Ghosts of Christmases Past

I know it's already two weeks past Christmas, but I recently dug up some great pictures from Christmases past that I found worth sharing with my family and friends. The most recent was sent to me by my Uncle Meredith (dad's twin brother). It's a great shot of my brothers Jon (in a dorky turtleneck) and Evan (the baby on Jon's lap, also sporting a turtleneck) and sister Denise (with her Holly Hobby curls and jean mini skirt) with our great grandmother Cassie (my dad's mom's mother) at our house in Topeka, KS, in December 1975. That's me at left looking cool lounging in my silk pajamas a la Hugh Hefner.

Going back one year to 1974, we have a picture of me and older brother Jon (front and center) with (back row, from left) cousins Brian (Meredith's oldest) and Shana (Aunt Ann's oldest), brother Evan, sister Denise (yes, already sporting the Holly Hobby curls) and cousin Brian (Mark's younger brother). I like how I'm sporting the hip '70s open collar and Jon still has the dorky turtleneck).

Leaping back five years to 1969, we find brother Jon (at left), sister Denise (no hair to curl) and me (dorky turtleneck but cool plaid pants with rolled cuffs) hangin' with Santa at the White Lakes Mall in Topeka.

Those of you who remember White Lakes absolutely must click on this link and check out the picture of the fountain at White Lakes Mall. One day while shopping there I bent over to pluck a coin from the water and Jon pushed me in the fountain (it's much smaller than I remember!). I went in head first and came out dripping wet and chased him the length of the mall screaming bloody murder. Jon, do you remember? Of course you don't. But I will never forget!

The moral of this story of Christmases past is that I've always been the fashion trendsetter in my family, as evidenced by this pic of me in 1980 in my courderoy suit complete with vest and open collared shirt.

OK, so maybe I was falling a little behind the fashion trends in 1980, when Alex P. Keaton ushered in the conservatism on the 1980s and signaled the end of the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 70s. But it wasn't long before I ditched the open collars and traded in the bell-bottom pants for a blue suit, white shirt and striped tie and joined the Teenage Republicans to campaign for Ronald Reagan (see pic below with sister Denise and Evan, a.k.a. Alex. P. Keaton, Jr.)!

So what fashion trends will the Obama Administration bring to America? Rumor has it that the suit with no tie look is the new look in our Nation's capital. And who knows, maybe the turtleneck will make a comeback. For me, I still prefer bell bottoms and open collared shirts.

Long live the '70s!

Daren

New Year, New Challenges, a New Post!

Let me start 2009 with an apology to my faithful readers. Sorry Mom...Denise...Leslie. I haven't been very diligent in my blogging of late. For some reason I just haven't been very motivated to write. Maybe it's because I haven't had any grand adventures to write about.

Sure, I've been to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Lansing, Michigan, but the weather was so cold I never left the hotel. And the holidays have been pretty quite. The furthest we traveled for Thanksgiving or Christmas was 30 miles down I-25 to Colorado Springs! I'm not complaining...really. I've enjoyed the break from hotels, rental cars and airports.

But I'm back on the road this week. Ames, Iowa, to be exact. Might as well be the North Pole. Everything is covered in a sheet of ice. Temps in the single digits. It wouldn't be so bad except that I'm a little spoiled after we had temps in the 60s this past week in Denver. A brief glimpse of spring in the middle of winter.

I was able to get my bike out on the road (twice) after many hours on the indoor trainer. I know the trainer is good cardio, but it's no substitute for getting out on the road, which is why I ride. Of course when you ride on the road you have to share the road with cars.

In fact, there are signs up and down the road reminding cyclists to "Share the Road" with our four-wheeled friends. It's a good reminder for me, especially, after I was accused by Officer Friendly of the Castle Rock Police Department of failing to yield the right of way to the car that turned right in front of me (fortunately for me, Officer Friendly misinterpreted Colorado Law...turns out that the law requires cars to make sure they can safely negotiate a right turn without hitting pedestrians or cyclists).

