The longest 5 mile traverse

It started out mellow enough. DV8, the Redneck, and the DynamicDuo all met up at the caboose in Ned for a little java and map gawking. The plan was the Windy Ridge Traverse, north to south, because the forecast said it'd be less windy than the previous days. Um...yeah.
Note to self: I need to start listening to my gut more than the forecasts.
This was to be one of those days you remember for a long, long time. Not because the skiing was epic, but because the weather and snow conditions were imprinted (literally) onto your brain, forever.
The skin in was mellow. I had the Karhu Guides and was effortlessly rolling over the rolling trail without skins weighing me down. The others weren't so lucky, but it's a flat approach for the first 30minutes till we headed straight up Benji's Trough to the ridge. That's when I realized there wasn't as much snow here as I expected - it had all blown away in the last couple of days.
Note to self: wait until mid-January to ski here.

As you can see, it's windy here. REALLY windy. Actually, it's the windiest place on earth. I am not kidding. There was a steady 40mph wind with 60mph gusts that knocked me over more than a couple of times. I felt like a drunken ptarmagin up there trying to frogger from krumholtz to krumholtz. The temp was 20-ish or so but the windchill was somewhere around minus 20. No skin could be exposed in this crap. I usually love this stuff, but when my expectations for powder were so high this was a bit of a letdown. Plus, the DynamicDuo - relatively newly converted to the Temple of the Backcountry - were on board and I was hoping to show them a good time. Amazingly, they both commented on how "this is actually FUN!" I'm especially proud that these two - America's premiere MTB couple - could say that under these trying conditions! The Redneck commented something like "You've never skied with Meriwether before? This is NORMAL!" ...Well, what do you expect with a nickname like that?!
Note to self: just because I'm a masochist and like to get lost in the woods (I mean...slightly turned around) doesn't mean anybody else does! Let others play "Guide" more often.

Here's the "bowl" we were to ski. As you can see, there's hardly any snow up there. The lookers left line is where we usually ski and it was breakable crust, windslab with an inch on top, mediocre today...but any turns are good turns in my book. So, that became the goal: REDEMPTION. The lack of snow on our first proposed run, the 2 hour traverse in gale force winds just at treeline, DV8 hallucinated seeing a coyote out with us in that wind, well...we just HAD to get in at least 3 good turns at the final bowl, our destination. That was our new goal. Just THREE freaking turns! That's not too much to ask!? Is it?!

So alas, here's the Redneck grabbing a sweet tele turn - one of more than 3. Five or 6 i'd have to say actually. So redemption was had...and then we hightailed it the hell out of there before getting humiliated by Zephyr, God of the west wind, any longer.

Last note to self: I'm a pretty poor Guide. Guides usually check on conditions of an area before taking "clients" or friends there. Working full time kinda precludes that from happening for me...so I just take friends out and make them tour around (sometimes suffer) with me until (IF) we find some good turns. But there's always that possibility, that chance of finding that perfect snow - the perfect stash. There's just always more to explore and learn about "out there" that it never is a boring day in the backcountry.

Solo turns

Merry Holidays all! Hope everyone got what they wanted for Xmas?

To respond to the previous comment from Paul, yes, I love Jazz. I am pretty picky about music, but varied. To quote the Treepeople (...sang seething with sarcasm), "Let me tell you who my favorite band is so you know who I am." So, if you were to look at my ipod, it's a mix of early late 70's-80's - ? punk/alternative (NoMeansNo, Victims Family, DK, Circle Jerks, Dog Faced Hermans, Buzzcocks, Fugazi, Treepeople and BTS, Clash, Ramones, Minutemen, Minor Threat, Stiff Little Fingers, Mission of Burma, Leatherface, etc.), to rock (Rush, Van Halen, Iggy & the Stooges, Porcupine Tree), to surf-esque tunes (Mr. Dale, Ventures, Link Wray, Man or Astroman), to some more random stuff my Belgian friend Stefaan has sent me from Japan and other places over the pond (Deep Turtle, Korekyojin, Yoshida Tatsuya, Koenjiyakkei, Ruins, etc.), and new additions of "crescendo-core" that I've gotten into lately (Mogwai, Kinski, Tortoise, Explosion in the Sky, Mono, etc.), and finally lots of classic old jazz (Miles, Sonny Rollins, Brubeck, Duke, Coltrane, Ornette, Art Blakey, etc.), oh, and John Zorn who has a bit of everything above depending on the release. You'll notice some blatanly obvious exceptions: rap and hip hop and reggae. Enough said (sorry, I just don't like those genres). Electronic I can stand sometimes but don't have any. Ska is also missing but I actually like some ska (Operation Ivy's first was a nice punk/ska album). So there it is...there's who I am.

