Ummmm.... Hullo???

Im not one to complain much... And I do enjoy the winter season... But it's almost April and it's still -12 overnight and there's waaaaaay too much snow left...

I'm not supposed to need All of this clothing for rides...

And my water bottle isn't supposed to freeze anymore....

#gettingtiredofthis

Fall down and get back up...

Still alive after the plane trips and a visit to my own doctor. She told me things were healing well but still "looked pretty ugly"... I hope she was referring to my wounds and not the rest of me!!!

The nurse cleaned me up and redressed everything but used a cream that made my cuts burn like mad!!! Had a horrible drive home to shower it off and was tender for the rest of the day. 

Felt pretty good today and have been sleeping better so tried my hand at riding (the trainer unfortunately...) and the legs woke up nicely. Will continue to build back intoy program and hope to be back to "normal" for next week...

The view isn't as nice here...

Tucson Riding (YAY) Day 7

Not the most amazing ride I've had down here hit was glad to get out for almost 2hrs to say goodbye to beautiful Arizona and it's warm sunshine. Just a nice spin to test out the contusions and they felt better than I thought. I just hope they fell ok on the airplane tomorrow....

The culprits.... I really need to stop being cheap... I've spent more than $25 on bandages!!!

Blue skies and beautiful roads... And pretty good company...

#ihateshowers

Getting better to clean but still a long way from feeling good...

Tucson non riding day...

So took a day to let the wounds finish seeping and start to mend... So we all went for a nice hike in the desert. Beautiful views and a horticultural lesson from Sherri (Steve's mother in law) about the types of cacti and shrubs... 

Rango with Mt Lemmon in the background...

Sherri said that this suguaro is about 150 years old... They get their "arms" at about 70 years old...

Funny to have some dark clouds roll in and felt a few rain drops come down... And finished the hike off with more delicious inexpensive Mexican food.... Mmmmmmmmm....

Tucson riding (?) Day 6

Not my best day.... Rango had a sore ankle so he took a day off so I went for a spin with a few sprints.... 

This could be a Public Service Message for buying new pedals....

Came out is my left pedal during a sprint, landed on my bars with my chest and then proceeded to go over the bars at about 40km/h.... Not a pretty result. 

Sliding on a rough highway and then rolling back up to my feet could have been worse but is still pretty bad. 

Thanks goes to the unnamed guys in the SUV who watched the crash, helped pick me up off te highway and then drive me back to Green Valley... Saved me a HORRIBLE ride home....

Forearm took the worst of it... Deep gauge about 3" long and ugly...

I think my hip invented a new lipstick colour for Revlon... "Road Rash Red"...

Left my tan on the highway....

Damn.... There goes a nice Team Kit...

Arizona Riding Day 5

Rango and I launched an assault on Mt Lemmon today... My first time up it... And rode from the desert and 34 degrees to the pine forest and 20 degrees. Amazing views along the way and a respectable time of 1:52 to get up with an avg wattage of 242.... Happy with that. 

Mile 0 and full if optimism...

First Vista point an feeling good... Although it would be nice to have a 27 at the back...

Beautiful scenery to make the ride more enjoyable... Although you don't want to get too close to te edge!!!

Second Vista point and feeling good still... At least we could see the top by this point!!!

Practicing my Aero-tuck for the way down... Averaged 65km/h and maxed out at 76km/h for 40min... Sorry - no pics on the way down!!!!

Loved the ride .... And then had a quick trip to Costco where they sell alcohol.... 1.75L of tequila for $14... Seriously?!?!?!

Arizona riding Day 4

Even God needed a rest day....

Changed the plan from riding Lemmon to taking a 2hr easy spin day. Helped the legs feeling much better after the ride and had a great chat about life, friends and future with Rango. 

Good times with good friends...

The scenery is pretty good too...

#stayforever!!!

Arizona Riding Day 3

Always up for a challenge... Rango and I decided to hit one of the toughest climbs around... Madero Canyon. Added a warm up loop to make it 3+hrs and could see it taunting us in the distance...

As we got closer to the 13mile climb we realized that the majority of the distance of the climb is these terribly long false flats that suck the energy out of you... And they just kept going...

With about 2miles to go the road pitches up and grows to about 15% .... No choice but to stand in my smallest gear wih no reprieve... But I made it to the top to breathe in the thin air...

The best thing about the climb was the ride down... Hit 75km/h and passed a few cars that were holding us back...

Fun times... Another good adventure on the Madone...

Tucson riding Day 2

"Hey Barnes. I have a nice route planned out for us..." "Looks good Rango. About 4hrs?  That will be good..." 

Not!!!  Turned out to be an amazing ride... But the longest ride I've ever done!!!  Super weather. Super roads. Some good climbs... And Gates Pass about half way through...

This is why we came to Arizona... Great sun, great roads and long rides...

"Tomorrow sweetheart... We can ride Mt Lemmon tomorrow..."

The long climb up Gates Pass... Like a punch in the face...

Blue sky and big hills...

Only smiling because we are almost home... 

Very tired by the end... The last hour was filled with silence... Shows how tired I was!!!

Tucson riding Day 1

The rain has gone and we woke up to a great sunrise and clear skies. Hit the road for a nice 3hrs in the warmth. I miss my family but I have also been missing the Sun....

Sunrise over the mountains...

First time my Madone 6.2 will touch the road...

Yes.... We are both smiling!!!

Not a bad view....

Welcome home... Time to refuel!!!

Arizona Day 1

Arrived in sunny Tucson to a day of non stop rain. A bit of a delay on the Tarmac because of a warning light (where's the pilots sense of adventure??). A few tense moments waiting for bike boxes to arrive (who needs clothes??) and then a shirt drive to the House. Got the bikes built and groceries purchased for a few days. Looking forward to sunshine and warmth tomorrow...

A great house with a great kitchen that will produce the fuel required for a week of riding....

Check back every day for updates!!

Zoom Zoom

Just getting ready to board the place with Rango for a week of training in warm sunny Tucson Arizona!!!

Spent my last day before the warmth skiing in the -18 degree temp with my school kids.... 

Glad to be heading south... But an Early Morning!!