With Those Words She Owned Me

I got a Father's Day card in the mail a couple days ago addressed to Mr. Kevin Gilmore from none other than my stepdaughter. We like to keep things formal between us, often referring to one another with the 'step' (as in stepfather or stepdaughter) title. We're weird, we know that. I can also tell you that there isn't a stepdad on the planet who loves his stepdaughter more than I love mine!

Actually, the only time I refer to her as my stepdaughter is when we're joking around. For me, the 'step' part seems to cast a negative connotation on our relationship. I don't like that. If anybody asks, she's my daughter and once you get me started talking about her it can be difficult to get me to stop.

One quick 'Rachel' story. Early on in our relationship before Tammy and I were married, Tammy was putting Rachel to bed and saying her prayers with her. I had a place in their list of people to pray for and when they got to me on this night, Rachel piped up with "I'm glad we got him before somebody else did!" Seriously, how sweet is that?

With those words she owned me.

We finally made it back to Foci on Thursday after having been away for the past several weeks for one reason or another. It was so nice to be back. There's something so relaxing about sitting at the bench while working the glass or standing in front of the furnace taking a heat. I actually did better than I thought I would, successfully getting 3 out of 4 pieces into the annealer. Steve and Craig both stopped by our bench to say hello. It was nice to see them. My dream would be to spend some quality time with either of them and have them take us to the next level but they're mostly blowing out of another studio these days. I'm happy for them but do wish they were still the fixtures at Foci that they once were. Having them leave for another studio is a big loss for Foci in my opinion.

I'd intended to stay off my legs as much as possible on Friday so I'd have fresh legs for a longish ride on Saturday. Those plans didn't work out so well. I spent most of Friday in the yard mowing, trimming shrubs and tending to our gardens. I enjoy that sort of thing but by the time I got off my feet late in the afternoon I knew I'd overdone it and that any grandiose plans I had for a longer than normal ride the next day would have to be shelved. In the back of my mind, I was entertaining thoughts of a loop to Cokato—166 miles the last time I did it.

I got up early Saturday, suited up and began riding toward the northwest, curious to see how my legs would respond and holding out a glimmer of hope that I could do the loop I was hoping to.

It wasn't happening.

Less than 10 miles into my ride I could tell by my power meter that the strength simply wasn't there. I'd have to settle for the Lester Prairie loop instead. No slouch distance but not quite what I'd had my heart set on.

There will be other days.

Have I mentioned that it's been a rainy spring around here?

What you don't see in the video below toward the end where the rain begins is the lightning that was happening all around me. There were a couple times where I nearly got off the road to seek shelter in open barns along the way but by that time I already had over 100 miles in my legs and I was soaked. The last thing I wanted to do an hour from home was to cool down and have to try and get back on the road again. I just wanted to get home!

Still, it was a good day in the saddle...