I haven't had a post in quite sometime but I guess that is the way it goes over the Holidays. So tonight I am kind of frustrated because I had somewhat planned on going up to Steamboat and they have been getting dumped on with snow! However, the weather has been extremely unfavorable with extreme winds and avalanche danger on I70. It was pretty much impossible to get to any of the ski resorts today with I70 closed and most of the mountain passes closed. So I went to work and got some stuff done with my boss. However, the roads are now reopen but I am hesitant to go up since it is getting late and who knows what the weather could do. These are the times I wish I had a better vehicle than the Jetta because I wouldn't question heading up.
That's the way it goes though I suppose. I will wait till morning and head up to one of the resorts to get in some New Years day shredding. Not much else has been going on other than work so I will leave you with that and get back when more action arrises.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Rise and Shine
Well I had a 5am start this morning. I am heading up with my boss to most likely Vail for finally a full day of shreddin! No Tim to wake up since he has an exam today. It's amazing how early you can get up and be wide awake when you actually want to! I will write more today after I get back.
Alright so to back to how the day went. I met up with my boss at 6am about half way between Boulder and Golden. He lives up in the mountains of Coal Creek Canyon so he picked me up on his way out. We headed up to Vail without any back ups or bad roads. When we got there however Vail did not live up to it's premiere resort status.
When we arrived in Vail it was maybe maybe a balmy 0 degrees, however with windchill it felt much colder for sure. It never got any warmer than 15 degrees and of course that was without the wind chill. So we got up to the lifts and what do you know they aren't even open yet cause they are running behind schedule. No big deal we wait 10 minutes and they are up and running. We make it to the second lift with no run inbetween since we are making our way to the massive back bowls to find some soft fluffy pow. Second lift NOT OPEN YET! Patrick and I along with others begin to show real frustration after they maintenance guy tells us 15 minutes yet. He says sorry no promises it has been cold so the lifts aren't starting well. WELL NO SHIT IT'S COLD IT'S THE FREAKIN ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND YOU DEAL WITH THIS EVERYDAY! So some people are so pissed they take off down to a lift that is running and from what I heard later in the day from an ambassador "raised hell!" which I am glad they did because it was way to cold to just be standing there not getting any runs in.
They did end up getting the lift started after about 15 minutes and we were on our route back to the bowls. We got back there and made some awesome turns for about 4 hours in the trees and meadows of Blue Sky Basin. Nothing spectacular occurred during the riding we just had a really good day with blue skies even though it was a bit nippy. It wasn't to bad once we actually got riding though. Anyway Patrick was fun to ride with and I am sure we will do it many more times. Here are some photos from the day.
Me atop Vail for the first time.
The boss Patrick bundled up from the cold.
The classic goggle reflection shot.
Alright so to back to how the day went. I met up with my boss at 6am about half way between Boulder and Golden. He lives up in the mountains of Coal Creek Canyon so he picked me up on his way out. We headed up to Vail without any back ups or bad roads. When we got there however Vail did not live up to it's premiere resort status.
When we arrived in Vail it was maybe maybe a balmy 0 degrees, however with windchill it felt much colder for sure. It never got any warmer than 15 degrees and of course that was without the wind chill. So we got up to the lifts and what do you know they aren't even open yet cause they are running behind schedule. No big deal we wait 10 minutes and they are up and running. We make it to the second lift with no run inbetween since we are making our way to the massive back bowls to find some soft fluffy pow. Second lift NOT OPEN YET! Patrick and I along with others begin to show real frustration after they maintenance guy tells us 15 minutes yet. He says sorry no promises it has been cold so the lifts aren't starting well. WELL NO SHIT IT'S COLD IT'S THE FREAKIN ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND YOU DEAL WITH THIS EVERYDAY! So some people are so pissed they take off down to a lift that is running and from what I heard later in the day from an ambassador "raised hell!" which I am glad they did because it was way to cold to just be standing there not getting any runs in.
They did end up getting the lift started after about 15 minutes and we were on our route back to the bowls. We got back there and made some awesome turns for about 4 hours in the trees and meadows of Blue Sky Basin. Nothing spectacular occurred during the riding we just had a really good day with blue skies even though it was a bit nippy. It wasn't to bad once we actually got riding though. Anyway Patrick was fun to ride with and I am sure we will do it many more times. Here are some photos from the day.
Me atop Vail for the first time.
The boss Patrick bundled up from the cold.
The classic goggle reflection shot.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Ah snow!
So we have finally been getting large amounts of snow in the mountains! Tim and I took a trip up to Steamboat this past weekend to hang with some friends that are still working up there and my buddy James from work was up there with Carly his wife as well.
I had my holiday lunch for work on Friday and it was already snowing down here so I was pretty excited about headin up for the weekend. Tim and I left Friday afternoon and got up to Steamboat around 8pm. We headed over to Keith's place downtown and had some beers with Keith and his roommate Rob who Tim and I had met when we all went out to Fruita to do some mountain biking. After that we headed out on the town and saw a really good funk band at the Tugboat. This is where the fun started.
Rob had this Cougar who was about 40-45 I would say come up and tell him that he was the hottest guy in the bar! She also mentioned to him that she was out on a match.com date but evidently she was more interested in "Handsome" Rob! HAHA that was what he called him all weekend as the story continued to come up and make us laugh all weekend.
So after we shut the bar down Tim, Rob, and I were out waiting for the bus to come when we ended up getting in a snowball fight with 6 random people. It ended with Rob just dumping snow on this guy who had fell down and Tim and I just unloading snowballs on the rest of their crew. AHH good times in Steamboat.
The next morning when we were supposed to catch the first chair since Storm Peak was opening we didn't make it to the lifts until 10:30 after we waited in line for half an hour trying to get our tickets not to mention Gondola Joe's didn't have any of our favorite breakfast burritos. The morning didn't start well. So we fueled up on some Gnarly Charlie's pizza and headed up. Turns out Tim, Rob, and I made some good turns and met up with Dave (Tim and I's old roommate from when we worked there). Keith totally bailed on riding with us (evidently he was more hung over than the rest of us... naw he was just being a wuss) so we didn't get to have any fun with him but we tore up all the fresh pow we could and tried to fight through our hangovers. Four and half hours later we made the most of the day and were completely worn out.
That night we had a few beers at Keith's place again and I headed out to meet up with James and Carly. Everyone then met up with us at the Rio where we went on our terror again. Julianne and Jolie showed up as well. Jolie just stayed for a bit then took off however the rest of us went out to Old Town Pub and continued the debauchery till they closed.
Sunday Tim and I were going to get up and ride at Breck but that didn't turn out so well as when we woke up we were once again hung over and extremely sore from all the whippers we had taken the day before charging the mountain. I wasn't happy about wasting the day but I'm over it. There is always next weekend.
It was back to work today and I accomplished a lot so I was happy with that. I might head up to the mountains with my boss this weekend since Tim has a final on Saturday. Even if I don't go with my boss I might go with James or Robert. But I'll be up there no matter. A lot of the resorts have opened a ton of terrain so I gotta go check it out.
On that note I am anxiously awaiting my trip back to the flatlands to hang out with the Fam. See you all soon!
I had my holiday lunch for work on Friday and it was already snowing down here so I was pretty excited about headin up for the weekend. Tim and I left Friday afternoon and got up to Steamboat around 8pm. We headed over to Keith's place downtown and had some beers with Keith and his roommate Rob who Tim and I had met when we all went out to Fruita to do some mountain biking. After that we headed out on the town and saw a really good funk band at the Tugboat. This is where the fun started.
Rob had this Cougar who was about 40-45 I would say come up and tell him that he was the hottest guy in the bar! She also mentioned to him that she was out on a match.com date but evidently she was more interested in "Handsome" Rob! HAHA that was what he called him all weekend as the story continued to come up and make us laugh all weekend.
So after we shut the bar down Tim, Rob, and I were out waiting for the bus to come when we ended up getting in a snowball fight with 6 random people. It ended with Rob just dumping snow on this guy who had fell down and Tim and I just unloading snowballs on the rest of their crew. AHH good times in Steamboat.
