How's Your Ass-pen?

Done. The last official race has come and gone. It was fun. It was in Aspen, and it was a great way to end the season.

First off, our host house ruled. The view was so pretty.

Good kitty.

Not a bad view for our host house Bulls (actually steers but bulls sounds better).

 

 Day 1 brought a ride up Independence Pass- a must do when in Aspen.  Swanny Mike, me, and Rider Who Shall Remain Nameless made it to the 48 degree and raining top. It was a chilly ride down to the coffee shop.

Day 2 was a ride with ALP Cycles Coaching athletes Kelly and Cat, and a pre-race dinner put on by Snowmass that The Mom and Dad came to as well. Good times. 

Day 3, race day. Despite being only a 4 corner crit, it was fun. We raced hard, we raced well and I got second place. Bonus of the day was the Powers cheering section of The Mom, The Dad, The Sister and Niece J.

Post Aspen, we even took 3 more NOW roadies on the steel*wool ride.

Yes, Aspen was super fun, but coming home to JH and silly friends is still the best.

Update

There's been a lack of updates- in case you haven't noticed.

I came home from Cascade and didn't do much. I was tired.

Then it was off to Chicago for Tour of Elk Grove- a 3 day stage race in the burbs. All I can say is I'm glad I don't live in the suburbs- of anywhere. Stop lights everywhere, everything is a chain (stores, restaurant, etc.), and there were no coffee shops (other than Starbucks).

Pretty much, after Elk Grove, the season is now over. Major bummer that Aspen got cancelled to just a crit. Now, I guess it's time to ride mtn bikes and drink margaritas.

I figured, I have all this fitness, I might as well race the North Boulder crit this past Sunday. It's pretty neat because one year ago, at the NoBo Crit, I made my "comeback" post broken 'bow and 3 months off the bike. I suffered my way to 7th place and was so happy and proud. On Sunday, I took it one step further and won the dang race. That felt good. 

Post race Cari, Christa, and I went into the Boulder Creek to cool down. That felt good too.

Today, I got to ride mtn bikes with my NOW mechanic Erik. That was fun- and hard.

I won't lie, now that the season is pretty much over and it's only August, I feel a little lost. What do I do now? Nothing to train for and no trips around the corner. Guess I'll enjoy being home and chill out. I'm excited for it.