A little furniture switcharoo 1/27/2012

Our very dearest Laura Tingle is growing up and moving into her very own place so we had to part ways with her big comfy couch :( It's been a wonderful part of the 3166 household for the past 2 years but I'm sure it will be just as happy in it's new home! Since we are leaving for Phoenix this morning, we needed to find something quickly so this is what we got.


 The space on the far wall inhibited us from going with IKEA because they didn't have anything small enough, however, we were able to stick with our life colored theme of red, black and grey so everything worked out okay!

Someday I'll learn how to take better photos and use the appropriate lighting...until then, you're all stuck with crappy iPhone snapshots and crystal clear website images!

---

New gear for a new season! 1/25/2012

I was super fortunate to be connected with a very special rep in the Denver area and was treated to a couple of sweet deals! I've always LOVED the women's Troy Lee Designs moto apparel because of it's fit so that is what I'll be sporting during the 2012 Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit season :)


When I went to pick my gear, I was welcomed with an opportunity to pick up some new goggles at a pretty smokin' good deal as well! On our way down, I was telling Bryce how I needed another set of goggles and tearaways so the timing couldn't have been any better. Now Bryce and I have the same model goggles/lenses/tearaways so things don't get mixed up. He just has to wear the pink ones!


New for 2012, I'm going to try out the Leatt chest protector that is supposed to fit perfectly with my neck brace and hydration pack. I'm really excited about this as all the past configurations I've tried have been very awkward and uncomfortable.


As much as I despise wearing elbow pads, I simply cannot take the risk not wearing them with the amount of crashing I tend to do. The current ones I have are not only bulky and annoying, they also irritate my skin when I sweat making it even more unbearable. I'm hoping these new TLD youth sleeves with elbow protection will be the ticket to comfy protection!

I'm looking forward to testing it all out this weekend at the 2 day enduro in Phoenix. Stay tuned for updates :)

---

Something to make a cyclist laugh! 1/23/2012

Big thanks to good friend Allen Krughoff at Hardcastle Photography for putting this together! It's priceless...

---

If this doesn't get you excited for CX, not sure what will! 1/20/2012

5ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

---

6 years ago... 1/18/2012

...I was welcomed onto the most prestigious team in the world of triathlon. Today, I am still honored to be a part of this incredible family and cannot imagine my world without the Timex Multisport Team.


Throughout the years, we have had many different sponsors and supporters. Each of them has brought something different to the table and has allowed all of us to try something new and exciting from year to year. We normally run our major sponsors for 2 concurrent years and 2012 was a year to re-sign or find something else. After lots of great chats, our team manager did what was best for the overall group and brought on some new and exciting brands!


The first major change was our bike sponsor! Partnering with American Bicycle Group would mean that the triathletes would the flying on the new and improved Quintana Roos and the roadie's and off-roadie's would be smashing it on Litespeeds. I'm very excited about this as I've never ridden a Litespeed and our contacts at ABG are extremely eager to work directly with the athletes. From mountain bikes to road bikes to cyclocross bikes, look for some great product review posts throughout the season on my new hardware :)

The second major sponsor change for 2012 was our clothing provider. Champion System offers a variety of custom clothing for all types of athletes. With a strong cycling and triathlon background, it was a no brainer that CS would be a great fit for the team. If you haven't jumped on Facebook and seen the sneak peek pics of our new kits, I'd highly suggest it...we're gonna be one sharp looking team this season!


New all around for the Timex Multisport Team in 2012 is a bicycle tire sponsor. Challenge is an extremely well known brand in the cycling world and has a reputation for having some of the best tubulars (sewups) on the market. Not only do they have a sweet selection of cyclocross tires, they are also one of the only company's to produce a tubular mountain bike tire. This will definitely be a first for me but I'm really excited to give it a go!

