Just Pixels

As previously blogged about, last weekend's adventures brought me to The Springs to visit some of my lovely cousins (of which I have many). Going in to the weekend I was expecting plenty of two-wheeling. But, I wasn't expecting to mountain bike the most difficult terrain of my life alongside my cousin's husband (an expert downhill mtn. biker).


Brendon, my cuz's hubby. He works here. His job is pretty enviable at times. A part of me just wants to scrap it all, work at a bike shop and help people with their cycling needs for the rest of my life...


So the mountain biking started on Sunday morning with a jaunt around Palmer Park. Here my lovely tour guide points out majestic Pikes Peak.


Oooohhhhh....


We demo'd some Trek 2009 models that a sales rep had out at the park. I rode Brendon's $3,500 full suspension ride. Soo different than what I'm used to on the rode bike.


The cuz, Amanda, on the left w/her hub on right. It's cool to spend time around a couple that is so adventurous and open and hospitable to new people and non-everything-in-our-house-and-life-has-to-be-just-perfect-or-the-world-will-end. They're easy going and yet talk about real things in their lives and that matter in the world. They really care about serving others, AND, they love to go camping and biking and skiing, etc... That is a thing of beauty. I hope to spend more time down in The Springs in the future. And I will be (my sis is getting married there next month! Woohoo!)


And they obviously really love each other and aren't afraid of some new-school PDA, which I think can be endearing in the right package. I merely said "hey i want a picture of you two."
Ah, somewhat newly-weds...


Here we are at the Trek demo tent. Prolly about $30k in bikes sitting behind us. I'll probably never justify spending several thousand on one, but still, how impressive is a 23lb. total carbon-fiber, full suspension knobby tire machine (w/6 in. of rear travel)? Perhaps the novelty is lost on others...


And then we went down the scariest trails of my life (and at a sprint). Brendon, the former Junior National Expert downhiller, FLEW down these sections (about 15-20 mph or faster, no lie). He'd wait for me to catch up and then we'd blaze for a while longer till more technical sections.

As a side note, I've never been more impressed by someone's biking abilities. Seeing him catch 10 feet of air and navigate rocks and boulders was a thing of sincerest beauty for me. Clearly he was made to ride a bike. On a personal level, I'm somewhat of a pansy and was pretty scared (and thrilled) many times. But I'll be back, mountains. Round II is coming. (note: 20 seconds after this photo was taken i went over the handlebars and laid out on the trail. seems i'm not used to the power of pneumatic disc brakes or boulderous switchbacks at high speeds).


From facebook: Brendon at an international race in Italy a few years ago. Obviously he is hauling-A like a bad mamba-jamba.


He also does things like this on skis. I think this one was a 740° at Copper somewhere.


He said he picked up a "bad" habit a few months ago. A good smelling one at that.


I realize I'm getting repetitive with these scenics, but I'm still just enthralled to be living in a place with views such as these. Please friends, indulge me.


The end, for now.