Back in town..for a bit..

Back in ND. 57 degress this morning. Ahh. No more TX heat. However, the trip was great, and watching Adam and Jamie get married was worth all the hot temps. I thought I'd make it through the cerimony without tearing up, but I leaked a bit when Jamie came through the doors for the first time and Adam and my dad teared themselves. It's always when other people lose it that I do. Oh well, right venue for crying, and it shows I'm not a robot.
Now that I've sat in a vehicle for two days straight again on the return trip home, I'm going to drive to the cities this weekend for Alisons birthday and graduation party. It will be well worth the extra travel though. And speaking of her, she just got her first flying job! She'll be working with me at UND, teaching all the youngin's to land. (Not that we weren't in the same boat a few short years ago.) Should be fun.

Meat and Air Conditioneers

Yeah, it's hot here. I'm in Denton at my brother's apartment now. We just managed to fix his air conditioner in his car so Texas doesn't kill him before he even gets to his wedding on Saturday. It was a good time. Dudes workin' on machines, grunting, drinkin' stout beer, well actually ice tea, but all the same. Fun project though. We'll be running last minute wedding errands around Dallas tommorow, and then traveling a bit more the next day to Gilmer, TX which is where Jamie, my bro's finance is from, and consequently where the wedding is goin' down. I'm exicted to see Adam and Jamie get hitched, and also for the tasty food at the reception, since I think of event food with much anticipation. :) We ate some mighty tasty Texas pork ribs today at a BBQ joint, which included hot sauce, country music, and a huge EAT MEAT sign on the wall. Cool. They even had a poster of a cow, diagraming where all the different cuts of beef come from. Now I know where brisket is from, and why round steak is so inexpensive (it's ass meat). Well, that's all for now, I need to hang with my family that I don't see enough. Good times.

OK City

Trip's a go. I'm sitting here in Oklahoma City. Wireless internet has been added to a great number of hotels, so I can blog away from home. We've traveled very very far, and yet the scenery has not. I think I've almost driven the entire expanse of the midwest, and it's all corn. Corn corn corn (and the occasional wheat or sorgum, whatever sorgum is. I'd probably eat it though). Bicyling magazine has kept me going during my turns away from the wheel. I haven't gotten out on two wheels during the trip yet, but still plan to. I think it'll have to be in the morning, cuz it's flippin' hot here. I saw the van's thermometer hit 104 a couple times. Sick. Won't be moving here, let me tell you. Anyhow, I'm gonna catch some rest before the final drive to the Dallas area in the morning, that is if I can get to sleep after the all day jelly bean bender I've been on in the van. Aahh.

Quick trip home

So I find myself in Bismarck, ND tonight, which for at least a little while is still home to my parents, before they move back to Minot, ND. Tommorow starts the Texas road trip for Adam and Jamie's wedding. I took the long way home today, skipping the interstate highway route that I take most, and drove the backroads instead. I'm gonna have to say they take you through some beautiful parts of this state. I took highway 200 over so I ended up coming in to Bismarck from the north. I even included some gravel action to drive through the buttes that drop you down into the Missouri River Valley (this town actually has a valley to go with their river- Grand Forks just claims one). They river was lookin' sweet, with people kayaking out to the many sandbars to camp. Mist was forming in the valley at sunset, and I felt like building a campfire of my own. It even smells great here. I'm too used to the smell of processing sugarbeets and potatoes. Fresh air is something to cherish. If there's time amist all the packing tommorow I need to spin a short ride on the Lemond, which of course came with me on this trip. Bismarck is officially a nice town in my book.

more headwaters spinnin'

Well I've definately found a sweet oasis of outdoor fun only two hours away from Grand Forks. Itasca was a blast again. The parks "Wilderness Drive" has got to be the best road riding I know of anywhere remotely close to my windy farmland city. Sorry I don't have any pictures from either of my latest biking trips there, but I don't have a working camera right now. Plus, I'm usually having too much fun to remember to take a picture. Yesterday I got to log another good big hill ride, spinning 100k (62 miles) with my friends Dave and Andy. During one of our laps around the park and thunderstorm beat down on the south side of the forest, while we were biking around the north side. Good timing. Thunder and giant dark clouds always up my average speed (and strangly always make the ride more fun.) This trip sure pumped me up for the Headwaters 100 in Sept. My friends with sexy road bikes and travel-benefitted airline careers should definately show up. Notice your official heads up. :)
http://www.parkrapids.com/events/hd100_03.html
I have yet to backpack in Itasca, so I'll have to leave the Lemond home next time and break out the boots. By map, it appears that there are too many cool trails and backcounty campsites not to enjoy the park by foot. I'll definately have to take a camera on that trip. Tom if you're reading this you're invited when I go. I don't think Itasca has any wild horses. :)
This weekend I'll take off for TX, to go to my brother's wedding. Congrats Adam and Jamie! (In advance, as I'll probably not be bloggin' during the trip.) Should be good times, despite the 40 hours on the highway. Road trippin's always a good time, but this particular trip will be all prarie drivin'. Yikes. Might have to drink caffienated coffee for once. I'll have updates on that whole escapade later.

