Tour and a Show - Whoa!

Human creativity is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I was pleasantly reminded of this when I was invited to enjoy opening night of The Taming of The Shrew. This witty comedy had me laughing with delight from the comfort of my blanket on the lawn in the park while enjoying a slice of pizza and sipping on my favorite lemon-lime soda water.

Beautiful evening for theatre in the park!

There isn't a bad seat in the house! Er, park!

The actors clearly enjoyed their work bringing the characters to life flawlessly, and each were a perfect fit for this witty work of Shakespeare! The costumes were adorable, the setting: comfortably ideal, and the ladies running the show are as friendly as they come. It's a rather intimate setting with couples and families with their blankets and lawn chairs circling the stage.

Just as important, though, there is plenty of bike parking and the food trucks provide a stunning array of dining options!

Oh - in case you're wondering? Yes, Leisurely Pedaling will provide lawn chairs and/or blankets for your viewing pleasure :-) Hope you can join us this weekend... and if not perhaps we'll see you on the 24th!

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes 

Date Night!

Painted skies and rustic beauty are guaranteed attractions on date night in Old Town Fort Collins.

Old Town Fort Collins at Sunset

More often than not, the same can be said for all of the 42 parks and countless dining and entertainment experiences throughout "mid Town" and "Down South" (keep in mind these geographic N/S references are within 6 miles of each other).

Old Town Cruiser

Date night started for us when I was in grad school. It was the unofficial deadline to complete the week's discussions and papers in exchange for an evening of remembering how to be a sociable, carefree person with my sweetie. Occasionally, we'd make it a double date. I digress.

The concept of date night inspired a new tour experience coming in June: an afternoon/evening of Leisurely Pedaling followed by lounging in the park watching live theatre, with a second-to-none culinary experience at a local food truck somewhere in the middle. How much fun would that be?! 

Goose Fountain in Old Town Fort Collins

So there you have it: a custom tour experience offered twice in June that sets you up for a sweet date night! Saturday the 11th and Friday the 24th starting at 3pm we'll have a three hour tour ending in a park. There you'll find a food truck (either Ripe Tomatoes Pizza or Mile High Lobster Shack), followed the Open Stage Theatre's production of The Taming of the Shrew. What could be better than a tour, show, and dinner all wrapped up in one neat package?!

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

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

Pedal Chats - Coopertition at Its Finest!

Coopertition: helps all the pieces come together thumbs-up!

What in heck is cooper-what-huh-how? It's a healthy combination of Cooperation and Competition - coopertition - that allows businesses and the humans running them to thrive in capitalist prosperity while working together to grow and maximize niche offerings and exposure in a friendly, supportive manner. Sure, it can sound a little "hippy" and a little "unrealistically idealistic," however, it is a really nice, incredible attribute to my reality.

Pedal Chats are an idea that has taken life from a friendship and business relationship Leisurely Pedaling has with MTBtime.com. The premise of Pedal Chats is providing a publicly approachable opportunity for everyone with similar passion in their veins to talk bikes and tourism... ride bikes a moment... and enjoy a beverage and appetizer while relaxing on one of Fort Collins' fine patio dining places. Seems like fun, right? Oh - and assuming you have your own bike it's free, or you can reasonably snag one from Peloton (our partner in bike offerings for Leisurely Pedaling this year!).

Bike Love.

So - what's the scoop between Leisurely Pedaling and MTBtime? Leisurely Pedaling and MTBtime have in common a love for bicycling outside (I know, seems like a redundant concept), an interest in expanding and coordinating tourism developments directly related to this love for bicycling outside, and making our work approachable and organically malleable: we welcome your input, and I imagine you have a million thoughts and questions, too! Where we differ is our focus: Leisurely Pedaling provides a sweet site-seeing service, and MTBtime.com provides necessary and reliable insight on local mountain bike trails, conditions, events, and other things mountain bikers would find interesting.

Join us the 4th Saturday of each month starting April 23rd. We'll meet at Peloton at 2101 South College Avenue at 3:45pm and ride to beverages and appetizers for an hour or so, and return to Peloton afterward. Can't wait to see you there!

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

Platinum Bicycle City: What's That Mean?

Local Art - at Compass Cider

You recall hearing about the "Faux Collins Tour" as one of our standard tour options, and "Experience Platinum Tour" is its slightly more sophisticated, well-manicured sibling. That's right, the second new tour route for 2016 is all about the trails, bike lanes, and inter-connected nature that makes Fort Collins a Platinum Bike City as evaluated by the League of American Bicyclists.

