suspended

First, I would like to give late props to Joe and the entire Fixed, not broken 24 team that raced the 24hrs of Big Bear mtn bike race. Joe clocked the 2nd fastest lap in the singlespeed/rigid category which is no small feat but one little fact that makes it an even bigger accomplishment, is the fact that their entire team rode the race on fixed gear bicycles. Check out Joe's race write up on the SSO site. The race took place in West "by god" VIrginia which is known for it's technical trails. Good job guys!

Maybe I will do firecracker on a fixed gear? Well, maybe next year for that one. We did head up high Saturday and rode the course in brek which was really fun. The course is interesting and offered a little bit of everything. Fire road, high alpine riding, fun twisty singletrack, and loose technical descents are all on the menu. Looking at the winning times from last year and some of the big names coming this year, I am just hoping to avoid crashing and finishing 2 laps. The level of competition will be high but for us, the level of fun and gasping for air will be higher! I am excited that we will be staying to watch the fireworks after the race and not driving home that night. Should be fun and hopefully our place has a hot tub because we will need it. Jessica will be doing only her second event ever on an SS and I am really impressed an excited that she chose this one to do. This course is strenuous and the last 1/2 has some tech sections that you need to be on your game for. The mtns then give you the middle finger and laugh as you start the whole thing over again for a second lap.



This shot is a few miles into the first climb. The ski trails of Breckenridge in the background.



Not enough oxygen for trees to grow but enough to race bikes apparently. We will be riding close to treeline for a bit which is between 11,600-12,000 ft elevation in Colorado.



Loving the high country.



How many of you will be walking through walls of snow this 4th of July? Brek locals actually shoveled the trail in spots to make this course passable.



I should have taken a pic of the sheet metal under the rock on this longer than it looks section. In several spots, metal is sticking straight out of the rocks from the old mining days. It seems to serve the purpose of keeping this part of the trail from sliding down the hill.



Fun section. I know I know, I will start utilizing the flicker account



As the title of this post implies, I finally put some suspension on the 29er. I have been riding a rigid fork for a solid few seasons+ and wanted to try out a fork on the IF. I am happy so far with the way the Fox fork rode and even though I will only have a little bit of time to dial it in and get used to the handling differences, it will be good to be riding it this weekend. I will say that I already miss the rigid a bit even though the Fox locks out easily. I need to scrounge up an extra 29er frame somehow so as to keep a rigid setup going full time as well. I have been collecting some spare parts over the spring to make it happen and when the old geared 26in IF sells, I will have a little more breathing room in here and can think of a future project. For now, its a beer and a burrito.

Ciao

One in every family

So I pictured Jessica's completed Black Sheep in the last post but skipped over the whole trip to the workspace where James creates all his bikes. We headed up to Fort Collins the week before last to grab the rest of the parts and to ride some front range trails. James was cool enough to bust out the bike build while we rode a few of the local trails.

After we stopped by to drop the frame off, we headed out to the local trial network to hit Devils backbone and few others in the same area. Classic front range type riding with great views.





climbing out



looking over a peaceful valley scene as we headed back out.

We had fun on the trail but I understand why locals warn against riding here during the heat of summer days. It was super hot there and we were only in the 80's. It was nice to check a new trail though and I am thinking this place is good to ride off season.

We rolled back to Black Sheep headquarters and found a finished SS with Jessica's name on it. The bike looked great and James was cool enough to let me kick a leg over this puppy. This setup was surprisingly light and snappy, I bet it is fun on the trail.




Jessica petting her new friend while holding my new friend. I really loved the curves of this frame. I would love to take James up on his offer and roll it down the trail one day. He even took a spin around on the IF to humor me and also to help pinpoint the latest creak.




In case you were unaware, James teaches all his dogs to weld or at least assist in the process. This guy is listening intently to my needs and riding style and offers tubing options for a possible frame build. Dogs and cats abound at the Black Sheep shop.



This fork design was surprisingly nice to ride and alleviated almost all tuck that one experiences on certain rigid forks when grabbing a handful of front brake. Again, I would have to ride it on the trail to get an idea of the how it handled in the thick of things but I was happy to spin it around the neighborhood before we pointed is south back home.