So onto something completely different...SNOW. Ski season is here, the cross bike has been hung up for the year, the Hunter single is now the 1x8 fender'd mountain commuter, and the 69er sits in the corner waiting for next spring. All but the Hunter gets a rest this time of year. The futzing has switched from the bikes to waxing and scraping skis. Lately it's been green, Start Green wax, to be exact...which means it's freakin COLD. Squeaky loud snow. The skateskis are quick enough, but the downhill skis aren't in these temps.

Blisters are mostly healed up from last weekend's tour so I headed out to the Backdoor Spring for the first time of this year to check on coverage and condition of the snowpack. 2 below at the "Trailhead" and some serious wind were the weather conditions. But that's why i went here - below treeline with lots of trees for shelter and high potential for wind deposited snow! There's enough snow to ski in the northeast trees, but it's punching to the ground with only a little bit of consolidation in the middle. At least 4" of facets on the ground layer with a pretty poorly consolidated 2-3 feet above. It's just been too cold and not enough snow to get a lower TG here. So what you may be asking?! I say they were two runs of pretty good turns on the AT skis with breakable crust in opportune (random) places. I'm glad i had 'em as i would've been going over the bars on the teles today. Tomorrow is another day out in the BC hopefully with a good crew. Cheers, as winter is finally here!

No Picture

I find it difficult to write when I have taken no pictures of the day. My Canon Elph died a few months ago, but I've since gotten an iPhone which has taken most of the photos displayed since then on this site. The iPhone's camera quality is relatively poor especially in darker conditions (like Winter here). So when I took my first tour in the new AT setup up at Windy Tunnel last Saturday I just had my phone. Trouble was, the 1 degree temps and high winds killed the battery in not only my phone, but my GPS so I couldn't photograph or mark (again) the location of "secret trees." Sad, as every damn time I head up there I can't find this sweet stash right away (they're hidden after all) and this time I couldn't even document my first alpine BC turns ever. They weren't the most pretty lines I've drawn but they were drawn on a pretty beautiful canvas that I wished I could've captured. No matter, there will be more as although I admit to liking (loving) tele more, AT has its place in my quiver of activities for the things I can't do very well (safely) on teles: steeps, tight trees, and variable condition days in the back country. Plus, the bindings release which is always a plus.

Tune of the day:
This will be random seeming, but "Cottontail" by Duke Ellington - specifically the version on Duke's Big 4. I think this is one of the greatest jazz tunes (and albums) of all time. It's strange to think the album was created 17 days before I was born in 1973.

Snow update:
I've already lost track.
Friday 12/19 = 2" or 3"...i don't remember.
Last night 12/23 = 1" at most. It was forecasted to snow more but the mountains west of the divide got almost a foot. But I hear we got over 6" around WindyTunnel.
Total Snowfall Estimate at DVR: 25"

Arctic Cold

It cold.

We woke up to -11 at the ranch today, and it was lower down in the eastern plains (inversion).
At least it came with snow on Saturday night and Sunday - 5" total and more on the way tonight. We're finally getting some snow after a super dry fall and early winter. The local resort had snow on the runs and then just dirt right off them, until now. It seems like it'll be awhile before the east side of the divide's backcountry opens up. BadCop had some good turns just on the other side of the divide so maybe we go there this weekend.

I tried alpine skiing for the first time in 22 years. It was weird to have the heels locked down to say the least. But, I have to say that it was fun! I can see that tree skiing will be more like snowboarding - easier than tele (slight movements to turn instead of tele where i was hoping every tree wouldn't take me out), and carving is really easy. The style of alpine has changed a lot since I was a tot. The upright-stance-with-skis-close-together form is now uncool and not seen much versus the race-ready-wide-stance-carving "stacked" stance of the new school. I tend to like the aethetics of the former mixed in with a bit of long carving turns. Not monoboard or racing gates style turns, but fluid long GS turns...or something like that. Tele is so much more beautiful, but still second to snowboarding.

SO, I'm going to TRY and keep a running total of the snowfall since I always wonder "what did it do last year this time?"
Here's what I find in my blog and memory:
Oct. 11th = 3"
Oct 23rd = 1" (ish)
Nov. 14th = 1"
Nov. 26th = 1"
Nov. 29th = 4"
Nov 30th = 2" (ish)
Dec 3rd = 5"
Dec 13th = 5"
So, as of today, we're at about 22" for this season...or thereabouts.

Colorado State Championships

Me, post-double heel-click reverse
(photo courtesy of NinjaPonyMom)

Today was the last race of the cross season for me - State Championships. Next weekend is Nationals in KC, but I won't be going this year.

