A late night trip to the bookstore

I've had an unused gift card to Barnes and Noble since last Christmas so Joe, Bryce and I decided to make a quick trip there at 9PM last night. Above were the two books we cam home with...go figure :)

My new car!

After a long and grueling wait, my 2011 Audi A3 finally made it's way to my house late Saturday night!

Trying to find a manual transmission A3 was almost next to impossible and after bargaining with 2 different dealers (one from Texas and one from California), I finally came out with a killer offer and a brand new car!

It's got more bells and whistles than you could ever imagine and it's the nicest thing I have ever owned by far! Bryce put a coat of wax on it so it's pretty and shiny! Now it just needs dark tinted windows and some bike racks! Cross your fingers for no speeding tickets...I've never driven a turbo engine before and I can only imagine it's going to be just a little quick :)

Interbike 2010

Interbike is the biggest bike industry expo in North America and many of my Sponsors are there with some pretty cool booth setups. Since 2007, my picture from the Steelhead 70.3 has been on the Headsweats booth.

Every year at the Winter and Summer Outdoor Retailer and Interbike conventions, people who know me take a picture and send it to me.

This year, I think Tom Torrance went a little too far! Hehe. Thanks for the good laugh T!

The HOA Madness Continues

On our way out to Nebraska on Saturday we notice that our gas meter was all banged up and looked as though the lawn crew had run right into it with one of their mowers. As Bryce took a look and stuck his head closer and smelled gas. Instead of calling the wrong people (as we always seem to do), we emailed the property manager and HOA president to find out exactly who to call.

Without any contact, the president came by and immediately called 911. Several fire engines, ambulances and police cars showed up at the house. Since we were already in Nebraska and Joe was the only one there, he had to deal with the situation. I then chatted with the president who was incredibly disturbed that I hadn't called 911. He thought I was putting the entire neighborhood in danger and it could have ended up in a massive explosion like the California incident a few weeks ago. For real?!? We were actually at dinner with one of Boulder's firefighters and he said that the line that exploded in CA was 3 meters in diameter and this was only 3 inches and because it was outside and not in the house, calling Xcel would have been absolutely sufficient. Whatever...

After the fire department turned the gas line off, the gas company (Xcel) came by to fix the meter and let us know that whatever caused the accident also created a gas leak under the deck and we needed to have a plumber repair it, have the city of Boulder test it then Xcel would turn the gas back on! Luckily the only thing our entire house uses gas for is the basement fireplace - which obviously in not in use right now.

After informing the HOA committee of the entire issue and letting them know that it must have been our lawn care service (as we don't regularly go running into our own house), they contacted them and took care of all the costs.

Back to Nebraska

After a slow start Saturday morning, we finally got in the van and drove to Sidney, Nebraska. It was only a 3hr drive so nothing too extreme. However, when we arrived, it was 48 degrees and FREEZING! We jumped on our dirt bikes and did a few laps on the moto track then mingled with some friends and got Bryce signed up for the race. Then we went to Cabela's!

Since their headquarters is located in Sidney, they have a HUGE store with just about everything in it.

From aquariums to giant stuffed 'real' animal outdoor scenes, they have it all. Of course we couldn't help ourselves so we ran around like 5 year olds and caused quite a scene. After that, we had a lovely dinner with a bunch of people at Perkins then hit the Motel 6 for a few zzzzzz's. Oh Nebraska!

Sunday morning came quickly and although it was supposed to be 91*, it was still in the 40s at 7am. Our good friend Scott Bright was putting on the race and desperately needed volunteers so I decided to help out since I couldn't race. I ended up being the start/flag girl and had to scream 30 seconds, 10 seconds, GO (while waving the flag) for 45 rows and 5 tests...that's a total of 225 times! Let's just say I don't have a voice today and my right arm is sore!