Nuevo Mexicanos

There has been plenty of riding since the last post but the riding we did this past weekend in NM was supreme. It all started with a drive down to Santa Fe to visit Mr.Wise and his beautiful family. This was the first time I got to see their casa so it was extra special. I should have snapped a family photo of everyone but that will have to go on the to do list for the next trip. Jessica and I rolled into town and met Tim, Autumn, and Ella for a little rooftop pizza. Tim's friend/co-worker Ben and his partner Trish (I hope I remembered her name correctly) met us and were cool enough to get the table for everyone. The pizza was great and the view was excellent as well.

The first day of riding was on the Rancho Viejo trail that led us back to the Rio en Medio with some fun stuff in between. I don't remember all the names of the trails we hit at this spot but it was great and plenty of stream crossings to cool the feet. We met up with Anthony and Robert after a little dirt road climb to the start of the trail. This area was sweet and we didn't see a single mtn biker on the trails that day. A bit of a conundrum at the parking area but after kicking some hiker ass, we found a spot to park up the road. Lodo guy with his designer jeans, sunglasses, and long sleeve button down didn't like us driving on his road but all was good and after arduous deliberation in regards to his fate, we decided to let him go to hike, saunter rather, another day. Actually it was all smiles and and the warm up climb hit the spot. We rallied with Anthony and Robert at the top and hit the trail.



The crew ready to take action.



Tim finishes mashing out one of the many glorious climbs.



Not all climbs were meant to be ridden though. This climb is steeper, more rugged, and longer than it looks. A great example of how the mtns in New Mexico will mercilessly deal out the pain.



Life on the forest floor



We regroup in the meadow.

After the ride, we hit WFM for some major food to take back to the hacienda and grill. We went with the NY steaks and I was happy that we did. The new grill worked perfect and we all had our fill. The new patio and outdoor area they are having put on the house is almost complete and looked great. Leave it to Timmy to sweeten the entire project with the addition of a lovely hot tub. In true Saguaro cactus fashion, Tim has the ability to retain moisture from the tub that is later released into his body on rides. I was feeling like a Fred with a 100oz Camelbak and a bottle of some type of drink mix while he was finishing rides with 2 water bottles. One quick side note on the hot tub, the filter works really well on cat hair and ash from the grill.

This was the perfect way to set everyone up for the next day that would see us heading north to the South Boundary trail in Taos. Greg, a riding buddy of Tim's and Taos local led the way through what can be a very confusing trail network as I learned last year at the double boundary endurance ride.

This trail is off the chain and the rain they have been getting made this area one of the best in terms of trail conditions and lush vegetation that I have hit so far this year. Even the open meadows still showed spring like life.



These wild Iris were kind enough to pose in front of the wheeling rig backdrop. I wasn't expecting the wheelie as you can tell by the cut off rider. Still cool though.



What!!?

The NM rides were the first for Jess on her new Black Sheep. It came out really nice and I think she may even like the fit a little bit better than the On-One.



Waiting to head down the 164.



After some incredible stretches of trail, Greg and I volunteer to be the ones who head back to town via trail while Jessica and Tim head to grab the two cars we shuttled up with. We figure we will arrive a beer behind them to town. Famous last words.



Greg ripping down the singletrack. I shot this one while riding. This section was incredible and I remembered much of it from the end of the Double Boundary last September. The recent rains made the whole area enjoyable to ride and cornering the bike into the tacky turns was quite a treat.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Greg flats after we had blazed by one of the turn offs and were forced to double back. All good we think and he gets the tire changed quickly and we are back under way in no time.



The trail awaits while the work is being done.

I took the opportunity to shoot some commercial shots for IF and Formula even though the pin on the formula lever failed at the end of the ride. I got in touch with them and found out my brakes actually fell under a recall from last year. It should be an easy fix according to Formula but we shall see.







The last shot is from the second rear flat Greg got. We started to speculate that there may be an issue with the rear wheel and rightly so. We were running a bit behind and I was getting a bit nervous about leaving Taos so late to come back to Boulder. Greg dutifully gets the 2nd flat changed and we start the final stretch which is nice and technical. Right before the end, I hear a shout behind me and sure enough, a third and final flat. He suggests I get down before the search party is sent out and so I head out. Like Bugs Bunny lamenting that I should have made that turn at Albuquerque, I realize I went the wrong direction and end up in the north part of town. I have to SS it back down to the south end of town on the road just in time to meet Greg getting into his car after a very nice lady apparently stopped to pick him up.

We ended up heading to a nice little Mexican place after all was said and done for fish tacos. A great end to the day that did not see us leaving town until the the following morning. It was a good thing that Taos is mellow this time of year as there were great lodging deals to be had.

