Cateye RR

Woke early this am and headed to the northern section of Boulder County to compete in the Cateye Road Race. It was good to have this on the schedule as I would have sat on the trainer instead of venturing forth into the rain/snow mix with 40 degree temps. The weather let up for the first two laps of the race then started to rain for the last two laps. There were two nice water logged gravel sections that really made you work to stay with the leaders. In the end, three off the front with Brian F (Dream Weaver) taking second. I finished in a heated pack sprint with Brian M. Props to Jamie (Furious George) for putting in some hard efforts to chase riders up the road. Needless to say I was wet, muddy, and cold after the finish.

The darkness fell, I lit it up.

A little ride last night to shake the mind free of riding with the fireball (K's nickname for el sol). I have been feeling a tad more surlier and grouchier than normal, must mean I am ready to throw down.

Stoker Time

Keagan has moved up from the trailer to a Stoker. In the course of one day, he went from quietly riding in the trailer around BCLP to throwing his leg over the tandem.

Keagan's morning view

Looking at the little man.

Getting use to the pedals.

Excited about moving up one seat.

Good times to be had.

I'm going to have to start looking for a triple now so I can take both kids at once. Next week the tandem will be getting much use as the kids are on break.

Team Antics

Another great day here on the Front Range, the team meet east of Denver out by the airport and rode out to Strasburg. It was a hammer fest out to the turn around point as we worked on pacelines - a bit of a change from spending hours pedaling around by myself. We pushed it coming back into a fierce headwind. Worked out to 55 miles with a 20.1 mph average.

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Another great day to ride in Colorado!!!

A little Colorado gravel, mostly uphill.

Some switch backs

Looking down the valley

Heading up the road

Spinning out on the bike trail

Just a little ride around Denver that took me from Morrison to Idledale then up to Genesee into Golden with a fly by through Denver and back home to Lakewood.

Ready?

Things are starting to come together for TIv3. I got the WaltWorks setup for some long rides over differing terrain and will be dialing it in over the next few weeks. Now I need to work the logistics of getting to Iowa, looks like I may leave on Thursday morn and spend the night with the in-laws in Mtown Thurday night then head to Decorah on Friday morn.

Don't forget to be Nice to Nice by March 17th. And don't miss the soiree at Snooze on April 18th from 5:30 to 9:30 pm - meet at my house for the ride down.

Also, you can donate to help the fight against MS here. A good friend of mine is inflicted with the disease and my daughter's recent illness is eerily related to MS.

End in site

All the play will be coming to an end after tomorrows ride, Rene has got plans for me.
Wednesday (day5 - IRD) was a easy spin to work out the legs.
Thursday (day6 - deRosa) was a VO2 max session with Mr JDS himself.
Friday (day7 - couch) was for drinking beer!
Saturday (day8 -IRD) was a short ride with hard hills.
Sunday (day9 - IRD) was a great day for just being on the bike.

More of the same

Was able to get out for some serious pain today (day4) with a fellow teammate. We did two hard efforts up Lookout Mountian in addition to the partial I did waiting for the determined meet time. I think I could get use to this training everyday stuff, only two more years until the kiddos will be at school for a full day and by then I may even be able to race with the 45+ guys.

Good & Plenty

I have had the luxury of getting some time on the bike.
Three days so far with a full week planned.
Saturday (day 1 - IRD) was a nice spin with cooler temps and much snow/ice on the ground.
Sunday(day2 - deRosa) was the first geared ride in 3 months.
Monday(day3 -IRD) was TIv2 revisited . Rode with Mr. Nice (who posted some pics) down the Highline Canal.

Next couple of days will include some riding with new teammates and the weather is still looking good.

More Winter

More winter rolled into the front range just added that bit of aggrevation I don't want to deal with. Though I did get to fishtail in a school bus on Wednesday morn loaded with 1st graders, not my idea of a good time. Passed on my ride today due to really slick streets.

