Anniversary with an altitude.

As a couple, we share a love for the outdoors and adventures. So in honor of this common interest and to celebrate our milestone anniversary, we took off on a journey we will remember for years to come ... and will have daily reminders of as we look at a certain famous mountain on our skyline -- Pikes Peak.

Our morning started bright and early at 6:45 a.m. when we arrived at the Challenge Unlimited (tour office) in Old Colorado City. Fitted with our gear, we piled into a 15-passenger van with a bunch of other willing participants (mostly tourists) destined for the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,110 feet. After an hour plus van ride up the twisting and turning mountain roads, we arrived at the top. Now as the saying goes, "what goes up must come down." And so begins our adventure. To commemorate 10 years of wedded bliss, we biked down Pikes Peak!

Here are a few highlights of our trip.

• We biked through 4 climate zones. The temperature ranged from 38 degrees at the summit early in the morning to about 85 degrees at the end of the ride in the foothills.
• The summer season on top of Pikes Peak only lasts for 6 weeks. Some patches of snow were still lingering above treeline.
• We saw the former location of the Pikes Peak Ski Resort. When members of the 10th Mountain Division returned home from their WWII assignments in Europe, they took note during their tour of duty of the big European ski resorts. These veterans brought this concept back to Colorado and started the big ski resorts like Breckenridge, Keystone, etc. As a result, little ski resorts like the one on Pikes Peak couldn't compete and closed.
• On this downhill trip, we braked 95% of the time and pedaled very little except for a few small hills. The easiest 20 mile bike ride ever!

Our ride concluded with lunch at a fabulous creekside restaurant called Wines of Colorado. It was the perfect end to a wonderful bike ride!

Pikes Peak or bust! At the summit.

The view overlooking Colorado Springs.

The track is for the Cog Railway.

Look ... snow in the summer!!

Happy in helmets!

The top of the mountain was very rocky ...

like a cross between the desert & the moon.

Scott is biking in the navy jacket.

As we came down the mountain, the weather warmed

and we had to shed some layers!

Look how far we've come!

The mountain in the distance is Pikes Peak,

our starting point for the day!

A visual of our trip. Pikes Peak is on the left.

The mountain switchbacks on the right were fun to maneuver!