You just can't beat a ride up a spiral, candy-striped mountain. There aren't many of them. In part the fun is purely whimsical, like something from a Dr. Zeuss book.
You get a 360 degree view from a spiral road. Salida, CO, has a small mountain of this type that overlooks the town. It was only a short ride, but it reminded me of a grander ride, spiraling up to the top of Steptoe Butte, in the magnificient Palouse of eastern Washington. Having opted to stay south this year, for fuel and other reasons, I won't have a chance to do my annual ride up Steptoe.
I found a few old wrecks to photograph. What a relief! Perhaps I have misjudged Colorado; I was afraid everything would be modern, affluent, and sterile.
The second surprise occurred when a woman in a dress got on her woman's-frame bicycle and pedaled off on some errand. They still make such bikes, with a chain guard, fenders, and a little shopping basket. I never would have expected a unisex gringa to have the stylish, feminine grace to do such a thing. I thought I would have to go to a provincial village in France to see a peasant girl get on her bike, and pedal slowly to her village with her long hair blowing languidly in the wind. She picks some meadow flowers and carefully arranges them in the bike's wicker basket. At the village bakery she buys a couple baguettes, and then bring them home in the panniers...
...well, back to reality: the annual heat problem is licked. It's as hot as it is going to get, and I'm comfortable. Staying cool in the summer has always been harder than staying warm in the winter, for an RV boondocker.
You get a 360 degree view from a spiral road. Salida, CO, has a small mountain of this type that overlooks the town. It was only a short ride, but it reminded me of a grander ride, spiraling up to the top of Steptoe Butte, in the magnificient Palouse of eastern Washington. Having opted to stay south this year, for fuel and other reasons, I won't have a chance to do my annual ride up Steptoe.
I found a few old wrecks to photograph. What a relief! Perhaps I have misjudged Colorado; I was afraid everything would be modern, affluent, and sterile.
The second surprise occurred when a woman in a dress got on her woman's-frame bicycle and pedaled off on some errand. They still make such bikes, with a chain guard, fenders, and a little shopping basket. I never would have expected a unisex gringa to have the stylish, feminine grace to do such a thing. I thought I would have to go to a provincial village in France to see a peasant girl get on her bike, and pedal slowly to her village with her long hair blowing languidly in the wind. She picks some meadow flowers and carefully arranges them in the bike's wicker basket. At the village bakery she buys a couple baguettes, and then bring them home in the panniers...
...well, back to reality: the annual heat problem is licked. It's as hot as it is going to get, and I'm comfortable. Staying cool in the summer has always been harder than staying warm in the winter, for an RV boondocker.
Comments