The next morning when we were supposed to catch the first chair since Storm Peak was opening we didn't make it to the lifts until 10:30 after we waited in line for half an hour trying to get our tickets not to mention Gondola Joe's didn't have any of our favorite breakfast burritos. The morning didn't start well. So we fueled up on some Gnarly Charlie's pizza and headed up. Turns out Tim, Rob, and I made some good turns and met up with Dave (Tim and I's old roommate from when we worked there). Keith totally bailed on riding with us (evidently he was more hung over than the rest of us... naw he was just being a wuss) so we didn't get to have any fun with him but we tore up all the fresh pow we could and tried to fight through our hangovers. Four and half hours later we made the most of the day and were completely worn out.
That night we had a few beers at Keith's place again and I headed out to meet up with James and Carly. Everyone then met up with us at the Rio where we went on our terror again. Julianne and Jolie showed up as well. Jolie just stayed for a bit then took off however the rest of us went out to Old Town Pub and continued the debauchery till they closed.
Sunday Tim and I were going to get up and ride at Breck but that didn't turn out so well as when we woke up we were once again hung over and extremely sore from all the whippers we had taken the day before charging the mountain. I wasn't happy about wasting the day but I'm over it. There is always next weekend.
It was back to work today and I accomplished a lot so I was happy with that. I might head up to the mountains with my boss this weekend since Tim has a final on Saturday. Even if I don't go with my boss I might go with James or Robert. But I'll be up there no matter. A lot of the resorts have opened a ton of terrain so I gotta go check it out.
On that note I am anxiously awaiting my trip back to the flatlands to hang out with the Fam. See you all soon!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Back on track!
Where to start. First off I forgot to write about this wacky scene we saw driving up to Keystone the weekend before Thanksgiving. So we are cruisin up I70 somewhere up past Georgetown and on the other side of the road we see a 4 Runner pulled over on the side of the road with a Ram Big Horn sheep literally EMBEDDED in the front end of it! Picture this... the sheep is looking away from the vehicle and its horns are holding it up like a hood ornament smashed into the radiator. It was probably the craziest thing I have every seen! I couldn't get over it.
Next, good news on the Big Daddy Bacon Cheeseburger I had lodged in my chest. It passed. Everything is back to normal though I am more careful when consuming a cheeseburger these days.
Onto Thanksgiving. I have talked to many of you already about how it all turned out. Graham, Tim, and I all pulled off a delicious meal and actually finished off all the left overs by Friday evening! I got on the indoor trainer for a while on Friday to work some of the food off and it felt fantastic. I hadn't been eating as much as I should the week prior to Thanksgiving. Not that I didn't want to I was just to lazy to go to the store and get food to cook. But I definitely caught up over Thanksgiving and I am making more of an effort to keep up with it again. I would say that was why I probably got sick in the first place a few weeks ago.
Tim and I spent Saturday and Sunday up at Breckenridge. Both days were sunny and beautiful though there is still a major lack of snow. We did still have fun and enjoyed the terrain there. Breckenridge seems to have a lot of rollers that Tim and I can charge and huck ourselves off of doing lots of spins. We survived the weekend on the ice injury free for the most part though we both did take a couple of spills we were able to laugh at each other about. Sorry Mom we would have had pictures on Sunday but Tim successfully forgot his pass and his camera which were in his jacket he forgot on Sunday which leads me to this.
Tim = not a morning person. It is sheer torture trying to get him to wake up for the drive up to the mountains. On top of that, his friend Alexis who goes and rides with us also is not a morning person or she is typically to hung over to get out of bed. So I get to play Dad trying to get these guys up there at a decent time. When the snow arrives in big quantities I will leave both their punkasses behind I guarantee you that! Anyway Sunday Alexis finally shows up and is gettin all pushy about Tim and I not being ready (which we were she was just being a smart ass) which therefore led to Tim forgetting his pass and camera which he didn't realize until we were an hour away from home. Luckily he was able to get a new pass up at the resort otherwise he would have had a long day of just walking around or trying to find some football on somewhere.
Today it was back to work as usual. It was definitely tough to get back into the groove but I did get quite a bit done at work and talked about setting some goals with my boss Patrick. It has still been pretty tough trying to get time where he can teach me more about the financial analyst position because he has so many deadlines with France and the budget but we will be making time soon enough. I really look forward to setting some goals with him that he pushes me towards. I know I can learn a lot from Patrick and he will be real good about working with me.
I hope everyone had a great holiday! I look forward to headin back to the midwest in less that 4 weeks to hang out with the fam!
Next, good news on the Big Daddy Bacon Cheeseburger I had lodged in my chest. It passed. Everything is back to normal though I am more careful when consuming a cheeseburger these days.
Onto Thanksgiving. I have talked to many of you already about how it all turned out. Graham, Tim, and I all pulled off a delicious meal and actually finished off all the left overs by Friday evening! I got on the indoor trainer for a while on Friday to work some of the food off and it felt fantastic. I hadn't been eating as much as I should the week prior to Thanksgiving. Not that I didn't want to I was just to lazy to go to the store and get food to cook. But I definitely caught up over Thanksgiving and I am making more of an effort to keep up with it again. I would say that was why I probably got sick in the first place a few weeks ago.
Tim and I spent Saturday and Sunday up at Breckenridge. Both days were sunny and beautiful though there is still a major lack of snow. We did still have fun and enjoyed the terrain there. Breckenridge seems to have a lot of rollers that Tim and I can charge and huck ourselves off of doing lots of spins. We survived the weekend on the ice injury free for the most part though we both did take a couple of spills we were able to laugh at each other about. Sorry Mom we would have had pictures on Sunday but Tim successfully forgot his pass and his camera which were in his jacket he forgot on Sunday which leads me to this.
Tim = not a morning person. It is sheer torture trying to get him to wake up for the drive up to the mountains. On top of that, his friend Alexis who goes and rides with us also is not a morning person or she is typically to hung over to get out of bed. So I get to play Dad trying to get these guys up there at a decent time. When the snow arrives in big quantities I will leave both their punkasses behind I guarantee you that! Anyway Sunday Alexis finally shows up and is gettin all pushy about Tim and I not being ready (which we were she was just being a smart ass) which therefore led to Tim forgetting his pass and camera which he didn't realize until we were an hour away from home. Luckily he was able to get a new pass up at the resort otherwise he would have had a long day of just walking around or trying to find some football on somewhere.
Today it was back to work as usual. It was definitely tough to get back into the groove but I did get quite a bit done at work and talked about setting some goals with my boss Patrick. It has still been pretty tough trying to get time where he can teach me more about the financial analyst position because he has so many deadlines with France and the budget but we will be making time soon enough. I really look forward to setting some goals with him that he pushes me towards. I know I can learn a lot from Patrick and he will be real good about working with me.
I hope everyone had a great holiday! I look forward to headin back to the midwest in less that 4 weeks to hang out with the fam!
Monday, November 19, 2007
WTF...
Ok so before I get to what the title of this blog is all about I will start off my saying the Slipstream Chipotle cycling team launch at the Historic Boulder Theater was awesome! It was amazing to see so many great cyclists just laid back and having a good time enjoying themselves especially after the year cycling has gone through. We have some world renowned riders that are going to lead this team to greatness next year so definitely watch out. Below I have included a picture of the team of 24 riders for the 2008 season and hopefully an invitation to the Tour de France.
Onto the title of this blog.... WTF... that is what I have been wondering since Saturday afternoon up at Keystone riding with Tim and Alexis. We got some really good runs in and I was feeling the best I have all year up there so far starting to get the snowboarding legs back. Before I know it I start getting spotty tunnel vision and I know a migraine is coming on. So I let Tim and Alexis know that it is probably going to be my last run and they seem to be alright with that and we go down to get some food have a drink and relax before the drive back to Boulder. However, I start losing feeling in my right and and it is all tingly and what not and when I talk it sounds like it is someone else's voice.
Everything kind of calms down for a bit but then on the drive home I finally get the splitting migraine and feel like I am going to get sick. I was supposed to go to downtown Denver with Tim to hang out with Graham but I told Tim there was no way this headache was going away anytime soon. So we drove back to Boulder, Tim went downtown, and I, well I went to bed at 6:30pm when we got home and proceeded to sleep waking up only once until 8am Sunday morning. When I woke up I still had a bit of a headache so I slammed some more Excedrine and chilled out for a couple of hours. The headache finally subsided but I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep if I didn't do something that day.
