The KrughBlog

Yup, got myself all moved into the remodel on 6th st. Pretty great. My summer roommate Rachael has been enjoying (from what she tells me) so far and I even have Kevin Suhr staying here for a week in Brandon Weil’s future bedroom. Looks like it’s going to be a high school reunion come fall when Brandon and CP Martinez move in - funny how things workout 6 years down the road.

Got a grill, put it together, and grilled some massive steak on it all within a few hours to fuel up for mowing the lawn today. I’m using one of those push mowers w/no engine to help save the planet and my upper body. It’s actually pretty fun, I just need to stay on top of it so I’m not doing repeats on the “dog-friendly” areas of the lawn that grow at 4x their brothers’ pace.

Team Rio Grande threw down at the Colorado Springs Classic held at the Air Force Academy last weekend. They grouped all the P, 1, 2 and 3’s in the same category which gave us a solid field of 85 or so. Big crash after the start on a long decent into a right hand turn. Fortunately, Dan Porter, Joe Saperstein and myself were in front of it - and Ryan Hamity, who decided to skip off to the bathroom before the start, was taking a nature break in the superbowl while the field rolled out. He chased back on and rode through the carnage back into the field and I believe almost immediately out the front as well. All 4 of us rode well - Hamity and Porter were taking turns being active at the front and Joe was biding his time in the field. Strong headwinds on the climbs kept it mostly together until the last 2 laps. In the end, Hamity’s numerous breaks proved fruitful and he stayed away until near the finish with a Toyota-United rider and some others who had bridged up. Joe and Dan got up the road somewhere in the shuffle and I was in the last group still together of about 10 riders.

I finished up 16th, climbing much better than I had in previous seasons (even with poor nutrition/hydration throughout the race) and the best part was that Dan, Joe and Ryan all finished in the top 10. So with a team of 4 in a field of 85, we put 3 riders in the top ten and I was 16th. Not bad, not bad at all.

Now we get ready to leave for the Gila on Monday - driving the Rio Rocket with the RockyMounts trailer in tow (thanks in advance Bobby). Bringing down 9 guys and 17 bikes, should be a good time.

Oh and Corey has to wear 3/4 zip jerseys because the full-zip irritates his stomach-skin, rumor has it…

A cloudy day makes me tired, pretty much 100% of the time. Lately my Bialetti Brikka, otherwise known as the best stovetop espresso maker, hasn’t been running too smoothly. When the H is O (the heat is on), the “safety” valve starts to leak steam and I have to hold it in with various kitchen utensils. Small spoons work the best due to their rigidity, but I have been using flimsy metal spatulas, sharp Henckels paring knives - pretty much anything within arm’s reach when the steam starts spilling out of the happiness machine.

See valve, left side of base - ya, it needs replacement.

Gotta keep that steam in there, otherwise the pressure cap won’t pop and the perfect espresso con crema will not appear. My kitchen untensils have been working fairly well until recently, when trying to brew some espresso, steam started going in all directions out of the valve and I barely got a half-shot out of the poor bugger.

So I kind of feel like a train engineer trying to get the little engine that could up and over the hill. Except the engine that could is blowing steam everywhere and Collin doesn’t feel comfortable staying in the kitchen “Dude, that thing is gonna explode.”

So all in all, I take the little steam engine apart and decide I need a new valve. However, I did manage to get a nice cup ‘o espresso out of her today. Hence, bloggage.

Oh, and the “Stuff white people like” is a random blog I saw while logging in today. There was a post on whether to allow children to drink wine or not to help reduce binging when they get older. A bit disappointing in terms of content, but I read it.

Hey, look at my amazing breakfast –>

Green peppers, bacon, spinach, sauteed mushrooms, eggs and you have a worthy skillet.

And on that note, it’s time to get on my TT bike and get my ride in.  Then it’s over to the remodel to install the venting through the attic for the badass stainless steel hood.

Maybe after the Koppenburg this weekend, a bunch of us can get together and play “Dr. Roboxo.”  It’s like Edward 40-hands, but instead of 40’s, you have a box of wine taped to each your hands. Thank you Ryan Hamity for coining that term, funny stuff.

So the last two weeks have been consumed by the remodel. Over 60 hours this week (before tomorrow) into the house and not nearly enough time on my bike. I guess the serious push to get it finished was good. A bit bummed on the training I’ve missed, but following this big push on the house - I’ll be able to hit it hard on the road - especially if the weather is supposed to be as good as forecasted this coming week.

On a happier note - the house looks amazing. It’s incredible. Thanks to everyone who’s helped out along the way to get it where it is. I wish my mom was in this photo. She was painting, scraping the floor clean, wiping up the counters and picking up new paint samples everyday.

I wasn’t going to move in until later, but after putting hours and hours into the house - and pouring everything into it these last two weeks, I can’t help but want to get in there as soon as I can. So after I recharge the batteries and get my training back on track, I’ll be packing up and heading to 6th Street…

Time of photo: 2am Friday night.  From left to right: Lisa Gibbs, myself, Ryan Hamity, Corey Carlson and Lisa Marie Erickson.  Photo by Mom

These shots are from my classmate Christina - thanks!

Love the title of this one, “Allen The Butcher.”

Chef Marilyn. Marilyn is freakin’ awesome.