Friday Movie - The Maiden Heist

Friday morning workouts are hard.

By Friday, I'm tired from a week of work and from a week of working out. When the alarm went off at 4 am today I was sorely tempted to roll over, pull the covers over my head and refuse to get out of bed until a decent hour – like 7 . . . or 10! But no such luck. We have plans this evening (it is bonfire Friday night in the neighborhood), so if we didn't get the workout done this morning, it wasn't going to happen at all.

Phil was moving pretty slow on the way down to the pain cave, too. Our lack of enthusiasm was palpable. Heart rate monitors were slowly strapped on. Shoes were donned. Water bottles filled. When we could stall no longer, we got on the bikes and started to warm up. 

I  fired up the DVD player . . . and our enthusiasm kicked up several notches.

THE MAIDEN HEIST gives us the most endearing characters ever to commit grand larceny: three museum security guards who live lives of quiet captivation, each enraptured by a particular work of art.
 
Roger (Christopher Walken), Charles (Morgan Freeman) and George (William H. Macy) are each so lost in fascination with the particular objet d’art of his affection that although they have been coworkers for decades, they only just meet for the first time when crisis strikes: there’s a new curator in town, and his plan is to change the museum’s collection entirely, threatening to rob each man of his greatest secret passion in life.
 
However, having found their kindred spirits, the men forge a plan to hold onto the works of art they hold most dear. Though hardly criminal masterminds, their inflamed hearts drive them to plan and execute the most daring art heist ever conceived from the inside – with amusing results!



We really enjoyed this movie. Another small, very entertaining independent film with engaging characters and an interesting story. I highly recommend it. [A little behind the scenes info about the film from NPR if you are interested.]

Back to the Cold

Guest Blogger – Phil Kriz

We recently returned from Phoenix where we visited my parents and sisters to see the ice still on the streets and snow in the mountains.

The ice and snow reminded me of a recent question from my Aunt Connie.

Knowing that we ride our bikes - A LOT- she recently asked “What do you do when winter hits?”


Well, luckily I have a very motivated partner, and we have several choices to choose from.

The Outside Option

On the weekends if the temperature gets to 40 degrees or above, we put on a lot of clothes, attach fenders to our bikes, pack even more clothes - just in case. Then we ride a 55 mile loop around Denver using bike paths and surface streets in order to stay out of the mountains and avoid the freezing wind chill of long down-hill descents. BRRR!

Fenders . . .

Lots of layers . . .

The great thing out living in Golden is that even on days like this we will see LOTS of other cyclists all bundled up and out riding.

I have noticed that the nastier the weather the more smiles I see on the other riders.

Especially the girls!

The girls usually have this look that says “Riding my bike is the best thing EVER!”

Very motivating!

The other motivating factor when riding with Joanne on a winter day is trying to keep with her! She rides her cyclo-cross bike (which is built more like a regular road bike) and I ride my mountain bike - which is just not built for speed and is slightly heavier than her bike, too. I can manage to stay with her on the flats, but get dumped on the hills.

She always waits for me at the top, with that classic girl smile that says “Riding my bike is the best thing EVER!” and “Beating you to the top is even BETTER!”

We did a 2 hour ride yesterday and plan to get in another 4 hours today. There is still some ice on the roads, but the forecast calls for 50 degrees and a little bit of sunshine, so riding outside sounds 100 times better than our other option - another 2 hours sweating in the basement pain cave.

Basking in the Sun

Phil and I were lucky enough to leave Denver last Thursday where the temperature at take-off was about 10 degrees below zero – and head to Phoenix for a long weekend to visit his family. The temperature when we landed was about 68 degrees. Yeah baby!

In the front yard at Casa Kriz.

In addition to some great family time (Phil’s 2 sisters both live in the Phoenix area and his parents are wintering there) we snuck in some mountain bike rides – in shorts!! We actually needed sunscreen!! I’m doing the happy dance in my chair right now just thinking about it . . .

Phil’s parents live near two great mountain bike areas – Usery Mountain Park  and the Hawes Trail system.

My Pivot Mach 4 demo bike - sweet! I'm not too into the whole pink bike thing, but that little baby rides like a dream. I'm very seriously considering that model . . . in anodized black.

A neighbor of Phil’s sister Marla is an avid mountain bike rider and he not only printed maps and outlined the rides for us, he loaned Phil a bike and graciously rode with us on Saturday, though he could have had a much faster ride without us desert newbies tagging along.

Thanks Todd!

All in all, a great little get away during this cold and icy Colorado winter.