To remind Colorado drivers of the law, Bicycle Colorado designed a new "Share the Road" cycling jersey that offers some great tips for cars, reminding them to "Pass With Care," with three yellow bars indicating that Colorado State law requires drivers to keep at least three feet between their multi-ton hunk of metal and my 18 pound carbon bicycle. And reflective piping helps cars see me on the road (as if I could hide my 6'4" frame sitting atop my XL Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 bike).

I got my new "Share the Road" jersey for Christmas and wore it on my two rides this past week. It's my new favorite jersey (thanks, Denise!) .

I'm getting anxious for the upcoming "season" -- Elephant Rock, Ride the Rockies, and, hopefully, another Ironman 70.3 triathlon. After taking last season off from triathlons following my encounter with a car in September 2007 and ensuing surgery on my collarbone in March 2008, I am ready to tackle a new challenge in 2009.

I'm not ready to try a full Ironman yet. Actually, Leslie has politely requested (for those of you who know Leslie, you know what that means) that I wait a few years -- until the girls are both off to college -- before I commit the time it takes to train for a full Ironman. That's 2014. For those of you who are counting, I'll be fifty years old by then!

What the heck. Doing a full Ironman the year I turn 50 sounds like a good goal. Besides, I've never even run a full marathon (which is the final leg of a full Ironman), so I suppose I'd better find out if I can do that first. First up is the Denver Marathon in October '09 with brother Evan and Williams cousins Brian and Nathan.

But first I need to pick out an Ironman 70.3 for this summer. I could do the Vineman again. It would be interesting to compete against my time in 2007 (6:27:43) and try to break six hours. But I might want to try a new venue. I may join a group of other "powered by beef" athletes at the Boise 70.3. Only problem is that it will be held June 13 -- the same day they kick of Ride the Rockies. I really want to do RTR again this year, to make it five in a row. And then there's the fact that I haven't swam seriously since the Vineman!

Forget New Year's resolutions...I prefer New Year's challenges!

Ride on...

Daren

Picture Perfect Day

Saturday, November 22. Five days before Thanksgiving 2009. Castle Rock, Colorado. A picture perfect day. We woke this morning to one of those cold clear blue skies over Castle Rock. About 35 degrees. But with the sun shining bright it felt at least 10 degrees warmer.

Les took Casey to the dog park and I headed out on my bike. A classic summer Saturday morning. Except that it was late November! These bright, sunny "winter" days in Colorado are probably my favorite except, possibly, for the even brighter, sunny winter days with snow on the ground.

I love riding south from Castle Rock along Hwy 105/Perry Park Road, a two-lane country highway that heads from Sedalia, CO (named after Sedalia, MO) to Palmer Lake. The road is lined with ranches raising and grazing everything from llamas to bison.

This bison herd was right alongside the road today. Typically they hang back. This is as close as I've seen them in two years of riding along Hwy 105. If you look closely (click on the photo to enlarge)you can see a calf hanging out close to its momma (I assume, but don't claim to be a bison expert!).

I also saw a lot of horses and, of course, plenty of cattle. Occasionally I'll come across an unusual scene, such as the "menagerie a trois" (at left) featuring a horse, cow, bull and two goats (I know that's five, but menagerie a cinq isn't as funny). This struck me as rather unusual, but I didn't grow up on a ranch, so couldn't say for sure!

We've been enjoying quite a run of unseasonably warm weather this Fall with only one measurable snow event to date. I'm sure that will change soon and I'll be relegated to riding my new Cannondale on the indoor trainer I purchased last Spring so I could train for Ride the Rockies while recovering from surgery on my collarbone.

Speaking of Ride the Rockies, I'm planning to form my own team this year...Team BEEF, of course! Let me know if you are interested in joining. Registration opens on February 1 when the 2009 route is announced in the Denver Post.

Ride on!

Daren