Summer/winter. Where did fall go?

What a difference a few days make.  Last week temperatures were in the 80's, almost hot really.  I managed a trail ride on Thursday for a longish lunch.  Picked up 2 ton of crushed limestone on my way home Friday to fix a couple spots in the driveway (a consequence of a steep, stoned driveway and a teenage driver).  Then the rains came.  Shelly and Ethan went to the varsity boys district final soccer game Saturday so Brock and I hung out at home.  We were playing in the basement when Brock found some artificial flowers.  He proclaimed "fuffies for mommy" (fuffies are flowers), and in a heartbeat the boy was up the stairs and out the front door.  I caught him on the front porch waiting for mommy to get home.  Today we got up to snow/cold/wind.  Not a lot, maybe an inch of wet snow, 32 degrees and a high wind advisory.  I stopped at Starbucks to get a cup of coffee and the customer before me turns and says "Al Gore told us this was going to happen".  Yep.

 

 

 

 

A good day for a birthday.

Another year has now come and gone.  Instead of getting sentimental about the time passing or depressed about my age, I went riding.  Or, at least tried.  Did 10 miles on Friday after lunch until it started to rain on me.  Spent the evening at my folks for dad's birthday.

Rode the MTB Saturday after switching back to my rigid fork (the suspension forks has some bad stiction and needs a repair).  As I was almost to the trail, it rained good and continued on and off for an hour.  The trails were in good shape though.  Made it 13 miles before hearing BRRAAPP!  No idea what I hit but it knocked the bead off the rim and I got to walk another mile with the bike on my shoulder to get out of the woods.

 

Sunday was another story.  It was sunny, warm (in the 60's) though a bit breezy.  I got out in the afternoon and made a loop around Lake Alma.  Finished up right at 50 miles for the day.  Followed the ride with a fire, playing outside, some potatoes, peppers, onions, and kielbasa wrapped up and cooked on the coals. Shelly even made me a batch of peanut butter cookies!  It was a good day for a birthday.

 

It was windy yesterday.  I did head out at lunch for a run and by the time I hit 3 miles, I was done.  6 hours of riding in three days had my legs shot.  Got home last night and could hardly see the driveway for all the leaves that came down.  Today started with a bit of rain and a motorcycle ride to Donkey for coffee before work.

 

 

Mountains, plains and planes

Last Friday was a mad rush in the office to get travel arrangements made as I was told I needed to fly to Denver Tuesday to help support testing on Wednesday.  Fast forward through the busy weekend and me getting a cold just in time to fly, I arrived at the air port 2 hours before my 3:45p flight.  Not at the gate for 10 minutes and I get an alert on my mobile from United that my flight is now delayed to 4:45.  That time came and as they were starting to board, we were informed of a mechanical issue with the plane.  The flight was then delayed until 11:30p.  The ticket counters were flooded with folks trying to make connecting flights.  I, on the other hand, left the airport, got some supper, went to CVS to get some cold/sinus meds and came back.  Security lines are pretty short at 11p! We had a plane come in around 11:30, unload, and then, we wait.  No pilots.  Finally took off around 1:09am.   Arrived at my hotel in Louisville at 5:30 my time (3:30 local), 24 hours after I got out of bed, I hit the bed for a four hour nap before heading out to work.

This was my first trip to Denver (or the west if you don't count the CA coast).  When I rolled out of the hotel I was amazed at the towering horizon.  Now, those are mountains!  Looking east it is a rolling plain, west, the Rockies!  Worked the day, through the haze of lack of sleep and cold meds getting back to the hotel around 5:00 in the afternoon.  The manager was nice enough to recommend a nice spot a short drive out to see some mountains up close.  Walked around taking in the sights and shooting pictures until dusk and then drove in to Boulder for some supper.  Luckily, the return trip was easy, other than me getting stuck in the middle seat, giving up my aisle seat for a lady who said she had to use the facilities a lot.  I was too tired to care and at least it was on time.  Made it home in time to see Ethan's soccer game.

Flying is for the birds

Had the chance to ride some of the Vinton county roads last Saturday.  Good ride, several hard climbs, and in the middle of nowhere, an old train tunnel cut out of the rock.

Sunday, after playing bass at church, I hit the couch with a serious sore throat and subsequent sinus pain.  But, the sun came out and Shelly wanted some fall family photos.  Went great, Brock more than cooperated.

All images copyright Shelly Mansfield 2012

Flash back to last Friday; my supervisor informs me I am going to Denver on Tuesday (today).  Cool, short trip and I have been wanting to see area anyway.  Well, birds surely could have flown there faster!  My 3:45 flight was first delayed to 4:45, then moved up to 4:30, then on hold for maintenance, then delayed to 11:30. Ugh, only an hour left!  On the plus side, my head feels like it is going to explode.  The flight should really feel great.