• bicycle rides,  bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  sunrises

    The Gift of the Moments

    September 15, 2026

    This morning has had the feel, look and smell like fall. My bicycle ride was refreshing and brisk to the coffee shop. Nature offered her lovely sky canvas painted with delicate clouds and subtle colors. I stopped a couple of times to take photos and appreciate the gift of the moments. I listened to birds singing. Had two whitetail does ignore me as they grazed along the trail. With experiences like this each morning I enjoy my rides even more. My barista this morning was Madi, my drink was an Old Town mocha and I had good conversations with the regulars! Yes, I am appreciating the gift of the moments!

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  • bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Be Yourself

    September 11, 2026

    “One of the most sacred duties of one’s destiny is the duty to be yourself. When you come to accept yourself and like yourself, you learn not to be afraid of your own nature.”

    John O’Donohue, Anam Cara

    The eastern sky was a lovely shade of pink this morning during my quiet time. A beautiful gift from Mother Nature. It was about 51 degrees when I mounted the red steed for my ride to the coffee shop. The brisk ride always makes the mocha latte seem better. I stopped to take this image as the sun broke through the trees along Spring Creek Trail. If you notice the trail splits. I usually take the left turn which goes to the underpass on Prospect Rd. and onto campus. And of course I love clouds. You may see more images from this area. It has been cool and cloudy most of the day and I am quite happy with that. The ride to the coffee shop is 3.2 miles. When I take this route I have only two blocks of traffic to deal with. The rest of it is trail and campus paths with only pedestrians and cyclists. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  blogging,  landscape,  sunrises

    the fear of failure…

    September 7, 2026

    There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

    Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
    Sunrise reflection on my bicycle ride to the coffee shop

    Back in 2008 I made a big step across the threshold of fear to push the publish button on my first blog post and then the next… There was the commentary about who would like what I write and who would consider it crap? I also felt the same way about posting that first image. Who would like it and who wouldn’t? Even after 4,355 postings I sometimes still ask those same commentaries. But I have enough confidence in who I am and my creativity with writing and photography that I am okay with any negative reactions. I say that because I no longer see my blog posts as failures or successes but much more as lessons and how I need to express myself. It is much cooler this morning but will still reach the mid 80s today. I will take this cooler weather.

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  nature,  quotes

    Ability to Love

    August 27, 2026

    What makes us human
    is not our mind, but our heart,
    not our ability to think
    but ability to love.

    Henri Nouwen

    There was a wonderful feeling of fall this morning on my ride to the coffee shop. A light fog settled over the grass at Rolland Moore park and this tree was showing signs of the color changes. But the most telling was the coolness in the air. It felt and smelled like fall. It will not be long and I will be wearing heavier clothing on my ride. I hope you’re having a good day!

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  flowers,  Plants

    Blanketed Blanket Flowers

    July 27, 2026

    I enjoyed a few raindrops on my ride to the coffee shop this morning. It was not even close to being called rain. As I ride onto campus off Center Ave I always see these blanket flowers but I’ve never stopped. But this morning I changed that. Their beauty was blanketed with drops of water from the sprinklers that probably ran during the night or early morning. So I quickly turned around and went back to accept this photo. It is hot today with a minimal chance of rain this afternoon or evening. I hope you are staying cool!!

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  Spring Creek Trail

    Today Was the Day

    July 23, 2026
    Dogwood leaves along Spring Creek

    No one will protect what they don’t care about;
    and no one will care about what they have never experienced.

    David Attenborough

    When I rode to the coffee shop this morning it was 67 degrees and 91% humidity with a 30% chance of rain. There was a short moment of confusion as I felt like I woke up in Ohio or maybe North Carolina or Florida. Sure was not a normal Colorado morning. On my way home I took this image at one of the bridges that crosses over Spring Creek. I’ve wanted to stop here before and get a few images of the dogwood plants and those lovely leaves in this area, but never have. Well, today was the day. In these later years of my life I now enjoy making time to stop and experience, and not just take a photo, of what I normally just glance at. Everything is green along the creek which has plenty of shade and the constant flowing small creek. It is a much different scene than our open prairies where the sun has been bearing down on them for 3 weeks now. We need rain. I hope you are enjoying the day!!

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  • Anime,  Avian,  bicycle rides,  bicycling,  JetPack,  landscape,  Photography,  pond

    … a feeling of mystery

    July 21, 2026
    Edited with Lightroom and enhanced with Jetpack Image Editor

    There is a section along Spring Creek where water backs up creating this calm pond-like area. For me it offers a feeling of mystery when looking into the depth of this area. It is a complete ecosystem teaming with life we cannot see. I ride slowly through this area because of the feeling it offers me and stopped several times for photos. But this morning I stopped and took a few images with the intention of playing with them when I got home using AI. I worked on them in Lightroom then settled on enhancement with the Anime style in WordPress. I added the white egret because last week I saw one feeding in Spring Creek not too far from this scene. I did not stop for a photo because I didn’t want to disturb them. So, I asked Jetpack to add the white egret. I added a frog to the seen but before I knew it the egret had eaten them. So far most of the results I like and post here are using the anime and fantasy styles which create a completely different image from the original and dramatically transforms them. I’m still not sure how I feel about all this stuff but I am getting a kick out of it and finding some creative juices. It’s much cooler today but still warm.

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  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    The Wonders of Life

    July 16, 2026
    Cumulus clouds at sunrise this morning

    Stopping is an essential part of the spiritual life. If we cannot stop, we cannot see our True Nature. When we stop, we begin to see clearly, and we can appreciate the wonders of life. We can see that there is no separation between ourselves and the world, and we can marvel at the oneness of all things. To be fully present in the moment, we need to stop letting our mind race ahead to the future or dwell in the past. We need to let go of our distractions, our worries, and our busyness.

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    One thing about bicycling is the tendency to be more present to the now and not as much time in my head. So this cloud scene required me to stop this morning and take in the beauty and wonder of nature. And, I wasn’t late to the coffee shop.

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