I decided to get on the road bike since it was a gorgeous 65 degree fall day and told myself I would take it easy, by easy I mean a long ride but not really push the lungs to hard. All in all I stuck to the plan other than once section I felt the need to fight the headwind by maintaining 19mph which drained me. However, I was a good hour from the house so turned it back down and just enjoyed myself out in the sunshine keeping a decent pace. Ended up being about a 2.5 hour ride at an avg of 18mph mostly because that headwind I fought was a tail and cross wind for most of the ride so that made it pretty casual.
Anywho back to the WTF aspect that continued after the migraine. So many of you are going to laugh at this and I kind of laugh about it myself but yet it was and is painful but has subsided over most of today. After the bike ride I took something back to REI and got some lunch at Good Times. I always get the Big Daddy Double Bacon Cheeseburger. Well when I got home I absolutely demolished it along with the fries. Along the way I think I forgot to chew a few bites and basically inhaled the burger. Later in the day I started to get a sore throat and chest. I didn't know what the hell was going on but I thought maybe I was starting to get bronchitis since I have been sick with a cold and what not. However, it didn't really hurt to swallow anything but it hurt when it felt like something needed to come up out of my chest to burp or whatever. This morning things felt a bit better but still more of the same but as the day has past it has continued to get better.... my thoughts.... I have had a Big Daddy freakin Bacon Cheeseburger lodged in my chest! I don't know for sure but I guess we will see how I feel in the morning! Anyway I thought some of you might find that humorous cause I sure do but I also wonder WTF is going on with me lately.
On a final note... I think I might give up the snowboard for a day here real soon and learn how to Telemark Ski with a buddy from work. I am looking for a new challenge on the mountain and tele skiing looks super appealing so I figure why not give it a whirl. Should be fun!
On a final note... I think I might give up the snowboard for a day here real soon and learn how to Telemark Ski with a buddy from work. I am looking for a new challenge on the mountain and tele skiing looks super appealing so I figure why not give it a whirl. Should be fun!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Discovery Out... Slipstream Chipotle In!
A lot has gone on in Professional Cycling this year. The Discovery Cycling team that Lance Armstrong rode for is dismantling this year and the Slipstream Chipotle Professional Cycling Team that is based right here in Boulder looks to be the new super power in American Cycling. The reason I bring this up is I will be attending the 2008 Slipstream Chipotle Team Launch tonight! A fellow co-worker's wife works for the team and he coaches one of the youth teams in the area so he always keeps the cycling fans around the office updated as to what is going on. I think this should be a pretty unique experience and it will be awesome to see some of the best riders in the world.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Where is the snow...?
I am really beginning to wonder if we are going to get any snow this year. I started out this fall being very patient about snowboarding. However, now that I have gone up twice... once to A-Basin and once to Keystone I am starting to get very IMPATIENT because there is literally no snow up there besides what is man made. All I want is knee deep powder blowin up in my face so that I can't breathe but yet can't stop smiling so it forces me to choke on it! IS THAT TO MUCH TO ASK!?!?!?! I really don't mind that it has been some what warm down here on the Front Range but I want it to be frigid and moist up in the mountains so I can get back to my weekend warrior ways.
So this past weekend I went up snowboarding at A-Basin with my buddy Robert from work and we had a good time. But the lines were long and it took about an hour to do a complete run from top to bottom with the waits in line on the few runs they did have open. That is another frustrating part about there not being much snow up there. Everyone is out and there is limited space with not much snow. Then on Sunday it was about 65 degrees down here so I went and put in 30 miles on the mountain bike. It is both good and bad that I can keep riding but I am not in winter mode and would like to put more time on the snowboard than on the bikes.
Other than being depressed that it isn't snowing I am driving myself crazy around the apartment, since it is getting dark around 5 pm and is definitely dark by the time I get home from work. I feel like I am starving for knowledge but I can't get myself to sit down and read or concentrate on any one thing for to long. I need to focus and do it anyway because I know it will relieve anxiety but I just can't seem to do it. I tend to fall into these slumps every now and again and it drives me crazy but I know I will come out of it at some point.
Alright my thoughts are all jumbled and I am losing focus. Prime example of what I was talking about with not being able to focus on any one thing for to long. Hope things are going well for everyone else out there.
P.S. Reagan I loved the video of Camden and Brayden! Brayden was to cute coming up to the camera saying what color the balls were and Camden is precious as ever moving her hands around! I was going to post it on here but I can't download it on the MAC so maybe I will do it when I bring my work computer home.
So this past weekend I went up snowboarding at A-Basin with my buddy Robert from work and we had a good time. But the lines were long and it took about an hour to do a complete run from top to bottom with the waits in line on the few runs they did have open. That is another frustrating part about there not being much snow up there. Everyone is out and there is limited space with not much snow. Then on Sunday it was about 65 degrees down here so I went and put in 30 miles on the mountain bike. It is both good and bad that I can keep riding but I am not in winter mode and would like to put more time on the snowboard than on the bikes.
Other than being depressed that it isn't snowing I am driving myself crazy around the apartment, since it is getting dark around 5 pm and is definitely dark by the time I get home from work. I feel like I am starving for knowledge but I can't get myself to sit down and read or concentrate on any one thing for to long. I need to focus and do it anyway because I know it will relieve anxiety but I just can't seem to do it. I tend to fall into these slumps every now and again and it drives me crazy but I know I will come out of it at some point.
Alright my thoughts are all jumbled and I am losing focus. Prime example of what I was talking about with not being able to focus on any one thing for to long. Hope things are going well for everyone else out there.
P.S. Reagan I loved the video of Camden and Brayden! Brayden was to cute coming up to the camera saying what color the balls were and Camden is precious as ever moving her hands around! I was going to post it on here but I can't download it on the MAC so maybe I will do it when I bring my work computer home.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Being sick...
SUCKS and gives me cabin fever. So first off I am really not that sick but I have taken the last day and half off work because I don't feel like sitting in my office coughing and I don't want to get anyone else in the office sick so therefore I have stayed home. It is good because it will lead to a faster recovery however I am going freakin insane being trapped in this house. I thought about doing some indoor cycling today but realized it probably wasn't a good idea because I would have coughed my lungs up once I finished riding. Therefore, I just humored myself with sleep, the internet, and reading magazines.
So last weekend I finally got up to the mountains snowboarding for the first time this year with Timmy. We went to Keystone and it was the first time I had been there. There was only one run open and you had to download the Gondola to get off the mountain but all in all it was a good time even though I was aching as the start of my sickness was setting in with a headache and aching body. Probably head up again at least one day this weekend. We'll have 3 choices between Keystone, Breck, and Arapahoe Basin. Who knows where we might end up.
Graham Knapp had been crashing on our couch for a few weeks hoping that a place his parents had put an offer on down in Denver would open up soon. However, that offer fell through when the house didn't pass inspection. He did end up finding a month to month studio down in Denver and moved out on Sunday just after he had gotten me sick! Me bitter? NOOOO! HAHA believe me I have given him a lot of shit about it.
Well alright nothing else really all that exciting. Hopefully we will get some good snow in the mountains here before long and I will have a lot more to write about with weekend warrior trips. But for now while it is still 55-65 out here in Boulder and it gets dark before 5... just a whole lot of boring from this guy!
So last weekend I finally got up to the mountains snowboarding for the first time this year with Timmy. We went to Keystone and it was the first time I had been there. There was only one run open and you had to download the Gondola to get off the mountain but all in all it was a good time even though I was aching as the start of my sickness was setting in with a headache and aching body. Probably head up again at least one day this weekend. We'll have 3 choices between Keystone, Breck, and Arapahoe Basin. Who knows where we might end up.
Graham Knapp had been crashing on our couch for a few weeks hoping that a place his parents had put an offer on down in Denver would open up soon. However, that offer fell through when the house didn't pass inspection. He did end up finding a month to month studio down in Denver and moved out on Sunday just after he had gotten me sick! Me bitter? NOOOO! HAHA believe me I have given him a lot of shit about it.
