Big reality check for most of the country today, huh?  I thought I was cold in Seattle, but that is nothing compared to Colorado or Kansas or Wisconsin or most of the rest of the United States right now.

It was 60 something degrees in Denver yesterday morning and then the temperatures plummeted.   And it started snowing.   Denver was a total gridlock driving.  It was icy and snowy.  It didn’t snow that much, but enough.

The high today is supposed to be 19 degrees and then tomorrow a high of 10.  10 is pretty cold for a high the 2nd week of November, even for Denver I think.

Trudi drove from seeing her mom in Chicago up to Cable for a couple days.  She’s in the Honda InSight.  That isn’t a car for the snow.  And it is in the snow now.

I talked to her last night and our friend Pete Caron, Matt’s brother, had nordic skied over on the road to say hi.  It had already snowed over 10 inches and is supposed to snow another 8 inches today.  That car won’t be moving anytime soon in close to 20 inches of snow.

I sort of missed summer this year.  Being hurt and not anywhere really warm.  I’m not ready for winter.  I don’t think my hip and winter go very good together right now.  My hip doesn’t like the cold, or more accurately, the change of temperatures.  Plus, any super quick, non expected movement is really bad for both my hip and my shoulder.  That pretty much rules out cyclocross, which would normally take up a big chunk of the winter.

I’ve got a lot of projects that I’d like to get done before “the season” starts next year, but some of those projects take a ton of physical efforts, which I might or might not be able to do just now.  So, I guess I’ll just have to play it by ear.

Anyway, it is time to get out the winter cycling clothes, none of which I have with me right now.  I really don’t have any winter stuff.  Especially for a high temperature of 10.

I’m going to do a few projects around Vincent’s, probably build a new shower, at least the shower pan, and a few other things that I can do just a lot faster, and better than Vincent, then head back to Kansas.

Brian has a gravel road century planned for this weekend.  I’m not even looking at the weather forecast for that.  I assume I’ll be back in Topeka by then, but you never know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s funny how Fridays just keep coming and coming.  I usually don’t pay much attention to what day of the week it is.  (I know that sounds weird, but it’s true.)   That only applies when I’m not racing.  When I am racing, I’m very cognizant of the day.  And it really doesn’t matter that it is Friday again, for me today.  I’m not going to be doing anything different tomorrow than I’m doing today.

Today is going to be the 5th day in a row I haven’t ridden my bike.  It has been wicked cold, here in Denver, with snow cover on the roads.  Vincent suggested that I take his fatbike out this afternoon and ride a little off-road.  That sounds like a great plan, but I know how that goes.  It goes like, I get caught up in something I’m doing and the afternoon disappears.

This morning there is an inspector coming by to check out the shower pan.  It seems weird that there is a shower pan inspection, compared to other aspects of home owner construction that there is no inspection for.   All you have to do is show that the shower pan holds 2 inches of water, without leaking and, I guess, drains out through the drain, ie. slant underneath.  Mine is fine I think.

A couple days ago I got wrangled into “helping” Vincent install a couple TV’s at a remodel.  Vincent did that for a while, install low voltage wiring in new construction.  He’s doing this for a friend.  Man, was it a job.  I had to drill holes through 13 inches of rock and brick, then mount a TV bracket flat on the rock.  It was a pretty challenging job.  I have no idea if the 1 inch masonry bit was just wasted or the rock that hard, but it took forever.

Today, after the inspection, I’m going to finish the shower pan and then maybe lay radiant heating mat and tile the whole area.  We can’t install the drywall until the framing inspector comes by, and that seems to be tougher to schedule that the plumbing.

Jinglecross  starts today in Iowa City.  I would be going there, just to watch, if I was around Kansas.  I love the race and it is a very spectator friendly place to watch cross.   It is the 11th year of the race.  I’ve done it every year, other than when I was hurt, or once when I was roofing my building during the winter.  I’m going to be torn following the race from here.

Random fun fact.  Apple stock is really doing some big moves the last week.  I read that the value of Apple, the company, is more than the whole Russian stock market.  That means, if you sold all the Apple stock, you could buy all the stock of every publicly traded company listed on the Russian stock market.   Plus, you’d have enough extra money to buy each person in Russian a new iPhone 6 plus.  Man, that is a lot of money.

Okay, I think I need to get going.  Vincent is calling.