Monday's are hard. Especially after an incredible weekend of chillaxin' in the Methow Valley with friends, dogs and of course- bikes.

My off the couch 5.2 mile first leg of the Sunflower Race (go Team Makiah Blue!) with 8 minute miles - has left me a little sore and with a reminder that jumping into another sport you haven't trained for is not the smartest idea. You should see poor Chris - he can barely walk. But it was so worth it! We got 20th out of 47 teams - not bad for a team that did absolutely ZERO training. But we do have our eyes on the top ten teams next year....

I fell more in love with the Methow this weekend. On Friday Chris and I rode the Buck Mountain loop that starts at Cub Creek. The scenery was unreal and the weather perfect - with sunflowers littering the hill sides and big Simpson clouds floating in the sky. The single track was perfect - and my legs are only slightly scraped up from the prickly bushes lining the trails. I had no idea the area could be any more pretty - and this weekend proved me wrong.

This morning was rough... sitting in the morning commuter traffic to get my track workout in before work made me yearn to move to Mazama even sooner. Going from zero crowds to too many people crammed into a small space with lots of concrete is just a reminder that I want to move out of the city before too long and live life closer to the mountains.

Had a big milestone this past weekend too - and am taking it in stride.