Wind and Mexican Kids

Strange evening in Happy Valley. Massive winds, which in itself is not that odd. Yet the sudden arrival, combined with a drop in temperature of about 15 degrees feels downright autumnal, like the first crisp evening in September.

Rode trails in this morning. Out the door at 5:56 am, early for me, thanks to my new teaching/school schedule. Trails were tacky. Odd drift patterns this year. West of Peak to Peak, huge monstrocities still remain, blocking all routes. Yet cross 20 feet east of the road, and things clear up significantly. A patch of snow here and there, but mostly dry, at least on the main stuff. Got nipped by a dog of a guy out for a morning walk. Some sort of sheep herding dog that decided to herd me. No harm done though - a pleasant encounter otherwise.

White horses in Arapahoe Ranch grazing. Stopped for a few minutes yesterday on my ride home and actually pet the thing. A regal looking animal. Tonight, saw them again, silouetted by the setting orange sun, manes whipping up in the stiff gale. Felt like I was back in Iceland for a second.

Spent the day teaching ESL (English Second Language) kids. Families of illegal immigrants, the kids of the guys who do your dishes at the Med. The girl I was working with today, Christina-Maria - a very precocious, constantly smiling 8th grader - told me about her father who lives in Mexico who she has not seen in seven years. I'm helping them write a paper on illegal immigration...they certainly have a first hand perspective on it. Sitting high on the hill, in white America, it's easy to become insular. Yet there is a big bad world out there...outside the comical life of multi-thousand dollar bike, training programs and preparing for the next big race. How about preparing for life without a father, a mom who works for sub-minimum wage in a restaurant and a public school system that is failing people of multi-cultural backgrounds - specifically Mexican's - at an alarming rate.

I don't know - these are my thoughts as the wind blows here in Eldora - which in Spanish means gold.

Comments

[ja]

nice post... pretty damn pertinent issues that all to often are invisible to so many people.