It's been three months, the limit of my moving budget, and I'm not going hungry or living in a box. I haven't found my dream job yet, but I can pay the bills for now. It's been an exciting three months - exploring the area, learning the cultural differences, job searching, and lots of budget calculating.
Most of my exploring has been done by bike. In fact, I've only used a tank and a half of gas since getting here. My legs are probably stronger than they've ever been. I've ridden all over town as well as the nearby mountain roads and trails. The town is very cyclist friendly with bike lanes on almost every street and stores conveniently placed within riding distance. Most of the sensored street lights can even be triggered by bike. I've never been much of a road biker, but the mountain roads have exceeded my expectations and converted me, just a little, in that direction. The trails, however, are not as good as I imagined. While they're mostly fun, they were built for hiking, not riding - lots of rocky straight aways. They don't drain very well either due to soil composition and building technique. That said, I've only ridden about half of the nearby trails. Pretty soon I'll start driving to the ones out of riding distance. The other downside is that mountain biking is seasonal. Road biking season on the other hand depends on your gear and pain tolerance. The good news is that the bike club is in full swing now!
The culture here is on the other end of the spectrum compared to Mississippi. Liberal with a strong push towards natural foods, exercising, and sustainable living. My neighbors have solar panels on their roof, a garden in the front yard and chickens in the back. There's always people running at 6:30am. The city buses run on propane. The strangest though, was hearing my coworkers talk about smoking a bowl after work. But, pot isn't as out in the open as I thought it would be. Not like Amsterdam. The city has some strange ordinances like pet licensing, parking on the right side of the road (even in front of your own house!), and something against tall business signs (maybe obstructing the view?). That makes it kind of difficult to find places, but I've gotten used to it.
The weather is great though. Low humidity. Four seasons. Lots of sun! The wind can be annoying though, especially for a cyclist; it's worse than hills. I've been told there's lots of weather threats too- fires, floods, large hail, tornadoes, etc.
So what does my future hold? While I love Ft Collins, it's not home. I don't know where I'll go yet, but I probably won't stay here more than a year or two. My mind could change in that time, but I'd like to explore other places too. Also, I can't shake my dream of living on a sailboat and travelling a blue trail. For now, I'm planning some road trips and will just have to see where work and/or school takes me. As long as it's a cool cycling town with good beer.
No comments:
Post a Comment