The last couple of days we got in some great bike rides. Jen took a cross country route on her single speed and covered 14 miles of the Fraser to Granby Trail. Des added big mountain climbs to his 22 mile excursion. Storm clouds overhead never released their rain but kept us cool all day. Kai was worn out from multiple Teen Conditioning and Trampoline classes at the rec center with his favorite new buddy: Coach Patrick, former grappler and UFC trainer. He also discovered the New Hong Kong restaurant in Winter Park. Pho soup is a favorite. We are set on Chinese for awhile. Friday night we camped in the van and the accommodations were deluxe! We arose early the next morning and headed west for a side trip. Traveling through CO, UT, AZ and finally Las Vegas provided pretty awesome scenery. But it was 111 when we pulled up to the Bellagio Hotel, at 8 pm! Des got a ” deal” on a room. It was wild, packed, and steamy on the strip. But hey, that’s Vegas! Make sure to have sound on to watch video at the end. 

The Fraser River Valley  has our favorite wide open space- the soccer fields! Lush, sticker free green grass for as far as you can throw an Aerobie! And at 9000 ft elevation it’s the perfect temperature. Yesterday Kai and I explored the mountains at a slower pace compared to Des’ downhill sprint. He biked nearly every trail taking many  laps up the lift. Instead, we hiked  up the Ute Trail to the top of the lift. Climbing 1600 feet in 2 miles is not easy. The reward was a berry smoothie at Sunspot cafe and their 2pm closing time was our motivation to keep up a steady pace. Early this week we took some short hikes, cross country biked, and played in the Winter Park resort. Today brought a big thunderstorm and cooler weather.  

    

We started the day watching another stage of the Tour de France. My fantasy team was ranked 18th overall (worldwide)  for stage 11! Later, my dad and I downhill mountain biked from 1pm to 7 pm. Every run included at least one section of Rainmaker. This is my favorite downhill run. It features 23 table top jumps, 4-8 feet high. My second favorite run is Boot Camp, which has a vertical wooden wall that can be ridden if you keep your momentum. Each run takes around 30 minutes top to bottom. I was fatigued after the long day but enjoyed it very much.  

-Kai