the MS 150

This past weekend, I rode in the MS 150. I did this ride in honor of some family members and my good friend, Barb. I raised over $900 thanks to all of my supporters and also served as a volunteer Ride Marshal in hopes of giving just a bit more.

The ride started on Saturday morning - EARLY - and I got to witness this pretty sunrise as a consolation for the lack of sleep I received the night prior.

Here's Piglet gearing up (get it, gearing up!?). His bike (pictured) does not actually work so I had to do the majority of the pedaling. Luckily, it turns out, I'm in quite decent shape.

The starting line on Saturday. There were over 3,000 riders.

Here I am en route. The ride was 150 miles, broken up over two days. The first day was fairly mild. We did hit the Horsetooth Reservoir around mile 55, which seemed unfair because by that point, most of us were fairly tuckered.

Here's Piglet with another tag-a-long. This dude wanted to trade riders. HA!

Here's Piglet and me atop the Horsetooth Reservoir. Beauty. Big hill. As a ride marshal, my job was to be supportive to riders who might struggle up the hill (but who were too proud to ride the sag wagon to the top). This entailed telling them stories, cheering them on, or making jokes (not too funny though) as they pedaled. I couldn't ask questions I learned, early on, as it really is hard to answer when you're panting.

This was our other job. I think I helped change 7 or 8 flats - one of which was my own. One of which belonged to an older man with MS in a hand-pedal bike. He could hardly stand up but he was determined to make it the entire route without hitching a ride. Talk about inspirational. There were dozens of riders out there with MS and thousands more supporting those who could not ride. I hope some of you will join me next year...

Field of Dreams. If you build it (and serve sno cones, oreos and gatorade) they will come.

My co-rider - Meredith - we were quite the cheering section!

Lots of food on this tour. I eat a lot normally, so this took extra efforts to stay nourished. It all ended that day (Saturday) with a Big City Burrito in Ft Collins. I was still hungry come Monday.

A sincere thank you to all of my supporters. I couldn't have done it without your help (and donations, or text messages, or dog-walkings, or comfortable bed to sleep in, or shout outs!)

For more information about MS or the Society or the ride or to register for next year, please visit: http://nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

Brittish Invasion, East Coast Style

We (mom, Greg and I) went up to the Lake House this week (after recovering from Phish and doing a bit of shopping) to enjoy the country side of New York State.

This is the view from my mom's dining table. Quite nice, really.
My mom lives in upstate NY, really close to the Berkshires (which we learned is really pronounced Barkshires, if you're from England and want to be authentic).
Here we are at Baba Louie's in Great Barrington before enjoying some delicious pizza and beer for lunch.

We went out in the evening to The Old Mill, a fancy restaurant in the area.We had done some shopping in Lee so we tried our best to look proper. However, I don't think we looked posh enough though - the service was terrible and Greg got the ol' once over.

We also went to Stockbridge, Mass. If you have never heard of Stockbridge, Mass, then you haven't listened to Arlo Guthrie's fabulous song, Alice's Restaurant, enough. If you haven't listened to that song enough, you also will not understand this next photo. It was sort of like our own scavenger hunt. We were all winners.

The next morning, Greg and I actually woke up "early" and hiked to Bash Bish falls, just a few miles from my mom's lake house. It was a delightful (and short) walk on a trail that we had mainly to ourselves. It also crosses into Massachusetts, which is cool, I think.

Bash Bish Falls.

Bash Bish Falls, self timed.
Then, with mom's permission, I let Greg drive home. For me, driving the mini-van is a constant battle to remember that there is no clutch and no stick shift. I have slammed on the brake, in search of the clutch, a few times at least.
For Greg, driving the mini-van created a similar challenge, in addition to the important task of remembering to stay on the right side of the road.
Spicy.Photo Shoot prior to leaving the lake house. I think we are both quite tired or just confused.

Back to NYC and out to the Island for some quality time with the sea. Here's me, running away from the waves much like I did throughout my childhood - giddy and laughing!

This is Greg's creation. Hometown pride, eh?
Greg really enjoys making cairns. I do too, which worked out nicely when it came time to make this creation. I don't think either of us had made a cairn from seashells before. I think we figured there were 35 shells. Is that a record?
Here's Greg with his best David Hasselhoff impression.
I love taking feet pictures. The guy in the background loved taking ocean pictures (apparently - he kept dipping his camera in the waves).
Souvenirs.
This one's for Marissa. Seaside Free Running. A new Xtreme sport.

Throughout Greg's stay, we played a fair bit of scrabble. We played right up until he had to leave. I was winning - there's no doubt - but we called it a draw and will resume play during our next visit - maybe ten years from now? Maybe this winter.

