Things I've Noticed About Colorado

There's quite a few things I'm starting to notice about Colorado that are different from Iowa. Here's my list so far (in no particular order):

1. The weather out here is strange. Where I live (on the west side of town right by the foothills), it hardly ever rains. Or at least it hasn't really rained much. A few sprinkles, but that's it. I think this is weird because I can see storm clouds all around me. Last night there was a storm on the east side of town. I saw lightning and everything. You could see the rain coming down, but it never rained where I was at.

2. I went on a group recovery ride on Monday. There had to have been 50 or so people on the ride. I'm used to 20...at the most. To make things all the better, there were almost more women on the ride then what I'm used to racing with on a regular basis in Iowa.

3. There's bike lanes/bike paths/bike routes...everywhere!

4. Drivers expect there to be cyclists. I haven't had any rude run-ins yet. No horn honking, no close calls.

5. Definitely a commuter town. Bikes everywhere. Commuters, recreational, racers, you name it. I even saw someone smoking on a bike the other day. I wanted to roll down my window and say something but I didn't.

6. Since I've been here (10 days) I haven't filled up with gas. Given I've only driven it 3 times. Oh so nice. I'm used to filing up twice a week.

So those are the main things I've noticed. Tonight I'm going on a group ride. I've heard it gets large numbers and can be fast. Especially if Eddy Gragus and a few of the other local fasties show up. That's all for now. This weekend I think I'm headed to Dillon and Copper Mountain for some crit action. Haven't raced since Super Week so it should be interesting. I'll update when I can. Take care!
-A