It seems mother nature has decided to use the last day of winter to give us a nice snow storm and our mtns can certainly use the snow pack. The last few days sure were enjoyable though and at least I was able to sneak in one last SS ride up high today before the storm hit but alas, no ride photos.
I did take a couple shots at the garden this evening though. the garlic is showing some green wintered over spinach, arugula, and cilantro
I'm a bit behind down there but I am getting geared up for a full on rally in the dirt next week so get ready for some future garden shots. I have a few cool varieties on deck that will be new to me and many of them are heirloom seeds sourced from Abbondanza Farm so they will be prepared for the Colorado growing season.
fingers are crossed for some out of town trail next week...
even though this 1938 faux hawk should be considered very cutting edge, the real subject is the rider on the left, Gino Bartali.
not much time to post today but quickly, if anyone is looking for a sweet extremely well maintained Serotta Legend Ti road bike with recently upgraded components (Dura Ace) and newly built wheelset as of last summer, give a holla. 55.5 center to center TT. BK is selling this baby to support his coffee habit :) It will be posted on ebay as of this evening. It is a beautiful machine! what was that noise? those were my thoughts as I started down the steep hill on my fixed gear commuter near our house as I was heading to the track on friday for my final session. good thing I run a brake unlike the uber hipsters because this could have been messy. it went like this, starting down the hill that will see your legs running like eggbeaters, I hear and feel a knock 1/4 of the way down. seconds later cog and lock ring are off my hub as the chain is bouncing dangerously looking for something to tangle in. the lockring threads had blown completely off the hub. I was thinking maybe the lockring had been working itself loose causing it to blow off but as someone pointed out, since the threads closest to the cog are completely blown out, it's unlikely that a loose lock ring caused this. it was quick and scary but I managed to get the cog rethreaded on the freewheel side to make it to the track for the best and last session of the course. trust me when I say, you do not want to be a mouse looking down the barrel of Francis
The 9th annual DOJOE went down under snowy skies. Good stuff. My favorite part is cheering on the finishers in the last uphill to the finish line while timing as well as watching participants win in the raffle. All the event and donation coordination come to a glorious finish every year at the Eldora Mtn Resort lodge but not before racers hammer up and down the mountain for glory and fun. finish line crowd swiss miss twins and crowd the yellow contraption is actually a new flotation device for avalanche safety, this was new to me. Someone from BCA skied the event with it inflated, cool device. This father and son duo will be fighting over who gets to use the new skis! Smurfette and Tim, take 1st in the snowboard class! Great job! What it's all about, good times and good people! Lot's of smiles and raffle winners and the band played on... our town has priorities
Come to the DOJOE memorial race at Eldora tomorrow 2/28. It would be great to see some new faces up there this year and we have quite a bit to give away. It's always a great time for a great cause! Best costume wins a sweet pair of Black Diamond skis and the after party is always positive vibes with heaps of other prizes! Check out the facebook fan page for details. You may need a facebook account to view that so I apologize in advance if you can not open the page. You could always open a vainglorious account there and post multiple photos of yourself doing some activity... Yawn, yes it's mostly a narcissistic theme on the FB social network but it helps me stay in touch with some old friends and family.
Besides communication and recipe swapping, there are gems to be discovered among the sea of self admiration. One thing I did find recently on facebook, is this gentleman's website. Interesting site/blog if you like historical and contemporary speeches. I am still going through past posts but I really like it so far.
Quick suggestion for the pro tour, I feel it would be appropriate to give the winner of the 2012 Giro prologue a commemorative 32 caliber that fits snugly in your jersey pocket.
East coasters who made it to NAHBS, post photos of the art!
I was up at the Black Sheep workshop last month chatting with James about the ummm... weather, when he began mentioning some of the projects they have been working on for NAHBS. Here is the latest creation he built for Jake K. Super cool features some of which I may have beneath me for 2010 if all goes well. James is a super cool intelligent builder who builds CUSTOM bikes for the trails and style of each individual rider. Check the bar, seatpost, and tensioning design. I started looking at and chatting about this tensioning system with James a couple yrs ago, now I'm giving it a go.
BS even takes it to the track, err street, with vuelovelo. I'm unsure what the deal is but looks like they are in OZ. Not sure what I think about the winter hat and hot pants but sweet lines on the frame(s:) none the less. The track in their video looks incredible. Oh, and don't get all worked up fellas, most of the people at the track here are old slow guys like me, not 20 something fitness queens modeling on a bike.
Aside from dreaming of a biathlon where skis are replaced with bikes, the snowy weather always motivates me to cook some warm comforting food. I figured I would share a couple favorite recipes that we make around here regularly.
Although we have only prepared this twice since stumbling upon the recipe last fall, I find the finished meal to be very satisfying. We prepare it with rigatoni, a bit more kale, and a couple minor modifications but essentially the same.
Here is a great broccoli soup recipe that I have been enjoying for years. We use closer to 2lbs of broccoli including peeled stalks, an extra cup of water, and use portabellos or crimini mushrooms for a richer flavor. I like to serve it with finely grated parmigiano-reggiano on top. This soup will surprise you in a good way!
If you are looking for something to do this weekend, come up to Eldora for the DOJOE uphill downhill annual charity ski race. This is always a blast and best costume wins a set of skis. We have a pile of great prizes here waiting for a home. The raffle and after party with music and beer are always a blast. All proceeds go to the CAIC!!!
It has been tough to find my current riding exciting enough to post about. As the weekly hrs on the bike increase despite the winter weather, I am finding thoughts of warm weather, trails, and trees at altitude, creeping into the mind.
Admittedly, I have not been checking in on anyone out there so hopefully all has been well. I will be checking out how the early season is shaping up for everyone though so post those rides! I'm enjoying all facets of cycling lately but nothing spectacular so posting photos of the same old shiz seems silly. I am super happy that there has been almost no indoor riding this season. I have owned a Lemond spinner for 7 yrs and I think it's finally going up for sale. I have ridden it maybe 5 times the past two winters and with other projects in mind, the cash will be more useful allocated elsewhere. I plan on looking for a trainer or rollers this spring or summer.
On top of some mtb and track riding, I'm hitting the road as well to help maintain my questionable sanity. I have been seeing all the familiar MTB faces doing the same thing. Don't let them fool you, the hardcore SSers are out there as well, hiding under their winter riding gear atop road bikes. It's the do what you got to do time of year and what better way to get a controlled 60-100 miler in a couple times a week. I have even passed Charlie Hayes out there a couple times, good to know he's human and needs to train like everyone else.
Prior to one such recent cold day road outing, I snapped a shot of BK's new road machine. Sometimes we must tap into those friends in high places to make the plan come together but it's oh so nice when it happens! Looking fast as well as in vogue.
Speaking of in vogue, I was recently perusing some of the bike builds over on the Hampsten blog. They have an interesting concept going and kick out nice bike builds even though they seem to outsource the nice frames. Personally, I like my grocery getters a bit more stripped down and less enticing to thieves but I am fond of the last bike on the 1/20 post. I wish I had that one while we were cycling through wine country in NZ.
Any east coasters hitting NABS? It looks like a great lineup this year and I have read rumors about a fixed gear urban competition going on Saturday which should prove entertaining.
K, I promise to be more visually stimulating in the near future so stay tuned but now I am off to finish ordering the seeds for the this years growing season.
