so, i've been riding a little

not to add to the overuse of a tired cliche, but spring has sprung in the fort. witness:

- things i put in the ground a month ago are growing. spinach, garlic, potatoes, and tomatoes are almost all in the garden. just a few wee plants to "harden" and transplant from the window boxes to the earth from which they will spring further.

- things i didn't put in the ground are growing. in case you missed it, i bought a house back in november. now i have yard work. the dandelions seem to be doing very well. the grass is so-so. the tulips that popped up out of no-where in the backyard are pretty. the orchids in the front yard are a stunning surprise.

- i turned down a day of skiing in lieu of a bike ride. yes, its true. i think i need to maybe call the season at 38 days - just two short of 40, which would've been cool to talk about. we'll see, i may have a day or two in me yet, conditions allowing.

last week i spent about 14 hours on a bicycle. this folks, is a meaningful development for me at this point in my cycling endeavors. it went down a little like this.

ride no. 1 - tuesday with dean, toby, and bob. we rode faster than i'm used to. 2.5 hours after work is a good thing.

ride no. 2 - mtb on wednesday right out the door of my house. 1.5 hours on the full squish slacker model. single speed needed some love and got it over the weekend.

ride no. 3 - last saturday. the venerable fort collins --> estes park --> fort collins ride. i did it the easy way (into estes directly up US34 vs. the switchback (steep!!) because it was actually a hard day. stiff se wind, cool temps. (never got above 55) and i dind't do this ride once last year. not one friggin' time. at any rate 5.25 hours and around 80 miles shows my form (or mental state more accurately) which had me just wanting to do the ride for confidence sake.

ride no. 4 - sunday. i did the ft. collins --> estes park --> ft. collins ride again. this time the hard way and a half hour faster. screw riding that slow survival mode crap. i'm leaving it on the road ;). back to back 80 milers. i must have more anger in me than i'm aware of. i should go to a bike race i think.

ride no. 5 - last night on the ss. up and down and all around the reservoir right from my door. dodging rain spatter and hikers coming down behind the football stadium i spied a rattle snake. i kept riding and he kept on, um snaking i guess.