Friskiness and going BIG

Much rejoicing was had once we decided to go BIG.

I was feeling frisky come Saturday morning, something I haven't been feeling a whole lot this summer but when it happens I go with it. We headed out for a mountain ride with Jim and Randy, the need to enjoy the mountains before summer and fall fade away is tangible. I've already noticed some of the aspens and cottonwoods turning yellow, this seems early to me and I wonder if it's an omen for an early winter, one can only wonder.
So in my frisky state I suggested we turn our longish ride into a super longish ride by adding in a lot more climbing for a lot more kick ass descending, ultimately totaling between 25 and 30 miles in about 5 hours or so. Everyone kinda looked at me sheepishly but in the end we all agreed and set out out on our mega ride (mega ride being relative of course). And strangely as the day and pedal strokes wore on the stronger I felt, it was great and unexpected, this doesn't happen that often so go with it and I did pedaling past the boys with a "coming thru"! What was it that made me feel so physically and mentally good, a rush of good hormones, good nutrition, the addition of running to my schedule as "cross training", the alignment of stars in the sky, who knows I just relished it and enjoyed it and didn't think about it too much. As everyone else faded I remained strong and the end of the trail felt like it came a bit too soon. This also meant that I got to drive home as Craig got to nurse his exhaustion with a Negra. And the best thing of all is we didn't see another person the whole ride, yes, that is possible still in the mountains along the front range.
I even entertained another ride on Sunday, taking away my one rest day (the endorphins were thinking here). However our old dog Josy had an epic night of getting up and down and keeping us awake off and on all night, it was brutal and I don't do well with disrupted sleep. So when Sunday dawned my endorphins had disappeared and in it's place my more typical, reasonable mind suggested I hang out and get some things done around the house and enjoy a day of rest and so that's what I did. I enjoyed my mind soothing at home chores, that are truly soothing to me. I did some gardening, smiled at the success of my ripe tomatoes which I enjoyed on my homemade pizza that night. I watched the Peregrine Falcon thru binoculars that we have nesting near the house sore through the sky while screeching out it's presence, I enjoyed laying on the couch feeling the cool late summer breeze wash over my arms and legs as the humming birds frantically filled up at the feeders wondering when they will finally head south for another year. And it was all good.

Trail Monkey was rescued and brought along for some good mojo.

Craig feeling some friskiness and perhaps a little captain too...

Happiness is...

looking in your bowl and seeing that you have one slice of pear left...it truly is the little things these days people.

Things Organized Neatly

This is a neat site..for the OCD in all of us and I really enjoy everyday objects that are transformed into something bigger, the whole is larger than the individual element, transformation of the everyday object into something of color, pattern and design, very cool. BTW..I'm not sure if these are erasers or chalk, I'm leaning towards chalk but I do miss using erasers...but then again not using an eraser means I'm not in math class any more making a billion mistakes..but I did love the way they smelled and felt..chalk is good too, just didn't go up to the board a whole lot.

Happy Altitude Everybody!

Lovely Basecamp.

Headed up to Leadville on Saturday with some gurl friends for a hike of Mt. Massive on Sunday, 2nd highest peak in Colorado. I was excited to do something different, get off the bike and just walk and scramble about up high, a much needed change of pace.

Kristin hiking in morning clouds.

We headed out very early Sunday morning, still dark out, still half asleep with no Sherpa in sight with warm tea.

Soon we were above the clouds and in the warm sun.

Heading up to the saddle, Mt. Massive is off to the right, out of view. I began to slow down a bit at around 12,500' or so, began to feel dopey and slow in the head and uncoordinated in the body from lack of oxygen but after a small break I seemed to acclimate and felt strongish and fairly normal.

Fantastic weather.

Myself, Kristin, Suzanne and Emma at the summit of Mt. Massive.

The last scramble to the top was the most technical but still class 4, otherwise the climb was just steep with limited use of switchbacks.

Me at the summit!
I felt so blessed to be able to carry myself to this place.

Emma and myself.

Looking out from the summit, what a perspective, wide open, where are my wings?

A harsh and rugged beautiful world at 14,421'

The altitude killed my appetite but I still managed to eat a very yummy sandwich.

The only critter we saw that day below the summit, Mr or Mrs. Marmot.

Hike complete, 14 miles, 7.5 hours, lots of fun, lots of laughing and a few muscles I haven't used in a while feeling sore. I think I may do this more often.

Nothing much to see here...

Wild Kingdom by Jenny Mendes

"Being a loner is not about hate, but need: We need what others dread. We dread what others need." Anneli Rufus, Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto

"Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god." –Aristotle, Politics

"But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths." –Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet, letter #4

at least for now........

The CB love thing.

Ghost clouds on the way to Crested Butte.

It rained the whole way until we actually got outside Crested Butte and then it stopped and the sun came out, we took that as good magik. The monsoons turned on right before we left and their still going strong.

Ghost rainbow.
So much space, enough room to breath and enough room to contain my monkey energy.

This past weekend was the Crested Butte Arts Festival that I've participated in as an artist for the last 3 years. I really like this show, it's run very well, the quality of the art is very good and getting better every year and the town vibe is awesome. CB has a lot of love in it.
We set up on Friday afternoon so that leaves time for a Friday morning ride. We did our usual thing and headed up to the 401, conditions were perfect, eventually. We had woken to clouds and things looked grim but as we headed north out of town the clouds began to burn off, the sun zapped them!

Bye, bye clouds!

We were super excited to see the sun too, the mountains were hyper green and we knew the trails would be tacky goodness.

The top of the 401..aghhhhh...hello again.

It was SO good to be here. I've been really burned out on the front range and Boulder lately. Needing a change of (s)pace, scenery, time to slow down and get away from the over crowded city that Boulder has become. Living up in the mountains helps but coming in to Boulder every day leaves me frazzled. Being up high in the mountains was sweet relief.

The beauty of summer in Colorado's high country, it's overwhelming.

Very, very happy. And for once it didn't rain on us while riding.

Breath!

The show went well and I enjoyed hanging out on Elk Ave. for a couple days. After we tore down it was time to get our Stash on at my favorite pizza place anywhere in this universe, The Secret Stash. It's always an adventure, I love it!

Waiting for our pies and it's a long wait! The Stash is like hanging out in a friend's house, a bohemian friend. Everyone is very open and kind.

Ganesh makes good pies! A little love with your pie?

CB side street.

Hmmm..interesting, maybe I should hang this saying in my booth.

Dreamy bikes.

Where the prayers don't beg.

Next morning before heading home we did another tradition which is to ride Doctor's Park. Which includes one of the best DH's in that area. Love it, love it, love it. This time we did it with some friends from California, Kat and Jeff (both artist's at the show) and their friends Eddie and Larry. It was a blast, good people, good riding.

That was a good climb, time to take a little break.

Not many pictures of us riding, filled up my memory card, oops. But we all really enjoyed our time out riding some of Colorado's best trails. Kat, Jeff, Eddie and Larry rocked it coming from sea level, I'm so happy we finally got to ride together.
I didn't want to come home yet, the transition back in has been choppy, I have a bug to down size, slip away for awhile and disconnect from things. This is a reoccurring theme for me, has been for many years. I'm destined to live small in big spaces, it's just who I am, it's how my soul works.