Every once in a while, life throws you a reminder that things don't always go according to plan. This week has been one of those little allusions.
After being terribly overdue in the first place, my new work vehicle was due to arrive on Monday at the local VW dealership. Monday came and went, and no car. Tuesday, I got the call from my usual service guy to let me know the car was in, and the hitch was being installed. I could pick it up at 4:30. It was quite down to the wire, but the graphics guys said that having it first thing this morning would give them time to finish it around lunchtime, and then I could get everything loaded up for my departure tomorrow morning. I have an event in San Fran on Saturday, so leaving in the morning would give me plenty of time to make the Bay Area Friday night in time to have dinner with Laura Bontrager and her riding posse.
So...the car comes 'round. The first thing I did was put a Dirt Rag and Singletrack sticker on the back window. I might not have my graphics on yet, but at least I could repr-ra-sent my peeps with a couple of stickers, yo.
This was a mistake, because once I finally got in the car and looked at the center console, I noticed a gaping hole where the control for the auto suspension leveler was supposed to reside. This is the same hole (that's actually a lilttle storage slot that's about the size of a shot glass) that I have in my current Touareg. I'm the ONLY ONE ON THE ROAD that has this hole instead lf the auto leveler. There are nine people on the road, and I'm the only one that hasn't had it ever. The other version of the Touareg has air bag suspension. The control allows you to dial in the suspension based on the ground clearance you are after, or based on the amount of payload you are towing. It prevents the car/trailer combination from forming a V when everthing is hitched up.
This is a huge pain in the ass for a number of reasons:
-My new trailer is considerably larger than the old one. I could get away with not having the leveler before because the old trailer, even when fully loaded, wasn't enough to significantly raise the front end of the car. When empty the new trailer already raised the front end of the car to the same level as the old one at full capacity. I knew that there was no way I would be able to pull the fully loaded new caboose without that leveler.
-I have the largest territory in the country and tow the most miles. The leveler would greatly reduce the amount of wear on the car.
-I have been asking for the leveler since the days when the new vehicles were still but a glimmer in VW's perental eye. Again, I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS NEVER HAD IT.
-I repeatedly reminded my boss and our logistics coordinator that I would need the leveler, especially with the new trailer. They got the message, and henceforth repeadetly reminded the contact at VW that I needed the leveler, more than anyone else like, for example, the chick that lives in FLORIDA where it's flatter than a flat thing (oh, and she has a small trailer). New cars all show up, who still doesn't have the leveler?? ME!
-VW assured us over and over that all of the cars had the leveler. This is insult to injury.
-Because of all of this, I'm going to have to miss my first big event of the year, one that I was very much looking forward to.
Regardless of the fact that this has been completely out of my hands, I regard this as highly unprofessional.
It's my job to represent the company in a favorable way, and to help women become more enthusiastic bike riders; to further their involvement in a sport that isn't just a leisure activity for me, but a career and lifestyle. Even though my potential influence would extend to a handful of people at most, this is a big letdown for me. Don't even get me started on the fact that it means that my arrival into Santa Cruz is now delayed.
The only way I know how to deal with this is to go for a ride tomorrow. There's nothing else I can do. I'm all set to go, save for the frenzy of packing clothes/gear/cameras and all sundry invovled. So, a ride it is, while I wait to hear the results of the inevitable conversations between the home office and VW of America.
One last question remains: road or mountain??
A very happy (and belated) birthday to my acest of pals, my long distance confidante, my brotha from anotha motha, the keeper of the proper road attire flame, the UCI fashion police chief himself-and hand behind the most fab mountain biking sheep Mint Sauce: Jo Burt.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Pranged by the French
Wow!
I've had a couple of fantastic days of riding, due in large part to the arrival of the warm part of Colorado spring weather.
Yesterday I headed out with the intention of getting some serious saddle time in and going at a nice, gentle pace. I was sort of aiming for the Jo Burt 50 Mile Challenge, but I didn't want to put any pressure on myself to go that far. I was perfectly happy to stay on the bike for the equivalent amount of time, though. I knew I could probably hang out for a while since I'd planned to stay on the flat side and not push up any serious canyon climbs.
