Notice the snow! It's mid May and we are still stuck riding in tights and long sleeves here in Colorado. Will winter ever end?

I think today was the longest I have ever spent on my bike in one go. We did a 7 hour ride today and had so much fun. Steve (the photographer), Tyler, Beth and I went out for some epic fun. We decided to do what we call the Epic loop, but this time we added a little more fun in the sun with a trip up the back side of City View.

Everyone is riding so well for it still being early season. Beth has recently recovered from shoulder surgery so I haven't had the pleasure of riding with her for some time. She's one of my favorite chicks to ride with because she a stud on the bike and always has the best attitude. Tyler was a hoot as usual. Here is a shot that Steve took at the top of Shadow mountain. Tyler just dumped like 2 cups of sweat out of his helmet. I was rolling on the ground over that one. He just cracks me up.

After Shadow Tyler and Beth headed back to town for work meetings and Steve and I decided to head to the back side of City View. Actually Steve did more of the deciding, and I did more of the following, dreading, acting Eeyore-ish, and finally bouncing back into Tigger mode. It really was worse in my mind than in actuality. I think I would like to add City View backwards onto more of my long rides. The hills are steep and the views are awesome. At the top we had to stop and grab some fuel at the Highgrade schoolhouse. Someone (not sure who) stocks water and Gatorade there for cyclists, and you just drop some $$ into a little metal tube with a slot. Totally awesome! Here's a shot of me very happy with fuel to add to my bottle!

All in all today was just decadent. It was great to ride with close friends, to catch up with my coach, and to get some solid time on the bike. It's hilarious, I have no idea how far we rode today, only that we were gone for a little over 7 hours. Steve said at one point that the elevation gain we did today was close to that of the triple bypass (a local ride), but without any data ?who knows? The more I ride...and run...the more I seem to gravitate away from the watches and gps for everyday training. There is something calming about just going out and exploring the hills on your bike.

Like I have said before these rides have a way of cleaning out my system, pressing the reset button, and making me happy. I hope that you all are able to find outlets in your life that give you the same feelings I get when I ride! I truly feel like I am living life. I thank my coach Steve for showing me around all these hills, and I thank Troy for allowing me the time away to explore and follow my adventurous spirit.