After last weekend's snowfest and "true" cross weather, it was looking good for a muddy race at Arapahoe Ridge High School in East Boulder. Some guys rode the course last night and spoke of mud and muck...then today when we woke up it was bone dry, almost dusty in places!? What happened?! It was the Chinooks - the winds that whip off the Divide and dry out Boulder in the winter. BH said it was 60 degrees and howling wind in town last night...so what was muddy became dry in the matter of an overnight. Crazy.

The course was a bit like the South Boulder Rec Center (Harlow Platts) race with lots of grass, twisty turny offcamber S-turns, a long sand section that very few could ride, a long road section, and very little room for recovery.

So it was.

The 35Plus race went off at noon. I got the best call-up of the year (5th i think?) and was in the front row on the start. This was NOT my kind of start - a LONG road slight uphill that hairpinned into a long downhill on the bumpy grass, then back UP that same long road to depart on the regular course in a right turn. A good start (I thought) as I got to WB's wheel and thought that was it..we were in the lead...but then a series of huge sprints by some others including the one and only DrCross (Mr.Keller) left us in the dust. DrCross went SO fast by us that I thought it was his day to take the V. I really wish I could've witnessed that, but today was not the day. After the half a lap, things settled down a bit and JJ of Spike, JC of the Moots tribe were looking strong - by the end of Lap 1 they had already made a gap in the rest of us. I was trying to get my heartrate down from that cardiac arrest start and catch up to WB who was dangling off the back of the JJ/JC duo. For this group of 4, the race didn't change much from here on out. JJ and JC duked it out at the front - taking turns working eachother over - I was impressed at how JC was staying with JJ on this type of course (JJ's type). Me and WB were duking it out ourselves staying from 10-15 seconds back from the top 2. WB was strong today and I thought he was going to gap me for good when I tried (for the 2nd and last time) to ride the sand on the outside as he went inside and ran the inside route. It took me a half lap to catch back up with him and when I did I sat in for the rest of that lap just to recover. As I sat on WB's wheel I noticed 5th place - some dude I don't know - was gaining on us. WB was slowing a little and this guy was gaining. So there it was, it was time to try to go gain some time on JJ and JC. There were 3 laps to go. JJ had just dropped JC and looked like there was no catching JJ. So I passed WB and mumbled something to the effect of "blahblah...LETSGOGET THEM...mumblemumble" and I tried to increase the pace a bit. In doing so I guess I gapped him and realized I actually felt pretty OK - I had finally recovered from that start! With 1 lap to go I had a gap and could I was slowly gaining a tiny bit on JC, but I knew it would take more than I had today to catch him, in time and ability....so that was the race. JJ in first, JC in 2nd, and I got the last podium spot. A 6er of Hazed and Infused, $25, and a bronze medal marked the end of my cross season.

Reflecting back, I am really happy I decided to race. It was a difficult summer of moving and getting the ranch set up doing more manual labor than I've done in a long long time. Lots of things have changed in the cross world since I "retired" in 2000: the most noticeable on the surface is that almost everyone has much lighter bikes - carbon everything is the new trend and only a few dinosaurs like myself have steel frames. But other than the obvious technological differences, the cross culture remains the same. A great degree of camaraderie on all levels for participating in a sport that to me defines racing. It is good to be back, and I plan on returning next year with a better base of fitness to give the Open category a run for the money.

The Open race was really fun to watch with Dubba, JW of Mafia and Paco duking it out for a sprint finish. Dubba came back after having to top and hammer his seat back into position after the nose of it dove down to the top tube on a remount. Not only did he catch back up, but he motored to the front and did his best to drop the other two for 3 laps. They got him in the end: Paco 1st, JW 2nd, Dubba 3rd, but he gets the most aggressive rider award in my book.

Until next year. Now let ski season BEGIN!!

Yesterday was one of those days where you wonder why you woke
up...should've stayed in bed. I got up at 6 to plow the new snow and
fed the horses in the dark. Problem was I gave them each a large flake
of alfalfa hay instead of grass hay. (Yes, I'm a novice.) I understand
this is only a little less than like giving chocolate to dogs...a
dumbass maneuver. If they were adapted to alfalfa, well it'd be
better, but they're certainly NOT! Then, at 8, Bear had another
seizure...a bit different this time at the end. So I stayed home from
work to help monitor the group. Luckily none of the horses foundered
(yet) and Bear didn't have another seizure...but it felt like we were
ducking from some monkey in the sky throwing crap at us all day.

Today was better. Went for a great snowpacked dirt road ride on the
Hunter and had two fun hikes with the Count Muppies. Tomorrow is CO
State CX championships. Wish me luck!