I headed out the usual way towards Lyons, but instead of turning left into the town 15 miles later, I went right towards a different town that was another 11 miles away. Since it was such a nice day, there were lots of little planes buzzing around overhead, and on this new road I saw several airport signs. Being the plane buff that I am I thought it'd be fun to go check things out. When I got to the airport a while later, about 20 skydivers were sequentially opening their chutes. Another lot was waiting to hop into the plane to go up. I hung out for probably 45 minutes watching people freefall for 30 seconds and then gently ride the thermals down to the ground. It was ace.
I spent 4 hours on the bike in total, being carried along the miles by Snow Patrol and green apple PowerGel. I was completely satisfied at the end. I reckon I did somewhere around 43 miles, give or take (probably take) five.
Today I decided to ride despite having a long list of things to do in preparation for a trip to the Home Office in Wisconsin tomorrow. The weather was unbelievable today. I had some bikes to box up in the garage, so I donned the usual hoodie and jeans. I walked out the door and realized that I was entirely overdressed. By noon it was already 70 degrees. Shorts and a t-shirt then!
The day made it impossible for me to ignore the idea of riding. I decided to go shorter today, but throw in a really big canyon climb, one that I've attempted before but couldn't handle because of the pitch. I was determined today, even if it meant stopping to ease the battle between my lungs and the thin air. I made it, and threw in another loop just for good measure. My ass hurt from yesterday, and it was difficult to find a comfortable position by the end of the ride. It was only about 25 miles, but again a very satisfying ride. The first in just a short sleeve jersey and shorts. I noticed in my post-ride shower that I've already got some cyclist tan lines.
I'm definitely in one of those manic phases of riding right now. Despite the warm weather, the trails are still pretty snowy, so I've been doing a lot of road riding. I've rediscovered the joy of the road bike, I must say.
I still yearn for the trails though, and I hope that the 'in like a lion' tendencies of March are more lamb-like this year. I hope Mother Nature takes some drugs to quell those mood swings that normally result in a couple of winter's last hurrah snowstorms.
I've had a couple of fantastic days of riding, due in large part to the arrival of the warm part of Colorado spring weather.
Yesterday I headed out with the intention of getting some serious saddle time in and going at a nice, gentle pace. I was sort of aiming for the Jo Burt 50 Mile Challenge, but I didn't want to put any pressure on myself to go that far. I was perfectly happy to stay on the bike for the equivalent amount of time, though. I knew I could probably hang out for a while since I'd planned to stay on the flat side and not push up any serious canyon climbs.
I headed out the usual way towards Lyons, but instead of turning left into the town 15 miles later, I went right towards a different town that was another 11 miles away. Since it was such a nice day, there were lots of little planes buzzing around overhead, and on this new road I saw several airport signs. Being the plane buff that I am I thought it'd be fun to go check things out. When I got to the airport a while later, about 20 skydivers were sequentially opening their chutes. Another lot was waiting to hop into the plane to go up. I hung out for probably 45 minutes watching people freefall for 30 seconds and then gently ride the thermals down to the ground. It was ace.
I spent 4 hours on the bike in total, being carried along the miles by Snow Patrol and green apple PowerGel. I was completely satisfied at the end. I reckon I did somewhere around 43 miles, give or take (probably take) five.
Today I decided to ride despite having a long list of things to do in preparation for a trip to the Home Office in Wisconsin tomorrow. The weather was unbelievable today. I had some bikes to box up in the garage, so I donned the usual hoodie and jeans. I walked out the door and realized that I was entirely overdressed. By noon it was already 70 degrees. Shorts and a t-shirt then!
The day made it impossible for me to ignore the idea of riding. I decided to go shorter today, but throw in a really big canyon climb, one that I've attempted before but couldn't handle because of the pitch. I was determined today, even if it meant stopping to ease the battle between my lungs and the thin air. I made it, and threw in another loop just for good measure. My ass hurt from yesterday, and it was difficult to find a comfortable position by the end of the ride. It was only about 25 miles, but again a very satisfying ride. The first in just a short sleeve jersey and shorts. I noticed in my post-ride shower that I've already got some cyclist tan lines.
