Monday, June 30, 2008

Chillin' in Boulder

After shoehorning all my worldly possesions into my Honda Civic equipped with a Yakima rack and cargo box (the box was arranged by the great guys at Bike Authority) I set out to drive across the country. First things first: a 1.8L 4-cylinder engine does not appreciate having something with the aerodynamics of a toaster on top while being loaded with the contents (no furniture, thankfully), of a two bedroom apartment. Seventy-five miles per hour was out of the question. Even 65 was a challenge in a few places. So this was to be a slower than normal trip across the country. OK, that's fine. I made good time on Saturday, making it from Cleveland to Lincoln, NE, before stopping for the night. Sunday had me in Boulder, CO, by dinner time.

I opted to hang out in Boulder for a day, and visit with some family friends who live near the green space backing up to the Flatirons. Took the old road bike out for a spin this morning, and definitely noticed the altitude. The flats weren't too bad, but climbing was even harder than usual. Still lots of fun, though, since I had a great view of the mountains, and the sky was crystal clear. For lunch I went down to the Pearl Street Mall with Ed, my friend driving out with me. We had lunch and wandered for a bit. After dinner we drove up to Nederland, always a scenic drive. Tomorrow the plan is to head down to I-70 and stop at Zion National Park for the evening, then Vegas the next day, and into LA the day after that. Only three more days until LA!!

1 comment:

JimmyNick said...

Sorry I missed your farewell. And I'm also sorry I hadn't congratulated you on the Solstice - I hadn't heard about it until just now, when I dropped by your blog for the first time in awhile.
I'm glad you're finding coolness on several levels. Enjoy California and your new bike!
Still anticipating the rest of the story of your trip west ...

- JN