tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40536168718831089812024-03-12T23:40:59.110-06:00Round is ITWheel=Good!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-60403844580658750882012-07-04T16:23:00.000-06:002012-07-04T16:23:37.952-06:00Waldo Canyon FireHave you ever been asked what you would take if you had to evacuate your home in the event of a fire? Well, I recently got to find out first hand.<br />
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It all started on Saturday, June 23rd, 2012. I decided to go for a bike ride on the hottest day (100 degrees) ever on June 23rd. On the way home I saw a plume of smoke coming from the hills above our house.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQYNyiU6acae8BeXWmFakNODEC_JTOJ_RBnPVTIKDh8uFYFOFuohc8E1yIfvu0K9j_u015d64kT3c1zsXkhDTljU3TwH9NbjX6umD_0HcyPYpjm3nyvw5tq2iKZqQfC6Z8TXSUKKM5d7Hs/s1600/fire+from+my+front+porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQYNyiU6acae8BeXWmFakNODEC_JTOJ_RBnPVTIKDh8uFYFOFuohc8E1yIfvu0K9j_u015d64kT3c1zsXkhDTljU3TwH9NbjX6umD_0HcyPYpjm3nyvw5tq2iKZqQfC6Z8TXSUKKM5d7Hs/s320/fire+from+my+front+porch.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Oh, crap.." I thought. I never imagined that in 3 short days, that fire would be raging down the hill towards my neighborhood at a ridiculous and unbelievable speed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The days after it started we all watched as the firefighters worked hard to save Cedar Heights above Manitou Springs and waited patiently for the air support to arrive. Our neighbors to the south were all evacuated and were getting antsy to get back home. Then Tuesday afternoon happened. I was at work and Cindy called to tell me that we were being pre-evacuated. I decided to leave early and on my drive home I took these pictures:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2M2ED3GmsQ3030GU7LQq1Za1guE5Pbb5CYnn6j6Km1u3iFFz2myLoebU51RwR8o-ryorRz_r2nMZCBhRuonhj3Yoj9WnaPZozSkD993Pi-LY1xM9LUH8_VX9R3_TPPXB2BMrqgvDg6W5r/s1600/P1010083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2M2ED3GmsQ3030GU7LQq1Za1guE5Pbb5CYnn6j6Km1u3iFFz2myLoebU51RwR8o-ryorRz_r2nMZCBhRuonhj3Yoj9WnaPZozSkD993Pi-LY1xM9LUH8_VX9R3_TPPXB2BMrqgvDg6W5r/s320/P1010083.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was still a ridge over from ours and would have to cross Queens Canyon to get to us. I got a text from Cindy asking if she should come home. I told her no, there was plenty of time.... I got home and started watching the press conference to get more info when my neighbor knocked on my door. "You have to see this", she said. I walked out on my front porch and here is what greeted me:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g3CfJbGcPtcskO49E9yYAU4-Kx_RN1SNR0MxEfe4wlkCaReE1hwkXdXWu0myD_zuJpzoMeRGMO5c-_udxxjI5ImTkwBOqpZCCV0u_FEb6E_vYlftL07gscLEF5aYrQGxOsz5bloTGGtB/s1600/P1010112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g3CfJbGcPtcskO49E9yYAU4-Kx_RN1SNR0MxEfe4wlkCaReE1hwkXdXWu0myD_zuJpzoMeRGMO5c-_udxxjI5ImTkwBOqpZCCV0u_FEb6E_vYlftL07gscLEF5aYrQGxOsz5bloTGGtB/s400/P1010112.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I texted Cindy "come home now" and started packing the car. Then the wind that brought us this little gift hit our neighborhood at around 60 mph, enveloping us in smoke. Visibility went to about a block and cars were whizzing by the house in a big hurry to get home while a steady stream of cars started forming a line in the other direction to get out of the area...fast!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While all of this was going on, I continued to pack the car and take the occasional picture. This was the beginning of the end for the Flying W Ranch:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQupdlHGQq9Ny7uqV3LrusqGBSRgXckmiRLi59-5DrQDoCyCbqkS9m1s2FM_cYdl_hEZtcFiM_QrWl77qBtUlDRbVGCsoaGUPaRs0TCXhGiFI45SbUuQ20dAIugXq1Rbn8WgtIKRXSrS-6/s1600/P1010115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQupdlHGQq9Ny7uqV3LrusqGBSRgXckmiRLi59-5DrQDoCyCbqkS9m1s2FM_cYdl_hEZtcFiM_QrWl77qBtUlDRbVGCsoaGUPaRs0TCXhGiFI45SbUuQ20dAIugXq1Rbn8WgtIKRXSrS-6/s400/P1010115.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The heat coming off the fire combined with the high wind and 100 degree weather was unbelievable and was amazing to experience first-hand. I had to keep stopping to drink water while running around the house packing our stuff.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got everything packed except for what Cindy might want and started to get a little antsy. I hoped that she would be able to make it home through all of the chaos. I grabbed some of her clothes and was getting ready to round up the dogs when there was a loud knock on the door. It was a police officer and he told me to get out..NOW. By then I figured they didn't let Cindy back into the neighborhood so I loaded up the dogs and got in line to evacuate. I got about a block and saw Cindy driving towards the house so I whipped a U-turn and followed her home. She got some stuff and we got to leave together! I looked at our house one last time thinking I may never see it again and we left. Here are some pics I took while driving out:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_GvE6CI8ALYqCnoE35TI4wqPXCFTTj_22qGXo6_uZ-CHsscyiaXQmUlM7L5rA8El2M7ds_1fdDOlufKL7jPL1F0nmuMZi9C-YtyBndU_-UT7jn8Oh6RXP3vDW7IXSkMDeHHYXxNj7CdZ/s1600/P1010122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_GvE6CI8ALYqCnoE35TI4wqPXCFTTj_22qGXo6_uZ-CHsscyiaXQmUlM7L5rA8El2M7ds_1fdDOlufKL7jPL1F0nmuMZi9C-YtyBndU_-UT7jn8Oh6RXP3vDW7IXSkMDeHHYXxNj7CdZ/s400/P1010122.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTp1qnTsOvFmVTP23o-l-QQrKXT4o44g-Vlo7tDjbYKwc6pPrXoagcG4-3xbX9w51w9tqYlcL0Gnqr1eygqnlN01ABGAS9Pnch7JRNtyqxnulVSt1HyFCWd8d-XBgUZFhlC2GNaKyfTHvS/s1600/P1010124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTp1qnTsOvFmVTP23o-l-QQrKXT4o44g-Vlo7tDjbYKwc6pPrXoagcG4-3xbX9w51w9tqYlcL0Gnqr1eygqnlN01ABGAS9Pnch7JRNtyqxnulVSt1HyFCWd8d-XBgUZFhlC2GNaKyfTHvS/s400/P1010124.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmr5t3mhKSjy4Do5IliZO7hrEWgYe95RkvJUvPY1UyzAzSUtMJjz7bPylVGAuueiXFDYFk9q43q6_5hp0nK4rsYT_hNmuNgizdJ8zI8yS8IDN72SoExoc_HgLXXsnhOcc-_wgOyc47PZZG/s1600/P1010125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmr5t3mhKSjy4Do5IliZO7hrEWgYe95RkvJUvPY1UyzAzSUtMJjz7bPylVGAuueiXFDYFk9q43q6_5hp0nK4rsYT_hNmuNgizdJ8zI8yS8IDN72SoExoc_HgLXXsnhOcc-_wgOyc47PZZG/s400/P1010125.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As evacuees, we were about as fortunate as you can get. My sister and her family live about 25 minutes south of us and welcomed us with open arms. Their house is big and air-conditioned and she is an awesome cook. I got to spend time with my niece, Jordan and we even bounced on the trampoline a bit. Here is Jordan with our dogs in our temporary basement home:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83r9at2EmNh75NzcMMv2szkmCoZBeIiq-XkEIyTFpEw-nqI1lc9I9NirYt_jqUVM6ORtw5pDOsbQhM-3vQ_SJNq8E9gP_BiItBA9UxlPDsfaSAh1agyjiutNlIj9oKTFzY5mci0fYtCwv/s1600/P1010128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83r9at2EmNh75NzcMMv2szkmCoZBeIiq-XkEIyTFpEw-nqI1lc9I9NirYt_jqUVM6ORtw5pDOsbQhM-3vQ_SJNq8E9gP_BiItBA9UxlPDsfaSAh1agyjiutNlIj9oKTFzY5mci0fYtCwv/s400/P1010128.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jordan likes dinosaurs and these were fighting to the death:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6Q0AAPsGtJ7C79ddzUIJcoKwNrlKuILImZzHgyi1_SD3DXDi6Mc8TKKD4WWtHwhqVoj66ITFo1RlKJJ2C12bNfHULpEAf1AaNzFaDXl42wrS8P2PssSwf0_Nicrw4UMbA1_38CZNIcTm/s1600/P1010130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6Q0AAPsGtJ7C79ddzUIJcoKwNrlKuILImZzHgyi1_SD3DXDi6Mc8TKKD4WWtHwhqVoj66ITFo1RlKJJ2C12bNfHULpEAf1AaNzFaDXl42wrS8P2PssSwf0_Nicrw4UMbA1_38CZNIcTm/s400/P1010130.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We are home now and the fire is far away and 80% contained. I still get a faint smell of smoke when I enter the garage but for us, things are back to normal. I went for my first ride from home since that Saturday when it all began and saw some of the burned down homes. In my local park, Ute Valley, there was a burned patch that looks like it may have started from an ember floating over Popes Bluff...that could have been very bad news if our firefighters had missed it. Those guys are on it and we all have an even greater appreciation for what they do. They saved so many homes and grieved when they could not. Wow. Awesome!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are some during and after shots from my front yard:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbmQptXhTudp3FrWXYYso8WBv_RABAzf-_uL9JcamZ5URqtjy_eZwyPX65V7p-ODQjt9edtQnU24crzlckx6dqs-5gcLRHyyrJMkeGXnIm84KQvEaIAvnw1fXFmViDHltK5egJPrG2Vw7/s1600/P1010113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbmQptXhTudp3FrWXYYso8WBv_RABAzf-_uL9JcamZ5URqtjy_eZwyPX65V7p-ODQjt9edtQnU24crzlckx6dqs-5gcLRHyyrJMkeGXnIm84KQvEaIAvnw1fXFmViDHltK5egJPrG2Vw7/s400/P1010113.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmDWhQvzgj6QcbCskypQVrL8gAAzeGuhuKC8hgF2DaLwgrByL7mGRRG-IW6JAszf4gSFR9yGaEF6umfJZHhOYwxnOVvVfwZOKzYren-7uAaMhlp3NQ4y8u8K97iAQPhWFyUuiMb6vbEbV/s1600/P1010146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmDWhQvzgj6QcbCskypQVrL8gAAzeGuhuKC8hgF2DaLwgrByL7mGRRG-IW6JAszf4gSFR9yGaEF6umfJZHhOYwxnOVvVfwZOKzYren-7uAaMhlp3NQ4y8u8K97iAQPhWFyUuiMb6vbEbV/s400/P1010146.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you look by the traffic light pole on the right you can see some houses that are now gone. Terrible.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0a-HDSJ6ZmP8aepfi6fMW1IiEn-3R5LottRQtg13qtxL0zCeZvhxM2bGRLiOzRr0cZl0ZtNXjAsc9HrgEcgxw3ci1Ywucrp0ZTyTt6wawo01yo-7AdLRopVjttNh93hzmqXy02eaMJox/s1600/P1010114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0a-HDSJ6ZmP8aepfi6fMW1IiEn-3R5LottRQtg13qtxL0zCeZvhxM2bGRLiOzRr0cZl0ZtNXjAsc9HrgEcgxw3ci1Ywucrp0ZTyTt6wawo01yo-7AdLRopVjttNh93hzmqXy02eaMJox/s400/P1010114.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNB6pSwhGxolk_nLHic-YKO92YDiWD0SZNfn2jF_ruWLZBh7mtv-B803l3l_LscXz93OXumeBHt1KAhRMy7qGV3WwBuHLPFqrlN-3N887MSYhXqC6oNjK4Dw9Q_UpL2FZnE-mYL9_DkbCH/s1600/P1010147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNB6pSwhGxolk_nLHic-YKO92YDiWD0SZNfn2jF_ruWLZBh7mtv-B803l3l_LscXz93OXumeBHt1KAhRMy7qGV3WwBuHLPFqrlN-3N887MSYhXqC6oNjK4Dw9Q_UpL2FZnE-mYL9_DkbCH/s400/P1010147.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I sincerely hope that my next blog post is about a great ride. Ha!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-28877737895445796982012-06-23T15:55:00.000-06:002012-06-23T15:55:22.972-06:00Monarch Crest Trail on the eve of the SolsticeThe other day I got a call from an old friend named Tony Munoz. He was wondering if I would like to join him and his buddy Adam on a Mountain Bike ride on the Crest Trail from the top of Monarch Pass. It just so happened that I was looking for an adventure and a reason to play hooky from work so I said OK!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7maU6M_xOQy-5nEgz8vXkV3u3qRTFqWztD3S-DWQk-Hb395TFmyijPVOv9zZPHvF3m9Wyvi57iK_wEzhRA-5M4dILvgyTolqgDVetIMEqLGhhJBoYmgF7B-i8oKFohGViEBWyJ6QugrA/s1600/top+of+the+pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7maU6M_xOQy-5nEgz8vXkV3u3qRTFqWztD3S-DWQk-Hb395TFmyijPVOv9zZPHvF3m9Wyvi57iK_wEzhRA-5M4dILvgyTolqgDVetIMEqLGhhJBoYmgF7B-i8oKFohGViEBWyJ6QugrA/s320/top+of+the+pass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We opted to take the shuttle and save an hour and a half of climbing Monarch Pass with cars whizzing by. On the way up, Tony noticed that my bike was a bit crooked and told the driver...seconds later it fell over. I had visions of my beloved bike falling off the trailer and getting munched by a truck, but it stayed put. We put it in the van with us for the duration of the drive up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sALk4zbwS8p0jjyHPEK_c1LYlf27iQIsdh3EVrIP1CA80iHxSfo5qTG4HMLwWfkDajrx4aGKh0xKCUgduo2Qqqh5SI9XjeE4JhZLKVEmr8TtfhLClZdVemgdCVzo-bDyCFT4qgK5bCe0/s1600/P1010023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sALk4zbwS8p0jjyHPEK_c1LYlf27iQIsdh3EVrIP1CA80iHxSfo5qTG4HMLwWfkDajrx4aGKh0xKCUgduo2Qqqh5SI9XjeE4JhZLKVEmr8TtfhLClZdVemgdCVzo-bDyCFT4qgK5bCe0/s320/P1010023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are some of the pictures I took on the ride (I just got a new Panasonic Lumix digital camera with a ridiculously cool panorama feature and this was it's maiden voyage):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jum6Dln5XGS4BQM2X4FBHM5IA6KWwzEqY7ImUtXLn4cZl82G1ANpoPfbLGW6k36Vy0T2eVwRqaJ0mrToMeYZeGGOP3BXwdwe3o9shbRhyRK90Q67gXc1ZfHbU1fcAmXFsc8vOBg-xcko/s1600/high+single+track.