Out With the Old and In With the New

Preface. Katie and I moved to Boulder almost 2 years ago, 18 months of which we have resided on good ol' Williams Fork Trail. With our roommate hitting the loto and buying a house, the later of the statement being the only true part, Katie and I have also made the decision to move. Out with Boulder, in with Broomfield. I do not have any pictures of the new place, more to come on that, what I do have is some of our fondest memories while living here on the trail.

Condo Clothes Fire
Ever wake up in the middle of the night with the fire alarm blaring and a hallway filled with smoke, fire men funneling in to see whats going on as you stand in the front "lawn" freezing, only to find out that your 19 year old neighbor decided to light a pile of vintage clothes on fire on the balcony with a bunch of his buddies?

Stewart Throwing My Bike In the Dumpster
A few weeks after we moved in, I had my commuter bike chained to a light post outside. One day when I went out to ride it, it was not there, in lieu of it was our grungy cigarette inhaling, ball scratching (pardon my not so French but it's true, I consistently see him scratching his man-jangles in the courtyard) fill in the blank of a maintenance guy, who not so politely informed me he cut my lock and threw my bike in the dumpster. In my typical fashion, I was polite and asked him if I should have the police come to fill out a report for stolen property...he then asked his fellow maintenance buddy to go get my bike for me. Dick.

Don't Flush Your Condoms
Within the first 24 hours of living here, our crazy landlord stopped by to inform us not to flush condoms down the toilet. Perhaps the creepiest moment of my life...

Drivin' Drunk...Classic
Remember the time the drunk driver drove through the fence in the middle of the night, plowed through 2 parked cars, and preceded to hit an additional 9 in the parking lot before moseying on down the rode? Drivin' drunk...classic!

Elusive Laundry
If you are poor like us, you don't have a washer and dryer. Rather you have a communal laundry facility that everyone abuses to maximum capacity. Sometimes, people take your laundry out of the dryer mid cycle, put them in a laundry basket, and put them about 75 feet down the hallway sitting there sopping wet.

Hot Tub Hookers
My good buddy Ned was in town, and after a hard day on the slopes him, Katie and I hit the communal hot tub. We shared it with some guy named Steve, his seemingly gay partner, and there seemingly for hire women friend. The conversation escalated quickly...they wondered if there were ski lifts at Chautauqua.

The Hallway Smells Like Urine, Cigarettes, and Weed.

You Can Sleep When Your Dead

As I kick my feet up on this glorious Friday evening, I can't help but think how fortunate I am. Perhaps it was the wellness test REI required me to take this week to enhance my health benefits, which by the way recommended I need to start walking 3 times a week for 20 minutes and eat a healthy breakfast, maybe it was my walk I had this evening at the res, who knows; either way, life is grand for the following reasons.

#1: The Girl
Beautiful, fun, and every now and then tells me I need another bike.

#2: The Other Girl (on the right)
Shes my partner in crime and tells no one; rather, takes runny poops and chases rabbits.

#3: Friends and Family
Aren't they just cool for all the right reasons?

#4: Bikes and All Bike Related Items
Two wheels are better than four.

#5: Coffee and Beer
You can sleep when your dead...

#6: MN
Not Minnesota, it sucks; Mother Nature.


#7: Powder
I was thinking cherry cherry and face shots, but Google image gave me this!

Crunchin' The Benjamins

The grand folks up at corporate crunched the numbers and the results were fairly positive considering the circumstances for 2009. What's in it for me? Bonus! What's that mean? Bikes parts and house fund. Although a large chunk of my extra Benjamins are going to sit in the house fund, I feel it is only right to do something fun with some as well.

Surly Big Dummy, Vermont 2010 road trip, chalet kickin' it for 4 nights, here I come! Still trying to determine all the specifics of the third Surly in the fleet, but a few of the "somewhat solidified" component choices are below. Avid BB7 brakes with big ol' rotors, SRAM X9 derailleurs and shifters, Titec H-bar, goofy old Big Dummy, Brooks B17 saddle, and the Truvativ Stylo 3.3 crankset. The biggest question still at hand, black or army green frame?

Winter Returns

Saturday

31° F | 14° F
Snow

70% chance of precipitation

Knock knock. Who's there? Winter. Winter who? Winter, that season that used to happen once a year... ohhhhhhhhh.

