Riding in "Kansas"
The past few days I have been riding out east (aka: Kansas). Basically, once you get east of Powers, you are in Kansas. The nice thing about riding out there is you just go...and go...and go. In the midst of the final week of class, it's the perfect place to ride when you don't want to think much or work too hard!

(Renee, you get bouns points if you can guess where I took this picture!)

As you can see, it looks much different out east...yes, that is the infamous Pikes Peak that I take sunset pictures of during the summer at the track. You know you are in Kansas when you start seeing antelope...

And prairie dogs! The only other animals you see out here are cows and horses...oh and the occasional llama (or elpacka...not sure how to tell the difference) down by the speedway. Perhaps its not the best scenary but it is a good change of pace.

The Season is Over

Last night was the final track race of the season...and check out that sunset! No matter how the racing is going that night, you are always guranteed an incredible sunset over the Peak! Lesson learned for 2008: Backpacking and hiking do not help out with track performance...since I am not going to nationals this year that is okay but next year will need some modificatins to carry me through the first week of October.

Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby
Last night at youth group we dressed up to celebrate the legend of Ricky Bobby...really, we just needed a good excuse to dress like hillbillies and Nascar fans!

While my Nascar shirt and cut-off jean shorts were pretty trashy, I would definitely say it was the pink stilleto heels that I was wearing which made my costume...you may remember them from last year's Zoolander Night...I am now the official owner of the shoes as I continued to borrow them for costumes...woo-hoo!

Aside from dressing up, we spent the night building race cars out of cardboard and roller chairs...I believe the other team was right when they commented that our car looked like an A-frame house...we were going for compact and aerodynamic...somehow that got lost in the process!

In the end, the other team ended up winning both sidewalk races (which were a bit of a trainwreck around this corner)...I am not sure that their design was the advantage, rather I think it was the fact that they had more competitive guys on their team and a newer chair...in the last race one of the wheels broke right off thair leaving us to forfeit.

Last Tuesday Night Racing of the Season
Since it was the last race of the season, the promotor and officials decided to spice things up a bit with the famous "Shoe Race".

We all had to take our shoes off, line our bikes up on the rail and than stand on the track. When the gun went off, we all ran to find our shoes (which were piled in the center of the infield)...

While I was finding my shoes, the kid in the red, white, and blue punched me in the stomach...no fair...and you can see by my far back positioning I was one of the last to find my shoes...

Then we had to run back to our bikes, put on our shoes, and sprint for 3 laps. I am pretty slow at putting on my shoes and definitely took last place in the race.

2007 Girls' 14er: Mt Massive!
Today was the annual girls' 14er, while the group was smaller than last year it was still definitely a good time despite early morning lightening on the way to Massive and the 13.6 miles that took us up and down the mountain.

We started on the trail at 7am which was perfect timing to enjoy the early morning sun and the changing color of the Aspen leaves.

And despite leaving the house at 4am this morning, we were all smiles and excited to start the day.

Not only were the leaves changing, I believe this may have been the first snow of the year...check out Mt. Elbert (Colorado's highest peak)...it was definitely dusted this morning.

Oh yeah, and it was SUPER WINDY! There were definitely times I thought I was going to blow over...it was a long hike up in some crazy head winds! We hiked from 7am to 3:15 pm!

But of course we made it to the top of Colorado's second highest peak and the third highest peak in the continental US!

This years super trooper group included me, Mandy, Teresa, and, of course, Col. It was pretty darn windy up top, so we took pictures and ducked back down below the ridge as quickly as possible.

The view from the top...did I mention that I hiked more than a half marathon today...my legs are fried (again!) By the way, this is my 7th 14er and 5th successful summit!

Ice Blocking 2007!
Every fall the youth group takes a trip to Cottonwood Park for some good, ol' fashioned ice blocking...okay maybe it's not so old fashioned as I had never heard of it until hanging out with the youth group.

However, it is very easy to do and super fun! Basically, you sit on a block of ice (for those of you in Colorado Springs, you can buy the ice at King Soopers I believe) and then sled down the hill just like you would if there was snow. Well, make sure you use a towel to keep warm...and wear old clothes as you are bound to get grass stains. Leslie (girl with me in this picture and fellow Hoosier!) also taught me to go barefoot, helps with speed!

