Fort Collins Visit - Family, Snow day and Cycling

I spied a wonderful Peanuts-themed book box. One afternoon, we made slab pottery at their place.

 I visit our eldest son in Fort Collins every year. My husband drove again, hauling our mountain bikes. This year was extra special because of staying at their first home, a 3-level townhouse, close to Horsetooth Reservoir, foothills trails, and a city park. The location suits them: great for walking, riding trails, and daily walks with their large dog. Their basement alone is good-sized, complete with a large bathroom - a perfect setup for guests. And their garage, well, let's just say they love cycling as much as my husband and I do.

For 10 days, we stayed near Fort Collins in general, this time around. We hung out with old friends one evening, visited a brewery for trivia night, and cycled almost every day except for the day a wild, but beautiful snowstorm dumped 5" of heavy snow, breaking limbs all over the city. We sat in recliners at a cool theater.

 On Mother's Day, we visited an amazing train museum in Greeley, complete with a humongous model train set up - per my request - and it was wonderful. But that's not all, we had lunch nearby at Weldwerks, a recommended brewery, and later my son and I mountain biked in a natural area, then we all had pizza at a low-key spot. It was likely the best Mother's Day ever!

The high desert climate speaks to me. Dry air, abundant sunshine, low-growing cactus, wildflowers, non-poisonous bull snakes, prairie dogs, deer, magpies, open landscape, cliffs, reservoirs, rivers, and canals. It is interesting in an arid climate, how water is captured, contained,  and channeled (sloped sidewalks direct water to street-side catchment areas that drain to canals). I learned that 40% of Fort Collins' water supply comes from the Colorado River! That kind of diversion wouldn't happen today. It makes me wonder how many other communities east of the Rockies rely on the same resource. Even with all that, Fort Collins and the surrounding communities are growing. Unfortunately, drought conditions were abundantly clear - a brown landscape - compared to my last visit.

We cycled most everywhere for groceries and errands. I used my son's Peugeot for city jaunts, and my hardtail on trails. We rode in Hewlett Gulch, Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, and right from their home into the hills. I went by myself a couple of times - my husband had an annoying injury - exploring Spring Creek Trail, Mason Trail, plus discovering more of the foothill network.

I'll be back next year.

Ideas for 2026

My goal in 2026 is to keep the cycling momentum by incorporating new trails and routes. Besides the  Colorado trip, I want to complete another weeklong bike tour - last year's was great - where is yet to be determined.

• In March, I'm heading back to the Philly Bike Expo, this time with my husband! I'm excited to meet up with cycling friends, ride with others, attend seminars, and, of course, attend the main event. It's also the 250th anniversary of the US, and we may stumble upon some of Philly's special events.
• Because bike touring in summer's heat was successful, I plan to do it again. It has its merits: cooling off in streams, packing less, and being able to bail on local adventures. Ideas include a 3-day Champlain Islands loop, an upstate New York adventure using the Adirondack Rail Trail, and a one-way journey using Amtrak. So many possibilities!
• With a front rack and comfortable bars installed on the Downtube Dyan, I plan to test its handling capabilities on an overnight. The long-term goal is to lower the gearing and try wider tires for more adventurous multimodal trips, but one step at a time.
• I'm heading back to Colorado, which has now become an annual pilgrimage, visiting family and friends in Fort Collins for more cycling/hiking fun. 
• We'll continue to explore more mountain bike trails. Ideas include Woodstock, Millstone and North Branch, all in VT, and Blueberry Hills in Elizabethtown, NY.

2025 Rewind

Adventures in Colorado.

2025 was a year when we made travel and adventure a priority. With maximizing vacation and my retirement on the horizon, it made sense to start the momentum.

 

An organized Philly Bike Expo folding bike ride.

Early in the year, attending the Philly Bike Expo, riding on plowed trails, researching a new folder, and a Colorado vacation occupied my mind and body. 

The adventures continued! A fun-filled overnight with Adele, buying a Downtube folder, bike touring the Cross Vermont and Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, and exploring trails around the Montreal region. My husband and I have become KOA converts: we love the dependable cleanliness, atmosphere, and occasional glamping in a cabin.

September and October were filled with more travel: Veloroute des Bleuets, and coastal time capped with riding the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail. I never let good weather pass me by!

We made an effort to ride more mountain bike trails. Vermont and New York are filled with trail networks. We only touched the surface of a growing system.

And of course, the annual Coffeeneuring Challenge. I made headway in practicing the Gouache medium, dipping my fingers into painting scenery.

We've had a snowy start to winter. By far the best surprise has been riding with my husband on snowy, plowed trails. He broke his hip while riding to work when we lived in Portland, OR, and since then he's avoided riding in the winter. Something clicked this year - available studded tires likely helped. Since the initial rides together, he's outfitted his preferred bike with gnarly 29" studs and can handle the trails much better than I can with narrower tires. With his 26" studded Bridgestone up for grabs, I'll be sure to explore better traction.

