The Road of Unforeseen Expenses

Well shit. I was stuck between Wolf Creek and Pagosa springs due to a giant gash in the sidewall of my left front tire. Why? Some piece of metal on the road thought it would be hilarious to jump in front of my car while I gazed longingly at the snowcapped mountains. I got out of my car whilst cursing at myself for the sheer lunacy of this trip and then was awestruck by the looming mountains framing the valley as well as the Matrix and me. After removing the cooler, bicycle, miscellaneous groceries, and the stove, I frantically dug out the doughnut like Johnny Depp digging for pirate's treasure.



Once that was taken care of, I drove the next 20 miles like the person in the volvo, but was kind enough to pull off to the shoulder when people snuck up behind. Once I pulled into Pagosa Springs I stopped at an auto parts store to ask if they knew where I could get a new tire at 6:00 on a Monday night. The manager called his pal at Big O Tires and they hooked me up with a brand spanking new piece of rubber even though they had already closed. Would that have happened in NJ? Yeah right! Although now I am compelled by the forces of the interweb to bring you this video about Dirty Jerz. (Sorry for the commercials. I'll apologize on the behalf of youtube for selling out.) But really, we all know the people they interviewed were not actually from New Jersey because they didn't look like this.



but I digress...

Although the tire story has a happy ending (I made it to Durango.), it was still costly, actually greater than or equal to the cost of the gas to get to California from here. So Cali will have to wait until I can devote a solid amount of time and dolla billz to it's visit. My intention as of now is to begin driving south to Tempe AZ and then back up to Flagstaff to grace the Grand Canyon with my presence before driving East through the south.

So Durango...



It's a little different than the way they portrayed it on the cartoon show "Doug", meaning I didn't see anyone make a rattle snake belt. Other than that the video describes the area perfectly. There are people here dressed like Doug in that cartoon, and that put a smile on my face when I drove from Durango to Cortez this morning from the hostel. Forty-Five minutes was all the journey took for this much anticipated destination, Phil's World. This is my most favoritest place to ride a bike in the galaxy. The trail is fun, fast, twisty, and if you don't live above 5,000 feet, Phil's World will kick your ass.
Here I am sucking wind after a friendly local-shredder put me to shame on the second climb.



But at the top, the view of Mesa Verde was more than worth it.



After the "Ribcage" section, filled with sweeping turns, whoop-de-doos, and the occasional kicker on the side to get you extra stoked, I couldn't wipe the grin off of my mud covered face. It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be, and then some. The aromatic scent of sage stayed with me for most of the ride home. I will now leave you with a "Dubstep" song. The people of Boulder go crazier for dubstep than they do for outdoor gear or even medical Mary Jane. You may hear something like this at the next scuzzy house party you attend.



Peace, Love, and...no, I can't leave on that note again. How about,

Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll,

J

Boulder: Indecision and Glee

First, I must apologize for falling off the bandwagon of blogger and not writing a blog for the past two weeks. I've been making an effort to be more wrapped up in what I'm doing at the moment, than what's to come next; something that's easy to do in Boulder, CO. This place feels like home, and it's unclear as to why. Maybe it's because seeing old friends is one of the best things in the world, or maybe it's because Boulder has so much to offer.

Initially the plan was to stay for a few days, which turned into a week, which turned into another week. Having a free place to stay had a lot to do with it, but so did the openness of the people that dwell in this city. One of the first Boulder experiences happened in a Pizza place where I was introduced to a Yerba Mate and wheat beer concoction. It was a good choice. One person I was with saw some friends he knew and we sat, ate, and drank with two cool cats.



One told us a super intense story, about the military, going AWOL, and traveling around, something that would seem difficult to tell a complete stranger let alone an acquaintance. He let us all into his life so easily. After spending some time here and meeting so many great people, it became clear that while the cool cat's story is unique and amazing, his attitude is right on par with the people of Boulder. Even the skatepark, the best place in any town to find the sketchiest people, contained an element of politeness I've never seen at a park.

Let's talk about Marijuana. It's legal here for medicinal use, with dispensaries lining the streets like Starbucks in NYC. That may be a slight overehxagguration, but it's advertised as much as alcohol or rather the 3.2 beer they sell at the grocery stores. It's very prevalent. You can get whiffs of pot smoke while walking along Pearl street at night and gaze into the windows of the illuminated headshops in between the bars. Very different from the east coast, where if caught with marijuana, you can look forward to lawyer fees and a lot of unfulfilling job interviews.




