Boulder, CO

My buddy Neil got married this past weekend in Boulder, CO. It was an awesome weekend that included hiking, mountain biking, and hanging out with close friends. Pearl Street was the center of the daily action with all the great restaurants, shops, bars, and pubs. Boulder seems to be the center of the universe when it comes to a healthy-outdoorsy-working out lifestyle. Population is around 103,000 people and they have over 44,000 acres of green open space. Tons of bikers...they were everywhere. And the microbrews were tasty too. It turns out it was the same weekend as the Univ of CO vs Florida State football game. There were a ton of Florida State fans in town. In addition to that, it was also "parents weekend" for the college kids, so it was an active weekend around town.

I hiked with Neil on Thursday afternoon. He took me up to some of the trails that go to the base of the Flatiron Mountains above Boulder and got incredible views of Boulder and the surrounding area. On Friday, Neil took five of us mountain biking on the Hall Ranch North Foothills Open Space Antelope trails near his house in Lyons, CO. There were some serious hills to climb but we were rewarded with a fun downhill blast on the way back. It was a bit unnerving to have a mountain lion warning sign posted at the trailhead. In fact, Neil came across a black bear and her cub just a couple of weeks beforehand on the same trails while running. He talked to the bear while slowly backing up, telling her they could both coexist together in harmony. The bear took off running in the opposite direction.

The wedding ceremony on Saturday was beautiful as it was held at a small ampitheater on top of Flagstaff Mountain Park overlooking Boulder. It was an incredible weekend in a great locale with our friends. If you're ever in Boulder, definitely do the following:

- hike to Flatiron Mountain (trailhead at Chautauqua Park) and/or go to Flagstaff Mountain Park for the views

- eat at Lucille's for breakfast

- if you're into microbrews, check out Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery on Pearl St. Also, try some Dale's Pale Ale (based in Lyon's CO at Oskar Blues).

- Pearl St between 9th & 15th has more restaurants and bars than you can get to...a great people watching place as well.

- Take Banjo Billy's bus tour of Boulder. You won't be disappointed. You can take a cooler on the bus with you.

View of Boulder from Flatirons

The Flatirons

Mountain Biking in Lyons

View of Longs Peak while mountain biking

WARNING!