Well alright nothing else really all that exciting. Hopefully we will get some good snow in the mountains here before long and I will have a lot more to write about with weekend warrior trips. But for now while it is still 55-65 out here in Boulder and it gets dark before 5... just a whole lot of boring from this guy!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Busy Busy
First off, sorry it has been so long since my last post. I was out of town in Fruita again this last weekend with a Tim and my buddy Keith from Steamboat and then this week has been crazy busy with work staying late to help my boss put the budgeting package together and keep up on my other everyday duties.
This past weekend at Fruita was even better than the first time I was there which was hard to top! The weather was absolutely spectacular with temps in the 60s and nothing but sunshine for us to tear up the single track! I got to play guide since nobody else I was with had been there before. The first time I was there I got a bunch of maps and trail descriptions from my boss who goes out there every year for his birthday and committed everything to memory.
When Timmy and I got there at about 9:30 Friday night the moonlight was absolutely amazing! So bright you didn't even need a headlamp to walk around. I got everyone to agree to go out for a midnight ride down a trail named Kessell and it was a blast!
The next morning we woke up and rocked about 30 miles of trails that day. Everyone had a great time and there were no injuries. However, we had 6 FREAKIN FLAT TIRES! within an hour. Rob had a reasonable pinch flat from hitting a rock. Then Timmy got a flat from a cactus. We made it back to the camp site and had lunch and were getting ready to ride again when Scott and Keith picked up their bike they both had 2 FLATS A PIECE! Turned out that Keith and Scott had both run over the same freakin cactus and there were needles all over their tires! We got everyone all fixed up and headed out again.
Sunday morning we headed out again hitting about 25 miles of trails. I was able to ride with a guy named Greg from work as well. He is a middle aged guy who absolutely rips it! He stopped by our camp just as I was finishing lunch and I asked if anyone else wanted to head out with us. Timmy decided to head out with us as well while the others took a rest for a bit. Greg and I charged a run called Joe's Ridge which is an absolute riot! Up and down winding and haulin ASS! We flew down that Greg right behind me and Timmy a little ways back. We then took off down Kessell and decided to climb back up Kessell. Timmy tried to keep up but Greg and I were puttin a hurtin on the climb and on Timmy! I look forward to riding more with Greg around Boulder as well. He will definitely help my riding and I hope I continue to stay in shape like Greg!
So as I said earlier work has been pretty busy. I have stayed about 2 hours late each night and 3 hours tonight working on learning the budget process and all the inner workings of the excel sheets, pivot tables, and databases that form our budget roll up. I have a long way to go but I have learned a lot so far and I am enjoying learning the financial analyst role. Now it is onto the month end usual duties that will keep me busy for the rest of the week. Here are a few photos from this weekend in Fruita.
The group of fellers; Left to right , Timmy, Me, Rob, Scott, and Keith
Single track on Western Zippety
Ridgeline on Frontside
Me launchin off a rock jump after flying down the windy Joe's Ridge!
This past weekend at Fruita was even better than the first time I was there which was hard to top! The weather was absolutely spectacular with temps in the 60s and nothing but sunshine for us to tear up the single track! I got to play guide since nobody else I was with had been there before. The first time I was there I got a bunch of maps and trail descriptions from my boss who goes out there every year for his birthday and committed everything to memory.
When Timmy and I got there at about 9:30 Friday night the moonlight was absolutely amazing! So bright you didn't even need a headlamp to walk around. I got everyone to agree to go out for a midnight ride down a trail named Kessell and it was a blast!
The next morning we woke up and rocked about 30 miles of trails that day. Everyone had a great time and there were no injuries. However, we had 6 FREAKIN FLAT TIRES! within an hour. Rob had a reasonable pinch flat from hitting a rock. Then Timmy got a flat from a cactus. We made it back to the camp site and had lunch and were getting ready to ride again when Scott and Keith picked up their bike they both had 2 FLATS A PIECE! Turned out that Keith and Scott had both run over the same freakin cactus and there were needles all over their tires! We got everyone all fixed up and headed out again.
Sunday morning we headed out again hitting about 25 miles of trails. I was able to ride with a guy named Greg from work as well. He is a middle aged guy who absolutely rips it! He stopped by our camp just as I was finishing lunch and I asked if anyone else wanted to head out with us. Timmy decided to head out with us as well while the others took a rest for a bit. Greg and I charged a run called Joe's Ridge which is an absolute riot! Up and down winding and haulin ASS! We flew down that Greg right behind me and Timmy a little ways back. We then took off down Kessell and decided to climb back up Kessell. Timmy tried to keep up but Greg and I were puttin a hurtin on the climb and on Timmy! I look forward to riding more with Greg around Boulder as well. He will definitely help my riding and I hope I continue to stay in shape like Greg!
So as I said earlier work has been pretty busy. I have stayed about 2 hours late each night and 3 hours tonight working on learning the budget process and all the inner workings of the excel sheets, pivot tables, and databases that form our budget roll up. I have a long way to go but I have learned a lot so far and I am enjoying learning the financial analyst role. Now it is onto the month end usual duties that will keep me busy for the rest of the week. Here are a few photos from this weekend in Fruita.
The group of fellers; Left to right , Timmy, Me, Rob, Scott, and Keith
Single track on Western Zippety
Ridgeline on Frontside
Me launchin off a rock jump after flying down the windy Joe's Ridge!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Lazy
... that is exactly what I was this weekend. It all started Friday night when I went out with some friends from work on Friday night. I was just going to go out for dinner and a beer with the crew since I had to drive down to Arvada to hang out with them. No gettin tipsy when you have to drive back to Boulder. However, it turned out that the crew I was with started gettin really tipsy so I ended up staying out with them shutting down the bar to drive them back to one of their apartments. I was actually the responsible one. I didn't mind and it was kind of nice not spending a bunch of money and still being entertained by them all. But not getting home till almost 3am made me pretty tired. So Saturday when I woke up all I felt like doing was sitting around and getting stuff done around the apartment. Which is exactly what I did along with getting a few things done for work to hopefully make my week a little easier.
Once again today it was more of the same. I did a major number on cleaning the apartment, cleaning my bike, and just kind of hanging out. The weather was pretty chilly as well and we got a few flurries here in Boulder. I do love the cold weather but looks like it is going to warm up again this week.
On another note Graham Knapp is crashing on our couch for possibly up to a month. His parents are looking into buying a house for him down in Denver and they have put an offer down that was accepted however, it still has to go through the inspection process. It will be good to have him down there so we can go to events downtown and have a place to crash. We are planning on having Thanksgiving down there if everything works out with the house so that would be awesome!
Alright I am kind of out of it and need to head to bed. Possibly heading back out to Fruita this weekend but with some fools this time. Tim and Graham will probably go and Keith Gnar is going to come down from Steamboat with a buddy of his. Should be a good time if it all works out but it could fall through we'll see. If so I am sure I will find something to get into. It's good to have a lazy weekend now and then but I think it's time to get back into the bike riding groove indoors or out.
Once again today it was more of the same. I did a major number on cleaning the apartment, cleaning my bike, and just kind of hanging out. The weather was pretty chilly as well and we got a few flurries here in Boulder. I do love the cold weather but looks like it is going to warm up again this week.
On another note Graham Knapp is crashing on our couch for possibly up to a month. His parents are looking into buying a house for him down in Denver and they have put an offer down that was accepted however, it still has to go through the inspection process. It will be good to have him down there so we can go to events downtown and have a place to crash. We are planning on having Thanksgiving down there if everything works out with the house so that would be awesome!
Alright I am kind of out of it and need to head to bed. Possibly heading back out to Fruita this weekend but with some fools this time. Tim and Graham will probably go and Keith Gnar is going to come down from Steamboat with a buddy of his. Should be a good time if it all works out but it could fall through we'll see. If so I am sure I will find something to get into. It's good to have a lazy weekend now and then but I think it's time to get back into the bike riding groove indoors or out.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Surprise Weekend!
I am finally sitting down to write about what I had been holding out about for my weekend plans. Over the weekend I made what was a surprise trip to some. I took off to Charlotte, NC to see all of my family and my baby niece Camden who was born last week... see previous post, and a couple of my other "family" members from Glacier and Steamboat. My trip was awesome! I totally surprised my sister Reagan who had no clue I was coming down. She kind of took a double take when she pulled up in the driveway at her house and I was standing there waiting to see her reaction!
