The Exploration of the Familiar

Growing up I was what I would consider a pretty stereotypical nerd, spending most of my time inside playing video games and tinkering with computers. I was no stranger to the outdoors, especially on those long Ohio summer days when mom would kick us out of the house and we would roam around the neighborhood and surrounding farmland with the other kids, but I usually saw it as something to be admired from afar (at best), or a flat out inconvenience (at worst), rather than a place I desired to be. It wasn’t until later in life, when work relocated me to Colorado (a state pretty famously known for its outdoors) that I grew an appreciation for being outside.

Ever since that first time I flew into Colorado and the plane started descending over the Rockies I have had a deep feeling of being at home in the mountains. It’s hard not to have a sense of awe and wonder when looking out over a wide vista across a vast mountain range, and the ever growing number of scenic overlooks, resorts, trails, and drives mean I’m probably not the only one who feels this way. Over the past 15 years I’ve spent a lot of time on my mountain bike riding and exploring Colorado and it has afforded me some scenic views that visitors don’t get the opportunity to see and no postcard can truly capture.