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Lifestyle

By J James McTigue

There are sports fans and there are cycling fans.

To watch their coveted team, the former drive to games, wear their team’s colors and tailgate in the parking lot.

To watch their beloved cycling heroes, the latter bike 10 miles up a closed mountain pass, (or camp out the night before), wear costumes, (or at times just their skivies), and also tailgate, but at 12,000 feet.

At least this was the case Wednesday on Cottonwood and Independence Passes during the US Pro Cycling Challenge.

Fans The US Pro Cycling Tour has come to Colorado, bringing the state’s cycling fanatics to the streets—literally. The group is usually relegated to watching professional cycling in the privacy of their own homes, or a nearby bar, (probably owned by a Swiss), that has Versus, the only station stateside that seems to broadcast the sport.

This week, it has all changed. The international cycling community is watching the world’s best cyclists compete throughout the Rocky Mountains via television, while American fans are camped on mountain passes, drinking mimosas and running beside the racers.

The inaugural stage race began Monday in Colorado Springs and will end Sunday in Denver. It consists of a Prologue and six stages, for a total of seven days of competition. The seven days include two individual time trials, and a total of 509 miles with 29,036 vertical feet of climbing.

25 August, 2011 /

by Lisa Barlow

Chez P With the luster of Chez Panisse still casting its warm glow, San Franscisco has been a culinary beacon for the farm-to-table movement ever since Alice Waters opened the doors to her iconic restaurant exactly 40 years ago.

There is seriously delicious food to be eaten in this city. Much of it is influenced by Waters’ early recognition that good meals can only come from good ingredients. It is now more common to see the provenance of the string beans on your plate than it is to know the name of the chef cooking your food. But there is also another ingredient in ample supply here that is paramount to a good meal: technique.

23 August, 2011 /

Colorado Springs is often thought of as Denver’s ugly twin sister. But as any Pikes Peak loving fan will tell you, there’s much more to the place than its sprawl and its conservative bookends. It is not only Focus on the Family. Nor is it only the military. It is a vibrant, surprisingly fun city that feels as warm and as close-knit as a small town.

Admittedly, Andy and I met in that city, at Colorado College, so we may have that extra special spot in our heart for it. But the reason we return annually is not just because we want to walk down memory lane. We genuinely love the city. Here are a few reasons why. Garden of the Gods Number 1. The Garden of the Gods. Yes, the park may get crowded at times. Yet, with its great sandstone rocks tipped up like giant whale fins, you can’t help but fall in love with the place. We love to run and rock climb there, and our kids love to scramble on the rocks. To me, Garden of the Gods is one of the few places in the world where you can know, without a doubt that the world is and always has been about change. Once, great seas flooded that basin. When the waters receded, massive tectonic forces shoved the stone up sideways with the same urgency that pushed the Rockies up. Sitting in that park, staring up at the patches of blue sky framed by red rock, watching ravens drift in slow circles is a sacred experience.
21 August, 2011 /

by Jon Lovekin

Moonrise The Red Sox won the world series in 2004. This was an historic event and especially significant for long suffering Boston baseball fans. Meanwhile, within the southwest plains of Colorado other significant events were about to occur as well. Tonight was a full lunar eclipse, a spectacular sight anywhere but this night was going to be special. The excitement was building while driving to the Commanche National Grasslands south of La Junta, Colorado. The view port from there was going to be wonderful and all the camera gear was stashed in the truck.  The light haze of front range cities is visible to the north but is greatly diminished under the vast, clear portal that exists on these high plains.

The gap gate off the county road was barely discernible within the fence line. No road was visible beyond it. Careful study of maps indicated that an access road into the national grasslands existed along the other fence perpendicular to the gate. The early summer winds had buried that fence and whatever road lay beside it under four feet of tumble weeds. There was no other access through the cactus and rock outcrops at this point. Taking a deep breath, and gearing down, the truck munched its way through the debris. There wasn't going to be a crowd out here!

 

20 August, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Paul Stamets]

 

Editor's note: Don't miss mushroom cook-off at the Wilkinson Public Library. Starts noon today and feaures Blakely Stein, executive chef, J.B.& Me; Jesse Mirman, executive chef, Honga's; Lewis Williams & Lucas Price, chef/owner La Cocina De Luz; and Benjamin Steendlik, reigning Champion Mushroom Chef. Which of them will be Grand Master of the Mushroom Parade on Saturday?

Paul 10 Looking for a glimmer of hope in the world? Look down. We are talking about mycelium and their fruit, mushrooms. Fungi are the stars of the Telluride Shroomfest, Thursday, August 18 – Sunday, August 21– and maybe the planet. Just ask guest speaker Paul Stamets.

17 August, 2011 /

by Eric Palumbo

"Figuring out who you are is the whole point of the human experience." - Anna Quindlen

Hiking pic Last month I packed into the northern terminus of the Colorado Trail (CT) in Denver, intent on backpacking to Durango over the ensuing four weeks. It was the culmination of months of dreaming, planning and conditioning.

Until a year ago I hadn't backpacked since the Boy Scouts. Then I met a girl (isn't that how it always happens) who rekindled my love for the outdoors. While hiking on Kenosha pass last year, we met a guy who was thru-hiking the CT. He joined us at our campsite for dinner where we shared grape soda and he shared his experiences.

17 August, 2011 /

If any of you are up around midnight over the next few days, take a look at bright planet Jupiter as it rises above the eastern horizon. It's brilliant beauty far outshines any other point of light in the night sky - except the...

16 August, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan speaks with Martin Klabunde]

 

 

“Music is medicine and plays an important part in cultivating a deeper awareness; it allows our spirit to move into the spirit world where this transformation occurs," Martin Klabunde

150x197-images-stories-CA-Martin_Adungu_StPhillips-II Remember the old Beach Boys song about "good vibrations." There's a variation on that theme this coming weekend at the Telluride Yoga Center.

Friday, August 19 – Sunday, August 21, the Telluride Yoga Center hosts "Collective Awakening," which begins with a night of indigenous music, followed by a day of meditation, sacred music, drumming, dance and ceremony and then one day of Adungu (Ugandan bow harp) and drum classes. As an added bonus (though not part of the workshop), Telluride Yoga Center owner/yoga instructor Kristin Taylor's Sunday morning class will be accompanied by live music. 

16 August, 2011 /

[click "Play" to hear Lisa Jacobs' conversation with Susan]

 

Linnea poster The laid back lux of Spa Linnea is just one of many reasons tourists might choose to stay at Hotel Madeline. "That's nice," you say as a local, "but what's in it for me?" Turns out, plenty.

On Sunday, August 21, 10 am – 3 p.m., Spa Linnea hosts a launch party of a new line, Naturopathica, and everyone, guest, local, is welcome to come to enjoy mimosas, light bites, a mini-facial, body melt foot therapy, a mineral makeup makeover and a spa gift.  And should you fall in love with the place– which you will after all that pampering – Spa Linnea has a SpaFit Monthly Member program anyone can join.

16 August, 2011 /