Hello everyone!:) This blog is just basically just about life in Northern Colorado, mainly beautiful FoCo. So I will start by introducing myself. I am not Mike, who started this blog, that's my dad. My name is Kaylee. I am 16 and I'm going to be a junior this year (woohoo upper class men!). I have lived in Ft. Collins since i was 2 and in Dillon, Co before that. I absolutely love Fort Collins it's been in the top 10 of Money Magazine's Best Places to Live, and was #1 a few years ago. Not only is it awesome for adults like it mentions in that article, but i think it's a fantastic place to live too! So I am going to be blogging about whatever comes to mind, awesome stuff in FoCo and just life :)
TTFN :)

FREE Entertainment - Live music

Last night, my wife and I enjoyed a cool Colorado evening and some free live music at one of many free summer concerts in Northern Colorado. It was fun to relax in the lawn chairs, have some takeout from a nearby restaurant, listen to music, and people watch. The animals and the kids were especially entertaining.

This concert was part of the Wednesday Night Lagoon concert Series on the campus of Colorado State Universtiy. Free live music can also be found on Tuesdays at lunch time on the Oak Street Plaza in Old Town Fort Collins. On Friday Nights, Old Town Square is the place for free music, especially enjoyable from the patio at one of the restaurants, like Coopersmiths.

In Loveland one can enjoy Thursday concerts at the Foote Lagoon and Friday concerts at the Chapungu Sculpture Gardens in Centerra. Windsor's Boardwalk Park is also the home to free live concerts on Thursday evenings.

Don't waste you summer in front of the TV! Get out and have some fun.

Consider your exit strategy as you purchase a college condo

With Colorado State University here in Fort Collins, we often have parents purchasing housing for, or with their students for use during the time the student attends Colorado State. In many cases, the parents are able to pay cash for the property. When making a cash purchase, one of the things many parents overlook is the sale on the other end, after their student graduates.

Most of the non-cash student purchases that take place utilize the FHA "kiddie condo" program in which the parents co-sign on the loan with their student. However, most of the condo complexes near campus have a higher non-owner occupancy rate than FHA will allow for a property on which they will lend. Therefore, this will likely shrink the potential buyer pool for the unit when the student graduates and the parents are ready to sell.

Just something to consider this fall as your kids head off to school.

Driving in a Roundabout

As Fort Collins and Loveland continue to grow, we are seeing the construction of many roundabouts, or traffic circles. These are common in many other countries, but are not often seen here. Because of their relative rarity, it seems like many people are unfamiliar with how to navigate them.

I do not profess to be an expert, but by observation learned several things while travelling in New Zealand a few years back.

• The vehicle approaching is required to yield to vehicles already in the circle.
• When approaching the circle, please signal your intentions if you intend to exit any way other than straight ahead.
• Once in the circle, please signal your intended exit from the circle, allowing those awaiting entry a larger opportunity to merge.

The general sentiment is against these devices in our area, but when a bit of courtesy is applied, and a few simple rules are followed, they can be very efficient.

Northern Colorado Group Rides & Cycling Resources

As a cyclist, I find Fort Collins a fantastic place to live. The city is very bike friendly. Through my website, I often find cyclists looking for homes for sale in Fort Collins, homes for sale in Loveland, or other parts of Northern Colorado.

When a cyclist moves to the area, a new riding group can help one get into the culture, make new friends, motivate one to get out and ride, and find the good places to ride. Given my ever changing schedule, I have joined several groups and placed my contact info with several group ride mailing lists in order to have numerous options for rides. One day last spring, I received notification of 5 different group rides in one day, and on a week day, no less.

For cyclists new to our area, here is a list of groups with which I am associated, as well as web resources for riding partners. I am a casual mountain biker, and an even more casual road cyclist, so this list is not comprehensive, and may not work for someone training for a rigorous race season.

• MTBR.COM I have met many friends, and participated in numerous rides I found through the Colorado Front Range discussion forum at this popular website.


• YourGroupRide.com This is a good central website for all things cycling in Northern Colorado. Local cycling events are posted here, and often rides are posted in the discussion forum section.