It was a VERY dusty day in Sidney and the terrain was super fast and wide open. This isn't exactly Bryce's cup of tea, but with the power of his new 450, he didn't come out too shabby! Good job B :)

A true hero

Michael Stone is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and his story about losing his vision is one you must hear. I could go on and on about all of the incredible things he has done and has planned, but I'd rather you visit his website below and read his new book Eye Envy.

Stepping Stone Sports

Michael has not only been a great mentor, friend and father-like figure to me but a huge inspiration. He has recently changed his athletic focus from Ironman to my true passion of XTERRA. He competes with a guide and has been absolutely kicking butt. He will be competing at the USA Champs in Ogden next weekend and again in Maui for the World Champs in late October. Wish him luck and feel free to contact him through his website if you have any questions :) I love you Michael!

I feel like a true Boulderite...

...for the next couple days at least! My CX bike with flat pedals will be my new commuter and my backpack with a yoga mat strapped on it will be the new travel companion.

As of last night, I have officially parted with my sexy black Subaru. Why? I honestly have no valid reason. The current trend seems to be that whenever I'm unable to train full time I go on purchasing binges...houses, clothes, food...this time it's cars. Stay tuned to see what I have coming up from Texas later this week to replace the old ride :)

Mmmm....pesto

Joe found some fresh basil at a produce stand on his way home from work on Friday and made some delicious homemade pesto. Other than that, there really wasn't too much excitement going on at the Casa Kummer/Bingham/Tingle/Rizzo/Sapperstein. I had a work meeting all day Saturday and we lounged around most of the day today except a photo shoot I did in the evening. I'll have some pics from that later this week!

Fun times at the MX track

Monday morning we headed to the motocross track in Berthoud. I was able to do a few laps at a time, but was super exhausted afterward. It was an absolute blast!

We brought along our new roommate Joe. He rode dirt bikes when he was 13 but hasn't since. After a few good spills (on my bike), he was up and going strong. We actually had a really hard time getting him off the track to go home! I'm thinking he's probably hooked :)

Our friend Clay also came out to join with his new 2011 KTM 15o. He was kind enough to let a couple of us test it out. Bryce was ripping on it and I was scared shitless. I had never ridden a 2 stroke bike and holy crap are those things zippy. No engine braking = Erin eating shit...so as much fun as it was going really fast, I think I'll stick to the 4 strokes!

It was a great way to spend Labor Day but it was quite frightening getting the text message to look west and see the fires starting in the mountains. We were directly east of the foothills and could see the billowing smoke clouds forming right over our house. Keep staying tuned with The Daily Camera for more info.

Boulder is on fire...again

This is the biggest and worst fire that Boulder has seen in over 50 years. It has already burned over 7200 acres and as of last night destroyed 92 structures...and it's still going.

The flames and most of the damage is a few miles west of us in the mountains but the city is filled with smoke and ash. Check out the link below for updates on the situation.

http://www.dailycamera.com/

The bathroom is functioning!!!

After a long couple of days, the basement bath is finally fully functioning. It's definitely not 100% done, but it's ready for use and looks soooo much better! How about that pretty slate floor?!?!

This was the vanity area before.

This is after!

Shower on giant pedastal before...

Shower that took a million hours to tile/install door/grout and caulk! Tada :)

A trip to the dentist

Since I've lived in Michigan, I've always gone to my favorite dentists in the world. Dr. Doolin and Haddad are both avid athletes and have always treated me so well. Unfortunately I don't go back to MI twice a year anymore and I'm a huge stickler when it comes to teeth being clean so I opted to find a new dentist here in Boulder.

After a great referral from Dr. Doolin, I chose to see Dr. Birnbach from Boulder Smiles. Great dentist and couldn't have been happier with my decision. Their offices are right along the creek and their staff is wonderful. The best part is that I referred Bryce to them at my appointment and when I came home later that afternoon, I had a giant bouquet of flowers on my kitchen table as a thanks for bringing Bryce on board. I'm thinking they might like me! Now I just need to get the rest of the house over there :)