I'm definitely in one of those manic phases of riding right now. Despite the warm weather, the trails are still pretty snowy, so I've been doing a lot of road riding. I've rediscovered the joy of the road bike, I must say.
I still yearn for the trails though, and I hope that the 'in like a lion' tendencies of March are more lamb-like this year. I hope Mother Nature takes some drugs to quell those mood swings that normally result in a couple of winter's last hurrah snowstorms.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Montana
I made only my second trip ever to the State of Montana earlier this week. What a gorgeous place. The worst part about Montana is that you have to drive through the ugly part of Wyoming from here to get there. I was up there for work but planned a day on the snowboard in between events.
Montana is paradise for wildlife spotting. I saw 4 bald eagles and 2 golden eagles. It's packed with wolves, buffalo, elk, fox, coyote, moose, and loads of birds of prey. Let's not forget the scenery. The northern most border of Yellowstone National Park is actually in Montana, and everyone says it's the more scenic part.
They haven't had much snow up there this year, and everyone said that it might be thin coverage on my snowboard day. My timing was perfect though. Just after my event in Bozeman, the snow started to fall...Hard. In the morning the total was 8 inches at Bridger Bowl. That was on top of 5 inches that fell on Sunday night. Bridger doesn't get very busy during the week, so much of the previous snowfall was still on the mountain. It was an epic day. I went with my sales rep Larry, and one of the guys from the shop in Bozeman. They had me going down blacks and double blacks, and in the trees! Stuff I would never do on my own. It was tough, and after 4 hours my legs were toast.
I guess it's true what 'they' say about improving when you ride with someone who's better than you and can push you some. It was possibly my best day on the board ever.
Back in Colorado now, and the weather here is typically spring-like. Warm days followed by snow storms. It was nearly 60 today, so I hit the pavement with Janis for a nice, easy recovery road ride (hers: recovery from racing the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo last weekend, mine from 3 days of driving and the hard day on the board). More snow is in the forecast for this weekend, so it's looking like more snowboard time is in the cards.
It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.
Montana is paradise for wildlife spotting. I saw 4 bald eagles and 2 golden eagles. It's packed with wolves, buffalo, elk, fox, coyote, moose, and loads of birds of prey. Let's not forget the scenery. The northern most border of Yellowstone National Park is actually in Montana, and everyone says it's the more scenic part.
They haven't had much snow up there this year, and everyone said that it might be thin coverage on my snowboard day. My timing was perfect though. Just after my event in Bozeman, the snow started to fall...Hard. In the morning the total was 8 inches at Bridger Bowl. That was on top of 5 inches that fell on Sunday night. Bridger doesn't get very busy during the week, so much of the previous snowfall was still on the mountain. It was an epic day. I went with my sales rep Larry, and one of the guys from the shop in Bozeman. They had me going down blacks and double blacks, and in the trees! Stuff I would never do on my own. It was tough, and after 4 hours my legs were toast.
I guess it's true what 'they' say about improving when you ride with someone who's better than you and can push you some. It was possibly my best day on the board ever.
Back in Colorado now, and the weather here is typically spring-like. Warm days followed by snow storms. It was nearly 60 today, so I hit the pavement with Janis for a nice, easy recovery road ride (hers: recovery from racing the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo last weekend, mine from 3 days of driving and the hard day on the board). More snow is in the forecast for this weekend, so it's looking like more snowboard time is in the cards.
It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Bob Roll Magnetism and a Birthday Wish
Today was the prologue of the Tour of California. A guy by the name of Jason Donald (Slipstream racing) nearly won it. He was the 7th of 144 riders to go, and he set a time that none of the greats of today could best, except for the very last rider to depart the start house. It took a lung buster of a ride by Levi Leipheimer to beat Jason's time. It was an extraordinary start to what is becoming a premier race.
The prologue also reminded me of some small world examples:
-Versus is broadcasting the Tour. It used to be OLN. My friend Bob Roll is one of the commentators along with Phil and Paul (who really don't require last names). Bob has some serious charm to him, and despite being a not-so-handsome man, women love him. I've had a few conversations about this with him. He doesn't see it. I can't believe that he doesn't see it. He says women don't like him. I remind him that his ladyfriend is a knock out, not to mention a fabulous person. He doesn't know what she's doing with him. Today during the broadcast they were showing clips from the gala event last night. The had a shot of Bob being flanked by a few lovely ladies posing for a photo op. Phil and Paul asked him how he does it? Then Phil said it must be some kind of 'Bob Roll mangetism'. I can't wait until my next conversation with him about this. Thanks to Phil for unknowingly providing me with heckling material.