• Meetup.com I am in two cycling groups on this site, both of which post the occasional ride, or send out e-mails looking for other riders. The local groups about which I know are The Fort Collins Bicycling Meetup Group and NoCo MTB


• Velocal.org This site has several cycling groups in Fort Collins and Loveland. It is a good way to hear about upcoming rides, or to invite a group for a ride. Go to the site and "join a group" to see a list of groups by town. The "Random Rides" group is truly random, but fun.


• 450 Club These guys ride at 4:50 am almost every week day of the year at Horsetooth Mountain Park, west of Fort Collins. On weekends, they sleep in and don't ride until 7, and they often change up the location of the ride on weekends.


• Team Bob (Babes on Bikes) This one is for the ladies. This club has a great community outreach, and regular group rides in the summer.


• VeloOne is a local group that has many interests, including club rides, socials, and a race team.


• Google groups / Yahoo groups There are a handful of local cycling groups that use these services to put together rides. you can search by key words, including bike, mountain bike, bicycling, and add a city, such as Fort Collins or Loveland to locate groups.


• Overland MTB A local club that rides together, patrols local trails and maintains trails within the region.

Given our good weather, bicycling friendly community, and great infrastructure, the Northern Colorado communities of Fort Collins and Loveland are a great place to find other cyclists with whom to train, or just go for a ride, no matter whether you prefer mountain biking or road cycling.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about cycling resources in Northern Colorado, or if you are looking to go for a bike ride.

Mike Weber Keller Williams Realty of Northern Colorado

970-310-4289 MikeWeber@KW.com www.RedTeamKW.com

www.Twitter.com/sgltrak www.Facebook.com/sgltrak www.Flickr.com/sgltrak

Grinch Grinder

The 3rd annual Grinch Grinder took place on Thursday. This ride is becoming an annual tradition here.

The snowy weather had us questioning whether we would be able to ride at Bobcat Ridge, as planned. Therefore, I headed out the day before to check conditions at Bobcat. The conditions were less than ideal, with nearly 8" of new snow on top of the ice left by last week's snow melting in the warmer temps from earlier in the week making it difficult to ride a bike. However, the peaceful valley was beautiful with the snow falling and no one else around. Had I planned more time or brought my snowshoes, I could have enjoyed another hour or so up there.

After some quick texting back and forth, a decision was made later in the evening to change the location of the ride to the dog park in Fort Collins, in order to continue the tradition.

The cloudless blue Colorado sky greeted us on Christmas Eve, with a temperature nearing 20 degrees at ride time. We had 9 hearty souls show up. The plan was to wear ugly Christmas outfits, but only one came through, dressed as Buddy the Elf. We had one rider on a purpose built snow bike, and one on a fixed gear road bike, with the remainder of the riders sporting mountain bikes of the geared or SS variety.

An initial assault of the ridge at Pineridge Open space was thwarted by deep snow, so our backup plan has us cruising the local bike path through town. Fort Collins is great, in that they keep the bike trails clear of snow in the winter, and this day was no exception. Given time constraints, our ride turned into an out-and-back ride, with the turn around point being the local BMX track. We could not just turn around here, though. The fresh snow begged us to make a lap, so we attempted it. The depth of the snow kept us from turning in a fast lap time, but we had fun anyway.

This year's ride differed from last in terrain, in the fact that it was not co-ed, and that there was no chocolate and poetry (due mostly to not having any ladies dumb enough to show up). I look forward to seeing what next year's ride brings.

Mike Weber - Keller Williams Realty - Northern Colorado Homes

970-310-4289

www.facebook.com/sgltrak * www.twitter.com/sgltrak

www.flickr.com/sgltrak * www.sgltrak.com

Old Town Fort Collins

Weekend Fun

Tonight it is time for the monthly First Friday Art Gallery Walk in Old Town Fort Collins. This event occurs the first Friday of every month, summer of winter. It is a great opportunity to visit 14 local art galleries and see what the artisits have been up to. Live music is often being played in different places throughout Old Town, and the galleries have light snacks. We nearly always run into friends while walking around Old Town.

There are many fantastic galleries with very talented artists, but my favorite has to be the Illustrated Light gallery on Old Town Square. His large format nature photos of the Rocky Mountains are beautiful. One of our other favorites is the Trimble Court artisan's co-op, with works from many local artists.

