Yesterday we got out of Topeka a little later than I was hoping, but still made it out to Coloroado in pretty good time.  We hit a little traffic in Denver, then again by Idaho Springs, but still got up to Silverthorne by 5.

I convinced Vincent to ride over to Vail with me, even though he already had 50 miles, partially in the rain, which is sort of normal for Colorado afternoons.

So, we got dressed really quick and headed out for the 2 hour ride over Vail Pass to Vail.  It was a super ride.

I was surprised how I felt.  I really didn’t notice the altitude much, which is really abnormal for me.  Vincent and I just talked most of the way, even though he put in a pretty big effort on the frontage road along the interstate in Vail.

We got to Vail just in time for dinner.  I’m staying with my friend Stacie from Louisville and they, Lisa, VIncent’s wife and Stacie made a super dinner.  I was thinking how perfect the timing was.

Anyway, waking up in the snow covered mountains is really nice.  I hope to get some of my allergy issues under control, plus ride my bike in some super cool places.  Vincent is talking about going down to Fruita to ride MTB in a couple days.

I think it is amazing how far you can get away from where you live so quickly.  We didn’t leave Topeka until 9:30 and were riding by 5.  It isn’t very long and it is really a different setting.

I talked to Bill yesterday and he is feeling better.  I think the pain pills are kicking in.  He didn’t sleep much the first night, but was breathing better.  He has an appointment this morning to get the tube taken out of his chest in Kansas City.  I guess I’ll hear what they say about when he can start riding.  I think it will be more the lungs than the ribs dictating that.  I know they are going to be cautious about his lung collapsing again.

Okay, we’re going to a free buffet for breakfast now.  I normally don’t like eating at buffets.  I’m not sure why that is.  I think it started one time I was at Disney in Florida.  These huge people were heaping their plates with 5 times as much food as they should have been eating.  It kind of grossed me out and ever since then, when I go to buffets I’m always just checking out what other people are eating and not just enjoying the meal.

Jack coming down to meet me. I needed some Jack time.

Vincent heading up to Vail Pass.

Heading down towards Vail, the lakes are still frozen.

There are tons of snow up in the mountains here.

The view from the balconey this morning.

Busy day here in Kansas.  Yesterday I drove back to Topeka, from Denver, and got back in time to do a hour and a half ride, just missing getting poured on by a June storm, which was nice.

Then I stayed up late last night trying to jot some notes down for the Memorial Service for Glenda.

This morning I’m supposed to meet up with a van full of juniors that are making their way out to US Road Nationals near Lake Tahoe, from the East, and want to ride for a couple hours.  If it’s raining, then I’m just going to stop by and say hi.  If not, I’m taking them to Dover and the edge of the Flint Hills.  I really hope the rain stay aways.

After that, the memorial for my friend, Glenda Taylor, this afternoon at 3 pm at Washburn University, and then later, a more intimate service.  I think Glenda would have enjoyed riding with the juniors too.

I’m going to try to make it down to Tulsa on Saturday to do the last two days of Tulsa Tough.  I saw that they had nearly 3000 entries for the weekend.  Pretty incredible.  Tim and the crew down there have done an amazing job over the years keeping that event super relevant.  ANd they do this by making it fun.   I think the fields for the Pro/1 NCC races and the 1/2 races are filled.  That is 250 PRO 1/2 riders.  Pretty cool.

I’m pretty under slept, once again.  I’m not sure why that is.  Seems to almost be the norm now. It used to be the exception.  Better try to get that under control before it controls me.

Okay, today is going to one of those days I didn’t plan for.  It will be nice meeting up with a bunch of enthusiastic young cyclists, but the afternoon and evening is going to be challenging.

This guy was riding down I-70 outside of Limon, CO. I saw another cyclist just staying on the shoulder. Weird, not sure it is legal there to ride bikes, but I might be wrong.

Jack, Vincent’s dog, wanted to go too. I love Jack.

This was the temperature driving back and the AC in the van didn’t work. Just another thing to fix. It worked on the way to Colorado, not sure what the deal is now. I sweated through lots of clothing.

Trudi trying to watch the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup a couple nights ago, on an iPad. Pascal, Vincent and Lisa’s kid, was “helping” her watch.