r.i.p. hippstar. i'll miss you greatly.

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surFy likey.. the new oakley jawbone. can't wait to get a pair. surFy

well.. as they say.. all good things come to an end.. and this was no exception. i'm writing this from seat 28F.. in a different plane than i was scheduled to leave on. a far cry from my luxurious departure from dfw. it's not all bad though.. i've got a window seat and a glass of decent wine - this time i had to pay for it : ( [edit] my second glass SUCKED! so we decided to finish off an awesome week of riding with the infamous noon ride. temperatures were perfect.. bikes freshly washed.. we had a noon ride to win! it was awesome.. my legs were a bit tired from all the riding we had been doing.. not to mention sore from yesterdays off road extravaganza - my back is still hurting! i won't bore you with the pedal by pedal.. but i will boast a bit. after bridging up solo to dylan casey (lance armstrong's former teammate and former uspro champion) on the alpine climb, i was able to get the better of him in the kom sprint : ) he was probably just tooling around but nevertheless.. it was such a great week.. probably the best week of riding i've ever had. i'm inspired again.. that being said.. i'm definitely ready to get home and see the girls. i miss them soooooooo much. i can't wait to hold them in my arms.. todays pictures.. twittering on our way out to meet the ride. dylan casey (left with specialized jersey) and hippstar. noon ride action.. there must have been 80 people.. @ 12 on tuesday! dirty girl.. the final sprint.. to hippstar's ; ) labor! contemplating my next move.. DISCLAIMER: i'm not a puff.. but.. laureen, you're awesome! hippstar is a very lucky guy. you're such a great person.. cool as fugg.. absolutely beautiful - inside and out.. and a great cook : ) thank you sooo much for looking after me. bimpy and penny, keep up the good work.. watch out for cars.. and continue living "the dream". and hippy.. i've always looked up to you.. both as a rider, and a person. you've taught me so much over the past decade.. more than you'll ever know. you really are an inspiration! you're truly, "THE bar". "did ya get that??" [tissue] -ouT surFy

here i go again.. off into the sunset. i think this one's my favorite. -ouT surFy

hippstar saved the best for last.. today was unreal. single track check out the trail behind. and.. still climbing.. a very skinny hippstar on the jeep roads leading up to the summit. he killed me today.. we've been riding a minimum of 2000kJ per day. i'm catching the 4:40 flight home tomorrow.. but not before we fit the noon ride ; ) i'm really gonna miss it. bed time.. -ouT surFY

wenger was right.. it was unbelievable. a total of 6ooo feet of climbing and absolute beauty. it was damn good to see dogtown. i haven't seen him in years.. he looks great. for those who don't know aron, he raced for mathis bros back in the day.. an absolute powerhouse and one of my favorite teammates ever. some pic's from today.. on my way up.. on our way up mt. tam (l-r) dogtown (aron huerta), hippy, and i on our way down. they both made me look silly on the descent. pure labor another view on our way up. unbelievable. this road winds along the ridge. closeup greatness.. san francisco from the top of tam looking out over everything twittering from the top. this has been an awesome trip.. hippstar's a greatest host ever. the riding is the greatest anywhere. a cycling paradise. i've posted lot's of picture on my flickr page here. bubba called and gave me the fayetteville report. as always, he played the perfect teammate and helped stefan slay all.. well, most all. second to blackgrove is pretty much like winning. gonna finish watching st. louis supercross. -ouT surFy

this picture is worth a thousand words.. NOBODY remembers, or cares, about 2nd place. he almost pulled the vee of a life time.. notice the lack of attention.. only the support staff give a sheit - and they're paid to. -ouT surFy

ride today was bad to the bone. 5:40 total. unparalleled beauty. started from hippstar's (redwood city, ca), rode out to pacifica, and then back.. over all kinds of terrain. when you ride with THE hippstar, you never know what you're going to get. hippstar and i @ crystal springs san andreas reservoir the famous mavericks. it's been a life long dream of mine to see it in person. princeton harbor a little dirt trail action.. along the cliffs @ mavericks. only kidding.. although, i have felt like this at times. pure beauty. gearing up to motorpace. NOTE: the bling, bling mathis watch. hippstar taking a photo opportunity. along the cliff. beached.. low tide. the riding has been awesome. tomorrow we're going to ride with my former mathis teammate, aron huerta, up in marin county. wenger once told me that marin county is the most beautiful place to ride on the planet. dinner time.. lamb chops : ) -ouT surFy