Migrations - A Summer on the Move with Matt DeLorme and Anne Galyean
Let's face it, being in one place for too long can cause a creative person to stagnate. Once routines become stale, it's time to move on. Anne Galyean and I had been on the East Coast for close to a decade. While Anne was finishing up her Ph.D. at NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Gaithersburg, Maryland and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, we resided in Frederick, Maryland. We chose Frederick for its proximity to a great trail system and friends we had made after years in the East Coast DH scene. Frederick is home to the rockiest, most technically challenging riding on the east coast. As Anne was coming close to wrapping up her nine years of college (yikes), it was time to think about our next steps. Anne is originally from Idaho, and while I was born in Maine, I spent half my life in Oregon. We knew that we wanted to relocate out West, but we had a few requirements when we were searching for our new home.
First, a postdoctoral position that Anne would feel challenged by; being in a Ph.D. program gives most scientists a very specialized field of expertise, and they can become burnt-out on being hyper-focused on one thing for so many years. The second target was proximity to a major international airport since without that, my job becomes incredibly difficult. Finally, we needed good trails and an Enduro series that Anne could compete in while riding for the SR Suntour/Marin enduro team. After much research on postdocs that fit our goals, Anne chose one at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO.
With that, it was time to slim down our belongings and head west after saying goodbye to our wonderful friends in MD. We wanted everything to fit in a Toyota Rav 4 with a 4x8 trailer and a Mini Cooper S, including our eight bikes. There's something freeing about a mass shedding of things - I suggest everyone try it at least once. After hitting the road and dropping most of our belongings in CO, we continued on to visit our parents, who both reside in Oregon. With a busy World Cup Schedule, I stayed in Europe for much of the summer, while Anne moved us into our new home in Golden and went on racing locally in the Big Mountain Enduro series. Anne took wins at the Scott Enduro Cup Canyons and BME Winter Park events and took 5th overall in the North American Enduro Tour. She also joined her SR Suntour teammates at the Megavalanche in Alpe d'Huez, finishing 7th overall. Here are some of the highlights from our summer.
MENTIONS: @mdelorme / @SRSuntour / @MarinBikes / @C9H13NO3
First, a postdoctoral position that Anne would feel challenged by; being in a Ph.D. program gives most scientists a very specialized field of expertise, and they can become burnt-out on being hyper-focused on one thing for so many years. The second target was proximity to a major international airport since without that, my job becomes incredibly difficult. Finally, we needed good trails and an Enduro series that Anne could compete in while riding for the SR Suntour/Marin enduro team. After much research on postdocs that fit our goals, Anne chose one at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO.
With that, it was time to slim down our belongings and head west after saying goodbye to our wonderful friends in MD. We wanted everything to fit in a Toyota Rav 4 with a 4x8 trailer and a Mini Cooper S, including our eight bikes. There's something freeing about a mass shedding of things - I suggest everyone try it at least once. After hitting the road and dropping most of our belongings in CO, we continued on to visit our parents, who both reside in Oregon. With a busy World Cup Schedule, I stayed in Europe for much of the summer, while Anne moved us into our new home in Golden and went on racing locally in the Big Mountain Enduro series. Anne took wins at the Scott Enduro Cup Canyons and BME Winter Park events and took 5th overall in the North American Enduro Tour. She also joined her SR Suntour teammates at the Megavalanche in Alpe d'Huez, finishing 7th overall. Here are some of the highlights from our summer.
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 With spring came bittersweet last rides through Frederick's many rock gardens. As the air warmed, it was time to migrate. |
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| One of our last rides in MD on a crisp spring day. Soon, we would be trading the rocky East Coast for the Rocky Mountains and bits of singletrack along the West Coast. |
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| I might still feel a bit guilty about making Anne drive the trailer across the country while I goofed around with my camera in the Mini. |
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| Passing storms and rainbows as we leave the vast prairies of Nebraska and enter Colorado. We couldn't have been happier to have crossed into the West. |
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| After dumping the majority of our belongings into storage in Colorado, we headed straight to see our parents in Oregon and Washington. We promptly got to the business of riding bikes. Rainy day shuttles on Mary's Peak in Oregon was just the way to start things off. |
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| Wet roots and loam. The PNW has them both in spades. To this day, it's my favorite type of riding. |
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| Anne amongst giants in Oregon's coastal range. |
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| Big trees and fog. Anne attacks Mary's Peak. Having Anne's Mom to shuttle us was an added bonus. |
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| Summer evening hikes up to Mount Hood were a nice way to spend a little down time when we weren't on the racing circuit. We found nearby Sandy Ridge to be our favorite spot to ride near Portland. So much so, that I forgot to shoot any photos because I was having too much fun. |
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| One of the most memorable moments of the summer was diving with Steelhead on the Washougal River in Washington. My brother and I spent many a summer day doing this as kids, and I was stoked to be able to do it once again before I left for Europe. |
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| I spent most of the summer in Europe following the World Cup Circuit and riding in new places. Here, we were somewhere out in the backcountry of Chatel, France. Lee Trumpore and I stopped at refuge Haute Sex for a mid-ride espresso and a quick peek at our route. Photo - Lee Trumpore. |
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| Once the World Cup Season was over, I packed up and migrated to Golden, CO to reunite with Anne. It took a couple weeks to get settled, but with a trail network just a half mile out of our front door, we were able to get in nice evening rides. We also took to exploring nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. Longs Peak at sunset. The CO backcountry doesn't get much better than this. |
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| With fall rapidly approaching, and our lungs starting to acclimate, it was time to get out on some bigger backcountry rides before the snow started flying. The higher peaks of the Colorado Trail and a 12-mile descent where what we were looking forward to, our goal in sight way out in the distance. We earned our turns that day. |
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| After 11 miles and 3,000 plus feet of climbing, we topped out at the Continental Divide at around 12,000 feet. We were feeling the lack of air. |
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| We spent the rest of the fall finding new trails and adventures in CO. A laugh or two with friends after a solid climb before dropping in on the Lenawee trail, one of our favorite trails in the Front Range. |
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| Enjoying a nice, long descent somewhere out on the Lenawee trail. |
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| Fun times with friends. We have a fair amount of good friends out here already, and we have had a wonderful time riding with them. The local knowledge is a plus too. |
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| Loose dirt and miles of descending. These are the perfect days. |
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| Next up we decided to head west and hit up Fruita during Anne's Birthday weekend. The best part of our new home is all the places we can get to within a relatively short drive. |
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| Exploring some of the many trails in Fruita, CO. Photo taken with an Anne Galyean remote unit. |
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| Riding out at the end of the day when the shadows are long, legs are tired, and hearts are happy. |
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| Birthdays are best spent outside camping and riding bikes. |
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| A nice campfire and wood grilled steaks are the perfect end to a good day of riding. |
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| Now, we have settled into our new home in Golden, CO. Anne is developing nanosensors for biomedical applications at the Colorado School of Mines with her shiny new Ph.D. |
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| Nanosensors. One day, they will help us better understand and treat human diseases. |
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| We still have many new riding spots to explore. It will be a while before we sample it all, but we sure are having a damn good time riding the diverse terrain Colorado and Utah have to offer. |
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| We traded the hustle and bustle of the urban East Coast for something slower paced, quiet, and more wild. We haven't even scratched the surface of all the riding around us, but that's just part of the adventure; why we came here. There is plenty here to keep us busy and our outlook fresh. We still can't get over the view from our front door, and we can't wait for all the adventures to come in this amazing place. |
MENTIONS: @mdelorme / @SRSuntour / @MarinBikes / @C9H13NO3
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