Tomorrow, Old Town will once again come alive with the crazy New Belgium Tour de Fat. This celebration of the bicycle includes one of the world's largest bicycle parades, with over 6,000 participants in costume and on various pedal powered contraptions.

Have a great weekend.

Mike Weber - Keller Williams Realty - Northern Colorado Homes

970-310-4289

www.facebook.com/sgltrak * www.twitter.com/sgltrak

www.flickr.com/sgltrak * www.sgltrak.com

Summit County Lake Loop

As the summer winds down, I find myself trying to squeeze in all of the things I have not yet completed. One of my favorite things in the whole world is mountain biking in Summit County, Colorado. As a former resident, I was spoiled by the fantastic riding and the beautiful surroundings. While I don't miss the long winters at 9,500' above sea level, I do miss the riding.

When my friend Mark posted a Summit County ride invitation on the Colorado front range forum at MTBR.com a couple of weeks ago, I started planning. Yesterday was the day and we ended up with just the two of us, and another rider from Denver that we met through the forums at MTBR. I met Mark this way, and have met many other great riders whom I consider friends through MTBR.com.

An early start from Fort Collins had us to the meeting point at the Gold Hill trail head a little after 9:00, and we were rolling by 9:30. Because of timber removal due to the pine beetle infestation, the climb up the Gold Hill trail looked a lot different than the last time I rode it several years ago. It was still a grunt, but warmed the legs nicely.

The ride down the back side to the Peaks trail was fast and flowy as always, dropping us into Frisco at 7th Street, after a quick run past Rainbow Lake. For the 2+ years Michele and I lived in Frisco, the area around Rainbow Lake, Miner's Creek, and the lower end of the Peaks trail was our after work playground, so this brought back memories.

A straight shot through town on Hwy 9 and a short ride down the Dillon Dam Road were more pavement than we wanted, but we needed it to connect with the power line trail and the Old Dillon Reservoir trail. It was sad to see that they are draining the lake up top, but I understand there are safety concerns about the earthen dam. A short break on the descent, compliments of my flat rear tire, gave us a chance to take in the scenery before heading across the dam into Dillon.


A short climb on pavement through Dillon and across Hwy6, and we were on the Oro Grande Ditch trail that skirts the foot of tenderfoot Mountain between Dillon and Keystone. This is where I usually took my Tuesday night rides when I had my shop in Dillon. Not too difficult and great views are a good combination when leading group rides. We followed this all the way past the shooting range and up Frey Gulch to the Conference Center trail before dropping into Keystone.

A quick ride through the lakeside village and we were at the bottom of Keystone Gulch. The next 6 or 7 miles consisted of a long uphill grind. Because I had not been drinking or fueling sufficiently this day, and apparently not riding enough since the Laramie Enduro, I began to bonk about 3/4 of the way up this climb. As I neared the top, my left thigh was cramping enough that I had to walk some sections. I ate Clif Bloks, a PB&J sandwich, and Hammer Gel, and a mini Bagel, but it was a little too late. I probably should have eaten some of the jerky I had to get some salt into the system, but had forgotten it was in my pack.

A bit more walking brought me to my favorite piece of single track in the state of Colorado, the Colorado Trail atop West Ridge. My riding partners were waiting for me, and after a short break, we set off. Despite being worn out, I enjoyed this as much as always. There is an element of fear as you travel a smooth single track at nearly 30 miles an hour with a precipitous drop off less than a foot to your side, but the mountain continues to pull you faster and faster.

This was the second time riding this section on my Moots YBB SL, and the first time with the Fox RL100 on it. I was also running stiffer wheels this time, and I think the combination of the stiffer wheels and longer travel, stiffer fork made me feel more stable and made the ride more fun.

At the Horseshoe Gulch crossing, I decided my legs were not going to handle the final climb, so I urged Mark and Brian to continue, while I exited the Colorado Trail here, via the Dredge Boat trail head, and rode down Tiger Road to the car. The paved ride should have been easy, but I pushed a head wind all the way back to the car, arriving only 15 minutes before the others.

According to my Garmin Forerunner 305, our stats showed nearly 38 miles, nearly 3,100 calories burned, over 6700 feet in elevation climbed, and all over 9,000 feet above sea level.