Monday, July 23, 2012

Partner's Perspective: Royal Gorge, Canon City, CO


Welcome to our new segment where we will provide a female and male opinion on places we encounter during our adventures.  Jess will provide her perspective, and I will provide the testosterone driven side.  

First up today is the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park in Canon City, CO.  www.royalgorgebridge.com
The Royal Gorge includes a suspension bridge, multiple rides over the gorges steep walls, a train ride at the Gorge's bottom, an old western town with old time photos and mule rides through the canyon, each providing different views of the Arkansas River Basin.  Adult entry fee is $24 online, $26 at the gate.  The zipline and skycoaster that suspend you over the gorge will set you back about $20 per person.  A combo ticket of entry, zipline, and skycoaster can be had for $60.  

Without further ado...

A Girl's Take 

After our morning workouts Nick and I packed a picnic lunch and undertook an adventure to the  Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.  In a word our experience there was GORGE-EOUS ;o)  Entering the park, I felt as though we were taking a step back in time; the park is rich in history and full of attractions for the explorer in all of us.  My favorite part, however, was simply taking in the awe-inspiring panoramic views.

The bridge itself towers over 950 ft above the Arkansas River and is among the world's highest suspension bridges.  Our quarter mile stroll across the bridge's wooden plank walkway offered beautiful views of unique rock formations, the river and it's whitewater rafters, and surrounding mountains.  As someone a little scared of heights, I could help but be aware of bridge's gentle swaying in the summer breeze and visions of the rope bridge encountered by Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom movie popped into my mind.  Of course, I know the Royal Gorge bridge is much wider, stronger, and structurally sound.  Some of the best views can also be found while riding the aerial tram, which carried us 2,200 ft across the gorge, at a height of 1178 feet above the Arkansas River. 

I'm not much of a history buff (Nick can vouch for this one), but I found the story of the Gorge quite interesting.  Boasting to be the "Original Jurassic Park", some of earliest and largest dinosaurs were found to have roamed the gorge region and in recent years paleontologists have discovered some of the most complete dino remains dating from 100 to 200 million years ago.  Pretty cool huh?  The gorge itself was created as a trickle of water began caring a canyon, slowly but surely, into the solid granite bedrock.  3 million years later that trickle has grown into the raging Arkansas river and continues to carve at the rock.  I guess it just goes to show you that if you chip away at something long enough, work a little at it every day, you can create something huge :o)

A Male's Take

My goal at the Royal Gorge was to fly high on the SkyCoaster over the ridge and take to the zip-line rated as the highest zip-line in the world. Sadly we arrived later in the afternoon about 2 hours from close and they were no longer selling tickets to the rides due to the high wait times, bummer!  Luckily we got to tour the bridge itself which involves some rickety boards that can be driven across.  During our visit a hot rod procession occurred across the bridge which was an awesome show of American craftsmanship and also the amount of weight the bridge could hold!  Additionally, the ride across the gorge on the tram was entertaining as you swung in the breeze a thousand feet up in the air.  If you like some one of kind views and high flying rides this is the place for you.  Don't forget in between the rides to visit the old western town on the far side of the gorge.  This park segment allows you to take Ole Time Photos and throw hatchets to test your woodsman skills.  Man up and see if you can get a blade to stick in the bulls-eye.  As a whole, this is an outdoor adventure and those who enjoy the outdoors will be the happiest to make the drive to this secluded part of Colorado.  This is a place where you can spend a full day if you'd like to ride the train through the bottom of gorge, taking a mule ride on the trails, and venturing all of the rides.  I'd recommend it for couples and groups of friends.  Make sure you bring ones who aren't scared of heights and taking a plunge to get the full experience!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Up Early

Today I've noticed a surprising trend.

Again, I'm up before the sun is just to watch the Tour de France before work.  

How does a night person get here?

I've always found getting up before the sun to be a punishment reserved for those in the deepest levels but lately I seem to be able to endure early mornings easier than ever. 

Everything has come full circle with sports in my life.  I get up early for my own races, and now for listening to Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin.