---

RMEC Ladies Champion! 1/16/2012

After a busy 2 days in Winter Park, I headed home early Saturday to pack up the van and head to Denver with Bryce. The annual Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit banquet was at Red and Jerry's and we needed to be there extra early to help set up and get everyone checked in. As always, it was a blast to see everyone we race with throughout the year and fun to start planning for the upcoming season.


Not only did I come home with a ridiculously massive trophy for winning the Ladies series, the RMEC gave all the class winners a killer enduro jacket with our names and classes embroidered in it. Freaking awesome! After a late night of chatting and cleaning, we drove down to Colorado Springs afterward to stay at our friend Ron's place so we could go ride dirt bikes with him on Sunday.


It was a bit chilly Sunday morning and my new jacket was quickly put to use. We had a huge group out riding in Pueblo which was super fun. I'm still a bit rusty and run out of breath doing hard efforts but I couldn't be happier to be back riding and having fun with everyone. We head down to Phoenix in 2 weeks so let the practice begin :)

---

Oh, I love Winter Park! 1/13/2012

I was informed that my Timex Team manager was going to be up in Winter Park for a few days so I decided to drive up Thursday night to do a bit of skate skiing and hang out with him and his lovely lady. For the first time in a few weeks, WP and the surrounding areas got a bit of snow, so Shelby and I headed out for an easy ski. My goal was to try and ski as easy as I could while stopping as few times as possible. I skied for a total of 75min with a few short shops here and there but holy cow was I fried afterward. Nordic skiing at 9000ft when unfit might just possibly be the most difficult activity I have every attempted! Nonetheless, it was a blast and I seriously cannot be happier to be back at it.



On our way out to Snow Mountain Ranch to go skiing, we ran into our neighbor who had purchased a whole cord of firewood. We ended up splitting the cord with him and gave the drivers a few extra bucks to throw it on my back deck. We had to re-stack the pile and cover it with a tarp but it was $55 well spent. Maybe we should start using the wood burning fire place in our place in Boulder too!


We planned dinner at my condo for Friday evening with my manager but the ultimate plan was to ski in the morning then for me to work in the afternoon. However, that idea got cut short when I realized that I forgot to bring up my computer charger and my laptop went dead around 3pm. Even though a nap sounded good, I decided to put together the 4 new barstools we ordered. They weren't from IKEA so they were a pain in the butt to put together but dang are they awesome. Absolutely perfect fit!


Before dinner, I also put a few more finishing touches on the walls by framing and hanging the Fraser Valley Trail Map and Trestle Bike Map. As always, Shelby made us a fantastic dinner and dessert and good times were had by all. It was great to see Tristan for the first time in many months and I cannot wait to get the 2012 season rocking and rolling. Team camp is only a month away, wooohooo!!!!

---

Our first HOA meeting 1/11/2012

Last night Bryce and I attended our first HOA meeting since we moved into our place in Boulder. Enough said.

---

Bryce's 2012 Ride 1/9/2012

After giving it much thought, Bryce decided to get a 2012 Trek Superfly 100 as his mountain bike race machine this year. He had the hardtail version last year but didn't really love it so he was torn whether or not to go back to 26 inch wheels. Everyone talked him out of it so he opted for the 29er dual suspension instead. Since he will be racing for the Boulder Trek Store this year, he got hooked up with a smoking deal and is ready to rip it up on the Winter Park circuit! Watch out expert men :)

---

Team Timex 2011 Recap 1/6/2012

---

My 2012 Goals Are Set! 1/4/2012

After an extremely rough couple of years, I have a lot of really exciting things to look forward to in 2012! My number one goal for the entire season is the stay healthy and major injury free for 12 consecutive months. Although that might seem easy on paper, I haven't even come close since December 2008.

