1,003 shots of espresso

1,003 shots or espresso or life imitating art….latte art.

A long post….. and possibly a coffee/life connection that non coffee geeks might find wacky but here it is anyway.

As we enjoyed the last 3 shots of espresso at my buddy Shaun's house in Sugar Land, TX last week there was a team of movers packing up his life in the background for his move back to Canada. The snowy, snowy tundra impacted cold...COLD, bitterly cold (landscape dotted with igloos cold) Canada. ;)

As they movers packed we did the math and over the last 2 years we had enjoyed over 1,000 shots in that kitchen (each) and then it was the final 3 before they packed up the espresso machine and taped the lid on the box closing the book on the team Sugar Land espresso experience.

As we talked and the reality came to light that we were drinking our last coffee together the coffee didn’t really matter anymore for 2 reasons:

1) Neither one of us considers coffee something that can be locked down or captured in any one spot. Coffee is always changing from the second you roast it until the second it’s gone minor and major things are happening that are taking it along it’s evolution and the ebb/flow is the journey…taking what it gives and continuing down the path is the only way to truly accept coffee and increase your chances of enjoying it on on higher levels.

2) Over 1,000 cups of coffee you sort of get to know somebody. There are more than a few words spoken and conversations had along that time. I think we spent time talking on average 5 days per week in person and sent harassing texts/emails to each other just about every day. We shared family b-days together, a few BBQ’s, one crazy whirlwind blitzkrieging trip to the windy city for a live UFC event Shaun dragged/forced me to go on. ;)
Some random times at a noodle house or pizza and beers at the brew pub..those types of things. My family watched his family grow as the boys got older, bigger, and more entertaining each day. We became really good friends.

So as the coffee left the room #1 above left me in a fine place even knowing that some days we had truly WORLD class espresso in that kitchen. We had so many outstanding shots that outstanding was just normal. We had some shots that were above outstanding and a few that were what I think of now as shots of a lifetime. They were that good and you would think a coffee fanatic would be upset about that going away but because I am in for the ride and journey of coffee it didn’t bother me much that a new chapter was ahead. What bothered me was that #2 above was undergoing some significant changes…bringing me to my point.

I think now that life might be interesting to look at as coffee… if anybody reads this that is not a coffee person try to hold your eye rolling for 2 seconds and see if it makes sense anyway.

We knew from the day that the Taylor’s got here they would only be in town for a couple years. Why then was it such a bummer to see them go? Immediately the thing that came to mind is how we should have dome more BBQ’s, more get togethers, and made better use of the “friend time” available. Next thoughts were about future events that would not be possible and that part really blows. In life it’s like we want to keep trying to capture things and lock them down but in reality it is like the coffee. Life is consistently changing from the moment we are born. If we could somehow embrace (more fully) the times we have in the moment and as things change we understood (more fully) that change is just change. Something different is next and something different after that and the next really interesting “cup” is around the corner form that. In many ways you can’t get to the next great points if you don’t take the winding path. All you can do if you resist is:

Stay home
Fight change and remain stagnant
Drink Folgers forever
Live life in a fishbowl
Convince yourself that xyz is “the best blend” of coffee
Convince yourself there is a “the best” of anything actually.

If change in coffee is the path to new experiences in the cup life looks a lot like that to me right now…

2 years ago Angie and I were not considering a vacation to Canada and we were unaware of the natural wonders that igloo dotted ice ball held. ;) Now we will plan that trip as our next vacation.

In order to travel to Canada we will need passports….getting passports will make us consider other places we can suddenly travel that we had never considered. There are 10 trips inside the US I wanted to do and if things had not worked out the way they did we would probably have done those trips and not ever considered Canada.

Am I saying Canada “better” than the other trips we might have done? Pay attention to the above… :- Who knows and it isn’t the point.


Good luck the Shaun, Doreen, Evan, and Keegan as you roadtrip across the US back up into the great white north….we need your address when you settle in and we will be up to visit (at a time when the snowdrifts have melted).

The push to Bierstadt

This is the final 3 months (approx) to the lead up training for this years 14er attempt. I considered a lot of things in selecting Bierstadt this time and the most important are:

I am only considering class I or II climbs before I get more experience/training.
I don't want to put myself in a position to make safety decisions at altitude where pride and ego are involved. I'll decide before hitting the trail that a class III route is beyond my capability right now rather than think at 13,700 "If I can just pass this one tough section I might be able to make it". I'm not ready for technical passes yet.

After the shelf road last year :O I wanted a trailhead with 2WD access. Our next vehicle will be a 4WD jeep or Land Cruiser...something like that and tougher access trailheads will be easier to access. I didn't love having to go back on the shelf road after Handies when we could have taken a serious short cut if we only had a proper of road mountain vehicle. 2WD access this time. :(

Angie is going to take a crack at bagging her first 14er peak and Bierstadt offers something that others might not. Not far from the trail head most of the route is visible to you straight to the summit. I think that will be a big psychological advantage to see everything ahead of you have the ability to make constant evaluations/calculations.

Bierstadt is a 7 mile round trip hike (plus some extra if you hike down and back up to gain an additional 200' elevation) and I will be doing that...not sure if Angie will bother or not but I'm doing it to make sure I have the official 3,000 elevation gain. It's probably a minor detail really....but I'm doing it. ;)

Training shifted into (OMG, THERE IS ONLY 12 WEEKS LEFT TO GET READY) mode yesterday and I the focus from here until the trailhead is going to be walking, stair climbing, walking with a pack, stair climbing more, walking some 9mile and 14 mile hikes, more stairs, and more walking with a double weight (50#) pack. I will try to mix in some core and upper body when I can but time is short now and I will be more prepared this time because I know all too well how hard it is to show up under trained.

Bierstadt by all accounts is a little "easier" than Handies and I will be better trained, more prepared, and will execute my climb 10X's smarter than I did to bag Handies so I think it's going to be a fun day on the mountain when we hit it barring the one thing we never get to control the weather. I want to allow a back up day in the itinerary in case the weather is bad so that we have a second shot if needed.

Bierstdat will be my 2nd 14er and turning the corner to the heavy training is bringing the excitement now. In addition to training I've started planning the nutrition, water options, I will be getting a new pair of shoes soon, we will start going over gear and making lists now... It shifts from the future to the now. Big fun!

Big fun!