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jum6Dln5XGS4BQM2X4FBHM5IA6KWwzEqY7ImUtXLn4cZl82G1ANpoPfbLGW6k36Vy0T2eVwRqaJ0mrToMeYZeGGOP3BXwdwe3o9shbRhyRK90Q67gXc1ZfHbU1fcAmXFsc8vOBg-xcko/s400/high+single+track.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB3MfLvm87mzGnVxZ8Q9ytc9cEb-vV-9-yoHagw5LWvtzd20pj1BQpykDRFWkSugq6UF36GcTExWsCM2r3vLumzBbWSTNMi8XFp46oDk2BNn7AD9YBc3-9fNPtWuqK6HfEo4hXVb74uH7/s1600/P1010027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB3MfLvm87mzGnVxZ8Q9ytc9cEb-vV-9-yoHagw5LWvtzd20pj1BQpykDRFWkSugq6UF36GcTExWsCM2r3vLumzBbWSTNMi8XFp46oDk2BNn7AD9YBc3-9fNPtWuqK6HfEo4hXVb74uH7/s400/P1010027.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqdoXt4pjPRJ6yTGcCEB_uMWi_F_dEvIBkbeg5CdldDLGyCNxKeYji640t4xUE6fvsBg5j0ZY7cfFrYjNQcLGlv2mVa8hW9PL8anhX_uG3_rxEB609CgaFlaR6Z6kBv-B15xTjuCD-xo2/s1600/P1010030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqdoXt4pjPRJ6yTGcCEB_uMWi_F_dEvIBkbeg5CdldDLGyCNxKeYji640t4xUE6fvsBg5j0ZY7cfFrYjNQcLGlv2mVa8hW9PL8anhX_uG3_rxEB609CgaFlaR6Z6kBv-B15xTjuCD-xo2/s400/P1010030.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBXxEs1Cw6UeeXqslqY51Hag_LMTwjTJbJ3o2_-dVKXg7b4hjnlxUUFsRrxEZ23gHlGrPmeO6Z55favC6pZMdgp9ewtF-BRxhuy4HCoUnj7BIy-D28QW6LBq-1SqoywCCko29El7O7FoYV/s1600/P1010031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBXxEs1Cw6UeeXqslqY51Hag_LMTwjTJbJ3o2_-dVKXg7b4hjnlxUUFsRrxEZ23gHlGrPmeO6Z55favC6pZMdgp9ewtF-BRxhuy4HCoUnj7BIy-D28QW6LBq-1SqoywCCko29El7O7FoYV/s400/P1010031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHjslSOz12YXKbChQqm6XN6h_cKbMS6lupPEAD1TzNMhd-NADg3TmfRT9acnCjdtSlKkPUdBwY1wV5rn8BIzLIQoM6LIDXxL7UxwctqweA4AR9km2XZACKp37r9B1odqlr4MnCNx9nkVaf/s1600/groupphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHjslSOz12YXKbChQqm6XN6h_cKbMS6lupPEAD1TzNMhd-NADg3TmfRT9acnCjdtSlKkPUdBwY1wV5rn8BIzLIQoM6LIDXxL7UxwctqweA4AR9km2XZACKp37r9B1odqlr4MnCNx9nkVaf/s400/groupphoto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX58Egrg1B8Cu5xz8JVKBOor45WjIxQzy7G0lzf_6QBWkXuaCxkWpWrkUIfX_pBU7Kx0ctQmDmCcN6pXnwvcadL2nQ-Gdmpphg1TkAuNxPFch2pajOhAVKjoNve1XBmNLxZvAey6LH5-SC/s1600/tonyandmeoncrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX58Egrg1B8Cu5xz8JVKBOor45WjIxQzy7G0lzf_6QBWkXuaCxkWpWrkUIfX_pBU7Kx0ctQmDmCcN6pXnwvcadL2nQ-Gdmpphg1TkAuNxPFch2pajOhAVKjoNve1XBmNLxZvAey6LH5-SC/s400/tonyandmeoncrest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the ride we drove over to Buena Vista for a stop at Poncho's. I always get the Mondo Combo burrito. Fills you up!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-XztIOrsGA18t7Vuc6IJMSXS5KT1xovHwzrKL0CVgO38vmvFMqy2XzLft0D7XL5Lt8OQZ88rCeQEhzzuEknXTNqZZiS-MUsHF6Nni9QzSwcRL0uljMgCd_7BWNaJfozTEI0bhkyaP-XW/s1600/P1010056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-XztIOrsGA18t7Vuc6IJMSXS5KT1xovHwzrKL0CVgO38vmvFMqy2XzLft0D7XL5Lt8OQZ88rCeQEhzzuEknXTNqZZiS-MUsHF6Nni9QzSwcRL0uljMgCd_7BWNaJfozTEI0bhkyaP-XW/s320/P1010056.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is one more pic from high in the alpine tundra...wait, what's that thing on my head? It's a GoPro helmet-cam. Are you suprised?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuUY3VSFvvf3sDeeMvRC0olPm82irDUuhpbC1uCvubFH21GBzmFDrlsYz82R5yuRRy50BvHq6UrOEgsDCoe67b8RJiHdHiPxAZrGGMdeHtQOpb9ZSqNcl89qQus0pKDKZDTVl64TG6eZ9/s1600/P1010034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuUY3VSFvvf3sDeeMvRC0olPm82irDUuhpbC1uCvubFH21GBzmFDrlsYz82R5yuRRy50BvHq6UrOEgsDCoe67b8RJiHdHiPxAZrGGMdeHtQOpb9ZSqNcl89qQus0pKDKZDTVl64TG6eZ9/s320/P1010034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Of course you're not.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/44504555" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-71490198342063799342012-05-19T14:50:00.000-06:002012-05-19T14:50:15.524-06:00Post-race musings and suchWow. A week ago today I was taking turns circulating the 16 mile lap of the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde race course with my team-mate Kelly. It all started at 7 a.m. with a Lemans style start and something like 500 cyclists running to their bikes in a mad dash. Then it was just non-stop racing for 12 hours. An average lap for us was around an hour and a half. So that meant when you finished your lap, you would immediately have to hydrate, eat, work on your bike and try to rest. Time has never flown by so fast. We did 4 laps each for a total of 128 miles at race pace. Time has never crawled by so slow as when we were out on course. Here is a shot of the area where we pitted. Pretty fancy for a bunch of Geezers:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoFORhfyJGlaGPvR8u5dDYICrZmIZuPkqAGJfT2VDh8C7lXCKNOb8RVE90TLewCOuaK3FDo7p454VjbyTIWK_GGRjBpeKomj-VQidaMUioM5GAtP7Qs7KieN5P8xX1o-pETiWLS_qq2UA/s1600/IMG952228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoFORhfyJGlaGPvR8u5dDYICrZmIZuPkqAGJfT2VDh8C7lXCKNOb8RVE90TLewCOuaK3FDo7p454VjbyTIWK_GGRjBpeKomj-VQidaMUioM5GAtP7Qs7KieN5P8xX1o-pETiWLS_qq2UA/s320/IMG952228.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Here is a great article and video on Mountain Flyer's website: <a href="http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/12-hours-of-mesa-verde-2.html">http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/12-hours-of-mesa-verde-2.html</a><br />
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I mentioned that I had some help with preparation this year from my good friend Alison (she knows a bit about training and racing-hee hee). Well, it worked out smashingly. My big goal was to finish out the final laps without cramping up and aside from a minor calf cramp, it was a huge success. I didn't get my other goal of a 1:18 lap but was pretty close with a 1:21.<br />
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Oh, and we did take the victory which was a goal for the team. Like Russ says: "If you are gonna race, you might as well win....". Wish it were that easy.<br />
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Here is a shot of Kelly and I right after I finished my final lap:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFuGzQO9nL21SSZXN2Fwd3yNW68qrTOwkMube2zJ2YsXPjnIMSMJwF7xnTWSYDzsFNFCunofN6LSxZc72AWwR1Ezhpc4z2bg4vQTiWqLBdeJJUVWI0Niw6Zrnr-FZBjSd8sDiG36bkuyC/s1600/467786_427599227259657_100000287499655_1528835_1280933554_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFuGzQO9nL21SSZXN2Fwd3yNW68qrTOwkMube2zJ2YsXPjnIMSMJwF7xnTWSYDzsFNFCunofN6LSxZc72AWwR1Ezhpc4z2bg4vQTiWqLBdeJJUVWI0Niw6Zrnr-FZBjSd8sDiG36bkuyC/s320/467786_427599227259657_100000287499655_1528835_1280933554_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here we are after the awards presentation with the 2nd and 3rd place teams. Our good buddies Todd Baker (3rd from left) and Dick Dodge(4th from left) gave us a good run and we had to dig deep to get ahead of them!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZ1Vw0Q0NwiT2-uuGBbF2Yj3oa3odXbSjShXbQLEIGOGt7yb_Z6AEkSlmMMmrCMEOruKlZ0EPyeH6X8MGp0Rm5vDu9fdTASeo6yKDl1Emr7oNapFtXe8OH8XPGNWAyHY4MSYToRXKG7VC/s1600/476524_427601310592782_100000287499655_1528836_246248066_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZ1Vw0Q0NwiT2-uuGBbF2Yj3oa3odXbSjShXbQLEIGOGt7yb_Z6AEkSlmMMmrCMEOruKlZ0EPyeH6X8MGp0Rm5vDu9fdTASeo6yKDl1Emr7oNapFtXe8OH8XPGNWAyHY4MSYToRXKG7VC/s320/476524_427601310592782_100000287499655_1528836_246248066_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I also mentioned in the last blog that I had just built up a new bike that was not exactly a cross-country race bike. Here is a picture of the new Giant Reign, a 6" travel, 30 lb. bruiser of a bike that is not meant to race cross-country unless it's pointing down (never said I was smart...) next to my old frame and fork:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkucgsWIu60Dgt8Yz_Em1QIkO2VbqGU_5r3avBETy2momKHMjNr533aKrvij-2JTaJaHWFHRrRmu2wwiLTTQqnATw2QOP0aq6ah0h_YiIqgAgltumnJe1NeXgHqSvZHLIFVG3WE-1Wtyx8/s1600/0413121754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkucgsWIu60Dgt8Yz_Em1QIkO2VbqGU_5r3avBETy2momKHMjNr533aKrvij-2JTaJaHWFHRrRmu2wwiLTTQqnATw2QOP0aq6ah0h_YiIqgAgltumnJe1NeXgHqSvZHLIFVG3WE-1Wtyx8/s320/0413121754.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The day after the race, we had a delicious breakfast at<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/mr-happys-bakery-and-cafe-cortez" target="_blank"> Mr. Happy's Bakery and Cafe</a> and then headed to nearby Dolores for an easy ride on some fun new trails:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkKCjyq0vik9X3IOzIXvXQfh-hnKoHHePCI4A7CwQrUKvAEPEfsnDMQymU1s64UoPCUMwT_MFlojZDFiLF6TPsSB6d6Irvyf7bO8jkV_-SJZsaIfc0bDELHL11CWgYhzoNUnYpe77Ccg5/s1600/0513121336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkKCjyq0vik9X3IOzIXvXQfh-hnKoHHePCI4A7CwQrUKvAEPEfsnDMQymU1s64UoPCUMwT_MFlojZDFiLF6TPsSB6d6Irvyf7bO8jkV_-SJZsaIfc0bDELHL11CWgYhzoNUnYpe77Ccg5/s320/0513121336.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We randomly chose to ride the Bean Canyon loop which was a good choice! Here are some pics from that ride:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa6wT4rgwytBKxEkLsqct6KgDgEiOL9wFALmmvLBhfG0BGWtrtPo4cnA_RjuAGjALRv5Shw1yq81JdHe9LnDayqOEmrsw28x0KR5vwTswsJwUePQ_XZfQ6gzcdgMib0AEiJi7tUVp7CgF/s1600/IMG952328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa6wT4rgwytBKxEkLsqct6KgDgEiOL9wFALmmvLBhfG0BGWtrtPo4cnA_RjuAGjALRv5Shw1yq81JdHe9LnDayqOEmrsw28x0KR5vwTswsJwUePQ_XZfQ6gzcdgMib0AEiJi7tUVp7CgF/s320/IMG952328.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWskvPL_CED5g4BUpAivx-iV7PQ_2Hr77uG9Y5SozGddjP63tkF0Spt3TW63xPj_HHrR0zvZcAMqMM9OahKJO3XW3RADypZiq_gShVZG_mbH8Zgnl8XNlEsutX85ZICMhH-iko8azXSd6P/s1600/0513121250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWskvPL_CED5g4BUpAivx-iV7PQ_2Hr77uG9Y5SozGddjP63tkF0Spt3TW63xPj_HHrR0zvZcAMqMM9OahKJO3XW3RADypZiq_gShVZG_mbH8Zgnl8XNlEsutX85ZICMhH-iko8azXSd6P/s320/0513121250.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