Isn't it intriguing how life changes and we change our priorities with a seamless transition to the point where waking up at 5 a.m. for a bike race rules your life?  What changes next?

What a great ride.  Enjoy yours and have a successful day!




Friday, July 13, 2012

Our first Incline experience

Now that we have been at altitude for 2 weeks I thought it was time to take on the historic Manitou Incline where Apolo Ohno helped forge his massive legs.  I'm becoming suspicious that Jess' agreement to come to Colorado Springs for work is based on her hope that Apolo would be spending time at the Olympic training center.  (maybe take her out to dinner too...)

Here's a little history on the incline.  It is approximately 1 mile in length of railroad ties up the side of a mountain based in Manitou Springs.  Originally it was built to assist in construction efforts on the side of the mountain and afterwards became a tourist attraction.  After it officially shut down in 1990 it has become a  challenge to those wishing to embark on a steep and uncomfortable hike.  In 1 mile of hiking, crawling, running?, and complaining you gain 2,000 feet of elevation.  Starting elevation is around 6,405 feet.  You quickly learn why people preferred using the railway to get up the hill.

A few tips from a first timer.
1)  I wore Saucony Mirages, which I love, but when the heavy thunderstorm started and with the loose gravel and technical nature of the Incline on the way up and the Barr trail on the way down I would recommend shoes that give a confident grip to the ground.  I'm looking into a pair of Kinvara TR or Peregrine 2.
2)  Another self-explanatory tip... take water!  Many first timers on the trail were without water and needing to borrow from other hikers.  There is nothing wrong with lending others water but make sure you are prepared for a much harder climb than "1-mile" advertises.  There is a 4+ mile hike downhill afterwards as well.
3)  The base of the trail has a donation bin for restoration and improvement of the incline as it is expected to become a recognized trail, i.e. one that you are not technically trespassing on.  You'll see why it is worth dropping a few dollars in.

Now about the climb, It hurts!  Here are some pics of my new favorite workout.  The first picture is 1/2 mile up based on my Garmin Forerunner.

Unfortunately, half way up is a "false summit".  As you climb, due to the angle of incline around 40 degrees, the "top" appears too close to be true.  And it isn't true.  After cresting the false summit you come to the quick realization that you still have some hurting to do.  Below the picture from the top shows that the incline of the trail makes a large portion of the ties disappear.


At the top my Garmin claimed .83 miles, Jess' claimed 1.02... she reports doing some zig-zagging along the stairs due to the incredibly large heights and angles of many of the ties.  Curious about how much fuel this earns a 150 lb 5'11" male?  I earned 756 NikeFuel over 29:47 which is equivalent to a 5 mile run on rolling terrain around 7 minute mile pace based on my previous "Fuelsearch". 

If you get to Colorado Springs (flights are cheap now due to the Waldo Canyon Fire) and don't fear a heart attack this is a must hike for the pride and the beautiful pictures as a reward.  Enjoy!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Getting Settled at Altitude

Beautiful Colorado Springs didn't welcome us kindly when we arrived last week.  The Waldo Canyon Fire had other ideas.  Forcing our evacuation and closing all the parks in the area.  Coming from the Northeast we were having a new experience that Jess now believes happens every year.  One thing is for sure, it was a move-in we'll never forget.
The foothills next to our new apartment... on fire.
Needless to say, it smelled like a campfire outside, inside, and on your clothes for the week that the fire destroyed many homes and thousands of acres.  It was depressing to see so many people lost their homes; however, the national response, gifts to charity, and volunteering showed how tough times can rally people together and focus on what is valuable in life.  We were fortunate ourselves after being evacuated to have a friend in the area who shared his home with us.  It was an experience to say the least and the continued outreach and support for those affected as they start their recovery is heartening.  We're happy to live close to so many quality people. 

Now that the fire is contained and Colorado Springs can start its recovery, the influx of tourism and locals at the re-opened parks is fantastic.  We look forward to bringing more stories of Colorado Explorations in the coming weeks as we figure out our surroundings!
Pikes Peak from our Balcony
Garden of the Gods on a Run from our apartment