After a great start to this current hockey season, my team has managed to keep the winning going most of the time. I think we’ve only lost one game so far and that was to the top ranked team in the league. I think we played around five or six total games, so our record is looking pretty good. I tried to go online to the league’s website, but it appears that it’s been hacked.

I’ve split my time pretty evenly between playing offense and defense. As long as most of the other defensemen show up, I’m usually able to play wing. I haven’t had a goal yet, but I’ve contributed numerous assists. Our game last night was no exception and I should have been credited with at least one assist in our 7-4 win. I was surprised that I played well considering that I not only biked into work yesterday, but I also biked home from work. It was right around forty miles roundtrip, and I my legs still feel a little like bricks. Playing hockey on top of that was definitely questionable, but the game went pretty well for me. It looks like we are about halfway through this session and are in very good shape.

This morning I participated in my third annual Bike to Work Day.   After ditching me last year, Kim decided to join in again for the fun.   We started our ride around 5:45 this morning, after mapping out a route last night.   Once again it was a different route than used the other two years, though there are some similarities.   We started on a route similar to what we used two years ago, weaving along Franklin, Dartmouth, Colorado, and Quincy.   Once at Quincy we hopped on the High Line Canal trail to take us all the way to the same Panera we visited before for the free food and drink.   From there we continued on Orchard over towards Kim’s office.   As we arrived there just before 7:30  she remarked that we should bike to work more often, as it wasn’t as tough as she remembered it being.

I continued on from Kim’s office, remembering that the ride from there to my office was pretty hilly before, but hoping that my route would be a little better.   Besides, the weather was great and I was hoping to find another breakfast station.   I quickly rode to the other side of I-25 and entered the area I referred to last year  as Inverness land, where nearly all the streets have the same name.   However, I didn’t make one wrong turn this year and ended up passing in front of the Colorado Athletic Club Inverness for a couple of slices of orange and some orange juice.   It wasn’t nearly as good as the free bagel from Panera, but I wasn’t too hungry anyway.   I continued on my way, and quickly saw the office sitting up on the last massive hill of the ride.   I ride the hill pretty regularly, now that I am in the office daily, and often bring my bike on the light rail  commute.    Though it is always a tough climb, it was nothing like today.   I managed to find the strength to get to the top and arrived right around 8:30.   Even after a quick shower, no one had realized that I was late or that I even biked all the way from home.

I’m considering riding the bike all the way home after work today, which is something I haven’t yet done on Bike to Work Day. I have another route that I really want to try sometime, so I figure that today might as well be the day. I have a change of clothes to put back on, and I don’t have anywhere to be  until 9:30 tonight. As long as I leave by six I think I am going to do it. The route that we took this morning can be seen below.

Perhaps I’ve never given it much attention, but this year’s World Cup seems to be more popular than ever. Our friend Rob had a gathering at his place on Saturday to watch the USA team’s first game against England. I’m sure most people watched the game, so I won’t given any recap or commentary. If we hadn’t watched the game at Rob’s, there was a large gathering of people in downtown Denver at the British Bulldog  that some other friends were attending.   They had closed off a street and put up a huge screen for game watching.   I’m told that even despite the rain that there was a big crowd throughout the game.   I’m even finding myself tuning into games during my lunch break at work.   I haven’t started setting the DVR to record, but that still might be possible as the tournament moves forward.   I just might be catching this craze.

While Nick was in town over the weekend, we did a few other things besides taking him to his first concert.   On Saturday morning we drove back out to the Red Rocks area for a hike along the Dinosaur Ridge.   We started on the side closest to Red Rocks, so we had to hike up and over the ridge to reach the visitors center.   Fortunately, we had decided to pick up sandwiches before our hike, otherwise we wouldn’t have made it.   We ate our sandwiches at the visitors center, looked through the gift shop, and thought about paying $3 per person for a ride back to the car.   We didn’t have enough cash, so we decided to hike back to the car, covering the mile and a half pretty easily once again.  

Later in the evening, we took Nick to a Colorado Rapids soccer game along with a few of our friends.   We bought tickets from Groupon  a few weeks ago, which gave us VIP tickets and a free shirt.   During the drive to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the weather became a little questionable.   Fortunately our VIP tickets were about fifteen rows off the field and had a roof over our heads.   During the game there were brief periods of rain but we didn’t get wet at all.   The game itself was fun, though there was no scoring in the first half.   Eventually Colorado scored a goal against the visiting Columbus Crew, and that was all it took for the victory.  