After that we caravanned towards Gunnison with Kelly leading in his giant RV and me following:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZSs_87sZLp_DJfBm-wiwngfl9xvHeBUlmtpswBr1SbRgflf5F8RvxkPNNvP0oDvBP-zfMys1T_uD6JTriZX0_3NFI2xa9XytBh-VDvNYyZu0ifNTx3A1F0pa_XrewAqgRCd0sWDX_pL0/s1600/0513121606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZSs_87sZLp_DJfBm-wiwngfl9xvHeBUlmtpswBr1SbRgflf5F8RvxkPNNvP0oDvBP-zfMys1T_uD6JTriZX0_3NFI2xa9XytBh-VDvNYyZu0ifNTx3A1F0pa_XrewAqgRCd0sWDX_pL0/s320/0513121606.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I didn't tell Kelly but I had arranged a surprise for him in Gunnison. We were planning to ride at Hartman's Rocks on Monday so I contacted a famous local rider that I know from the old days, Dave Wiens, to see if he could join us for a ride. Turned out he could but only for a short time because he had to close the gates in the Hartman's riding area in order to keep the cows in and the ranchers happy. Here is some advice: do NOT try to keep up with Dave when he is in a hurry. I tried and paid for it later. Ha! Here is a shot of Dave and I at the top of "Kill Hill" (really):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOgr22-VJ5kS_Yy_8Hu52oKCJNT64IDZOjB0w7J2quB3_mzn5YRPTDXAscunwsY6iribVptErWGnLVS0kwvdwsQ2BuCwxpxdgiMccegTI6vtCvUmTwiiIf0s7Ej9jKxcPN7zC1pPSZ1Rn/s1600/474202_428211407198439_100000287499655_1530287_902778240_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOgr22-VJ5kS_Yy_8Hu52oKCJNT64IDZOjB0w7J2quB3_mzn5YRPTDXAscunwsY6iribVptErWGnLVS0kwvdwsQ2BuCwxpxdgiMccegTI6vtCvUmTwiiIf0s7Ej9jKxcPN7zC1pPSZ1Rn/s320/474202_428211407198439_100000287499655_1530287_902778240_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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It turns out that I am not TOTALLY retired from racing as long as the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde is going on. Preparing for bike racing is an amazing thing to put yourself through. You develop a tunnel-vision, focusing only on the next workout, staying hydrated, constantly eating and trying to rest. It was a lot easier 20+ years ago when I had youth on my side. Now I am older and wiser but with more responsibilities and an incredible, loving wife to spend time with so I am happy to just go back to riding just for fun and admiring all of the racers out there for doing what they do. Until next year.... I might need to add another one of these to the mantle:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsaGZxJCo8jDoI4SpD1Xtze7iN5jm98chAnmMuS9lJMmQnBGg9xRCJ2BBtH2Dq5rR4G1DCBrMmquK59i4mitEgUq6ZWxTmLbELv5qUO7JAVRjr1FS-za_Us8Qe12HsSBuZsP4vutEUkz_/s1600/SAM_0697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsaGZxJCo8jDoI4SpD1Xtze7iN5jm98chAnmMuS9lJMmQnBGg9xRCJ2BBtH2Dq5rR4G1DCBrMmquK59i4mitEgUq6ZWxTmLbELv5qUO7JAVRjr1FS-za_Us8Qe12HsSBuZsP4vutEUkz_/s320/SAM_0697.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">2010 Pirate theme (left), 2012 Disco theme (right)!</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-58462004929533418622012-04-21T13:52:00.001-06:002012-05-19T14:55:07.439-06:00I thought I retired from racing...The other day, I received a text from my friend Kelly(see picture on right) asking for Russ' cell number. I sent it to him. A little while later, I received another text from Kelly. This time he asked if I would like to be his team-mate in the upcoming 12 Hours of Mesa Verde race. I mulled it over and somehow said yes. This, after I swore to never do a duo 12 hour race again! And I just built up a bike that is more suited to downhill riding that cross-country racing. And I had one month to get race fit since Kelly is a very serious competitor and I don't want to let him down. Oh my....<br />
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Luckily, I have already been riding a bit and I know someone who can help me tune my fitness for race-mode in a short amount of time:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZjiaCgbj3zX-0DqNDMSZZVIzWN-h6klAjbjglYyz9GUYrhoUvn3xaqeiqa8S0cnyySCyrCVRgiivHANAOzq5tl8jhPt6x-YuK27TNGKnHIiJ9qzYPk8HhiSY9ZMr-gRyUdqckIA7Oou2/s1600/0217111059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZjiaCgbj3zX-0DqNDMSZZVIzWN-h6klAjbjglYyz9GUYrhoUvn3xaqeiqa8S0cnyySCyrCVRgiivHANAOzq5tl8jhPt6x-YuK27TNGKnHIiJ9qzYPk8HhiSY9ZMr-gRyUdqckIA7Oou2/s320/0217111059.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>It really pays to know the right people. You can check out her website: <a href="http://www.alisondunlapcoaching.com/">http://www.alisondunlapcoaching.com/</a><br />
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She stopped by the other day to get some new tires installed and in the amount of time it took me to do that, she whipped up a training plan (on post-it notes!):<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYh0qj8X2vGxCoZjQfiIyRY-Wy_1cj5CMN5elld44zL0nCTuJdJRW-lMn94M_IEwZIs5da9r-E3-LVZQo8ZWKLHX5PVr9UuTwKqx5gUqnEWIqz2dY8TI0odOpVDAxV3iGJ-qOD5AQ4-vp/s1600/SAM_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYh0qj8X2vGxCoZjQfiIyRY-Wy_1cj5CMN5elld44zL0nCTuJdJRW-lMn94M_IEwZIs5da9r-E3-LVZQo8ZWKLHX5PVr9UuTwKqx5gUqnEWIqz2dY8TI0odOpVDAxV3iGJ-qOD5AQ4-vp/s320/SAM_0683.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Looking over her plan made me realize that I rode way too much and way too hard back in the old days.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, now I am getting up and doing VO2 intervals before breakfast and following those little post-it notes to the "T". I will let you know how it all worked out after the race. My favorite training so far is: ride hard- 2 hours. Just like the old days!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-54095238217368418582012-03-31T16:00:00.001-06:002012-03-31T16:02:09.612-06:00Fun in Ute Valley Park!Last weekend, Russ and I put some flat pedals on our full-suspension bikes and made a little video of one of our favorite downhill trails in Ute Valley Park. Preparation for this summer's adventures in Winter Park's <a href="http://trestlebikepark.com/" target="_blank">Trestle Bike Park</a>! Enjoy!<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/39380761?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-13713683407251324512012-03-24T18:39:00.001-06:002012-03-25T09:17:05.895-06:00Pilgrimage to AZMy Dad likes to go to Arizona once a year to escape the long winters up in Florissant, Colorado. He likes to rent a condo and just enjoy the desert air and warmth. This year, Cindy and I were the first to visit him and his faithful dog Sadie. I packed our mountain bikes and our little dog Klaus and off we went to Tucson.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenddr2fLHbHtvBUmj8RyolL0rdQrG8epgFciM7RphctZfsuH0c43sB6uDDMeigildzY4zi_7UQByNPQTYujEMDgrsxc-514lpHF2ZzbGOkqbr4P0gxziTdmHNGmtQflinRKc0oBNT-jNA/s1600/0303120859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenddr2fLHbHtvBUmj8RyolL0rdQrG8epgFciM7RphctZfsuH0c43sB6uDDMeigildzY4zi_7UQByNPQTYujEMDgrsxc-514lpHF2ZzbGOkqbr4P0gxziTdmHNGmtQflinRKc0oBNT-jNA/s320/0303120859.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tight fit in the ol' Volvo </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It just so happened that my friend Mike was staying down there and had some rides planned for us. On day one, we hit the<a href="http://www.aztrail.org/at_about.html" target="_blank"> Arizona Trail</a> out to Three Bridges and back. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZYOzKjg4Q78adYio3my-LOgTZIvm5Ir81Di0sKMYL91sLzzAuWLjECpfkp3UpChUjD5brElA1LgVjROpUWh0uKGG3cT8HStV_HMdktRTX-zFdqRXBr6zIY4XGiemJRUbuDrv3PKnVaWu/s1600/SAM_0578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZYOzKjg4Q78adYio3my-LOgTZIvm5Ir81Di0sKMYL91sLzzAuWLjECpfkp3UpChUjD5brElA1LgVjROpUWh0uKGG3cT8HStV_HMdktRTX-zFdqRXBr6zIY4XGiemJRUbuDrv3PKnVaWu/s320/SAM_0578.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's one of the bridges with plenty of leafy green Tucson trees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On day two, I met Mike at <a href="http://azstateparks.com/Parks/CATA/index.html" target="_blank">Catalina State Park</a> so we could ride the 50 year trail. It was typical desert terrain which then changed as we climbed. Soon we were on a boulder-strewn hillside which reminded me of <a href="http://www.gunnisoncrestedbutte.com/hartman-rocks" target="_blank">Hartman's Rocks</a> in Gunnison, Colorado</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuk-70XtDi88qXFCqflIPVxqJQokmWSImEdyqG5OruYvZbT_x-KtBXv7k109dMumE2fk8o5S4KnP54O3RVTw3aLzze9gOb5_jHU598RZF7uEakdJKNiUtva0exAJFriZWy1DOtF03Q-ej/s1600/SAM_0582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuk-70XtDi88qXFCqflIPVxqJQokmWSImEdyqG5OruYvZbT_x-KtBXv7k109dMumE2fk8o5S4KnP54O3RVTw3aLzze9gOb5_jHU598RZF7uEakdJKNiUtva0exAJFriZWy1DOtF03Q-ej/s320/SAM_0582.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLml2CnHJKt-MbFGVpC1l69-4aGn8WKVgz0u4w0LTNM0eopucuUjwLZXCnJ8CpH6vYfVGdSyuxEiUHo1dzKdsrN8MswduRvbtChg6EwjjheRqxpBfPLKKbxS-54RFt7fmfTdjKQJNZ21t/s1600/SAM_0584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLml2CnHJKt-MbFGVpC1l69-4aGn8WKVgz0u4w0LTNM0eopucuUjwLZXCnJ8CpH6vYfVGdSyuxEiUHo1dzKdsrN8MswduRvbtChg6EwjjheRqxpBfPLKKbxS-54RFt7fmfTdjKQJNZ21t/s320/SAM_0584.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lots of cactus...everywhere. See how Gunnison-like the rocks are?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Day three was a trip to the<a href="http://www.desertmuseum.org/" target="_blank"> Desert Museum of Tucson</a>. Cindy and I spent 4 hours there and enjoyed every minute of it. We got there just in time to see the<a href="http://www.desertmuseum.org/visit/events_freeflights.php?ref=hp" target="_blank"> Raptor Free Flight</a> show which had a variety of Desert Birds of Prey flying over our heads and getting treats as rewards. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmaDpQADj3KKL-SSiwxGiqwMqnwLDWe1d27j0jVHyfMLZNzQZZ4pz1aaaV2cOnnNCVqHcK1X7PTrlCwqpOhnOp1CIQrfsCc4twnaAD49v6mpzypGO9FwzUSIxyun6V8Lbczp5hQzeh_Lm/s1600/SAM_0637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmaDpQADj3KKL-SSiwxGiqwMqnwLDWe1d27j0jVHyfMLZNzQZZ4pz1aaaV2cOnnNCVqHcK1X7PTrlCwqpOhnOp1CIQrfsCc4twnaAD49v6mpzypGO9FwzUSIxyun6V8Lbczp5hQzeh_Lm/s320/SAM_0637.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWwjXNxlGunTmXhKHr7ee5QnjOvGGjQjinR8QAfyWIwE4DOdDkrfI_H2AgfMobj-qIW28mtaBUDZ8s15iBjvRuPG0xOOj45g8JIK57iSVKbkCCt-W31ObHtKg2G2E4zgW_6kmrNt-tec_I/s1600/SAM_0629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWwjXNxlGunTmXhKHr7ee5QnjOvGGjQjinR8QAfyWIwE4DOdDkrfI_H2AgfMobj-qIW28mtaBUDZ8s15iBjvRuPG0xOOj45g8JIK57iSVKbkCCt-W31ObHtKg2G2E4zgW_6kmrNt-tec_I/s320/SAM_0629.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is a Grey Hawk and a Great Horned Owl.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took a few shots of the variety of wildlife at the museum including Cindy's favorite, the Javolina (or furry desert pigs as she calls them)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3x-AdNHiy9ek3a86lzhPwZi5LHnEE0F8JSNHsyoZjqnk1-Agcp-cgHFk4yp9G8FHef_eAwa6BcpFUo1r9DMu4GnByJbwRox5W-6WgINqz0rEKSxmOzzMjg1b3gXrVFVrkemCvq3hSZ1m/s1600/SAM_0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3x-AdNHiy9ek3a86lzhPwZi5LHnEE0F8JSNHsyoZjqnk1-Agcp-cgHFk4yp9G8FHef_eAwa6BcpFUo1r9DMu4GnByJbwRox5W-6WgINqz0rEKSxmOzzMjg1b3gXrVFVrkemCvq3hSZ1m/s320/SAM_0633.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKY8qbnrE7cMYo6vCey6G451rgfEiJVw43CKtcWkriJAtVHV1_B5yz_ELaYXn0PVgQLJ6dcRXeXrzx2rnlYSrze1VLV3tIWOBTdfqomgDRstIyOMNXlXAjk-ojJ3uhGYNZ3OCrmU2vKQ_0/s1600/SAM_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKY8qbnrE7cMYo6vCey6G451rgfEiJVw43CKtcWkriJAtVHV1_B5yz_ELaYXn0PVgQLJ6dcRXeXrzx2rnlYSrze1VLV3tIWOBTdfqomgDRstIyOMNXlXAjk-ojJ3uhGYNZ3OCrmU2vKQ_0/s320/SAM_0628.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bobcat watching all the curious humans</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfvlo5CqNhmlp3fg90hyphenhyphenspGrjnto78cY-_oE0UI6_i6PhlTOFv4UxUB3XHz-5qM7d8PWrmoe1TZtRIgcT8B4rtvuVcZ9q9U0s_kerPev_hhWdDpuQV-zoRInaOExbbHIFniQcXSj-HJgM/s1600/SAM_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfvlo5CqNhmlp3fg90hyphenhyphenspGrjnto78cY-_oE0UI6_i6PhlTOFv4UxUB3XHz-5qM7d8PWrmoe1TZtRIgcT8B4rtvuVcZ9q9U0s_kerPev_hhWdDpuQV-zoRInaOExbbHIFniQcXSj-HJgM/s320/SAM_0611.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Roadrunner, the coyote's after you!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Fantasy Island</u></span></strong></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1x_QbVDlLbI" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Hcw73tQYc0-8gMSlSmhHKTkhhIpKiz07XfW71y5ioMFIo1d1pLgjSY3Xm4m5m2Zgi0mk-QaUc8zLugrOUUjhQ3BR3chrGfVufv1JVNXrRXCjjCCdeUcQsdtRwGi4w2LUpVWLX41u54vi/s1600/SAM_0644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Hcw73tQYc0-8gMSlSmhHKTkhhIpKiz07XfW71y5ioMFIo1d1pLgjSY3Xm4m5m2Zgi0mk-QaUc8zLugrOUUjhQ3BR3chrGfVufv1JVNXrRXCjjCCdeUcQsdtRwGi4w2LUpVWLX41u54vi/s320/SAM_0644.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"The plane(s), the plane(s)"! Fantasy Island is very near the airplane graveyard.