At the end of the night we tried a girl train...this was the best option for me as I got to sit in back as the caboose and help steer the train...

That was definitely the fastest and most fun run; although, if you look closely you will notice a fence at the bottom of the hill...as we neared the bottom I realized we had no breaks and had no choice but to bail...we all landed in a big heap...maybe a few bruises at the end of the night but they are well worth it!

Power Envy
Okay, before we get to the power envy, check out this sunset! One of the best parts about racing at the track is that you get to witness incredible sunsets over Pikes Peak every night you are out there!

The second best part last night was watching this kid take a lap around the track in his Power Wheels truck...he was pretty darn brave and wanted to head straight up the bank but I don't think the motor had enough power to take it on...however, I would have loved to have that motor strapped on my bike during racing!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

From Shredded Meat to Molasses
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday my legs felt like they had been through a meat grinder after hiking all weekend long...

By Thursday my legs no longer hurt; however, during my morning ride they felt as light as lead pipes...

Nonetheless, I showed up at the track to race Thursday evening. That was a bad idea as I was literally SLOWER THAN MOLASSES! I couldn't fake it, I was just plain slow. Lesson Learned: Take time to recover after shredding my legs in the mountains!

Yeah, more birthday celebration!
Last night Anne made me one of my favorite dinners for a belated birthday dinner! We had to hold off until our backpacking trip and it was well worth the wait!
She made lasagna, broccoli, and foccacia bread...it was delicious! And this is the first roommate dinner we have had in the new house!

2007 Backpacking Trip: South Colony
Friday afternoon we loaded up the car and headed down to the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to do some backpacking and hiking for the weekend.

The pack in...far, far away from everyday life...super quiet and beautiful views!

Even Col packed in! He also climbed two fourteeners over the weekend (really about 5 or 6 as he runs back and forth between us as we hike up them)!

Me, Mary, and Teresa on the hike in (you can tell it was early as we were still smiling!)

We got an incredible camp site. Check out the view from our tent...plus we were right next to the creek which makes any Michigan girl happy! Altogether, we had 7 tents and 12 people up for the weekend. It was a ton of fun!

Mary and I were food buddies for the weekend...neither of us is big on cooking or mess when camping (ever really!) so we bought freeze-dried pre-made dinners...just add hot water and they are not bad!

The whole group Monday morning before packing out and returning to real life. See below for details on the day hikes...they were incredible!!!

The Fourteeners: Mt. Humboldt (14, 067ft) and Crestone Needle (14, 167 ft)
Saturday morning we set out to hike Mt. Humboldt. When I say morning, I mean the wee hours of the dark before the sun came up. We set out at 5am which means it was still pitch black. I saw more shooting stars in those pre-dawn hours than I have ever seen in my entire life. It was incredible! This shot was taken just as the sun began to rise over the valley.

Alpen glow (morning sun) on Crestone Needle (left peak) and Crestone Peak (right peak)...pay close attention to the Needle...I climbed up that ridge line the following day...

This is the boulder field which lead to the false summit on Mt. Humboldt...notice that tiny little blue speck, that's me at 13,000 and some feet.

On top of Mt. Humboldt! We summited the mountain at 7:45am, the first hikers of the day and zero wind (which is very unusual on top of fourteeners). It was one of the most incredible hikes I have ever done, primarily because of the star lit "night hike".

Mandy and my trademark pose on top of fourteeners...without wind it is much easier! Check out that view!

Sunday we set out to climb Crestone Needle...a solid class 3 climb...you don't really get a good idea of what the climb was like in this picture. Basically we scaled couliers all the way up the mountain, it was very similar to rock climbing only without ropes! If you look at the mountain in the background, it gives you a good idea of what we climbed up. The last half of the climb (up and down) was all about hand holds and foot holds!

And I made it to the top! Complete with my helmet, which protected my head from sliding rock...which served it's purpose on my way down! By far, this was the most technical and gratifying climb of my life. It was awesome!

This is the crew that I summited with. Five of our group and a couple of guys we picked up along the way. The way down took the same amount of time as the way up because it was so steep and technical...basically I spent two hours slidding down step by step on my rear!