Herculean

Just one last peek at the sculpture garden at the Olympic Training Center. I think this piece, called Olympic Strength by Jon Hair, is the most impressive. It's also the largest, I mean look at it! Nice! And I know that the ice skater at the bottom of this post doesn't have anything to do with the Summer Olympics, but it's been so hot lately, I just added her as a cool down.

The Boxer

A post to go with yesterday's -- more cool art at the Olympic Training Center. I don't know if this statue depicts an actual Olympic champion, or one that was conjured up in the artist's imagination. I do like the golden gloves. Nice touch.

And now, for your listening pleasure...

Olympic Stuff

I'm obsessed with the Olympics, as usual. It's starting to interfere with my productivity. Ha! Whenever there's an Olympics on, I stay glued to the TV for the duration, but I know I'm not the only one. Especially here in Colorado Springs, a.k.a. Olympic City. I did find time to drop by the Olympic Training Center yesterday morning to grab some snaps of their cool sculpture garden. This one's pretty impressive, don't you think? So are their six pack abs. More tomorrow!

The Olympic Museum

Behold, our latest museum! Surely you know that the Olympic Training Center and the US Olympic Committee are here in Colorado Springs, so it makes sense that the museum should be located here as well. I've been watching it go up over the last year or two, but since the construction's been completed I haven't checked it out yet (mostly because of the pandemic). I'll go sometime soon and give you an update.

The Ent Center

Today I had to go and get my teeth cleaned, and it was the first time in days that I had even stepped outside the house. I made sure to grab a camera on the way out the door. After a couple of days and nights of bone chilling cold, the sun had finally come out and we had temperatures around 40° -- a veritable heat wave! It was great picture-taking weather.

You may recall that I attended both the "sneak preview" and the official opening of the Ent Center last year. Both of those events occurred at night, and my photos didn't show the outside of the building. So today I decided to pop over there and see if I could get some good shots of the exterior. It really is an impressive building. I think it's beautiful! By the way, Ent is a big name around here. Practically everyone I know banks at Ent Credit Union, and the Olympic Training Center is on the site of what was once Ent Air Force Base. Another thing: Ent is not an acronym, even though it sounds like it could be. Uzal Ent was a decorated Army Major General who was not only the Army Chief of Staff, he was a Commanding General in the Air Force too! But I digress. Ent Credit Union has over the years become such a huge presence in Colorado Springs, they footed the bill for this fantastic new arts center. You should check it out sometime.

If you'd like to know more about the celebrated local artist who created these mesmerizing kinetic sculptures, Starr Kempf, please read my in-depth blog post about him HERE. The Ent Center is the perfect complement to his gorgeous work. I love that three of them are proudly on display right in front.

This is a composite of six photos put together in Photoshop. I tried to get the whole building all in one frame, but I really didn't have the right camera and lens with me. Can you spot the person in this photo?

Change is difficult

Lately, a few big changes have been made downtown and in the Old North End to encourage and accommodate bicyclists. Weber Street from about the police station northward to Colorado-ish has lost a car lane and acquired a bike lane, and the same goes for Cascade Avenue northward from Bijou Street. If you're used to having two lanes on those two particular streets, you've had to adjust to only having one. I have to admit that it took me a couple of tries to get it right on Cascade especially, but I soon got used to it. As for Weber Street, I don't think that particular stretch of it really ever needed two lanes to begin with, so it's not a huge sacrifice to lose one.

A lot of my friends are supportive of the new bike lanes, but as usual when there's a big change to the status quo, others have been less positive. Here are my thoughts: many large cities learned to accommodate bicycles on their streets long ago, not just here in the U.S. but all over the world. It's high time we in Colorado Springs wrapped our brains around the idea and started sharing the road with serious cyclists like the guy in this picture, and even just schmoes like me on my old Schwinn. After all, we are the home of U.S.A. Cycling, the U.S. Olympic Training Center, and the U.S. Olympic Committee, not to mention the world renowned 7-11 Velodrome. There is a huge cycling community here. Given these facts, how is it we have never been terribly accommodating to bicyclists? That's just shameful! Progress means change and change is difficult, but we need to keep moving forward in this city or we'll continue to be treated like Denver's redheaded, backward stepsister. Those new bike lanes aren't going away, better get used to them!

