Joy of Cycling Moments.......and others: Legendary Amy and Matt--Mileage Total 580

The RtR spent two days in Steamboat with Day 4 called the Steamboat Loop or for many riders a rest day. After arriving in Steamboat I called Amy, a friend and training partner from when she lived in Virginia, to come and get me at the RtR headquarters. For the next two nights I would be sleeping in a bed vice tent!!

I met Amy at a swim practice in 2004 and have logged many miles and JOCMO's on the bike during training rides with her in Virginia, Spain, and England. She is one of the best cyclists I have ridden with and her endurance is "Legendary". Her husband Matt is a former member of the British national track cycling team and he of course has command of the "Queen's English". The two of them are wonderful people and oh so generous to let me crash with them when I roll through town.

Amy took me to her house and after a few minutes she had to go back to work so I was able to relax for a few minutes, have some coffee, update the blog, and get ready to walk down to the RtR Beer Garden with their hound dog Lucy.

Lucy (a little Boxer and a little Lab)

The view from Amy and Matt's deck

I took Lucy down the hill from Amy and Matt's house for a long walk and mingle amongst the RtR throng. One of the reasons for taking Lucy was to get her out of the house but also for me to spend some time with a puppy so I could gain some experience with a dog as I am considering getting one. Or to quote my friend Erin "you mean commitment?"

After about 2+ hours of walking around town and the Beer Garden Lucy was beginning to be overwhelmed with all the attention and that she was starving. So after many people came up to me to talk about Lucy I had to take her home as she was beginning to lose control. The hound dog was great when drinking from a bottle of water when thirsty but she was too rambunctious to keep her in the crowd with all of the food around. Dog ownership note of interest: Be ready to have snacks handy on long walks or feed the dog in advance. Also have a baggie handy for doing the duty of "pick-up" should the dog do you a favor!

Matt and Amy returned from their velo club ride at about 8PM and we rushed to get downtown for dinner. We were starving so we went to a local brew pub for a calzone and adult beverage. We spent the dinner talking about sports, life, what's important, old friends, and the mountain lifestyle. We discussed my sabbatical and what my goals are for my time away from DC.

Amy and Matt

After the 50 Mile Steamboat Loop the next day I went to join Matt and Amy and their Club, Steamboat Velo (http://www.bikesteamboat.com/index.html), on the outskirts of town for one of the Club races--The Race of Truth or a 6 mile Time Trial (TT). I was invited to participate but after the crush fest the previous day and the 50 mile loop from morning I did not have the motivation nor a TT bike to at least give me a chance.

I arrived in time to watch a few riders go before Amy queued up and was ready to launch. Matt arrived a few minutes later (fashionably late) and then launched to take his turn at setting a course record.

Tamme Jacques-Grewal ready to TT (she is the winner of the Women's Cat 1 division at the Mount Evans (14264') Hill Climb in 2010)

This local club event was great and a JOCMO on its own. The Steamboat cycling community embraces riders of all ages and this event had some elite cyclists like Tamme, Matt, and Amy but also kids on mountain bikes as young as 10 as part of the developmental teams.

Amy in the block on classic 650 wheels

Matt launching in the Race of Truth

After the race, Matt won the Men's division and Amy was second to Tammy, some schwag was given to all those who placed and we quickly packed-up and headed back to town for dinner with a few friends.