Colorado & Return to the Midwest 6/1/10

On friday, May 21st I drove from Moab to Ft. Collins, CO. The drive itself was one the more memorable ones I've taken as I went up and over the Rocky Mountains along I-70. There was lots of snow to be seen and 30 degree cooler temperatures than when I left Moab. The purpose of going to Ft. Collins was to visit my friend Felix. Felix was the friend/couchsurfing contact I stayed with back on the first day of my trip which began July 5th, 2009. It was great to see Felix again and of course a visit is not complete without a couple of challenging bike rides with steep climbs and mile high elevation.


The weekend of my visit just happened to coincide with the showing of Ride the Divide at the Boulder theater. Ride the Divide is a documentary about a 2,700 mile self sustained mountain bike race through the Rocky Mtns. from Canada to Mexico. Felix completed this ride which includes around 200,000 ft. of climbing in just under 30 days. A group of us went to see the film and listen to a Q & A afterwards with Felix and a few of the other riders.



After a stop in Boulder to spend a few eventful and hilarious days with the Schacht family I headed east through Kansas and Missouri. I camped a couple of nights and checked out Kansas City. The final stop before returning to Chicago was to see my cousin Chris on the Shinkle family farm in Carthage, IL. "The Farm" is a place I visited many time growing up but hadn't been back to visit since the early 90's. It was good to get reacquainted with Chris and spend a few relaxing carefree days out in the country.



Finally, on June 1st, after almost 11 months being away, I returned to Chicago, Evanston, and Glenview. I was excited to return knowing I'd be getting to see family & friends over the next couple of months that I'd missed while travelling.