Flying High

Well, this weekend was a pretty good reality check of just how awesome my life really is. I mean, don't get me wrong...I NEVER take it for granted...EVER. Especially the people in my life...Love all of ya!!

Let's start with Friday night, shall we? Our friend
Georgina, who, is incidentally responsible for putting Amy & I together, is interested in starting up a mobile sandwich truck which will include delicious vietnamese delicacies (veggie & non-veggie) such as the Bahn Mi sandwich. So, in her quest to get this thing up and running, she had a few people over Friday night to test out her creation. The Bahn Mi she made were all vegetarian, and, just straight up ridiculously good! Being pretty crazy about bread myself, the super crunchy rolls she got from the Vietnamese bakery really put me over the edge. The cilantro, spicey mayo, and tofu combo was not only a new flavor combo for me, but, really hit me on a subconcsious taste-bud level , because, damn...I craved one all day the next day!! I also got to meet a new friend of her & shelly's named Christi. We talked music for quite a while, and, she gave me some pretty great music tips. I love people like this, and, she was a pretty cool chica nonetheless. Amy & I hope to hang with her here & there.

Saturday, I was determined to get up EARLY and ride with the HART boys down to Chatfield Worlds (aka "Thunderdome South" as I all it...so many sketchy people...so many crashes!). So, I got up super early, ate a big ole breakfast, and, headed out to Bang around 7:45. I haven't ridden down in that direction withOUT studded snow tires on the commuter in about 3 months, so, I kinda lost track of just how long it takes to get from our house to Alameda & Downing. Well, I was about 25 minutes early! I couldn't believe it. I coulda swore it was 30 or so minutes away, but, I ended up cruising around the blocks nearby in an area I'd never actually been in. The houses were pretty sweet and I really liked the blocks...lotsa trees and a nice "family" atmosphere. So, we rolled out down towards Chatfield at around 9 (a bit after we should have...so we were running late), and as such, the tempo was pretty crazy. Jordo was riding a little slower which was nice cuz I never get the chance to talk to him or hear his jokes (he typically rides very very fast). It was a nice change! We also took an alternate route down, avoiding the Platte path altogether. This, I was and am very excited about for future use of course, is a nifty little short cut sorta route that bypasses the path 100%, and, sticks you right at the Deer Creek/Wadsworth intersection. Perfect!!! Jordo & I rolled on through the start, skipping the actual ride itself, and just rode on course with the pack eventually catching us. He did his thing, and, I let him go ahead of me because after a bit, I simply couldn't hold his wheel if my life depended on it. He's changed from a very surgy sorta rider to one that can just whoop it up at a constant pace for a very long time. Eventually (as expected), he simply rode away from me in his "zone 2". He looked so smooth and was barely struggling. I swear if I'd had a power meter or something, I woulda been in high-tempo/low SS-ish territory. OUCH for me! So, I rode a bit behind him, and, waited for him to turn around on the out and back portion of the "loop". When he came back about 10 or so minutes later, I'd had a nice lil rest to recover and was able to hang with him the rest of the way, albeit at the same friggin high pace. It turned basically into like 2x30+ minute hard efforts with like 10 minutes rest ON TOP of the 1h 15min intensity session we put in on the way DOWN to the ride. I termed it a "Jordo-val" cuz my challenge was to maintain the intensity and hold his wheel...kinda interval like, no? The coolest thing about it though, was seeing just how smooth and strong he was riding. Jordo got himself a coach in the offseason, and, has been dieting and riding his hair out (he's bald), and it shows. He's really going to do well this year...I know it. Look out Gila! Anyway, I knew I was getting my ass kicked and that I'd be worked for Sunday, but, the forecast was supposed to be shitty, so, I was fine with it. Eventually, we all went our separate ways, and I headed north towards Willow Springs hoping to get a bit o climbing in on the way back. The wind kicked up BIG TIME, and, as I approached the shaded climby section, I figured it'd be super icy and somewhat unrideable, so I opted to pick up the 470 portion of the Chatfield path and head into Morrsion. The wind was so bad at one point I was doing single digits on a descent, and, the left side of my face was frozen from the chilly breeze that was ripping out of the West/Northwest. Once I started to head east though, it was like I had a whole bunch of people pushing me in the back and I could rest a la tailwind. Of course, I had to turn North again (as I was trying yet another new/old route) once I took Garrison all the way back to Highlands. The wind wasn't as bad as there were plenty of houses/neighborhoods to block it, but, damn, I was pretty smashed when I got home. I craved a Bahn Mi the whole way back, but, settled for some leftover pasta :-). All in all a great training day. 4.5 hrs w 69 or so miles and lots of intensity...something I haven't done in a VERY long time. Felt really good to tire myself out big time.

That night Amy & I hit Encore for a nice V-day dinner. The food there is so good, and, the service is great to match. We've never had a bad meal there, and, her parents enjoy tht place as well, which is always good when inlaws are picky. We headed over to the Bluebird theater afterwards to pick up some tickets to Band of Horses, and, the temp was dropping big time as we headed back to the car. Here comes the nasty weather!

When we woke up Sunday, I couldn't believe the amount of snow we'd received. They said two or so inches...we got closer to 6! The neighborhood was blanketed with fluffy white powder that made it very difficult to get up and out on the bike (I hadn't planned on riding anyway), so, we opted for a brunch at Stella's. This is the second time we'd been there, and, it gets better every time. So delicious! We headed out for a walk down to REI which took us about 45 minutes or so to get there and then walk back. I was sooo tired! We had a really nice time though. Amy was psyched to get the exercise, and, we'd had a really nice time together. It was beautiful! It was ironic that I did what I did yesterday (ride-wise), and, here I was super tired from just walking a bit. Funny. It was nice to get out though. Later that day we did a bit of shopping to start decorating Biscuit's room/changing area/nursery/computer room and FINALLY got ourselves a nice rug at Lowe's.

Later that night, I started feeling REALLY bad. I was all achey and groggy, so, I opted to go to bed at *ahem* 8:45. I slept straight through to about 5:30 this morning, and, feel 100x better this am.

This week should be pretty productive, and, I'm looking forward to more excellent training, people, and music.