Back home

After being dicked over by United once again on the trip home (cancelled my flight a full 36 hours beforehand) I was greeted by a fresh 4-7 inches of snow. The truck crawls out of anything, so far, so all I had to deal with on the drive home was crappy Denver drivers. California was awesome; weather was great, women were crazy hot, food was good, we got 3 good days of riding in, and the company was excellent. The best part was the people were so nice. I always had horrible stereotypes of Californians who'd come to Idaho, rape the land and generally be horrifically arrogant. It seems the stereotype has evolved from folks in SoCal rather than the cool folks in NorCal. I don't think I know enough about either to firmly believe that's true, but it's the running theory.

The rides. First we did the lunchtime loop. I made the mistake of eating a huge sandwich just before getting on the bike. I saw half of it again after the first few hundred feet of climbing. Cheers to Gayles deli; it tasted just as good coming back the wrong way! At the top I saw most of the rest of it and then all the rest of it at the top of the last climb. In the end though it was a great trail. For the Vandals it reminded me of the excavation gulch trail out near Harvard, at least the top half. The second ride was just around Casa de Currie which was much more of a cross-country ride. Similar to a more hilly wilderness park ride in Lincoln. Course I still took a header after taking a bad line. Fun easy day. The next day was the winner. Long fire road climb to the top of the Goat trail. This reminded me of the good trail we used to do on Moscow Mtn; winding through the trees, banked corners, lofty jumps! An adrenaline pumping good time! The Currie got fast in his days in NorCal and the only times I ever saw him were when he was waiting at a crucial intersection. Sweet! We didn't ride Big Sur, but it's nice to finish a trip wanting more.

Monterey

Made it to California for a week of Christmas fun on the coast. Was supposed to fly out Thursday, which would've capped off an amazingly productive day. On Thursday I watched a movie I hadn't seen, did laundry, packed for the trip and took the dog for a long walk. Pretty ho-hum, but in addition I also bought all my Christmas presents, for 8 people, and got them in the mail! I did all that and still made it to the airport by 6pm. Great day.... till the airport. United Airlines must be the worst airline in the country by far. Denver is there hub and somehow nobody knows how to check in bags correctly, or make decisions about whether a plane is in the air or not, or decide which plane you should be on, let alone the seat.

I get to the airport, with my bike case, and get in line. I know there's an extra fee associated with the box so wait to be checked in by an agent. To United's credit there were more automated check-in stations than I'd ever seen and since I usually don't check bags I was impressed and started to reconsider my opinion on United (bad from previous experience). The agent checks me in and says that it'll be $50 because the bike box is over 50 lbs. I'm thinking, "On the website it said bikes were $85, but whatever, maybe I'll scoot through" A manager needs to unlock the computer so I can pay up. This guy knows what a bike box is, and reminds me that it'll be $85. Fine. No worries. I was prepared for that anyway. Course he couldn't figure out how to change how much I was supposed to pay. It's obvious to me hear that its a United problem and not a problem with the staff. Nice, super stressed folks working with crappy, outdated equipment. After about 20 minutes my bags finally get checked in and I made it through security (which is a whole other bitch session, usually). At the block of TV screens I do the quick scan for San Jose, CA, United and it says delayed. Fortunately the Currie had been online and had informed me earlier. How late though? It never got displayed. At about 8:15, the flight was supposed to take off at 8:02, we get an annoucement that our flight's been cancelled. 45 minutes later we get another saying we'll be leaving at 1:15 in the morning. Nice. 20 minutes later I get a phone call from United saying I've been rescheduled to 6am the next morning! WTF! I walk down to the customer service line to get it straightened out. Uh, no. I'm seeing the same line Noah must've seen as the water started to rise. Fuck it, I'm outta here. Back at ticketing they comp me some miles and sure enough reschedule me for the next day. At least the Currie would be able to get some sleep. The I-punk had other plans, but my power only extends so far.

California. This place is nice. For those who don't know; this place is nice. The Currie shows up shorts and flip-flops. It's good to be here. It's mostly the Currie's, but California is nice.

