I am not sure if I can naturally wake up before 9 AM. I definitely do not recall this happening since I left my alarms in California. Today, I must have slept 10 h 40 m and I don’t remember waking up at all. M TW, from long ago, would laugh as he called me a “Lazy m-fer” (he used the real words), contrasting me with his nightly naps of 5-6 hours. That must add up to extra years. I can’t see how his comment is fair though: I’m truly sleeping and I can’t fake that! I ask you, What is Zeke to do?

Also living in the house are 2 dogs and a cat. The cat and one of the dogs are very friendly. They’ll welcome us when we arrive or are walking around and certainly don’t mind a bit of love. The second doggie is less interested, content to at most lift his head if he happens to be in the same room. They’re all essentially silent; we make more noise than they do.

This neighborhood in Colorado Springs reminds me of Wantagh. Hear me out: majorly curvy streets; essentially the same family oriented houses one after another; malls surrounding the residential area; parks regularly spring up out of the blue; occasionally there are grassy sections where there could be a house; and kids playing in the street. All we are missing is an advanced case of Street Name Alliteration Syndrome. Case closed.

Colorado Springs drivers are pretty aggressive. You better hurry or else. That said, we’ve had very little issues with horns here or most anywhere since we left. And, as I’ve written previously, the courtesy when merging is lovely and obviously indicates a higher level of consciousness.

The city is also the first place with more than el blanco folks; I’ve even seen some interracial couples!

My bike is getting a new rear tire and rotor. One mechanic along the way said because the rear tire is made of 3 compounds rather than all harder rubber it’ll wear faster. This shop guy let me know for every front replaced, he goes through 3-5 rears and, hard or soft, the rear rubber wears faster. Regardless, tire is tired. The rear rotor is pretty scorched and he said that’ll impact my braking experience, of which I definitely want the best. Also, the new rotor has better heat dissipation which is helpful on those long descents. Shhhh! Don’t tell M JL the new rear is made by Specialized and 2.3, ever closer to fat bike size.

En route to Garden of the Gods we stopped at The French Kitchen Culinary Center for a croissant and fresh baked loaf of bread. We may as well have been in France! Exquisite and flavorful and of course that wonderful flaky texture. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s tasty deliciousness.

The ride was, big surprise, all about the park. We must have stopped every 100 feet to enjoy another stunning view. I was also glad for the stops given the state of my legs.

We picked up some food and beverages on the way back and had a picnic in a sweet local family oriented park.

A load of laundry, some macaroons too and that’s all folks!