Dog Days (of Summer) Are Here

With two weeks of 95+ degree weather behind us, its hard to believe summer is almost over.  Denver hasn't hit 100 degrees this year, but it was hot in June and was still hot today, three days before September.  Its been one of the hottest summers I can remember.   Needlesstosay, I'm really ready for fall (my favorite seasons are the transition seasons) and I hope it will bring about new (and good) changes.

I've taken some biking pictures on a couple of my latest rides, which I'm finally posting (well, Guy actually took the one above).  Boulder is one of the greatest biking towns; I hardly ever have to ride on an actual "street" but I'm lucky to spend most of my time on bikepaths, multiuse paths, or sidewalks.   I am getting better at riding on some of the busier streets (only the ones with dedicated bike lanes, though) and learning how to co-exist with cars.  And, I've made a lot of improvements in riding.  Considering I didn't think I could even ride my old bike for 1 mile, with my new lime-green love (see the previous post), I've worked up to an 8-mile leisurely ride on the paths around west Boulder.   I love that amid the heat, the evenings are still cool enough for a great bike ride.  Once I started spraying on the bug-spray in June, I really started liking evening rides with Guy.  We found a great 3 mile loop going west from our house that links up with some paths near really pretty and open fields.  I enjoyed our sunset rides the best.  Guy has been working on some 20+ mile rides lately, but I've impressed  myself on my new 8 mile loop.  Its not too strenuous that I think I could even add on another 3-4 miles before needing a break.  Go speed-racer, go!


Amid the crazy hot temperatures we've had, July and August have been really busy months for me that have given me some relief from the heat.  In July, I spent a weekend in Green River; I took a long trip to South Dakota for work and then I joined Guy on his work trip to Santa Monica.   In August, I spent a weekend in SLC visiting with friends and their families; I helped organize/run/attend a conference with work; we spent a weekend in Denver with old Wyoming friends who visited; and finally Guy and I spent the last two days at home recovering from it all (and dealing with life's curve balls that flew at us this week -- Guy's car being stolen; my diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism requiring surgery; and the impending what-ifs in life).  We're going to be fine though, we still have each other and a lot to look forward to.  So ....

Cest la vie.

P.S. while writing this post, I had this song stuck in my head, which has been one of my theme songs for the summer.  Its an amazing song -- the lyrics, the beat, the rhythm.  Flo is awesome!