G.A.S.P.

(Great Adventures to Scenic Places)

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July 5, 1999

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The next day (7-5) I headed south to the town of Pierce, then west towards Fort Collins. I was hoping for a beautiful and photographic view of the mountains, but instead saw lots of smog. Denver is one of America’s smoggiest cities now, and I guess the pollution is working its way north to Fort Collins and Cheyenne. Too bad, because without it, the view of the mountains would be grand.

I got to Fort Collins and looked up a bike shop. I later found out that there are at least 10 in this beautiful city of 100,000 people. I just needed a minor tune-up, but it took me most of the day just to get it done on the short notice that I provided. They did a great job for me though – Lee’s Cyclery & Fitness. I had expected that this would take some time, so I had already planned to spend this night in Loveland and the next in Estes Park.

The bike work did give me plenty of time to walk around Fort Collins, and boy was I impressed. It’s a great city – must be one of those "best kept secrets." Fort Collin’s just close enough (about 65 miles) to Denver to have access to everything that a big city has to offer, yet far enough away (still about 65 miles) to not have big city problems. There was lots of activity downtown – many small restaurants, shops, pubs, etc. Also, the campus of Colorado State University (about 15,000 students) is adjacent to downtown. The city is a bicyclist’s paradise – bike shops, bike trails, bike lanes (on most city streets), bike racks everywhere including on the busses. People (old and young alike) were riding bicycles wherever I looked.