Saturday when I got in I hung out with the family for a bit before I headed to downtown Charlotte to hang out with Kate and Jenny for the night. We sat around and drank for a little while at Kate's apartment talking and what not and then went to dinner. We ran into another guy we had worked with in Steamboat who was working in the kitchen of the restaurant we were at. The beauty of having been a seasonal worker is you never know who you are going to run into or where! Then we went back to Kate's apartment and hung out drinking and waiting for her roommate and co-workers to get back so we could head out for a night on the town. As always when the "family" gets together even if it doesn't have all members in attendance it is always a good time. We had a great night out on the town proceeding to get bombed! We all made it back to Kate's apartment successfully which is a huge accomplishment with my track record of going out in Charlotte from back in the days of my internship! HAHA I have had some interesting times in that city to say the least!
Sunday was a day with the immediate Fam! We hung out all day and my Dad cooked up a delicious feast on the grill. It was great to hang out with my nephew and niece and the rest of the family. That night we went and watched Matt (my brother in law) play hockey in his adult league. I'm not sure which was more fun; watching Matt play or watching Brayden (my nephew) run around with his stick and puck wacking at everything in site!
Monday was pretty mellow hanging out with the Family before my Dad, Leslie, and I all left for the airport. My Mom dropped us off and she headed back to Reagan's to hang out for the day before she left on Tuesday. My travels could have been a little better on the way back but oh well no worries talking about that because the weekend was a total blast and worth every minute. I wish I would have had longer. Glad I could surprise the hell out of you Reagan!
With all that said... as usual I was glad to be back out in CO. The fall weather has definitely rolled in and the high country is full of snow! I am excited for the upcoming snowboard season and each day takes me one day closer to strappin on the boots and board for my favorite season! Hope everyone else had a great weekend!
Saturday when I got in I hung out with the family for a bit before I headed to downtown Charlotte to hang out with Kate and Jenny for the night. We sat around and drank for a little while at Kate's apartment talking and what not and then went to dinner. We ran into another guy we had worked with in Steamboat who was working in the kitchen of the restaurant we were at. The beauty of having been a seasonal worker is you never know who you are going to run into or where! Then we went back to Kate's apartment and hung out drinking and waiting for her roommate and co-workers to get back so we could head out for a night on the town. As always when the "family" gets together even if it doesn't have all members in attendance it is always a good time. We had a great night out on the town proceeding to get bombed! We all made it back to Kate's apartment successfully which is a huge accomplishment with my track record of going out in Charlotte from back in the days of my internship! HAHA I have had some interesting times in that city to say the least!
Sunday was a day with the immediate Fam! We hung out all day and my Dad cooked up a delicious feast on the grill. It was great to hang out with my nephew and niece and the rest of the family. That night we went and watched Matt (my brother in law) play hockey in his adult league. I'm not sure which was more fun; watching Matt play or watching Brayden (my nephew) run around with his stick and puck wacking at everything in site!
Monday was pretty mellow hanging out with the Family before my Dad, Leslie, and I all left for the airport. My Mom dropped us off and she headed back to Reagan's to hang out for the day before she left on Tuesday. My travels could have been a little better on the way back but oh well no worries talking about that because the weekend was a total blast and worth every minute. I wish I would have had longer. Glad I could surprise the hell out of you Reagan!
With all that said... as usual I was glad to be back out in CO. The fall weather has definitely rolled in and the high country is full of snow! I am excited for the upcoming snowboard season and each day takes me one day closer to strappin on the boots and board for my favorite season! Hope everyone else had a great weekend!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Ahhh the weekend...
The weekend has finally come. I got through a major part of the budget process today. I sat down with my boss in one of the conference rooms and we pounded out all of the budget sheets for each department and sent them out with appointments for me to meet with each dept head if they have any questions. When they all come back I will be rolling them all up into spreadsheets that will be presented to the execs and then sent off to DS our parent company for the first round of slaughtering haha. Then we get to do it all again. Anyway it was a big relief but next week brings on more of the same. However, I am going to forget about all of that for a few days because it is the weekend and I don't think about work on the weekends! HAHA!
So Timmy is going to go up to Arapahoe Basin tomorrow because snowboard season has begun! Yes that's right it was the first mountain to open in North America. There is only one run open and people are calling it the white ribbon of death because there only one strip of snow mostly man made on the mountain as the run and the rest is well... like a mountain that isn't covered. Rocks, trees, grass, and whatever else stickin and juttin out of the ground for you to slam into if you go off the run. Anyway it is going to be pretty lame with just one run... it would remind me of the old days at Swiss Ditch... which was actually fun but I think I have moved on from that and I can wait till Nov 9th when Keystone and Breckenridge open with at least a few more runs than that. But I will be there when those resorts open no matter what haha! With that said I am passing on the opportunity to go.
So what am I going to do with my weekend?... Well lets just say I think I have some good plans and I will let you all know about them tomorrow... I think I will just take off somewhere... that always seems to work out well for me!
So Timmy is going to go up to Arapahoe Basin tomorrow because snowboard season has begun! Yes that's right it was the first mountain to open in North America. There is only one run open and people are calling it the white ribbon of death because there only one strip of snow mostly man made on the mountain as the run and the rest is well... like a mountain that isn't covered. Rocks, trees, grass, and whatever else stickin and juttin out of the ground for you to slam into if you go off the run. Anyway it is going to be pretty lame with just one run... it would remind me of the old days at Swiss Ditch... which was actually fun but I think I have moved on from that and I can wait till Nov 9th when Keystone and Breckenridge open with at least a few more runs than that. But I will be there when those resorts open no matter what haha! With that said I am passing on the opportunity to go.
So what am I going to do with my weekend?... Well lets just say I think I have some good plans and I will let you all know about them tomorrow... I think I will just take off somewhere... that always seems to work out well for me!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
What a beautiful day!
MY NIECE WAS BORN TODAY!! Reagan and beautiful Camden Victoria are both doing well and will hopefully be going home Friday.
Camden Victoria Stille!
If it wasn't for that news I think this would have been a pretty rough day. Things are starting to pile up at work with new responsibilities on top of normal responsibilities on top of adhoc responsibilities that for some reason have just seem to come out of no where. Looks like I am going to be learning how to tell people to go away I'm busy and prioritize.
I am excited about the new budget responsibilities which will teach me further how to pull specific data needed in pivot tables and learning further how to link and refresh data. I am a bit concerned about it though because I may not be able to learn it as fast as needed and won't be able to contribute as much as I want. But I guess all I can do is just charge it and get done what I can.
On a more positive note though I met with some sales reps from ADP our payroll provider yesterday and was able to exchange some valuable information with them and I might be able to present this information back to the Executives on how I think there are some changes that need to be made to make some of our processes more efficient so that I will be able to focus more on some of my new financial responsibilities. I was pretty stoked on the meeting because I felt like I actually knew what I was talking about!
Anyway not much else going on just waiting for the weekend. Who knows what kind of event I might get myself into. I am sure I will be going somewhere doing something exciting as always! :) I'll have updates later.
Camden Victoria Stille!
If it wasn't for that news I think this would have been a pretty rough day. Things are starting to pile up at work with new responsibilities on top of normal responsibilities on top of adhoc responsibilities that for some reason have just seem to come out of no where. Looks like I am going to be learning how to tell people to go away I'm busy and prioritize.
I am excited about the new budget responsibilities which will teach me further how to pull specific data needed in pivot tables and learning further how to link and refresh data. I am a bit concerned about it though because I may not be able to learn it as fast as needed and won't be able to contribute as much as I want. But I guess all I can do is just charge it and get done what I can.
On a more positive note though I met with some sales reps from ADP our payroll provider yesterday and was able to exchange some valuable information with them and I might be able to present this information back to the Executives on how I think there are some changes that need to be made to make some of our processes more efficient so that I will be able to focus more on some of my new financial responsibilities. I was pretty stoked on the meeting because I felt like I actually knew what I was talking about!
Anyway not much else going on just waiting for the weekend. Who knows what kind of event I might get myself into. I am sure I will be going somewhere doing something exciting as always! :) I'll have updates later.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Oh WOW!