-Slipstream is the team that used to be TIAA-Cref. My roommate Damien is their team mechanic. Jason Donald is from Winter Park, CO. My other roommate Alison is also from Winter Park, CO, and grew up with Jason. Both of them were avid skiers (Alison was more than avid, she was a professional ski racer on the US Ski Team). Both of them started racing bikes seriously last year. Both of them signed pro contracts this year. Both of them are already regarded as among the best domestic racers on the scene right now.
-I did a great ride last Sunday (see below) that started at the home of a couple of other friends of mine: Nat Ross and his girlfriend Janis. The ride we did was a regular group ride that starts at the Starbucks in downtown Golden, CO. Jason Donald was on that ride. Today he surprised everyone by coming out of nowhere and setting a time that 142 other riders, including the current World Champion time trialist (Cancellara) coulndn't beat. A week ago today he was doing a ride that included slow ass me. Ok, obviously I wasn't hanging with his pace, but we all started out together.
And most importantly:
-Phil was the guest emcee at the Singletrack reader awards a few years ago. The editor of the magazine was born on February 19th.
Happiest happy birthday, Chipps. I've got a Snow Patrol ticket with your name on it. I take my Rainbow Hat of Projectile Tropical Island Protection off to you, but just for today. :)
The prologue also reminded me of some small world examples:
-Versus is broadcasting the Tour. It used to be OLN. My friend Bob Roll is one of the commentators along with Phil and Paul (who really don't require last names). Bob has some serious charm to him, and despite being a not-so-handsome man, women love him. I've had a few conversations about this with him. He doesn't see it. I can't believe that he doesn't see it. He says women don't like him. I remind him that his ladyfriend is a knock out, not to mention a fabulous person. He doesn't know what she's doing with him. Today during the broadcast they were showing clips from the gala event last night. The had a shot of Bob being flanked by a few lovely ladies posing for a photo op. Phil and Paul asked him how he does it? Then Phil said it must be some kind of 'Bob Roll mangetism'. I can't wait until my next conversation with him about this. Thanks to Phil for unknowingly providing me with heckling material.
-Slipstream is the team that used to be TIAA-Cref. My roommate Damien is their team mechanic. Jason Donald is from Winter Park, CO. My other roommate Alison is also from Winter Park, CO, and grew up with Jason. Both of them were avid skiers (Alison was more than avid, she was a professional ski racer on the US Ski Team). Both of them started racing bikes seriously last year. Both of them signed pro contracts this year. Both of them are already regarded as among the best domestic racers on the scene right now.
-I did a great ride last Sunday (see below) that started at the home of a couple of other friends of mine: Nat Ross and his girlfriend Janis. The ride we did was a regular group ride that starts at the Starbucks in downtown Golden, CO. Jason Donald was on that ride. Today he surprised everyone by coming out of nowhere and setting a time that 142 other riders, including the current World Champion time trialist (Cancellara) coulndn't beat. A week ago today he was doing a ride that included slow ass me. Ok, obviously I wasn't hanging with his pace, but we all started out together.
And most importantly:
-Phil was the guest emcee at the Singletrack reader awards a few years ago. The editor of the magazine was born on February 19th.
Happiest happy birthday, Chipps. I've got a Snow Patrol ticket with your name on it. I take my Rainbow Hat of Projectile Tropical Island Protection off to you, but just for today. :)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Timmeeeeeeh!
Tonight I had an odd-hours chat with someone who is the closest thing to a brother that I have. Er, outside of my actual brother that is. When I pop online at 10:30 Mountain Standard Time, I'm not expecting to see anyone from the UK on at that hour. That's even too early for Rob Fisk! So, it's a bit worrisome. I don't like the idea that people I care about aren't 'ok'. I want everyone to be ok.
