Intergenerational

Today I went to a workshop provided by the World Affairs Council in C.Springs titled U.S. Economic Competitiveness. I was, by far, the youngest person there. This is, more often than not, the situation and I am thankful for that. I enjoy learning, processing, and discussing with individuals who have life experiences and knowledge that I do not, yet, possess. It makes me smile and warms my heart to see the big bushy eyebrows on old men, the ladies in their late 40s and early 50s who are watching their own children grow, and the questions I receive concerning the number of years I've taught. People always assume I am a brand new teacher by looking at me, usually guessing I am maybe 3 years in to it, if that. However many years I have under my belt I will always value those who have more experience (or less) experience than I do. I realize I won't always be the youngest, but for now I will roll around in it like a hog in the mud and love every moment, while I soak up everything they have to offer.

Getting Old

The past few months have made me fearful of getting old. We moved Jeff's mom out here so she could be closer to us and we could respond to her needs. I've spent some time, not as much as Jeff, in the two facilities that she has occupied and it's not extremely pretty. Our civilization is at a point that the younger generation isn't willing or prepared to house and care for the older generation, but these "facilities" aren't designed to care for someone in a completely dignified manner. Sure they meet basic needs and maybe a little bit more, but we essentially rip an individual form her life or the community that she knows and place her in what is easiest for everyone else.

Having decided that children aren't in our future makes it even scarier. I've been told by a very wise man that one should not have children to take care of them when they get old, but if not them, then who? Jeff is 10 years older than I am and he is a man. I have two things going against me... age and gender.

I was of the mind that the U.S. should seriously consider cutting the greatest expenditure of the Federal Budget (Social Security), but now I see the impact that has on Jeff's mom. These entitlement programs are what take the place of the care the younger generation once provided. I guess it shows what our civilization cares about, or better yet... what we don't care about. The elderly.

Hello... Hello...

is there anybody out there?

Here I go again. I haven't posted in quite some time and I start to feel the space is wasting away. There are so many outlets that it is a bit overwhelming. The thing that keeps me holding on is the length of time this has existed. I feel like I'm recording history. I guess that would be true if I actually posted something once in a while. Maybe I will think about a post a day for the new year? Hmmmmm???


In other news this weekend marks the 24th Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival of which I am a new board member. I am excited to partake in the whole weekend for the first time. It is quite a long haul, but I might make it.

Busy July!!!!

My oh my our July has been busy!

We started off the month by spending the weekend of the 4th in Salida/BV with Glenn and Rachel. They are always so welcoming and flexible, which is so nice. We were treated to two new rides; Vitamin D and Cottonwood Creek. Vitamin D is now one of my top 5 favorite trails. We also rode Green's Creek off of the Crest, which is always a treat. (Sorry for the lack of pictures ... we were always on the go and didn't have time)



My next stop was Breckenridge for a conference on the Environment and Economics. VERY stimulating. Although I was in class all day I had a chance to ride two of the afternoons and managed to beat the afternoon showers. I ended up on the Peaks trail that runs from Breck to Frisco on one afternoon and Lars took me out on the second (I have no idea where we went, but it was fun). I have a new found appreciation for Breck after that conference and was able to see some of the issues I learned about on my ride with Lars.

Next, Jeff picked me up in Breck and we headed to Winter Park for a long weekend. We had such a great time camping, riding, and soaking in the hot springs. The first day we ventured to Sol Vista for a day of lift access. A couple of Jeff's friends from back in the day when he used to race run the place and have built some amazing trails. We ended up with 20 runs and I felt pretty worked. The runs are pretty short, but include really well built table tops, gap jumps, and sweet corners. Tons of flow. DH offers a pretty quick measurement for improving. It's great to do the same trail a couple of times in row as I will ride more, go faster, or jump higher.

The next day we rode out to Fraiser for come XC. Our goal was to hook up trails that would take us back to Winterpark. We ended up with a long day in the saddle and a lot of road riding. Our map was a couple years old, but we thought it would work. We ended up kind of frustrated. Winterpark calls it self "The Mountain Bike Capital of the USA," but I think Crested Butte or Durango deserve that classification. Nonetheless I was tired and deserved a soak in the hot springs.

We concluded our trip with another day of lift access at Winterpark, which was AMAZING. The runs are longer than Sol Vista and we rode half as many, but it was awesome. Winterpark seems to be designed for the intermediate/semi-advanced rider who will interested and willing to take risks, but wants to feel some success. There was always a little more challenge to be had, but I felt pretty good about what I rode. Toward the end of the day a thunderstorm rolled in and the lifts closed a few times. We ended up on one of the last chairs up and it started to pour. We took a pretty challenging tail down consisting of quite a few rocks and roots which were slippery, but I managed to stay on... until I got to a relatively small wall ride. I remembered thinking that the faster I went the more likely I would stay on the bike and not slip off. So, I let go of my breaks. I ended up higher than I had been all day long and at the very end my tires slipped out and slid down the trail. I wasn't that hurt, but a little shook up. Laughing mostly because I realized one of my fears concerning wall rides.

Santa Fe - Land of Al Fresco Dining

Oh glorious Santa Fe. Every time we go I love it. We probably have a very different experience than most travelers, but it is worth consideration. Usually we have two main goals; 1. see our dear friend Franky and 2. Ride.


This time we experienced the new and the old. The first day we rode Chimisa to Sidewinder, which was a pretty big climb, but kick ass technical decent and something we haven't done before. I was happy to have my geared bike.