We were lucky to have friends who let us crash at their house and showed us the very splendid trails of New Mexico. If gas stays below $10 a gallon, we will head back down for more fun in the land of enchantment. Cheers

kicked in the ass by adventure

We did an adventurous ride Tuesday up in ned and ended up picking our way back down to town via a varying route that offered a little of everything. A long day in the saddle that gave me route ideas for some mini epics in the future.

It all started with the 12:10pm bus to Ned. 3 blocks into it, we pick up a handful of dirtbags and one of them ends up starting shit with the bus driver due to the fact that they were too lazy to stand up when the bus was driving by. He looked like the long red haired Italian chef Mario from the food network (minus the ability to choose a good olive oil or tell you what a white truffle is good for). The guy soon realizes he could get into serious trouble as per the sign that states creating a disturbance on mass transit can result in a $750 fine and up to 16 yrs in prison. Numerically this seems lopsided to me but it seemed to make the point as I am sure it has many of times.

We got off at the high school and headed up west mag. We decided to climb the school bus trail straight up to super circle which on a singlespeed, is like getting hit with baseball bats on the thighs as you ride between the lines of an angry mob. Finishing always feels great though and you soon forget the pain as the trail opens into the meadow. Once at the super circle we meet a guy and girl riding with a really cute dog who had shoes on her paws with better tread than my back tire. We soon part ways and head down the opposite direction from which we arrived to descend roots trail.

The trails were in great shape with only a couple stubborn snow banks refusing to admit summer is here.






section of the roots trail




After heading back down towards the road, we made a quick detour to use a couple tools at Happy Trails bike and coffee shop in town. We saw familiar faces and indulged in an ice coffee before heading back out to ride up the 505 which kicked my ass. I realized that the newer shoes I have been riding are not quite right and have been causing some strange positioning. Either way, at certain points climbing the 505 this day proved to be about as much fun as getting arrested.



I realized I was not drinking nearly enough water as we made our way up. Hmm, maybe that coffee wasn't the best idea but I still enjoyed the view. The pic I took above is only part way into this climb and we started down there in the valley. You can even see some ski runs off to the left if you look closely. There was still plenty more to climb.



We refilled on water and I started to drink to make up for lost liquid. The clouds can sometimes fool you at altitude with the cooler temps and one may think they do not need to drink as much as the really do. Hitting some cool spring water gave me a little boost as we headed into the twisty fun section of sherwood. We jumped the road and got into a section of trail I had never ridden that took us to ridge rd and pointed us towards boulder. We rode some dirt road for a bit and then dropped into dream canyon on a doubletrack. Back to dirt road through the canyon which was beaming with life.



Looking back towards the mtns we were just riding in.




Jess heading out of dream canyon.



good miles



Luckily, we never saw the dog this sign was referencing. I love the electrified font of the word warning and the blood dripping from his teeth.


After all this, we were rewarded with some steep pitches of road to get back out of the canyon.



ahh yes, more climbing! you will need to click on this one to actually see Jessica. Speaking of road bikes, not much time left to get a ticket or 4 for the drawing over at Fat Cyclist. A very worthy cause and a very sweet bike that could be yours for $5.

We still had a little bit of a ride back to town and descended sugarloaf a full speed. I tucked into position and had fun in the corners with the nevegal floating around on the front of my bike. Not the best tire for a high speed mtn descent down the pave but it was fulfilling to get a little something back.

A good long ride that was much needed. We want to start much earlier next time and plan things out to create the best possible route. I can't wait until next time. Adios for now

The Black Sheep has arrived

Jessica's frame finally surfaced and should be built up by the end of the week. Unfortunately the cranks were installed already so it was tough to get a good pic of just the frame but I needed to get at least one shot.



I like the lines of the frame and the welds look really nice up close. These frames are built right up the road in Ft Collins, CO. They build some interesting bikes and will do anything custom that one could hope for. Its tough to find a standard straight tubed hardtail pictured on his website. I do like his SS Cross models and the team discount makes a 1/2 price custom frame very enticing but I have neither the money nor the space for another bike right now.



I think this will be a really cool looking bike once it is built up.

6th verse same as the first

With the clock ticking down to the Firecracker 50, I need to resort to a more formal training the next two weeks so as not to disgrace my team. Started it off today with some intervals on the road bike, bletch! It has been years since I have done intervals or sprints but all went well and after a couple hrs and 6 efforts, I was feeling content. I have wanted to do the Firecracker for a few years now so as long as I finish and do not come in last, I am sure it will be a great time.