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Smiles everyone, smiles! We must welcome our guests to <a href="http://www.mountainbikebill.com/az07tucsonfantasy.htm" target="_blank">Fantasy Island</a>. Cindy and I headed out to East Tucson to ride these fun local (and directional) trails. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1snKTIkB6sJqmzEDA-fRsBQn8CpoOC7v5gFffaCNYfQg6mw3IJVQR6keBBlm6MIU677Rpg_PiRVGYcNnYN4J88WDuooVP9i7adxZ_TEJ6XG7iFTOjfHZiwLKfK1Ry1i2hswnISggPE9ZB/s1600/SAM_0640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1snKTIkB6sJqmzEDA-fRsBQn8CpoOC7v5gFffaCNYfQg6mw3IJVQR6keBBlm6MIU677Rpg_PiRVGYcNnYN4J88WDuooVP9i7adxZ_TEJ6XG7iFTOjfHZiwLKfK1Ry1i2hswnISggPE9ZB/s320/SAM_0640.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENhdNagayJhgh9E4DmlI5DUtcAblOVOoxa52nCXJbt4Z5P04QGg5cOw-MiLVmPMy_LD5bUW3ofgjWoyH613e-Bd9tLeWoXGzVKZKWijWGINSOESrIgo7HmAE4BY6e81t3FSBc-uzcVoJq/s1600/SAM_0649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENhdNagayJhgh9E4DmlI5DUtcAblOVOoxa52nCXJbt4Z5P04QGg5cOw-MiLVmPMy_LD5bUW3ofgjWoyH613e-Bd9tLeWoXGzVKZKWijWGINSOESrIgo7HmAE4BY6e81t3FSBc-uzcVoJq/s320/SAM_0649.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not a good idea to push your cornering abilities...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPkqyoL_YJHjNGnR2XlLuPq7ExAVASKNFGKjfKlUdm5cwh55ZGFzELPZtGIfYcgwwtDU-yoVg3UYkGIwTiYMNRYk0Idoxsd2ehf8R9Sba1iHQk7y9WjJ0SfjPNySDTFNVLtaoXb8gEKyw/s1600/SAM_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPkqyoL_YJHjNGnR2XlLuPq7ExAVASKNFGKjfKlUdm5cwh55ZGFzELPZtGIfYcgwwtDU-yoVg3UYkGIwTiYMNRYk0Idoxsd2ehf8R9Sba1iHQk7y9WjJ0SfjPNySDTFNVLtaoXb8gEKyw/s320/SAM_0653.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHbUx8JhqZANqeO8vGEgtchevbZFl_q636DnuzqB_rvT-M1bnOuuq2ePg1ALOV6hOWa4dKjopxZxDaQACWRnOP2JNW0FZuZYIRtuWZhGgmH5-WFnvhYrLOOMOUXb3ei8MDsObKwNNiY73/s1600/SAM_0655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHbUx8JhqZANqeO8vGEgtchevbZFl_q636DnuzqB_rvT-M1bnOuuq2ePg1ALOV6hOWa4dKjopxZxDaQACWRnOP2JNW0FZuZYIRtuWZhGgmH5-WFnvhYrLOOMOUXb3ei8MDsObKwNNiY73/s320/SAM_0655.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There was some unusual stuff out there in the Desert.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My favorite vacations are when I can just ride my mountain bike, eat, rest and repeat. Throw in a little culture and you've got it! On one of our final days, I grabbed a beer and the salmon and headed to the community grill in the Condo complex. I took this picture whilst grilling. Not a bad view...even if the mountains are a bit smaller than here in Colorado.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIy8uwjCBz8IYJz-CshbRRQBFFsq5jWwLJDb9lMBNn0LWXmHdU3G-L4yuCpf1P4gYw1pdIeifokvYZDXsnc2_pn80aVDvw1DwrNMxEJfR7zTn7uE88KwGRvggpFLd4HSbux7m_LCbbC_y5/s1600/SAM_0646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIy8uwjCBz8IYJz-CshbRRQBFFsq5jWwLJDb9lMBNn0LWXmHdU3G-L4yuCpf1P4gYw1pdIeifokvYZDXsnc2_pn80aVDvw1DwrNMxEJfR7zTn7uE88KwGRvggpFLd4HSbux7m_LCbbC_y5/s320/SAM_0646.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanks, Dad!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-23196086666626216972012-01-29T17:25:00.000-07:002012-01-29T17:25:53.405-07:00A different kind of projectSome time ago, I happened upon an incredible <a href="http://more.ppld.org:8080/SpecialCollections/Project/Search.aspx" target="_blank">photographic archive</a> from around the Pikes Peak region. It brought back memories of my college days in the mid 80's wherein I set about to re-create photos taken by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Jackson" target="_blank">William Henry Jackson</a>. A professional photographer took my college photo project a bit further in the late 90's. His name is <a href="http://www.johnfielder.com/shop/Colorado-1870-2000-II.html" target="_blank">John Fielder.</a> I always wondered if he knew my Professor....Ha!<br />
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Anyhow, with this new reference in mind I set out to re-create a whole bunch of photos from the old days and make it into a video slideshow. Sounds easy, right? It took many a Sunday afternoon and many photos to get this one right. Not to mention near death experiences, tired legs, freezing fingers, possible tresspassing and inquisitive passers-by. In other words, it was awesome.<br />
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Here is the video:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x0ei756pjKM" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-10356154385953576482011-12-29T10:05:00.000-07:002011-12-29T10:05:05.401-07:00Update from an old postI have been perusing the <a href="http://more.ppld.org:8080/SpecialCollections/Project/Search.aspx" target="_blank">Pikes Peak library's collection of historical photos</a> in the Pikes Peak area and found two more of the Cheyenne Mountain Lodge. I had done a post about an adventure ride that Russ and I had done to the top of Cheyenne Mountain (<a href="http://roundisit.blogspot.com/2010/10/cheyenne-mountain-lodge.html">http://roundisit.blogspot.com/2010/10/cheyenne-mountain-lodge.html</a>) and thought that I would add these photos to the mix. Enjoy!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Z-wMMCYoHE/TvycqvjsOcI/AAAAAAAABDk/B2vQw98PJjY/s1600/lounge+room+of+the+cheyenne+lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Z-wMMCYoHE/TvycqvjsOcI/AAAAAAAABDk/B2vQw98PJjY/s320/lounge+room+of+the+cheyenne+lodge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is an interior shot of the Lodge. Plenty of taxidermy going on here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TBNksJmNT24/TvycrzA7T5I/AAAAAAAABDs/5s7yUH8HRl4/s1600/cheyenne+lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TBNksJmNT24/TvycrzA7T5I/AAAAAAAABDs/5s7yUH8HRl4/s320/cheyenne+lodge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Really cool old car in front of the lodge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-60873822515518543372011-11-20T17:49:00.000-07:002011-11-20T17:49:21.262-07:00The seasons may change but the riding is always good.My friend <a href="http://twowheeledworld.com/" target="_blank">Matt</a> made an end of the season video: <a href="http://vimeo.com/32186630">http://vimeo.com/32186630</a><br />
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And that got me motivated to get all of my photos and videos gathered up and flatter him by imitating him!<br />
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This year started out with some nice riding conditions for winter. That enabled preparation for the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde mountain bike race which was May 8th. We did some good urban assaults in January/February/March and even got up in the higher regions in April. We got to visit Arizona in April and I got my dream vacation of just riding my bike and eating and hanging out with my wife and Dad.<br />
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We did many a lunch ride and a few night rides. I spectated a few races and even jumped in on one to do some filming. Then I got a wild hair and decided to do Ring the Peak on two different bikes (cyclocross and mountain). <br />
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Colorado Springs landed the Prologue for the Pro Cycling Challenge and we were lucky enough to have the world's top professional road cyclists riding all over town. I even got to see Danny doing what he does best (make massive power on a road bike) much to the delight of the fans.<br />
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Matt invited us up to his Mountain Command to do some cross country and chairlift-assisted downhill riding. That got me all motivated to build up a bigger travel (6.7" of suspension travel) bike for next year and for some fun on local trails, too. <br />
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I spent many hours riding with my friend Russ, who is 10 years older than me but keeps three National Championship jerseys in his closet to remind everyone that age is only a number. He is always positive and never complains and is the best riding buddy a guy could have! <br />
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I am also fortunate to be friends with some of the best female mountain bike riders on the planet. We have had some great rides in Palmer Park (and Airplane Loop!) and I feel so lucky to be friends with Alison and Kelli. They, like Russ, are always positive and never complain. I am still working on that....<br />
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Editing videos can be tedious but I really enjoy it. Here is my end of season video with a groovy and mellow soundtrack to go with it. Hope you enjoy watching it as much as I....oh never mind.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="338" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32406700?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-80650301171720412022011-10-07T18:41:00.000-06:002011-10-07T18:41:21.274-06:00New Project...After riding the chairlift, I have been tainted and must now go on a quest to build a bike with more suspension travel. On the right side of my blog page is a picture of what has been accumulated so far...<br />
Keep an eye on that one. If you know me, you know I am a little bit impatient when it comes to building up a new bike. I am trying to take it slow but.....any guesses to how long it will be before this one is complete? Ha!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-49410723023040359562011-09-17T10:11:00.002-06:002011-09-18T15:29:31.656-06:00Catching up.......ummmm, yeahh....I've been neglecting the blogosphere lately. Like I said before, I completely fall apart around July and for some reason this year, it's been tough to re-group. Not that I wasn't riding but the rides were smaller and not as noteworthy for blogging.<br />
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Let's see...it all came unraveled right after our nephew's wedding in Illinois. We had a great time there although it was during a heat wave which made the outdoor ceremony last about 15 minutes! The reception had a photo booth for some serious pictures:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBewh_eceKMX8WzW5NM4DveCVS4RNZVQvkrKwbTraCNin5lA8yVAqm73rAb-B1HBemXu2kue6BcYMqxOCKoUxJJ4ts3ZOSoliOH86wSvAm4p0S2kCZU-TRaLJ-VzudG3WU9ItNT4MxNxPu/s1600/photo+booth+001%25231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBewh_eceKMX8WzW5NM4DveCVS4RNZVQvkrKwbTraCNin5lA8yVAqm73rAb-B1HBemXu2kue6BcYMqxOCKoUxJJ4ts3ZOSoliOH86wSvAm4p0S2kCZU-TRaLJ-VzudG3WU9ItNT4MxNxPu/s320/photo+booth+001%25231.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Unfortunately, we flew home in the "germ tube" and I picked up a summer cold. Bummer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After getting over it, I got to ride with some old friends:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then I got to ride with my oldest friend (since 1972)!:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, I have the privelege of being old friends with a World Champion Mountain Bike racer and we did some fun after work rides. Here we are checking out an advanced line to practice going up:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>She is a very serious character as evidenced by this video clip:<br />