Phun times in Philli

Thanks to Facebook, some randoms wound up at Camden, enjoying a very nice Phish show. The all star cast included: Helaina - a dear friend from college with whom I have not been in touch with much since then. Greg - my pretend cousin from England (our parents were BFFs in America growing up) who came to America for a road trip (see previous post). Pete - a new father and former Skiddie who joined the crew from Lancaster, PA and happened to have an extra for Greg! We also met up with Bridget, a colleague of mine in Denver and John Ferguson - an old pal with whom I have enjoyed many A phish show!
Greg and me enjoying the clouds and company.
Here's me and Bridget horsing around in the lot.

new dad. He smiled nearly the entire evening - nonstop!
Greg tried to make friends with American Police Officers - to no avail! They scoffed at his photo-opp request and fled the scene!
Tailgating in Camden. Delightful.
We made it in!
Me and Helaina, inside the show - enjoying the lawn.
Phish can still pull in a rather large crowd!

After the show. Chilly and hungry. Lots of traffic and one traffic stop. No tickets thought! :)

British Invasion

This past week, my fake cousin from England came to visit. He's on a tour of America for a month and after spending some time with my buddy, Jordan, in Portland, he moved on to Denver. We had a smashing good time.
I have drum sticks in my car (thanks Jordan!) and Greg thought this was a bit odd at first. By the end of our drive from Boulder back to Denver, he was knackered from all the drumming he had done en route.
Of course, we went to a Ballgame. We got in for $4.00 and worked our way down to nearly the grass with Greg's British charm. Here's him making friends along the way.

Then we went dancing at RockBar and did some climbing on the rock walls outside. Once again, here is Greg - making friends. Mahlet is great (no surprise that that rhymes... of course it does).
We decided that climbing on walls of the bar was quite nice, but that going to the mountains to do some proper rock climbing might be even better. So we headed up to Clear Creek Canyon - where Napi fell about 8 feet off of a cliff. He bounced and was a bit sore. We left Clear Creek Canyon without climbing.


So, we went to Boulder canyon, where Greg learned to rappel. You say abseil, I say rappel. Let's just get back on the ground.
Greg likes to make piles of rocks. If you're fancy, you call this a cairn.

Napi likes Greg. Greg likes Napi. Napi didn't go to jail, don't worry. We also ate A LOT.
In two days, I leave for NY where I will see my family and Greg again for another few adventures... including a phish show with Helaina Jaye, a visit to Woosta and some time at the lake house. Dream. Stay tuned.

A question about Race

I went to the Apple store today to get a new battery for my computer and received prompt, friendly service. Immediately upon entering the store (in Cherry Creek - a very affluent, White part of Denver), I was greeted by a young man in an orange shirt. He asked me what I needed help with and set me up at a little station and instructed me to wait for help. It wasn't more than a few minutes before a nice man in a blue shirt came out and assisted me with my busted computer.

I was in the store for probably ten minutes total and observed the dynamics some. There was a wealthy-seeming couple being pampered by a sales rep and they were buying everything imaginable. There were several other folks in my area of the store, browsing or waiting for their turn.
As I went to leave, two young, African-American males walked into the store. I paused and observed the following. Nice young orange-shirted white guy who initially helped me was consulting with a couple and another blue-shirted young man, just as they had been when I walked in. The two young men who had just entered the store got maybe eight feet from the entrance before pausing and looking around. I reckon they appeared as I did - slightly curious, partially baffled by all the technology and in need of assistance.
Neither the orange-shirted nor blue-shirted workers offered assistance. They were maybe five feet away from them. The two young men paused a bit longer and then entered the store, moving to the part of the store with accessories and what nots. I left the store at this point and stood in the doorway, just outside, observing. The man in the orange shirt then looked up and saw me. He walked towards the door and asked "Did you get all squared away then?" I nodded my head and pondered the possibility of asking him why he had just ignored those two young Black men. I glanced around and noticed that of all forty or fifty folks in the store they were the only people of color. The young orange-shirted man smiled at my nod and gave me the thumbs up. I paused for another few moments, before walking away having not said anything about my observations of a potential microaggression. UGH.
What are your thoughts on this? Should I have spoken up or not?
Was this a cop out on my part?

Some videos for your viewing enjoyment.

This is Napi on our Snow Day last Thursday. Taken with my new videoFlip thing. We got maybe 10 inches over the course of a few hours. Delightful! Except that I really thought it was spring.


This was taken by Jake's camera up near Estes Park, CO. I'm leading a climb with Longs Peak in the background. Timelapse photography...cool.

The Dawn of the Birth

It was a great birthday celebration. Woke up at 4:45 to hike up Mt Morrison. Enjoyed an awesome sunrise (albeit a cold one) and then enjoyed some cupcakes with great friends in the evening. No complaints. Not one.