Floyd won the tour. That kicks all kind of ass. I can't believe his guts and determination to go out and do it, terrible stage or not it was amazing. Now that the tour is over, I suppose I can peel myself off the couch watching it and get back to blogging each night. I know you all miss my posts :p Tonight I sit here at the table, watching the sky darken and the rain fall. Marni is cooking dinner and Turbo is lying by the door, exhausted from our after work bike ride/dog park trip.
A lot has been happening around here. Some bike related and some not. One big, "not bike related" thing is the at least temporary ending of one of my favorite hobbies.
That's right I'm no long racing cars. It's bittersweet to pack up package after package and ship them out. I'm pleased with the money I exchange each one for but sad at ending of a era. Marni and I had so much fun racing, whether it was autocrossing together or her hearing amazed reactions in the stands when Pivvay would make a pass at Bandimere. I know I made the right decision for now and reserve the right to return to the sport but for now I don't have the desire to dedicate the time and money to it that I need to and I'm better off focusing on hobbies like human powered racing that I can comfortably afford. Not to mention Marni and I now have a cushion in our savings account, something that's been vaporized by buying the house and the IRS.
All the time I used to be spending on cars, as most of you know, is instead spent on my bike and I'm really enjoying that. Each week I've been blessed enough to spend Wednesday nights with my wife and friends, riding great trails and eating and talking afterwords. Things like that I wouldn't trade for the world. We even get to hurt ourselves out riding our ability and show off our (minor) battle wounds.
Marni and I have enjoyed some great road rides alone too. I finally took her on a really scenic and quiet ride south of our house.
We got to see farms, roosters, old ranching buildings and just a lot of generally out of place stuff a few miles from suburbia. This weekend we're headed to the mountains to climb our first 14ers together. It's another project of ours that I hope we finish (summiting all Colorado 14ers together) but even if we don't I'm sure we'll enjoy the time spent together.
Of course it's not all biking all the time. One weekend we spent some quality time with my friend Scott's and my friend Craig's Talons. We pulled the engine out of Scott's preparing to install a new one and I welded up some new intercooler piping for Craig's. Pretty stainless steel piping and I hear it's made a big difference in his top end power. If the weather will cooperate and not be over 100 degrees I'm sure he'll run it down the 1/4 mile soon.
Last but not least I've been enjoying my own riding. Whether it was the race this past weekend where I had some difficulties and still had a blast, or just riding alone at lunch during the work week, I'm smiling and riding my bike. Just so you know, difficulties mean flatting and crashing into a tree but I'm not really sure which order they happened. Plus I still finished fifth in expert so that's not all bad. Riding at lunch has been a mix of bikes too. A lot of riding my favorite bike (my orange road bike) plus some solid singlespeed and Fuel action as well. I've even been enjoying washing the stable which continues to grow, expecting a new mountain bike for Marni and a new/used fixed gear for me. With Leadville 3 weeks away I'm increasing my intensity again and I feel prepared. While I'm focused on riding the course in under 9 hours, it's really the journey that's been most fun. I've covered some 6000 miles between Leadville last year and now and I have so many wonderful memories from each mile. Memories I get to keep forever and they can never be sold. I'm pretty intent on creating a whole lot more of them too. All you out there in blogland, don't forget to stop and smell the pretty flowers.
Now I must end this post as there is a wife and dog that I love very much who also need my attention...
This post is nothing profound or revolutionary but I am here nonetheless. Training is good. My cycling cap permanently sports a wavy sweat line and my helmet straps are once again crunchy. Pushing the big ring against the chronograph taxes my sore legs but strengthens my mind. The Fuel and I are once again in sync and preparing for another extended day together. This year I'm confident and look forward to the long day. Last year I was unsure my body could go the distance regardless of what my mind told it. This year my body is prepared and all I need is for my mind to follow through again with soul searching resolve.