A sweet ride on the newly converted Hunter to the bus today on some
snow-covered trails and then to the office from downtown on the
perfectly plowed bike paths. The roads seem to get plowed 2nd in
Boulder. It was cold @ 7 degrees when I left the ranch but I never
got cold having brought the right gear today...unlike yesterday at the
Wednesday morning cross "worlds" where the 20-ish degrees froze my
hands worse than they'd froze in some time. It's funny (in a not so
funny way sometimes) how the body feels like 20/50 weight oil was put
in at the last tuneup instead of 5/30. I'll never get the ups and
downs of phisiology!

A good day

Dubba chases Paco (photo courtesy of Boulder Cyclesport)

I rethought going skiing and went to the cross race at Bear Creek Park in Morrison. There's only two races left (one, after today = State Champs next weekend). And after yesterday's race in the snow and mud...i just had to go...it just HAD to be done. There aren't many chances to race cross, and to race cross in the snow. Speaking of...I thought it wasn't supposed to snow today, but it was even snowier than yesterday, and colder! The course was excellent: lots of singletrack but with more passing opportunities than yesterday's race. There was some sand, and lots of ice and snow. The conditions were pure winter Colorado -- 30 degrees and dumping snow with packed snow and ice on the roads and trails. The tire pressure had to be as low as possible, i think i was down to 25 at the most on the tubies. Ice ruts covered in a light dusting of new snow ...offcamber corners...you know how it is...your foot out around many corners, and the straightaways were just as sketch as anything out there. You'd just be riding along and suddenly you'd hit an icy section while pedaling a bit too hard and your back wheel would be 1 foot to your right or left in a millisecond. Clumps of ice and snow sticking to your cleats, barely able to get into your pedals after the dismounts...it was seriously epic. And it just kept snowing throughout the race, changing course dynamics each lap.

Alas, it was a good day.

I had my mojo with me today and just felt it. It started out with 4 of us: Ward, Greg (Mud and Cowbells), Michael, and myself. We got a good gap and kept going. After lap two, I bumbled over a barrier and stacked onto my bike and twisted my bars sideways. Boneheaded maneuver! I had to spend 20 secs twisting them back while the other 3 rode away. I thought that was it. To catch back up, I knew I just had to keep it steady and smooth and stay upright. A half-lap later I luckily caught back up to Greg's wheel and I was back in the group. That was about when Ward was riding away from us. I had to keep with him so got to pass was on Ward's wheel as we dove back into the singletrack. This was the time and place where I realized I was faster than him today on the trail and plans were hatched in me head. He got me yesterday, it's my turn today. I ended up passing Ward on the next road section before the next singletrack and rode just a tiny bit faster than him through the singletrack. I got a good gap and was able to keep it for the last lap and a half and took home the Victory. Greg ended up running right by Michael on the long run up and help the gap to grab 3rd! That dude can run faster than anybody I know, except maybe Webber.

I have not won many races, in this or any of my previous racing seasons, so this was truly one of the best and most satisfying wins (or races) I've ever had. Ward's going very fast right now, and just in time for State Champs next weekend. It was awesome to see my team mate Greg riding so fast too, and get a podium spot I believe for the first time this season! Part of the fun of the race is always gossiping with the crew at the finish line after the race, replaying each step. There's such support for everyone and how they did, no ego, just pats on the back and high-5's. This is what I come back to racing for: throwing yourself out there into the mix with a bunch of guys you know (or don't yet) and getting props and support for your efforts no matter how you do. 45 minutes of adventure.

Check out the pictures on Mud and Cowbells as I wasn't able to grab any today.

Back at the Ranch, me and my girl hiked in the fresh snow with the Count Muppies on the MonkeyTraverse loop. Lots and lots of tracks around the area...coyote, a very wandering vole, fox, squirrel and rabbit. Smrp saw the elk herd a few days ago on the eastern ridge heading up the aspen gulch so we know they're around, but they haven't browsed the valley since then unfortunately. I really love that winter is coming and all that brings with it, but I will miss the MTB rides and cyclocross.

Perfect cross conditions at Chatfield today. A surprise storm blew in
4" at the house and a couple down in the flatlands. Swervy slick
singletrack thru the huge cottonwoods with only a couple places to
pass. I wasn't as smooth on the singletrack as i would have liked but
felt pretty good and raced with a big smile. Four of us got off the
front after the first lap and we all traded the lead not being able to
drop any one person. Ward took V in the end just ahead of me; he was
riding the slick corners better than me. Jon of Moots just behind me
and then Tim. Only two races left in the season here with tomorrow at
Bear Creek, State Champs next Sunday.

Thanksgiving day.
We're not much for killing turkeys so this holiday always comes with mixed feelings...but we make the most of it by spoiling the animals we have.

It started out a cool way with us watching the 5-pack of coyotes playing in the back meadow...And I mean playing like they had no worries in the world! Too funny.


Then, a big out-the-back hike with the Count-muppies (4 dogs) in the morning and smrp letting the horses out to play in the afternoon, among other play sessions with the dogs.