Travel plans

Packed up the bike last night. This'll be the first time I've taken a bike with me so I'm a little anxious. Should be well worth it though as I'll be riding with the Currie in the Big Sur and near Santa Cruz. He's pretty much got me convinced to do a race or two in April. Hopefully by then my knee will be sorted out. For those unfamiliar with the Currie's, here's a little something Hobstar put together: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1197029091

Sementi's supposed to come out and attack some of the beautiful ice around here in the next couple month's but no dates have been set. I'll be ready. A few doors down at work is a guy I've done ice with before has offerred to belay me whenever I want. Back in the day he climbed all over South America and Europe, but to many hard years have left him with no need to ascend anymore. No worries, more reps the better. Did anybody check out the article in the Alpinist about Ben Nevis (for those who don't know it's the highest point in Scotland, not a person). I still have aspirations to bag it, so keep that in mind for next year. Which brings me to the other trip that needs taking.

At some point I'd like to make it to the UK this year. Course this is contingent on a couple things. First, getting my renewed passport, which apparently was delivered, but I never got, and second having the scratch to hop across the pond. For those who don't know ol'Superjess found herself in quite the predicament around Thanksgiving; after finally getting her beau over to the states thier landlord/ boss let them know he'd sold the house they were living in and that they'd have to leave. Prick, offerred to still let them have the jobs at the menial wage! Whatever. Dork! With no jobs and no place to live, their visas were invalid and they went to London. Fortunately, the Superman is highly skilled at jobs high in demand and was able to find work before they'd even unpacked.

That's all I got. There'll be a couple trips to podunk and hopefully out to Seattle for the 4th again. We've got to bag Rainier climber Washingtonians!

Sore

Yeah, that's how my muscles are feeling today. Snow was a bit icy, which I'm finding is problem in the early season of Colorado. I think it has to do with all the manmade stuff. Regardless, I was jumping better than I ever had an even managed a mogul run without too much trouble. It must be all the yoga and pilates considering I've only been on a board once in the last couple years.

Colorado drivers. I don't get these people when they're behind the wheel. For some reason people seem to think the left lane is the slow lane. It also seems that unless it's sunny and warm that you must drive no faster than half the speed limit. WTF!! I'll never get it and from what I hear it's always been this way. A tip to folks who at some time may be coming to Denver from the West: don't try it on a Sunday, anytime of year. The 5 or 405 in Seattle have nothing on I-70 on a Sunday afternoon. It's incredible! This last summer I remember it taking me close to an hour to drive 20 miles! On a freeway!

Beers!

Yeah, she'll go to Hell for me

Day 3. Today's entry is all about my dog Sarama. When I'm not at work I'm usually hanging with her. She's next to me right now. First off, she's a labradoodle. Yeah, I get a hard time because they're trendy, she's half poodle, whatever. I'm not defending her anymore. I'll just trust when you meet her you get off your bigoted, traditional, high horse and give her a good scratch behind the ear. If you still feel the need for some redneck, Bushism then fuck you; grow up.

Aside from what she is, the next most common question I get is where her name came from. Sarama is a dog from Hindu mythology. The story generally goes: There was a sheepherder named Indra who had a dog named Sarama. The devil wanted Indra to do his bidding and in an effort to convince him the devile stole all his sheep and took them to Hell. Sarama, being the good dog she was, went to Hell and herded all the sheep back to the pasture before Indra even knew they were gone. That's it, pretty sweet.

Snow boarding tomorrow for the first time this season. Didn't get any passes this season, but I get half-off tickets with pass-holders. Cha-ching!

Beers!

Day 2. Saw "No country for old men" last night. Not too shabby. The ending was kinda blah and I don't know if I could sit through the slow, southern dialog another time, but in general the acting was topnotch. Beers with the Westside Mafia beforehand induced a bathroom run mid-movie. Strategically planned though so I didn't miss anything. How do you plan a good break in a movie you've never seen? Watch lots of movies. I haven't seen an original story line in years so it's easy to forsee a good break.

Back to the grind stone; I really do have to whip out some statistics today.

Good yoga yesterday. Today will go for a Spin to prep the backside for riding with the JC.

First entry

First entry, hmm, why have a blog. Mostly, I'm horrible at correspondence and friends are convinced my life is more exciting than what I'm apparently telling them. I'll hope to do this at least semi-frequently. The probability is high my enthusiasm will wane and this will go inactive. Whatever, it's worth a shot.