Day two, Franky had to work so we were off to Pajarito with TJ. This was quite the treat and reignited Jeff's desire for a DH rig. However, our current bikes seemed to work just fine. The runs were short and technical. There weren't many places where the rider could let go of the breaks for fear of an approaching stunt or crashing into the trees. I crashed on a fairly flat section of single track on my second run.... nothing too bad except digging my head and face into the ground, sticking my leg through my frame, and bruising the palm of my hand pretty bad. I was happy to have my full face and it didn't hold me back from hanging with the crew the rest of the day. I was pretty happy with my riding and with each run I went faster and tried something new.

The next day we were treated to a relaxing morning including eating breakfast at a neighborhood cafe and reading. However, the afternoon included a really kick ass ride, Ravens Ridge and Rio En Medio. In fact we didn't even have to ride it as a loop this time. We shuttled it. Gosh, it is my favorite trail! It is like William's on massive drugs.




Santa Fe does have many non-biking features that we enjoy. Franky is a great friend and he lives in Santa Fe. I also enjoy the al fresco dining that Santa Fe has to offer. In fact I will now call Santa Fe "The Land of al Fresco Dining." I never realized that patio dining was normally prevalent in temperate climates or places that simply had the space. I really enjoy C.Springs for that reason, but MAN Santa Fe offers way more. It seems as though almost every place we went had a patio of some kind.


** I wrote this about a month ago and never posted it. I am so sad to share that two of the rides mentioned above have been devastated by forest fires. From what I hear most of the riding in Santa Fe is closed due to the risk of more fires.

Loved an Animal

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened" Anatole France

My Message to Mary

Mary was a lot of things to a lot of people so I thought I would start with some memories of Mary that illustrate her character:

Mary was a tough woman --

- My first memory of Mary was long before I knew who she was. I lived downtown and attended UCCS so my commute rout was along Nevada Avenue. Most days I would see this tiny girl riding a humongous red and yellow downhill bike south on Nevada. It didn’t matter if the sun was out, there was rain, or ice on the roads; she was pedaling away. Come to find out she was headed to school or work and would later return along the same rout.

- Jeff Mary’s high school mountain bike coach recalls the following: “One day the plan for the team was to train on the Santa Fe trail, and by train I mean ride as fast as we could down to Criterium and back. As we headed to the start point we happened upon a long set of steep stairs that the racers wanted to ride down. Now, Mary was quiet, but didn’t hesitate. As she neared the bottom her handlebar caught the railing throwing her on the ground. There was a pause and complete silence hushed over the group. As she helped herself up we asked her if she was alright and she said “yea, I’m fine. Let’s go.” The team continued our training session by riding north on the Santa Fe Trail. Mary hauled north turned around quickly and beat the boys back. The next day Mary showed up to school with a cast on her wrist, which she broke.”

These are more recent memories:

- From Kennon (team mate and friend): “About a month ago I asked Mary if she wanted to enter the Triple DHip (DH bike race at Sol Vista). Her response...’Should we enter? Does the pope wear a pointy hat? Hell yeah we should do it!!!!’ This is just one small phase, but for me it says so much about Mary's feisty spirit. I loved her desire for adventure and how she was always up for the challenge. She truly was a bad ass.”

-From Melissa (Team mate and friend): “Last September Mary was faced with juggling her commitment to race in the 24hours of COS and her work schedule. She wanted to put in her laps before she left for work so she rode the first two laps, kicked ass...as usual, went home, showered, and worked a busy shift. She returned at midnight and was ready to ride again. Steffie stepped in and told her to get some rest because Mary had been non-stop for hours. To no avail Mary was 100% willing to do that night lap. She didn't let that get in her way of performing and being part of the team. She really impressed me that race.”

- Betty’s memory: “When Mary moved back to Colorado Springs from Summit County, she told Damon and I how she reeeaaallly liked Eli. Eli had no clue (like most guys when a sweet shy girl is fond of him.) Damon and I decided to host a little double date dinner. We invited Mary and Eli over and had such an amazing evening with them playing cards and telling stories. The chemistry between them filled the room. I had never seen Mary that happy.”

- This one is from Betty and Kennon and represents how tough Mary was. One day Kennon, Mary, and Betty were on a Heiser ride when Mary crashed and bloodied her knee. She requested an Advil, but neither of them had anything to give her so Kennon offered an Altoid in a joking manner. She said sure, licked the Altoid and started rubbing it into her bloody knee. She thought it might lesson the pain.”

Under “favorite quotations” on Mary’s Facebook page she chose “Friend: One who knows all about you and likes you just the same.”
Friendships were what made Mary – Mary. The sheer number of people in this room proves that is true. Each of us had a unique connection with Mary that ranged in the degree of intimacy. However, common threads ran through each. We know that Mary always wanted what was best for each of us, was honest and understanding, trusted each of us with her heart, and approached each relationship with acceptance.
She was always interested in going for a ride with friends, having a cup of coffee and conversation, working on trials, grilling in the backyard, hiking the incline, helping with home improvement projects, or cooking extravagant dinners for her friends and family. Whatever it was Mary simply wanted to spend time with those she loved in meaningful ways.

It’s only human to have negative thoughts about people, but Mary refused to pay any mind to those. She always focused on the best attributes of each person she knew and admired them. She recognized her friends’ success in education, her brothers’ achievements in their professional life, and the settled lifestyle that those around her seemed to have. She never spoke ill of people in her life rather she was thankful and honored each person she came into contact with.
We all hope that Mary finds peace and I hope her strong and compassionate spirit lives on in each of us.

I part with “This is A Wish for You” by A.A. Milne the creator of Winnie the Pooh

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.”