Cabin Work Days

We got through the entire woodpile!

Tarryall Reservoir

Earlier this week I came across a ride route very near to the cabin since I was heading up to the cabin to help for a few days, this was the perfect opportunity to explore the area on bikes with Dad. Mom was once again the team car and even had a furry helper named Bailey for this ride.

We met at the parking lot...25 miles one way, bringing the total ride to 50 miles. The fall colors were beautiful, and we quickly realized that this was going to be one of those amazing and memorable rides. There was very little traffic and the road was in great condition. No question that this will be a repeat, and definitely the place to road ride whenever I go back up to the cabin. Additionally, the reservoir and surrounding areas were a great find for ATVs, paddle boarding, fishing, and other water activities compared to some of our existing spots.

All said, the ride was great and another memory shared for the scrapbook!

The Secret Life of Pets

SS Stage Race

This year for Labor Day I went up to Steamboat Springs with a bunch of teammates to race in my first stage race. Given the course and that it was my first time racing a TT (without any prior practice), I was really just going up there for the fun, the experience, and to hang out and get to know some of the people on the team a little better.

I got in on a nice rental with Erik, married couple Ron and Marisa, and eventually a friend of Marisa's. We had fun racing during the day and watching the Tour de France at night if we weren't going out to dinner. Luckily we had great weather for our race times and avoided the hear, wind and smoke some of the other people or neighboring towns experienced.

In terms of the race, our field was limited to 25 people in the combined Cat 3/4 40 and 50+. I Think we had 16 people in my age group, and I finished 11th overall. Like I said above, it really was for fun given the course and that it was essentially the last race I planned to do this year. I rode with Ron the entire time on Sunday's RR. At the very least, the trip was well worth the amazing pictures I got from Marisa and the fun times hanging out with friends.

Julia Got Braces!

Bike Racing is Back

Bike racing is back! After a long winter of training and then summer of waiting, we finally were able to hold some races.

More importantly, I met my season goal of getting on the podium in my first race of the season (August 2nd) and my first criterium race ever. Additionally, this was after upgrading from category five to four. It just so happened to be that it was the Master's state championships. The race came down to a photo finish, and although I was much faster than everyone else in the final sprint, I was too far back at the start of it and I just barely ran out of road. Just a rookie mistake! Second place was an encouraging sign and a confirmation of many things.

I also raced up Pikes Peak again in August. Although I finished fourth out of only seven, I still beat my personal time best by 3.5% and power best by 6.0%. A couple of weeks later, I raced the same criterium up in Golden and finished an encouraging fourth once again. The conditions were very bad for me, very windy with gusts up to 30 mph, so it was a completely different race and one that I was just happy to complete without crashing.

In many ways, although a very weird year, after only a few races I can consider this season a success and further improvement from my first racing season last year. I actually have worked my way up to being competitive in races, and if things would have been a little different, could have even won a race. 

Interior Decorator

Julia decided to spend some of her own money to decorate her room...and her "front porch"!

Date Night

I had a race up in Golden this weekend, so Stacey and I took off for an overnight without the kids. Red Rocks has a series of movies that they show throughout the summer, but due to COVID they had to change things up and change the showings to a drive-in format. I had never been to a drive-in movie before, so it was a lot of fun. We toured Red Rocks and walked around it earlier in the day, then watched Jurassic Park from the back of the 4Runner. Fun times were had by all!

Home Sweet Home

Nothing like coming home after along bike ride and turning to see "man's best friend" anxiously waiting for your return. And, falling out of the house onto your lap...

Camping with Jonathan

We were invited last minute to go camping with Mike and Kensei at O'Haver Lake down by Salida. I was racing up Pikes Peak Saturday morning, so Jonathan rode with them and I met them at the campground later that day.

The trip was a lot of fun. The boys got to do some fishing and paddling around the lake in the kayaks. Dinner one night was the rainbow trout Mike caught, which Jonathan tried, and I ended up eating most of it. Generally, we just kind of hung out for a few days. We went for a hike around and above the lake, which gave us some pretty good views.

Glad we went. It was a good another good memory for the scrapbook.