Team Building - or an Excuse to Enjoy a Beautiful Day!

Your Perfect Tour Awaits!

Team Building. Exercises in Trust. Corporate Retreat. Once upon a time these words brought to mind images of Dude Ranches or Spas In Fiji (am-I-right???).

Why not put a local, low-pressure spin on your next Work Bonding Event and take a Faux Tour with us?

Best case scenario: you all love it and decide to make it a regular event for your office/team/co-hort! Call it what you will: an afternoon of site-seeing by bike sounds pretty sweet, and is bound togive you the breath of fresh air outside the office that you need! I suppose in part that's why I created Leisurely Pedaling, though, and now it's an option for your corporate field trips and team bonding moments as well!

Worst case scenario: you find our stories ridiculous and you've been forced to spend a half day on a bike (on the company's dime...) enjoying the sunshine on your face and gentle breeze in your hair. Oh - and you're probably in the company of your co-workers and boss, and there's a really friendly and fun guide you can talk with as well!

What do you say - time to go talk with the manager of activities and team building and make sure the HR department is on board?

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

I'll Take the Faux-sperience, Please!

I love a good story, and I love retelling a good story to the best of my ability. Therein lies my greatest challenge, though: does it matter if the retelling of a story actually matches its origin, or can the beauty of a totally embellished tale be a memorable experience in itself?

This year Leisurely Pedaling is adding a Faux Collins Tour as a pre-planned, standard tour option for either half-day or full-day enjoyment! You'll get the full tour experience with anecdotes, fun factoids, and a whole lot of hoop-la that has limited - ok, I'll be honest, has almost zero - factual basis. You could probably ride this same tour a hundred times and never get the same rhetoric.

Oh the stories Old Town Fort Collins could tell!

Many questions you didn't know you had, and will laughingly embrace our answers for include:

• What is a council tree - and where is it?
• Why "horsetooth"?
• So, where did they stash the powder?
• Which street was paved first?
• What's the story behind the CSU Aggies becoming CSU Rams?
• Where was the original Fort?
• I hear the city has tunnels under Old Town, what are/were they used for?
• Tell me about Balloon Boy...
• What was the incident that inspired local legislation banning horses from being ridden into public buildings?

I know, we're just as excited to experience this tour as you and can't wait to share our knowledge along the ride or over a beverage with you and your tour buddies!

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

The city's oldest tree is in there somewhere...

Safety: Because, You Know, A Penny For Your... Skirt?

Let's talk about the art of riding in a skirt. Initially you may think "oh sure Jes, this post is for the ladies" ... at which point I'll smile and remind you here in Fort Collins things are a little different. All-out costume occasions happens at least twice per calendar year and include Tour de Fat and Halloween. You've never seen so many skirted men and bearded ladies! Other times would include charitable 5k runs, bike-in movie nights (togas for Animal House, anyone?!), and various other musically boozy festivals.

Back to the point: the art of riding in a skirt!
Some skirts are flow-y, and others are rather fitted. Many are floor-length, and a few are lucky to just cover the goods. Regardless, you'll want to keep these pointers in mind for "skirted situations." I'm looking at you, toga-man!

Lucky penny: keeps your skirt hem in place

1. Lucky penny pick it up, attach to the skirt hem and you'll have good luck! Really: a penny is the perfect weight to keep most upper-calf-to-lower-thigh-length skirts riding at their intended level. All you need is double-stick tape, a penny, and the hem of a skirt. Find the front and center skirt edge, and affix the penny to the underside: out of sight, out of mind.
2. Booty shorts aren't just for volley-ball players! They're like spanx without the support, running shorts without the roominess, or standard bike shorts without the chamois. Ride with confidence, friends! Oh- and no-one ever even has to know they're there - which depends on your (mini) skirt of course! 
3. Alternatively: get down with your slightly Euro-side and rock a sweet pair of tights or leggings! Fashionable yet modest. Functional yet flattering. Full range of motion yet feminine.
4. Ankle straps, pant clips, garters: call them what you want, they come in pretty handy for those long billowy floor-length maxi skirts, togas, etc... How? I'm so glad you asked! Chances are your ensemble is billowy enough that showing a little leg is perfectly acceptable: loop your garter such that it encircles your waist band and skirt hem. Voila! Note: a toga would need a little more creativity, but chances are you can keep your hem out of the bike chain effectively.
5. Consider riding a step-through frame: they're a little more forgiving when you have restricted leg movement (think: mounting, standing stopped, and dismounting).

 Cheers for now!

Adventure Jes

Designing the Adventures- Leisurely ;-)

Public Art: Andy Warhol, Soup Can

The proposed itineraries are coming together quite nicely, and we cannot wait to have AdventureJes.com ready to handle all the fun! Mapping out points of interest with the limiting criteria including "comfortably bike-able" and "I personally love this spot, and so does everyone who visits me regardless of age, origin, and inclination to travel!!" You'll find everything to be distinctly Colorado in theme and feeling.

