Denver Highlands and Such

Just thought I'd slap up some pictures of our outing on Sunday.


Me (@drewshope) and Chelsea Willis (@weddinggal) in Confluence Park, Right by the REI.


Confluence Park, with the high rises on Little Raven Blvd in the background. That bridge on the left is 15th Street.


Confluence Park. REI is to the right.


I didn't know International Harvester had a place in Denver. I knew about the Willys Overland plant on Broadway, but not this. It seems Denver was kind of a hub for 4 wheel drive manufacturing. Hmm.

And a little further up the road, we headed to Highlands-

Sorry I'm such a nerd.


Right outside Urbanistic Tea and Bike (see previous post)


32nd and Lowell.

More from 32nd and Lowell.

And on the way back home we stopped by Buffalo Exchange on 13th Ave. and Grant St. I just thought the view of the Denver Art Museum was nifty...


Hope everyone enjoys some random pictures from around Denver.

Until next time.

An Interview- Urbanistic Tea and Bike

This is my first 'interview' for this blog. I have to admit, I felt a little strange asking the poor guy running the place if it was cool for me to snap some pictures.

I stopped in to Urbanistic Tea and Bike at 32nd an Lowell on Sunday afternoon. Partly because I wanted to get some different Earl Grey (Sorry Twinnings, you have just started to get stale) and partly because it was nice out and I'm pining for my new bike.

Ethan, the owner, is a pretty cool dude. He wasn't put off at all by my nonchalant inquiries on Surly frames, custom wheels, and tea stuff.

Here's the fine fellow...

He was working on a bike, as he was the last two times I stopped in.

The place has been open for about a year, says Ethan. I asked why the choice to combine Tea and Bike-

"I have been a bike mechanic forever, and we have been selling teas for a while, so we just thought we'd combine the two."

Well said, sir. Well said.

The cool thing is that they accomplish the two incredibly well. Their selection of teas is pretty darn complete. I counted 4 different kinds of Earl Grey (!).


They have a good selection of kettles and pots as well, and everything was very reasonably priced.

To the left of the store is the bike accessories wall.


A couple things on this wall-

First, the wood-grained rims are awesome. Secondly, the seats they sell here are awesome. Double awesome.

So planning my custom bike, I'm thinking a black Surly frame with a drop handlebar and wood grain rims and a brown leather seat. Just so you guys know.

Stop by, check it out. Let me know what you think.

Links!

Urbanistic's Blog

Coolest Places Around - Urbanistic Tea and Bike

One of the things I really enjoy doing on my weekends is cruising around town and trying new indie coffee shops. After years of Suburban Starbucks, now is my time to live a little.

I have my favorites around- My top three would be, in no particular order:



Kaladi Bros. Coffee on Evans and Gilpin
Cafe Europa on Pennsylvania and Bayaud
Paris on the Platte on Platte St between 15th and the pedestrian bridge over I-25.

Other favorites include Stella's Coffee Haus on Old South Pearl. Decent drinks, kind of nice atmosphere, but tends to be a little crowded. Another runner-up would be the Dazbog Coffee on 17th and Downing (chain, yes. But awesome coffee). I actually did a Summer internship for Lifescape Associates up the street from this place, the Summer BEFORE it went in, so I was forced to drink Starbucks. Common Grounds on 32nd and Lowell and The Tattered Cover Coffee Shop deserve mention as well.

I definitely like riding my homely old Diamondback over to Kaladi or Stella's to get something on Saturday mornings. There are cool bike shop's right by each of them as well, so it's fun to go get some tea and look at the bike's I can't afford.

But at long last someone has come up with the AMAZING idea of combining the two.

I present to you, my humble followers:
Urbanistic Tea and Bike

This place is the combination of 2 of my top 3 loves; Bikes and Tea.

I know.

Take a minute to breath.

This place, while not serving tea, has an incredible selection of teas too choose from. Rare stuff. Exotic stuff.

The thing that I really love is you walk into this tiny place, and you basically have 3 options of where to look- the wall displaying bike parts, the wall displaying teas, or the stand where the owner, Ethan, is working on some bike up on the stand.

That's it.

Seriously, how cool is that?

It's on Lowell just down from the intersection at 32nd (right across Lowell from the Pizza place in Highlands Square).

Go check it out. I'll be doing an interview with Ethan soon (hopefully this weekend) with more pics and more info, but trust me; this place is awesome.

Links!
Urbanistic's Blog
Kaladi Bros. Coffee
Stella's Coffee Haus