Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Riding Lake Dillon or How a Branch Cannot Replace a Broken Pedal


I love to ride around the town of Frisco and take a peek at the sales in the outlets in Silverthorn. Before we had the kids Larr and I used to go and spend a weekend up there. We'd ride our bikes around, follow the trails from one town to the next. We even found a small ghost town on one of our jaunts. I think about those times nearly every time we drive by Frisco, which is actually pretty often. I've had a desire to go ride again. In fact, I've been trying to find the time to do it for more than a year. Yesterday we finally made it. Well, Ethan and I made it. Larr was working and Ellie was feeling like a city girl.

We stopped in Evergreen at the Evergreen Art Center to see a bike related art exhibit. One of the artists was there and she was fun to talk with. Some of the pieces were inspiring. One mat job was really fun. One photo of a cyclist had been matted off center. On top of the mat were three more photos, each a bit smaller than the one next to it. They were all in a sequence so that it looked like you were watching him ride by. Another cut out some of the wood to create a silhouette, of sorts.

Next we had an impromptu lunch and visit with the Suters. I got to see their current puppy. He is just about the cutest thing alive. We chatted, ate yummy food and showed Ari a few fun videos, such as:

Here's another one that is a similar style:

Oh, and here's what Ethan loves:

We also admired Ari's photography. I love seeing how other people view things - very inspiring. We left after a short while so that they could get back to packing for a camping trip.

Okay, I digress. Back to our story...

We stopped and looked at the sales in a few of the shops, but nothing called our names and had to go home with us, so off we went. Until we came across a welding store and a fruit stand. After eating (well, slurping, really) peaches we were on our way. It was great. I am so happy that my son still likes to do stuff with me. It is wonderful to see the kind of man he is becoming.

The trail along the dam was like a gentle rollercoaster. It was a blast!

But alas, our fun was cut short about eight miles into it when my pedal began to wobble and then break. In an effort to help Ethan offered me his bike. The kids ride one legged at practice so he was game for riding my bike. However, I could not even stand over his bike to get on it. Next up, he tried fashioning a stick into a pedal. He worked hard at it. It was so sweet to see him labor at trying to solve the problem. I felt bad when it broke, too.

Eventually I rode as far as I could and then I walked it the rest of the way. I was a bit bummed, but not too much. After all, it was really more about spending time in a beautiful place with my boy rather than getting miles in.

We capped off the evening with a bit of food and rootbeer floats at A&W.

Driving home we admired the changing clouds and the sunsets that Colorado is so famous for.


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