Back from Utah

Well, we are back from Park City. I think that I am still trying to recover. The last night for us in Utah was a doozy. We ended up being out until almost 3 in the morning with some of the Cannondale people. Claire and I had to get up the next morning at 6 to fly out. We went to downtown Park City to a night club named Harry O's. It was a pretty interesting experience. The picture on the left is of Claire and I and our Cannondale Rep, Engin. The picture on the right was taken by one of the "go-go" dancers who was standing on a big platform. Claire took her picture first, and then the dancer offered to take Claire's picture. I am probably out on the dance floor at this point trying to keep track of my sandals.

I went out on Monday and rode my favorite loop through Willow Creek State Park. I raced myself on my Garmin. I ended up being about 2 minutes slower than my fastest time which had been in late Feb. It was nice and hot outside, which I really enjoyed. I could tell that I was tired right from the start, and even thought about cutting the loop a little short, but I persevered. I did have a flat tire on Box Springs Road, which is inside the state park. That was my first flat going down that pretty bumpy fire trail. It was actually a welcome break to sit down and patch the tube and relax for a couple of minutes.

I went up to Annadel last night with the Cannondale carbon Rize 1. I had the premonition that I might run into Rich S., and I did. Rich is a former employee at The Hub Cyclery, and a friend of ours. He just got his masters degree in Botany or something like that, so he is a smart guy. I ran into him after climbing Rough Go and Cobblestone. I actually had a pretty ridiculous fall on Cobblestone and was saved by my Camelbak. I was threading my way through a little rock garden on the climb, and I fell over. It wouldn't have been bad at all, but I just kept tumbling, and finally ended up slamming my back up against a giant boulder. I felt the impact through my Camelbak, which acted as a cushion. I broke the buckle on my Camelbak, but otherwise it came out unscathed. I had a couple of bruises here and there, but nothing else. The worst bruise was on my elbow, so when I was having a couple of beers at Third Street, it hurt to rest my elbow on the bar. Anyway, after I ran into Rich, he turned around and we headed back up to Live Oak and then to the top of Burma. He was on his single speed with about 50 mm of travel in his worn out front fork. I had forgotten what a great bike handler Rich is and he made it seem very easy weaving his way through all of the rocks. I thought I would include a little quote from Rich that describes him a bit. I was chatting about business and the such as we climbed, and then I mentioned that I didn't want to monopolize the conversation, and Rich said, "Go ahead, you are doing a good job of it." I think it was funnier in context. Here is a link to the loop.