Additional pictures can be found on the Hais  Family Picasa site.   Nick took most of the pictures that he is not physically a part of.   Here is a slideshow  containing all the photos.  

On our way down to New Mexico for the long weekend, we stopped at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in south central Colorado.   This has been on our list of things to see for a while, and since it was only about an hour and half out-of-the-way, we decided that this would be the trip.   We left bright and early on Saturday morning and arrived at the Sand Dunes in the early afternoon.   After a quick stop at the visitors center, we headed toward the main parking area near the dunes.   We were warned that this was traditionally the busiest day in the entire year, and though there were many cars overflowing the lots, there didn’t seem to be too many people out on the dunes.   The biggest draw of the park seems to be Medano Creek, which flows only from spring to early summer.   The majority of the people in the park appeared to be enjoying the shallow and wide creek.

After parking the car in a picnic area near Medano Creek, we waded across the creek and on to the sand sheet.   We quickly realized that the sand was quite hot in spots, and that our sandals would have to stay on most of the time.   Our initial goal was to hike to the top of High Dune, which is around 650 feet tall.   That didn’t sound like it would be too tough, but once we were out in the dunefield, we realized it was harder than expected.   First, everyone should be able to imagine what hiking in sand is like.   Every step forward is like three steps backward.   And on top of that, the winds that whip through the dunes carry sand and small rocks with them.   At times this was very painful and we were finding sand all over ourselves even days after the hike.

We considered bailing on our initial plans to hike to the top of High Dune, but eventually decided to go for it.   We decided a slow and steady approach would be best, and I think it took us around an hour or so to summit the dune.   Once at the top the winds were so bad that we could only stay for less than a minute before beginning the trek down.   Going down was a blast, as you could easily let yourself go knowing that you wouldn’t run into anything hard or sharp.   I think I ran down most of the way, especially when the winds were kicking up sand again.   I’m not sure if the winds are always this bad, but I would definitely keep that in mind on future visits to the dunes.   Despite the wind, I’m glad we finally had the chance to spend some time exploring these wonderful sand dunes.

Westcliffe on Dwellable

After a bye week last week, Santoro’s was back in action last night.   Our opponents were the creatively named “Off in the Woods” and had a roster filled with college aged skaters.   Despite our team being older, we were able to take an early lead in the game.   From that point on we never looked back and pretty much always had a two goal lead.   This upset the younger team, who taunted us saying that we were too old and not very good.   We may be too old, but we are definitely better players than they are.   They didn’t take the loss in stride, in fact they decided to attempt to rough us up.   I’m typing this with an ice pack attached to my neck and back, after one player tried to drag me down to the ice by the back of my helmet.   I guess I should have just went down without a fight, as I likely wouldn’t be in as much pain as I’m in now, but there was no way I was going to let the youngster take me down.   I think the final score was 6-3.   I earned my first points of this season with an assist on one of the earlier goals.   Our team is now 2-0 for the first time in years, and it feels good.

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs in full force, I’ve been watching a bunch of hockey recently.   There really isn’t much better than playoff hockey.   I’m pulling for the Chicago Blackhawks to win this one, as they were often my team growing up.   Though I won’t be disappointed if the San Jose Sharks can beat them and win the cup.   I can remember when the Sharks first joined the NHL.   I think every kid I knew playing hockey had at least one Sharks’ hat at that time.   I don’t have much allegiance to Philadelphia or Montreal.   Both were big underdogs earlier in the playoffs, and I’m curious to see how much respect they will get now that they are in the conference finals.

In the last round, Philadelphia came back from being down three games to win the next four and take the best of seven series.   Another favorite team of mine just did the same thing, the Cincinnati Cyclones lost their first three games to the Reading Royals.   They went on to win the next four games and are now in the ECHL championships taking on the Idaho Steelheads.   If that wasn’t good enough, the Cyclones won the first two games of the series on the road and are well on their way to taking the Kelly Cup back to Cincinnati.   Go Cyclones!

