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.

Well, needless to say Saturday was supposed to be a several hour ride that turned into a 6 hour ride. It was one of those days on the mountain bike where the weather is great riding is beautiful but luck just doesn’t always go your way. I was reconing a route with a friend and we got out 3+ hours and thought we were on the tail end of our ride when the trail (that the map said connected) suddenly dead ended… This left us with one option, turn back. The day ended up being 6 hours long with nearly 2.5 hours of hike a bike because of terrain(jeep roads tend to be that way). Water ran out at approx. 4 hours and after that you’ve got nothing else to do but grunt through it and get the day over with. What an experience and I learned that St. Mary’s falls is BEAUTIFUL! Check it out.

Yesterday i was back out on the bike again for the first time since RAW. I waited until I was antsy to get back on the bike again and I must say that was a GREAT idea. It was a beautiful day out and I took a nice easy stroll around lunch time. The legs felt great and the rear end has officially recovered from the race. I’ve even lined plans up for a 4 hour MTB ride tomorrow with a good buddy. It will be nice to hit the dirt once more because since i began training for RAW I have not got on the dirt other than taking the road bike over Gold Camp road or riding on the bike path.