Two words... STELLAR! and RESPECT! Those two words describe my trip to Fruita, CO this weekend. I got in Friday night around midnight after trying to find a camp site up near where I would be riding the next day with no luck! So I hit the highway again down the road about 15 miles to the Rabbit Valley 2 miles from the Utah border. I took the Jetta aka the Red Sled aka the Ghetto Jetta where she really doesn't belong but once again she came out on top! I found a site and proceeded to pitch my tent in 25 mph winds... none the less interesting! Here is a picture from the next morning when it was pissin rain and still blowin like hell! Rocks holding the tent down.
So the only thing that got me out of my tent Saturday morning was knowing that I had a new french press that would make some warm delicious Jittery's Joe's Morning Ride Coffee! Once I had some Jo in me the weather didn't matter cause I knew I would be tearin up some sweet single track. I made the drive back to Fruita and threw on the bike clothes. It was a bit chilly that morning with the rain and wind so I threw on the tights under the shorts, threw on a jersey, long sleeve layer, and my rain jacket. I hit the trails starting out on Prime Cut which would take me up to Chutes and Ladders for my decent. Here are a couple shots of Chutes and Ladders.
The next shot below is me getting ready to blast through this super fast meadow.
Here is a picture of the tight single track meadow.
Once back down by the parking lot I stopped to refuel with PB & J Kate style with peanut butter stacked on both pieces of bread and then a load of jelly on one side put it together and you have instant fuel! The next loop was super fun! It was called Zippety Do Da! It completely lives up to the name. You follow a ridge the whole way up and down haulin absolute ass! I hit 30 plus going down in the picture below.
Here is a good shot of the ridge line you follow before the previous pic.
I stopped at the car again after this loop since everything ends up down at the car. It's nice cause you can drop layers or fuel up. Since the rain had subsided I took off my Jacket and headed up the road to Joe's Ridge. Another super fun ridge ride with some rock drops all completed successfully without crashing. Once I completed Joe's Ridge I rode back up to ride Kessell which is a super fast winding trail. I spotted a campsite and decided to haul ass down the car to try and get back before someone else got it. On the descent I really had the bike leaned over in a turn hit the front brake a little to hard to slow down then got in some loose stuff and lost it! I totally slammed my shoulder into the ground! The first wreck! I came out of it pretty good but the shoulder is pretty sore today hard to lift my left arm without a wince of pain first. Oh well the trail was sweet and worth going fast! I would do it again! Oh yeah and I didn't get the camp site. Some other guys got to it first. Oh well back out to Rabbit Valley again. On they way I stopped for what was the best pizza I have had in quite sometime. Homemade dough hand tossed with homemade marinara! Hot Tomato Cafe was the name of the place in Fruita and I killed a whole 14 inch pie!
Sunday morning I awoke to sunny skies ate some oatmeal and had my coffee and headed to some trails along the Colorado River.
These trails were amazing but demanded respect as I soon found out. I bailed over the handle bars probably 4 times bike slamming, tipped over trying to climb tricky sections about 3-4 times, and caught myself about 2 inches before breaking my cheek bone when a rock wrenched my handle bars and made me slide out. Even beyond all those there were sections where I knew better and decided to walk them! I definitely walked away better than what I should have. Ended the weekend riding some 55-60 miles with a sore shoulder, jammed finger, scrapped and bruised calves, and my achilles on my left leg flared up again from my ride with AJ. Guess I should let it heal longer! The price you pay when your havin fun! Here is a section of pics from Sunday.
Almost planted my face before bailing coming down through the rocks down to Horsethief Loop!
Horsethief Loop sooo much fun!
Did all of the trails below!
Mack's Ridge Skirts the hole ridge line shown before descending.
All in all my trip to Fruita was PHENOMENAL! I will definitely be going back! Hopefully next time Timmy can go with and I will have some action shots hittin rock drops and flying through single track! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to the grind!
So the only thing that got me out of my tent Saturday morning was knowing that I had a new french press that would make some warm delicious Jittery's Joe's Morning Ride Coffee! Once I had some Jo in me the weather didn't matter cause I knew I would be tearin up some sweet single track. I made the drive back to Fruita and threw on the bike clothes. It was a bit chilly that morning with the rain and wind so I threw on the tights under the shorts, threw on a jersey, long sleeve layer, and my rain jacket. I hit the trails starting out on Prime Cut which would take me up to Chutes and Ladders for my decent. Here are a couple shots of Chutes and Ladders.
The next shot below is me getting ready to blast through this super fast meadow.
Here is a picture of the tight single track meadow.
Once back down by the parking lot I stopped to refuel with PB & J Kate style with peanut butter stacked on both pieces of bread and then a load of jelly on one side put it together and you have instant fuel! The next loop was super fun! It was called Zippety Do Da! It completely lives up to the name. You follow a ridge the whole way up and down haulin absolute ass! I hit 30 plus going down in the picture below.
Here is a good shot of the ridge line you follow before the previous pic.
I stopped at the car again after this loop since everything ends up down at the car. It's nice cause you can drop layers or fuel up. Since the rain had subsided I took off my Jacket and headed up the road to Joe's Ridge. Another super fun ridge ride with some rock drops all completed successfully without crashing. Once I completed Joe's Ridge I rode back up to ride Kessell which is a super fast winding trail. I spotted a campsite and decided to haul ass down the car to try and get back before someone else got it. On the descent I really had the bike leaned over in a turn hit the front brake a little to hard to slow down then got in some loose stuff and lost it! I totally slammed my shoulder into the ground! The first wreck! I came out of it pretty good but the shoulder is pretty sore today hard to lift my left arm without a wince of pain first. Oh well the trail was sweet and worth going fast! I would do it again! Oh yeah and I didn't get the camp site. Some other guys got to it first. Oh well back out to Rabbit Valley again. On they way I stopped for what was the best pizza I have had in quite sometime. Homemade dough hand tossed with homemade marinara! Hot Tomato Cafe was the name of the place in Fruita and I killed a whole 14 inch pie!
Sunday morning I awoke to sunny skies ate some oatmeal and had my coffee and headed to some trails along the Colorado River.
These trails were amazing but demanded respect as I soon found out. I bailed over the handle bars probably 4 times bike slamming, tipped over trying to climb tricky sections about 3-4 times, and caught myself about 2 inches before breaking my cheek bone when a rock wrenched my handle bars and made me slide out. Even beyond all those there were sections where I knew better and decided to walk them! I definitely walked away better than what I should have. Ended the weekend riding some 55-60 miles with a sore shoulder, jammed finger, scrapped and bruised calves, and my achilles on my left leg flared up again from my ride with AJ. Guess I should let it heal longer! The price you pay when your havin fun! Here is a section of pics from Sunday.
Almost planted my face before bailing coming down through the rocks down to Horsethief Loop!
Horsethief Loop sooo much fun!
Did all of the trails below!
Mack's Ridge Skirts the hole ridge line shown before descending.
All in all my trip to Fruita was PHENOMENAL! I will definitely be going back! Hopefully next time Timmy can go with and I will have some action shots hittin rock drops and flying through single track! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to the grind!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
No even going to try...
So I am not even going to continue with my blog about the trip for one reason and one reason only... AJ wrote a great journal about our time together and I think you all should read that instead. Go to http://www.whyiride.org and go to the journal tab and read stage 6. I don't believe he has posted it on the site yet but he did send the journal out so subscribe to his news letter and you might get it. If not check back and he will get it posted. He also has all of the pictures from my segment of the trip uploaded and they are pretty fantastic! Check it out seriously!
Tomorrow is Friday and I am more than stoked about it. Reason being... I am going to head out to Fruita, CO a mountain biking single track mecca. Nothing but super fast 12-24in wide trails for bikers to blow through with beautiful scenery. I have not ridden there before but I have been through the area and heard a ton about it. The weather doesn't look like it is going to be to helpful calling for 50% chance of rain on Saturday and 40% on Sunday but I am going to go check it out and hopefully get some good rides in. I want to get about 50 miles in each day but I am not thinking that is going to happen especially if the weather doesn't participate. I don't think I will mind if I end up getting rained on since I have had plenty of that recently but it would be nice if it held out for me. Anyway, I will be back Sunday night hopefully with some good tails and pictures to post.
All for now I hope everyone has a great weekend! Reagan keep my niece in until I get back! HAHA! I might have service out there but who knows. I don't want to miss your call! Until Sunday...
