So I was clearing out my inbox today in my gmail account which I don’t think I have done in, well ever, and I came across several old pictures of Kiya when she was a puppy. I completely forgot how big her feet were compared to her body but boy was she CUTE! So I got the idea of sending Janelle a quick e-mail and see what kind of response I got. I attached the photo and all the e-mail said was…”Wasn’t she cute?!?! You want another?! :)” I would love to have another dog but at this point Kiya is about all Janelle can handle and or stand with the added stress of Katelyn so I sent it more as a joke than anything. Little did I know that she would one up me.

About an hour later I get an e-mail in my in my inbox and this is what is says…”Isn’t She cute?!?! It’s all your getting for now…:)” I’ve gotta give her credit, she is right and she definitely surprised me with that answer. This little kid is adorable and has a receding hairline of a 60year old man… Who ever thought that would be cute on a girl! 🙂

Well, Katelyn is sleeping well (4hrs at a time) and growing like a weed, Janelle is in a routine and has 2 wks before she has to return to work (don’t remind her), and things have begun to return to a bit of normalcy (if that will be possible ever again), and today I got a great ride in with some BEAUTIFUL weather! The past several weeks it has been a very strange shift in how I have felt on the bike. The legs have either been hot or cold and it takes about 30-45min to figure out which it is going to be. Today thankfully was one of those hot days! I did 1hr 20 min and had almost 3200ft of vertical in the ride. I even did a climb that I have not done in 2 years. Old Stage road is a short local steep climb that ends up turning into gravel about a mile up. I have not done it in years because I am not much of a fan of it, but today’s goal was to do as much climbing in as short of an amount of time as possible, plus I needed a pretty picture! 🙂 So near the end of my ride I decided to give it a whirl. It was just as I remembered but it was well worth it and in the end was a great day in the saddle!

Well, the title says it all. It has now been 3 days without riding and we head back to KS tomorrow, which is looking like another 4-5 days without riding. I need to work on tracking down a bike otherwise I will not be fun to be around. It is crazy what kind of power endorphins have on your body but boy do I enjoy my bike, the fresh air and being outside. I can not stand being cooped up but things are simply too busy right now. Enough of my rant.

I have to say “thank you” to SIDI America, the distributor of SIDI cycling shoes. Over the past year I have noticed that my SIDI Ergo 2s had some of the material on them become yellowed. On any other color shoe it wouldn’t have been that noticeable but on a pair of all white shoes a little bit of yellowing on a part stands out like a sore thumb. So, I contacted Nicole, this very sweet gal at SIDI America, and she told me to send my shoes in to be evaluated for a warranty. Thankfully they were willing to send me a pair of shoes that will get me by for the time being. They are not the prettiest looking things and certainly aren’t as comfortable as my Ergo 2s have been but that is to be expected when you go from one end of the price spectrum to the next. In the mean time this means the bird legs still get to roam! Here we are at the top of Cheyenne Canyon actually in the loaner shoes just this afternoon. It was a great ride and I was able to just dodge the lightning/rain storms that came up as I was out. Thanks again SIDI America and please send my shoes back as soon as possible, I miss them already!

Yesterday I spent the day in Leadville with an athlete. We rode the first 20ish miles and last 20ish miles of the course (basically an out and back). It was a beatiful day in the 70’s and it was great to be back on the bike. 4 hours of saddle time felt amazing and the climbing made my legs feel a bit on the heavy side today but it was well worth it! Leadville and Turquoise lake is a very pretty area and the spot in the valley just behind this photo is actually a place I have always wanted to hike into and camp some time. Maybe next year when Katelyn is a bit older!

Cruisin on Highway 24 on my way towards Falcon. I have become fairly familiar with this road since Kate was born. Four out of four rides have been done on atleast a part of this road and I actually enjoy it more than I thought I would!

Brady Irwin

The bird legs are out today but by no means were they in full force. It has been nearly a week since I had been on the bike and the first 20min were rough at best… Hopefully tomorrow the snap will be back and my ride will feel better! —

Brady Irwin

The birdlegs trying to outrun a storm on Eastonville Rd. 1st solo ride since Katelyn was born and boy does it feel GREAT!

Well it has been almost a week since Katelyn”s birth and I was able to get out on the bike for a quick hour. It was a ride through Garden of the Gods and other than fearing for my life because of tourist stupidity it was a great ride!

Katelyn Reese Irwin joined us on July 2nd at 11:06am. After a long night of contractions and being sent home from the hospital at 3:00am because Janelle was not dialated enough we came back home for another 3+ hours. At 6:30am Janelle looked at me after several hours of back labor and said “We are going back.” We arrived at 6:50am and were immediately admitted and very shortly after we were holding our little bundle of joy in our hands. Janelle and Katelyn were both released from the hospital the following day healthy and ready to start a new journey and adventure as a family.