Year of disruptions

This year really threw a curve to all my bike plans. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I had a few trips to bike festivals, like Fruita Fat Tire and Crested Butte Bike Week.

I had trips planned: Steamboat, and some of the first parts of the Colorado Trail.

I was going to shoot a lot more videos and post them on YouTube.

Most of it was shut down because of CoVid. Some of it was a self-imposed stay-near-home defense plan.

Not shooting more video, well, a lot of that is on me. The spring of this year really took a lot of wind out of the sails. I’m still working to get it back.
Then in summer and late fall, all the forest around me started on fire.

Fall is my favorite time of the year to ride. Winter here is hit or miss. Spring is too wet with all the Colorado clay mud. Then summer here is just too damn hot for my taste.

Talk about a shit show year.

But really it should be like I am whining. You get the feeling that this late in the year you said, “Damn the germs, I’m just going out there.”

Really overall it’s been a good year. I’ve stayed healthy, got a house with my partner, and mostly stayed sane.

I really hope that everyone else had a decent enough year. But that’s not true for many.

Bike ridership is through the roof this year. Finding a bike or even bike parts has been a real pain. There are a lot of reasons for the uptick. It seemed that the biggest is that people wanted to get outside and stay fit-ish. So many gyms closed, and still haven’t gotten back to normal, that people needed something to stay moving.

The trails are crowded. It was especially bad late spring and early summer. You would have to get to the trailhead at 7 am or not get a parking spot.
I’m complaining again.

But really it is great. People have been outside. But we have to make sure the outside can handle it. Lots of outdoor spaces are limited in how many people can enjoy them. Suddenly what is happening here reminds me of the over-tourism in places like Iceland. The facilities that are at places can’t handle the number of people that are showing up.

That’s a hard sell for upgrading outdoor trailheads when the economy is still unbalanced.

But you also have to think that once everything else opens, the majority of those folks will go back to the stores, restaurants, and movie theaters.
It would be nice to have quiet trails during the week again.

But it seems that there is a change that is happening with folks. I think that the longer this goes on, the more of a permanent change it will be for some. It will be a better world.

People are reevaluating their lives. We might not go back to some of the old ways. Social interactions might not be at the bars and movies anymore. In a way, we can hope.