LE 2009

Heading out to the Laramie Enduro this afternoon. The course should be great with the recent rain and dry forecast from tomorrow. I am still unsure on a gear and will most likely just go with what I got but I was tempted to take it up 53.4 GI. I test rode this the other day and it wasn't half bad but I am guessing the end of the course may be a bit tough on that gear and I'm going back it down to the original plan of basically 52 GI.

Strange thing is, I am having some type of allergic reaction to something I ate or drank. It could have been a new drink mix I was trying but I'm unsure at this point. Either way, I have some facial swelling and some type of skin irritation from it. I halted everything and I am hoping it mellows out by tomorrow. I don't think it will be a factor, I feel fine otherwise.

Jessica got into the race late and only had a week to get ready after a long stretch out of town for an art show so she is sticking with her gear from last year.

Should be quick and dirty and we'll be back down here for a mtn sun session by evening.

keep it rolling

I think they should bring back this stage to see who is really boss! I wonder what sicko put that one together?

Oh my, another tour is over and it's time to go back to watching Family Guy. I wonder if Lance will really race Leadville again?

Although I have not been riding nearly as much as I would like, I put together a solid route from home last week. Great climbing on some old trails that I have not ridden in yrs.

I saw this as I was heading back down the to the canyon. A product of happy hour or were they swerving to miss wildlife?

Saturday was another fun day on the trails. We hit a few I had not done in a while and despite the rain at the end of the ride, it was a great time.
Natural sculpture.

Fun times


We are heading up for the Laramie Enduro again this weekend. Jessica and another a friend of ours both got in last minute when friends of friends bailed out and gave up their spots. It should be a fun time but admittedly, Leadville or the Breck 100 are more appealing and hopefully I can hit one of them next year. I am sure we will have a great time though and hopefully it will be smooth sailing this year. I am not feeling like I have the best legs right now but I hope to feel a bit more snappy in 5 days. I am going to use last years time as a target and will more importantly focus on the free beer at the finish line!

Hopefully there will be some familiar faces out there. Cheers!

summertime rolls

Summer is in full swing these days and the garden is starting to produce at an accelerated clip. Trying to get a few spins in and just soak up the season.




if you want a friend, feed any animal.

enjoy the ride

The Brek 100 is this weekend! Best of luck to all and enjoy the 100 miles of pure bliss. I hope to try this one next year for sure.

it's here

The garden is hitting it's stride, the trails are dusty, Sammy cat is struggling to stay cool, and the tour is on. This can only mean one thing, summer is in full swing! Not much time to post lately but staying busy and riding when I can.

As far as Le Tour goes, it is going to get interesting. Hopefully it is not a shut out but it seems like more and more riders in the peloton are calling the L.A. card. Personally, I am a Contador fan and he is my GC pick on my fantasy team. Like Hemingway's bullfighter in the Sun Also Rises, he has a graceful and smooth style that is a joy to watch. I like Kloden as well but he will be working for the team this year. The press is continuously watering the tension that they claim exists between Lance and Alberto in hopes of seeing a Hinault/Lemond replay sprout up but I think they are both above that. Who knows though, you can never underestimate the ego when it comes to cycling, that is the one thing you can count on. The Alps are a whole different ball game.

I will brag on my fantasy tour team that came in 35th on Saturday out of what 50,000 teams?! Too bad I had 3 of the top 4 finishers on my team for the stage and 4 in the top 10 but not the winner. Forgetting to change my lineup after the TTT leaving the winner of stage 5, Veockler, on my bench did not help my overall standings either. Oh well, I am still having fun with it.

Did a little tour stage of my own on Saturday. I love this view of Sawtooth, one of my favorite peaks.

Jessica and I hit Summit County on Sunday and rode some great trails. No camera that day but the trails are epic on the other side of the tunnel right now. Everything over here is slipping into summer conditions so we are trying to get out of town as much as possible to mix things up.

Stay tuned for more timely posts and possible road trip in the near future!

4th

We have a winner at the house and it's not me!

Congratulations to Jessica for WINNING the women's Singlespeed class at the Firecracker50! The 4 rider class looked very competitive and despite the prerace doubts, it ended with Jessica 1st, Kara 2nd, Jaime K. 3rd, and Amy H, DNF. What a great job!!!

Tim came up from Santa Fe and ripped a 5:18 in his first Firecracker, and to think he was shooting for 6hrs...nice work! Also, congrats to Isaac who came up with the NM crew and took an impressive 2nd place in men's SS, excellent work! Oh to be young again. Matt came up with the crew as well and rode tough but I do not know his last name and category so I am unsure of his time but I do remember it was a very respectable.

The course was tacky and fun this year and I was happy with my time despite an off/on 2nd lap, which I thought would be the case due to lack of long mtn rides this past month. I also over did it on the food and drink intake/combo and I definitely paid for it at the end of the 1st and much of the 2nd lap. Despite my ill stomach, I gave the Wild Turkey challenge a go on the second lap after jumping the makeshift ramp. Big ups to TWISE for doing the same. When in doubt, just hit a little whiskey. It didn't faze me either way actually but I seemed to entertain the colorful roadside crew with my exaggerated jump off the 6in ramp.

As usual, there were heaps of strong women on the course and I was able to hook onto some wheels during both laps on the initial climb out of town, thanks ladies! I love tempo pace climbing and strong geared riders were perfect for setting the pace out of town.

The good thing about the FC50 is, you can bonk and still have time to recover so anything can happen. Even when you're down, you're not out. I started to feel good again a little over halfway through the 2nd lap but I had already lost some time due to my poor judgement in food intake then the climb up Little French to Flume hit my like the 2nd punch of a good combo. It does feel great when you top that one out and start down though. I am waiting for the split times to see just how bad I cracked. I was feeling good by the end and I made across the line with a time of 4:43.

Maybe a pic or two to come later. In the meantime, check official results to see times.

I will leave you with one result I found impressive, Steve Becker of Prescott, Open men 60+ finished in 4:55, incredible and inspiring!

Indy day

Wouldn't you know it, the replacement IF showed up 3+ weeks early. I will say it looks much better than these late evening photos could possibly translate. Too bad I don't have the parts right now to get it up and running but all in good time.

Heading up this afternoon to Brek to take a poke at last years Firecracker50 time. I am throwing the dice a little by gearing for the climbs but I think it will all work out in the end. I will say this is the easiest gear I have ever ridden on a singlespeed mtn bike. We shall see how the chips fall.

Meeting the new mexican crew up there as well so it should be quite the social affair. I am feeling a little off my game right now but this will still be a great event and maybe I can find someone nice to pace me up the climbs out of town, hint hint.

Happy Cat Day!