Yesterday I was a complete brothel on the bike.  I usually don’t talk about training too much but I felt soo bad I feel like have to tell someone.  You know how somedays you just feel like shit and you just deal with it.  Well, yesterday I felt like Shit X 10 but I am better today.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from yesterdays ride.  Karl, Hendy, Mr. Coyle, and I rode up Sunshine Canyon to a little town called Gold Hill .  After a quick pee break  we headed farther up the mountain on this cool dirt road which eventually dumped us out on the Peak to Peak highway at 9200 feet.  I pretended to be taking a picture of us riding when in fact I was actually being dropped and was taking a picture of the guys riding away from me!

From there we rode the Peak to Peak highway  to the town of Nederland while I obviously continued to sit at the back as evidence from the picture suggests.  Then once again they rode away from me .  However, Hendy flatted on the way back down Boulder Canyon and I was able to catch back up .

It definitely wasn’t pretty but I made it home and got the time in.  Once I got home I did go straight to bed so I could get up the next morning and start a new day fresh.

I also learned that when I have good legs the scenery looks a lot better!

later, g.

I thought I would give a quick recap of this past weekend.  It was really busy with a lot of travel and sponsor obligations.  Meaning that yesterday when we got back everyone who was on the trip was pretty knackered and spent most of the day in bed.

We flew out from Denver Thursday afternoon and made it to Portland in the evening.

The following day we had to get up sort of early to go the the Health Net corporate offices in Portland.  We had a good lunch, signed some posters, raced tricycles, and met some of the awesome Health Net employees.

Later that evening was the Portland Twilight Criterium which was a blast.  Before the race we signed some autographs in front of the team RV and helped fit helmets that Health Net was giving out to younger kids.   The race really could not have went better for us since we finished 1,2,3,and 4.  Kyle and I were able to get away early with me taking the win and Kyle getting second.  Then Hendy and Karl rode away from the field getting third and fouth.

Saturday morning was another early start especially after the late start to the race the night before.  We flew from Portland down to L.A. which seemed to take forever but at least I had some Dramamine (thanks Kim)…….I still hate flying.  Eventually, we made it to our hotel after driving through L.A. traffic  and went out for a little spin in that traffic…….it was lovely.  Saturday basically sucked except for the fact taht Karl, Hendy, and I ate at the same Asian place twice.  Their lunch was soo good we figured whe my as well eat there for for dinner.

Sunday was filled with more sponsor stuff before the race.  The actual race went pretty well with Hendy getting second and Kyle one place behind that in third.

After the race we had to quickly ride back to the hotel and shower and pack our bikes .  From there we headed down to the beach to grab some dinner  and look at the sites .  The beach is awesome with all of the restaurants, and there was the pro volleyball thing going on, and of course the girls in bikinis!  We ended up eating at this fish taco joint  which was good .  From there it was back to the airport to catch our flight home.

Before the flight home we had a few malted beverages at the airport  .  I actually opted for the Dramamine over the beer!  If I puke on planes to begin with I don’t think beer will help.

Eventually, we landed in Denver and after waiting for our bags  made it back to boulder at some unGodly late hour.

Yesterday was pretty much a brothel since it was hard to even get out of bed.  I did manage to get the internet set up in the new place so I should be able to update more often.

Before I go I want to post one more picture of the big, mean, scary, hairy beast who is also known as Karl Menzies .  That is pretty scary isn’t it?  Sorry, Hollywood but I could not pass on posting a picture like this.

later, g. 

Obviously as you can tell by my lack of updates lately the internet in our new house has yet to be up and running.  Therefore, I have to travel to a Days Inn hotel in Portland simply to update the blog.  Actually I am here to do a race tomorrow but it is rather convient to kill two birds with one stone.

I thought I would give a quick virtual tour of our new house in Boulder, CO.  Five of us (Frank, Wes, Karl, Bryan, and myself) will be living in the five bedroom, two bath, two story place off of Oak Avenue in North Boulder.

The upstairs consists of a living room  which is connected to my room  and Frank’s room .  Since Frank and I are upstairs we will have to share a bathroom  but at least he is sort of clean so it should not be too bad.

Still on the main level of the house and next to the living room is the dining room  where Karl and Smith are seen trying to steal wireless internet from the neighbors.   

That pretty much covers the upstairs and now we will head downstairs  to the basement where Bryan’s room , Karl’s room , and Wes’s room  are located.   The basement also has a little tv room   and of course the downstairs bathroom .

Thus, concluding the tour of our new place in Boulder.  If anyone has any decorating suggestions let me know or better yet if a girl would like to swing by our place and do a little decorating that would be lovely.  I really don’t want to admit it but girls know how to make houses nice by putting stuff on the walls and replacing old shower curtains with ones that don’t have mold, and doing other girly things!