Jessica's show opened on Friday evening. Things went well and some Denver characters were out and about.



PS: the tennis rackets in the photo are not part of her show.

I met a guy named Mark there who according to him, will be the Next Next Big Thing. He was covered head to toe in screen printed flyers with his photo on them and was passing the same flyers out. I have no idea what will actually catapolt him to be the next big thing but more power to him.



I am going to shoot some better photos of the show when its not so hectic in there and I can use a tripod so stayed tuned. Until then, head down there and buy a sculpture!

uno mas

Last day of work for a while. It has been a bit overwhelming this past week with everything happening at once but how else would it happen?

Luckily we were able to sleep in until 9:30a today and caught up on much needed sleep. I hit the road for a very short and quick ride before work. 36 miles, 20.5 mph average speed, headwind in every direction, and loved every minute. A cleansing of sorts.

Jessica's show opened last night at the Pirate Gallery . More on the that and pics to follow. We spent Thursday hanging the show and dealing with double car issues. The verdict is still out on passat clutch but we did find out the Subaru has a torn axle boot. I am hoping the call monday is not a bad one. Dealing with expenses before the last day of work is not the way I wanted to kick things off but such is life.

only 8 hrs of work before summer vacation

5 more days

Weather and work has had me on the pavement the past couple of days and I am ready for some trails. I begin the final push through the last week of work tomorrow and I am looking forward to a huge decompression and shift. I know this sabbatical will cut a new trail in my life but a little unknowing and a touch of uneasiness around not working has been tough to shake. At least I will have a settled schedule for a bit.

I am in the mood to throw out my phone and just disconnect, not that I am very connected in the first place. One thing is for sure, I need to spend some time getting ready for the firecracker 50. Actually, I need to register come to think of it. At least we signed up for the Laramie Enduro before it filled up. I am excited to race Laramie due to it's reputation as a well supported event and fast course. It should be interesting to race a fast 111k mountain bike course. By the time that race happens though, gas will be over $5 a gallon and we will have to ride our bikes to get there.

That makes my current fuel seem like a bargain.


Time to get one of these and park that car.

I have been meaning to link some animation from artist blu. Muto is his newest sensation and well worth watching. I like his simple animation pieces which seem to have a phoenix like theme. Not for the kids so much but uber creative.

enjoy the week. ws

Updates on a rain day

Yes, it has been raining for almost 24 hrs, a rare occurrance on the front range. I really enjoy it though and it makes this place feel so much healthier and the air more breathable. The only unfortunate part is that its fully raining on a day I had a big ride planned. I have been shut out two days in a row now and I took the day before those two off so look out tomorrow!

We got our long sleeve jerseys and vests from the Joe at Singlespeedoutlaw last week and I really like both of the pieces. The long sleeve jersey has the same look as the short sleeve with the SSO infamous striped arm warmers sported here by TT on the beautiful trails of NM.

The vests came out very nice as well. I love the stealth simple look, stout double zipper, and thicker material. Pactimo makes great team clothing and they are based out of Denver so all the better.

Next Friday the 6/13 will be the opening of Jessica's show at the Pirate gallery in Denver. In case you missed it, Dirt Rag has a link and gallery of some of her work on their website. Also, check out the ad they put in the current print issue of Dirt Rag if you have it. It is a lot of work getting ready for a show and I am sure she is happy work is out for the summer. I am really happy that her art is being recognized by a new gallery and I can't wait to be there by her side on opening night!

This got me thinking, I have always liked Friday the 13th for some reason. I don't think that it is particularly unlucky unless you are a knight of Templar who apparently had a rather unpleasant Friday the 13th about 700 yrs ago. I read that this is the main reason that started the 13th myth.

So, some of you may know that I am taking a sabbatical from work for a bit. A much needed break that I feel many of us should be entitled to. More on this as it gets closer. I am a little scared but extremely happy and excited. Hopefully my co-workers do not let it come to this before they take time for themselves. Stay sane folks and remember, just breathe

fixed mountain mondays

The Surly was back in action on Monday afternoon for what turned out to be a mini big in terms of saddle time. I decide to ride from my house to the Heil Ranch trail off Lefthand canyon in full fixed mode and got all I was hoping for.

The fun started with a u-turn about 15mins into the ride to go back home for the 15mm wrench that is necessary to remove the Surly's rear wheel in case of a flat. I took the extra half hr in stride and figured I would just take the rest of the ride as it came. If I could not finish the whole thing, so be it. This was the first time I probed the eastside trails to make this come together so the ride time was only an estimate and I only had about 4 more hrs of sunlight after my 2nd departure.