Today is Rene's last day of work! She is taking two weeks off to hang out with the kids and get some house projects done. That means I get next week to RIDE! 4 to 6 hours each day with great weather in the forecast and I am stoked.

Clear skies

Was able to weasel out a ride today as the weather was nice. Took the IRD out for an easy spin around BCLP.

Mt Carbon looking toward Denver

Master K's view

It was relatively nice yesterday so I load up the bike, trailer, and Keagan for a ride up the Cherry Creek bike trail.

The newly convest IRD to single speed. This is only phase one as I hope to get a set of Eno Hubs and Campy brake levers.

The view.

Flying the flag of the old team.

Even More MoM

Found this link from the weekend of racing in the desert:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=mtb/2007/feb07/masomenos
Check out the pictures of Mr Nice!

Report

The journey started innocently enough with three cyclists loading up in a VW van to head from Denver to the border region of Texas. The place we were headed was Terlingua, the land of three languages. Our mission was spelled out on the back of an old Taco Bell napkin, find the reason Lajitas has an international airport.

The first part of the mission was the most daunting, drive 14+ hours through the night as to arrive in the cover of darkness. With some unplanned delays from some unidentified individuals near Roswell we were able to slide into the CASI site unnoticed by most. We quickly set up camp in order to take our first observation of this international airport. One of the counter intelligence agents was on to us, he strolled into our site and was sizing up our abilities. Finally after shaking him with lies about whiskey, beer, and goats we headed out onto the dusty trail.

After initial observation and getting chased off by a trained pack of javelinas, we decided it would be worth a visit into town to get some more information. Our first visit was to none other that the mayor, Clay Henry. After some coaxing with a bottle of beer, he informed us that who we needed to speak with were the agents operating out of a restaurant in the ghost town. We cased the joint out waundering aimlessly through the adjacent store trying to ditch the officer that was following us. Then in haste we trucked off to a small mexican joint for some food. Upon re-entry to the CASI site we were met by a roving band of bandits handing out malted beverages. We of course took said beverages for further investigation.



After a resting sleep in gale force winds we awoke to a new day. In order to remain under cover we donned our racing attire and lined up for the start. Because as agents who are not failures we thought in necessary not to have derailuers. Two of us would only take one pass by the airport, while the other would get to view it twice.

All went well in the races with us all finishing and able to take up our investigation in earnest. Myself and Notorious started early into our collection of beer and trying desperatly to pump the locals for information. All while aka Cellarrat was getting a closer look at the airport, he brought with him a mix of raisins and whiskey to fend off the javelinas. After more milling around partaking in various beverages from the sponsors - Fattire and Titos, we were whisked away by the bandits to the top secret E complex. We were asked to bathe before given information, advice, and beer. We then proceeded with extreme caution to the Starlight with the help from the bandits. During the course of consuming food and agave substances we found out from the woman only known in the agency as Exactly, that we may be on something.

From the Starlight we, under the cover of darkness, headed back to the CASI site. A huge fire was erected where a band was wailing out tunes from the mother land, ja rastafari - let jah arise and let I and I. Exactly's bro was the mandolin player and the pieces were beginning to fall into place. At some point in time fire twirling airport employees were signaling in the great white craft. The great white craft came blazing out of the desert through the dance floor parting the revelers and then disappearing into the darkness. This was the final piece in the puzzle.

After a solid few hours of sleep, the van was loaded for the journey home. Once home we were de-briefed, de-dusted, and de-toxed for whatever the next mission might bring. Final report - the international airport is a front for a man who has too much money and small feet.

Out.

More or less for now....

Here is a brief photo replay of the weekend. Look for a complete race report later.

The orbs of Roswell

The fastfood alien craft that tried to suck us in.

Mr. Nice preparing for the course preride.

Mr. Nice after rocking the 100k event!!!!

A view of the CASI complex, I was out course marshalling for the Kids cup.

The view from the Ezell complex.

The gang at the Starlight with our new friend and owner, Summer.

Notorious showing the moves that landed him his wife.


?

It's back!

