We are into our second week in Colorado Springs. We try to start each day with a bike ride that is truly memorable. The scenery is gorgeous but the hills and altitude offer lots of challenge, hence the memorable!
The Tour interior has to be cleaned occasionally, so Sunday was that occasion. It took about an hour to clean our coach. That is one of the pluses of going from living in 3400 square feet with lots of things to dust to 350 square feet with very little to dust. Surprisingly the things in the coach that I thought were unnecessary (washer, dryer, dishwasher and fireplace) have turned out to be much appreciated and useful. Living in the Tour is a pleasure!
Everyday turns out to be an adventure! We never know who our neighbors will be, but they all turn out to be very social and there are great happy hours all most every night. It is truly educational to hear other people's opinions about the state of our nation. I must admit that I learn so much from these chats and feel that they are well balanced. Most of all, I am impressed with the patriotism of the Americans I am meeting.
Permit this proud mother to take a few moments to let you know that Michael Radcliff won the CAT 3 Arizona State Road Race Championship on Sunday. His hard work and dedication to his sport culminated in this very special victory. Roger and I are thrilled for him. Yeah Michael!!
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| Michael at at the finish of the race in 110 degree heat!!! |
Monday was the start of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge held here in Colorado, that luckily for us began in Colorado Springs. This professional cycling race lasts seven days with many mountain pass climbs. The prologue (start) of this race began in Garden of the Gods and ended downtown for a total of 5.2 miles. The 130 cyclists are sent out alone in one to two minute intervals. The winner of this time trial wears the yellow jersey for the next leg of the race. Roger and I stood a few feet from the finnish line and were so excited to watch this caliber of racing. Below are some pics that capture the moment.
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| Working on the finish line before the start of the race. We stood several yards behind the finish line. |
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| A shot of the street that the cyclists came down before crossing the finish line. You can see Pikes Peak in the distance. |
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| Cyclists do not get better than this. They wear special kit, helmets and use a different bike from their normal race days for the time trials. |
On Tuesday morning, Roger spoke to an econ class about investing. He enjoyed seeing the Academy again from the inside, but this time he was standing on the other side of the lectern.
After our longest bike ride yet on Wednesday morning (40 miles of hills and altitude), we headed out for a drive into the higher mountains of Woodland Park. We enjoyed watching the temperature plummet 20 degrees. On the way back into town, we stopped at a German deli that has been in the area for over 50 years. We saw so many things that reminded us of our years in Germany and Austria. Not only the food, but German newspapers and magazines were available for purchase. Later in the evening we enjoyed eating bison at Ted's Place in Colorado Springs. This restaurant was new to us, but apparently there are more in other parts of the country.
The rest of the week found us hiking, biking, running errands, and watching the televised pro cycling race in the afternoon. On Saturday we headed up to Denver to see our friends from Ft. Collins, John and Ann.
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| Roger and Bear hiking on Falcon Trail |
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| Bear takes a break on the hike. |
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| Roger and Bear hiking on Chapel Overlook Trail. The pointed pinnacles of the Chapel mark this easily recognized landmark of the Academy. Thank you for reading the blog. We appreciate your interest in our adventures. Next week will find us in week three at the Academy. In addition to more bike rides and hiking, we are looking forward to having my brother with us for the week and a visit from Stockton, Missouri friends. Saturday marks the first Academy football game and they play South Dakota. Thanks to our friends John and Ann, we will be in the stands. |
Beautiful, beautiful places. It makes me so jealous to see you wearing light jackets while I try to figure out if I have any piece of clothing left that I can peel off in these 100+ degree temps. Loved the pic a week or so ago of Bear with his head on the steering wheel. It looked like he was dreaming of where to go next.
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