Last night started yet another season of mens’ league hockey.   About half of the team I played with over the winter is back, and we’ve added some solid new players to our roster.   We are no longer known as the Hockey Guild, but are now called Santoro’s and are sponsored by the bar in the rink with the same name.   New season, sort of new team, and new results.   We actually won a game!   It wasn’t just a win against a bad team in the league, it was a win against one of the better teams.

Some of our new additions to the team are defensemen, so it looks like I’ll be able to spend most of the season playing forward.   I had numerous scoring opportunities last night, including an open net, but I wasn’t able to convert any of them.   I would have been more upset at the missed opportunities had we lost, but our 4-2 victory was solid enough throughout most of the game.   Hopefully we can turn this into a winning streak and have some fun this summer.

As mentioned earlier, Kim and I participated in the CitySolve Urban Race on Saturday as team Paff Finders.   We arrived at the Ginn Mill around 11:30 to get our registration finalized and to get more information on the race.   The event was supposed to start at noon, but I think the overwhelming number of teams pushed the start back a bit.   While registration was being finalized, they decided to have the costume contest, which was originally scheduled for after the race.   It came down to two guys dressed as Jolly Green Giants and two girls dressed as Octomoms.   The winner was decided by crowd applause, and it ended up being the Jolly Green Giants.   They had my vote.

Closer to 12:30 is when the race actually started.   All teams were gathered in the parking lot behind the Ginn Mill for some last minute rule reminders, more instructions, and our first puzzle of the day.   Two of the staff held up large pieces of paper with the following question on them.   Which movie was filmed in Denver?   Depending on the correct answer was the intersection that we had to go to to pick up packets containing the rest of our clues.

Kim and I both started looking for the answer online using our phones, which is totally allowed.   We started at the bottom of the list of answers and went up.   Unfortunately, the correct answer was the first one in the list, Die Hard 2, which was filmed in a large list of cities.   Once we had found the correct answer it was pretty obvious which intersection everyone was heading.   I guess we should have just followed the crowd, but we quickly made up time running past most of the walkers at the back of the pack.   Once at 22nd & Curtis, we grabbed our packet, and started walking while reading through the list of puzzle clues.   The remainder of the race would consist of solving the puzzles, going to the place in the answer, and getting a picture there with both of us in it.   You were only allowed to use your own feet and public transportation.   No taxis, cars, bikes, rollerblades, etc.   Kim and I decided early on to just run the entire thing, though it ended up being a little longer than expected.

Below are the clues that we had to answer, listed in the order they were given to us, but not the order that we solved or took our pictures.   If you click on each clue you can see our picture for each, except for #3, which we skipped.   Every team was allowed one skip.   We skipped this one due to it being on of the furthest points away from the starting location.

1. Rita can’t fine you at this meter…locate any Denver’s Road Home to end homelessness meters.
2. This one smells sweet…you’ll need to unscramble the 2 words below to find the 1-word vacation get away located in downtown.
   GOAL MAIN
3. Are you going to the fair? There’s a restaurant whose name is an herb in the Golden Triangle where Simon and Garfunkel would probably dine. (We skipped this one, the answer was Parsley & Bailey)
4. This one’s dy-no-mite! A 1970’s sitcom has the same name as a hamburger joint.   You must find the restaurant on Colfax to get credit for this one.
5. This one’s tasty…this CITYpoint is located within 3 blocks of Civic Center Park.   Complete the crossword below to find your next destination:
   (There was a 3 item crossword puzzle with the following clues)
   Any relatively small group of soldiers.
   Shortbread, lemon drop or chocolate chip; singular.
   US capital city.
6. You might need to clean this one up…head to the lounge in LoDo whose name suggests that you might cry if you did this to milk.   Once there you’ll need to check in with a CitySolve Creative Team Member and they’ll instruct you on what to do next.
7. DETOUR: Gold or Sold (choose one of these options below – you will NOT get extra for doing both)
   Gold – Take 3 different photos of the word “GOLD” written on any album cover.
   ~OR~
   Sold – Take 3 photos of 3 different “SOLD” signs.   “FOR SALE” signs will not count unless there is a “SOLD” sign on it.   Teams may NOT create the “SOLD” sign.
8. Wake me up before you go go…this restaurant, located within a 1/4 mile of Coors Field is probably the most often used as a function on an alarm clock.
9. Are you smarter than an 8th grader…figure out angle C of the isosceles triangle below (you’re doing 8th grade math).   Angle A equals 40 degrees and sides 1 and 2 are equal.   Take the answer to angle C THEN ADD Rockies’ Helton and Giambi’s jersey numbers THEN ADD 379 to find the numerical address located on 18th Street in downtown.
10. Nothing can stop…THE ANIMAL! It’s off to Commons Park where you’ll need to meet an Animal Fitness staff member in front of the park by the stone wall.   They will direct you through a fitness obstacle course.   When you’ve successfully completed each task make sure you take a photo of your team along with t he Animal Fitness staff member. You WILL have 2 photos.   If your team only has 1 photo, you will incur a 20 minute penalty.

