Tube to Work Day

On Friday, July 15th, three of us at Sopher Sparn traded our cars, buses and bikes for inner tubes. Instead of jumping on 36 or the Diagonal, we took to Boulder Creek with about 500 other tube-commuters. We braved the frigid waters and risked getting our work attire soaked all in honor (and great fun) of Tube to Work Day, an annual tradition started by two Boulderites.  It's the ninth year for Tube to Work Day and it reached an astounding 500 tubers—the biggest turn out yet.

It was Senior Architect Paula Claridge who first planted the seed in our minds. “Let’s do Tube to Work Day! Come on, it’ll be fun,” she mentioned last Thursday afternoon. Aaron Grunwald, one of the newest members of our team, is always up for an adventure, so he was in. Always down to try something new and wanting to support my team, I decided to join as well.

So we grabbed our tubes and made our way to Eben G. Fine Park for a launch time of 8am on Friday morning. The park was filled with people in work attire (the most suits and ties I’ve ever seen in Boulder at one time), silly costumes and flotation devices beyond inner tubes, including a swan. As first timers, we didn’t know what to expect. We just knew it would be cold, bumpy, a bit rocky and tons of fun.

I flipped out of my tube about two or three times through the first few rapids, which was not fun. I have bruises, cuts and scrapes to prove it. After I got the hang of it and kept my butt up, the rest of the ride was fun and simply hilarious. “I’m late for my conference call!” and “Jeeze, look at this bumper to bumper traffic!” could be heard jokingly down the creek. Once I finished my flipping escapades, I was able to catch up to Aaron and Paula who kindly waited on the banks for me. Then we tubed all the way to the Broadway Bridge as a trio!

Here are some photos from our adventure.