It snowed a tiny bit last night so I just HAD to step out at 3 for an awesome 2 hour singlespeed ride on the Hunter dressed with his new mtn mustache bars (swapped out the H-bars to the 69er for the winter). Went west and up to B&S and sat on a rock overlook of the creek on the way down.
Perfect conditions:
Light snow over singletrack.
Right when I was about to leave a Goshawk lofted low below me up the drainage on his way home for the night. I agreed, it was time to head home before dark.
For all of this I am thankful.

Some videos of the Durango trail riding we did a few weeks back.
I set it up so you could see much of the trails being ridden, which is cool to watch but dizzying at times. They're quite long videos so careful:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Trails2000

Returning today from a visit out to norcal for my dad's 80th birthday.
That's a big birthday, and to see that he commonly gets mistaken for less than 65 is cool. Glad to have good genes. I got to hang out with his brother and sister and hear lots about
my grandad and grandma who I knew little of as I was pretty young when
they died. My roots are indeed in Colorado and I find it strange how I
ended up here not knowing that.

I'm wishing I had gone to singlespeed worlds in Sweden as all the
times my relatives have gone, they've been welcomed by a town full of
relatives and reunion dinners of 70 people! My uncle related a story
to me of his first trip back of him going to a church to ask
directions and the priest present said "why don't you ask the
gardener... he's your cousin!"

I saw this sweet setup at the race Saturday. Crappy pic due to my
finger. The ultimate cross-bike transporter...if you have two bikes of
course!

More cross

Raced last saturday at Louisville Rec Center, next to the lil crappy skatepark there. It was another sunny day on the cross course, if a bit colder (long sleeve jersey....whoa!). For November 15th, having a 50 degree cross race in Boulder seems odd. Record field numbers in all races - the Women's Open race had more women in it than I thought that rode bicycles in Boulder! Cross is indeed growing at an alarming rate. Who would've thought such a painful sport would gain such appreciation? It IS fun to watch, and now that I'm racing in the 35+ category, I get to watch some of my old friends suffer in the Mens Open race with beer in hand. It's kinda fun to yell (heckle) at them as they pass. Next year I may have to go back to the Open category cause I think with more training I could be competitive in there again. I'm by no means dominating the Masters class as each race is a struggle to get top 5, but I feel like the top 5 in the Masters could be top 15 or maybe top 10 in the Open. For example, the Pilot got a strong 6th place his first race back in the Open class after 4 wins in a row in the 35+ races. So anyways, I'm not good at race reports, so I'll leave that to Dr.Cross at Mud and Cowbells.

In other news, the Nederland Skatepark finally opened! After 5 years, it happened...it's there...and it's amazing! I heard opening day (when I was racing) was quite cold and windy. It highlighted what a wind tunnel Ned is situated in. Boards flying away from their owners...that is just classic.

AT article

Giving AT a try on the slopes this year. And why not? Looks like fun! and it's safer in avi terrain (releaseable bindings) while being lighter and better in variable snow conditions. I don't think i'll like the TURN as much as tele or snowboard, but I'm all for trying new things.
Here's a Lou article with the to-be-expected tele-slamming undercurrent, but nonetheless somewhat interesting for its historic content:
http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/at_article_big/at_article_big.html

First snow in awhile! Not much...but its a start. The wind has been
insane this fall...rattling the house and blowing off tarps that we
thought Andre the Giant couldn't rip off. Dry weather always comes
with wind...So I am ready for some snow!
Here's a picture of the before-work walk with Monkey and Basie (the
Guppies and Smrp and in tow).

Veteran's Day ride

First, I want to send a hat's off to the Veteran's out there on this Veteran's Day. Other than my dad who was a Marine during the Korean war but didn't get sent to Korea, I only know one Vet - friend and neighbor NinjaPonyDad who lives with his experiences in Vietnam every day. I cannot imagine what it's like to live with those experiences, to lose friends, and have to return to "normalcy" and make it all work out. My thoughts go out to all of you.

As I work for a Government agency, I get the day off and decide to go for a ride before settling into some ranch-work. The weather called for snow yesterday and today, but we just got some wind that blew snow in from the Divide. Partly sunny, or cloudy depending on whether your glass is half full or empty, it got up to 42deg I think and turned out to be a very nice day. A perfect singlespeed ride on the Hunter around the hood. A two hour ride turned into a 4 hour ride as I unexpectedly found some 'interesting' things in the woods (see picture).

