Father of Six

I did two new bike rides this weekend.

On Saturday, I rode from home to Parker and back.40 miles.I was surprised that once I got to Parker Road on the 470 bike path that I didn’t have to ride on the streets. Parker has a great bike path system and according to the maps, you can ride all directions for a pretty significant distance.

Today, Sunday, I rode up a portion of Deer Creek Canyon. It was 6.2 miles up, over 1000 feet of elevation gain, and some pretty steep stuff. It took me 40 minutes. Then the ride back. It was exhilerating. I hit a top speed of 43 mph, and it only took me 14 minutes to get back down. That was serious fun.

The new bike plan is coming together. I should be set by 8/13. Trust me, it’s turning out just fine.

I wonder how Tim and his fellas are doing at the Dork Olympics … and if everyone is injury free.

So the long weekend was great.

Visiting with Dad and Susan was great, as usual. We had a little diner party with all the kids on Friday evening. Greg came over too. On Saturday we all climbed into the basement and watched a movie called Honeydripper. In general I wouldn’t recommend the film, save for the final 90 seconds. If you’re ever in need of a reminder of how it feels to absolutely love the moment you are in, with utter joy and abandon, watch these 90 seconds - it’ll make you feel good. Later that evening, Trohe, Rick, Tanner and Macy joined us for a fine dinner. Dad and Suze made their way back to Missouri early Sunday morning.

Sunday was spent trying to stay cool. It’s been hot around here lately.

Later in the day, we met Tim and Jeanne for dinner at Cafe Terracotta in downtown Littleton. As usual - great food, and even better company. It’s fun to try these new hole-in-the-wall and not the run of the mill type places.

I extended the weekend one day by taking Monday off. I had a nice 25 mile bike ride on the pig and spent the rest of the day just relaxing.

I’m taking the rest of the week off, and Monday too. I’m feeling a little run down - more mentally than physically.

My dad and Susan arrive for a quick visit tomorrow, and they’ll head out again on Sunday.

The 100 pushup challenge is going well. Tami and I are both on plan here in week 2.

No news on the bicycle front. I’m still riding the pig while a solution to Mo’s problem iron’s itself out. Speaking of bicycles, is anyone else following the Tour de France? I love it.

Danielle is making an exciting career change. She seems really happy about this move and I wish her all the success possible. You can read all about it here.

See her entries from Monday, “It’s Happening,” and Tuesday, “It’s Real.”

Can you do it?

I’ve found my next physical challenge.

I stumbled onto this site at hundredpushups.com where they lay out a training plan to get you trained over a 6-week period to do 100 pushups without stopping

I’ve talked Tami and Amanda into doing it with me. We started last night with the initial test, and will begin the program with week 1, day 1 tonight.

Anyone else care to join in on the fun?

It has taken a full three days, but I’m just about back to feeling normal again. The Mo vs. Pig saga isn’t over yet, but it is no longer dramatic. Don’t look for posts about that topic unless a final solution is reached.

We took Boomer to see the movie, Wall-E yesterday. I think he enjoyed it. Boomer is a very quisitive sort, and he follows the plot quite well. But he sure does ask a lot of questions. What I’m saying is that he hasn’t learned to just let the story happen, nor has he learned about theatre etiquette. And it cost us just as much for tickets for 5 of us as it did for popcorn and drinks. No wonder I don’t frequent the movies.

I’m looking forward to this Independence Day weekend. I don’t feel any pressure to train, but am looking forward to sneeking a couple of rides in. Will probably do a bit of landscaping. And we’ll have the traditional backyard bbq too.