Magic Carpet Ride ( 9 )

(Not actually me)

So Colorado continues to amaze with its completely random weather patterns. And when I say patterns, I mean it. There is some method to the madness, just not enough to be totally predictable. It may also have something to do with the fact that I rarely bother to check the weather forecasts...

So as you may remember, when I was just finishing the build of my brand-spanking-new mountain bike, the Niner M.C.R.9, Colorado decided to throw some snow at us and make the trails unridable. Stupid Mountain state. Well, I then planned another ride with Andy and yup, Colorado snowed again. Well, Andy and I finally got out on the bikes and missed another snow shower (10ish inches) by about 12 hours.

The ride was AWESOME! It was my inaugural ride on the M.C.R.9 and I am pleased to report the big bag of money-turned-steel-bike-frame rides just as its name implies. Magic Carpet Ride, baby! Though, if you start big, you are bound to crash, sometimes literally. Andy and I put up a pretty big day for early season and 2 miles from the trailhead on the way back, the bike earned its name in another, less expected manner.

Remember Aladin and his pet magic carpet? Yeah, well, his magic carpet had a mind of its own and you could piss it off. Apparently, so does my pet Magic Carpet Ride.

I was tired, not totally focused and yes, getting a bit lazy and I pick ONE bad line and my bike decides its lesson time. In just enough time for me to think "Shit, should have gone left... or right..." I find myself no longer on top of my Magic Carpet, but in front of my Magic Carpet. In the next split second I land on the boulder infested trail and hear the gut retching sound of steel contacting boulder. It takes another second, after I see that my bike is still in one piece, to realize that I hurt. I got some pretty sweet road rash in a couple places and there is a bit of blood making a spider leg pattern down my shin, but all in all, not a bad accident.

I crawl back onto the bike, reorient the handlebars (which were facing the wrong way) and try to clip in through the pain to make it to the non-technical section just ahead. I make it, standing in the pedals and then sit down for a second to relax my not painful leg only to realize my butt is on crooked. Turns out it was just my saddle that had apparently taken quite the hit and now bent at a rather awkward side angle. I limp down the quarter mile to where Andy is just turning back to come find me and we continue our ride with much laughter and a little pain.

AAR (After Action Report)

• Well, I discovered later that night in the shower that my little blood dripping down my leg probably should have had a bout 2-3 stitches, but meh.
• My saddle needs to be replaced, but it was free and pretty mediocre anyway.
• My bike has its first trail scratches, but nothing major wrong.
• I have a wonderfully pleasant ride, got a bit muddy, sunburned, bloodied, and did it all while getting the best workout so far this season.

And now it is supposed to snow again tomorrow.

Naropa University

As many of you know or have perhaps guessed from my facebook updates, I have been pursuing admission to Naropa University for a Graduate program. Naropa is a Buddhist inspired University in the middle of Boulder, CO. It also happens to have a unique program. Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Wilderness Therapy.

As my undergraduate education was coming to a close, I began thinking about moving. More or less on a whim, I moved to Boulder, CO and began working at a Lutheran camp outside Fort Collins. While at Sky Ranch, I received an information packet that I had casually requested some months before from a school called Naropa which, coincidentally, was located in Boulder. This program got me extremely excited and through talking with a friend (who was to become one of my closest) apparently convinced her to also pursue the program.

Nicole was accepted a year ago to Naropa's Wilderness Therapy program while I chose to bide my time. Graduate school, after all, is a big commitment. During the following year I had the opportunity to see Nicole's experience with Naropa, to get an insider perspective from someone I admire greatly. This along with many, many other smaller incidents and experiences have solidified my desire to attend Naropa. With this conviction in mind, I turned in an application in December, was granted an interview at the end of February.

As of the 4th of March, I have been accepted to Naropa University's Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Masters program with a concentration in Wilderness Therapy!

On August 2nd, my cohort (classmates and I) will leave for a 10 day wilderness intensive that precedes the program itself. After that, we have orientation and then classes start around the 22nd of August. The first year has an intense academic focus and the majority of the classroom time will be during this year. The second year is mostly spend in 'the field' on various wilderness trips to learn practical and therapeutic skills. The third and final year consists primarily of an internship working as a therapist.

SO PSYCHED! (get it? psychology - psyched... yeah, I'm done.)

Now to finish the prereq classes and the 2 week wilderness trip (more to come on that in future updates).