Had a whole Saturday off from work, made it amazing with a great ride. Started with a bit of pavement, then dirt roads for miles and miles. Traveling through a very off the beaten track part of Colorado, once turning onto dirt I saw maybe 5 cars? No towns, no traffic, just sage hills, snow capped mountains, quaky aspens, patches of dark timber and bright sunshine! The air was clean and clear, the wind calm, the sun friendly and warm. Such an amazing day to be pedaling around, seeing places I haven’t seen in years. Yet somehow remembering intersections like it was just yesterday.

frozen water…oh yeah it is November!

grandfather…sawtooth mountain

Today was the same scheduled ride as last Sunday where I struggled to find rhythm, to see the purpose in mellow, easy pedaling. I hit the wall last week wondering why I was not just riding, crushing myself, carving singletrack. Today it felt like perfection. Not working too hard, not hammering away at the pedals, instead taking in the view, loving the world I was passing through, remembering the adventures that brought me here before.

looking north at the West Elks…

Eventually I made my way through Hartman’s, still taking dirt roads being reasonably chill, watching the sun get real low on the western horizon. The rolling sage hills, the abrupt snowy Elk Mountains caught the fading sunlight with such beauty I had to keep stopping to take pictures, to absorb the moment. Truly can’t describe how wonderful I felt right then and there. So happy to be where I am, so happy to be alive. Finally I hit Collarbone, the only trail for the day. That buttery smooth bit of singletrack love did not let this fantastic day down. I’d be a billionaire if I could bottle and sell that sort of perfection….

simple perfection

think this counts as one reason why we live here….