After a several month hiatus, winter has decided to once again consume Colorado. What does this mean for the outdoor lifestyle? Stop turning that pedal wrench and pick up the skis again. There should be some good fresh moving into the hills, so eat it up and go back for seconds. For those of you in need of another source of false hope for freshies and cherry cherry, but with significantly more accuracy that Al Roker, check out www.coloradopowderforecast.com!

Today's forecast: Hot dog

Delicious Chips and Elderly Self Check Out

Extremely Delicious Buffalo Blue Chips and Efficient Self Checker on Left...Old Man Slow Checker with Grandkids on Right

Alright...here it is. First off, Kettle Chips are delicious. More so, Buffalo Bleu Kettle Chips, these things are bang up. If you haven't housed a bag lately, give in and cram your face with these crispy buffaloey morsels.

On a more serious revolution spurring note, if you don't have confidence in your self check out skills, give the fourteen year old kid in lane 5 some work and don't use the self checkout! I hereby implement the following criteria regarding self checkout personnel eligibility:

1. You know how to use or preferably regularly use what society has dubbed a "computer."
2. Understand the basic principles of which way to turn the barcode for the scanner to read it.
3. Recognize that bananas and avocados do not have barcodes, and you will need to exercise some higher level thinking to enter the number on the little sticker.
4. Fully understand that if you have coupons the people behind you are going to be pissed.
5. Comprehend that there is a scale and weight measure involved in the process, and if you scan a box of Wheaties and don't place it on the scale it will tell you to please wait for an attendant. At this point you have caused 100% gridlock and defeated the purpose of self checkout, the people behind you are once again pissed.
   
6. Your conscious is OK with stealing a 28cent lemon if the computer tells you to "place it in the bag."
7. Understand there is no true help at the self checkout, generally the attendants are not the gold-star-cashiers and you are on your own. If your computer says "please wait for attendant," the people behind you are going to be pissed.
   
8. Realize it is not a good idea to buy booz at the grocery store, much less the self checkout, after all, the computer can't tell your 21.
   
9. Recognize that if you need to ask any questions regarding how to use the machine, the people behind you are going to be pissed.
   

Kokopelli's Trail...Enough Said...Who's In?

The Diverse Children Say "It's a Go"

The above picture says it all, it's a go! Katie and I will be making a swanky cross country voyage from June 5 to June 20! I am not sure why the young mates above are holding flags, but if the exceptionally diverse children have not eluded to our route, we will be heading due west to PA for a short layover to take care of some wedding business, and then up to the Northeast for the meat and potatoes.

What's on the agenda you ask? Just about everything involving bikes, dogs, secluded cottages, microbrews, coffee, and good company. Katie and I plan on doing a several day bike tour in Vermont to rough it a bit, and then plan on kicking the feet up at a secluded cottage for 4 nights (courtesy of the rents!) Should be a blast! Intermixed will be some mountain biking at the Kingdom trails in Vermont with by bro, allowing the ladies some time to shop for fine perfumes, bedding, and Martha Stewart like accessories. After that, maybe a few days in some prestine Motel 8 in Burlington, or perhaps some free nights chez Dan and Jodie? Probably the later. All of this with Tada in tow! Should be glorious...I am going to have to create a gear list...cough...cough...BIG...cough...BIG DUMMY!

MN Plays Tricks

So I apologize for the lack of posts the last couple of days, work has been absolutely nuts and my great buddy Ned is in town from Washington; combined, this leads to a minimal amount of blogging.

What is not at a minimal level is the amount of confusion surrounding the seasons. Our first in command...MN, Mother Nature for the laymen, is throwing all sorts of stuff at us! I have been up in the mountains the past few days, and yes, it's cold and there is a bit of snow there, but it does not truly feel like winter right now. And as I cruise 36 back into Boulder past the flashing your speed is sign, it is warm, but not quite hot, and does not truly feel like summer.

Do I ski? Do I snow shoe? Should I start mowing the lawn if I had one? Do I mountain bike? Is it time to sun bath? I just don't know. Our pal Phil saw his shadow, locking us in to 6 more weeks of winter. However, judging by this furry groundhog's track record of 98 out of 112 years seeing his shadow, I am not taking his judgment as fact.