Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Late Night's, Long Days

Lotsa long days at work in the past two weeks.  Something like 4 new short-term projects opened up (one is a glorious 3 hr drive away) in the last two weeks, leading to a deluge of work.  A mass of drilling last week, two days of it standing in a field of what I can only surmise was hay given my adverse reaction to it, plus one day in a sand and gravel quarry left my lungs pretty much swimming in crud for French Creek on Saturday.  After a late return from work on Friday night (8:00 PM), I bailed on the Endurance Race, switched over to the "easier" Elite race, and ended up bailing on that too due to bike/lung issues.

Kyle has Gu-legs
Got about a quarter lap in at whatever race pace I could muster, which ended up just spinning up hills and crushing down hills as fast as I could go to close gaps.  The moral of the story is that the Epic is the perfect bike for that course.  Ms. Geology and I hung out to watch all our friends finish, then peaced to see some family before my grandfather's memorial service, which was Monday.  Yes, at 100 years and 107 days (April 11 if you didn't count), my grandfather passed away, holding on until the family who had been with him all day left for dinner.  He lived a great and full life, and while he will be missed by many, he would want us to remember his accomplishments rather than grieve.  We did just that on Monday, with lots of music from almost all family members (and others), some jokes, the story of how he met my grandmother (ask me in person if you want to know), and a few good plugs for his favorite place, Dickinson College.  The college President, former Vice President, a few Dean's, the now-retired Photographer (a close family friend), and a few others from the college attended, which was nice to see.  It was a very good weekend of seeing family and relatives that I don't see all the time, and celebrating Old Granddad's life.

Here's to you OGD
Oh yeah, and there was Granogue last week.  I had a great time hanging out with people. and almost exactly 1/2 of a good race.  Whatevs... Thanks to Marc, Lauri, Tom, Buddy, and all involved for putting on such a quality event.  I am honored to be able to help out.

Good Race
Bad Race... Photo by Dennis
Now I'll just try to fit in rides where I can so I can still have some form for June (see schedule to your right).  Maybe I'll be in Carlisle next week for work so I can ride me some Michaux...

Glamor shot