escape

We ventured down to Salida last weekend for some camping, riding, and visiting friends. Escaping the everyday and celebrating Jessica's B-day were the main objective and I think we achieved what we set out to do. Saturday's highlight was Tomichi Pass to Canyon Creek TR. Canyon Creek is part of the Vapor Trail 125. We parked at the Snowblind campground and took the front side approach to CC trail. Hats off to everyone who rides the VP125. I really want to try it one year before it fades away into the lost epics of the past category.

We camped on BLM land on fri night due to lack of daylight

morning light spreads

We went right

Jessica gives me a head start

on the way up

Find the marmot. I think my labored breathing brought his guy out to have a look-see

Canyon Creek TR. To live in Colorado and not explore this exceptionally fine state is unimaginable.

The tree line fades like a distant memory as we hit the hike a bike sections

Hike some more. The new Connect Garmin website and my Garmin Edge seem to have some issues. The elevation gain from the ride is correct but the altitude is not. Either way, I think this one tops out around 12,600 but I could be wrong. The connect garmin website says 10,800. I need to figure out what is going on with that thing.

Gazing away above tree line. This gem of a trail eventually begins to head down

and down.

premature shutteration

Jessica approaching the final turn


We jumped off our bikes, rinsed off, and picked a nice camp site to settle on for the night. The Snowblind campground comes highly recommended, you can't beat the setting and the couple who maintain the grounds will make you feel right at home. I give it 5 stars.

Even though I have not been getting many longer rides in, I am thinking about trying to catch up with some people this Saturday for the HalfAss100 ride or is that HA 110...18-20kft of climbing from Nederland over to Empire, to the Winter Park/Fraser trail systems for some singletrack and back over to Ned. If my sore shoulder feels strong enough, I will give it a go.

September in August

With all the poppycock leading up to, during, and after the Leadville 100 finally in the wind, it is time for everyone to get off twitter reading the post race comments and figure out your weekend plans. If you are in Denver/Boulder area, head down to Art Bike and/or just hit the Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show and admire the artistry of the local RM frame builders. It looks like there will be fun times for all including a Scraper Bike parade on Friday night, as 08' as scraper bikes may be... There is also racing at the Boulder Indoor Racing spot on Saturday night after the RMBS closes. Beer and a high banked velodrome, sounds like trouble fo sho. We are heading down to Salida to visit friends and ride some trails so we will miss the happenings in these parts but I think we will more than make up for it down there.

The riding has been picking back up and the legs are feeling strong just not very quick. I have getting in a few nice long tech rides to warm back up to the mtb and look forward to hitting some trails down in Salida with our local trail guides.

The garden has been going off and this sunshine is really helping the tomatoes. By the time we get back, I will have another load of goods for you BK! Thanks for the compliments and that will only get you more in the future.

One of my favorite veg dishes lately, fresh Silver Beet (chard), a fresh Tuscan red onion, fresh garlic, and finish it with a little white wine, I used a New Zealand Sauvignon (cheap but worthy.) When you saute this all in olive oil, the fresh garlic and onion are so buttery, you would swear you were eating a shrimp dish in butter. It is quite an experience cooking produce right after it is picked, sometimes less than an hr after. The photos don't do it justice but the taste is incredible even if you don't like chard. Most of what I grow is from Seedsavers Exchange, an heirloom seed bank in Iowa. I highly recommend them. The do a great job with starters in the spring.



I hope everyone gets outside and enjoys this incredible Sept like weather!

into august

BK and the boys invited me out for a great hike early last week while I was taking a few days off the bike.


Duc does his trail maintenance for the day.

