happy saturday (and a story) →[More:]

i'm sitting here chilling out, eating some peach yoghurt and a whole damn BOX of blueberries, cos seriously, they were 2 big boxes for $5 at the king sooper's and i gotta do something with all these freakin blueberries.

mmm, blueberries.

this morning i rolled out at around 7.30 to meet one of my teammates up at the coffeehouse and get in a quick canyon ride before it got brain-meltingly hot. the canyons = harder rides (because canyons mean climbing), but the tradeoff is there's lots of shade and the increase in altitude guarantees cooler temps... at least until you descend, that is.

so we chatted about school stuff and work stuff, and he mentioned he was trying to get his girlfriend interested in riding. i acknowledged this with the caveat that she has to do it because she enjoys it, not because it's something she feels pressured to. he's a smart lad and 'gets it'. this then evolved into a great discussion of feminist roles, social evolution and how far things have come since the years i was struggling to fit into a niche as an athletic girl in the late 80's.

he's got one more year to go on his law degree, and took a summer job as a public defender here. this cat is good people.

observation: it is fucking awesome to be 25. the ride we did incorporates about ten miles of moderately difficult climbing up a local canyon, this after a good twelve mile grovel through broiling hot sun on U.S. 36. about halfway up the canyon, we encountered a largeish group of riders, maybe ten or a dozen.

i eased off and sat back to watch as my teammate cut a swath thru that pack like a kestrel raiding a flock of pigeons. he needed the harder pace anyway, and there were a couple guys in the group who were able to hang with him, if just barely. by the time i caught up to the remnants, there were dudes scattered over about a half-mile stretch of road.

as i rode past one of the victims, he shook his head, smiled at me and said 'christ, your teammate is FAST'. i said, with great sympathy: 'yeah, i know, isn't it great to be young?'

word. use it while you got it, and never waste opportunities.

the mister's been gently nudging me to go to school once we get established. and, funny thing, the more i see academia from the layman's view, the more i think i'm nowhere near as terrified of it as i used to be.