For example, Fort Collins is known for Breweries (they're popping up EVERYWHERE!), Bikes (Platinum Bicycle City anyone?), and an Ample Supply of Restaurants (highest number per capita in the US!). What you might not know is the city also houses the broadcasting of the Nation's Atomic Clock, Colorado's only "Wild and Scenic River" as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Old Town which became the model for Main Street in Disneyland!

Plotting Fort Collins Attractions!

While Loveland is known as one of few access points to Rocky Mountain National Park (and the town of Estes Park), you might not know that Loveland is one of the Nation's top artist communities and boasts more than 200 pieces of public art and the largest outdoor sculpture gallery in the US. As well, the town is proudly "Sweetheard City USA" and you may recall this fun factoid from having a Valentine re-routed through Loveland to be delivered to your sweetheart with an extra-romantic and charming postage cancellation. Who knew snail-mail could be so fun?! Actually we did, so we're sharing with you! ;-)

As you can imagine, even more fun, unique, and inspiring distinctions are true of the rest of Northern Colorado. We can't wait to share what fun, leisurely, and inspiring stories will come to life for you during your leisurely pedaling adventures with us.

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

Bike-Topia

While the "to-do" list continues to grow, this last month and a half was well stocked with many activity research opportunities here at Adventure Jes!

Our adventures exploring "what gets people to take active vacations?" took us to Montana and Wyoming where things are done in a more "pen and paper" style and phone numbers are commonly understood in their 7-digit format. As well, the route research took us up to Summit County (about an hour and a half from our base in Fort Collins) to do a little "Leaf-peeping" as the aspens prepare to lose their leaves for the year.

Montana and Wyoming have the advantage of well-dispersed populations making the roadways and bike routes a truly personal experience. We chose to get our tires in the dirt despite the "road and pavement" nature of Adventure Jes. We're looking forward to recreating a felling of "it's just you, the road, and Nature" feeling as we update and coordinate routes throughout Northern Colorado.

On the same token, Yellowstone has a fantastic mapping system that tells you where bikes can go and where they are discouraged. Nothing compares to finding a quiet spot to observe the geysers and waterfalls just a moment farther off the well-worn foot paths in Yellowstone- bringing the bikes was a major win!

Exploring Summit County in mid-September is absolutely breath-taking, and I cannot put into words my excitement for taking Colorado visitors on a tour of foliage next autumn. Great brakfast cafes, well-maintained bike paths through and between cities and towns, and several places of interest for stopping and enjoying the history, scenery, and small indulgences unique to Colorado. I hope the following pictures will suffice.

Cheers for now!

Adventure Jes

Market Research: Riding Across Iowa With Five Close Friends In One RV!

Now that Adventure Jes is truly an entity, the fun can begin! This last week was spent on RAGBRAI: The Register's Annual Great Ride Across Iowa, and was an excellent exploration in "what cyclists want" and "what cyclists appreciate" versus "what cyclists do". My informal observations and chats provided a wealth of information for the kind of cyclist explorers we will attract:

• What cyclists want is efficiency, prompt gratification, scenery, accurate (and slightly ironic) signage, smooth roads, well-known music, and MORE COWBELL!
• What cyclists need are clean bathroom breaks, just enough variety of food to cover the "sweet/salty/crunchy/soft/hot/cold/flavorful/simple" bases, drink variety that includes "hoppy/electrolyte/cola/water/lemonade", emphasis on cold drinking water, flat sleeping surfaces, accurate mileage expectations, compatible group dynamics, reliably warm showers, and basic laundry service.
• What cyclists appreciate are good dance parties, shopping opportunities, points of interest, local flavor, volunteer and paid support that "just get how cyclists operate," and cold adult beverages at the end of the ride (or at the first rest stop).

This makes Adventure Jes happy! ...and is all information that will be used in putting together our tours. As always, we welcome your input and thoughts as we get geared-up and dialed-in for leisurely pedalings throughout Northern Colorado.

Anyway, below are a few highlights from this last week ending in a lovely Colorado sunset upon returning home. Enjoy!

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

All riders welcome!

Juiciest, thickest, most delicious pork-chops ever!

Reliable Volunteers

RAGBRAI or BUST!

Lovely end to a lovely week of riding

Let's Get Down to Business, Adventure Jes LLC!

Today the dream has become reality as Adventure Jes takes form in the annals of public records and tax responsibility! I am very excited to bring this business to life and share our adventures in the many seasons to come.

Won't you pedal with me a moment? It will be fun: I promise! What are the details you say? This is an adventure- the details will be along shortly... :-)

Cheers for now,

Jes