Toro goes belly deep to cool off

It's great to be riding again. After a handful of days off the bike, the longest break since January, I feel like I have a muffin top. I got back into the swing of things last week with some road riding and ending this past weekend with some great mountain biking. We rode up in Ned today and rolled back to town via Gordon's Gulch to a hunt and peck series of trails and dirt roads. Getting back to town under your own power is the best and the weather could not have been better for the extra time needed to route find.


climbing up

MD state flower and the Niner

filling up for the ride home

crossing over to the trail

By the time I got to the stove, my hammer gel was perfectly done. Seriously though, who was the first person to start throwing old appliances deep in the forest?! lame

heaps of abandoned equip in those hills from the mining days

this guy paced Jessica out of the trail

section of the trail home

a great cloud

No the most epic trails for the entire ride but a great day to be on the bike exploring all afternoon and as I said, it's great to ride it to the front door.

let the dog days begin

Winter squash blossoms

I received some rather sad news this week concerning an incredible human being and someone I consider dear to me. I wish Leslie Ann all the best and will think of her everyday until she is back home. My words could never properly convey what a truly sweet and genuine person she is.

On top of that sad news, I took an epic spill on road commute when everything fell apart at once in a very fast corner. I was a little dazed and confused to say the least and was lucky enough to have Chris in tow to roll up and pick up the pieces, or mop them up rather. Regardless, I have been forced off the bike for a few days and have been struggling to stay occupied. I am going to attempt to spin a little today and hopefully can get back to it soon enough.

My cycling misfortune has been a good thing for the garden though. I have been spending a solid amount of time weeding and getting things ready for the late summer planting that will provide us with even more food this fall. I even fell into a Lama like calmness while weeding yesterday that allowed me to take in the knowledge some of the elder gardeners will impart in drawn out circuitous conversation wound tightly, yet organically (pun intended) with digressions and story telling. I learn more every season about growing my own food and always look forward to applying what I learn.

I am admittedly bummed about being hindered by my wounds but happy it wasn't worse. I suppose for me, the biggest let down, on top of missing my chance to challenge Lance in Aspen, was cancelling my plans for a little solo MTB trip this weekend. We cancelled our plans to drive around ID, WY, and CO for 8 days but the next couple of weeks in fact were/are filled with plans to visit some trails and friends around CO and hopefully neighboring states. Jessica ended up taking a less stressful and free trip to see a friend in VT and ride on what I would call "home style" trails. Not that our trails in CO are not incredible but there is something about the east coast/mid-atlantic area that challenges you differently than most trails in CO. Tight trees under a canopy of green with wet roots and rocks is what I learned to ride a mountain bike on and I unconsciously measure most other trails against this type. Even though is has been a couple yrs over a decade since I have lived there, I still think fondly of the trails in that area and enjoy the photos posted by the crew that still holds down the fort.

Lacinato Kale

there is always someone who takes it to the next level and homebrewing is no different. evidence of fellow gardener Charles' hop growing prowess


Just pics next time

The cow ate my trail marker

Chilly start.

Hit the LE yesterday. Jessica did a great job and clipped almost 20 minutes off her 2nd place time from last yr to finish in 4th. There were some fast women in the SS category this yr. Jennifer Wilson from Titus crushed the women's SS class and actually took 3rd overall in women's field. Her and her husband have a cool camper set up and spend the entire season traveling and mtn bike racing, sounds better than work!

The course was very different with all the rain this season and the downpour the night before. There were several crashes this year on what is usually considered a somewhat non-technical course most years. It was wet so a little tricky in spots plus there are a few tech sections so you can't let the open double track get you off your guard.

My LE experience was bit different and for the 2nd yr in a row, I had issues other than physical but had those too. My legs were feeling like wood for the first two hrs and I realize my first mistake was riding bigger gear ratios for the last couple weeks on the SS. I should have known better. I was feeling great on the longer less steep climbs and played domestique to several geared riders who could not pull for some reason!? One guy even put his arm around me after a big pull (8 guys behind me in a line) with a head wind and said "incredible work man" before dropping into the singletrack in front of me...sweet, now I know how Kloden must feel. Someone had to do it so I didn't really mind. The bigger gear wasn't so good on the steep stuff that required more top end though but I was getting through it.

