I went on a bike ride this morning and last night. 20 miles, combined. Some of you may say "WOW! Kohout's a stud! 20 miles on a bike! Wow!". Well, in about 3 weeks I'm doing RAGBRAI-the (Des Moines) Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa....it's 60-80 miles of riding, 7 days straight. I did it last year and while it was one of the best things I ever did(it was so empowering....if you can ride your bike across a state, you think you can do anything) it almost killed me. And last year, I did far more training. By the time I left last year, I had rode about 450 miles. This year, I've only rode about 200 miles.

I don't think my ride is entirely hopeless, as I think I'm a much smarter rider. Last year, I rode as hard as I could, as fast as I could, and I was really hurting by the third day. This year I'll ride at a much easier pace.

Oh, I decided to get my mother a really nice picture frame (eventually) to be used for a family photo. I can't remember us having a portrait since I was 7 or 8, so she should enjoy it. At some point, I'll go to Dayton's or somewhere and pick one out. Or I could go to my uncle who does interior decorating and maybe he could hook me up with a deal.

see you later campers.