So, what makes the trails/lanes/etc in Fort Collins unique and worthy of being a top five bicycle friendly community in the entire United States? Well, my short list includes:

Bike Parking!

• Bike paths: miles upon miles of paved paths criss-crossing the city
• Side-street bike routes: efficient yet beautiful, and they just feel safe
• Bike racks, bike racks, bike racks... You can't go half a block without tripping over them
• Clubs, teams, festivals, and bike-share: there is Something quite literally for every type of bike rider, and chances are there's a (bike) shop dedicated to your style, too
• Drivers: bike racks and pasing with wide berths are fairly common, truly the inconsiderate driver is the minority
• Mapping and way-finding: the city makes it pretty easy (intuitive?) to find where you want to be and how to get there through maps, signage, and a ranking system for why some streets are better than others in this regard

The Platinum Experience takes you through several different decades of what it means to be Fort Collins while giving you the truly local experience. Enjoy!

Cheers for now!

Adventure Jes

On Tour!

Where Has All the Lycra Gone?

"Fort Collins is surprisingly lacking in lycra..."

This quote - regardless of accuracy - makes me giggle every time I read it. You see, it's phrases like this that end up in my "business journal of inspiration and accomplishment" (yea, that's a real thing).

It's true, though: Old Town Fort Collins has bikes all over. The riders are a blend of casual carnie-looking guys, boho-chic ladies, functional commuters, and business-casual retirees! The more you look around Old Town, the more you realize how often the cyclists are overlooked because they look surprisingly human. You know what I mean: everyday clothes, helmets optional, shoes of every variety...

If Fort Collins is Platinum on the bike-friendly scale (which it is, again!) and hales as home to the likes of Georgia Gould and TJ VanGarderen, there should be a healthy collection of lycra-clad Cyclists, right? So - where are they?!

A Map of Lycra For Your Viewing Pleasure!

Fort Collins is no stranger to traffic at all daylight hours excluding, perhaps, the "hangover" hours on holidays. As such, your daily exerciser takes the shortest and least-traffic route to either the fun mountain roads and trails, or the rolling plains. So no, there are not many lycra-clad riders in the cultural center of the city, but I promise you the train of grinning quintessential, lycra-wearing riders are a-plenty!

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...

Pedaling with Cats: A Daydream

Sidecars.
Aviator goggles and leather helmets.
That one time we saved ourselves from sure destruction!

As you might expect, I find daydreaming about bikes a common occurrence. The chilly winter days and ice-covered streets and bike-ways understandably stimulate thoughts of sunshine, warm laughter, and summer afternoons filled with exciting discoveries and visiting "oldie but goodie" favorite places.

I wish... I really wish... my cat enjoyed biking as much as I do and would tag along without any fuss. Perhaps it's just his nature: he doesn't really like meeting new people, has a healthy fear of the Great Outdoors, and finds joy in sleeping in the sun. I hear this is pretty typical for cats.

Dream with me a moment, though: imagine a cat in the front basket of a bike! Better yet: a cat in a bicycle side-car wearing aviator goggles and a leather helmet!

We could explore nearby parks (he'd nap in the sunshine or climb the trees), play in the river (he'd keep his paws dry until a fish swam by), or enjoy people-watching at a local brewery's patio - maybe even make a few new friends! It would be endless fun!

Oh well, it was worth the daydream.

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

Home: When Was the Last Time you Played Tourist?

 I love daydreaming about my next vacation or weekend getaway! Who doesn't? My bestie and I have on-going emails speculating epic bike routes, races, and bike-friendly city wanderings on this continent and the next. Getting away is always the goal, but who says you can't get away at "home"?

It didn't take more than a few memorable, jovial journeys in other hemispheres to open my eyes to the biking wonders right here in my backyard. Home: the stay-cation in Fort Collins!

When I was feeling stressed and pressed for time in grad school, the easiest getaway was grabbing my bestie, my camera, and designing routes to explore my own town. There's always something to be experienced: a new museum exhibit, new restaurant, new beverage joint, new construction, new (free) live music, and new combinations of all the above to create a beautiful day on the bike!

When was the last time you glanced at your home town as a tourist?

Cheers for now!

