It’s a 2400km drive from Vancouver to Boulder or 1 day according to Google maps. Turns out it takes 12 hours to get from Vancouver to Boulder by aeroplane and they go a lot faster then automobiles. At least all the flights were on time and I got onto an earlier shuttle bus then anticipated. Met some cool older ladies on the flight to Phoenix. They did a tour de Western Canada by train through Calgary and Banff then on to Vancouver. I’ve always wanted to do that but it looks bloody expensive but the way they were describing their vacation money was no option. But then I wondered why they were in steerage class on the airplane and not in first class. They even made it out to Steveston which was awesome. Phoenix is a boring airport. The best part was the ground crew who rode around on trikes and ATV’s and hardly did any work. Working at an airport looks like it would be a slack job. Probably pays well too.
The Phoenix to Denver flight was entertaining. We went through some actual real turbulence outside of Denver and the plane kind of seemed like it was going to fall from the sky. Seriously, without seatbelts we would have been ejected from my seats. Reminds me of the time I met Sabrina Wilkie on a flight to Toronto or somewhere equally crappy and claimed “seatbelts were useless because they wouldn’t help when the plane crashes into the ground at a million miles an hour and blows up.” Turns out they are useful in turbulence. Denver airport is a very large airport. Well it may not be that large but they don’t build airports efficiently in the USA and spread all the terminals out. If you counted the “gates” I bet it’s not all that big. Like I said earlier, I even got on to an earlier shuttle bus to Boulder, which saved me a half hour or so. There was also a cute Australian chick on the bus racing Bolder Boulder this weekend. Seemed like a long ways to go for a race.
Boulder gets a two thumbs and one large toe up rating. Went for a run once I got in. Headed out on their in town trail system and then up to the University of Colorado. Overall this place kind of reminds me of Kelowna with the real 40,000 person UBC minus the lake plus altitude. So maybe a Kelowna-Whistler-UBC hybrid? Oh, and the Garmin says 5400’ above sea level. Didn’t notice it too much yesterday because I was too distracted looking around. I saw some deer! Found a track too, close to the hotel. Going to do my workout there today.
People in Boulder also appear to be friendly, polite, and well mannered. Yeah, that’s one of the things I look for when travelling. I like Vancouver, buts its full of stuck up dick heads. People here ride their bikes on the right side of the trail, yield, stop at stop signs, say hello, high five you while running in parking lots, and give a shout when passing from behind. In Vancouver you don’t get those luxuries. Boulder, and America in general has a lot of fast-food or moderate-paced-food places. More then in Canada. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Has anyone ever heard of Smash Burger or Something Moose Deli? Me either. Oh, majorly important, there is a Safeway and Starbucks outside the hotel which is all that really matters on a running trip. And why is stuff so cheap here? $12.00 at US Safeway is $20 at Canadian Safeway. Also, found a Lululemon. That’s definitely a good thing. I noticed a lot of good-looking ladies in this town and Lululemon only makes their bums look better. But when the bums get too good they start getting a little full of themselves. Reminds me of an awesome movie with an awesome line. “Do you know how popular I am? I am so popular. Everybody loves me so much at this school.” Name the movie and you can win an awesome Boulder souvenir!