There were also two bonus questions.   We solved the first one but not the second:

1. Find a license plate (does NOT have to be attached to a vehicle) that has the letters “C” and “S.” The letters needn’t be in consecutive order, but MUST be part of the actual license plate number.   You’ll receive 10 minutes off your time for completing this bonus.
2. Since Denver is a pretty active city your team needs to find ALL of the following:
   Sign that reads “hiking”
   3 people on bicycles
   Bumper sticker with “skiing” on it (must be a bumper sticker, but does not have to be on a vehicle)
   You’ll receive 15 minutes off your time for completing this bonus.

We had a little help from our friend Ken for some of the puzzles, which is also allowed.   By the time we reached #9, we had most of the clues solved and mapped.   So we just followed the map along the planned route and snapped pictures.   We solved the remaining in this order: 5, 1, 4, 7, 2, 6, 10, and finally 8.   Yesterday I calculated the total distance covered to be over 6.5 miles.   It was a tiring race, but well worth, especially when we arrived and finished in 3rd place!   There were nearly 100 teams, so this was a pretty solid performance, and it gets us free entry into the national championship in New Orleans if we decide to compete on Halloween weekend.   The winner there takes home $5,000.

After a few weeks off I made my return to the ice rink for a charity hockey tournament over the weekend.   I was filling in for a team that shares a few players with my normal adult league team.   The action started off on Friday night against a team that I’ve played against regularly.   The problem was that normally our team plays in division C, and the team I was playing on for the tournament normally plays in division E.   Take that fact along with a few ringers that our opponents added to their normal team, and it’s easy to see that we didn’t stand a chance.   I was just happy that we managed to get a couple of goals in the 7-2 blowout.

One nice thing is that the team I was playing on was loaded with defensemen, so I was able to actually play offense for once.   I nearly scored one of the goals in our first game, but one of my line-mates got to it first.   However, I was able to add goals in the following two games on Saturday.   Our first game on Saturday was against a team that was more on our same level.   The game was a good one, but in the end it was a 3-1 loss, with one of the goals being an empty-netter in the last-minute of play.   Obviously, our lone goal was one that I scored for us fairly early in the game.   It was a disappointing loss.

We had quite a bit of down time between the first and second games.   Most on the team stuck around for a few cups of free beer and some free brats.   After awhile a handful of the team headed over to one of the guys house to watch some of the NHL action.   I would have hoped that our team would be inspired to win a game after watching the pros.   But as most were rooting for the Blackhawks, I think the Hawks poor performance rubbed off on us.   It was either that or all the beer.   The second game on Saturday night was rather brutal.   I don’t recall the final score, but it wasn’t close.   I did score one of our goals, which I think there were only two.

Saturday evening’s game wasn’t over until midnight.   Unfortunately our poor performance caused us to be scheduled for our last game at 7am on Sunday morning.   In the first three games we always had a solid number of players, perhaps too many as we often filled up three lines.   On Sunday morning we were lucky we could field two lines of skaters.   I was moved back to defense due to the absence of some players, and was hoping I could help to keep the scoring down and finally get a win.   Unfortunately, this game ended the same as all the others.   As this game featured the worst two teams in the tournament, we matched up with them well, but their goalie played amazing.   I’m sure we out-shot our opponents, but they went on to win a rather close one.

Even with the four loss performance it was still a good time and I was glad to be back on the ice.   Summer league starts next week.