It was something special and emotionally fitting to see US Pro Champion George Hincapie lead the entire peloton with the American colors onto the Champs-Elysees on today's last stage of the Tour de France. It was also nice to see Levi Leipheimer make the podium.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, one of my favorite locations on planet Earth.
We took a swim at a boat ramp on Lake Santeetlah.
A hike out to Santeetlah dam we spotted this passion flower. I had to be told what the name of this flower was. I thought I had discovered a new plant. It looks downright alien to me. Never seen anything like it. Take a close look at this for a fine example of nature's symmetry.
Hiking out to a nice view of the Cherohala Skyway, Em and I were up to our foreground/background picture taking experiments. The pictures from the overlook of the Skyway view did not turn out that well. It was hazy. I have to try again another day.
I'm glad she gets her goofy genes from me.
You know you're getting old when you start taking pictures of flowers, eh? What a pretty combination of complementary colors, opposite colors on the color wheel.
I actually got to ride my bike 3 days in a row, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Monday's ride included a new climb that I've been wanting to do since John Mc the PT took me down it. The climb is Sky Lake. It is only one mile in length, but has a grade of 10% to 14% with a couple steep pitches, one being 18%. This is in the first 6/10ths of a mile. The remaining top part of the climb is more gradual. Great climb! You have to get through busy traffic to get there though.
One happy camper after a few days on the bike. I got to do some sprinting on Tuesday which I was surprised that I still had some jump.
The after ride Orbea bike lift! Notice the nice Orbea Ora TT bike and the Orca. Uh, the TT bike is not mine. Debi has a new specialty. We'll see how much time she makes up on tomorrow's TT at the French Broad Cycling Classic. Uh, I'm not racing this weekend.....which seems strange for me. I will be driving the wheel truck for the Women's Pro, Cat 1-3 road race on Saturday though.
Two local juniors, Madi and Grayson, made fixed-gear history at the mellowdrome on Tuesday night. These kids are fast!
We got a new camera. This is the first picture we took. Daughter and Dad.
Hand-made pizzas! They were yummy. I got to make my own to eat healthy.
Them there locals are just wacky. I love the look on this mans face as he offered us some Red Man chewin tobacky. The kid on the left (sitting) is a 14 year old junior, Evan. He is getting great race results this year. He ran me into the ground earlier in the day as we reconnoitered the French Broad Cycling Classic road course.
After a few tries this shot turned out well. It hurt a lot when I landed though. ;)
Yes, beyond the milkshakes, I do eat healthy and smart....just let myself go in the summer. So we are eating regular spaghetti instead of whole wheat pasta.
Guess what today is the start of.....?
Here is the required media to re-live the event throughout the year.
We took the Surly out on its first real ride. So far, so good!
Here is the Emily version of Smoothies.....uh, I believe this is actually a milkshake! Ingredients: Moose Tracks Ice Cream, Milk (hence, milkshake), pretzels, chocolate syrup and yogurt. Yikes, if I keep this up.....there goes my fall racing form.
Ouch! Going fast hurts. Too many milkshakes!
This is how I wake up EVERY single morning. Fresh roasted and brewed coffee in my favorite mug. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from Biltmore Coffee traders.
"Dad, it is going to be a Hanna Montana summer!" 
Somebody lost an ear ring in the pool.
The 4th go boom.
$53 of groceries......it really does not appear to be that much stuff.
Happy Summer Door Decor. Debi came over on Friday to help with Em's door decor whilst I was dealing with a few Indian Shrimp Saag issues from the Indian Garden......phone call, "uh, I ate at your restaurant and got sick".......on the other end I hear, "Sorry sir, I'm really busy, can you call back later?....when the owner is here"......me later, "is the manager there?". I hear, "no sir, can you call back later?". hmmm?
Heading into the mountains from TN to NC. After the 532 mile road trip, my daughter has arrived to hang out with me for the summer in the mountains of western NC.
A few gifts I had waiting for her.....a Dad-built Surly cyclocross bike and a pink DVD player. How cool is that? She took the time to organize and arrange her room to make it her own.
Here is what a $100 of groceries from Ingles looks like. I've already had 3 milkshakes since she's been here. I haven't thought much about the bike at all. Soon my legs will start twitching....."what is going on?" Tonight we broke out one of our favorite games, the Dad-Daughter Restaurant game with customized menus and all. "EFMEOO's" Restaurant serves great french bread with olive oil dip and the best white spaghetti in town.