I ended up linking the single and double track frequented by dog walkers, yoga moms, and west nile virus to a short stretch on the blacktop followed by a climb up lefthand to the heil turn off. Once on heil, I made my way up the trail and to the top of the main loop at a 32x17 exchange rate.


The scene out west was nice and the late afternoon sun was warm. I was able to ride the newer wild turkey trail for the first time and I must say, they did a much better job on building this section of trail than the rest of heil. I have ridden this short jaunt all of two times since inception due it's unappealing short mileage but I must say that the fixed gear ridden from town, added the missing ingredient to make this a worth while mission.



Smooth running singletrack from the top. This section was most welcome after the rock filled climb. Riding a rigid fixed gear for over 4 hrs grinding through rocky trail sections will play tricks on your body.


I stopped about a mile down from the top at this section and noticed a couple walking back down the trail far ahead of me. I grabbed a little food snapped a photo while relaxing for a minute. After putting the camera back in my pocket and getting ready to head down the trail, I hear a Chewbacca type groan coming from a WNW direction. Half knowing and half doubting, I keep my mind on my money and continue to strap back in as if this sound was normal. I catch up to the couple a few hundred meters up the trail and they proceed to inform me that they were told by another cyclist 10-15 mins earlier, that a bear cub was spotted up ahead on the trail we were on. This would explain the deeper voiced wookiee I heard in the woods and I informed them that said cub's mother was most likely behind them according to my auditory GPS system. Admittedly, I did feel a bit better knowing there were slower bipeds in the vicinity and the male half of the couple started making comments about how at least I have the capability to out run a bear on my bike. This may very well be true but as long as I am stopped talking to them, I am just another potential obstacle between mama and baby. I am just over halfway through this hussy of a ride so I begin moving again as his half joking comments fade behind me as quickly as the sun begins to drop behind the divide.

I begin to take on technical sections and curb speed via the fixed skid across the flat rocks. I feel guilty that I have locked it up in the dirt a couple times when things got sketchy, so I have been attempting to strategically lock it on the rocks when I need a little extra braking power. I run a front disc brake so its not like I am ripping up the trail like some skid racer 1st year mtn biker.

I did get a couple curious looks from people when they saw what I was riding but to each their own.

I got out of the trail at sunset and headed back. I rolled up to the house just before 9pm and my legs were feeling worked. It was a sweet ride that was made even better by the fact that I rode from my house to get there.

As the Outlaw says, keep the rubber side down.

trails

Our weather has finally made a more definitive albeit less than dramatic shift towards summer. We were in the 80's for a few days and there has even been humidity in our dry desert air, life has returned to the Serengeti.

Jessica, Chris, and I headed up into mtns to hit some higher elevation trails. There was still lingering snow but the temps were perfect and the riding was really good. It was nice to get above the front range and ride trails at altitude.


The snow was melting fast and we timed it perfectly for most of the ride. A few areas required some alternate routes and side stepping but it made for an even better time.


They took the high road in the above photo but I could not resist the low road.


As you can see, there was just enough dry trail to make it through a couple of the sections. A day earlier and we would have been walking a bit more.

Luckily, we made it up the roots trail without too much difficulty and started up towards the super circle. We were unsure if we were going to get shut down on the way up but we just seemed to luck out through the ride and made it without mud or trail damage.


Super circle fun. It gets crazy with 3 or 4 people in here at once, a tradition for those in the know.

Much of the trail was bone dry. There was almost a summer like looseness to certain sections and heading back down was ripping fast. I have been enjoying the sometimes profound experience of rolling through a known technical section, that I have been through numerous times on a 26in bike, on the 29er. I admit that my 29er to trail relationship is still in it's infancy but the pleasure is all mine and it really has changed the way the trail feels.

CPM ripping down some singletrack on the first ned ride of the season.


The next photo I post of Jessica ripping down the trail may be of her on the new Black Sheep Ti SS, I can't wait to see it!

I was happy we made it up to ride at altitude. It always feels good to get in the first few mtn rides up high. We have been very patient this spring so the pay off was that much better. We ended up working in the garden in the evening and hitting the Mountain Sun for beer and food to end the day. Burgers, fries, and FYIPA. A splendid day indeed, good times with great people.

As Al always says to me in parting, "be cool man" ws