I lost nine...

...pounds (lbs.) this weekend. And no, I didnt get my hand cut off. This weekend was the MS150 - a bike race/ride from North Denver to Fort Collins and back. If you have never ridden your bike 150 miles, then take a 2x4, lay it across two saw horses, then straddle it. For 10 hours. Then add in the heat, sun, wind, and oh yeah - pumping your legs...then you would get sort of get the picture. You might think to yourself, "Self, that doesnt sound so good." But you'd be wrong, it was fantastic. Let me tell you why I had such a good time:

1. It wasnt just me, but Team ATX. We had a group of 10 that were all committed and looking good our new jerseys - thanks to BK Medical, INnMED, Firma Medical, and P1 Mobile Solutions [shameless plug]. Good people.

2. On day 2 we actually inducted a new member Matt, who is actually the guy from Pactimo (http://www.pactimo.com/) [another shameless plug] that set us up with our jerseys. He received one for his troubles at the end of day 2. Thanks Matt.

3. It wasnt just a bike ride for us - we collectively raised over $13,000 for the National MS Society. Thank you to everyone who contributed - and if you would still like to, please go to http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=4571906&pg=personal&fr_id=9111.

4. Thanks to Amy and Krista, we had an excellent (decorated) team tent at the end of day one, complete with a cooler full of Function Sport Drinks (www.functiondrinks.com), and a pony keg full of beer from Wynkoop Brewery (http://www.wynkoop.com/) [well, if you get free stuff you have to return the favor with plugs]. At the end of day two, our lovely team moms set up a cooler under a shade tree with, you guessed it, beer and sports drinks. Thanks Amy and Krista.

5. Just to give you an idea of how awesome Team ATX (aka Awesome to the Max): the MS Society gives everyone two luggage tags so that you can take a change of clothes, etc. to Fort Collins and back. We checked an empty keg shell on the way back. Zinger.

5. Amy also brought my camera and took pictures. What this means is that I am actually in some photos. She is really getting good with that SLR...

6. I really miss pushing myself to the limit. I like the pain, and it also makes me realize that my limit is actually further. So you might see me in some more grueling rides soon.

7. AND nap time. In the end I came home, took a shower, put an ice pack on my knee, and fell asleep on the couch. Initially I turned on the TV, and found the Karate Kid II. Even in my state, I found that I couldnt fall asleep because I wanted to watch Danielsan beat up the Okinawan dude at the Bone Festival...so I had to switch to music. A little Nickle Creek knocked me right out. I have no idea how long I slept, but Kristin woke me up and we went to Toyko Joe's for dinner. Not a bad way to finish up.

I added a...

...few notches to the belt in the past few weeks. Good notches. Buenas notches.

1. The Denver Cruisers (http://www.denvercruisers.com/) rode in bubble wrap, duct tape, and cardboard. I was there. I wore a bubble wrap cape. Justin Mendoza was in town for training, and he showed his true (new) Mexican Colors. And it was good.

2. In lieu of a weekend camping trip, Matt Zoss and I went fly fishing in Waterton Canyon last Saturday. What a great place! Only 30ish minutes from Downtown, you have to ride a mountain bike 6 miles upstream to get to the dam, and you ride progressively downstream and downhill hitting up the spots like there might be hungry fish. No, I did not catch any fish. But I did break my record for the earliest beer ever - 7:30am. Dales Pale Ale. And it was good.

3. Later that day, I headed out to catch up with Lush Ride 2008 (http://www.lushride.com/). Me and about 200 of my closest friends jumped on our bikes and did a little midday pub crawl. It was a little less rowdy this year than last, and less costumes. BUT I decided to don the jorts (that made their premiere at Lush Ride 2007) and the ATX Cycling Jersey. I was showing a lot of leg, and it was good.

4. The day after all that goodness I had to fly to California for work (boo). BUT it just so happened that my buddy Ryan Eaton had just finished a summer assignment at Crooked Creek, was at the airport waiting to fly back to the EastCoast, and had a flight time near mine. So we met and had lunch at the airport, and it was good.

