Brighton Recreation Area - Songs Inside My Large Head

The trails were in peak condition tonight at Brighton Recreation Area. The quick rain that came through about 4 o'clock packed the trails down real nice. The best part of the evening, however, was that I got that darn Amy Grant song out of my head. During each ride, you get some funky thoughts (i.e., damn that spring break in '85 was fun) during the hour plus pedal but you also get some songs in there that either aid you up that hill or drive you frickin' nuts because you can't get them out of your head. Well, a couple weeks back, I was working at an office that had Muzak playing above. With that, "Baby, Baby" by Amy Grant must have been on right before I was leaving. The entire ride I was ready to slam my head against a tree just to rid myself of it. Torture, pure torture.

I made sure I had some Seger on before the ride tonight. It worked. Thanks Bob.

Trail Head

The Show About Nothing

Nancy and I were witness to the show about nothing at the Fox Theatre in the D last night. Jerry Seinfeld for a little over an hour talked about the most basic things but had me hiccuping towards the end I was laughing so much.

As someone who taped all of his shows via my VCR (this was pre-TIVO/DVR, pre-reruns on TBS and Fox), I was as giddy as a 5 year old on Christmas Eve prior to the show. And he did not disappoint. Referring back to the episode where George was trying to impress a woman and urged Jerry to not be funny so he could appear so, the guy cannot "not" be funny. He has the gift of delivery. The topics themselves don't have you busting a gut when you see them in print but something about how he spins it on stage has your cheek muscles getting a workout. Whether he talking about the impossibility of a correct 5 day weather forecast, people that talk about the weather way too much (my cubicle neighbors at work), how OnStar should be called MoronStar because the people that call it are either lost or have locked their keys in the car, suicide bombers that blow themselves up on accident prior to their mission, choosing kamikaze pilots, America's passion for coffee and setting up shop at coffee houses with their laptops, getting married at 45 ("had some issues in waiting so long, but boy were they fun"), single friends/married friends, people who are obsessed with their cell phones and telling friends how great their phone is, forgetting your cell phone and not being able to function without it even though friends will offer to let you use theirs, the great feeling when your cell phone is fully charged versus when it is about to run out of power, how answering the phone prior to the inception of cell phones and caller ID used to be a glorious experience and now there is the big fear of answering a call ("don't go near it"), e-mail is for people who only want their side of the conversation heard, people telling you how "great" a particular restaurant is when all you want is a simple meal without all the hassle of waiting at a fancy, expensive one, the need for hydration is out of control when as a kid you could take one sip from a drinking fountain and get by for 28 hours straight, becoming a fat society where Haggar now has slacks where the waist can expand when needed (I had a pair), the chain of events where new purchases eventually become trash, television commercials for urine and erection problems ("forget waiting to call a doctor if I have an erection after four hours, I'm going to call after three, and I'm a little concerned what the doctor is going to do to fix it"), and lastly (quite a bit more but I'm going off of memory), the Cialis commercial that has a couple sitting in two bathtubs on top of a hill as the sun sets ("no wonder they're having sex problems having to lug those tubs up that hill"). Again, most of these don't sound humorous at all but the guy could talk about any topic out there and you are going to laugh at some point. I could see the exact same show with the exact same jokes and still laugh my ass off.

Trail Head

Happy Opening Day

Just like opening day for the Tigers and Lions, the opening day of the Molson Bike Tour (nice product placement in the picture, eh?) is like a rebirth. The trails are fresh, the bikes have come out of the shop with new chains, brakes, spokes, and the body...well, the body is going to need a little time to get adjusted. We were all crying in our own way tonight but it was great to be out there. The parking lot was full at Island Lake as everyone was embracing the 70/80 degree temperatures. My utopia was short lived as my freshly tuned bike managed to bounce the back tire over a stump and break two spokes. I'm on a first name basis with the bike shop, which is too bad.

Happy riding season.

Trail Head

New Charlie's Angel

Look out Farrah, Jaclyn, and Kate, here comes Nancy. With the focus she seems to have holding that gun, I better be on my best behavior or this might be the last posting you'll hear from me. Don't let that petite stature sway you; she can kick some ass and isn't afraid to show the guns (and I'm not talking about pistols) if needed.

The event was the Midwest Marine Educators Workshop in San Diego last week. A group of teachers from Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Illinois got to experience the structured life of the Marine Corps and hopefully take some of their experiences back to the classroom.

It wasn't all fun and games shooting guns, running through the obstacle course, and checking out some cool planes. They had to bark orders and got yelled at just like the new recruits. All I can picture is Sgt. Carter from the Gomer Pyle show yelling, "Pyle, out, out, out!!!!" Or Lou Gossett, Jr. yelling at a recruit, "Where you from, boy?" "Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, sir." "Only two things come from Oklahoma, steers and queers. Which one are you, boy? I don't see no horns." Nancy said it wasn't that intense but it was definitely not a walk in the park.

Semper Fi

Trail Head

Rocky Mountain High

When the opportunity arose to go to Colorado Springs, I thought I had some experience in this neck of the woods as I swore I had been in the area as a kid experiencing Pikes Peak. Well, after some research via my siblings, it turns out my only Colorado experience was the Four Corners Monument (point in the U.S. where four states meet) and the peak I was remembering was Kitt Peak, not Pikes. There must have been something in my chicken that week during that trip in my youth.

Here nor there, the Pikes Peak experience was a great one. Nancy's friend Michelle and her family were the hosts with the most(s). Their house resides in a beautiful subdivision on a golf course overlooking the Rockies and Pikes Peak. Each day would be a vacation if I lived there. Michelle's husband, Carm, is a scratch golfer so it's a win win.

Mother Nature delivered sunshine and 70-something temperatures each day, however, the snow at the top of Pikes Peak was kicking pretty well so instead of seeing the top, the Cog Railway could only get up to 12,000 feet and some change. The 2,000 feet we missed didn't seem to matter as we had quite a view where we stopped.

The next day we got to experience Seven Falls and the Garden of the Gods. While I think I'm in pretty good shape, the 224 steps up to the top of the falls (roughly 7,000 foot elevation) had me hunched over grabbing my knees. The Garden of the Gods is some incredible rock formations. Some rock climbers were working their craft on the red rocks of the Garden. No, I did not try. Maybe next year.

The next day was spent at the Cave of the Winds. I consider myself somewhat of a thrill seeker but closed spaces sometimes give me the willies. I was able to talk myself through it knowing that the caves had been here for sometime and will probably be here long after I leave this crazy world we live in. The caves were beautiful, however, they aren't made for the individuals who frequent Popeye's Chicken a bit much (i.e., large and in charge). Some of the walkways were a bit on the narrow side.

Other activities on the final day included a drive through the Air Force Academy and lunch in Manitou Springs. The academy is a beautiful facility. We checked out the visitor center and the chapel (pictured below). Manitou Springs is like the Greenwich Village of Colorado. A gathering of very independent people of all types just hanging out and doing their thing. We passed one guy walking down the street with a very large snake around his neck. Nice snake. No petting for me thank you. Nancy and Michelle partook in the activities by showing their hula hoop prowess in the streets (see pic below).

Thanks again to Michelle, Carm, Sabrina, Kayla, and Ella for the outstanding hospitality and the great meals.

Trail Head