New Truck and Bull Riding

When I was back in Michigan, I finally took the plunge and bought a vehicle. It is a 2002 Chevy S10. 4WD and 4-door. It runs great and already made it all the way out here to Montana. That was a nice 28 hour drive with no sleep. I made good use of the 4WD through most of Illinois and Wisconsin, where I was kept under 50 mph the whole way because a snow storm.

The only problem is now about half of my very funny jokes are obsolete.

Also while I was in Michigan, I rode my first bull. A real, live bull. I went with Sheldon and we each paid $25 for one ride (we both thought we would get more than one ride for this much money, but it was still worth it). Below is a picture of Panda, the bull that I rode.

I lasted 1.19 seconds and bull riding is much, much harder than it looks on TV. I was so scared as I was climbing over the gate to actually get on the bull, but it was probably one of the most fun things I have ever done. Despite shaking almost uncontrollably after I fell off, I wanted to get right back on and try again. The only damage I suffered was a little bruise on my shin where I fell, but I think if I had been wearing chaps, that would have not been a problem.

In other news, training has been going well. I have only taken one day off since getting back in Montana, and the weather has been pretty decent lately, so I have been able to get outside to ride a fair amount. I went for a nice 60 mile ride the other day (my longest ride since being in MT), and I am a little out of shape. The hills tore me up, but other than that and the strong headwind from the south, it was a great ride. I've been skiing a little, too, but because of the mild weather lately, we haven't had any new snow and the warm temperatures have been turning the snow on the mountain pretty icy, so that hasn't been as much fun lately.