Dog Days of Summer

I rode with Adam yesterday and experienced the worst day of the year on my bike. We pushed our bikes up some hot (111 degrees F), steep-ass, rocky, loose dirt, horse hoof chopped up dry trail, then we pulled our bikes down some steep, loose, rocky trail that thankfully passed by a beautiful waterfall and ended in the parking lot where all this nonsense began. Hike 10 minutes, ride 30 seconds, hike 10 minutes, ride 45 seconds! You get the idea - do that for about 2 hours. Can you say Bull S---! After about 3 hours we both decided we'd had enough so we headed to Jamba Juice for a nice cold smoothie. My planned 6+ hour day was thankfully & mercifully cut short, and I was still alive.

Adam pushing up the hill...

Adam relaxing on the downhill ride/hike!

I don't know, it must be the dog days of summer that have drained my energy and challenged my typically positive spirit. It's so hot and dry I don't want to move off the couch! Thank God for the Tour de France. I have Leadville in 4 weeks, but the way I feel now I won't even be able to drive there, let alone ride 100 miles at 12,600 feet!

I'm heading out the door for an early morning spin with Dwight Hibdon & Kevin Nelson for what is scheduled to be an easy road ride. I'll write more later and add some pics.

The easy spin was just that. How refreshing!!! We stayed in the small ring and talked for 3 hours. Now that's fun riding. Kevin sucker punched me on the hill sprint behind the Capitol, otherwise we were very docile and honorable all morning.

Kevin pulled and all-time 1st today. No, it wasn't some spectacular riding feat, it was, well, it was Kevin! He punctures his front tire and puts in a new tube. Unbeknownst to him, it has a faulty valve and all the CO2 rushed out. He then puts in a second tube that has too short a stem that barely sticks through the rim, so he can't inflate the tube. Then he then puts in a 3rd tube and snaps the stem in half! Seriously, he snaps the metal stem completely in half. Now we are out of tubes and only 20 minutes into the ride and Kevin's tire is still flat. Fortunately, Dwight had a temporary quick patch he put on the original tube and that held for the next 2.5 uneventful hours.

All in all it was a great Sunday ride with two good friends. Thanks guys and GIRJ...