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I also did some solo riding. I decided to film the whole Williams Canyon descent and had a pretty clean run. Here are some stills from that ride:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's probably a good idea to skip this ride if you don't like heights and exposure to cliff drop-offs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I bought Cindy a digital camera and took this video of the dogs with it. Check out Klaus' eyes!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And of course, it is becoming a tradition to visit another old friend (<a href="http://twowheeledworld.com/">TwoWheeledWorld</a>) at his luxurious mountain command post in Winter Park, Colorado. This year was a mix of cross-country rides...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kSjp3XNeQUzojBzr9_QWXVANClnqrEDq2_O3grcmdxJBmKH1dzuShaUERx9oCA0D1PPeul-Ygy_47woFQa1WMNBC41GxAwsdDaKAG9whom8bn8tfTbxhEOQPj9V0Ai01EzqR-S1M3TkR/s1600/GOPR1385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kSjp3XNeQUzojBzr9_QWXVANClnqrEDq2_O3grcmdxJBmKH1dzuShaUERx9oCA0D1PPeul-Ygy_47woFQa1WMNBC41GxAwsdDaKAG9whom8bn8tfTbxhEOQPj9V0Ai01EzqR-S1M3TkR/s400/GOPR1385.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Seen here watching Stunt Double lubing his chain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...and this year, we let the chair-lift do the climbing for a super fun day of downhill riding at <a href="http://trestlebikepark.com/">Trestle Mountain Bike Park</a>. Please turn up the volume...now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="299" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/29175712?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=0" style="height: 298px; width: 462px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="398"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-175650448174736112011-07-27T20:35:00.000-06:002011-07-27T20:35:25.721-06:00Big news! Sort of...If you read the last post, I mentioned that there was some pretty big news coming. Well, here it is:<br />
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I finally got in our catlog! I knew that I had no chance as a model but never imagined that one of my photos would make it to the cover. Sweet!<br />
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Here's the back story: Marc Kipp (one of our catalog guys) came by my work bench to chat and asked if I could take some pictures with the GoPro camera since they were looking for something different for a cover shot. The next evening I put the camera on and rode across the street from my house to Ute Valley Park. Ironically I was feeling a bit "off" on the bike and actually almost crashed in the most random place during the ride. I turned the camera on a setting that takes one shot per second and started to ride some fun sections of the park. The reason that I picked the area that eventually ended up on the cover was that it was the only place during my ride from which you could see Pikes Peak. This cliff is just off of the main trail and I just started riding along the edge while the camera was shooting. Simple.<br />
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The owner of the Colorado Cyclist, Doug Bruinsma, picked this photo not knowing that I had taken it. When he found out that it was me, he came back to the shop to ask about it and then wrote the copy on the back side of the cover. I think that it's funny that his perception of me is a "wild man" when I am actually pretty cautious on the bike. Especially when you know the kind of riders that I ride with!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-48281745533510716392011-07-12T20:19:00.000-06:002011-07-12T20:19:54.221-06:00Random Photos from the GoProIf you remember my rhetorical question from the last post about how long my perception of what a long ride is, here is the answer: about 2 weeks. For some reason, July is not a good time for me on the bike. Maybe it's the pollen/mold wreaking havoc with the allergies. Or spending too much time in an air-conditioned environment all day and not doing lunch-rides because of the 90+ degree heat... Who knows?<br />
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What I do know is that I am eating and drinking beer like I am still doing epic rides every week so my blog title may soon be referring to the shape of my belly! Ha! Hope not...<br />
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Anyhow, the GoPro has been a fun source of photo ops lately. Actually, I have some pretty big news about that, but you will have to be patient. There is a setting on the camera that allows you to press the shutter once and it will take a picture every second until you press it again. What follows are the results of that action whilst riding mountain bikes in the woods or just standing around in the woods...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptdGwDa1u4yx2QsPZ_tGSo3GLihgjrCOy2yfJjy0mrhexYG07Gp9pK4U2shUXaakTZqNHdnTRQV4F1NSXt6gj8NEEMn8g2DjOkZCpXwvo_4aPbKH7bIMQbYH-JFUhg0vUt9y48Yj8YO4a/s1600/GOPR0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptdGwDa1u4yx2QsPZ_tGSo3GLihgjrCOy2yfJjy0mrhexYG07Gp9pK4U2shUXaakTZqNHdnTRQV4F1NSXt6gj8NEEMn8g2DjOkZCpXwvo_4aPbKH7bIMQbYH-JFUhg0vUt9y48Yj8YO4a/s400/GOPR0066.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merely blocks from my house. I have been scoping out this line while sitting in my car, slowing for the stoplight. Now I have it dialed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5Z5YKLY4PjaaeHCRzm7A1l2Mithz2nTVHnxOSMaA5Sa7ZtVyRlSdQUbFNRI7AEI3q_zoD_oulWHKlDQ-fA4CwtQpolIpp8Ap17GgZ1y0dialPA0LK4wbVIzV53-wPAkr0bUzV4_CVeUW/s1600/GOPR0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5Z5YKLY4PjaaeHCRzm7A1l2Mithz2nTVHnxOSMaA5Sa7ZtVyRlSdQUbFNRI7AEI3q_zoD_oulWHKlDQ-fA4CwtQpolIpp8Ap17GgZ1y0dialPA0LK4wbVIzV53-wPAkr0bUzV4_CVeUW/s400/GOPR0092.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super fun descent in Ute Valley Park. Roots, rocks, trees! Teetering on the edge of disaster.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35OJMhO1U3OEImR0rtNZ8q2SVihFwTK2VPiuyD-cXrAh0xR_4AGOmqgFGLV8QNJxbYu1ZHpI1dACj1Ha-fSEKNIrQ3bgRMipz4WLwW6oeJlPdCeIQwPycz5bDG1I9WihIGwMQlNYidcPr/s1600/GOPR0961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35OJMhO1U3OEImR0rtNZ8q2SVihFwTK2VPiuyD-cXrAh0xR_4AGOmqgFGLV8QNJxbYu1ZHpI1dACj1Ha-fSEKNIrQ3bgRMipz4WLwW6oeJlPdCeIQwPycz5bDG1I9WihIGwMQlNYidcPr/s400/GOPR0961.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Way up in the mountains near Catamount Reservoir there exists a pristine single-track descent called Magic Carpet Ride. One of my favorites.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCU53GSEqYfAvjkR584bkYpIZPYwalQX9S3SPNCHa5MAvfeD3lLtQAZNv1XmHdkqlc9Kurcl0mqJvLkWx_psLKhR0DE1N375oLDfTnsxUczcAZXl1-WUxloJ7Z_Z4zVsggdDzmpSH9iA_F/s1600/GOPR0386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCU53GSEqYfAvjkR584bkYpIZPYwalQX9S3SPNCHa5MAvfeD3lLtQAZNv1XmHdkqlc9Kurcl0mqJvLkWx_psLKhR0DE1N375oLDfTnsxUczcAZXl1-WUxloJ7Z_Z4zVsggdDzmpSH9iA_F/s400/GOPR0386.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="left"></div> Chasing Kelli down the first descent towards the crashed airplane near Palmer Lake. Keeping up with her is not a walk in the park. Just ask any of the Pro Women that she routinely drops.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYztpoTN86ajKatyJFYWmqCDpSijNa27BIeWxyz3fJrNhqkPSYa9dMyR4B98QYpTwp5T-cpG-v5AyQ4sKv_DoXVgGFEjE0gQ0xeA6hGUE155sgD9jmOFWazUaTvAUdHRLxww1rXXD0NW0/s1600/GOPR0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYztpoTN86ajKatyJFYWmqCDpSijNa27BIeWxyz3fJrNhqkPSYa9dMyR4B98QYpTwp5T-cpG-v5AyQ4sKv_DoXVgGFEjE0gQ0xeA6hGUE155sgD9jmOFWazUaTvAUdHRLxww1rXXD0NW0/s400/GOPR0415.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>This is what you get when the camera mount comes loose and starts slipping down and pointing towards your feet: a really cool picture!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROlratsruh7PZLedRdtzFr-P9nzjLwaFJkNbnVDV8MWy-IRwIbh2ccyIcVGnL0WscHuOvM-x7S62Ovk3dxZWM0nPPkQqvkH-2SKFz_IN2YWKiDZopC2LwAWiBdW_CdN2BIbuTLwbq2dz3/s1600/GOPR0507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROlratsruh7PZLedRdtzFr-P9nzjLwaFJkNbnVDV8MWy-IRwIbh2ccyIcVGnL0WscHuOvM-x7S62Ovk3dxZWM0nPPkQqvkH-2SKFz_IN2YWKiDZopC2LwAWiBdW_CdN2BIbuTLwbq2dz3/s400/GOPR0507.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> Another random shot while the camera was still shooting. Kelli is like: "is that thing on..." and Jeremiah is contemplating the tragedy of the plane crash from a half-century ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9RcoiPlaownlKb7W_h8OCeqR7tYTdjSihNzWTubLQxb_MX_XE0sHPKO2SbyBeGtJPB_frJJWQBzZ554d8UtTwvZXJNJMHn_vf3Q9Egpgg9GVKKGqIwjsfOdIHaXG2mGGpLH1-I4SnAhe/s1600/GOPR0509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9RcoiPlaownlKb7W_h8OCeqR7tYTdjSihNzWTubLQxb_MX_XE0sHPKO2SbyBeGtJPB_frJJWQBzZ554d8UtTwvZXJNJMHn_vf3Q9Egpgg9GVKKGqIwjsfOdIHaXG2mGGpLH1-I4SnAhe/s400/GOPR0509.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Unintentional yet ethereal self-portrait. Standing around in the woods has produced this, my new Facebook profile pic.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqr1qkuV0PSs9cWVkW4yZ_k3y_b9B_TR-rTWEsL2IEEDu7zQf3I_JuRrZqFthB0OZoA3kkYyuEb04lt2pkNhC4zIdh6gbQpNAR-CqQx6-BNr0jWBdl-nsLlbhElqQKFaTYdYc-q5S1MzoJ/s1600/GOPR0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqr1qkuV0PSs9cWVkW4yZ_k3y_b9B_TR-rTWEsL2IEEDu7zQf3I_JuRrZqFthB0OZoA3kkYyuEb04lt2pkNhC4zIdh6gbQpNAR-CqQx6-BNr0jWBdl-nsLlbhElqQKFaTYdYc-q5S1MzoJ/s400/GOPR0625.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Chasing Jeremiah down Limbaugh Canyon. He bobs right while I weave left. <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Riding bikes in the woods with friends (or alone) is fun. Now get to it! Don't forget your camera.</span></div><br />
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The plan was to jump on the cyclocross bike for the "easy" version of Ring the Peak ( a lap around Pikes Peak) on dirt and paved roads. Then on another day, climb on the mountain bike for a long day of Ringing the Peak on trails. <br />
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As it happened, June 11 and June 18 would be the chosen days. Mostly because Scott N. was available to join me for both rides. And the weather looked good.<br />
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Here is the Google Earth pic of the cyclocross ride around the Peak. Ride stats include: 75.6 miles, 5:03 ride time, 5932' of elevation gain and about 4300 calories burned.<br />
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Scott conned his buddy Mike R. to join us on his newly assembled Breezer mountain bike. He had the advantage on the washboards and deep gravel, for sure.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here we are posing in front of some spectacular rocks along Gold Camp Road:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC0gxF6_qOMpB35PBLaH0TDoukaOu_BxiR2O9QN6UmfEvQvnppcIFXZi2oYxOS1u40Er2N-M9Uio6An0eG185xEQXvUwdHoeKwhTXlXIA2v5VaR0nxrBRzW3l44q78dEFfpveos_IbL-N/s1600/SAM_0274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC0gxF6_qOMpB35PBLaH0TDoukaOu_BxiR2O9QN6UmfEvQvnppcIFXZi2oYxOS1u40Er2N-M9Uio6An0eG185xEQXvUwdHoeKwhTXlXIA2v5VaR0nxrBRzW3l44q78dEFfpveos_IbL-N/s400/SAM_0274.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once we hit the pavement, we were rewarded with a tail-wind and ice cold water from a mountain spring. That is the back side of Pikes Peak in the background. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsepcyHFDz6w2BVyKOcYO6dKWCK5PBwkKOyM2aU3kt0F3LLmxsPILa_gRK7rCziJYdhxux2bbFIaAKyySSiHHE3M44hE04kMzCWDP2eG34cOag7_j4Dub33YbWPKzF6KcG_9B3LSM4kO_W/s1600/SAM_0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsepcyHFDz6w2BVyKOcYO6dKWCK5PBwkKOyM2aU3kt0F3LLmxsPILa_gRK7rCziJYdhxux2bbFIaAKyySSiHHE3M44hE04kMzCWDP2eG34cOag7_j4Dub33YbWPKzF6KcG_9B3LSM4kO_W/s400/SAM_0277.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At this point, my legs had turned to cement (reasons unknown) but soon after ingesting this Costco frozen organic burrito, I started to feel better. I now carry one on every big ride!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84rNhJxrGsktb2zq-mLBx7PakWFJ16xDanHysUG40Df6oOt71hYyLr1IIXWHTM_-XXLODnF5Ll0d1vEhvFU6z6miZD08CYX-noFrEN9tP82nYSAajgkIOvipLlFUpuUZ7QoC0SZo5mQR2/s1600/SAM_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84rNhJxrGsktb2zq-mLBx7PakWFJ16xDanHysUG40Df6oOt71hYyLr1IIXWHTM_-XXLODnF5Ll0d1vEhvFU6z6miZD08CYX-noFrEN9tP82nYSAajgkIOvipLlFUpuUZ7QoC0SZo5mQR2/s400/SAM_0278.JPG" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>A week later, we met at the bottom of High Drive at 7am for the mountain bike Ring the Peak. This time we got Todd B. to join us. It was decided over a sushi lunch the day before. I wonder if he knew what lay ahead?<br />