5. Flew to Ontario, CA to pick up some equipment and drive it to Fresno. I dont know if you knew this, but all those raisins you eat...well, the grapes are grown in Fresno. In the summer time, it smells absolutely wonderful. In the fall, it smells like shit. Lucky for me, its the summer. Met up with long time friend and now employee Justin Mendoza. Did some training with him and surgery the next morning. THEN flew from Fresno to Las Vegas and ran into one of my favorite Doctors there. THEN flew from Vegas to Milwaukee. I got in at midnight, slept at the airport Hampton, then drove to Madison the next morning. Had an inservice at the little Hospital in Columbus, WI, checked out the campus in Madison, and bought some delicious Wisconsin beer that I cant get in Colorado. New Glarus Imperial Weiss, and it was REALLY good.

6. After surgery on Wednesday, I booked it over to Chicagoish to surprise my mom. Yes, I have a mom. She didnt know that I was dropping in, so that was fun. I ran to the ocean, er, I mean Lake while she rode her bike - which means that I had to run pretty fast. Which means that we had to pop open a Goose Island Matilda, I earned it, and it was good.

First, a quick...

...update on the weather status here. We are all okay. Nobody is hurt or injured, everyone is safe. You might have not heard about our weather crisis because of the other weather issues around the country: The Midwest is getting drenched and many people have been evacuated from lowlands because of the flooding. A tornado touched down just outside of Chicago. The East Coast is witnessing a horrible heatwave with highs in the 100s. But Denver - we are enduring a 75 degree cloudless day, a balmy 12% humidity, with gale force winds blowing at 5mph from the North, with no end of this in sight.

Sure, that might not sound bad to you...but I had to work today. Blastit!

Another successful celebration this weekend, well - Actually TWO. First was The Great Divide's 14th Anniversary party. Some really amazing cask and special edition beers, not to be limited to 2006 Hibernation and a Belgian IPA, were on tap along with some delicious barbecue to absorb the hooch. But that was merely a pre-party (unbeknownst to JD) for JD's Surprise Superhero Birthday Party.

Hooray for surprises! I brought JD back over to the house from Great Divide and we had friends waiting with capes, masks, and superpowers. So we played in the front yard, had some delicious (free) beer, grilled a few pieces of meat and meatless meat, and hopped on the bicycles for a little more fun. You know, like $1 drinks at the Park Tavern where we made our own version of Guitar Hero called Guitar Superhero. And then off to, as you might have guessed it, The Rockbar. I know this might come as a surprise, but we won there.

"Why a Superhero Party?" you might ask. Or you might not ask, but let's pretend. JD is a superhero - he can withstand multiple taxi collisions in a single month. Capes look cool blowing in the wind. When you wear a mask that covers your eyes, nobody can pick you out in a police lineup. If you pretend to be a superhero, nobody will realize that you are actually a superhero in a superhero disguise. AND its fun to look dumb.

Enjoy your weather.

My legs are...

...sore, and I slept for 12 hours last night. But all is good. The official unofficial first race of Colorado Cycling Season was yesterday - the Elephant Rock. I've never ridden this race, and I heard that it was windy and technical (lots of climbs)...and well, yes. But I learned a few lessons:
1. Don't get too excited out of the starting gate. My adrenaline was pumping, and so were my legs. Pace, pace, pace.
2. If you see a group of 8 high school cyclists passing you, fall in behind them. They are young, they are skinny, they are in shape, AND they block wind.
3. Unless you're in it to win it, stop at the aid stations. Get some water, get some Gatorade (Or "OPTIMA" energy drink). And do you see those Cliff bars (or "LARA" bars)? They are FREE! Eat them.
4. If you have cool cycling jerseys, you are better off. If you can convince various medical companies to sponsor your team, then you are even better off. Again, free.
5. This is not a Wednesday Cruise, this is the equivalent of running a marathon. Except you dont fly downhill at 40mph with a crosswind that wants to pull your tires out from underneath you in a marathon. Running is boring.

Finished the race in good time. Had some barbecue at the end of the ride (ahem, free), and closed the day off with the first Jazz in the Park at City Park for this summer. Good times. I'm going to go take a nap.