The torch is lit

As it is with every Olympics, the torch atop the Olympic Training Center is blazing mightily and will burn continuously for the duration of the Games. If you live in Colorado Springs, you should drive by the OTC and check it out, by day or night -- but especially by night.

City of cyclists

Look at this guy. He's a serious cyclist. He's tricked out from head to toe and that bike probably cost thousands. He's committed! We have tons of cyclists like him here. Colorado Springs is a city of cyclists. The Olympic Training Center is here, and yes the US Cycling Team is out there riding on our streets (especially in my neighborhood). Yet we hardly have any bike lanes on our roads. I don't understand this! It's downright dangerous for these guys sometimes. They did recently add several blocks of dedicated bike lane to Weber Street, and people (i.e. non-cyclists, of course) are actually griping about it even though that street has plenty of room for sharing. When I'm elected Queen of the Universe, I swear there will be bike lanes all over Colorado Springs the next day. That's a promise! 😉

The United State Olympic Committee

I'm sure you know that the US Olympic Training Center is located in Colorado Springs, but did you know that the US Olympic Committee is headquartered here as well? It's on the corner of Tejon and Colorado, downtown. I think the Olympic presence one of the coolest things about our city. Champions abound!

A balancing act

Cyclists on the road are a very common sight here. There is a huge cycling community in Colorado Springs, and I'm sure having USA Cycling (and the US Olympic Committee and Olympic Training Center) headquartered here doesn't hurt! I was impressed by this guy's ability to stay balanced like this for the entire duration of the red light. He never put his foot down once.

Happy birthday Colorado Springs Daily Photo!

A shot of the Olympic rings that decorate the forecourt of the Olympic Training Center, not far from my house.  I think the OTC is one of the coolest things about living here.

And on a different note, my blog is four years old today!   I made my very first (excited) post on November 17, 2008.  It's hard to believe that four years have gone by so quickly!  I don't always manage to post every single day, but from the beginning this little blog very quickly became a big part of my life, and I've enjoyed every minute of being a part of the City Daily Photo blogging community.  I appreciate all my visitors and I relish the fact that I can share a little about my beautiful city with so many people around the world.  Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!

October Theme Day: Silhouettes

By George, it's already October, people! The first of the month means it's Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is silhouette. I decided that the group of statues that grace the entrance of the Olympic Training Center would be excellent subjects, so Pat and I went down there on Saturday evening to grab a few shots.

To see more silhouettes from City Daily Photo bloggers all over the world, click HERE.

 

This sculpture is called Olympic Strength.

 

 

 A detail (in silhouette, of course!).

 

 

This photo shows what Olympic Strength looks like with front lighting instead of back. It's really an impressive piece. And it's HUGE.

Let the games begin!

Colorado Springs is an Olympic city, so it makes sense that we get a little excited around here when the games are on! Not only are we home to the Olympic Training Center (which I'm proud to say is in my neighborhood), we are also home to the United States Olympic Committee. As I'm sure you're aware, the London Games kicked off on Friday, and in Colorado Springs there was a huge street party to celebrate well into the night, culminating in lighting our own Olympic torch right in front of the USOC headquarters. There were about 15,000 people in attendance -- big party! I roamed around with Pat and took pictures of all the goings-on.

I love this lady's team spirit!

These Olympic gymnasts did a trampoline demo in the middle of Tejon Street. It was pretty spectacular.

Trampolining with snowboards!

Gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi lit the Olympic torch.

There was a gargantuan TV screen in the street in front of the USOC headquarters, showing the opening ceremonies in London. The crowd clapped and cheered wildly when Team USA finally marched across the screen.

Colorado mourns

I know I already posted a picture for today, but I felt compelled to post again. Earlier this afternoon I was picking up a prescription at my neighborhood Walgreen's, and afterward, as I waited to turn left on Boulder Street, I saw with a pang that all the flags across the street at the Olympic Training Center were flying at half-mast.  It's hard to avoid the news, but if you haven't heard, a crazed gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater in Aurora early yesterday morning, killing 12 people and injuring 58.  The youngest victim was six years old.  That's right, he killed a six year old.  It's absolutely horrible.  We Coloradoans are in shock and trying to process the enormity of this man's act.  Aurora is part of the Denver metro area, less than an hour north of Colorado Springs.  We are all hard hit by this.