I'll spare you the details, but I had a phenomenal chat with coach Neal Henderson this afternoon and we have a concrete plan that should have be rockin' and rollin' for cyclocross season this upcoming fall. For the first quarter, I'll just build back into shape on my own doing minimal exercise and strength training - it will be treated like any normal off season. In the second quarter I will buckle down and become more structured with specific power work and higher intensity training. By the third quarter, I will be racing the Winter Park MTB series that will help build my base and lung capacity. And fourth quarter will be my peaking season to kick ass and take names in Cyclocross. Of course I will be racing the entire RMEC off-road moto series and misc road and MTB races, but those will all be for fun and practice as CX is the number one focus this year.

Here's to an awesome 2012!

---

New Years Fun! 1/2/2012

Unfortunately when we woke up the morning of New Year's Eve, the wind was howling in Winter Park. We weren't able to go for our planned hike but we did manage to jump on the bicycles back in Boulder to show Russ and Katie around. After doing a bit of primping, we headed down to Pearl Street to meet up with all our good friends to have a classy dinner at Antica Roma.


 After a delicious meal, we walked down to the Rio where we met up with the other half of Boulder :) Between margaritas, Coronas, Red Bull, wine, etc, everyone was having a good time!


 It was a great night with lots of good laughs and a great way to bring in the New Year.


 After a somewhat slow start and pancake breakfast, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and work off the previous night's toxins.


We hiked up Mount Sanitas then had a great lunch on Pearl Street. Russell and Katie were scheduled to leave Sunday evening so we shuttled them to the airport and made plans for our next adventure together this summer. Russell has a busy race schedule, as do we, but we're hoping a mountain bike trip to British Columbia is in the near future!

---

Good times with good friends! 12/31/2011

I know I've been a bit MIA this week but it's for a good reason! After my family left on Tuesday, we had our good friend Russell Bobbitt and his lovely girlfriend Katie fly in from Georgia on Wednesday afternoon. We started their trip out with a fun dinner to catch up then we sent them up to Winter Park Thursday morning so they could get their snowboard on. It was Katie's first time on a snowboard and when we met up with them later that evening, she had already gone through a half bottle of Advil :)


After a relaxing morning, we decided to meet up with the Boulder crew to get our skate skiing on at Snow Mountain Ranch. Russ and Katie have never been before but they picked it up like champs.

---

Christmas 2011 12/26/2011

Since we just finished setting up the condo in Winter Park, we decided to celebrate the holiday season with our families at the new place :) We had a Bingham-Kummer gathering on Christmas Eve that included hikes, laughs, chats and lots of good eats!


Christmas Day was filled with more delicious foods, another great hike, lots of relaxation and fun times with our good friend Shelby!

---

Hooray for Christmas Time! 12/22/2011

---

And the final touches have been made! 12/19/2011

---

A Rough Week! 12/17/2011

December and January are some of the busiest months of the year for my accounting business and this year has been the busiest yet! On my list of nightmares, there is one thing that rates worse than my computer crashing this time of year. Luckily I didn't have any stomach related issues, however, my number two on the list came to haunt me. After my computer got attacked by a virus early Wed morning, it immediately went dark and my heart completely sunk. I ran into FRG where the IT guys worked as quickly as possible to extract all my data off the hard drive. Ironically, they had ordered a new computer for me and it was almost ready to go until I flew through the doors and begged them to expedite the process. Mark and Mike worked their magic for several hours and by noon I was finally able to be semi productive! I'm still slowly adding programs and files but I am now 100% functional and cranking away.


After an incredibly long day of catching up due to my computer issues on Thursday, I met Bryce at the Trek Store for the 2012 Team meet and greet. Bryce is riding for a bike team for the first time in many years and he's really excited about it. After catching up with some good friends, we hit up the second party of the evening at Courtney and Tito's. This was a cookie party where everyone was supposed to bake a batch of cookies and bring them to share. Not gonna lie...I substituted about 14 cookies for dinner and dessert that night!