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Todd shot this at the top of the first hike-a-bike climb. We had been riding nearly 2 hours and were still in town. That's a hard way to start a ride like this. Right after this photo, we started riding and a large black bear appeared in front of us on the Ute Pass trail. Luckily, he ran the other way.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is the start of the second hike-a-bike, the Mount Esther trail. Half way up, I found out that my fancy new custom mountain bike shoes are not made for hiking. Blisters appeared on my heels and made the rest of the day's hiking pretty miserable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAdvZY32UyH0QuPPcBhX_7msRKHOuc58fZZPA8fl9law4EXF1XtitQmC1-HYmks4X484mwwAMO0eDa1GM76jSuHcZ3UJ8j7ZoF6aDAEmDbZdEPvPX4QzSlWUa1V2Gh6PmAOfnzUNZAM8c/s1600/SAM_0282small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAdvZY32UyH0QuPPcBhX_7msRKHOuc58fZZPA8fl9law4EXF1XtitQmC1-HYmks4X484mwwAMO0eDa1GM76jSuHcZ3UJ8j7ZoF6aDAEmDbZdEPvPX4QzSlWUa1V2Gh6PmAOfnzUNZAM8c/s400/SAM_0282small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After Mt. Esther, there are some really great sections of trail that eventually get you to here, the scenic Catamount Reservoir.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1ykhwbC-m_QYGBp_Cyr1QG7OMjA7NfULEN9QwtYstAzcEu7cpgtg3f5iWW2AVFZFfx__K2PX8XGWt02m-8PXjcU-2EhLQVogfYDRG5eGqBpT2XEByGMocSI8fSjoFsQtQIinglGy3beK/s1600/SAM_0283small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1ykhwbC-m_QYGBp_Cyr1QG7OMjA7NfULEN9QwtYstAzcEu7cpgtg3f5iWW2AVFZFfx__K2PX8XGWt02m-8PXjcU-2EhLQVogfYDRG5eGqBpT2XEByGMocSI8fSjoFsQtQIinglGy3beK/s400/SAM_0283small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />
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Here is Todd and Scott with the Peak and the "W's" in the background:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My co-worker Dave B. decided to drive up and ride the trail to meet us with delicious treats. We missed him by that much:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuVARWyYucJlYwvjvLif9UAZUvJ2cLkG1SM1jj1DUPALVJJja7r2xZCFsOamkESNofO8wzilct5houJzZkiHF8dMnM49ek_mLsaO1HKLpyRY97qBhkcO8MvpZsDxc57CYEwXelZCOC3Ig/s1600/SAM_0285small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuVARWyYucJlYwvjvLif9UAZUvJ2cLkG1SM1jj1DUPALVJJja7r2xZCFsOamkESNofO8wzilct5houJzZkiHF8dMnM49ek_mLsaO1HKLpyRY97qBhkcO8MvpZsDxc57CYEwXelZCOC3Ig/s400/SAM_0285small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That was all the pictures that I took that day until Scott and Todd did their final emergence from the last single-track descent of the day, Trail 666 (Bear Creek).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutrV6ws6EvwkAvdm8X9lTR6S35xzEHOhgyKrEEf6Tkj6JFIQWFqNkEJRsSzlJ0CdZfuqxIN-Louz7JBfecztETlR_JEqXbFNlY5DTAN3NzXI7T-GxBCyQ43JTXS2eWW7CXIUzxGEmCvWi/s1600/SAM_0286small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutrV6ws6EvwkAvdm8X9lTR6S35xzEHOhgyKrEEf6Tkj6JFIQWFqNkEJRsSzlJ0CdZfuqxIN-Louz7JBfecztETlR_JEqXbFNlY5DTAN3NzXI7T-GxBCyQ43JTXS2eWW7CXIUzxGEmCvWi/s320/SAM_0286small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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That was a really long day to be riding (and hiking) a bike. Final ride stats include: 73 miles, around 9:00 ride time (and almost an hour of hiking), 13,800' of elevation gain and around 6600 calories burned. This ride was so long that the battery on my Garmin died at the mountain spring rest stop! That was only 2/3 of the way around.<br />
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After gaining big fitness from riding Ring the Peak, riding has become quite a bit easier. A short ride is now 4 hours. I wonder how long that perception will last?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-22056827584567831832011-06-09T22:08:00.002-06:002011-06-19T20:52:13.799-06:00Wednesday night races- local style with heckles and laughs.Scott B. and I decided to go watch the local <a href="http://www.sandcreeksports.com/">Sand Creek Sports</a> mountain bike races in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACEW&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=bear+creek+park+colorado+springs&fb=1&gl=us&hq=bear+creek+park&hnear=0x8713412ea1e6d22b:0x418eeb92f5e86b13,Colorado+Springs,+CO&cid=644014096286768245">Bear Creek Park </a>last night. Our buddy Jon C. has been training all day for this one...without even pedaling his bike. He is the master heckling spectator and was in rare form last night. Here is the video of some of his verbal assaults and some helmet-cam action as well:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="299" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/24904769?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&" width="398"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-87098632076938570692011-06-08T08:29:00.000-06:002011-06-08T08:29:23.143-06:00The time for Epic rides has begun...It has been a strange (read: typical for Colorado) weather season for spring around here. I feel like the winter riding was almost better for the working man who likes to ride bikes. I think that Summer is finally here and with that comes the epic, all-day bike rides that a select few of my friends have come to know and love. <br />
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Matt (The Bagel) is on injured reserve, so I am having trouble finding someone who is as willing to do giant rides on a moments notice. I got busy texting my potential candidates for riding partner and here's how it went: Russ- on the way to Italy, Daniel-racing somewhere, Kalan-racing at the Teva Mountain games (he got 11th in the Pros!), Greg-riding moto, Kelli -racing at the Teva games (she got 2nd in the Pros!). Matt (Simmmmeeee)- a go!<br />
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Here is a pic of Simmmeee taking a pic of me:<br />
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Here is a pic of the ride profile (which may expain why it's hard to find riding partners):<br />
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And here is an account of the ride from Simmeeee's perspective: <a href="http://twowheeledworld.com/the-bonk-heard-round-the-world/">http://twowheeledworld.com/the-bonk-heard-round-the-world/</a><br />
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It's going to be another Epic Summer!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-49537012951081796182011-05-22T10:56:00.003-06:002011-06-19T20:50:51.680-06:00Fun with my GoPro HDI recently picked up a <a href="http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories/lcd-bacpac/">LCD bacpac</a> for my <a href="http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-helmet-hero-camera/">helmet-cam</a>. Of course, I was at work so I decided to film a typical test ride after building a customer's bike. It took me about 10 minutes to film and an hour to edit. I posted it on Facebook so if you saw it there, nothing new here!<br />
For some reason, it is one of my favorite videos and I laugh every time I watch it. Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="299" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23840720?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&" width="398"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-87772995374212693502011-05-14T17:36:00.000-06:002011-05-14T17:36:31.105-06:002011 12 Hours of Mesa VerdeI keep telling people that I am retired from mountain bike racing...then I keep finding fun races to do. <a href="http://www.12hoursofmesaverde.com/">This one</a> is at the top of the list. Phil's World in Cortez Colorado, is one of the best places I have ridden a mountain bike!<br />
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Russ and I did the race last year as a Duo and we both decided to NOT do that again. So over the winter I hatched a plan....put a four man team together containing a few of the old school crew and call it team "Legends Packfill". This year's "Legends" team contained Ned Overend, Dave Wiens, Travis Brown and Daryl Price. Our team had myself, Russ, Wade and Todd Wilderman. At least three of us were packfill for those guys in the 80's and 90's!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MMf-ZdAWM8lZ12z-1fcZ0F05FzLGuynXeX-bIaFfvMSoUBEPAW2PDL1g6yNyr7ScYVRcwK7ZqoE3VA6CqebAMioMpyTbywkRll71VNsvkHayne3wGGkj1Yja1xYGFFGe-kG4z7wykSDc/s1600/SAM_0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MMf-ZdAWM8lZ12z-1fcZ0F05FzLGuynXeX-bIaFfvMSoUBEPAW2PDL1g6yNyr7ScYVRcwK7ZqoE3VA6CqebAMioMpyTbywkRll71VNsvkHayne3wGGkj1Yja1xYGFFGe-kG4z7wykSDc/s400/SAM_0259.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course being an ex-racer, I had set some little goals to keep me motivated all winter. One was to beat my best lap time last year and hopefully get a 1:20 lap. Another was to beat the lap time of at least one Legend. Pulled it off. I did a 1:20 and change my first lap and beat Daryl Price on both my laps! Of course, Daryl probably didn't even ride much and was still pulling decent times. He could train for 2 weeks, like Wiens did, and crush me just like the old days!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Had to steal this shot from the photo website. Throwning down some style in my non-descript jersey.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The team decided that Wade should start us off. It was a "Lemans" style start which meant a 300 yard dash in cycling shoes. I did it last year and vowed to avoid it at all costs. Wade was always good at starting fast (still is) and would put us in a great position for the rest of the race.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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Here is a quick video of the running start and subsequent chaos:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23737384?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/23737384">Lemans start of the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde mountain bike race</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1688099">Alan Keeffe</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wade's daughter Sage was also there with her team, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Devo Sweet Elite. She already has a closet full of National Champion jerseys and proved she is the future star by setting the fastest lap by a woman (and all but the fastest men) of 1:15! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is Sage with two of her heroes, Susan DiBiase and Susan Demattei (of the Women's Legends team):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03-BX_ti-5o7LQPguur7Pdupf47bSbBE-CziT_vWh9HwrocrzSB1ejmR4XVgIVHK6sliSUAxb_amRCOHLFh4o_obAOOsQi70H9cJx9_Lf47dDGdcwNMwQLjjShC_tYwNq525gwq6O-Jh8/s1600/SAM_0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03-BX_ti-5o7LQPguur7Pdupf47bSbBE-CziT_vWh9HwrocrzSB1ejmR4XVgIVHK6sliSUAxb_amRCOHLFh4o_obAOOsQi70H9cJx9_Lf47dDGdcwNMwQLjjShC_tYwNq525gwq6O-Jh8/s400/SAM_0257.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of Sage's teammates is Colton Anderson and he came into the start/finish in first place at 1:09 with Travis Brown a few seconds behind. I thought I heard Travis saying something to the effect of "he tore my legs off on that first lap". I think the future stars of the sport are making themselves known! Here is Colton leading the fastest of the fast (including my buddy Daniel Matheny in the second Honey Stinger kit):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu5JGnrXfeF1-HremMqzUtUHO0sWuW6vm6JN50x-YfR36dj2m2s9uKqDTQnqxwox4bBNQixwLD9qtMeLa11mU6_-xMttY5ApBFytjDSbJ_wwSnoP5d34NM2aqz45CQNG6ygjLdWXSssO7/s1600/SAM_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu5JGnrXfeF1-HremMqzUtUHO0sWuW6vm6JN50x-YfR36dj2m2s9uKqDTQnqxwox4bBNQixwLD9qtMeLa11mU6_-xMttY5ApBFytjDSbJ_wwSnoP5d34NM2aqz45CQNG6ygjLdWXSssO7/s400/SAM_0255.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As it turns out, a four man team is the way to go for maximum fun. We placed 24th overall out of over 500 teams. And we were 11th place in our category (Legends got 3rd). The top 5 in our 3-4 man category were also the top 5 overall so I feel like we did pretty good for a bunch of 45+ year olds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm already looking forward to next year and hope to bring more friends so they can be part of the fun!</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-49463445860542014852011-04-17T12:04:00.000-06:002011-04-17T12:04:07.833-06:00Arizona tripJust got back from Scottsdale with a bunch of pics, videos and memories.<br />