Aside from that Hendy,  who can be seen here siting next to Kim at the Denver airport today, has been taking Hollywood and myself out for some brutal rides around the Boulder area which are awesome.

Today Hendy, Karl, Kyle, Roman, Kim, Thierry and I traveled to Portland, Oregon for the Health Net Crit here tomorrow.  After the crit in Portland we head to the Manhattan GP in Los Angeles on Sunday before going back to Boulder later that evening. 

One last thing before I head off to bed.  I would like to post a picture of my good buddy Karl whom by many is believed to be a mean, angry, hairy beast.  However, here is a picture of him at the airport today talking to his “special” girlfriend on the phone (who is awesome by the way).  Is it just me or is he looking a little soft???  Can anyone say rainbows, unicorns, puppy dogs, and ice cream………………

later, g.

It has been awhile since my last “formal” post and I feel a bit of pressure to make this one good. Like I said last time Karl and I moved from Folsom, CA to Boulder, CO this past week.  Along the way we took a bunch of pictures so I thought I would give a bit of a recap of our trip.  Here it goes:

Before Karl and I were able to leave California we had to move all of our shit out of the apartment we were staying at and into a UHAUL that we rented.  If that was not enough we then had to clean the apartment.  Well, I did a lot of moving and cleaning since Karl was racing Altoona.  I guess he did help when he got back.  Our landlord Bob was impressed with how clean the apartment was especially the kitchen considering three dudes lived in the place.  I guess have cleaning skills so at least I have something to fall back on if this bike racing thing does not work out!

From there we drove up to Reno, NV where we spent the evening so Karl could visit a friend.  I drove  while Karl was the passenger/navigator .  Actually, he was a pretty shit navigator since he spent most of his time text messaging on his phone!

Hollywood posing for a photo at a gas stop on the way up to Reno.  He actually had to freshen up a bit since he was going to visit his friend Jamie (who happens to be a girl…..I don’t want to start any rumors or anything so I will leave it at that) in Reno.  Here is Karl and Jamie  (Awwww) before we left Reno the following morning after an awesome breakfast at one of Jamies favorite local cafe’s.  

Since Reno is only an hour and a half from Folsom the drive to Boulder technically did not really start until the morning we left Reno.  The first state we had to drive across was Nevada.  Nevada is a huge state and we had to take several piss stops  along the way. I was a good boy and did not use a bottle but we did have to stop often.  In Nevada we came across some hot springs  which we actually noticed while we were pissing! 

The Jeep was struggling a bit on the hills with the weight of the trailer, all of the shit inside the car  which includes Menzies.  Therefore, up every hill we had to drive at a maximum speed 20mph  or the car would overheat.  Driving that slow was cracking me so I made Hollywood drive . 

After making it through Nevada which seemed to take forever we entered Utah.  I took over the helm in Utah  and was looking really good if I must say so myslef! I never actually drove through Utah in the day and it was awesome to see the Bonneville Salt Flats , the Great Salt Lake  and Salt Lake City where my teamate Jeff Louder lives.  I tried to find Jeff in the picture I took but was unable to spot him can you? 

Karl pretty much slept through Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado which meant I drove A LOT!  I think he actually complained about getting too much sleep during the trip.  Anyway, we did try to look for a hotel in Wyoming but I shit you not, we could not find a hotel with an available room in the entire state!  Maybe there was some rodeo or something going on?

At about three in the morning I started getting really tired and “Coast to Coast” AM talk radio was not cutting it anymore so I starting taking pictures of myself  .  The flash of the camera was so bright it actually worked for awhile but eventually I had to stop and sleep at a rest area for an hour or so.

After a quick “kip” we were back on the road or at least I was because Karl was still sleeping in the passenger seat.  It was cool to see the sunrise over the mountains near Laramie, Wyoming .  I sort of wish the sun would rise at around 8:30 AM then I would be able to see it every morning!

Eventually, we made it to Colorado  and Karl finally woke up from his beauty sleep.  Outside of Boulder Hollywood and I stopped at a little coffee shop  and then drove the rest of the way to our apartment . 

Since arriving a few days ago I have spent most of the time unpacking, riding, and at the grocery store.  Karl and I actually ran into Dave Towle at Safeway our first night in town which was awesome and found out he is our neighbor.  You get to borrow stuff from your neighbors right? 

I will have to take a few pictures of the new place.  It is nice and so far things have been going good……..well until I lost my house and apartment keys yesterday so if anyone in the north Boulder area finds a jeep and house key on a rock climbing clicky thing let me know.

later,g.

Made it to Boulder at 7:00 AM this morning after driving basically all day and all night.  I introduced Karl to “sleeping in the car at rest areas at 3:00 AM” and he did well.  Anyway, time to go and check out the new place and I will have more to come.

later,g.