The cookie party was going great until we all began to take off. Apparently a new parking policy had been instilled and almost everyone got a boot on their car for not having a parking permit. Great day for Bryce and to both drive to a party, huh?!? I was surprisingly calm considering the all the other madness going on in my life, however, the sticker stated that we couldn't get the boots off until 7am at earliest the next morning. Thankfully, Allen and Jenny gave us a lift home and we would figure things out in the morning. To make a long story short, I tried calling the number on the sticker to meet someone at the cars for over 2 hours and no one answered. I called the Police, I called the apartment leasing office and 5hrs/$150 later, I was able to get both cars un-booted.

Friday followed the same trend with a familiar busy day at work, followed by a holiday party.  Friday's evening party was Bryce's work Christmas party held in Westminster.  I worked late, and we arrived to the party a little bit late.  We planned on making it to our friend Allen's annual Christmas party later in the evening, but unfortunately ran completely out of time and energy.  We've really been burning it at both ends and are looking forward to a having a few days to relax over the holidays!

---

Top 3 Holiday Gift Guide 12/12/2011

There's no doubt that holiday shopping is a difficult task! How do you find the perfect gift for someone who already has everything? Who wants to battle the insane crowds anyway? Personally, I absolutely despise shopping malls but I do like to find that "perfect" gift for my friends and family. Below are my top three holiday gift ideas for the endurance athlete that may seem impossible to buy for!


Nordic Ski Package - In all honesty, as much as we try, type A personalities just simply cannot rest during the winter. Our lives wouldn't go forward without some sort of daily exercise, even if it's running in below zero temps or getting on the bike trainer and suffering for hours. Although this gift is a higher price point item, it's definitely an investment. Whether skating, touring or classic skiing, any form of nordic skiing is a great way to cross train for endurance sports in the winter time. It's new and exciting so you don't get burned out, it's outside, and it's a killer workout! Packages start as low as $250 new but going to your local ski swap is perfect way to find inexpensive used gear that is perfect for starting up. Check out this link for new Nordic Ski Packages - http://www.skiessentials.com/browse.cfm/complete-packages/2,333.html


Timex 80 Watch - In case you haven't noticed, the 80s have been creeping back into style :) Personally, I'm not that into clothing but I absolutely have to have matching hats and watches. The Timex 80 watch is a fun gift that is assured to get tons of compliments and within a great price point. Check out the full line at www.timex80.com


DVD of Choice - This item is not only the best bang for your buck, but totally customizable for any type of athlete. Whether you're rocking out on the bike trainer, smashing it on the treadmill or just enjoying some hot cocoa on the couch on a cold winter night, an entertaining sports flick/documentary is where it's at. Since I'm a big mountain biker, I like to shop at www.mtbmovies.com - they have a variety of videos that suppress that itch to go out and shred the trails. In our house, we call watching biking/moto/ski videos "e-riding". There's nothing like a rad video to you get you motivated and excited for the sports you love. I have to admit that opening new bike videos on Christmas morning is certainly the highlight of the day!!!

---

NEW SNOW TIRES!!!! 12/9/2011

I'm happy to announce that I have officially done the correct thing this year and purchased specific wheels and tires that fit my vehicle (at retail) for my winter setup. For those of you that know what happened last season, I will NEVER make that mistake again :) 


Since I wasn't trying to fit tires that were in my garage to a set of cheap aftermarket rims, I had lots of options. I decided to go with the burliest and best snow tire they had with studs. Go big or go home, right?!? Kummer family - there will be no issues going up to the mountains this holiday season, I promise!!!!

---

I'm starting to feel old! 12/7/2011

Okay, not really...however, I have recently been meeting with a financial advisor so I can begin to understand the road to retirement. I've always been a good saver but since I'm actually starting to grow up a bit (obviously only in age), I think that planning for the future is probably becoming more of a necessity :) I honestly wouldn't have gone out seeking any advice on the topic myself, but I had a great opportunity to meet a very intelligent young man who offered to get me going. After a few meetings, I am already feeling confident in my current plan and hope to be able to continue at the same rate, if not better. If you're in the market for a personal, smart and good looking financial advisor, Eric Hoelter is the man for you!