This particular friend, let's just call him Aslant Tom to protect his innocence (as if that were possible), was awake because of an overactive mind. I'm been the victim of this myself. Now, I have to say that there is such a thing as good worry. Bad worry happens because you are generally scared for someone. You know that their well-being is at risk in some fashion or another. In the case of good worry, you know that it's something that doesn't jeopardize the life of someone. They may be in a rough spell, but it's somewhat minor in comparison to say, finding out a bad medical diagnosis, or that there's another disease affecting sheep.
I've got good worry for Aslant Tom. I don't want him to be having sleepless nights, but I know that his mild insomnia is happening because he's got even more good things ahead, he wants to get started on them, and just doesn't have all the details sorted out yet. He'll work through it, and all will be 'ok' again.
And well, as far as I know there isn't yet another disease killing off sheep, so things can't really be all that bad.
Now all I need to figure out is how to make sure the Big Not Really Gayer is fine.
And as long as I'm on the topic of expressing well-wishes...My best goes out to Rob and Chris over their loss. I know both of these people are rock solid individuals, and even more of an impressive force of nature together. I've no doubt that death, although able to slow them down temporarily perhaps, isn't enough to stop them. Big, transatlantic hugs to you both.
This particular friend, let's just call him Aslant Tom to protect his innocence (as if that were possible), was awake because of an overactive mind. I'm been the victim of this myself. Now, I have to say that there is such a thing as good worry. Bad worry happens because you are generally scared for someone. You know that their well-being is at risk in some fashion or another. In the case of good worry, you know that it's something that doesn't jeopardize the life of someone. They may be in a rough spell, but it's somewhat minor in comparison to say, finding out a bad medical diagnosis, or that there's another disease affecting sheep.
I've got good worry for Aslant Tom. I don't want him to be having sleepless nights, but I know that his mild insomnia is happening because he's got even more good things ahead, he wants to get started on them, and just doesn't have all the details sorted out yet. He'll work through it, and all will be 'ok' again.
And well, as far as I know there isn't yet another disease killing off sheep, so things can't really be all that bad.
Now all I need to figure out is how to make sure the Big Not Really Gayer is fine.
And as long as I'm on the topic of expressing well-wishes...My best goes out to Rob and Chris over their loss. I know both of these people are rock solid individuals, and even more of an impressive force of nature together. I've no doubt that death, although able to slow them down temporarily perhaps, isn't enough to stop them. Big, transatlantic hugs to you both.
Monday, February 12, 2007
It's only 'No Drop' if you can keep up
I've had a glorious couple of days of riding this weekend.
Yesterday, I set off along the foothills to Lyons, a town 15 miles north of Boulder. Some may know it as the home of Oskar Blues, AKA Dale's Pale Ale/Old Chub beer. It's a quiet little town, and a popular destination for cyclists, either as a pass-through or, like me, a turn around cafe stop. We've been enjoying more normal weather here which means that the riders have been out in droves.
I got about 2 or 3 miles from home when I realized that I'd forgotten my water bottle. Back I went (downhill to the house), and off again (uphill to where I'd made the turn). My legs were feeling particularly perky. Some guy passed me just outside of Lyons, then sat up. I imagine he saw that I was a chick and decided he couldn't just leave me alone up ahead of him. But when he slowed down, I had a sudden burst of strength (aided by a leveling of the road) so I kicked it into the big ring and blew past him. I held that pace for the next 3 miles, all the way to the junction of the turn into town. When I turned around to change lanes, the guy was just rolling up on my wheel again. I hope he was busting his lungs to catch me. Ok, he probably wasn't, but in my fantasy world of being an 'undiscovered talent', he was. He passed me at the light, so I sat on his wheel the last mile into town. I got to Lyons, stopped for my halfway chai, then set off for home.
My legs stayed fresh after the climb out from Lyons, so I started thinking that maybe I'd push a little more than 30 miles. There's a short loop that I do from home when I'm pressed for time but want a ride, and the turnoff for it was ahead of me. I knew doing another 12 miles was probably going to make the last few miles to the house painful, but I went for it anyway. I intersected with a couple of VeloNews riders near the end (bonus: again I blew past the same guy from earlier in the ride, in a small world coincidence) and held on to their wheel until just before my final turn. On the final stretch, the legs went. At the end of the day I did somewhere in the neighborhood of 46 miles. I haven't ridden that far on a road ride in...Shoot, I can't even remember how long.
