A VERY wet ride

I ride my bike to work. I'll ride in any weather. Rain, snow, whatever. It may not be the wisest thing to do but it keeps me awake and I get good exercise. Of late here in Colorado we've gotten a lot of rain which has made riding my bike to work all the more...interesting. Last night it started raining when I left for work so I rode eleven miles in the rain. I was wearing a raincoat but it really made no difference. Every time I would move my head rain would roll off my helmet into my face. and the closer I got to work, the harder it rained. The last intersection I rode through before I got to work was literally flooded.

I found that riding on the road was difficult because all the rain was pooling up and so riding the sidewalk was the better choice. Ironically it was the "dryer" choice. One thing about Colorado Springs is that they always keep their grass green and so the sprinklers run regardless of the weather. I'm guessing they are on timers or something. Anyway, they're usually running when I ride by and I try to avoid them as to keep from getting wet. However, on this particular night when the thought to avoid them crossed my mind I had to laugh because I was drenched and getting hit by a sprinkler wouldn't have made much difference. Thankfully I had an extra pair of clothes in my backpack. I did have to buy some shoes but other then that, I survived the night. It was a VERY wet ride and it makes for a good story. :-) Maybe someday I'll have grandkids to tell it to. Who knows? Stranger things have happened!

I'm Still Alive!

One of my brothers sent me an email awhile back saying reminding me that I had not written in my blog in a long time. He was right but I got sidetracked and haven't written. However, over the last couple weeks I've started coming into contact with a lot of people I haven't seen in awhile. Plus with the link to my blog on every email I send I thought it might be good to actually write something for a change. In this particular post I'm going to focus on this year rather then go through the whole eight or nine months I've been here.

  I seem to be having the same issues with the bikes I own. Yes. I said bikes. The first one I bought at Walmart and actually held together surprisingly well. They must actually make sure they are assembled well here. However, the quality of the bike is horrible. Both brake lines broke, and the rim (as a result of an unintentional jump) is bent. and am now back in the freezers. It's a curse. No one likes the freezer so it's easy to get into it but really hard to get out. That's ok. I've dealt with the cold before so this is nothing new. Since I've been here I've been able to go up Pikes Peak, see the Garden of the Gods, as well as going up near the Rocky Mountain National Park. I've lost a lot of weight (not that I needed to). Riding almost 110 miles a week will do that.

I've also started bowling again. My first game in over year was a 188! My first series in over a year was 482! Not bad for a guy with a not so solid 126 average. I've actually been able to raise my average 11 pins! Crazy stuff!

This past week I turned 35. Good grief I'm getting close to being old. I caught myself saying "many years" as well as other statements you can only make when you've been alive more then 3 decades. A friend of mine was kind enough to encourage me by saying I was halfway to 70. With friends like that who needs enemies? :-)

(Just a side note. This blog has been written over the last couple weeks and I'm going through my brain right now and as I write (or type) I'm remembering things that are happening. AS a result it may seem like these are just snippets. Some are. But it's getting the juices flowing and eventually I will have much more to say in longer segments.)

My brother has been gracious enough to me to charge me cheap rent for the specific reason that I will be able to get out of debt faster. Hence, I've been trying to get rid of my credit cards as fast as possible by making massive payments. One was just paid off last week.  In fact, I was finally, for the first time ever, able to pay the entire balance on my credit card in one month. (Now I just need to find a woman who will pit up with me...not sure if there is one out there) Next will be working toward a much more solid budget.  I'm slowly but surely making headway.  That's all for now.  More will come.