After some ranch work I headed out with Basie and Monkey before darkness fell (5pm now! ouch!). I let Monkey lead the way as she's the Matriarch in the family now and she can do whatever the hell she wants as she just turned 12 (we don't know her real birthday unfortunately as Smrp found her on the side of the road over a decade ago). We go down the driveway, up to the "Monkey Traverse" trail as I call it. It's a contour-grade trail on the property that makes a loop instead of an out-and-back. I hope we can have a few more years of exploring together.

Cyclocross

It becomes an obsession. It was my "thing" each fall up until about 8 years ago when I unofficially "retired." But as most know by now - especially in the cycling world - no one really retires...they just go away for a few years and come back almost just as strong (many times anyways). To name just a few retirees that still kick your ass: Ned Overend, Travis Brown, Pete Webber, Dave Weins, and now Lance. They "retire" to have a normal life - have kids and such - and then show up out of nowhere and go right back to where they were before they retired. Now I'm definitely NOT comparing myself to these riders, no way! But I do have the same virus that they got when they returned to racing.

My passion for CX has always been there, but my desire to race wanes as other priorities take precedence. To me, cross is a true racing sport. It's a fast paced cycling steeple chase where roadies, mountain bikers, and everyone inbetween gets together to duke it out in the "off-season." It's fun to watch for spectators and fun to race even if you're suffering grasping for every last O2 molecule. If you haven't checked out Mud and Cowbells yet (new link on the side) definitely do if you love cross. I recently met Keller and he writes (and rides) cross very well and is more passionate about it than anybody I know.

So...after 8 years, more or less, away from cross, things have changed. At least there are still people cross-dressing and wearing fake rainbow afros out there having a ton of fun!

My Independent Fabrications Planet Cross steel frame is no longer a sweet race bike in the minds of many...frames have all gone to carbon and superlight aluminum (Scandium) is even falling out of favor. (However, Indy-Fab's stainless steel frame is just sick! Drool....) The new carbon trend has dropped bike weights to road bike levels - my bike is seriously at least 5 pounds heavier than many of my compatriots. But hey, it's steel and it's sweet! I'm sure my 10 year old Mavic tubular wheelset has been replaced by something carbon as well...but would it last 10 years? Don't think so. How do you even true those wheelsets? I'm at a total loss. So this must be why I'm now the "Old Schooler" at the races. I'm only 35, but my friends DJ'ing the races and on the sidelines are yelling such things as "The ONLY school is the OLD school!" I laugh, but also question why I'm an anomaly at the races?

Is it my Midge bars (new style Dirt Drops)? Or is it what I wear? I wear what's comfortable and functional for me - baggie Nemas and a wool jersey (cotton shirts the last few weekends as it's still summer here somehow!?). For some reason, this wardrobe confuses many, offends some, and I think threatens others. I never have understood why so many people don't like racing with, and especially getting beat by a dude in baggy shorts. One of the other reasons I wear what I wear is to show that ANYBODY can race bikes. It has nothing to do with what you wear and how many sponsors you have or if you shave your legs or not. It's all about what's inside, and how hard you worked to get here. Think of your favorite fast rider or racer...now think of them in baggies and a t-shirt (if they aren't already of course). They would be just as fast. I guarantee it.

I guess I've always just questioned the mainstream and questioned authority. And I do understand that there are benefits to the lightweight lycra jerseys and shorts that everyone races in. But there are other options. So when everyone's towing the line, and you can't understand why, don't just step in line, make your own line! Ok, I'll step off my horse now. Cheers!

It was a Boulder Cup cyclocross race weekend. Two races in two
days...raced the "masters" open category (35+) and had a good old
sufferfest each day. Saw a ton of people that I hadn't seen in a long
long time - probably since the last time I raced cross seriously 8
years ago. Highs in the 70s made for some very un-cross like
weather. I was very happy grabbing 6th and 3rd place finishes as I
thought I was in much worse shape than I am. Thanks to NPD and all the
others for the cheers and props! I'm not even close to the Pilot
though who has won 4 straight!...but I'm on the rise so watch out! The
highlight was seeing McCarthy join in on the fun! Just like the ole
days!

The picture is of the top four Elite boys killing the rest of the
field....they were in their own category for sure. (Trebron, Wells,
Powers, and Johnson). It's cool watching the elite race from the
sidelines instead of partaking. Tons of people cheering and enjoying
the afternoon.

Waiting for the train to pass and taking in the view of fall from the
post-cross ride bike path ride to work. A stunning fall morning today
in town. Supposed to be 75 degrees today...wow.

Travels end

I have more to post on Durango...a ton of video as I video'd each ride we did with a helmet camera. It should be really fun to watch, but will take awhile to edit. Maybe in a week i'll have a movie for all to watch.

Just got back tonight from Laramie, Wyoming. It was freaking freezing up there! I was at a GIS conference and snuck out on a couple of after-work rides to get lost. Fun double-tracks right outside of the hotel there that lead up towards "Happy Jacks" road and Vedauwoo.

