As you all know, Mandi and I are getting married in September. I’ve spoke with a lot of people close to me about this situation and we are looking to buy a house once we are married. We are both afraid that with our incomes, we could only afford the smallest and shittiest of houses in New Jersey. We are just about to get the ball rolling on looking and seeing what we could afford. We have thought and spoke about relocating down south to the Charlotte area for multiple reasons. Cost of living, weather, how far your money goes, etc. We are planning a weekend down south to check it out and see if it’s something we could consider. We would love to stay and want to see if its possible. You cannot replace the friends and comforts of your home town. The pros and cons are so different on both ends of the scale. Once we have more information about both, we will figure out what is possible and what is out of reach.

Once Battenkill started I was relieved. A lot of stress went into the weekend, but once we were riding it all went away. I was only really worried about crashing or hurting myself in someway. I brought whatever legs/game I had to the table, whatever happens is going to happen. Once I crossed the finish line I was happy to be done, but part of me wanted to give it a go again. The road racing intrigues me. While I was riding I spoke to a couple other guys and said “Man, I wish I was riding my mountain bike” because riding the mountain bike is just so much more fun to me. I’m excited to let it rip on the big wheels.

I have not thought about allergy shots. Sometimes I think I’m a prisoner in the world. I have to lock myself up in a room with the air conditioning on in order to breathe and see straight. This is the second day I have taken my Benadryl Allergy first thing in the AM. I’m able to kick the effects of the drowsiness (or they dont seem as obvious since I’m just waking up) and it seems to be working. On Tuesdays ride, I never had one issue with boogies or itchy eyes. I guess it comes down to spending money for these shots, but I guess I should look into it. This time of the year sucks for me.

Tuesday afternoon and it drizzles a little on my drive home. WTF. Six Mile is mint, so I figure I go check it out. Capers is in, Lou I’m not sure of. I wanted to give the Ridley a spin and get some dirt on it. Rode to Six Mile and head straight to the 27 lot on ST. I forgot how much canti brakes suck. I warm up to the ride and start getting a feel for it. Run into Capers and Lou (yay!) in the twisties. We lay down a pretty good pace the rest of the way. Run into Jay digging with JJ. She just seems to love being outside and in her little carrier back pack thingy. I almost kill myself a couple of times not being able to stop or jumping things on the bike I shouldn’t. We run into Mark (wonderturtle) and head on out. I eventually leave the dudes at SMB and head back on the road. Run into Mark again in the canal lot and chat a little bit.

One of the things that stood out to me was Mark hates riding the road. He said he had some bad experience about it and ever since has stuck to the woods. Kinda made me sad. I was a MTBer before a roadie; Well I don’t think I’m a roadie, but the jury is still out. He has since only stuck to dirt. I think he needs to give it a go again and maybe with a good group of people on a solid loop.

I throw my light on my bike as it is dusk now. I should still be able to make it home before its pitch black. I didn’t feel like throwing my new-to-me bike over a chain link fence, So I enjoyed the tail wind and hit the road for portion of the ride back. Turn the light on right at Colonial Park and enjoy the sunset

It was prettier than my phone makes it look.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299069387

It was a good day to be out and I made the most of the sunlight. My legs feel just about back to normal.