Tomorrow is Friday and I am more than stoked about it. Reason being... I am going to head out to Fruita, CO a mountain biking single track mecca. Nothing but super fast 12-24in wide trails for bikers to blow through with beautiful scenery. I have not ridden there before but I have been through the area and heard a ton about it. The weather doesn't look like it is going to be to helpful calling for 50% chance of rain on Saturday and 40% on Sunday but I am going to go check it out and hopefully get some good rides in. I want to get about 50 miles in each day but I am not thinking that is going to happen especially if the weather doesn't participate. I don't think I will mind if I end up getting rained on since I have had plenty of that recently but it would be nice if it held out for me. Anyway, I will be back Sunday night hopefully with some good tails and pictures to post.
All for now I hope everyone has a great weekend! Reagan keep my niece in until I get back! HAHA! I might have service out there but who knows. I don't want to miss your call! Until Sunday...
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Round Two
Alright so if you haven't read the previous blog about the trip you should do that first and then read this one since I am writing them chronologically. So sorry it took me until tonight to get this blog out I had a lot of anxiety built up I think from not being on the bike and from not being busy all day. I haven't really adjusted from being in the outdoors all the time and back to the "real world." However, I went out today and climbed Lefthand Canyon just north of Boulder. I think it may have been to0 big of a ride for just getting back on the bike but it kicked my ass and got rid of the twitchy can't hold still anxiety I had. It was a 3 hour 50 mile ride and I climbed about 3500 ft. The legs are hurtin but it is a good hurt for sure. I was also welcomed back to the Boulder bike community with a couple of killer riders flyin right by when I was ripping a decent pace (for myself). A couple Slipstream Chipotle pro riders were out in the canyon as well. Man they make it look easy.
Onto segment two of the trip. Heading into Yellowstone from Livingston. The second morning of the ride we woke up and packed our things to make the 50-60 mile ride down to Gardiner, MT and the entrance of Yellowstone. First we stopped at a local dinner and killed a breakfast before we hit the road. After that we headed down east river road which got us off of HWY 89 for a bit and away from traffic. It was a good ride all by ourselves taking pictures with a bit of haze. Below is a picture of AJ on East River Road. His bike is definitely a tank.
Once we got off of East River Road we were back on HWY 89 for a while stopping along the way for photos here and there. The ride was peaceful and pretty uneventful. Just the way we like it. Once in Gardiner we stopped in to the National Forest Service office to get some local up dates and what not. Here is a picture of AJ getting goofy, singing a tune, and dancing a little jig. The guy behind doesn't look to entertained by it!
After that it was as short jaunt into Yellowstone to Mammoth Hot Springs where we would camp. Fireworks went off at the entrance when the Ranger told AJ that his National Parks pass would only get him in not Marie and I who would have to pay $12 each. We held up the line for a bit arguing before another Ranger came out to take us aside and discuss the situation. First off I will say she did an amazing job with the situation. Now for the argument. It was pretty ridiculous. We told the lady that if she wouldn't let the three of us in we would just jump in a truck and get that vehicle in for free as well. She said that was perfectly fine which makes NO SENSE! Yellowstone has long been fighting to get pollution and vehicle traffic down in the park and they are not going to let 3 bikers get in on a pass but they will let a Ford Excursion with 5 people in! Not to mention the park would be losing out on money by us getting another vehicle in for free along with ourselves. So we asked that a Ranger from the head office be called down. The lady kindly met our request. However, after further discussion and reading the regulations on the back of the card as to how it works the lady made another call coming back out to us telling AJ that he was correct and that we could all pass into the park. AJ was still upset at the situation because he knows that many people would have just laid down and paid the extra money. All in all it was a pretty crazy event that we came out successful in. Here is a picture entering the park and also a picture of Mammoth Hot Springs from afar. I am going to conclude on that tonight and I will get another blog out tomorrow hopefully covering the next two days in Yellowstone.
Onto segment two of the trip. Heading into Yellowstone from Livingston. The second morning of the ride we woke up and packed our things to make the 50-60 mile ride down to Gardiner, MT and the entrance of Yellowstone. First we stopped at a local dinner and killed a breakfast before we hit the road. After that we headed down east river road which got us off of HWY 89 for a bit and away from traffic. It was a good ride all by ourselves taking pictures with a bit of haze. Below is a picture of AJ on East River Road. His bike is definitely a tank.
Once we got off of East River Road we were back on HWY 89 for a while stopping along the way for photos here and there. The ride was peaceful and pretty uneventful. Just the way we like it. Once in Gardiner we stopped in to the National Forest Service office to get some local up dates and what not. Here is a picture of AJ getting goofy, singing a tune, and dancing a little jig. The guy behind doesn't look to entertained by it!
After that it was as short jaunt into Yellowstone to Mammoth Hot Springs where we would camp. Fireworks went off at the entrance when the Ranger told AJ that his National Parks pass would only get him in not Marie and I who would have to pay $12 each. We held up the line for a bit arguing before another Ranger came out to take us aside and discuss the situation. First off I will say she did an amazing job with the situation. Now for the argument. It was pretty ridiculous. We told the lady that if she wouldn't let the three of us in we would just jump in a truck and get that vehicle in for free as well. She said that was perfectly fine which makes NO SENSE! Yellowstone has long been fighting to get pollution and vehicle traffic down in the park and they are not going to let 3 bikers get in on a pass but they will let a Ford Excursion with 5 people in! Not to mention the park would be losing out on money by us getting another vehicle in for free along with ourselves. So we asked that a Ranger from the head office be called down. The lady kindly met our request. However, after further discussion and reading the regulations on the back of the card as to how it works the lady made another call coming back out to us telling AJ that he was correct and that we could all pass into the park. AJ was still upset at the situation because he knows that many people would have just laid down and paid the extra money. All in all it was a pretty crazy event that we came out successful in. Here is a picture entering the park and also a picture of Mammoth Hot Springs from afar. I am going to conclude on that tonight and I will get another blog out tomorrow hopefully covering the next two days in Yellowstone.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Here it goes.. and to be cont'd
Alright the moment everyone has been waiting for... I reveal the story of how I traveled 500 miles from Bozeman, MT to Logan, UT by bicycle.
I'll start from the very beginning. So I awoke Saturday morning Sept 15th with no problems and was excited to catch the bus and begin my journey. I woke Tim up and he drove me down to the Boulder Bus Depot. I was there about 45 minutes before the bus was supposed to leave. After about 15 minutes I started to feel like something wasn't right. I asked one person where the Powder River buses (Local Greyhound Contractor) come in. He didn't know. So then I thought you know I never see anything but RTD (the local bus system) buses around here. One guy then over heard me and told me that Greyhound stop was not there! But rather it was like 10 minutes away by car out on 30th and Diagonal Hwy in northeast Boulder! So I jump on the horn and call Tim hoping, wishing, pleading that he answers his phone and that he wasn't back asleep already since it was only 8 am! Sure enough he answered it because he thought I had probably forgot something. So I asked him to get me the Greyhound number so that I could make sure where the stop was and then come down and pick me up. He jumped on it and I found out that the station was clear out there at a gas station! So I got out there and sure enough I made it with about 10 minutes to spare! Glad I was up early and gave myself enough time in case something went wrong.
So I settled in on the bus glad I didn't waste a day missing the bus. The ride was pretty mellow until in Greeley, CO where I was lucky enough to have a bum sit pretty much on top of me falling over sleeping on me and stinking to high heaven! Luckily he got off in Ft. Collins and I once again had two seats to myself. There are a few things I learned while riding the bus, 1. You have got to be a smoker or drug addict! Everyone on those damn things smokes and they rush off at every stop to get their nicotine or perhaps smoke mary j, 2. You have to eat total shit and gut bombs, you only get fast food and gas stations, and 3. The bus sucks and takes way to long but it's cheap! Probably the most ridiculous thing I saw was this guy while at a layover in Gillette, WY trying to get every last puff out of a roach. I don't even know how he could hold onto it. He then threw it on the ground made a comment to another guy about how he finished it and the other guy was like "man how you going to do me like that?" because he finished it without him. That guy then proceeded to pick up this little roach of the ground and tried to smoke it! I had to laugh. There were other events that went on as well but nothing really worth mentioning just kinda funny.