Adventure Jes

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

There Once Was a Town Whose Air Was Riddled With the Scent of Hops

Available at: Akinz.com

On the first day of touring my true-love said to me: have a fat tire and let's cheers sustainability! (that's New Belgium Brewery, yo!)

On the second day of touring my true-love said to me: O'Dells is our favorite, so let's get mercenaries and cheers craft breweries!

On the third day of touring my true-love said to me: This basket looks so empty let's free-growler-fill-Tuesday at Black Bottle Brewery, O'Dells is still our favorite, and dangit - just plowed this cruiser into Snowbank Brewery!!!

On days four through twelve we ditched the rhyming and leisurely meandered among Coopersmith's, Ram Brewing, Equinox, Patero's Creek, Fort Collins Brewery, Funkwerks, Zwei Brewing, 1933, Rally King Brewing, Horse & Dragon Brewing Company, and (because we needed the mileage for tour gnar points) Anheuser-Busch.

We probably missed one or two: rumor has it we're up to 19 breweries these days with more breaking ground!

New Belgium Brewery: Always a Selection, Always Well-stocked!

So, what makes the brewery experience in Fort Collins unique?

Apollo: from Fan Photo Friday - Puppy Edition!

• Breweries have formed, for the most part, a "district" that is easily biked or walked allowing residents and tourists to explore the breweries safely at their leisure. Why drink at a bar when you can go straight to the source... with excellent patios, games, and occasionally music? Oh: many are dog-friendly, too!
• New Belgium and O'Dells were the micro breweries who started it all here in the Fort in 1989. You may have heard of Fat Tire Ale? Easy Street? 
• ...And just down the street situated along Interstate 25 is Anheuser-Busch: home of Budweiser, American Eagle Distribution, and... Clydesdales? Rumor has it they're bringing the ponies home to stay!

Budweiser: Yes, They're Here in Fort Collins as Well!

• Why it's worth mentioning: A-B is one of the economic drivers in Fort Collins and while it's easy to turn up a nose at their global domination through lager beer (they have a fourth step called "disillusion" roughly meaning "adding water")... They're arguably the most family-friendly brewery with access to the famous Clydesdale stables, a polished and professional tour, beer school, charming boutique, and freshly re-finished biergarten.
• Cooper-tition: a strange mix of cooperation and competition. Cooperation in the form of collaborative blends and temporarily borrowed brew-masters. Competition to see who gains favor with flavor in fermented bliss.
• Any outdoor festival featuring a beer garden is sure to be three things: 1. locally brewed, 2. award-winning, and 3. an easy, drinkable favorite.

And yea, there's probably a tour or two for that *wink*

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

Tour, anyone?! (O'Dells)

Biking, Working, and Enjoyment!

Fort Collins is always mentioned in conjunction with beer, bikes, mountains, sunshine, and choice places for all-around living. What you may find surprising is the prevalence of flat streets and bikeways throughout which makes a gentle pedal rather attractive. Even when the snow flies, biking can be attractive because the bikeways are plowed long before the priority streets are clear for cars.

Bike to work day, which is a national event in May as part of national Bike Month, has become a semi-annual unofficial holiday for Fort Collins. Here bike to work day is during the third week of June, and the third week of December. Both attract all varieties of creativity in organizing breakfast stations, mechanical support, and end-of-day after-parties at participating breweries. Normally about 6% of commuters choose to bike: during summer bike to work day, the percentage of bike commuters easily doubles. Here are a few quick, fun facts about Fort Collins’ bike to work day:

• Over 100 businesses host a bike-to-work-day event
• Around 50 breakfast stations scattered across town
• 4,500+ participants on bikes
• 25% of those participants already commute by bike on a regular basis
• 60% are age 30 or older

This year Leisurely Pedaling participated as an “unofficial mild-mechanical support station” at Colorado State University’s Powerhouse campus as part of their on-going effort to encourage and support bike commuting among their community of students, professors, and professional researchers. Even in our unofficial capacity, we helped a steady stream of riders improve their commute!

• inflate tires
• adjust brakes and shifting
• advise maintenance fixes like new tires, brake pads, and replaced chains
• clean and lube chains
• compare route notes

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

Raining... Pouring... and Pedaling?

Even in cloud cover: a verdant glow everywhere!

It doesn’t always rain in Northern Colorado. In fact, we average more than 300 days of sunshine every year. Usually, we have amber waves of grain, dusty prairies, and all shades of purple Rocky Mountains.

