If I ever move out of California, there are only two other states I would consider -- Hawaii and Colorado. The latter is a haven for cyclists, athletes and anyone who loves the outdoors. Not all of Colorado is habitable though, in particular, Colorado Springs is just way too full of religious fundamentalists and born again Christians who want to convert the entire country to their point of view. However, Boulder, is the polar opposite not just for the politics but for the cycling culture. Everyone is fit, drive a Subaru or a Prius, shop at Whole Foods Market, ride a bike and just overall progressive. My kind. So a business trip to Boulder is one I'd never turn down and in the 10 years I've been traveling there, I've never experience a full-blown snowfall. Until this week. I arrived Wednesday night and it was the calmest of winter evenings -- 55 deg F, not a cloud nor any wind. By 10pm though, I started seeing snow flakes floating about in the thin mountain air. By Thursday morning, we got 8-10 inches of snow and while this makes for an interesting drive for Californians, these Boulder residents were hardly bothered. In fact, as I drove around 8am, I counted about a couple dozen cyclists commuting in the snow! Then I found out later that they plow the bike paths clear before the first commuters hit the trails. Now that's progress. Bikes before cars.
I don't think I've ever seen any of my car thermometer go below 31 deg F -- and that was New Year's Eve at Zion National Park in 2007. However, this morning as I drove to the DIA, my Ford Focus rental car read a frigid 16 deg F. I'm not even sure my California cars are calibrated at this low end of the scale. But the beauty of Boulder was just apparent this morning when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the ground was white and unfortunately, I had to go back home.
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