Fort Collins

I just finished a wonderful visit to Fort Collins, Colorado.  I am on Spring Break, so I took the opportunity to get some training in and make some last purchases for the trip.

Fort Collins is a beautiful town, I could really picture living here at some point.  There are many nice aspects of city, but my favorite this time around was how bike friendly the streets were.  Most streets had bike lanes on the side of the road, and even when the shoulder was narrow, all the drivers I encountered gave me plenty of room.  I saw more bicyclists on the roads than I have since I visited Germany, it was pretty awesome.  I esspecially liked the bike trials that the City has built.  It was so nice to ride without worrying about traffic, and just enjoying the scenery.

At one point, I saw a fox in the middle of the path.  I rode right up to it, and it didn't run away until I was right next to it.  It then came right back to the path and I was able to get a picture.

The training was only a secondary reason for coming to Fort Collins.  The main reason was buy some more gear for the trip.  When I arrived on Friday, I dropped my bike off at Spring Creek Recumbents for a tune-up.  In the process I bought a bunch of extras to make the trip better and some that are just fun.

The best purchase, was a pair of Shimano SH-MT60 bike shoes, I think they're going to make the trip much better.  When I was out riding I noticed that they really helped me get up hills quicker.  I also was able to relax my feet a little bit, I can imagine that not having to hold my feet up on the pedals after an 10 hour ride, will make a big difference.  I was was also able to get a few spare spokes, a really bright red flashing light, some reflective stickers, a spinning flag, and a really cool air horn.

After Spring Creek Recumbent, I headed over to REI to buy some camping gear.  I had my eye on a new sleeping bag, but when I got there, they didn't have any of the bags I was hoping for.  Then I tried to get some help looking at new sleeping pads and I got brushed off...very frustrating.  Anyway, I had been hoping to have most of my camping gear accounted for this weekend, but I still have some purchases to make on the Internet after I get home.  It'll be really nice to get everything together to see how it fits on my bike.

Well now it's back to the daily grind.  9 more weeks of school, and 10 more weeks of training and then I'm off!!