Visiting The Mindful Bike

Today, I had the great pleasure of visiting the The Mindful Bike. After discovering their newly opened shop that sells city and cargo bikes, I was chomping at the bit to be able to have a look for myself. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long, and I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Linus and Abici bikes line the front window

The shop is immediately welcoming (especially to a crazed, bicycle shopper like myself), and we were warmly greeted by one of the owners, Jason, who was happy to show us around the shop and let us play with all the little fun things sitting on the shelves. I even had the opportunity to see Yakkay helmets in person for the first time (they are as cute as they seem in pictures, but the smalls in stock were definitely not the appropriate size for my large noggin - though one young girl shopping with her mom looked adorable in the smaller size).

The store stocks all sorts of fun items from the helmets above, to Basil panniers, Po Campo bags, head/tail lights by Knog and others, baskets, bells, fenders and more. They even have bike baby seats in stock, which I thought were adorable, but (and as you can tell, I obviously don't have children) they seemed incredibly small. I had to ask, "Are babies really that small?!" No, I don't live under a rock, but I guess I don't spend a ton of time around small babies.

Then, of course, it was time to wander through all the bikes in stock on the floor. I was disappointed to see that there wasn't a single ladies Velorbis in stock (though I was told they will be ordering more of these), so I was unable to test ride it, but there were several Linus, Abici, and Bobbin bikes in stock. On this visit, I didn't take a test ride of any of the lovely models, as I was on a mission for other items today, but I have every intention to return for test riding purposes in the future.

Bobbin Bicycles with a diamond frame Velorbis behind - all were quite fun!

I am still so excited to have such a shop within the vicinity, and it seems like they are well on their way to a long-term successful business. The shop seemed to have at least a handful of people in the shop almost the entire time we were there, so I would say they are definitely filling a niche that was needed locally.

The shop also has a full service/repair shop inside, and I was even able to pick up a chain for the recently broken one on the Hillborne (that wasn't a pretty incident)... and speaking of the Hillborne, there was actually a Rivendell Quickbeam in the store (it wasn't for sale, and they don't sell Riv's, but I was interested to see it nonetheless - I'm guessing it was either in for a repair or belongs to someone working in the shop).

If you are in the area, and are in the market for a new city bike, or even need a new basket, bag or some lights as the daylight time shrinks in on us, I'd definitely recommend stopping in for a visit. A really fun shop!

On the Hunt... Again

While winter seems to be rounding the corner to spring for most around the country, here in Colorado the winter season soldiers on. We've had a couple of rather cold and dreary days here, but it's typical to not really reach spring time here until late April or early May. How can one complain though when we get so many beautiful days of sunshine even in the heart of winter? As has been pointed out before, we don't get a lot of spring or fall. It mostly goes from winter to summer and vice versa.

Typical view/weather from about November until May at the current house
(except that the mountains aren't pictured here)

Though we had a coldish weekend this past week, Sam and I ventured out for a round of house hunting again. Unfortunately, the house we were under contract with in Denver didn't work out. We discovered some structural integrity issues (basically, the foundation was crumbling and shifting), and while we really like the house, and more so the area, we weren't certain we could take on the costs of replacing or repairing the foundation. When this fell through, we talked about what we really want in a house and a 'hood. We discovered that these were the top things on our list:
1) Ease of walk-ability/bike-ability
2) Proximity to an art scene, whether small or larger
3) Comfort/ease within the community
4) A house that feels like home, and that functionally serves our purposes
The extra "bonus" item would be to try to find a turn of the century house to live in. So, after some debate and  a reality check in regard to our budgetary concerns with potentially owning two houses (and renting out the current one), we considered the idea of staying in Longmont, but actually living in the city instead of the fringe area we currently inhabit.

While in need of work, this house was not completely horrible from the outside;
however, it was completely destroyed inside

Our weekend hunt led us to several houses around the city and we were surprised both at the extreme dilapidation of some of the houses, as well as the great living spaces we were able to find. It's a little sad to see so many potentially great houses in complete disrepair. If we had the ability, I know we'd love to take one of those on as a project, but since we do have to live in the house while doing repairs, it must be at minimum, inhabitable while we work. The good news is, we found a few houses that we really loved, and one in particular that stood out as "our home." An offer was put in on Monday, and now we wait to hear the results.

