Originally from De Soto, Kansas (a town of about 5,000 residents), Zach now lives in Wheatridge and runs a warehouse for Freightliner.  

He rode a bicycle earlier in his life, but he says he “lapsed” for a while and got back to it about six years ago.  He has visited Lookout Mountain on his bicycle about ten times in the last five years and notices that there are many people on bikes and in cars who are enjoying the views from the road as they climb.  He also warns that sightseeing is not something that a driver necessarily “should do” while driving the mountain.  He has had friends lose their lives while cycling because the warm nights back in Kansas encouraged them to ride after dusk when drivers could not see them as well and the cyclists became “too confident” about avoiding the cars.  

When I mentioned that I had seen few belt buckles on Lookout Mountain cyclists, Zach proudly said that he had inherited a few from his father who restored tractors as a hobby.  Zach also owns a restored 1941 John Deere tractor that he inherited from his grandfather.  

He likes to use his bicycle to “get out and explore” and has even ridden a century, just looking around roads here in Colorado with which he was not previously familiar.