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After 12 hours in the car, we took a walk around the neighborhood where my Dad had rented a house.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVc3HAKvay2VtxWga0l1GV-0cWSIEdyKzS0LE9HTyQMVMl20y069Kn_h3dHhjQtq76ROa-CdC1ZH60G-CcmhdYF0f4NVBQxmjL3CEaG40xTYRN9BhzYYm5ElP9Xn321CmevAOIxMvc_3L/s1600/SAM_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVc3HAKvay2VtxWga0l1GV-0cWSIEdyKzS0LE9HTyQMVMl20y069Kn_h3dHhjQtq76ROa-CdC1ZH60G-CcmhdYF0f4NVBQxmjL3CEaG40xTYRN9BhzYYm5ElP9Xn321CmevAOIxMvc_3L/s320/SAM_0235.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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The next day we headed to the McDowell Mountain Sonoran Preserve for a hike and a bit of re-con for my mountain bike rides.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6N6B7_Ij9FJJAuTuPOqqow6R2GJnVjS9PQgsr1bn549J_vv-gcsTvnOZh273czTRKxNDeLKJmVBPTxataP1Qu5RmNfNQAcRKhKqwRNk9tmK2FCG-R3fjcxIfUACrO1oTNjYPtDvT3nNOR/s1600/GOPR0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6N6B7_Ij9FJJAuTuPOqqow6R2GJnVjS9PQgsr1bn549J_vv-gcsTvnOZh273czTRKxNDeLKJmVBPTxataP1Qu5RmNfNQAcRKhKqwRNk9tmK2FCG-R3fjcxIfUACrO1oTNjYPtDvT3nNOR/s320/GOPR0013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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The next three days were filled with fun desert mountain riding.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgYsjrzQXr-ZX2QJq-IStfcQeFVC86ZLpL-nN3GtA2NSW4hViMZgC5_-drBFGiJBPn7HOhyphenhyphenl_7uDgoUuVIWoESEpHZtN5dc5Bc7Df2ztY0-E6v3P8iPp-7SsMgs1Xz2vltH8GTHVHvabS/s1600/ge+wed+ride.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgYsjrzQXr-ZX2QJq-IStfcQeFVC86ZLpL-nN3GtA2NSW4hViMZgC5_-drBFGiJBPn7HOhyphenhyphenl_7uDgoUuVIWoESEpHZtN5dc5Bc7Df2ztY0-E6v3P8iPp-7SsMgs1Xz2vltH8GTHVHvabS/s320/ge+wed+ride.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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On Wednesday, I did a big ride over to the McDowell regional park where they had the last Cactus Cup mountain bike race. They have specific directional "competitive loops" laid out as well as a fun pump track (no pedaling around a small course with big banked turns and roller jumps).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt8igwCdzpXrER8lyEA-VMoFf3NF7bk13t72G-URHby9D2bpGYRg9h_DtBPXy9K3b32TSqg8t0kDUvxJdrzdzPm0xqVxwnuTh23cX-RJtWuYAfpkqo2VLSc54xhtUSCIV4WdDdrUczhu3/s1600/SAM_0239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt8igwCdzpXrER8lyEA-VMoFf3NF7bk13t72G-URHby9D2bpGYRg9h_DtBPXy9K3b32TSqg8t0kDUvxJdrzdzPm0xqVxwnuTh23cX-RJtWuYAfpkqo2VLSc54xhtUSCIV4WdDdrUczhu3/s320/SAM_0239.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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This is the top of Windgate pass looking toward Scottsdale. Elevation is over 3000' and the climbing up the west side is brutal at times.<br />
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That saddle is the top of Windgate pass as seen from the McDowell regional park side.<br />
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Who says you can't get some good elevation gain in the desert?<br />
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I recommend a "knees in" cornering style. There will also be a stiff penalty for over-shooting corners!<br />
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We spent a lot of time relaxing. It's a dog's life.<br />
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On the last day of the trip, I had scheduled a tattoo appointment with Cory Lenherr. He is well versed in the Traditional American style of tattooing. I had been saving a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor_Jerry">Sailor Jerry</a> piece of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(tattoo)">flash</a> for just such an occasion. Thanks, Cory!<br />
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One night after a long ride, I was sitting around thinking about some music for my next video. My Dad suggested "Cool Water" by The Sons of the Pioneers. Sorry Dad, but that was a little slow for a mountain bike video. I chose "Low Desert Punk" by Brant Bjork. Enjoy:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22498535" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/22498535">Fun in the Az sun!</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1688099">Alan Keeffe</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-26482377795629479352011-03-01T07:38:00.000-07:002011-03-01T07:38:26.722-07:00Lunch Ride GoodnessThis winter has been pretty kind to the Colorado Springs area. As a result of that, along with the fact that work is always slower in the winter, I get to do a lot of lunch rides. <br />
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One of the best places to ride mountain bikes in the Springs is <a href="http://www.springsgov.com/units/parksrec/maps/pdfmaps/palmer-pg1.pdf">Palmer Park</a>. I have been riding there for 25 years and I still look forward to going back. It is that cool!<br />
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I am also very lucky to be friends with many of the local riders who are still racing at the Elite level of Mountain bike (and Road bike) competition and are available to ride in the middle of the day when most other people are limited to a one hour break. Riding in Palmer Park with a bunch of Elite riders is so much fun that I try to go as fast as I can and am usually totally worthless at work for the rest of the day. It's worth it!<br />
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Here is a little video that I made with two different rides combined into one. The second ride had me following my friend <a href="http://www.kelliemmett.com/">Kelli</a>, who happens to also be at work <em>while</em> we are riding. Lucky.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20502177" style="height: 300px; width: 455px;" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/20502177">A lunch ride to Palmer Park</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1688099">Alan Keeffe</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-66209692421076793102011-01-15T12:58:00.000-07:002011-01-15T12:58:52.510-07:00There's a little black spot on the sun today..Haven't blogged much lately, what with all of the holiday happenings. We finally got snow in the Springs area and that means the trails are not so fine. It also means that<a href="http://www.socorunners.org/information/maps/files/XD_TrailMapSouth.pdf"> Lake Pueblo State Park</a> is back on the radar. Here is a little video clip from a recent ride there:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/18822029" style="height: 293px; width: 541px;" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/18822029">cuatro cinco</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1688099">Alan Keeffe</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Notice the little black spot on the sun.</div><br />
Oh, I upgraded the brakes on the Trance to the new<a href="http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/mountain/new_xtr/component_systems/trail.html#brakes"> Shimano XTR Trail</a>. Wow. They are so powerful that I had to reduce the size of the brake rotors. Testing is still in progress....<br />
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And, I don't want to sound like an info-mercial but I just got a <a href="https://secure.vitamix.com/acb/stores/4/Vita-Mix-5200-P748C108.aspx">Vitamix </a>blender and it is awesome. I recommend it for someone who wants to eat healthy foods but is too lazy to make huge meals. I drink more emulsified fruits and veggies than ever before!<br />
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Another winter-time favorite is the <a href="http://www.hikingintherockies.com/hiking/hike%20reports/manitouincline/manitouincline.htm">Manitou Incline</a> hike. Cindy and I are back on the "every Sunday" schedule. Here is a pic from a past hike:<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-16198805570564296432010-12-12T14:30:00.000-07:002010-12-12T14:30:01.272-07:00A gift from La NinaThis time last year, I had already hit the trainer a few times and made a few trips to Pueblo for some dry riding conditions. This year has been a bit....different. There has been very little snow on the Colorado front range but the mountains have been getting a good amount. I keep thinking that every snow-free ride will be my last. So I just keep on riding with a smile on my face.<br />
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Matt the Bagel and I met at Cheyenne Mountain State Park yesterday for a fun ride with my video camera. I edited the video and then added some helmet-cam footage from a warmer time...<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/17736502" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/17736502">Cheyenne Mtn. State Park footage</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1688099">Alan Keeffe</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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The forecast looks dry. Lunch ride, anyone?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-77193307242950873332010-11-07T11:06:00.000-07:002010-11-07T11:06:16.741-07:00Aberdeen!Lately, I have been in the mood for an adventure. So the other day I am checking out the interweb and I happened to see <a href="http://twitter.com/wienr">Dave Wiens twitter page</a> . He was talking about a new section of single-track that has just been completed at Hartman's Rocks in Gunnison, Colorado. Then he mentions a <a href="http://gunnisontrails.com/?p=167">race</a> coming up in a few days. Assuming that the race would cover the new trail, I started to plan a trip to Gunni. Then I started thinking: "what would make this even more epic?". The answer: riding with Mick Hannah. For those who don't know, here is Mick:<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HNrYZn9X9Ts?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HNrYZn9X9Ts?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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Here is more:<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y91Ug0mZrys?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y91Ug0mZrys?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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So at 6 a.m. on November 6, 2010, I set out on a one day adventure.<br />
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Here is the sunrise on the Collegiate Range on the way across Southpark:<br />
