I'm experimenting with the trailer and with panniers in anticipation of a loaded tour I'll be doing this summer. I'm still undecided at this point.
I've done some traveling lately and find myself in Colorado Springs this week. I came a few days early so I could go up to the mountains and get in some skiing. Arapahoe Basin is a great destination if you find yourself in the Denver area. The skiing was challenging, the mountain was big enough to require a full day of skiing and the prices were more reasonable than all of its neighbors. There are no high speed lifts and the lodges are not high frills, but that doesn't really matter for me. The apre-ski parking lot scene is where it's at. People pull right up to the slopes, fire up the grill, open the cooler, and the dogs and kids run wild while the music blasts. A Basin is full of folks who know how to make their own good time at the mountain.
While in Colorado Springs, I paid a visit to Colorado Cyclist. I actually had a gift certificate to spend so it was nice to save the shipping costs and pick up the items. The retail space is not that big but it is full of all the high dollar products you see in their catalog or website. I've never seen so many carbon bikes with integrated seatposts in one place! They even stock some Scott mountain bikes with integrated seatposts. Sram Red is old news in this place and I am pretty sure they clean dirty bikes with last year's Assos jerseys. Needless to say, $50 doesn't get you much at a place like Colorado Cyclist. I picked up a couple of Tacx cages and a Salsa seat collar to replace the crappy one that came with my race bike.
I'll be back home on Thursday and hope to get in some miles, finally. Maybe I'll go mountain biking. Haven't done that in 4 months.