Laramie truthfully surprised me - in a good way. It had better veggie/vegan food than Boulder or Ned. Seriously. I was totally shocked at that cow-town's diversity in food. It also was surrounded by open space, a TON of it. Snowy Range to the west, and the Vedauwoo area to the east. When it's not -5 windchill and snowy I will certainly come back to ride and explore a lot. I hear there's a cool 100km mtb race up there too.


For now, here are some shots of Durango rides. Saturday we actually did a cross race in Dolores - about 45 min north of Durango. It was a very cool grass-roots event with only about 20 guys in the Cat A group. Duking it out in cross is always a blast and I'm not as out of shape as i thought. T kicked my arse of course in the end - and everyone else's too on his belt-drive singlespeed prototype cross bike. Now for some pics of the rides on Thurs/Friday:

Heading up the singletrack 1 minute from T's house, Perrins Peak in the background.

Lots of wind recently made for lots of downed trees that we either cut or moved off the trail. Here's the happy cutting couple gettin 'er done.

Up Animas Mountain Trail, looking into the Hermosa/Animas River valley.

Looking towards the La Platas from the top of Animas Mtn.

Enjoying having no place to be...

The end of day Bread stop for some grub and coffee.

Singletrack vacation.
Durango view north of Perrins Peak and the San Juans in the distance.

Thursday and Friday we rode most of the day - right from the house and
onto singletrack in less than 30 seconds. Seriously.
There was no place to be, the weather was 70 and sunny, and i didn't
turn the keys in the car for three days.
It was pretty simple really - like every visit to D-town: sleep in,
ride for several hours, stop in town for coffee and food before and
after the ride, and then a beer on the deck before dinner.

Greetings from Durango! I've been in here for a few days visiting
friends and doing some amazing trail riding. The MTB trails here are
stunning...and the areas they bring us to are even better.

Here's a Locals only brew from Ska for you specialty beer drinkers out
there. Ska aparently only releases some seasonals to the local
stores. It was a good wet hopped IPA but not close to the other
standards, and especially far from the Port Brewing IPAs we found in
Boulder recently!

A photo of my Tuesday commute in. The first snow ride of the season.
The snow that fell Saturday mostly melted, but created an ice storm-
like appearence to the trees - making many bend over and arc over and
onto the trail under the weight of the ice. When I'd pass by and hit
their branches, the ice would shatter like glass. A very surreal
experience.

Running

I'm not a graceful runner...by any stretch of the imagination.  I probably look like a gorilla running. But sometimes (rarely) I get that flow - that effortless glide - like you get on a bike on smooth singletrack or on skis on any given powder day.  That feeling, and covering such cool terrain, makes running fun. There's no better way to experience the foothills of Flatrock than running (no bikes allowed).  Like my girl says, even though mountain biking isn't allowed, that doesn't mean that YOU aren't allowed!  So out on foot I go each fall, taking a different and longer loop each time, leaf peeping all the aspen, sumac, cottonwood, chokecherry, willow et al that I can see.  Years ago, it used to be a tour-de-Mtn Parks after each summer race season - the off-season cross-training with the fellow racer geeks. Start off at the coffee shop, then plan the route, 3-4 hours each time, with each peak - Bear, Green, S.Bldr being a race to the top - a KOM with no holds barred but all in good fun.  But now i  go solo and enjoy the sound of feet on fallen leaves, slapping shoes on crunchy snow, contrasting the silence of the woods.  I try to stay focused on the trail, as there are millions of rocks waiting to twist my weak ankles, but the sights of fall are too enticing so I look around and stop more than someone who is actually "training" should or would do.  It's just being out there in cool new places that makes me run (and suffer).

Coldest morning of the season so far...tomorrow will likely break it.
It snowed for the first time on Saturday night - 3" of the wet sierra
cement type snow. Cars off the road on the canyon, nobody with
snowtires on yet. Thoughts turn from cross to skiis already.

A fine day it was yesterday. I took the day off to help the Airspeed
crew (the Ned skatepark builders) with whatever they needed help doing
at the park. So after hitting the Wednesday morning cross ride in the
60plus degree heat in Boulder, I headed back up the hill to be slave.
After helping pour cement and sweeping and shovelling wheelbarrows
full of crap...we took a couple of hours to clean up the park ...and
then skated it....for the very first time since it was built.
I picked a great day to volunteer...!!
Here's Geth - the designer/builder - grabbing a nice frontside in the
large bowl.

