Fall is always my favorite time of year in Colorado. The leaves change, the temperature cools down, but there are still blue skies and days of 360 degree sunshine. Recently I have been getting more into the active lifestyle. I have given up most of my vices and I have been riding my road bike, swimming, lifting weights, and hiking in the mountains. My summer debauch is over and its time to take back my health. This summer was a summer to forget for me. I struggled with injuries to my back and my Achilles tendon. The forty blues hit hard and I spent too much time dealing with regret and too little time realizing that I have a great life and lots of potential for improvement.
Now fall is here and I’m all healed up for the most part and looking forward to skiing a lot this winter. Next summer is going to be a much better one as I regain my health and get back into top shape. Right now my Raison d’etre is to exercise a lot and turn back the clock-forget about growing old and get back in the kind of shape that defies age and improves the mind. When your healthy and in great shape than personal problems turn into trifles!
This last week I took a vacation up to my parent’s condo in Frisco. It was good to get out of the city. My folks have had their condo-an informal timeshare with some of their friends, for close to twenty years. They usually have five weeks out of the year there and in years past I have made a lot of use of it. The days of wild parties on the deck are over these days, for me its kind of a retreat where I can get out of the city and enjoy the fresh air of mountain living. I haven’t been up there in over a year so it was great to get out of town. I did a brutal hike up Mount Royal and up the ridge line of Peak One which caused me to swear off smoking. I also did some riding on the beautiful bike path which stretches for miles across Summit County and on into the Vail Valley. My forays were rather limited this time do to my poor physical condition. I also took a couple of runs at A-Basin and demoed some twin tip skis. Its good to have friends that work in ski shops! I got my season pass and I am going to try to get first tracks down the Montezuma Bowl when it opens up over the holidays. It was good to get back into the mountain lifestyle- great for my head and body!
I have included a slideshow showing some of the pictures from my brutal hike. I have also put on some pictures of one of my road bike training rides in Denver. I call the ride the “Coffee Shop Ride” because it links up my two very favorite coffee shops in Denver-the Common Grounds in the Highlands neighborhood and The Market on Larimer Street in Downtown Denver. The route starts at my residence in Capitol Hill and works its way to the confluence down the Cherry Creek bike path. After that I take the Lakewood Gulch trail over to west Denver and I take a lap around Sloan’s lake. Than I head for the Highlands and down 34th to Paris on the Platte. Than back up the Cherry Creek Bike Path to Larimer Street and up 17th street through downtown where I cross over to 16th st. and ride back to my neighborhood. This is one of my workouts that I have developed and its great to stop for coffee and a breakfast burrito at one or both of my favorite coffee shops. I plan to ride year round this year and get myself back in Triathlon shape by next summer. Physical activity is truly the key to my well being!
