I don't blog enough anymore...

because I'm too busy catching Allegheny Alligators.

He was secreting mucus. What a cutie.

Want to read about running? Maybe I'll talk about my fastest new kicks sometime this week.

Want to read about baking? Sorry, but it's been about ninety degrees too hot to move for the past few days. Opening the oven is literally the last thing I've wanted (or had enough time) to do to. A couple days ago, it was probably hot enough to bake bread on the pavement. Or at least a few quality pancakes.

In the meantime, I'm on the radio with Stephen Colbert!  ...in a roundabout sort of way.

colorado, synopsis

"Man, I feel pretty gross. I seriously need a shower."

"I just got one in the locker room at the ice rink. The guy working at the desk looked like he wanted to make me leave, but I don't think he had the heart."


"Oh.."


"Just make sure you dress really preppy. They won't say anything to you because you're cute. I just look like a dirty hippie."

"Okay. I think I'll eat some canned soup for lunch today."

That exchange pretty much sums up our trip. We found out that we could go for about 2 days without showering, since the humidity level in Colorado is so low. But then we'd start feeling kind of grimy and dusty, so we had to steal cleanliness from places like the community ice arena in Breckenridge.

Since I've been home, I've been working every day to try to earn back all the money I blew on gas and burgers in the Great American West. My attention span for blogging is incredibly low.

So I'm copping out on writing. For your enternatainment, I put together some of my favorite pictures, hopefully in chronological order.

Here's our route:

For the record, we didn't go to New Mexico or Utah. It turns out that those places are really damn hot in July (we learned this when we got a flat on the side of the road outside of Grand Junction).

So we mostly stuck to the mountains, ran around on fun trails, and drank a whole lot of coffee.

It begins:

colorado journal: 1

This might be one of my new favorite places, right up there with bookstores and cupcake shops.

And you know what? Breckenridge has them both.

I just flew back to Pittsburgh today, all by my lonesome. And I can't say that I'm feeling rested and coherent enough to string together words that will properly describe everywhere I've been for the last two weeks. I'm going to have to give my brain a little rest in this low-altitude, oxygen-rich air.

Here's a teaser: Coffee. Bikes. Lots of different climate zones.

I know you're excited off your pants. Just don't make a mess on the rug while I'm gone, okay?