Love your Bike

No Mas

Not making the trip to the Big Bend in the Rio Grande this year, a bunch of buddies from Austin are heading out to race and drink tequilla. I am a bit bummed not to be going but the 14 hour drive is a bit more than I want to tackle. Next year the CO contingent will be organizing a midnight naked crit.

Over the past few days the weather has been conducive to getting in some good rides on the Borthwick, snow comes tomorrow (or tonight?)

Weekend Hardware

Myself and the kids took to the Nastar course for some family competition. The little one made it through all the gates to take home the Bronze. I went head-to-head with my daughter who did raced me well til the end, she finished less that 2 seconds behind. She took a Silver while I ended up with a Bronze. Nastar is a weighted/handicaped system based on age and discipline, so mid-aged telemarkers can race against freshed legged younsters on a level slope.

End of week ride

I braved the wind today and headed out to get a short ride in. The roads/paths are good except for a few areas.

Some drifting off the lake.

Path a little iced over.

The mountains have gotten some good snow over the past week. Breckenridge has received 34 inches since we were up last weekend. So, if CDOT keeps I70 open we will be heading to the mountian refuge for some family ski time. The temps in Denver will be in the 50s over the weekend, I'll pick skiing over biking for now.

Viable Wednesday

I was undecided whether to don the running shoes or brave the slick roads. I took the Waltworks and headed over to Red Rocks, it started out chilly and slick but ended up warm and slushy. The running shoes are going to have to wait.

A balmy 29 at the race track

The climb up Red Rocks

At the top

Waltworks

Slog up Rooney

Caucus'd

Joined the masses to partake in the democratic process last night. Quiz yourself to find your candidate.

Just looking

Went to a LBS today to start the search for the next bike to add to the stable. I had to nix the Cannondale due to standover height. The next step is to bring the IRD in to look at geometry and see what might be available for me without going custom. They offer DEAN which has the ability to make a custon frame. No impulse purchases.

In other news:
Ex-Violet Crown junior, Kristian House, has found another team to race for this coming year - Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk. He raced for Navigators last year but is back in his native land of Great Britain. I wish him good luck.

Family time

Spent the day skiing with the family. For me it is nice to have an activity that the whole family can participate. The kids are getting good enough that the whole mountain is our realm, the only thing we are not skiing is the t-bar. It is so much fun to blast from top to bottom with no stopping. We ski the trees, powder, and terrain parks. No more steeps and bumps but still plenty of knee dropping fun.

January. .

The first month of the year is in the books, it has been filled with base work and skiing. The edginess has subsided as I ready the body and legs for a full year of cycling adventures. I may be adding a weekend of fun in Leadville during the month of July (depends on a trip south to sample the some live music). The pressure has been applied to visit the borderlands in 15 days but 14 hours of travel are not appealing.

I have been getting some inspiration from the trail running set, she makes me want to start hammering out miles and get some ink.

Kansas Recon

Spent the weekend around the Mount Hope area of Kansas checking out just how flat it is, the only contour of notice were the overpasses. The Dirty Kanza course is to the east and I do believe it will seem mountainous compared to where we were. Check out who is participating here. Any Front Rangers interested?

Harden Up

I just got this in the mail from Mr Roy, the leader of the Crossniac revolution.

Cowboy Up

I did some cross-training today at the National Western Stock Show.

Spin of the Edge

I took advantage of the weather on Sunday and knocked out an easy ride on the Waltworks. I have left the CX setup on it which works well for snowy paths and loose gravel on the roads. STP seemed to have been playing loudly in the head, all things are good.

The Waltworks with Grn Mtn looming in the distance.

A snowy trail along Bear Creek.

View of Mt Carbon in BCLP.

Playing catch-up

With a break from the weekend lunge sessions at altitude, spent to today catching up on those unfinished tasks lingering from before cx season. I did sneak in a short run to clear the mind. Tomorrow looks to be yet another perfect day so I plan to steal some time in the afternoon to get a nice ride in.

Dark sky causes

The edginess has begun to creep back into the legs, my mood is anxious for the upcoming year, the general feeling of restlessness has taken over. Their is no off-season for those whose legs have grown weary with age. Time to start spinning, even though the cold air has settled on the Front Range.

Berating has become the new motivating message being preached at the Anti-Gym, an old wrestling coach preferred this method and it had little affect on my motivation. Maybe this is my resistance to having a coach, I do hear the little voice in my head pushing me forward.

The bike search will take a slight detour as I check out the Cannondale line cross bikes. The Crossniacs have picked them up as a new sponsor. If the sizing doesn't work out, I will check our Dean and then PM.

Batteries Full

I spent the last two weeks living high in the mountains amongst the snow and vacationers. The experience reinforced whats important and served as a vital recharge for 2008. As I head into my 15th season of racing, I can look back proudly while looking forward to the challenges that await. My goals for 2008 are simple: continue to enjoy riding my bike and stay as motivated as I did in 2007.

With TransIowa off the calendar for 2008, I am planning on Cultcross, 18hrs of Fruita and Dirty Kanza as my spring races. Other races of interest include the New Mexico Endurance Series, 12hrs at Steamboat, and 24hrs in the Sage. Plus a full calendar of 'Cross in the fall with a tentatively planned visit to Portland.

The new cx bike decision is being mulled over but it looks like I'll go with local custom builder.

Last 2008 Ride

The Black Hearts CX Rally is in the books. I donned the wool and rode around Grn Mtn to meet up with the other brave souls partaking in Furious George's rally. Drank a quick 12 oz energy drink before departing to BCLP. A loop at the park consisting of snow, whiskey and playing cards we stopped at RRV for some coffee before the death march up the C470 trail. After another energy drink, rolled home with a tailwind but still rather frozen. Great way to end out the season.

Check here for some photos.

The next few weeks will be dedicated to knee dropping fun with the kids.

10 days

Thats what the side of box said, 10 days. I considered that 10 days was a relatively short period of time and I needed to cleanse the body of deadly toxins. So for the past 10 days I cleansed, and it made me feel as though I was sobering up from a 6 week drunk. I didn't lose weight or have some out of body experience, just a 10 day headache, some acid flash backs, and the shakes. Tomorrow I will start reintroducing toxins during the BHCX rally, maybe with a flask of Stranahans.

Blackhearts!

Don't forget the big, big rally this weekend

CX Season Finale

The Colorado Cyclocross State Championships were last weekend, it was cold with plenty of snow. My goals for the season were to get a call-up for states and finish in the top ten overall in the ACA's BCR (Best Cyclocross Rider). Both goals attained!

I have taken the week off to catch up on stuff and get that pesky shopping done. I do wish I was in the frozen mid-west drinking beer and ringing cow bell.