"I can't wait to ride the trainer."

When was the last time you heard a cyclist say THAT?
As strange as it may seem, I have been saying that quite frequently since I picked up a Tacx VR trainer (http://www.tacxvr.com/en/products/vr-trainers-intro) from The Colorado Cyclist.
This amazing piece of machinery will keep you entertained and working hard during your workout.

This is the setup I have: Tacx i-magic T-1900 with VR steering frame. I built the little stand that the mini-notebook sits on. I found an old Polar heartrate strap in a drawer and it works with this unit!

You will need a computer of some kind. I hooked it up to my desktop at first, but the trainer took up the whole computer room and made quite a racket downstairs in the room below. I don't have a laptop but I do have a mini-notebook which works really good if you can build a custom stand for it so it will be close to you while you ride. This also let me put the trainer in the basement workout room where it is cooler and quieter.

In your face. Just be careful not let the sweat fly onto the computer screen.

The software on this unit is fairly good....after you spend a lot of time learning how to install and use it. There are several courses in the virtual reality section and many pre-programmed riders to ride with. You can also log onto the internet and ride with people world-wide (for a fee). My favorite feature is riding against my virtual self. Every ride is saved and you are given the option to ride against your former self. Today I rode against two other me's and finished in between. I may have done better but I was also trying to get used to the steering frame which had me riding in the gutter a lot! When that happens, it gets really hard to pedal and you have to straighten up fast or lose a lot of time.

Here is one of the many courses available. There are both mountain bike and road courses in the program.

The trainer I am using doesn't let you coast, so if you ride an hour, you are pedaling for an hour. I was looking at the more expensive unit and it actually coasts down hills! That would be weird. I have noticed that time really flies on this trainer- especially with the steering frame. You can also program your own ride if you really are serious about interval training.

Let it snow, rain, sleet and blow. I can always ride the trainer.

New feature on the blog page!

The GM at work (Dean) clamped an old arm-rest in the vise next to my work-bench the other day. He said it's for all of the people who hang out and talk to me while I toil away building bikes and such.
Hmmmm, I think I will snap a cell-phone pic of everyone who uses that arm-rest and post it on my blog page. Who knows who you might see in those pics?
I shall do my best to keep it updated every so often....

Trail Ridin' with Buck (the dog)

For some reason, I thought today would be a good day to ride the Falcon Trail on the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Uhhh, it's February, it's been snowing, it's been melting and turning to ice then snowing some more....denial really helps you out the door.
I had a few volunteers to join in the fun. Matt D (of course), Daniel M, Heather E and Buck the dog!
Daniel is a coach at CTS and races in the Pro class on a mountain bike. He is a very animated rider and fun to follow.  Buck (Daniel's dog) is a German Short-haired Pointer and in phenomonal shape. He pretty much leads the ride and if he's not leading, he's looking for a line around you! If there was a Pro class for trail dogs, Buck would be factory sponsored.

Here's Buck looking to fuel up.

Trail conditions were as expected. Muddy, snowy, icy, fun. Buck led the way and took some sweet cheater lines. His all-paw-drive system was working over-time in these conditions but he never seemed to fatigue. Daniel had a flat which gave me time to grab a snack and snap this picture:

Fixing a flat with Blodgett's Peak in the background.

Oh, I also had my Helmet Hero cam mounted on my stem to catch all of the action. Grab some popcorn and click "play".

Trail Ridin' with Buck (the dog) from Alan Keeffe on Vimeo.

Coffee is mandatory.

Most of the athletes I know love coffee. It has been proven beneficial to athletic performance in one way or another and it's soooo good in the morning.
I got a coffee bean roaster for Christmas 2 years ago and my world has changed for the better since then. It sounds so complex and difficult to roast your own beans, but I am going to show you how easy it really is.

First you need to buy a roaster. A home coffee roaster is like a glorified popcorn popper with a timer. Here is a link to the one I use: http://www.burmancoffee.com/equipment/freshroast_plus.coffee.roasterSR.html
Actually, I have the predecessor to these models and it works great.

Next you need to buy some green coffee beans. I like to try new beans all the time and I use these companies: http://www.burmancoffee.com/, http://www.breworganic.com/

Now that you have to beans and equipment and beans, here's how easy it is:

Put the raw beans into the roaster.

Set the timer for how long you want to roast the beans.

The beans have a distinct "cracking" sound while they roast. This indicates the different levels of roast. The more cracks, the darker the roast. If the roaster starts smoking, you have reached espresso roast!

Here's one pound of raw beans. I roasted these fairly dark but not espresso-dark.

After cooling, I put them in a air-tight container and brew them the next day.

This whole process takes about 6 minutes. I usually roast the beans in my garage because there is too much smoke to roast in the house. Here is my "roasting station":

Simple, easy....worth it!

An added benefit of roasting in the garage is that my car's air circulation system has a faint coffee odor. Not too shabby.

Demo a bike today!

At work (The Colorado Cyclist) we have several bikes available to demo (for a small fee). I've had my eye on a Giant Trance X2 for a little while but have never really ridden one for more than a minute.

Today was the day to test ride this sweet bike, so I invited my full-suspension-loving co-worker (our warehouse manager) Rick and we headed for Palmer Park at lunch-time.

I have always preferred a rigid frame with a suspension fork (since I am so "old school") and I have owned full-suspension rigs in the past (AMP Research, Santa Cruz Heckler). But today I was ready to try it again...I even wore baggy shorts!


Palmer Park ride on a Giant Trance from Alan Keeffe on Vimeo.

Oh yeah, I will be purchasing one of these bikes as soon as I can afford to because it was waaaaaay too much fun and that's what it's all about!

Urban Assault!

A great thing about Colorado Springs is the amount of riding areas located all around town. Years ago, I figured out a way of linking many of the riding spots together in one loop. This is usually done in winter when the high country is snowed in and unrideable. I dubbed it "Urban Assault" and have called it that ever since. It's a pretty big loop and takes well into 3-1/2 hours of riding time and it can be quite challenging-especially when there is snow and ice on the trails.
Today was the first assault that we've done in quite a while. I invited a few friends and here are some pics:

Water, check. Food, check. Cell, check. ID, check.

First stop: Ute Valley Park

Posing in Pulpit Rock Park

A quick pass through Palmer Park after riding through The Bluffs (University Park).

Leaving Palmer Park and heading across town to Bear Creek Park.

After Bear Creek and prepping for Stratton's climbs. Downtown C. Springs in the background.

Slippin' and slidin' at the top of the Chutes.

Awesome city view from the top of the Chutes.

After descending Gold Camp, we rode up Section 16 to Inteman on the way to Red Rocks open space.

Attacking Red Rocks!

After Red Rocks, we rode up Ridge Road and through the legal trails in the Garden of the Gods. Then back to my casa!

Another great ride in the books. Thanks to the Matts, Don and The Champ (Alison) for making it even more enjoyable!

Not my bike

Have I ever mentioned that I really like my job? I've been a bike mechanic for about 25 years. I tried other things, but realized that I had better stick with what I do best. Luckily, The Colorado Cyclist called me after I realized this and now I've been back there for over a year, putting together really expensive bikes and getting paid money for it!
That brings us to my latest video. A customer of the Cyclist ordered a sweet $5000 carbon fiber Santa Cruz Blur XC and requested that someone take it for a ride to break it in. Umm, I guess I could give it a try. Oh, the sacrifices one has to make for his job...

Not my bike from Alan Keeffe on Vimeo.