As a human, what can you say?  It's unfathomable that things like this can happen, and yet they do.  We in Colorado deeply appreciate all the heart-felt thoughts and prayers that the world has been sending us during this dark time. Thank you for the comfort.

Olympians on parade

As you know, the US Olympic Committee is located in Colorado Springs, as is the Olympic Training Center. Thus many of our Olympic teams are centered here as well. I thought Team USA had the best float in the Festival of Lights parade on Saturday night. You can tell they're well-funded ;o) The float was followed by dozens and dozens of athletes smiling and waving. It was very cool to see our Olympians marching down Tejon Street!

A sad day for local cyclists

Colorado Springs is known as one of the fittest cities in the country. For sure there are a lot of fitness enthusiasts here, as well as the Olympic Training Center, which takes it to another level altogether. Cycling is a huge sport in the Springs, especially in my part of town (very close to the Olympic Training Center). There are so many hardcore cyclists here that I run across several of them every day on the roads. Some Colorado Springs residents like to complain about them, but I say if you're going to live here you might as well get used to it. Cycling is an integral part of our city's culture. I for one think that's pretty cool.

Last August there was a terrible tragedy where two popular local cyclists were killed by a lady in a humongous truck. Apparently she was under the influence of prescription drugs (morphine), and she was also driving without her required glasses or contact lenses. She mowed her pickup into a group of cyclists just a few blocks from her house. I can't believe she didn't see them. Guys at this level wear very colorful uniforms, and it was daylight out. A senseless accident. The driver expressed extreme remorse, saying it was she who should have died, since she is terminally ill. The large Colorado Springs cycling community was devastated. This is what you call a lose-lose situation for certain.

There is a shrine to the cyclists in the spot where the accident occured on the west side (and I took a photo of it last year but never blogged it). On Thursday I noticed this ghost bike shrine on Tejon Street near Wooglins Deli, far from 26th and Westend. As you can see, the local cycling community is still mourning the loss of EJ Juarez and Jason Kilroy.

The figure skater

Figure skating is a huge sport in Colorado Springs, right up there with cycling. Many Olympians have lived and trained here, and the US Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame is here in Colorado Springs, as well as Headquarters. I've only been there once and that was to see a client. Shame on me! I really should visit the museum, since like practically every other female on the planet I love to watch figure skating. During Olympic years I definitely become a figure skating nerd. I've even gone to competitions when they're held around here (I have friends who work for Figure Skating and my mom's a USOC volunteer, so I get free stuff like tickets to skating events).

So anyway I like this sculpture! It's graceful and pretty, and she has a nice view of Pikes Peak if only she'd turn her head to the right ;o)

Olympic Strength

Here's a close up photo of the big sculpture at the entrance to the Olympic Training Center, "Olympic Strength" by Jon Hair. It's a pretty big sculpture and you have to stand way back to take it in with a normal lens. I was more interested in getting some of the details close up. The sculpture depicts several heroically scaled athletes holding the earth on their backs. I like this guy -- I don't know who he is (or if he's just a product of the artist's imagination), but I think he looks like George Foreman!

The Olympic Training Center

December's theme day was circles and spheres, so I went to the Olympic Training Center to snap a shot of the Olympic rings. While I was there I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the other things scattered about, especially the statuary. This one looked nice from the front but even better from the back with the sun flaring through it.

I'll share a couple more in the coming days. I'm going to Vail until Saturday so the next two blog posts will be "canned" -- more Olympic Training Center. But hopefully I'll come back with some cool pictures of Vail!

Stay warm everybody! Tamera

December's theme day

I'm still new to City Daily Photo, so this is my first theme day and I'm so excited! When I heard the theme was circles/spheres, I immediately thought of the Olympic Training Center. Many people don't know that the US Olympic Committee and the Olympic Training Center are located right here in Colorado Springs -- only about a mile from my house. I drive by it every day on the way to my studio. For me it's not such a novelty because I've been there many times (heck, I was even an extra in a movie that was shot there when I was in high school!), but I was kind of excited to pay it a visit and be a tourist for a few minutes in order to capture this image.

As you can see, the circle motif repeats itself a lot at the OTC. It must have something to do with the Olympic rings. I'm proud to have the OTC in my city, it's probably one of the coolest things about Colorado Springs: we produce champions!

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