Monday, November 2, 2009

Garden of the Gods

This entry is a few days removed from my experience at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but my time there was so significant I want to take the time to write about it.

I have never heard a name so befitting a place in my entire life. This park is one of the most awe-inspiring places I have ever been in my entire life. At the time I was there I would have been hard pressed to put any place above it in that hierarchy, but seeing Crested Butte on a bluebird day is enough to at least give me pause. Regardless, the Garden of the Gods is incredible. It's a HUGE park that is as pure and raw as you could want, with a latticework of roads and hiking paths cutting up it's landscape into a hundred factions. There are a dozen or so absolutely remarkable boulder formations that are indescribable (although I've tried via the photos at left). Pike's Peak adorns the horizon to the west, and is a towering giant of a summit. The scale of everything is astounding. To add to my enjoyment of this great place, I am on two wheels. This ride, although brief and solo, is my favorite bike ride to date. I hope none of my riding buddies take offense to this statement - I don't mean to depreciate any other ride I've ever been on. But I rode the very same roads in the Garden of the Gods that my dad pedaled on years ago. On the same bike he rode that day. The duality is humbling, but I am filled with a sense of genuine satisfaction at this thought. I feel as though I was where I was supposed to be during that ride. Fulfilling a bit of my destiny. I can't wait for my next ride with my Dad.


Dad, if you're reading this, bring your bike to Japan and I'll come ride with you there. I promise.


On the ride back to the Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, I stopped at the Colorado Springs Bike Shop. Sort of an iconic place - it's comparable to going to an authentic surf shop in California, or a pizza joint in Chicago. Cycling is not met with a vigor and enthusiasm anywhere in the United States more so than in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It's a very, very cool place. I took a photo of a really awesome old school bike that was in the lobby. Enjoy. On to Crested Butte!


UPDATE: Blogger isn't agreeing with my desire to add pictures to this post, so I'm going to post them separately. Stay tuned.


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