The relaxed laws reflect the relaxed police force. They'll pull you over with a smile and without hostility. On nice days, they'll set up speed traps on motorcycles. The police will sit on the sidewalk with their motorcycles and radar the traffic going by. I was skating in the bike lane because the road was supa smooth, and one cop on the sidewalk literally said, "Pardon me, I know it's smooth, but could you please skate on the sidewalk? I'm sorry." I've never talked to a cop, even off duty, who was that polite.

Once you get out of the city itself ( a ten minute drive), you can drive up to Flagstaff Mountain, go bouldering, hiking, biking, or just plain chilling. If you're feeling adventurous, you can drive to Greeley and see a metal show! (They put on one hell of a show.) There's also Chataqua State Park or Boulder Canyon. This is Jacob on a dome in the canyon.




This is some perspective on how large that dome actually is.



Here's Colin at Flagstaff Mounain in front of a very difficult bouldering problem.




To continue on the climbing theme, Boulder is a hot spot for professional climbers and those who just love to climb. The world famous bouldering gym, The Spot, is five minutes away from the city center, and is so large, I can't imagine it ever getting boring, especially when there are real boulders lurking just about everywhere outside.

Unfortunately, snowboarding is not cheap, so I decided not go right now, and instead spend some time in California. Being outside every day was more than enough, even when it snows, it's just a beautiful place to be. Between the smiles of acknowledgment and the sights, Boulder is an ideal place to live. As of now, my intention is to come back and live here for some time. That, however, may change as there is still more to explore in the west. This place is sooooo laid back, that even though I planned to leave today, I'll be spending one more night and then heading down to Cortez, Co tomorrow morning to ride the legendary Phil's World. As far as self searching goes, well shit, things are getting clearer.

Peace and Love,

J


Oh yeah, we had festival of meats! (Insert dirty jokes here.)

16 Hours, 5 States, 7 Cigarettes, 2 Redbulls, and a 5-Hour Energy

The drive to Colorado began early in the morning. I said one last goodbye to the amenities of the motel room, not knowing if the Toyota Matrix would carry me all the way to Colin's couch in Boulder, or if I would be camping in the very flat state of Nebraska. I started the drive in Chesterton, Indiana, roughly 40 miles east of Gary. The few miles left in Indiana flew by and soon I was welcomed into the state of Illinois.

Immediately, the selector , put on the Sufjan Stevens Album "Come on Feel the Illinoise". It was interesting to imagine what he was looking at when he wrote that album, as I was driving through. With the music carrying the Matrix across route 80, I was able to slip through Illinois fairly quickly. When I got into Iowa, things really changed...



They have this thing called i-Zoom instead of EZ Pass. I think EZ Pass still works in an i-Zoom toll booth, but I couldn't help but think about which other i-Products must be out there for the general public. Something like this would surely take-off.


Oh wait, this one's actually for real. Hunger overcame the Matrix and me, so while she gassed up I satisfied my craving for greasy hamburger meat.



Even though Keenan and Kel were not there to greet me, I was still pleased with both the food and service of this establishment.



The burger was a sort of hybrid thing. It had the flavor of a super dank burger, but the consistency of a sloppy joe, minus the sauce. Whatever the creature, it was mighty delicious. I thought about that burger the rest of the way through Iowa, and even upon entering Nebraska, where the traffic was so thick in Omaha, I missed the 'welcome to' sign. Since the fullness of the burger had worn off, I decided to pull off of 80 and snag some beef jerky. In the gas station parking lot, some fellows were trying to make room for something in their pick up truck. In order to achieve maximum efficiency whilst moving shit around in a vehicle, a person must take his/her dead deer's head out of the vehicle and place it on the roof of his/her vehicle to sit there and drip fresh blood all over the windows and doors...of said vehicle. This was something I'm glad I witnessed because that scene doesn't happen often in NJ. Back on the road, the sun began to set over Nebraska and generally blinded me for the next two hours since I was driving straight at it. Nebraska was large, flat, and chock full o' farm equipment.

Hours later, while belting out my version of Patois with Damian Marley, the colorado border hit with a breath of fresh Rocky air. With only two hours left to go, the sheer excitement of not driving anymore was pushing me on as well as a second Redbull.

Upon arrival, Halloween night, there were students everywhere, some in costumes, some not. All were definitely 'loosened up' one way or another. Welcome to Boulder!

-J