duuuude...

Sweet. I'm going to Itasca for more road action tommorow. My buddy who wants to hit the road offered to pay my trip costs so I can go and he can have a riding partner. I think that's a handout I'll accept. Summer!

A toast to 7.....I guess in that case the police looked the other way on the whole drinking and driving thing...silly Johan Bruhneel.... 

7's a charm

As expected, today marked the 7th tour victory and final competive race for Lance Armstrong. I did manage to wake up at 6:30 (although I didn't get out of bed) to watch the final stage of the Tour, and it was sweet. It was cool to see Lance and his opponents chatting and taking it easy on the way into Paris (the race was pretty well decided yesterday so they didn't really race much today), then when it mattered the peloton picked it up and the finish to the Tour was great, with Alexander Vinokurof (yeah I don't know if I spelled his name right) wailed one last time to take the stage. Nice. Anyways, everybody should ride their bike today to celebrate the end of the Armstrong career, which entertained and inspired us. And also try to pay attention to all he's done for the cancer community. All those trendy little yellow armbands you see people wearing mean something. http://www.livestrong.org
Have a good one all.

saturday

Well today was a relaxed day to follow a busy one yesterday. I actually got to work a bit at my job, being at the airport from noon to midnight. I only got paid for 6.3 hours, but apparently partial pay is all a flight instructor can get for hard work. It was a large amount of pay in my world, so that's good. Today I watched history as Lance nailed his last time trial, and with it his seventh tour. Yes, there is one more stage, but nobody is close enough to take him out at this point. Good job Lance! (Yes, I know he'll never read that.) I was moved by the performance, so I decided to ride one of my normal training loops as a time trial, and surprised myself. The fastest I've ever ridden it was an hour and seven minutes. Today I rode it in just over 58 minutes! And I say that not to brag, but to share my excitment. It's good to push yourself to new levels. Plus, I had to get a good ride in here today because I was not able to ride the Lewis and Clarck 100 century event back in Bismarck, because gas is for the rich these days. Someday I'm going to that event. It's on my road.
Also during this fine saturday I tried to fix my clothes dryer that does not want to dry clothes. Laundry mats are another form of slot machines, eating up all your money, so I'd just assume fix my broken dryer fast. Turns out it's the motor, so it looks like I need to check the classifieds for a new old machine. It's been a fun project though. I think the best part was watching Mullet insist on getting into every part of the ripped apart machine, then getting afraid and hissing at all of them that he considers threatening. :)
Well, off to bed. I have to get up in just a few short hours to watch the final ride into Paris. Don't miss it- it's the last time to watch our American champ!

80 km in 1 day

Although not as epic as the Tour, myself and a cyling buddy from college, along with several old guys who are faster than us, went to Lake Itasca State Park in MN this past saturday to spin some miles. The park has a great 16 mile scenic loop, with a twenty mph speed limit (whoops, my max speed during the ride was 33.2) and very little traffic, and makes for a great road ride through the woods. It was a tough half century (in miles), as we flatlanders are not used to having to climb hills, and the road is pretty much short climbs and decents the entire loop. Much fun though. I do like a good hill climb (or mountain when I can stumble upon one). The woods are amazing as well. I love it when you run into low light under tree canopies, and it seems surreal, like you are traveling through a painting. Not to get cheezy and poetic, but that's just how it feels. One can't find a feeling like that on the couch. I don't understand how people dislike the outdoors just because there's no anti-bacterial peach mango handsoap (with shea butter). I think I'll have to backpack that park soon, as it's only a two hour drive away, and it would be nice to take it all in at a slower pace than we did this weekend. Nevertheless, road miles make a man happy.