July in a Nutshell

Wow... what a month! July holds a lot of events for me. The Fourth of July. Le Tour de France. The Iron Mountain 100 k. The Dream Bigger sale at work. The promise of great weather to ride in. The third annual Ander-Son's Ride. I think I did them all justice this year. I'll start at the beginning though.

Independence Day: Ribs. Cornbread and baked beans. Chocolate pie. Yes and Peter Frampton. Live. With a 35 minute barrage of explosive projectiles launched directly over my head. Awesome time spent with the Drapkins.

Le Tour de France. Lance crashed. Shleck cross chained. That cheeky bugger Contador won again. at least Radio Shack won the team competition and Horner and Hesjedal finished in the top ten.

Iron Mountain 100 k: I rode. I rode some more. I rode a bit more. I placed 24th out of 70 some over all and 20th out of 40 in my class. And a full hour faster than I predicted I would finish. Check out my report at the Team Twin Six page.

Dream Bigger sale: Busy. Dead. Busy. Dead. That pretty much explains it.

Good weather: I've been riding pretty much six days a week. Two days a week with my boss, co-workers, and customers. One day a week I meet my boss for a mountain bike ride before work. And then I hit the road hard for the rest of the week to try and get myself into shape for some upcoming ultras.

Ethicon-Endo, Cincinnati Off Road Alliance, Trek of Cincinnati, and Biker Bob hosted a bike ride for kids from the inner city this past weekend. This was the second year that I participated. Last year I had a blast, but left in the back of an ambulance, missing a digit. This year I stayed upright and had a blast leading the kids through the trails and then sneaking off with some other riders to catch some sweet new trails. All in all a great experience that combines my passion with helping other people. Next year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever. I can't wait!

Well... time for me to hit the air mattress. I have to be on my bike by 5 AM tomorrow morning. Enjoy the weather and the bikes!