I'm grateful for all the 2025 adventures, plus I topped 3600 miles. Life is good.

2024 Rewind

2024 started off well, plunged into winter conditions, easily adapting to riding safely on snowy bike paths. I set my yearly intentions to have something to look forward to - it's the way I roll.

I broke my ribs in late January. Fortunately, it was only a hiccup in my cycling life. I fully recovered in 6 weeks and attended the Philly Bike Expo. The bonus was meeting and riding with online friends! 

I put together these bags for our son the bike mechanic. No two are alike.

On the creative front, I explored gouache painting for the second year for the Coffeenuring Challenge, tried a new stem bag pattern, and later sewed 4 more.

In June, I visited our son in Fort Collins, Colorado, and came home in awe of their cycling infrastructure and surrounding beauty.

Pine Creek Rail Trail in Pennsylvania.

My husband and I purposely sought new local trails in 2024, experiencing the D&H Rail Trail, Adirondack Rail Trail, two trails in New Hampshire, and a weeklong adventure in Pennsylvania. 

I went on solitary Amtrak adventures: riding one-way from Hudson, NY to Saratoga Springs during peak foliage (part one) and finishing a few weeks later, and from Castleton, VT homeward.

It's interesting to see the Monday-Friday progression.

Yearly accounting: I sorted the rack situation between the Rachel and the Hard Rock so both are touring-ready. I made it, finally, to the Philly Bike Expo after several years of trying (the pandemic didn't help). Due to two years of flooding, what's still elusive is riding across Vermont and back. 

I went out of 2024 with a bang, finishing the year with 3532 miles!

Riding in Fort Collins - Visiting Family & Extraordinary Biking Infrastructure

Riding easier trails in Soapstone Prairie, just north of Fort Collins.

I went to Fort Collins in early June, primarily to visit #1 son and his girlfriend. What I didn't expect was how much I missed the high desert, the climate reminding me of Central Oregon.

Our son has always been thoughtful. He arranged a few things to do, lucking into a once a year benefit pancake breakfast in Big Thompson Canyon, which included a craft show in the firehouse.

Our days were filled with lots of riding on the extensive Fort Collins bike paths, and lots of restaurant eating, and tacos at a food truck.

Fossil Creek Trail

Fort Collins preserved land outside of the residential region, so trails snake through grasslands, along inner city creeks, into single track on the west side border. Signage is stellar so you can't get too lost. There's even a printed bike map.

I walked some everyday, tagging along with their dog, Doughnut's twice a day stroll. They live near City Park so we often checked in on the waterfowl.

Both my son and his girlfriend are cyclists, so I fit his old Peugeot (lower right photo), a bike he doesn't ride anymore. With a rag and some lube we cleaned it up and it still works remarkably well. We visited a few bike shops also.

Saw some wonderful public art.

And went to a few brew pubs. We toured the iconic New Belgium Brewery. I didn't care for any of their beers, but I liked their sour beer - first for me - probably because they're fermented in oak barrels. New Belgium has supported the bike community, holding short track series on their property and hosting many bike events throughout the year. My favorite brewery was Maxline Brewing. We went on the bingo night, had great food truck sandwich - food trucks are big in Fort Collins. Maxline also had the best IPA. 

Our son's girlfriend is into biking bigtime. We watched her in the last short track event of the season.

Early mornings were quiet. I had coffee and read my book, sniffing the sage I had found along a trail.

One day we hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park to a beautiful waterfall.

Horestooth Reservoir is a playground for hikers, boaters, and mountain bikers. I went with our son's girlfriend's group meetup, hoping for gentle trails, but due to 90F heat we rode switchbacks up a shady slope. It was too technical for me, also due to not being fully adjusted to altitude. I stopped several times, and enjoyed the scenery.

Descending was scary, but I eventually made it without mishap.

They are much easier mountain bike trails, and my son brought me to lovely Soapstone Prairie, 30+ minutes north of Fort Collins. I was in love! Manageable trails, tiny cactus, lovely wildflowers, prairie dogs, and an extensive network of hiking and bike trails through short grass prairie environment. It was fun to descend and climb though small washes.

We met up with a couple I hadn't seen in 20+ years. He's a regular bike commuter to his office downtown but for an early Sunday morning ride we met up, and did a lovely loop on low traffic roads just west of Fort Collins. We met up later in the day for dinner at their home.

To catch my return flight from Denver, my son set us up for a Fort Collins express bus (express lane) / train transfer to the airport that worked extremely well, and of course, his escort was immense help. I imagine driving would be inefficient, especially because of early weekday morning traffic. 

Fort Collins, I'll be back.