Either way, it didn't matter, I got so lost between the 3rd and 4th aid station that it took me an 1hr 15mins to get back to the 3rd aid station for the 2nd time. It was a joke, I must have made every mistake possible trying to get back on track, it was embarrassing. I'm unsure what happened to the other two guys around me but I should have been smarter and had my head up more. Looking back now, I realize what happened for the most part. I was keeping the guy who finished 3rd place SS in sight on the climb. I figured I would just keep him in sight and pass if I felt good enough. I thought we surely had a number of SSers in front of us so I was going to wait until the end to push. He was maybe 100 meters ahead and two geared guys were around me.

I was climbing behind a geared rider not paying enough attention when I looked up and could not see the SSer anymore so I figured the climbing must level out further up and I started standing on it to keep him in sight. The problem was, we had already missed the vaguely marked turn. I passed the geared riders and hit the top of the hill to find an unmarked intersection with 4wheelers and motorcycles everywhere. I continued straight but then stopped and looked around. I was quickly caught by the geared guys and one shot down the hill the other got on my wheel as I started down but I was struggling to see bike tracks. I told him I thought we were off course but he thought we were good. I should have just turned around there but I had no idea the turn off was so far behind us.

We started down the hill but it didn't feel right. I stopped and climbed back out. I found two other roads back at the top and figured maybe the sign got knocked down with all their motorized vehicles. I followed a road with bike tracks but quickly realized it too was wrong and I looped back on what looked like a shortcut to the intersection. I eventually tried to head up to the high point and finally saw someone exploring around on a bicycle and asked if they knew where the course was. He said he had seen the race at the bottom of the next fire road. At this point I realize if I can not get back on track where I was, I am DQ anyway but I head down hoping it would work out. I see a a group of people pedaling at the bottom and recognize pink marker flags and start to hammer back. I soon notice the riders around me are in a different class and when I start seeing 300-400 #s I wonder if I was in a time warp. Maybe I lost 20 minutes and everyone is catching up, no big deal I think, it could have been worse... oh wait, it was.

I start up the meadow and cross the water, "all these water crossing look the same" I think to myself. Then I realize something is wrong. I am suddenly in the twilight zone and get a sinking feeling as I pass a section I recognized. I realized I got on the trail between aid station 2 and 3 after almost being at 4. I was cursing myself knowing I had already been there. I got to aid station 3 over an hr after I was there the first time and had just under 58 miles on my computer at mile 40 in a 68 mile race where the last 20 miles are the toughest. When I thought about this equation, the answer eventually equalled beer. I was mentally defeated and after talking to a race volunteer, I sat down next to Grizzly, a black female Chihuahua half the size of my cat Sam. She offered comfort and friendship in my time of need. I just didn't have it at that point to do the 86+ mile version of the LE so I DNF'ed myself and caught a ride back to the picnic area with an injured rider.

Weak navigation on my part. My group were not the only one who did this and apparently some of the lead pro riders did the same thing. I think most people figured it out sooner and headed back down though. I got back and cleaned up and watched riders come in. I had some food and beer and waited for Jessica. I chatted with some familiar faces and chilled out but I was bummed thinking my idiotic navigational errors made last years tire/mechanical issue look good. Funny, the woman driving us back said, I don't understand how you guys don't end up dead out here after getting lost, it's an endless maze. She then told me that sometimes the cows eat the trail markers. I told her, sometimes the riders are just fools.

Jessica finishes up! (ill timed pic on my part)

The after picnic, beer and food heals all.

The mens SS class was strong and CH crushed it again. I forgot who was second but David Wilson (guy I was behind) ended up working up to 3rd place and Jon from Steamboat who got 2nd last yr came in 4th. I am unsure if I should go back and try this one more time or just let sleeping dogs sleep. Honestly, I don't consider the course that great but there are a few nice sections and the volunteers are incredible. Who knows?

Now we head out next week for some camping, cycling, and fishing! CO, WY, ID, its all on the menu.