Day 27: Hiatus ceases as we brave the heat

We rose early to the sounds of Lowell and Fletcher Pepple around 7:00 and were greeted to Scott's tantalizing oatmeal creation--toasted pecans, frozen raspberries (dual function; sweeten + cool) and honey. After some sad goodbyes, we headed across town to Zach's apartment, our de facto crash pad and bike shop; Zach and his wife Audrey had to leave for work by 8:15, so we were sure to arrive a little after 8:00. We said a few more sad goodbyes as they headed off to work and cleaned up our sprawling mess of road debris and greasy footprints.

(Below: Luke pickin up the pieces. Notice the beautiful green wall. I love it.)

By 10:45 we were on the busy-Denver roads making our way north. This was our first time all trip that we would be heading due north. The front range was only 20-30 miles to our west as we traveled to Ft. Collins, and I was a little anxious (somewhat positively and negatively) because of the horror stories of to the wall sprawl that paved a linear path northward from Pueblo, Colorado along the front range. This was the first time that we were riding through such a densely populated region since east of the Mississippi; of course a welcome change for food and water but not without the headache of increased traffic and the chance of being smashed by a hydrocarbon chariot.


I have mentioned to a few of my friends and counterparts about the anticipated ontological shift that was symbolized by Denver. Denver was close to halfway in mileage, the end of midwest and plains, the start of a northwesternward deviation into the Rocky mountains, and finally a break where we could recharge with friends and family. People often ask why we began in the east and headed west, considering that we would be traveling into the wind and uphill. Luke summed it up poignantly, "Starting out west, we would never leave". The west is a new and stimulating force. Every mile we travel west is the furthest west that Luke or Nick have ever traveled, and my few explorations in the west have always been in brevity. Although we have been in the mountain timezone since the beginning of Colorado, post-Denver is the what we truly consider the west.

The riding today was hot, a little stressful (considering all the traffic), but all worth the trouble because of the soul-satiating entity that is the New Belgium Brewery (the bike and environmentally friendly brewery in Ft. Collins-- makers of the well known Fat Tire Amber Ale, which I have seen on tap as far east as Chicago). The tasting room was set to close at 6:00 and opened at 10:00 the following morning. Seeing that we could not realistically enjoy ourselves at 10:00 in the morning we had quite the incentive to pedal hard. We pulled into the brewery at 5:57. (below)

Although they close their doors at 6:00, we were still allowed to try four beers and were given stickers, bottle openers, a 22 oz brew for the road, and prepaid postcards. We were allowed to hang out in the tasting room until a little before 7:00; the employees were really cool and very interested in our trip.

(below: New Belgium workers gaze into the map.
Notice the weight on the left side of the map--a cassette)

(Below: cruising through the malty terrain of NB land)

Outside of the brewery, at their extensive and overflowing bikeracks, we encountered several visitors and employees who had many questions and words of encouragement. We met one distinguished fellow named Scott, a recently hired New Belgium, front-range, events coordinator; he escorted us to a good fish taco restaurant and then diligently found a yard for us to camp in. After the fish tacos, we headed over to the Town Pump (purportedly one of the oldest continuously running bars in Ft. Collins). There, Scott introduced us to some of his NB cohorts and his lady friend/bartendress Heather.

(Below:Scott escorting us on his fixed ride.)

(Below: Lukester chatting it up with the folks on the Town Pump patio)

(Below: Heather gazes at our route. The map really gets a lot of attention.)

(Below: An enthused passerby poses with Sam.
This town loves cyclists, especially ones with panniers)

Fort Collins left a good taste in our mouths. Thanks Scott and the entire NB crew. We will evangelize our love for your beer and your values across the U.S.

cheers


mileage . 70
morale. drunk and happy