Winter Rides with a View

This view never really gets old.  This is the highway that goes out towards I-93 from Boulder to Golden and sits on top of this ridge that overlooks the flatirons.  December weather, while generally is alright in Colorado, can be a bit spotty but this turned out to be a beautiful day.  I really enjoy the times when my body and the weather cooperate to get some two-wheeled exercise!

Christmas Tree Decorating

 

This is the standard picture of the yearly tree decorating tradition in our family.  The boys always help Tara get everything up, but I will say it is mighty helpful to have boys that are 6'2" to help put on those top-level decorations.  I will give myself some kudos this year in that it is only December 12th and we already have everything rolling out for decorations!

College Showcase in Texas (Part 2 of 2)

 

We did actually play some soccer, and I think Gage's team tied their games here.  The temperature dropped a bit and with the rain, it made for quite a chilly game.  The fields were really nice, so I am thankful that they let them play the games and didn't cancel because of the rain.

They next day I saw this beauty parked in the parking lot of the Whole Foods which was close to my hotel.  I guess everything is bigger in Texas!

Another rainy day, though, which seems funny for Texas...but I guess it's not always hot and dry.  December seems to be a bit cooler and rainy.  This is a picture of the front of the hotel grounds.  When I originally checked in, I was a bit confused and hoped I was in the right place.  It doesn't really scream hotel!

Besides the amazing outdoor pool, it also had this crazy fitness center.  I did a bit of lifting and then hoped onto a stationary bike to get some miles in.  This place had every machine you could think of, a small basketball area, plyo areas, and treadmills/cycling bikes galore!

I took advantage of this water massaging chair thing after the workout.  I swear I could get used to this.  What a great pull for a hotel room for the weekend while the guys are playing some local soccer games!  I will surely be back to this place if I am staying in Dallas for another tournament!

College Showcase in Texas (Part 1 of 2)

Gage's Colorado Edge team was down in Dallas, Texas to play a game and also participate in their first college showcase.  Most of the kids on his team are Freshman, so they are a bit early in the recruiting process, but it was nice exposure to see what these camps are about.  This picture above is the initial opening of the coaches that will be running the session.

Gage followed the group of goalies to start their individual session that was separate from the field players.  What was hilarious was they were asking what year in school he was and they all thought he was at least a junior or maybe a senior.  When he told them he was a freshman, they were blown away.  He seemed a bit intimidated but did really well in the session and was probably one of the best with at least the kids I watched.  They then joined the field players and the goalies, mixed up the teams, and had some 11 v 11 scrimmages.  Overall, Gage did well but you could tell they were underclassmen.

I joined the trip to watch but thankfully wasn't a chaperone so I was able to find this gem of a triathlete retreat just down the road from where the kids were staying.  This is the pool at my hotel: The Cooper Hotel & Conference center.  It had an outdoor heated pool, and I basically had the entire place to myself!  I made sure to swim here each morning.

 Also, being in Texas, I had to have some Torchy's tacos.  While we have one of these in Boulder, I would say the Texas variety seems to taste better...either that or I was just really hungry!

Good Ole' Unkle Dale's

For quite a while we have been hearing about "Uncle Dale" from Tara's Dad and Sandra.  Dale is married to Sandra daughter, and they happen to live just southeast of Denver out in the country on some land.  What is crazy is that we have never in all these years made it out to see them, but we finally made it happen and it was a total experience.  First off, they are incredibly hospitable and they really remind me of my Kansas relatives in so many ways.  Once we arrived, we were treated to a full tour of the place and above is Dale's garage.  It has almost every crazy machine/maintenance thing you could ever dream up.  It would probably make most mechanics cry tears of joy!

Toward the back side of the mechanics garage is the entire crazy woodworking shop.  This is a place my grandpa Swindler would have loved.  I am not quite sure how he even has time to work through all the projects that you could do in this place, but I was totally impressed!

Dale is also a gun enthusiast, which I can appreciate, and he took us out to the range to test shoot a few of his handguns.  After an entry class on gun safety, here is Gavin firing down range. 

Here is another view of working with the instructor.

Tara also got in on the action and took her turn.  She did great and we were able to learn quite a few things about handguns and what type of defensive capabilities are out there to protect yourself with.  We came back inside and shared a meal with their family and had a great time just learning about this offshoot of extended family.  Hopefully we can do it again some time!

New Turkey Try?

 

I love Thanksgiving for many reasons including all the great time with family (and the history of family celebrations at my grandma and grandpa Swindler's house when I was growing up), but also for the food.  I love the standard Thanksgiving fixings: turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, etc.  Though, I am generally a skinny guy, I think I put on some serious weight in this season.  In any case, what I am not good at is cooking a turkey.  I usually try the bag/oven method which generally does alright, but this year I wanted to try something different.  I had heard about this "Spatchcocking" method where you basically split the turkey down the middle and then lay it spread out flat on the pan.  I think it is supposed to cook more evenly this way??  It was a first attempt and generally I think it turned out well, but it was a ton of work to saw the turkey in half...so maybe this will be the last attempt at this variety!

Boulder Racing Team

 

This is the 2025 Boulder Racing Team.  I am thankful to be joining a crew of talented athletes!  Brian and Ed typically race in my age group (which seems like the old man squad by now) but several others, Nolan, Nick, and Julia are much younger and excited to be representing the team as well.  The big change this year is in the kit design with a much more prominent EK Endurance Coaching sponsorship for the team.  As always, VeloVetta also hooks us up with cutting edge aerodynamic shoes.  I look forward to training and racing with these guys!