Settling In

Well, my plans to blog throughout the road trip when awry. I was just having too much fun to sit down at a silly computer. I'm finally in Denver (several moving mishaps aside) and almost entirely unpacked. All boxes are gone and just need to do some reorganizing.

After mom and Al left on Saturday, I panicked a little. Why was this a good idea? I don't know anyone! But my fears were quickly assuaged. Remember the random guy I met in the Dallas airport back in May? He just moved across the street from me on Saturday, so we met up at the local watering hole for beers on Saturday night. His first accomplishment? He has officially shamed me from drinking Miller Lite (in public at least). During the brew tour Al, Mom and I went on for my birthday, I discovered that yes, I DO like real beer. Its a learning curve. Anyhow, three tall Blue Moons later (I was unable to finish my third, thank you altitude), he suggested that we do a ride around town on our bikes Sunday night. Yay! Someone wants to be my friend!

So, after finally reuniting with my bed Saturday night (and what a wonderful reunion it was!) I slept in Sunday morning and set about unpacking my final boxes. Satisfied with my progress, I put in a netflix movie and promptly fell asleep. Around six, I met up with Kyle, my new friend, and we headed off.

I learned a little bit about what to wear when one bikes around town in search of good beer. I had thankfully ruled out bike shorts, but had opted for black workout capris. I should have perhaps gone with my North Face tan capris, but, to be quite honest, it is evident when I am sweating and I did not care to share my butt sweat with the greater Denver metro area. I also wore sneakers and did not bring flip flops. Faux Pax number 2. I do believe that flip flops are the state shoe of Denver. In the future, I will be sure to do all my casual riding in my teva flops so I do not stick out like a sore thumb. I thankfully opted for a plain white tee, figuring that would be easy to blend in with. It was not an easy event to dress for and I was thoroughly stressed!

Anyhow, once he pumped up my front tire (which was giving me problems) we were on our way. It felt great to be in motion again and I just tried to keep up. It was a fairly flat ride to our first destination, but I was definitely sucking wind. My lungs are definitely still adjusting. Our first stop was the Vine Street Pub - a local place about a 5 minute ride away. Even though I wasn't very hungry (I think the altitude has done a number on my appetite, too), I ordered a grilled cheese and a local wheat beer. Both were yummy!! We watched people walking towards City Park for their evening jazz night, including an entertaining pair of girls attempting to both ride one bike, and wiping out right in front of the outdoor seating.

Fully stuffed, we headed on over to LoDo (LowerDowntown) and rode down 16th Street. 16th Street has been disappointing to me - mostly national chains and a lot of touristy stuff. As we passed by side streets with better bars and restaurants, Kyle pointed those out to me. Laramie St looked particularly interesting and I'm anxious to get back to check it out!

Falling Rock is a pretty popular place, America's Favorite brew pub, allegedly. I certainly would not be able to order a Miller Lite here! Completely overwhelmed by the draught list, Kyle ordered me a Damnation from the Russian River Brewing Company. It was so good I had two!

We biked home, passing by the Denver Art Museum along the way. The architecture of the building is certainly unique and I am actually eager to check it out (and that's coming from an "I don't get it" art neophobe)

Overall, my first weekend was a success. The people are very nice and I seem to be finding enough things to keep me busy. Still working on losing portions of my east coast mentality, but it's a work in progress!