Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
hot chocolate and whiskey
After the best winter riding season ever, I find myself struggling to find the legs I had back in mid march. I have the base from Jan-March to help ease the process but l feel weak... Between turbulent weather and several other life factors distracting me from two wheels, I have been riding much less than I would like. But, as the dark Colonel Kurtz like scenes I have played a part in this past month are now fading with the grey cold, I find myself clawing my way out of the mire and back into the saddle.
Riding became intermittent about 4 wks ago but not before a nice long day in the saddle with Dan and Kurt. We rode a tour de foothills and put in some quality miles. Dan had even raced the day before and Kurt had run 30 miles or some crazy milage, and I believe I had made easter eggs.
then i ate a spinach salad...
fast forward a couple weeks and dos lobos, Tim and Mark, crossed the CO border for a weekend of sampling local brew, checking some great music, and riding one of the many ranches.
we took the long way up
and up
and
Mark fading into the cloud that was cold
tt takes it to the streets
as does maka
It was good to have some New Mexicans up in b-town and hopefully we share many more miles this season. White Ranch was prime that week and I was happy we hit it. I may try to get in another one down there before the heat and looseness sets in.
Since then, I have been what I can including a mad afternoon dash I made last weekend into the hills between storms. It started normal enough with plenty of climbing and I even stopped to clear the road of a recently tossed bottle.
why had someone smashed a non-alcoholic beer bottle into the middle of the road? who knows, but I figured I would do my part. Much to my chagrin, I quickly learned that good deeds sometimes go punished up high.
I picked a questionable route and went hard. as the storms started coming over the ridge like choppers over a jungle canopy, I began looking for a direction on the dirt roads that would help me miss the frigid rain storms at 7k+ ft elevation. Of course my evasive action was in vain and I soon found myself taking what cover I could as the rain got heavy. It grew dark and my thoughts strayed as I shivered uncontrollably in the icy rain, sometimes chuckling.
staring at a puddle on the edge of hypothermia, mother nature made it clear that I was nothing but an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect the bill and she obviously had no intention of ever paying it. 6pm, cold rain falling steady on the verge of turning to snow, temps plummeting, close to an hr of mostly downhill home=pure suffering. Needless to say, it was a hot cocoa and maker's mark type evening after that...
Riding became intermittent about 4 wks ago but not before a nice long day in the saddle with Dan and Kurt. We rode a tour de foothills and put in some quality miles. Dan had even raced the day before and Kurt had run 30 miles or some crazy milage, and I believe I had made easter eggs.
then i ate a spinach salad...
fast forward a couple weeks and dos lobos, Tim and Mark, crossed the CO border for a weekend of sampling local brew, checking some great music, and riding one of the many ranches.
we took the long way up
and up
and
Mark fading into the cloud that was cold
tt takes it to the streets
as does maka
It was good to have some New Mexicans up in b-town and hopefully we share many more miles this season. White Ranch was prime that week and I was happy we hit it. I may try to get in another one down there before the heat and looseness sets in.
Since then, I have been what I can including a mad afternoon dash I made last weekend into the hills between storms. It started normal enough with plenty of climbing and I even stopped to clear the road of a recently tossed bottle.
why had someone smashed a non-alcoholic beer bottle into the middle of the road? who knows, but I figured I would do my part. Much to my chagrin, I quickly learned that good deeds sometimes go punished up high.
I picked a questionable route and went hard. as the storms started coming over the ridge like choppers over a jungle canopy, I began looking for a direction on the dirt roads that would help me miss the frigid rain storms at 7k+ ft elevation. Of course my evasive action was in vain and I soon found myself taking what cover I could as the rain got heavy. It grew dark and my thoughts strayed as I shivered uncontrollably in the icy rain, sometimes chuckling.
staring at a puddle on the edge of hypothermia, mother nature made it clear that I was nothing but an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect the bill and she obviously had no intention of ever paying it. 6pm, cold rain falling steady on the verge of turning to snow, temps plummeting, close to an hr of mostly downhill home=pure suffering. Needless to say, it was a hot cocoa and maker's mark type evening after that...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
i really liked this short film
edit: I would watch it outside the blog screen. double click to get the youtube wide view. even though it's a 19min film about the lumbering journey of a plastic bag, I found it to be very well done.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Itching for some dirt
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.
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.
Monday, March 15, 2010
sunshine on our shoulders...
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
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
Monday, March 1, 2010
good people=good times
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
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
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