I will say, one of the most exciting things about the house we found is the walk score. Our current home is a 12 out of 100, while this one we found is a 68 out of 100 (in the beta version of Walk Score, it's actually a 70 out of 100, and the current home is a 10 out of 100). Quite a difference going from "car-dependent" to "very walkable."

So, we start again and hope for the best with our home hunt.

A Quick Peek @ the "Possible" New House

Yesterday, we had an inspection done on the potential new house. I forgot what a long process an inspection is, as it has been awhile. The inspector was quite thorough, however, and for that, we were quite grateful.

The actual living area of the house is a little over 700 sq feet (we've both lived in apartments larger than this house, crazy as that seems). If this goes through, the short wall pictured above would be removed to open up the living area.

 The kitchen is small and a little awkwardly arranged, but I think we can make it work. Definite changes and updates are needed, but I don't think there's anything so hideous that it would need to be immediately replaced.

There is only one bathroom, and it's small, but it works. We figured at some point down the line (in many years) we could add on a master suite area with a larger bathroom. For now though, this one would work.

The yard (both back and front) are probably what need the most work. Right now everything is dormant, so it doesn't seem to bad, but the reality is that there is much that needs to be dug up and either replaced or cleaned out. At least there is a one car garage though to serve as a studio for our stuff.

The biggest issue found by the inspector was not what we anticipated (we figured there would be electrical and plumbing issues). Instead, what we discovered is that there are foundation issues - as in, the house is sliding. The question has become whether or not this is something we want to get ourselves into, knowing that it will take tens of thousands of dollars to repair the foundation. At this point, it is still up in the air, so we'll see what happens in this process, but I thought it was kind of fun to share a few pictures of the little house.

Dare to Dream

Today was a wonderful, but highly exhausting day! Here's how it all started...

The tale starts back a few weeks ago when we were contacted by a Realtor who we'd met at an open house in Old Town Longmont about 5-6 weeks ago. We had wandered in, as we often do on a weekend day, just to check out the house. It was a small house, but adorable, and we chit-chatted with the agent about the house, how we've lived in our house for 7+ years, and it seems that there's no escape for us, and she reminded us that if one never asks the questions, the answer is always, "No." Good advice for our situation, and life in general.

Anyway, so we had a pleasant conversation, and figured we'd never do anything about it. Then, a few weeks ago, the agent rather randomly contacts us saying that she talked to a mortgage broker she knows and the broker thought that it might actually be possible for us to get a loan for a house, even though we can't sell our current home (Yay!). So, we spent some time communicating with the broker, providing information and we were actually pre-approved for a loan - quite shockingly - pending verification of some funds we should have by the end of the month. It's not a big loan because the laws have changed with mortgages since the huge crash that has taken place over the last few years (so, even though we will be renting out our house if this goes through, they will not count that as income or a negation of debt), but it's enough for us to look for something in the Denver area.

Today, we had the opportunity to go and check out some of the homes we've been eye balling online, but were unable to actually see without an agent. It was really fun to be able to look and consider these places seriously, and we think we actually have a winner, which is even more exciting. At this point, we've put in an offer, but of course that is only a beginning step. We do have hope though that all will go well, and perhaps in the next couple of months, we could be living closer to the city... well, we would actually technically live in the city of Denver. Crazy.

After years of wanting out of this 'hood, we might actually have the opportunity to squeeze a way through. Here's to hoping!

Home Hunting in Denver

Today began an exhaustive search for Will's new home. When Sam's friend moved here last September from South Carolina (via a year long stay over in Oregon), he wanted to live the urban life in an apartment and have things within walking distance. Seemed reasonable to us. Now, he's in the market to purchase his own home rather than renting, and we decided to help him out by being the annoying tag-a-longs as we searched out various areas. Will's brilliant idea is to find a single story duplex, buy it, rent us one half, while we in turn rent out our house (since there is no way we can sell our current house in this market). If this were to actually take place, we would want the new home to be in a place that is in an area that has a lot of things within walking/riding distance, otherwise, there would be no point in moving.

