Sunday I once again did my hike up the old Manitou Incline late in the afternoon. I took a few more pictures since it looks different with snow on it. I wasn’t feeling so good before I went but I figured I was imagining it since Julie and Danielle were sick. My legs felt a bit weak. Sometimes they’re a little tired and sore from doing a long ride the day before but this was different. I was also slower and the new snow wouldn’t have caused me to be that much slower. Soon after I got home I started getting chills and aches.

This was one of the times I really enjoyed the whirlpool tub I put in last winter. I’m an engineer and I find most things to be over hyped and not nearly as good as the marketing says they are. There’s a really good reason I don’t work in marketing. I’d describe things as “this works OK but it really would be better if it were like …”. The whirlpool tub is an exception. It has been even better than I had imagined. It is so great to come in after a long ride and soak for a bit. Oh, of course they could have shaped it a little better to fit me. I had been wanting one for a long time but the master bedroom and bath were the only 2 rooms we weren’t redoing in the house we bought in 2000. We’ve been gutting and remodeling a third at a time and the 2004-2005 winter was the last third. Our bathroom had an over sized shower in it that was slightly bigger than a standard tub. It always had a dark line on the floor that looked almost like a crack but we could never tell for sure. One day during last winter’s big project, I was taking a shower and stepped just right to see different movement on each side of the crack. The ceiling was already ripped open underneath and the wall behind it was gutted on the other side. So all that had to be done was totally knock out the wall since that was the only way to get the tub in. Well there was moving plumbing around and making it fit, etc. I finally put the tile in over the two weekends after Thanksgiving this year.

Monday and Tuesday I didn’t feel too bad as long as I took Tylenol so I worked. Tuesday afternoon Julie called and said Danielle had a really high very and wouldn’t eat or drink so she was taking her in to the doctor. I meet her there to help take care of Cassidy who was sick too but never got so bad. The doctor wanted her in the hospital on IV. She tested positive for the flu. She got to come home today and is pretty much acting her wild self again. We didn’t give her a flu shot because she’s allergic to eggs.

My work brings nurses in each fall for free flu shots. I haven’t been getting them because over 10 years ago when I was still in college I had a bad experience. I’m not sure what I was thinking but I got the flu shot the day before a cyclocross race in Denver at Chatfield Reservoir. I felt alright the next morning and drove to the race. Once I got through the entrance station I really had to pee and stopped at the first restroom I came to. I felt a little weak when I got out of the truck and went in. The next thing I remember I thought I was in bed and just couldn’t wake up. I finally got my eyes open expecting to be in my bedroom. Instead I was staying at block walls. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I was. I had fallen straight over backwards onto the concrete floor and I think got a concussion from it. I don’t think I was out more than a few minutes. I drove the mile or 2 to the race. The whole race was a fog but somehow I managed to finish 7th in the Open class. Fortunately there was a couple there from the Springs and they both raced. She had asked be how I was doing before the race so I had told her I had passed out. Her husband was in my race and she came to check on me after my race. I was lying in the back of my truck not knowing what to do. She got her husband to drive my truck home so I wouldn’t be a danger on the road.

Thursday we finally got some snowfall after a month of warm, dry weather. Actually it flurried on Monday but didn’t amount to anything. Friday morning a took a shot of the view from my desk at work. I have one of the view cubicles near the windows but we’re moving in a few months and I doubt I’ll be so lucky at the new building. There are 4 other guys at work including the guy that finished 6th overall with a time of 7:44 at the Leadville 100 MTB last year. At least some of us have been getting out pretty much every day at lunch lately. Thursday some of my old coworkers from Agilent came over and also some others we ride with and had a group of 11. Once we move we’ll have to come up with some new riding routes. Some of my favorite ones from were we are now will make for a long lunch ride from the new location.

The snow made it a little tricky getting out today on the road. I considered mountain biking instead but my mountain bike has been neglected and needs a lot of work. I also considered putting slicks on my mountain bike and riding on the road. I finally decided once I got to main streets I’d be fine on the road bike. We were up a lot during the night Danielle is sick so I was dragging getting ready and my wife was gone to class. We had gotten a baby sitter so I could ride but Danielle wanted me to stay so I hung out until she got involved playing with the baby sitter. Getting out of neighborhood was a bit scary with the snow and ice on the road but once I got to the main streets there were only a few patches of snow and ice. Once I got onto US 24 the shoulder was sandy but no snow or ice. I normally like taking back roads but decided just to head east on US 24. I turned around just bash Ramah. It ended up being a 96 mile ride. I felt strong and rode well. I can tell my fitness is starting to come around although I have a long ways still to go.

Friday a little over a week ago I did my 3 mile time trial for the Cold Fury B5 Challenge. I chose the flattest course we have close by. I started at the 40 mph sign just north of 30th on Centennial. I thought I’d be at the base of the climb into Peregrine but instead ended most of the way up. I’ve been trying to keep my intensity down and work on getting a good base. Trying to go all out for 3 miles really hurt and I was pretty blown the last mile. I had a slow time of 11:42.

Saturday I started with the 10 o’clock Acacia Park ride. I managed to hang over the Link Road hill but had to dig pretty hard. I rode with them to PPIR and then cut out to Hanover and back Squirrel Creek road. I did a loop through Manitou Springs and Garden of the Gods when I got back into town to give me a ride of 108 miles.

Sunday I did the old Manitou Incline. I took my camera this time and shot some pictures. I never can figure out how to get pictures with a lot of vertical to show how steep it really is. I got started late because I went to my parents for lunch and my sister from Alaska had flown in on Saturday so we spent some time catching up. Fortunately her flight was canceled even though several others were because of concerns about Augustine erupting. After they landed she overheard the pilot telling the stewardess it was a good thing they got out when they did because there was an eruption about 5 minutes after they left.

I have created a slideshow of some more pictures from our trip to Arizona. I used a free tool on the web to create it. It’s supposed to work on the common browsers. When I tried it from my Dad’s computer when I was at my parent’s yesterday, it wasn’t working from his IE but then other things weren’t either.