Summary

Wow…talk about a weekend. Nothin’ beats this one, except, of course, for thisone.

Friday we went out for some Watercourse since it’s been ages. I decided to try something new, so I go the Three Sisters salad with smoked tempeh. It’s like a Mexican-style salad…greens, beans, corn, pepitas, and peanuts. A few other things too. Unreal! Thatsalad alond with some even more unbelieveable Hodgson Mills multigrain pancakes for breakfast, provided more than adequate fuel for the MTB ride we did on Saturday.

We hit the Colorado Trail portion of Buffalo Creek and spent ~4hrs & 25-27 miles on our MTB’s. So much friggin fun! Who know MTB was such a blast?!?! I’d been having some issues with the fit of my Primus MTB. I stopped by and met with Joe and we determined that few parts I purchased were not on the original spec sheet, so my angles got all screwed up. To make a long story short, I switched up the stem, and VOILLA! I can steer, and stay balanced on the frame. That allowed me to take my MTBing to the next level. I was way more aggressive and could climb like a goat on pretty much the whole trail. The trail basically winds through the Pine Valley/Buffalo Creek State park, and has many different offshoots/etc off of it that you can elect to take. The weather was amazing. Sunny and cool..about 70 degrees max.



We stuck with the Colorado Trial, and rode that out to the Green Mountain Trail, which makes it a big ole lollipop. I’d done this ride many years ago, so I kinda remembered it. In other words…I forgot most of it. One thing noticeably different about it is the fact that it’s so sandy now. It’s smack dab in the area of the Hayman Fire from a few years back, so I bet it gets a lot of wash when it rains. Anyway, the trail starts on a fun rippin downhill and is sorta up and down the whole way. There are some great descents, and tricky ascents, but nothing that would really require an unclip from the pedals. You can ride the trails pretty fast and get a feel for what it’s like to sorta race an MTB. Man, I was flying! I was obeying all trail laws though…so chill. After a 2nd long descent, we ended up a the Green Mountain turnoff. Now, you can go in either direction for the trail, because it’s a big ole loop. I’d done it clockwise, so I remembered some things about it from then. However, we did it counter-clockwise this time…I got confused. I thought we were doing it the “right way”. I kinda got a bit freaked out because I didn’t recognize anything, but then realized we were going in the opposite direction. We were looking down the very tricky part that I remember coming UP the other way. That’s when I realized what was up. I was relieved. You know that feeling you get when you’re kinda lost…but are confident you’re not…but also unsure if you are? Try it…you’ll know what I mean. Anyway, we made it back to the car in less time than it took us to go out. A lot of it had to do with my ability to actually ride and enjoy the time. Seriously, I love MTBing now!!! My bike rules!! Sat night we planned on going to some friends house for a little gathering, but we were pooped. So, we watched Bobby instead. Great flick. I never realized how much of an effect he’d had on people. Talk about a cast too…

Sunday we headed up to Erie and rode with our friends Mike, Kelly, Chas & Rita. We headed from Erie up to Jamestown and back. I really like that climb up to Jamestown from Lefthand. It reminds me of my other favorite climb up to Evergreen from Denver. Yeah, not that steep, but that’s the point. You can really move going uphill, which, for someone like me, is fun. Anyway, as we started to climb, Mike & I started to turn it up a bit, just for fun. Mike used to race and now rides with the RMCC. He’s a tall tall tall tall tall tall (did I mention he’s tall) dude, and throws off the best draft. His long legs allow him to just hustle up the hills too. You’d never think a guy as big as him can climb so fast. That guy is tough! He dropped me on a few sections, and when I caught up to him, he’d ask “Are you trying to keep your wattage at a certain level?”. I said, “No Mike, you’re dropping me…” We got a laugh. In contrast to Saturday’s weather, Sunday was no walk in the park. It was 49 degrees, overcast, and damp when we left the house. As we rode, it got windy heading west. It started warming up as we climbed, and by the time we hit the mailbox (literally) in Jamestown, I was SOAKED. The sun barely broke through and blue sky was above. You’d swear it was March! Anyway, we descended and I froze my BUTT off. I was still pretty sweaty from the climb up, so my gloves were soaked, and my hands froze. I also put the "microwave jacket" (rain cape) on, which at least helped with the wind, but man…I was cold! We made it back to the house in time for lunch. Mike & Kelly ALWAYS feed you after a ride with them, and, it’s always something super delicious. We had some crazy lentil/orzo stew/soup from this cookbook called "Less Is More". It’s supposedly written by Mennonite/Amish peeps and has minimum ingredients. I’m definitely going to buy it cuz it has some silly good looking recipes! I’m also getting as subscription from Vegetarian Times. We picked that up, and, cooked up some Tempeh Stroganoff and Indian Chickpea & Rice curry. The recipes are super easy and so freakin tasty. Gravey!!! That night we watched some AWFUL (and I mean AWFUL) television while doing the NY Times Sunday Crossword. I hate to admit, but we watched “Rock of Love” on VH1…which is basically a rip off of Flavor of Love & I Love New York…only this time it’s with Brett Michaels of Poison.



What gives with the bandana dude?