But, before the big search got under way, I had to stop and pick up some art supplies, and since we were in Denver anyway, might as well go to one of the best little shops around, especially if one is looking for paper (which I was).

Kozo's store front: small, unassuming, but great people inside

After picking up supplies I needed (for the work I should've been at home completing), we were all hungry, so we stepped across the street to a little pub for some lunch.

Turkey wrap, with some all too greasy (though good) fries.

 We sucked down some water, people watched from the outdoor patio, and the boys had a good time being silly (particularly Will).

Empty water glass: More please!

Will being weird, Sam hiding his disgust

Having the opportunity to be in Denver and feel like a part of the community is always nice. I know I spend a lot of time there anyway when in class, but I don't ever get to experience the city because I'm in my little protective bubble and I stay focused on the tasks at hand while there, only departing the art building to head home.

People bicycling, walking, and just enjoying city living

It's easy to see why people want to live close to things. Accessibility, convenience, and enjoying life is so much more fun when you aren't driving tons of miles to get to where you're going. After a nearly day-long hunt for the perfect area, I don't think we are any closer to a find for Will, but I did realize that I absolutely don't want to stay where we are any longer than we must, as ditching the cars for two-wheeled, or two-legged transportation is so much more appealing!

Am I Missing Something?

This mornings' Denver Post has an article entitled Bike agenda spins cities toward U.N. control, Maes warns. You can read the full article here, but I am going to highlight a few sections of the article because I'm trying to figure out what sort of drug Mr. Maes is on, and beyond that, what exactly is wrong with riding bicycles.


The article begins:
"Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding, are 'converting Denver into a United Nations community.'

'This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed,' Maes told about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally last week in Centennial."

Oh no! The evil plot of Mayor Hickenlooper to have people get more exercise in an overly obese society is coming to pass!! Let's alert the media.

"Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor's efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes 'that's exactly the attitude they want you to have.

This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms,' Maes said."

OH MY GAWD! Seriously? You really think that this is some evil plot to take over the world? Let's hear more from Maes...

"Last week, Hickenlooper upset some auto dealers on the eve of a fundraiser when he lauded the city's B-Cycle bike- sharing program at an event and asked: 'How do we wean ourselves off automobiles?'

Maes, at the rally July 26, took aim at Denver's bike-sharing program, which he said was promoted by a group that puts the environment above citizens' rights.

The B-Cycle program places a network of about 400 red bikes for rent at stations around the city. It is funded by private donors and grants."

So, basically, the mayor is asking how we, as a society, can learn to do more things by bicycle, saving our health and the environment, and Maes believes that Hickenlooper is trying to take away citizens rights? 

The article goes on to say that the mayor is involved in a program that is trying to get employers to install showers within the workplace so that more people will feel comfortable bicycle commuting to work and to work toward creating spaces for more fuel efficient vehicles. Maes goes on to say that he fears for our future because, "Mayor Hickenlooper is one of the greatest fans of this program." 

In election years, I suppose the gloves come off and any tactic to win the race seems to make its way into the news. I for one applaud the mayor's efforts, and I see no issue with encouraging people to ride their bikes, use more fuel efficient vehicles, and even see no problem with American cities joining the U.N. treaty as described in the article.

Even a Short Ride Can Be Fun

I'm still recovering from this stupid sore throat garbage, but I couldn't stand staying inside anymore. So, today I decided to just ride around the neighborhood to try to build up my ability to do anything other than sit on my rear. Yesterday, Sam was kind enough to take me to Denver to check out Urbanistic Tea and Bike, but while we were walking around the single block, I found myself huffing and puffing after a few steps. This told me that the last week and a half of my non-exercise and sitting around trying to heal myself has left my lungs in a state that isn't pleasant.

Taking the Pashley out for a little ride this afternoon was just what the doctor ordered. I felt a little better just getting to be outside and do something, but I didn't have to go far, since my stamina still hasn't reached the goal of "normal" yet. But, I think it was proof that even a bit of a ride can be more fun than sitting around the gloomy house.