Leaf Peeper

South Arapahoe Peak

Headed to singletrack mtn this morning before the incoming storm. Looks like we may have some snow by Monday -- 1st time this fall. It was a bit chillier at 43 when i left at 9am - lending itself to that beautiful crisp "fall" smell. Today reminded me of the late November singlespeed rides with wood stoves burning in anticipation of the snow on the way...where tomorrow would be a super sweet singletrack snow ride. I actually am looking forward to those days. But for now, I look forward to these types of days,as they are getting shorter and shorter, and the aspens are in full kaliedascope colors. I wish this season lasted longer!

PS- added a link to a Picasa web album of Dubba's CT ride to the post below...

Boulder's 30 year bike ban in mountain parks is coming under review
starting this year in the "West Trail Study Area plan." The below sign
was found on a few trails where bikes aren't currently allowed...
Can't you be a mtb'r AND a wildlife lover?
Let the silly games begin...

Yesterday's commute view.

A perfect fall day.

Dubba's Bachelor Ride

Dubba's getting married!

Three Pilots rode from the start of the Colorado Trail in Denver the 110 or so miles to Breckenridge (with some highway thrown in to bypass the Wilderness Area). Check out the video (turn up the volume!!):
http://picasaweb.google.com/whitcj/DubbaSBachelorRideOnTheColoradoTrail#

The leaves have started changing color... It started yesterday at the
ranch and it's going quick! A few mornings in a row under 30 degrees
has also pushed the hummingbirds south for the winter. With the new
snow that fell up high (3" in Breck, more on the peaks) I think we are
in the move to winter here!

Pilot report on a two-day CT ride to follow in the next day...

...and later on in the commute...

A foggy start to the day yesterday.

Ned Skatepark is pretty insane...

In our backyard:

http://www.nedsk8.org/construction.htm

truly a WOW for me...I can't believe this will be ours in the next couple months.

Sunday Ride

Met NinjaPonyDad for a sweet S-T Mtn ride this morning. Perfect weather and didn't see a soul (yes, that's a good thing in my book). We took the road route to get there today instead of the hike into the trails to chat, but also so that he may be able to find this place when not with me. Most friends I take rides never find some of the stuff we ride together when they're alone. I don't purposely get "lost" anymore but it's still hard to find these trails even when I've ridden them for years! (I have been known to purposely "miss" the entrance to some trails and ride around in circles to get people disorientated before finally "finding" the trail. Thus is how it is with the secret stashes.) I'd name the trails we did if they had names. May have to get the Pilot on that, although he tends to name trails things that can't be said in front of your mom.

I have to say, a week or two ago i had given up racing cross this season because of how my sore tired body feels after every weekend of ranch work. But listening to NPD talk, it's making me want to just go out there and have fun and not care so much about how I feel and finish. He has a great attitude towards racing and life...very positive. I hope some of that can rub off on me.
Cross is inherently fun if you don't take yourself too seriously. If you do well, that's great! Duking it out with whomever is around you is always fun. I hear the Pilot will be out there this year as well...which should be fun. I'll see if I can make it past the one race I did last year (before I broke my foot). Bring it on!

Sunset at the ranch.
Not bad for an iphone!

The August Ski

DV8 was gone for a month, so when he returned from his crazy NOLS Waddington glacier traverse, we decided to grab a (comparatively mild) August ski at Skyscraper glacier (as if he hadn't seen enough snow in the last month).

For me, I didn't bushwhack Alder for 4 days in a row and then walk with an 80lb pack on my back over crevasse-filled glaciers for 25 days, but I have been working my arse off on the ranch so today was a nice reprieve. In fact, I took it "easy" yesterday - only putting in 8 hours of ranch labor instead of 10, and I even had a nice nap on the couch while the hour long thunderstorm hit. (So today I felt more or less well rested...)

I like this picture of the start of Skyscraper. Look how the Continental Divide just ENDS...it's flat, and then just cliffs-out. All the windblown snow just collects on the east side. How long has that snow next to the rock been there? When did it fall? Is there a windblown Woolly Mammoth under there somewhere?

DV8 headed down some rough snow. It was soft-ish, but had some pretty deep runnels which made turning and getting an edge in difficult, especially on our lightweight setups. The top was a tough few turns on the 45deg plus slope with the death runnels, but it evened out some down lower and one might say some summer corn was skied!

DV8 and Bob (Lake).

Even in the winter, this run is still only 500ft vertical, so why not do it in August? This was my first August ski, ever. Why you ask do we ski in August? Well, it's not for the snow conditions, that's for sure. But the turns alone are not why we head out there even in winter. It's about getting out there and seeing new beautiful places, hearing nothing but your breath (and the pika, birds, and marmots of course), and just being in the moment - as worn-out as that statement sounds. The turns are secondary in the end.

It pictures like these that inspire the long hikes with skis and boots on the back. The wildflowers up high are in full swing while the leaves of others are going to red for fall. There's an aspen on our property that's already going yellow. Fall will be here very shortly.