I made it to California and have yet to see the sun! It is warm……..in the sixties but I rode yesterday in a monsoon. Today it is cloudy but still sort of depressing. I could realy use some sun at the moment! Plus, all of the food I had in my car such as maple syrup, honey mustard dressing, and honey……..pretty much anything liquid, has leaked all over my floor. My car smells lovely!

This traveling living out of my vehicle thing is starting to get a bit old. Especially since the weather has been shit! On top of that I have been riding but really don’t know where to ride so I end up on these crazy busy death roads getting honked at (for my good looks obviously) and flicked off!

I don’t know anyone out here except for Mike who I am meeting up with tonight. That is nice! He is from the area and is helping me look for a place and hopefully showing me places to ride. I think I would crack if it was not for that. Boulder, CO seems sort of nice at the moment!

I have been spending some time at Karen’s coffee and bakery in Folsom, CA. It is the only place I have found with free internet and is really nice. Everyone that works at the place thinks I talk funny and asks what country I am from? I usually say Canada so I don’t have to explain anything.

later,

g.

Driving to Winter Park in a blizzard.

Yet another test of my driving abilities. Caught in an ice storm in western Utah but remained unphased! Maybe I should be a professional driver?
The start of a very long/desolate drive accross Nevada. Shit……I am still in Nevada!

Random mountain along the interstate that I ran up.
Day before I shave my beard! I am in warm weather now so there is no need for facial hair………yeeeehaw!

Today was my last day in Boulder I like Colorado and had a great time hanging out with Wes, Megan, Pete, etc. I wanted to say thanks to Wes for letting me stay at his place for a few days and being an excellent host.

I was suppose to leave today but I was pretty knackered from all of the skiing and traveling I have been doing the past week so I decided to postpone my departure and chill for the day.

I met up with Megan in the afternoon and we went for a bit of a hike (straight up a mountain) and then we hit up Pearl Street where I bought a yellow CU Boulder T-shirt. At the shop where I bought the shirt we tried on some of the “pimp” clothes and shades they had. Aside from gold teeth I think I looked like an actual pimp? Sorry no pictures……

Tomorrow I am going to Winter Park and skiing for half a day and from there deciding which way I want to go. I think I will be going through Salt Lake City, Nowhere Nevada, and Reno? I plan on taking my time and if anyone wants me to stop by and ride or spend the night as I pass through drop me a line.

later,

g.

Ready to hit the trails……….

Lunch Time………the chili bread bowls were looking good but I opted for the turkey and swiss sandwhich. It was a tough decision but I don’t think the chili would have stayed down and tasting it twice is not nice!
Megan and Pete in the chalet.
Pete ready for his first attempt at nordic skiing.
Megan getting some warmer gloves.

Went nordic skiing at Eldora ski resort with Megan, and Pete today. It was awesome! We left Boulder at around 10 AM and drove up into the mountains where it was snowing which made the skiing really great. We had to rent equipement and get trail passes which cost $42 but that is not that bad for a day of fun!

It was Pete’s first time skiing and it was rather funny watching him fall. However, he learned fast and by the afternoon he was doing really good. Later in the day we met up with a few of Megan’s friends who were really good skiers and they gave me a nice whooping! I could not hang on the flats or downhills……..I was sort of worried about falling. I think that officially makes me a wimp! I will blame not being able to keep up on the 9500 ft elevation of the ski resort…………….or maybe they were better skiers than me???? Nah………….that can’t be it, right?

The last time I went nordic skiing in Colorado was with Frank last January at Devils Thumb in Winter Park and he also gave me a whooping. However, I want to clarify that it only happened once and I had skied hard for an hour or two before that. Plus, I only cracked a little little bit. On the way out of town tomorrow or the next day I am going to stop at Devils Thumb again and ski for half a day. It is an awesome place and I have to erase the memory of Frank getting the better of me.

On the way back down to Boulder from Eldora we stopped in Nederland for some “Back Country” pizza and then visited Wes who was working at Starbucks. He hooked us up with some free egg nog lattes……..thanks Hartman.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is on……..yeehaw! It is the best movie ever! NBC always has it on before Christmas so I have made it a tradition to watch every year and you should too.

later,

g.

Shane and I visiting with G-Ma Urban (mom’s mom) before I left. She is 88 years old and likes to fall an break bones!
Heading west from out of Ashland on US Hwy 2.

The only thing worth seeing in Nebraska. I don’t even think it is worth seeing but after looking at nothing for half a day it is sort of exciting!
On the road and surrounded by all of my stuff.