Packing for a biking holiday is tough. Packing light
for a biking holiday to traverse 1/5 of the globe is really tough. Packing even lighter, for a biking holiday to traverse 1/5 of the globe AND to change altitude
from zero feet to 15000 feet several times – well – that’s just impossible.
Here we stand, in our breathable, light weight pants and a t-shirt, surrounded by snow whilst
being slammed by sub-zero wind chill…such tourists.
The highest peak by tar road in the whole of the USA.
From what we could tell it was Pres. Roosevelt that really kicked off the American
natural conservation efforts. It seemed as if all of the parks, reserves,
conservatories and protected areas we visited or traveled through had
something to do with him. This peak, like Pikes Peak, has an impressive road
that twists and turns all the way to the top. This is Mount Evans.
The outstanding road swoops around glacial dams and
over acres of flat landscapes that tragically plummet over the escarpment edge. It
becomes even more impressive once you realise they (the Americans) built this road
purely for the splendor. There is no trade route, no thoroughfare and no minerals
to be mined.
The Americans spent millions and millions of dollars building
these location specific tarmac roads purely to give the citizens an opportunity
to gain access to the natural beauty of the place. Outstanding stuff.
From there we headed over to see a glacier, an abandoned ski
ramp and fishermen pulling semi-frozen little buggers from crystal clear ponds.
Fantastic scenery and a great little drive.
Sushi and Craft Bevvies for the Birthday Boy
We headed back into Denver, smashed Sushi in our faces at Sushi Katsu and went back to the house to meet up with the brothers. We all
got along really well and so the meet up turned into a bit of a bevvie session
which then turned into an outing with the Lads to snare a few brewskies at the
local pubs. Another thing I really enjoyed about American beer culture is the
massively broad spectrum of micro-breweries.
Every town has at least one local
beer and in the big cities there were boat loads of them to choose from.
Budweiser became my staple beer that filled the hours between coffee and micro-brewed
beers. Secondly, in between the mass produced market and the micro-brewed market there is a
segment of brews as well. Flat Tyre, Blue Paddle and Heavy Melon are names
that stuck. Fantastic beers – a bit sweet for our South African taste buds but
still very addictive little beer brands. Just big enough to be corporate but small enough to make you feel like you are supporting a family and not a Ferrari.
They do Shots
You know, we have been fortunate enough to travel all sorts of other
countries and we have never found a culture that enjoys shooters
as much as the South Africans do. Not chasers, not sip sip remedy bollocks – I
am talking about hard tack flavored demon juice banged in for cultural
reasons. Turns out the Americans, although with a limited selection, really
enjoy a shooter or ten as well. Fireball was particularly enjoyable. My birthday was turning out pretty good. Natural beauty for breakfast, sushi lunch and hot ass shooters for dinner.
We got home sometime after midnight, had a few more beers on
the patio, kept the neighbors awake and then dropped off to bed.
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