I got home and had a phone call from Janis, the better half of Nat Ross. They live just down the road in Golden and wanted me to come out in the evening. I was all set to spend the rest of the night recovering on the couch, but was talked into going out by the tag-team efforts of Janis and my sister. In the end, it was a fun night. I got to catch up with some old friends that I wasn't expecting to see, and was invited to a ride this morning. It was meant to be a 'no drop' ride.
The ride starts from the Starbucks in downtown Golden. I knew I was in trouble when one by one, rider after rider showed up in full team kit. Among this group was one of the best road racers in the country. Riiiight. The good news, is that my ace friend Spot Chris Fuller also came out for a ride. This is a miracle in and of itself. He was wearing 3/4 baggies. Yeah.
Sure enough, The pace of the racer boy group was quick from the start. I had no illusions of keeping up with them.
Long story longer, Fuller and I wound up doing the big climb of the day up Bear Creek Canyon. Any road around here that has the word 'canyon' or 'gulch' in it means that it's going to be a very long, sometimes very steep climb. As this one went, it wasn't too terrible. The biggest issue I was having was a sore ass from fitting a new saddle only 2 rides ago. We climbed for 8 miles to the town of Kittrege, found a general store, and reloaded with a mix of chocolate milk, Gatorade, and roasted pumpkin seeds.
I have no idea how many miles we did today. I think it was around 30. Most of it was indeed uphill, and I was spent at the end. We all met up back at Nat and Janis' house and went for a huge Mexican feast. Chicken mole (pronounced: MO'lay) enchiladas. Mmmmmm!
I'm completely chuffed at the rides this weekend. I'm also completely wiped out and could easily have gone to bed at 9pm. The only thing that would have been better was to have ridden the dirt. The trails here aren't ready yet, though. Some are still buried under snow, and those that aren't are muddy from the big melt off. Soon though, my precious.
I hope everyone has had some good adventures on bikes lately. We must always remember these two things:
-Sheep Are Great
-Bikes Are Ace
Yesterday, I set off along the foothills to Lyons, a town 15 miles north of Boulder. Some may know it as the home of Oskar Blues, AKA Dale's Pale Ale/Old Chub beer. It's a quiet little town, and a popular destination for cyclists, either as a pass-through or, like me, a turn around cafe stop. We've been enjoying more normal weather here which means that the riders have been out in droves.
I got about 2 or 3 miles from home when I realized that I'd forgotten my water bottle. Back I went (downhill to the house), and off again (uphill to where I'd made the turn). My legs were feeling particularly perky. Some guy passed me just outside of Lyons, then sat up. I imagine he saw that I was a chick and decided he couldn't just leave me alone up ahead of him. But when he slowed down, I had a sudden burst of strength (aided by a leveling of the road) so I kicked it into the big ring and blew past him. I held that pace for the next 3 miles, all the way to the junction of the turn into town. When I turned around to change lanes, the guy was just rolling up on my wheel again. I hope he was busting his lungs to catch me. Ok, he probably wasn't, but in my fantasy world of being an 'undiscovered talent', he was. He passed me at the light, so I sat on his wheel the last mile into town. I got to Lyons, stopped for my halfway chai, then set off for home.
My legs stayed fresh after the climb out from Lyons, so I started thinking that maybe I'd push a little more than 30 miles. There's a short loop that I do from home when I'm pressed for time but want a ride, and the turnoff for it was ahead of me. I knew doing another 12 miles was probably going to make the last few miles to the house painful, but I went for it anyway. I intersected with a couple of VeloNews riders near the end (bonus: again I blew past the same guy from earlier in the ride, in a small world coincidence) and held on to their wheel until just before my final turn. On the final stretch, the legs went. At the end of the day I did somewhere in the neighborhood of 46 miles. I haven't ridden that far on a road ride in...Shoot, I can't even remember how long.
