• bicycling,  Poudre River,  quotes

    I want to love this world…

    I have a love for nature and all the gifts she offers. I have a love for my prayer and meditation and the gifts they offer. I have a love for all the relationships I have and the gifts they offer. I have a love for photography and all the gifts it offers. I have a love for bicycling and all the gifts it offers. I have a love for life and the gift it offers in these later years of my life. Each day is precious! I like how Mary Oliver says it: “I want to love this world as though it’s the last chance I’m ever going to get to be alive and know it.”

    Canada Geese enjoying sunshine on the Poudre River yesterday afternoon.

    We are enjoying temperatures above 60°. So, Thursday I rode 13 miles along the Spring Creek Trail and Friday I rode 24 miles along Spring Creek Trail and the Poudre Trail. This is a scene along the Poudre Trail.

    One option I did not want on my ebike was suspension. It adds weight to the bike, adds more potential maintenance problems, makes pedaling more difficult and is really designed for mountain bikes. I’ve been happy with that decision except on two occasions, both were on 20-plus mile rides. My tushy was a bit sore at the end of rides. Near the end of the ride I felt every bump on the trail and this makes the ride home seem longer. I need to split those 20+ mile rides into sections to give my body a break or just keep the rides to 15 miles or less. Probably go with the latter option. Both Saturday and Sunday look to be good days for riding so I’ll probably get in more riding. I am headed to Windsor and have coffee with my friend Eric. Enjoy your weekend!!

  • landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  reflections,  sunrises

    Quiet Sunrise

    Sunrise at Arapaho Bend Natural Area – 2021

    It is a wonderful day in our life
    when one is finally able to stand
    before the long, deep mirror of one’s own reflection
    and view oneself
    with appreciation, acceptance and forgiveness.

    On that day
    one breaks through the falsity of images and expectations
    which have blinded one’s spirit.

    One can only learn to see who one is
    when one learns to view oneself
    with the most intimate and forgiving
    compassion.

    John O’Donohue
  • bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  reflections

    Love and Respect

    How beautiful our mother, the earth
    And how worthy of our love and respect.

    Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel

    I took a pleasant bicycle ride yesterday along Spring Creek Trail and the Poudre Trail. It was 31 degrees when I got up but we reached a lovely 70 degrees by mid-afternoon. Blue skies and a spattering of clouds brought a smile. I was not the only one out riding and walking. Just to my left was a women with a painting easel, sitting on a stool and an umbrella to keep the sun off while painting this very scene at the Cattail Chorus Natural Area. I agree with Charleston’s poem, we do have a beautiful Mother Earth and my prayer is we all learn to love and respect her. ❤️

  • quotes,  shadows,  sunsets

    The Day’s Starburst

    “What gift might I bring to this day?”

    Brother David Steindl-Rast

    This was taken earlier in the week. It is a very different scene today as we are overcast where gray clouds block the sun and it’s cold. When I left this morning for coffee around 8:45 it was 43 degrees. on my ride home an hour and a half later it had warmed to 46 degrees. The question in this quote would be a good way to start each/any/all day. The gift may be a poem, painting, photograph, giving someone a hug or compliment, just being present and awake, or the gift of who we truly are, not a shadow self or the persona self but the true essence of who we are. It could even be a good question to ask before going to bed. Stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

  • Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Stillness and Quiet

    Time and again, we miss out on the great treasures in our lives because we are so restless. In our minds we are always elsewhere. We are seldom in a place where we stand and in the time that is now.

    John O’Donohue

    We can discover in the latter years of our life that moments of stillness and quiet can be great friends. If we embrace these friends we can experience less restlessness and spend less time caught up in our heads, a sometimes formidable neighborhood. The less time in our heads the less likely we are to miss out on some part of the journey through life. When I can stand in the now, I can receive the great treasure of a starburst.

  • bicycle rides,  quotes

    Bring it on…

    CSU Oval

    “I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.”

    Terry Pratchett

    Snow fell in the high country over the weekend which probably elevated the heart rate on a few snow skiers. As predicated this morning was the coldest morning this season. So, I bundled up and enjoyed my bicycle ride to coffee and conversation. I am grateful that this last two hundred yards of my ride are through this CSU Oval which leads me directly to Mugs at CSU. We are expecting beautiful weather the rest of this week!