This spring, however, has taught us all to value our “waterproofs” and provided an opportunity to dust off the thesaurus in describing the lush verdant glow of our surroundings. Starting around tax day (how fitting!) the clouds descended and the rain set in. Our May flowers received a light dusting of snow. The sun shone on Colorado State University’s spring commencement ceremonies, and finally we emerged from this low-pressure stupor for Father’s day.

May 'showers' and flowers!

Riding in the rain is an acquired art: there is no right answer, is rarely universal one day to the next. However, the relaxed explorer would do well to keep the following in mind:

The 'original' waterproof case!

*When in doubt, put your technology in a sealed plastic bag

*Carrying your waterproofs (jackets, pants, etc…) doesn’t ensure you won’t need them

*Bike lights aren’t just for dawn, dusk, and midnight adventures!

*You can keep your feet dry pedaling in up to five inches of gently flowing water

*Bike parking is exceptionally easy… When raining!

To date: no-one has melted due to rain.

Double-take: Does That Say "Leisurely"?!

Saturday, April 25 was a day for firsts here Colorado. Primal and Audi of Denver sponsored the inaugural Colorado Bike Expo at the Denver Convention Center, and Leisurely Pedaling participated in its first ever vendor event! Let's pause and reflect on this a moment...

Denver Convention Center

...Paws and reflect a moment? (You see what I did there?) The bike expo hosts were very attentive and accommodating throughout the experience: here's to hoping all vendor events flow as amazingly well! I'd certainly come back to this one again just for the variety of bike-related industries mingling throughout the day.

Loading up!

Pre-planning *smile*

Our immediate neighbors were Bolle Eyewear and Presserly. Across the aisle were Denver's version of The Fort Collins Bike Co-Op, a cyclist injury law firm, and ladies performance yoga-wear. Directly behind the booth was an adult big-wheels racetrack. Our wonderful neighbors, proximity to the racetrack, and proximity to the beer garden made for an exciting day filled with fun interactions and the most wonderful conversations!

Learn-to-ride area (separate from the big-wheels race course)

I found it refreshing the amount of interest in Leisurely Pedaling and what we're all about, and the many friendly individuals who also acknowledged the odd presence of "leisure" throughout most bike events these days. A walk-through of the expo is a prime example of how many ways a cyclist can do it stronger/faster/farther/longer/weekend-warrior through nutrition, equipment, varied physical activity, and coaching. For the record, I love a quality cycling challenge as much as the next enthusiast (my cycling history is a few stories for another day), but when do cyclist remember to really smile and enjoy the journey? Aside from the two yoga-focused booths and paint studio, Leisurely Pedaling was the "relaxed cyclist stronghold" on the floor. This fact alone contributed to the majority of smiles, chuckles, and friendly banter throughout the day.

Thank you all who stopped by the Leisurely Pedaling booth and brought additional smiles and inspiration to my day! My helper (Marcia, also my beautiful mother) and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the opportunity to site-see Fort Collins and Northern Colorado by bicycle with us this summer and beyond!

Cheers for now,

Adventure Jes

ready for business!

brochures, T-shirts, and stickers!

Eye-catching, yes?

Our trusty Vintage Cruiser, Courtesy of the Fort Collins Bike Library!

Just a trailer full of T-shirts!

Owner Jes Mallory ready for fun!

We are go for launch - no joke!

Springtime is the embodiment of all that is brand new and full of hope, just like Leisurely Pedaling! March has been quite the whirlwind, and while not the standard interpretation of "in like a lion, out like a lamb" referring to weather... the month proved to be just that. In like a lion: the deafening roar of business deals, purchasing, marketing, coordinating, re-researching, and (finally!) launching. Out like a lamb: now we're in that deceptive lull where the news slowly spreads, grows, and expands into something beautiful, perhaps like the cherry blossoms in Washington DC, or the daffodils hesitantly rising to colorful life in my neighbor's yard.

The Leisurely Pedaling launch party was a smashing success! The Laboratory provided endless plates of delicious delights and a brilliant atmosphere. Akinz, The Parlour, Kilwins, and Old Town Spice Shop donated truly generous and wonderful door prizes embodying the character of Fort Collins. One lucky winner even walked away with a two day tour for two of Fort Collins! In all, about 80 people joined in the festivities, and several friends were showing their support with Leisurely Pedaling T-shirts in Idaho, Washington, and California.

Here are a few fun pictures from the event!