happy 4th of july!

I'm heading north tomorrow to spend the weekend at a mini-family reunion. We can't all be there, but most of us are gathering at Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I'll get to see these two young ladies, my great-nieces, Clara and Grace. I haven't seen them since January and I'm sure they've grown a bunch since then.

I debated taking my bike along as there are some beautiful roads through the MN forests, but I would probably only squeeze one ride in around the golf, kayaking, and smores. So, training will start again in ernest next week. That will leave me 26 days before I drive to CO.

I felt really good before, during and after Biking Across Kansas, but have only managed a couple rides in the 2 weeks since. So, I'm setting a goal of 18 rides in those 26 days of at least 15 miles. I know that may not seem like much of a distance, but a hard hour of riding will be all I can squeeze in some days. I'll need to sprinkle in at least a few 50 mile+ rides, and hopefully, a century the week before I go. I'll have fun regardless of what CO holds for me, but I really want to be able to say: "Yes, I've done that".

Photos borrowed from Tim's Picture Guide to Mount Evans.