Tuesday, August 20, 2013

More Ft Collins Love


Today I checked out the Foothills and Horsetooth Reservoir by foot and bike...the US Pro Tour will come by here next weekend and I rode part of their stage for that day...I expected the roads by the lake to be flat, but man was I wrong:
 See the hill in the background with that road going up? I love hills!!!
 The pavement has NO cracks, the shoulder was nice, the traffic was very very light. Ft Collins is in the background.

 More climbing!!!
 And some more climbing!!!
 Beautiful views, about 10 min riding distance from Ft Collins!!! Check out the road again :-)

Then I went running along the Foothills, and I decided to follow this path that seems to go all through town and around town. What I really really like is that you always have a "gravel" option right next to it.

Or you can just venture off into the foothills and run to the Lake, which might be a 30 min run (or less) to Horsetooth. There are trails everywhere and miles and miles of running without seeing one person is possible right out your front door.
I am in love with this town. Now we just need to find that one house we have been looking for!!! Tonight I am trying out Track practice, which apparently happens every Tuesday and is followed by burgers and beer...it doesn't even shock me anymore. Breweries EVERYWHERE. Beer consumption in Ft Collins must be pretty similar to water consumption. They have happy hours here where you get 2 Dollar New Belgium Pints. Unheard of...unless you are in Ft Collins!!!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

15 hrs til Ft collins

How bad can that drive be?
15 hrs? Psssss...EASY
Or so I though.
Just me and Jack. Glad that he is a good listener:-)
Here is how it went:

 Staredown.

 New Mexico, yay, only who knows how many more miles.

 Still new mexico?

 I am getting bored, Jack is getting sleepy. We are still in new mexico:-(

 YAY, half way done. Only 5XX miles to go. 

  Jack, I am out of stories.

 Fantastic packing: 3 bikes in a Mazda 3...pretty sure there is more room!!!

 Yay, Colorado!!!

 Yay, still Colorado...

 Still Colorado...mood is declining...3 more hrs to go...

I finally made it in about 15 hrs. The car is full of dog hair, I think Jack was stressed out and lost hair :-) 
This morning I went on an exploring tour through Ft Collins and here is what I found:

Fantastic doggie parks!!! Everybody is extremely dog friendly!!!
 Fantastic running trails: flat or hilly, there is a great mix of everything here!!!
 And Lakes, EVERWHERE!!! And did I mention trails???
 Dog park lake, for dogs only :-)

 And a HUGE lake right out the front door :-) I love this place!!!
 And you can do triathlon practice DOWNTOWN!!! They even have a dismount zone!!!
I am so excited to explore more this afternoon and tomorrow but what I have seen so far was impressive. Medium size city, everybody outdoorsy, everybody nice and in a good mood, people drive the speed limit or UNDER, bike lanes, running trails, perfect weather, breweries, pools, lakes, ... now we just need to find a house :-)