting into the mountain later in the day, running some fast runs. Until a ski instructor decided to pull us over, in order to tell us just how long he'd been skiing. He may have also mentioned how little we'd apparently skied, but that wasn't much more than a secondary concern, based on the time devoted in his speech. Ed has it on video somewhere.

We headed to Breckenridge Brewery for apres ski beer and nachos, before heading to Frisco to crash thanks once again to the generosity of Ben & Joel.

Day 1: Arrival in Denver

Edward and I landed in Denver on a bright and sunny Saturday noon. Already, weather was looking more congenial than the 6 am sleet we left in Chicago. Sara and Colyn hadn't left from their current habitation in Denver proper and we had half an hour of trying to figure out the correct departure lane for traffic before they arrived. In consequence, the timing was perfect.

We headed back to our stop for the night, a renovated church courtesy of Sara's Fayetteville Ultimate friends, Ben and Joel. Their place featured three stories of stained glass windows, loft ceilings and a bedroom in the belfry.

We went out for drinks and hit up one of Ben's favorite watering holes, The Horseshoe Lounge, got some delicious truffle fries and shot some pool, played some darts. A live band was starting up, GT and the Sidewinders and we decided to stay for the show.

They describe themselves as rocka-honka-americana-roots heartbreakers, but whatever they were, it was a good time.

They were so entertaining, we took some video of their show. 

Later we ran home, with Sara in a shopping cart, to catch a few Zzz's before heading to Breckenridge the next day.

Colorado Trip

After a depressing long Chicago winter, I got out of the city last week and got to experience snow that you can actually do something with, like snow ball fights, skiing and general fun.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chicago snow, it only serves the purpose of making it harder to walk, trickling down your shirt, getting dirty and drab and come early spring, falling on you from very tall buildings.

My trip took me to Colorado, airfare courtesy of my old roommate and Buick compatriot, Edward, along with Colyn (another exroommate and fellow Buickteer) and his girl, Sarah (aka the girl who knows everybody everywhere through Arkansas Ultimate).

The following posts will detail some of our travels in roughly chronological order.