Best Laid Plans . . . Xterra Lory Postponed

I had a feeling.  We were up at Lory last weekend and the bridges still weren't built.  Supposedly they were on schedule to be built but have been put on hold due to some 'unforseen budget issues'.   The bridges are scheduled to be completed by mid-June but the race has been postponed until August 10th.  Which means my carefully planned race schedule of 3 races 6 weeks apart from each other has now become 3 races 2 weeks apart from each other.  Or 3 races in 4 weeks.  I was struggling last year with my races being 3 weeks apart.  I could transfer my entry to Curt Gowdy which is the 3rd weekend in June but ugh, Curt Gowdy.  That was a long, hard, technical race.  And I have 2 days of overnight agility planned the 2 days before the race.  So no, that is not appealing.  I could take a refund but then I'd only have 2 races to qualify for Nationals and I'm already worried enough with having only 3.  A few weeks ago I was all, 'Oh whatever, if I qualify for Nationals it'll be great but if I don't, no big deal.'  But I've become more committed to the idea of going to Nationals now.  I really want to go.  So it looks like July/August will be spent racing and recovering.

On the plus side, I don't have to worry about swimming in freezing cold water next weekend.  And I'll have more time to prepare for the run.  I've been focusing on the bike this month but Lory is all about the run.  And while I was prepared in general for finishing the race no problem I was not prepared for doing well on the long climb on the run.  Also, I'm oh so tired.  I started tapering this week mostly because my legs were shot to the point of waking me up in the middle of the night with the 'twitchies'.  Now that I'm a bit rested up I can get in a lot of solid riding this holiday weekend.

On the other plus side, Lory is greening up nicely.

Aside from the singed trees you'd never know there was a fire.

Small fires are good for the grasses in general but decades of fire suppression have led to big destructive fires when they happen.

Eltuck Bay looking very inviting though probably still very cold

Without Limits, the race company that puts on Xterra Lory, has been really good about it, giving us several options including a full refund.  They're a great company, always put on a great quality race at a good price and they know how to mitigate things when they go wrong.

Unlike All Pets who still hadn't called me back with blood work results by 1:30 today despite another call to them this a.m.  I called again this afternoon and finally they put me through to a vet.  Who gave me some ridiculous excuse of the doctors didn't know they were supposed to call me.  Even though I'd called them twice and was told by the first vet during our initial appointment that someone would call me.  So yeah, Boulder All Pets is not going to be my new vet.  Plus they charged a ridiculous amount of money for the exam and blood draw.  High prices, low service, not a good mix.

Oh, and a bonus picture from the Blue Sky Trail where we rode before hitting up Lory.

Blue Skies on the Blue Sky Trail

Another miserable day out biking on the trails.

Sun and dry trails and shorts weather, life is rough I tell you.

Colorado sucks.

Blue Sky Trail, Fort Collins

I finally brought my little point and shoot camera with me on the Blue Sky trail.



My friends, Jonny and I were treated to blue skies, shorts weather and another awesome day on the bike.



Unfortunately my camera and photography skills don't do the place justice, it is truly special.



We ran into a local and when we told him we were from Boulder he said, 'Oh, so you're slumming it over here?' I laughed and told him this was much nicer than what we have in Boulder. He gave me a skeptical look but I insisted. We do have maybe one trail that's as nice but I don't know, this one is hard to beat.

You wouldn't think this was a place to spot bears but there was bear poop everywhere on one part of the trail and my friends saw a rattlesnake but thankfully it was gone by the time I caught up to them. Sometimes it pays to be slow.



Happy to be at the top after huffing up a steep hill.



Say goodbye to Blue Sky. Hopefully we'll get a few more rides in before the cold winds start blowing.