Like olde times

Spent the weekend getting the legs worked over skiing with my cousin and his wife. They are both exceptional skiers and had a blast skiing the top of the mountain off Peak 7 and 8. I grew up skiing with my cousins every weekend at a small resort in Michigan, now that we live in Colorado we have only skied a handful of times. Need to change that.

Recovered yesterday with a bad case of intestinal distress (getting it out of the way now).

Terlingua Information:
Weather Forecast:
Friday - High 62F, Low 34F
Saturday - High 67F, Low 39F
It looks like Notorious and I are racing the 50k singlespeed class whilst Cellarrat is tackling the 100k on his fixed gear.

K pasa!

Woke this morning to a foggy sky and even foggier head. But like the motto goes "Onward thru the Fog"! I dug deep and spent some time on the trainer then headed over to GMRC for Indoor Cycling Class and weights - felt mucho better after that.

Getting psyched for the trip to Terlingua. It is going to be a long drive through UFO infested airspace but in my opinion completely worth the risk of abduction. Last time I made the trip was in 2003 when it was a stage race in Lajitas and the first race out there was in 1994. Only missed one year from 1994 to 2001 before moving to Colorado. Some years it was the only mtn bike race I did. Still working on what gear to run but may just be conservative and run a 32x18 on the 29er WaltWorks.

Terlingua Information:
Terlingua (Tur-ling-gwah) and nearby Study Butte (Stoodi Beaut) are located in South Brewster County, Texas, in the Heart of the Big Bend country. A one-of-a-kind community with loads of colorful history, ancient and current. Even the name, Terlingua, meaning Three languages (in one interpretation), lends itself to the multi-cultural nature of the area. At one time, the main players were Indians, Mexicans, and Anglos. (Tres Linguas). In the current history, even more cultures have found their way here. Becoming downright crowded with cultural aspects. In days of old, farming, ranching and hunting were the mainstays. Then came the miners and more civilization. Real schools, stores, roads, motor vehicles. Nowadays, the farms and ranches are mostly gone. The mines closed and sealed. Modern roads and byways, UPS, FedEx and other services have arrived. Most all modern conveniences are available. Motels, restaurants, RV parks, camping areas, vehicle repair facilities, and even fresh vegetables. It's not the middle of nowhere anymore, but there is still plenty of "wild country" left to explore and admire. Raft trips, Jeep tours, and horseback rides are available. Nature walks, birding expeditions, mountain climbing and the like can be arranged with little effort. And the scenery!! Sunrises and Sunsets unequaled literally take your breath away. Absolutely gorgeous!

Sunny outlook

Attended my first JDSFT team meeting at a hip bowlings alley on the 16th Mall in Denver, it was good to meet some of my fellow riders along with understand the what the team is all about. The biggest thing the team will be doing this year besides racing is supporting local MS Society and the Tyler Hamilton Foundation. Looks like I should start my fundraising efforts NOW!

The weather has taken a turn for the better and the roads are beginning to dry out but it will be weeks before the trials are going to be dry. Rene is spending one of her last trips in Coldgary this week (-12 C with light snow) and is missing out on this great weather. I did get out for a short ride this morining.

TIv3 update:
Waukon is a city located in Allamakee County, Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 4,131. It is the county seat of Allamakee County. Waukon and Decorah (17 miles to the west) were named for Chief Waukon Decorah, a Ho Chunk who cooperated with whites during the Black Hawk War and whose people were subsequently forced out of Wisconsin into Northeast Iowa. Waukon is located at 43°16'8" North, 91°28'45" West (43.268889, -91.479212). I plan on visiting the House of Clocks to calibrate my time piece when passing thru.

Staying low

The weather is turning for the better as the snow seems to be melting off the road. Maybe I'll drag myself out for a ride this week.

More or Less!?! - around the corner.

Off to the first mtg of the new team.

Skiing with Dad

Spent the weekend skiing with my Father, it was nice to ski high on the mountain to avoid the masses.

Looking toward the base.

Dad at the top of the t-bar