Then, we got a call from our good friend Rita B, who invited us up to her boyfriend's place up in Georgetown. I've never been to Georgetown, other than maybe jumping off the highway on the way back from skiing/wherever when I've had too much Diet Pepsi or something, and need to pee. Chuck Stearns (Rita B's man) is the town manager up in G-town, and has a sweet little Victorian place located at the Southwest corner of town on a dirt road. The views are sweet, and, you can barely hear the highway. Georgetown projected a lot of character as we drove in, and, was further exemplified in the architecture of the buildings and downtown facilities on the main strip(s). I'd definitely consider a 2nd place up there! The weather in Denver was about 9000000 degrees Fahrenheit, and noticeably cooler up at Chuck's house. 
We picked up a chimineaya on the way out of town so we could stay warm by the fire during the fireworks, since apparently it gets down to about 40-50 degrees at night. SWEET! Just as a frame of reference, our thermostat read 97 Thursday night when we decided to hit the hay...yeah...it sucked. Anyway, the fireworks were launched off about 1/2 way up Guanella Pass and were spectacular. They did a really nice job for such a small town, and, according to the town manager (who by the way, should know), on such a small budget. Day 2 saw us travel back to Denver to pick up Amy's new bike. Now, in case you didn't know, Amy was taken out during her commute a few weeks ago by a renegade 7 year old. Physically she made out fine, but, unfortunately Pegoretti didn't. So, what to do for a bike? She pondered, mulled, and thought about it long and hard, and, eventually decided on (and I quote) "one of the best purchases of my life"...a Moots Vamoots. Jason at Pedal Pushers was pretty much responsible for this one. He walked her through all of the different options she was looking at (Orbea, Moots, etc), and helped really figure out what the BEST possible bike would be for her.
He did just an amazing amazing job, and I gotta hand it to him. Please, patronize his shop, he's just such a good businessman. After the talk, she went from steel to Ti in no time. The Pegoretti was a sweet ride, and, pretty rare at that. It's a shame it's pretty much toast. We're considering sending it somewhere to get fixed, but, I dunno. If you know someone that can fix steel, please post a comment. Since she was a bit gun-shy about the whole purchase, it made it easier for her to realize that she was going to be using her old parts (at least she THOUGHT) to help save some money. Well, having a racer fiance/eventual husband that's not afraid to take risks, or, blow some cash on a few nicer upgrades is sometimes a good thing. I replaced her old square taper Centaur cranks with some brand new Centaur Ultra Torque ones, and, her shifters with some nice carbon Chorus level ergo levers. She didn't see it coming. After Jason at PPC fit her on the bike (and fit her perfectly), he cabled it up, and she was out the door of the shop for a 2 hr ride. It was classic. She came home with the biggest grin on her face. The final product was just so drool-worthy, that I, of course, wanted one. The external/outboard bearings that campy put out look SO sexy, and, the cranks are just plain pretty to look at!Day 3 (Sunday) saw us take that Moots out for a big maiden voyage sorta ride. Amy's been riding her fixie all over the place, and, commuting on it, so, she needs to get more miles going uphill. She was so excited to take it out, that, she agreed to come up High Grade with me. I bought a Garmin Edge 705 GPS unit for our trip to Italy, and, wanted to get used to using it. I gotta say, it's pretty dope, but, that'll be another post. Anyway, we left home at about 8, and, hit Deer Creek Canyon about 9ish, the High Grade Turn at about 9:30, and then ascended. Side note-I had not idea that High Grade had 2000ft of vert on it. The GPS told me. Anyway, I rode with her at the very beginning to get the "feedback" from the bike, and of course, she said a few things, and rode me off her wheel. I could see her accelerate out of the turns & switchbacks out of the saddle, and, every ounce of her power going to the bike itself, propelling her forward. She couldn't believe it. She was in shock. I caught her within a few minutes and rode tempo to the top feeling pretty good. When we hit the Grange, the thunder started a-rumblin' so, we filled up our bottles, and quickly descended.
Again, big smile on her face. She's never felt so in control of a bike on a descent, nor, has she every felt just so "good" (i.e. very little body fatigue). We hit the house an hour or so later, just in time for the threatening rain to start. We didn't get much, but, I hate thunder & lightning while sitting atop an enormous lightning rod. Not a good thing. All in all, a spectacular weekend and, a very unpretentious one at that.
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