World Shoe Association

It’s Friday afternoon. I’m sitting in the Las Vegas airport waiting to board a flight to LA.

Matt Lieto and I arrived Tuesday, which was the first of three sporadic and busy days, tied together only by morning trips to the gym, meals with the K-Swiss marketing staff, and the background noise of slot machines.

I wanted to gamble a bit, but with $10 minimums at the black jack tables the stakes were too high for me (If I don’t know I can win, I don’t like to bet on it). Thursday night while waiting for our dinner companions I put a dollar into a $0.25 machine, and ended up winning $2.75. That’s right, I stuck it to the house!!!

I took my sister’s advice and took my bike up to the red rock park. I have been once before in 2005, but the natural beauty of the place is stunning. The rocks have sharp lines of red, white, and maroon, and the peaks surrounding the red rock valley were dusted with snow. Climbing to the top of the 13 mile park loop I was glad for the incline because it let my eyes wonder from the road and appreciate the scenery. This was one of my best rides of the year; I just wish somebody else had brought a bike to share the experience with me.

Like I said, I’m heading to Los Angeles for the weekend. I was originally going back to Seattle today, but I decided to visit the K-Swiss headquarters in Westlake Village, near Malibu. Tomorrow I’ll be able to ride my bike to Balcon Canyon to watch the tour of California come through. That should be awesome. I’m heading home on Tuesday, just in time for my night class.

Here’s the elevation profile and google map of the ride I did. It was a top three ride for 2008 (once I got out of the developments). Just click on the elevation image to see it full size. Basically, I went up to 4700 feet, then came back down. The way back I averaged over 30 the entire time.

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