It's Was 84 Yesterday....and Today......

It snowed :(.

Fortunately, the weather forecast was correct so my friends and I thought it was a good idea to ride on Saturday. 

It was!  I guess those that were invited thought it was a good idea too, since almost 20 people showed up!

Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

It was a little chilly riding out to Starbucks...but after that, it warmed up nicely.  One of those beautiful Colorado days where the sun is shining, the sky is a brilliant blue and I can still see snow up on Pike's Peak. 

The day was made better because my son rode along.

Because of that, the route was planned to stay in the Colorado Springs vicinity.  Even an 8 year old's booty gets sore from sitting on a Fatboy passenger pillion!

First stop was lunch out in Falcon.  I had the chance to visit and catch up with my friends and fill my tummy.  What more can a girl ask for?

Well, more riding!!

After lunch, we rode out to the local putt-putt golf course and had an "activity".  Thank goodness there was a six-stroke limit because there were some holes that were just not pretty!!!  Paul and I were excited that we won--errrr--or had the highest number of strokes.  Yeah, in putt-putt, those are the rules!  In my imagination, at least!

Afterwards, we headed out to Manitou via Old Colorado City.  Waved at the tourists who were out in full force.  It's good to see because it's a sign the economy is picking up.  It wasn't so very long ago when riding through Old Colorado City and looking at the many empty shop windows.

It's always fun to wander around Manitou.  Stop at Patsy's Candy.  They've been in business for over 100 years!  Legend has it that Patsy sold his popcorn/peanut recipe to---you got it---Cracker Jack.  We laughed at the sign taped in the window that said "we close when the temperature is below __ (I can't remember the number)".  How do they know....with wild variable Colorado temps, do they open/close/open/close???  It was funny.

A stop at the Townhouse for a refreshing drink.  Sit out on the patio and people watch.  If you are ever in Manitou, you absolutely should watch the people.  I won't even attempt to describe the variety of people.  It is, however, quite entertaining to watch the throngs of tourists rarin' to ride up the Cog Railroad to the summit of Pike's Peak.  The Cog is known as the world's highest cog railroad and most tourists don't realize that the summit temps of Pike's Peak can be in the below freezing even when the temperature at Manitou is a balmy 80 degrees.

Adventures done and amusement factor refilled, it was time to go home.

My day wasn't done by any means.  I short stop home and then off to meet my wonderful girlfriends to catch the last show of The Vagina Monologues.  It was a wonderful production and my friends and I shared laughter and tears throughout the show.  While the message is important--the money raised through sales benefits the local battered women's shelter and provides funding for programs aimed in protecting women. 

Today, the snow blew in.  It was a reminder that the weather is fickle--just like life.  We all should take those available minutes and get out and ride when we can.

Until next time,

Keep the Shiny Side Up!!

~The Rainbow Wahine