city spin

I managed to get in a few hours in Denver. weird how different city riding is. not the mountain view and valleys of the foothills but the raw urban parks and landscape of the city. Just riding along listening to the tires hum across the road, no rednecks, great riding. the coolest part was looping through the Cherry Creek Res Park and seeing all the people out on bikes and almost no cars rolling around. Cool winter afternoon why pay 6 bucks to drive through the park? Bikes free! Then a trip into town all the way through to REI on the creek path, wierd things goin' there, drug deals, shooting up, real bad stuff! happy to get in a good ride without trouble, friends were saying the goatheads are bad even on the roads a clean ride is always a victory.

commute

two rides in two days, one with a dog chasing me (a big rottweiler) and today a sheet of ice the whole way home. yesterday the dog almost got me, my sprinting legs aren't in yet. beautiful dog, crappy owner/keeper. today i was surprised i stayed upright. amazing lunch today, organic albacore mmmmm, good food, good bread, good choice.

i love people

great story today on velonews, maybe the way that these guys reacted isn't the best way to deal with conflict but i certainly agree with the actions on both accounts.whitey's revenge unfair but maybe our fellow road users are right and bikes shouldn't be allowed on the roads, we are such a nuisance.

a.m.

the color of the sky matched the color of the water, first time they were that close. oddly warm and nOt too windy, the clava was a bit more than i needed, extra insulation is nice. the cars didn't know what to make of a pre-dawn cyclist with lights, easing out into intersections before realizing that maybe they should slow for a second aNd let the guy on the bike through. i thought an elk was near me just before town, i felt something watching me as i rolled down the last hill, that presence of a bigger creature, the kind that has few worries beyond eating, odds are a mountain lion would eat a smaller weaker animal before going for an elk. maybe one of my cats? the evil one perhaps?

Livewrong

I know some of you out there will agree with and support the Arizona folks in a good cause. Please give, it's for the good of us all. This is a quote/mission statement off their website livewrong:

The creators of the LIVEWRONG armband want you to enjoy this armband however you choose. Let's be honest, we want you to buy them. I don't care if you use it as a beer coaster or a cat collar. Its all up to you. We're all cyclists, and we ride it all: Road, mountain, fixed, singlespeed, gay unicycles, whatever. And we punch cars if they cut us off in traffic. Sometimes. But it hurts our hands, so sometimes we just throw water bottles or kick them instead. Those who LIVEWRONG might... Live in the woods to save a few bucks on rent, or in a van, down by the river... Not chase the corporate dream... Not watch fox news... Slap a retired sticker on their truck at 30 and make a go at it selling veggie burritos at dead cover band concerts... Tune in, turn on, and drop out... Distrust people who wear dress slacks, unless they bought them at the thrift store for $2 bucks like you did... Believe Evil Knievel is the greatest living example of the American Dream, besides Jenna Jameson... Think EPO stands for "Entering Paris On-time", and it ain't no more dangerous than a of glass of orange juice... Think Danzig had it coming when Danny knocked him out on the Res last year... Consistently give soccer moms all safe and secure in their H2s the finger (please make sure to have the armband in corresponding hand)... Think America is a maelstrom of feel-good corruption that is devoid of any real truth (whatever that means)... Hate reading so much they never get this far down the page.

Support the little guy!

Lucky

It snowed a lot yesterday, probably a foot or more, weather reports are always so far off. Then today I needed the full mitts, but I was too lazy last night to put them on. The fingers were really cold coming in. I'm still listening to the Killers. Trying to give it a few full listens to see if it's as good as it seems. With all of the snow yesterday I didn't think nordic skiing would be so fun (today will be good) so I went off on the single to explore the dirt roads, well, snow roads. I can't wait to see more of them on the longer rides before mud season. I saw rabbit tracks and maybe fox but I wasn't sure what they were. On the downhills there were a few cars really dogging it around the corners, especially suvs! I just weighted the front end and used the studded tire to get through without going down. The sunset from up there was amazing, purples and pinks and indigo across the sky as the snow stopped and the sun went West.

Snow

Sometimes it's the ones you don't expect that are the best, whether it's music or snowstorms. Yesterday into today was both. I loaded the new Killers effort, Hot Fuss and got listen to most of it on my trip in. The snow began yesterday at 7 am and hasn't stopped, it let up about 6 pm yesterday but then fell easily all night to make for good riding today. The goblin just glided through the powder. Perfect am commute with good, new music in my head. The foot or so of snow and the bike gliding through it instantly woke and recharged me from the less than 8 hours of sleep. Good morning.

stuck

Sometimes I start something, a good project and can't stop cleaning, today I cleaned the fridge. It almost nothing in it except for condiments and a bottle of juice for B. It was wonderful, citrus cleaner and a clean sponge, it looks so cool! I know a clean fridge isn't the sort of thing I blog about, or much less you like to read about, but my fridge looks great! Is yours as clean as mine?

long day

I managed over 5 hours yesterday, in the wind. At one point it took me 15 minutes to go up a little 2k rise. Really stiff wind, all day. Somehow the last hour wasn't too bad, aside from being out of water and food it was a great finish. I was lucky enough to meet up John for a while, good coffee ride there and then oddly saw Scott and Evan on the road right after leaving John, so nice to ride with people on really long days. The redneck factor was pretty low all day, one or two close calls, not bad for a Sunday afternoon. I didn't have a problem with the new cables or new tires, my mechanic skills haven't totally left me!

21005#2

Some days at work just aren't as bad as others, sort of like the Smith's song; some girls are bigger than others I had the new issue of bicycling to sit down with, not a very busy morning and it was a blue water day. Nothing like sitting down to a fresh bowl.