Colorado

Since I've been in Boulder I've been doing a lot of quality riding and witnessing some breathtaking scenery. Unfortunately, when I got here I found my camera out of batteries and my charger back at home, so I don't have any pictures of my own. Instead, seeing how mountains tend to remain the same over hundreds of years, I've ripped photos from other people that were taken at the places I visited. Here they are:

1.) View from Brainard Lake at 10,300 feet. The mountain you're seeing here is Mt. Audobon (13,200 ft). When I saw it, the sun was setting behind the mountain. The view was absolutely beautiful, ignoring the fact that I still had to ride 30 miles home at dusk (thank goodness Boulder is bike friendly - it was no problem).
2.) Ward, Colorado. This is the town at the top of Lefthand Canyon - a very gradual yet mind-numbingly long 3,200 ft ascent.

3.) The flatirons - these are the mountains on the west side of Boulder. They represent the line where the great plains end and the Rockies begin. Any mountainous ride from Boulder ventures through them.
4.) The view from the top of Betasso Preserve - a short, fast mountain bike trail that has a super-steep ascent from Canyon Rd.

5.) View of Boulder from Flagstaff Rd. You can see the CU campus on the left.

6.) The steps at Walker Ranch - a mountain bike trail on the other side of Flagstaff. This part of the trail is definitely hike-a-bike.

7.) The Bustop gentleman's club - this is where the fast group ride in Boulder meets (yeah, kind of random).

8.) One of the loops on the Fruit Loops route - a flatter ride to Lyons and back. This is the route that the Bustop ride uses.

Overall, Boulder is exceedingly sweet. I still have a week left before I drive back to Michigan to race the first ever West Branch "Classic" (maybe) and the MBRA Talent Pool 2000M TT at the Velodrome at Bloomer Park. I'm excited to get back to Michigan but I don't want to leave Boulder behind. I'll be back next year, though.