---

A relaxing weekend! 12/5/2011

Since the first weekend in November, this was the first weekend we were not up at the condo in WP fixing it up and getting it ready to rent! Instead, we did a lot of relaxing, a little shopping and a bit of walking. Although I did find out that I am no longer testing positive for Epstein Barr on Thursday, we got a bunch of snow this past week so going on any sort of bicycle ride was out of the question. Instead, we did a few snow walks all bundled up which was just as much fun. We also did some present wrapping and tree decorating. Above is one of our new 2011 ornaments. We decided that we would buy 2 new ornaments each year for the tree that were meaningful instead of a bunch of generic stuff. I couldn't resist...it looks sooooo real!

---

My boyfriend is a moron! 12/2/2011

After I fell asleep at 7:30pm Wednesday night, Bryce went to Target to get a new shaver and started going to town. After several different options, he finally settled for the creeper stash.


I absolutely despise mustaches and this is what I woke up to this morning. Gross. I still can't believe he actually went into work like this either...at least he's not driving the van :)

---

Looks like we're getting a new van... 11/30/2011

---

Some good and some not so good! 11/28/2011

After a really great time with Doug and a couple of relaxing days in Boulder, Bryce and I headed up to the Winter Park condo to put the finishing touches on the property! The first thing that we always do when we get there is start a fire in the wood burning fireplace...luckily we have A LOT of cardboard to burn after unpacking all the new furniture.

The trip started out really great with an easy drive in the sunshine with little traffic. We were able to get the chandelier up and the granite cut without too many issues and then hung up some fun artwork in the bathrooms and bedrooms!



 

After we get a new picture frame, hang a few more pieces of art and fix the range, we will officially be 100% finished with the remodel. All the kitchen drawers have been fully furnished with every cooking gadget you could think of and the place feels just like home! Now all we need is a renter for the winter and we'll be all set :) You can find more pics here https://picasaweb.google.com/Golfchick84/WPForRent.

---

More Holiday Fun! 11/25/2011

Well, I made my first attempt at going uphill on my MTB and it wasn't a failure. It was pretty either, but I made it and good times were had by all :)  After running a few errands on Friday morning, Doug and Bryce convinced me to head up to Betasso on the mountain bikes for an easy spin. It was absolutely perfect and a great ''first ride'' back!
 

My general rule of thumb is that the Christmas tree cannot go up before Thanksgiving so Friday evening was the perfect time. We had just devoured a great lunch at Moe's and Shelby had come over to hang so we put on some good tunes and got in the holiday spirit.

---

A Very Relaxing Turkey Day! 11/25/2011

My favorite mechanic in the world, Doug Berner, surprised me on Tuesday evening by telling me that he was on his way to Colorado after working at Ironman Arizona! After he got into Boulder Wednesday afternoon, we went out to the Valmont Bike Park to play around. This was my first time on a bicycle in over 5 weeks and it was Doug's first experience at Boulder's newest $4.2 million bike park! After our short ride, we headed home to meet up with Bryce and hit the infamous Rio Grande restaurant for dinner!


Doug's most favorite thing to do while traveling on the road is to hit up all the mountain bike trails he can find! Since I am most definitely not ready for any kind of mountain biking, Bryce took him out to Heil and Picture Rock where they connected via the ''Wild Turkey'' trail...how ironic for a Thanksgiving Day ride :) Shelby and myself headed out for an easy spin on the CX bikes while the boys did their thing then we all had a delicious dinner of potatoes with BBQ chicken and yummy pastries from Alfa Alfa's for dessert! Not the typical turkey and stuffing meal most people were having but the combination of the simple food and a good movie was perfect for a relaxing Thanksgiving night!

