God, The Aunt Eater

So lets see, Summerhaven is pretty cool...
72 miles, 7,914 ft climbed, over nearly 5 hours of riding.

Wow, Thats High!

There was a fire awhile back (10 years or so) which sucks, but it made some really awesome views possible.

A pretty classic Lemmon View.

It was a good ride. Originally starting off with a good bunch of people, Shelby, Rico, and Rafael (all from Performance) were there. But, also in attendance were some people from the UofA cycling club. Well, unfortunately Shelby drop out pretty early, Rico and Raf had to get to work by 9, and I still had a good deal of pedal power left over. So I tried to keep up. It didn't work out for long. I kept it up though and eventually made it to the Cookie Cottage! it was pretty neat place with a bunch of cyclists just chilling.

The 'halfway' point

When I eventually began to think about all the other stuff I had to do that day (such as sell Brian the Roomie's storage unit for him) I decided it was time to turn on the metaphorical hair dryer and speed off with hot air blowing in my face. Well, it was then I happened to notice the slight bulge. In my rush to deflate it, I neglected to take the invaluable photo. Instead you are left with this hard to see cut in the side wall.
Luckily some kind people happened to have a floor pump. I pulled out my granola bar wrapper and patched it back up in no time! Now I simply have to hope that its still holding... or I just need to go skidd a bunch (I just hope I wont be as pissed as Gordon-Levitt was!) until it explodes and then i'll have no choice but to replace it!

And less recently. It rained awhile back!

Eventually I did dare. My foot did get a tad wet but I survived. It was good fun.

 And then last Tuesday (awhile back) Rico, Burt and Liz and I biked Gates Pass:

Cool clouds, no rain.

At least not on us anyhow.

Ricardo taking the lead against a great back drop!

And then there was this! Darlene and I got to enjoy it on a nice ride back to my place.

But, despite all these great pictures, despite some awesome rides, meeting some new people and fun planning for Brazil, despite all of the greatness of life, I'm just glad there's at least stuff like this keep things interesting!

Yep. Its a car. Stay tuned for more details...

Not any car, my dear reader, this car is... well. I dont even know what to say!

Come up with the wittiest caption for this picture and you'll win!!!

Tyler Groff - AmeriCorps Recruiter

Dear friends, family, and most importantly, regular readers;
I'm sorry I haven't kept everyone up to date on my latest and greatest adventures and activities. The truth is my adventures have simply been too late and too great to actually share.
And so I'll just give you all a very quick update on the life and times of the one and only, Tyler K Groff.
Just yesterday, I officially and technically committed to living at the YAV (Young Adult Volunteers) house. To be clear, I will simply be a community member and just rent a room in the house. I'm not actually doing the YAV program. I'm excited to be living with people again!

Speaking of programs... the Bizanteen Bikes program is actively seeking AmeriCorps members for this coming year. At first glace Bizanteen is all about teaching youth how to do bike maintenance, refurbishing bikes, and selling said bikes. However, on the day to day level its more about interacting with youth who are going through some tough times. Over the past week I've dealt with someone who suddenly found out that they were going to be homeless that night. I've helped someone else find ways to get extra community service hours. In general my job has become so much more than just teaching someone how to make their wheels straight.
Furthermore, and rather importantly, we are in desperate need of additional volunteers. AmeriCorps' got a pretty cool thing going on. The term runs for a full year (although it is potentially possible shorten the term to your own needs), and is a half time position (900 hours). There is a $5,700 living allowance dispersed every two weeks, and a $2,362.50 educational reward granted at the completion of the 900 hours.
And so, if you know of someone looking to get involved in a cool program, someone who wants to be a good influence on teens, or wants to learn and teach bike stuff, let me know!
This next week we're hoping to get a more specific and solid job description nailed down. I'll be back on the recruitment campaign again when that happens, until then, spread the word!
Thanks.