Bacon and Bikin

Ok, maybe my theme of global warming and biking is getting a bit bland. but heh, good adventures and good info, right?
this weeks adventure was the Colorado Trail - from Molas to Durango. My boyfriend, Jason, had wanted to do the trip with his guy friends from Austin, Texas, but I could not be left out of this adventure and invited myself along. I touted myself as being able to plan the shuttle, driver and food, so that seemed to quell the girl issue and make me a wanted asset.

The boyz came up to CB on late late late saturday night, and we proceeded right onto 403-401-upper loop the next day for a bit of altitude training and wildflower sightseeing. Next day, we hammered out Reno-Flag-Bear-Deadmans-Doctors Park from town. The next day consisted of furious packing, driving, and food shopping, and voila, we were transported to Little Molas Lake for an evening of camping before the ride. The first day is only 22 miles, but probably the hardest mileage one may ever do - so high, and lots of climbing, and fabulously ridable. The flowers were in their high season splendor, and the views, well, so hard to describe. Ride time was about 3 hrs or so, but we spent about 5 hrs on the trail. Next day was Bolam Lake to Kennebec Pass - about 33 miles, including the famous Indian Trail Ridge hike-a-bike section along the tops of the ridge. We were chased by a storm, of course, so not much food was eaten as we rode for about 5 hrs and were on the trail for just a bit more than that. Rain hit at the lake, but we had descended that crazy rocky ridge, which Brett Vohn actually rode. yeh ha.
Kennebec brought us some rain, but also a spectacular sunset with some pad thai and brownies. Kennebec to Durango is a rippin fun ride, with 25 miles of single track and finally some good downhill rewards. lots of crashes and mechanicals, but we arrived safely at the Junction Creek Campground for a night of celebration and way strong margaritas.

Back here at work, jammin out to make up for lost time, while planning my fall work trips in Austria and The Czech Republic, with hopefully a quick bike tour to spain. The Global Warming/Pakistan adventure is shaping up well for next June, as Patagonia has signed on board as a sponsor.

Our ORE board meeting went well - as global warming is shaping up as a hot topic. Crested Butte Mountain Resort is making some huge turnarounds with resource efficiency and wind recs, and we have raised money to send Tim Mueller, the president to the Global Warming conference in Aspen this fall. My other board meeting with the Equilibrium Fund was most exciting - my first meeting as a new board member. The EF works with indigenous women in Latin America for food and economic stability and leadership training, while the awesome byproduct is saving rainforest.