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I met Mick on the way and we headed to Gunnison. Upon arrival, we immediately went to sign up for the race and that's when Dave informed me that the new trail wasn't going to be part of the course. Darn! We got our numbers and put them on our bikes thinking that we would still do the race. <br />
That's when Giant Bikes race team manager Joe Staub showed up. He was to be our guide for the warm-up for the race. We climbed out of Hartman's and started riding the epic trails in the area until it looked like it was time to get to the start. Or...we could go out and sample the new 7 miles of single-track called the Aberdeen loop. Mick and I were both feeling like not racing so the decision was made!<br />
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Here's Mick and Joe having a snack at the start of Aberdeen:<br />
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Here is Mick (and Joe) fixing a flat on the sweet new single-track:<br />
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Here is a picture of the Aberdeen Loop sign. I recommend riding it counter-clock-wise.<br />
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We ran into Scott N's college running coach. He was a history professor and knows the history of the area very well. Here he is meeting Mick: "So you are a pretty good bike rider, huh?"...<br />
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After the ride, we headed over to the Gunni Sack restaurant and had burgers and beer. Dave called, wondering if we were still out on course since we were technically still racing. He laughed when I told him where we were, but I'm sure he was glad we weren't laying in a ditch out on course!<br />
The post race party at the Gunnison Brewery was really cool and the people there were really nice but I had to get on the road so I couldn't hang out too long.<br />
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So 15 hours after leaving my house in Colorado Springs, I arrived home safe and sound. And tired. Definitely got the adventure that I was seeking!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-75627061644452794722010-10-10T17:27:00.000-06:002010-10-10T17:27:27.082-06:00Cheyenne Mountain LodgeIn 1925, Spencer Penrose built a six mile road to the top of the northern summit of Cheyenne Mountain. The road ended above "The Horns". The cost was one million dollars to build and it wasn't a big hit with the locals. Nothing like a big zig-zag scar up a pristine mountainside, right?<br />
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Upon completion of the road, Penrose constructed a lodge where people could stay and admire the view, breathe the high altitude air and look at his menagerie of animals. It was called the Cheyenne Mountain Lodge or the Honeymoon Lodge. Here is a video:<br />
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I heard a rumor that in later years the lodge became a brothel, but I couldn't find any more recent history of it. In the early 1970's, the lodge was bulldozed due to vandalism and the high cost of upkeep and security. Too bad because it would be a really cool place to stay. <br />
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Now, it's a really cool place to hike (or hike a bike) and explore. Be warned that it is a no tresspassing area so I can't recommend visiting there. Nor can I give explicit directions on how to get there. I can say that purchasing a <a href="http://www.pikes-peak-atlas.com/">Pikes Peak Atlas</a> will be worth the investment.<br />
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Here is a cool picture of the lodge:<br />
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In the next picture, look just above where the car is parked. I heard it was a mountain lion cage. Today you can see the gate to the cement enclosure and the bars are still intact.<br />
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Here is Russ walking up those stairs above the mountain lion cage:<br />
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Here are some pictures of the old footprint of the lodge. To the east you can see where they bulldozed the walls over the edge of the cliff.<br />
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These old stairs lead to a cool little overlook:<br />
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We had to go and check out the free standing overlook with the huge flag pole:<br />
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Here is a cool picture of the Horns from the overlook:<br />
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Here are our smiling mugs:<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I think Russ found the fountain of youth because we look the same age yet he is a decade older than me!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I shot a quick video from our perch:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzVc0cjznu_fk-gfh4V4P5iTGLDes39ubEm-qxrPF7_USlGslxm1Li9Tkbh-SJciEVmo6o4Z5n0TIeWVKTMRA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I made a cool 3D image of our ride route and ride stats:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYO_agkhPGglfgL2cxr3nvdycvnkXmoJyoiPB3zqbBxyN09zyWp88xbwYqoMytCY-_nzqUeFOaiep7CLtcc4DM0HzyMveafCl-q58XgdsojVmuhoftn73ZNyLt2UDLChXisH0Mtf_3gYe/s1600/ride+stats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYO_agkhPGglfgL2cxr3nvdycvnkXmoJyoiPB3zqbBxyN09zyWp88xbwYqoMytCY-_nzqUeFOaiep7CLtcc4DM0HzyMveafCl-q58XgdsojVmuhoftn73ZNyLt2UDLChXisH0Mtf_3gYe/s400/ride+stats.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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It was a long day on the bike since the original ride route didn't include the excursion to the top of Cheyenne Mountain. Russ was a great riding companion and never complained about having to carry his bike up a nasty trail 3 hours into the ride (or again, 5 hours into the ride. Ooops). We should all be so lucky to have such a great riding buddy.<br />
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I am super lucky because I have several.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053616871883108981.post-39898403265070132202010-10-04T23:25:00.000-06:002010-10-04T23:25:48.203-06:00Weekend in GunnisonMy co-worker Scott and his Dad Steve invited me to Gunnison last weekend to stay at the<a href="http://www.islandacresresort.com/islandacreshistory.html"> Island Acres Resort </a>and do some sweet mountain bike rides. No-brainer, I was IN!<br />
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Here's Scott at <a href="http://www.gunnisoncrestedbutte.com/hartman-rocks">Hartman's</a>:<br />
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Here's Steve at Hartman's:<br />
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The plan was to ride in Crested Butte on Saturday with the one and only Dave Moe (<a href="http://rockandrollsports.com/">Dave Meyer</a>) as our tour guide and then the famous Growler race course at Hartman's Rocks in Gunnison on Sunday.<br />
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Here's me and Dave Moe with Mt. Crested Butte in the background:<br />
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I met Dave waaaay back in the dark ages of mountain bike racing. We were dukin' it out at Lory State Park in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was my first Pro race and I was chasing Wade Wilderman with Dave somewhere out ahead of us. We were rippin' through the trees and somehow caught Dave at the start of a big climb. Right about then Wade dropped a chain and I passed him, then Dave who actually cheered me on! That just doesn't happen in bike races. The only other time it happened in my racing career was when I somehow passed another Dave who also lives in Gunnison. They raise some polite and friendly bike racers up there in the high mountain valleys.<br />
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The troops were gathered in CB on Saturday morning and we headed up Tony's Trail east of town. This is where we split into two groups: the smart ones who love great trails at an intelligent pace, and...The Others. Dave Moe led The Others. <br />
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Here is Scott at the point of group division:<br />
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Dave has some hilarious phrases that he interjects into otherwise normal conversation.<br />
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Here are The Others gathered at the top of the first big climb. "That was a real booger-blower"- Dave Moe <br />
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We were waiting for a rider who was beginning to show that he was too intelligent to be riding with The Others. His name will be Kenneth (name has been changed to protect the intelligent). Kenneth has never climbed 10 miles in a row at 10,000' of elevation and he was beginning to suffer. At one point later in the ride, Scott noted that Kenneth was "talking to the dinosaurs".<br />
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Here's the Hitman after we made a "left turn, Clyde" onto Deer Creek trail:<br />
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While we waited for Kenneth to stop being so intelligent, I had plenty of time to take some photos. There is no shortage of scenery in CB in the fall:<br />
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Maybe those were the dinosaurs...<br />
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At this point Dave Moe told Kenneth that there were no more big climbs, "honest, Pocohontas". He wasn't lying, but there was plenty more uphill in the form of not so big climbs. At that point in the ride, Kenneth began projectile vomiting in order to flag down a passing vehicle. They carted his now super intelligence-enriched carcass back to CB in a random act of kindness. <br />
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Post ride, some of the others gathered at the <a href="http://www.brickovencb.com/">Brick Oven Pizzeria</a> in Crested Butte for some pizza and beer and to get one last morsel of Dave Moe-isms. Thanks, "Buddy Bear"!<br />
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We then headed back to Gunnison for an awesome home-cooked meal, more beers and to gather around the fire pit:<br />
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Sunday, we had yet another home-cooked breakfast and headed out to Hartman's. The Other's group had lost a few to the intelligent group but we couldn't let that deter us. We headed out to do a lap of the now infamous <a href="http://303cycling.com/2010-Gunnison-Growler">Growler</a> race course.<br />
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Here is a sample of the fine trails around Hartman's:<br />
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Did I mention that Dave Moe has a trail or two named after him? He is responsible for about 70% of the awesome trails at Hartman's. He couldn't ride with us on Sunday due to "marital maintenance". :<br />
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The riding was awesome and the groups had a great time, but the shadows were growing longer and we still had to drive home:<br />
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<a href="http://www.islandacresresort.com/">Island Acres Resort</a> is mountain biker friendly, dog friendly and they even have a bike wash:<br />
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If you are extremely lucky, you can enjoy the home cooked goodness from Nancy and Pam as well as the hospitality of Steve and Tim. Thanks for the invite....can I reserve "same time next year"?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0