Kyle picked up his first division at the beginning of December for the start of his back half push. He was excited to go back. I was less so. Long hours and eight weeks straight of working every day can’t be fun. The sacrifices he’s made for us, for his command, and for our country should not go unnoticed. For him, I am always thankful.
This was our first Christmas apart since his first deployment in 2011. Leaving him late on Christmas Eve wasn’t an easy decision but I got to surprise my nephews, waking them up for Christmas morning. Jax jumped into my arms, and melted my heart. Holidays are so much better with children, and their pure excitement.
Velosmith closes up for two weeks over the holiday to recharge and reset for the new year. I picked up a bike case {Post Carry Co. – highly recommended} so I could bring Miss Vivian along and sneak in some early season base miles. And I took full advantage, soaking up all the vitamin D I could find over the last two weeks.
I also found some pretty great desert gravel in the Phoenix area. The people of Arizona descend upon the west coast each summer to escape the desert heat. They can’t drive and have no idea where they are going; commonly referred to as ‘Zonies. I too had no idea where I was going; just in search of The Urban Zonie Gravel. Driving Miss Vivian on some single track mtb trails, and maybe some illegal dried up river bed exploration, I had found it!
I was able to get out for a ride three of the four days while in Phoenix. And while I didn’t quite finish the Festive 500, I knew my body needed to ease into this vacation, with many more training days ahead in San Diego. And it was nice to spend time with the fam.
110 miles, 8 hours, 3700ft elevation gain
And with that, I was off to to the land of the whale’s vagina. The former home of the Super Chargers. America’s Finest City. And a place I hold dearly in my heart. San Diego.
Great update! Enjoy SD.