---

Health Update 11/22/2011

I know I've been busy posting photos and updates about the condo but I've been pretty quiet about how I've been feeling. I had several rough patches during the first few weeks as my body really struggles with the high dosage of medication, but I've almost hit 6 weeks of resting and I'm starting to finally feel a bit better. I'm not getting the head rushes and dizzy spells I was before but I'm still falling asleep on the couch around 8pm and waking up around 6am each morning. It's supposed to be REALLY gorgeous this week so I think I might try to get out and go spin around outside very easy with some friends to enjoy the nice weather! I have another blood test next week to see where the Epstein Barr Virus stands in the body but I'm definitely heading in the right direction which puts a huge smile on my face :)

---

Soooo close! 11/20/2011

Although the plumber was there for over 2.5hrs and our stupid home warranty wouldn't cover the claim, we now have hot water and that is truly all we care about. On the appliance side of things you might have noticed the nice gap in the counter top on the first photo...well that is because our range is less than 1cm too wide and will not slide in! We were not prepared for this so we will bring the proper tools to cut the granite tiles next weekend. I keep forgetting that everything that is supposed to take 2 minutes usually takes 2 hours and that was true for the dishwasher and refrigerator as well. We still need to hook the dishwasher up because we were missing a piece and the fridge came with the hinges on the wrong side so those needed a lengthy fix as well!


As Bryce worked on the technical pieces in the kitchen, I was busy building more IKEA furniture. This queen sleeper is NOT lightweight but it was actually pretty simple to put together.


The bunk beds in the guest room, however, were NOT simple to put together :) This piece of furniture was by far the most complicated of all items I've purchased from IKEA...I totally understand why but I'm still going to complain.


Several hours later, we had 2 bunk beds with bedding, a dresser, and a nightstand for a finished guest room.




Bryce made a huge difference in the overall look of the place by changing all the switches, plugs and thermostats.


After picking up that center beam from IKEA that we were missing last weekend, we were finally able to get the master bed all made up. It felt so good to sleep in our own place for the first time since we've owned it.


What a difference the long stainless pulls make on the cabinets. The combination of the appliances and finished cabinets really make the place feel complete.


Lastly, I began to un-package and organize all the kitchen and dining items. I know it's nothing too exciting, but it feels good to start putting all the boxes of stuff that have been on the floor in their proper place! We plan on making our final shopping trips for the last minute items this week then completing all the remaining work during Thanksgiving weekend so it will be ready to rent by December 1! If you or anyone you know is interested, please send them my way :)

---

Another close call 11/16/2011

For whatever reason, I cannot seem to keep my iPhone with me to save my life. From leaving it on the top of my car and having it fly off on I-70 to leaving it in the grocery basket at Safeway, I seriously think I need one of those fancy wrist phone carriers so I don't lose it anymore! It just can't be pink :)


Although misplacing my phone is a serious problem, I do have to say that Apple's new ''Find My iPhone'' application is pretty darn cool. Bryce downloaded it to his phone, typed in my info and tada, found my phone inside the grocery store. Once the phone is found, you have the option to lock the phone remotely or even wipe all the info inside the device right from the application. Yes, the app is neat but it's not an excuse to constantly misplace and forget my phone everywhere...as everyone always tells me 'Erin, SLOW DOWN'...I'm working on it!

---

We're making progress! 11/14/2011

 

Bryce drove up later that night and after a good night sleep, we were ready to crank out some major work Saturday. One of the first items on the list was to switch out the front door lock and install some weather stripping so it doesn't snow inside anymore :) As an added touch, we replaced all the interior door knobs with new stainless ones!


While Bryce cranked out his projects, Shelby and I were busy painting, painting and more painting. I honestly hate painting but we really didn't have much of a choice unless we wanted to stare at poop brown colors everywhere! Along with painting walls, I had to re-paint all of the trim which is soooo tedious! I got through it but swore I wouldn't pick up another brush after Saturday




Add a TV and stand and it really feels like a home :)





Oh the infamous red couch! This thing has the world's greatest queen fold out mattress in it but holy crap is it heavy. I'm still not quite sure how, but somehow Bryce and I managed to get it from the van to the living room.

---