I got home and had a phone call from Janis, the better half of Nat Ross. They live just down the road in Golden and wanted me to come out in the evening. I was all set to spend the rest of the night recovering on the couch, but was talked into going out by the tag-team efforts of Janis and my sister. In the end, it was a fun night. I got to catch up with some old friends that I wasn't expecting to see, and was invited to a ride this morning. It was meant to be a 'no drop' ride.
The ride starts from the Starbucks in downtown Golden. I knew I was in trouble when one by one, rider after rider showed up in full team kit. Among this group was one of the best road racers in the country. Riiiight. The good news, is that my ace friend Spot Chris Fuller also came out for a ride. This is a miracle in and of itself. He was wearing 3/4 baggies. Yeah.
Sure enough, The pace of the racer boy group was quick from the start. I had no illusions of keeping up with them.
Long story longer, Fuller and I wound up doing the big climb of the day up Bear Creek Canyon. Any road around here that has the word 'canyon' or 'gulch' in it means that it's going to be a very long, sometimes very steep climb. As this one went, it wasn't too terrible. The biggest issue I was having was a sore ass from fitting a new saddle only 2 rides ago. We climbed for 8 miles to the town of Kittrege, found a general store, and reloaded with a mix of chocolate milk, Gatorade, and roasted pumpkin seeds.
I have no idea how many miles we did today. I think it was around 30. Most of it was indeed uphill, and I was spent at the end. We all met up back at Nat and Janis' house and went for a huge Mexican feast. Chicken mole (pronounced: MO'lay) enchiladas. Mmmmmm!
I'm completely chuffed at the rides this weekend. I'm also completely wiped out and could easily have gone to bed at 9pm. The only thing that would have been better was to have ridden the dirt. The trails here aren't ready yet, though. Some are still buried under snow, and those that aren't are muddy from the big melt off. Soon though, my precious.
I hope everyone has had some good adventures on bikes lately. We must always remember these two things:
-Sheep Are Great
-Bikes Are Ace
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A farewell to the air mattress
Last night I slept in an actual bed, in my own house. This may not sound remarkable, but consider the fact that for the majority of my tenure here I was sleeping on an air mattress. I was pretty comfortable, I must say. I'd pimped it out with a featherbed top, a nice flannel sheet, and the worlds fluffiest duvet. I'd by lying if I said I didn't have many peaceful nights on it. As an added bonus, I think I actually got stronger legs hoisting myself up from next-to-ground level every morning. But, it was still an air mattress, and I always sort of felt like I was camping in my own house. So, when the opportunity came to get a real box spring and mattress on the cheap from a friend, I jumped. You may recall a similar post the last time I had an actual bed (that lasted about a month). In it, I mentioned that my first night's sleep on it didn't fare to well, and last night was similar. It might be my bed now, but I haven't formed that essential bed/sleeper bond with it yet.
This morning I motivated myself out the door for some snowboarding. What a fantastic day. I went to Loveland ski area, which is on the Continental Divide. At one point, I sat down to lash down my board. When I was done, I just took a look around. I was sitting at 12.040ft with an amazing panorama of white peaks around me. Most of Loveland is above tree line, so the view of the Rocky Mountain peaks was unobstucted at that altitude. I looked to my right at the wall of snow that rose above, and realized I was looking at the very line that delineates the fate of flowing water. Wicked.
The snow is finally starting to melt here in town. People are already back on bikes riding around. Pretty soon I'll be able to attempt a Colorado Epic Day: board in the morning, ride in the afternoon.
For now, I'll be enjoying another night of sleep at an altitude of 3 feet off the floor.
This morning I motivated myself out the door for some snowboarding. What a fantastic day. I went to Loveland ski area, which is on the Continental Divide. At one point, I sat down to lash down my board. When I was done, I just took a look around. I was sitting at 12.040ft with an amazing panorama of white peaks around me. Most of Loveland is above tree line, so the view of the Rocky Mountain peaks was unobstucted at that altitude. I looked to my right at the wall of snow that rose above, and realized I was looking at the very line that delineates the fate of flowing water. Wicked.
The snow is finally starting to melt here in town. People are already back on bikes riding around. Pretty soon I'll be able to attempt a Colorado Epic Day: board in the morning, ride in the afternoon.
For now, I'll be enjoying another night of sleep at an altitude of 3 feet off the floor.
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