So I finally made it into Bozeman at 4am made the call to AJ to head down and meet me. I started putting my bike together and had everything together but the pedals when AJ arrived. We exchanged our greetings and headed through downtown Bozeman on our bikes to his friend Ben's house where he was staying. We made a quick stop at Safeway to see if we could get some donuts but they weren't open yet! So we proceeded to Ben's and got some sleep before waking up the next morning at 10am. I got my first glimpse of AJ's burn that morning when Marie helped him change the dressing on it. It my friends is pretty gnarly. It is healing well but at a very slow pace that weighs heavy on his mind. However, he takes great care of it and I am sure it will continue to heal without any problems or infection. After the dressing change I then made a call to Lincoln so AJ and I could meet up with him for breakfast.
After a delicious breakfast we went to Lincoln's studio to get some copies of the segment Lincoln did on AJ's ride that was broadcast all over western Montana. Here are a couple pictures of AJ and I at the studio.
We then headed back to Ben's house to pack our gear and get ready to head out to Livingston 30 miles from Bozeman where we would head south into Yellowstone National Park the next day. We enjoyed a 15-30 mph tailwind up, over, and down the pass into Livingston. That would be the only tailwind we had the entire trip. I'll end this first post with a couple of pictures from our night camping south of Livingston and pictures of our delicious dinner. I'll try and get another post out tonight or tomorrow about the adventures through Yellowstone.
I'll start from the very beginning. So I awoke Saturday morning Sept 15th with no problems and was excited to catch the bus and begin my journey. I woke Tim up and he drove me down to the Boulder Bus Depot. I was there about 45 minutes before the bus was supposed to leave. After about 15 minutes I started to feel like something wasn't right. I asked one person where the Powder River buses (Local Greyhound Contractor) come in. He didn't know. So then I thought you know I never see anything but RTD (the local bus system) buses around here. One guy then over heard me and told me that Greyhound stop was not there! But rather it was like 10 minutes away by car out on 30th and Diagonal Hwy in northeast Boulder! So I jump on the horn and call Tim hoping, wishing, pleading that he answers his phone and that he wasn't back asleep already since it was only 8 am! Sure enough he answered it because he thought I had probably forgot something. So I asked him to get me the Greyhound number so that I could make sure where the stop was and then come down and pick me up. He jumped on it and I found out that the station was clear out there at a gas station! So I got out there and sure enough I made it with about 10 minutes to spare! Glad I was up early and gave myself enough time in case something went wrong.
So I settled in on the bus glad I didn't waste a day missing the bus. The ride was pretty mellow until in Greeley, CO where I was lucky enough to have a bum sit pretty much on top of me falling over sleeping on me and stinking to high heaven! Luckily he got off in Ft. Collins and I once again had two seats to myself. There are a few things I learned while riding the bus, 1. You have got to be a smoker or drug addict! Everyone on those damn things smokes and they rush off at every stop to get their nicotine or perhaps smoke mary j, 2. You have to eat total shit and gut bombs, you only get fast food and gas stations, and 3. The bus sucks and takes way to long but it's cheap! Probably the most ridiculous thing I saw was this guy while at a layover in Gillette, WY trying to get every last puff out of a roach. I don't even know how he could hold onto it. He then threw it on the ground made a comment to another guy about how he finished it and the other guy was like "man how you going to do me like that?" because he finished it without him. That guy then proceeded to pick up this little roach of the ground and tried to smoke it! I had to laugh. There were other events that went on as well but nothing really worth mentioning just kinda funny.
So I finally made it into Bozeman at 4am made the call to AJ to head down and meet me. I started putting my bike together and had everything together but the pedals when AJ arrived. We exchanged our greetings and headed through downtown Bozeman on our bikes to his friend Ben's house where he was staying. We made a quick stop at Safeway to see if we could get some donuts but they weren't open yet! So we proceeded to Ben's and got some sleep before waking up the next morning at 10am. I got my first glimpse of AJ's burn that morning when Marie helped him change the dressing on it. It my friends is pretty gnarly. It is healing well but at a very slow pace that weighs heavy on his mind. However, he takes great care of it and I am sure it will continue to heal without any problems or infection. After the dressing change I then made a call to Lincoln so AJ and I could meet up with him for breakfast.
After a delicious breakfast we went to Lincoln's studio to get some copies of the segment Lincoln did on AJ's ride that was broadcast all over western Montana. Here are a couple pictures of AJ and I at the studio.
We then headed back to Ben's house to pack our gear and get ready to head out to Livingston 30 miles from Bozeman where we would head south into Yellowstone National Park the next day. We enjoyed a 15-30 mph tailwind up, over, and down the pass into Livingston. That would be the only tailwind we had the entire trip. I'll end this first post with a couple of pictures from our night camping south of Livingston and pictures of our delicious dinner. I'll try and get another post out tonight or tomorrow about the adventures through Yellowstone.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Why I Ride Tour
Well I made it into Denver this morning from Salt Lake at about 6 am. It was a long ride but I had some good time to reflect and got a bit of decent sleep. I then had to strap my boxed bike onto my bob trailer and push it about 10 blocks to the RTD station to get a free ride back to Boulder with my ECO Pass that work pays for. Strenuous but can't complain about saving a 2 hour layover in Denver waiting for Greyhound vs going straight to the station to get a ride home. Anywho I will have a couple of blogs coming about the trip with a few pics but be patient work is going to be a mess and just trying to recover from the trip. But I will get them out!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Departure for Adventure
I sit here tonight all packed up but the minor things that I will be taking with me in my backpack on the bus. I am making final adjustments to the ipods contents taking music from Tim's Computer to my harddrive and finally onto my ipod. It has great benefits working at a software company as I got my buddy Robert from work to hook me up with 4 movies to convert and put onto my ipod as well to help the 19 hour bus ride pass when I am not reading or hopefully getting some sleep.
I looked at my bus schedule and it turns out I have a hour and twenty minute layover in Cheyenne and then another 2 hour layover in Gillette. Should be amazingly boring, especially since I have done the same drive numerous times! Oh well though a small price to pay for the adventure I am going to embark on!
Not much else to say other than I can't wait to get the show on the road and I will be sure to blog about all the details of the ride. I hope to have some good pictures that either AJ or myself take and some good stories to tell about the ride. The later is guarenteed whenever AJ and I get together! Until then peace, love, and hairgrease.
I looked at my bus schedule and it turns out I have a hour and twenty minute layover in Cheyenne and then another 2 hour layover in Gillette. Should be amazingly boring, especially since I have done the same drive numerous times! Oh well though a small price to pay for the adventure I am going to embark on!
Not much else to say other than I can't wait to get the show on the road and I will be sure to blog about all the details of the ride. I hope to have some good pictures that either AJ or myself take and some good stories to tell about the ride. The later is guarenteed whenever AJ and I get together! Until then peace, love, and hairgrease.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Count Down 3 Days
The last two days I have had a couple of good rides after work. Monday was a pretty cool day and it was nice to go out for a ride without sweating my butt off. Today was what I would consider a perfect temperature. You could get a bit of a sweat going but it was not to hot at all.
The legs still seem like they might be suffering a bit from the Rabbit Ears 10K. It's amazing what kind of a toll running takes on my body these days. Also sitting at a desk all day makes it hard to get the legs going. It usually takes me about 30 to 45 minutes to get settled in and most rides after work are only about an hour to 1.5 hours since it is starting to get dark early so I barely get going when I have to come back in. I also find it hard to just go out for a calm ride when I am by myself. I always end up really pushing the pace which I think will help me when I am touring. Hopefully anyway.
I talked to AJ again today and he is going to see a burn specialist tomorrow and hopefully he will have good news sometime tomorrow that they wound is healing how it should. He is in Bozeman now and will be there until I arrive on Saturday. I also made what I hope to be my last trip to REI to purchase my final gear. I got some shoe covers that will keep my feet warm and dry if we happen to get into any rain. I also got some compression bags that will help keep my load in the trailer compact and stable, not to mention keep all my wet dirty clothes seperate from the clean stuff. Although I am sure a lot of my stuff will not be clean for most of the trip haha. Part of the price you pay. I am sure it won't be any worse tha the pig crap I used to come home smelling like working on the farm!
On a final note I am flying through a book called Ultra Marathon Man that I got from Graham. It is a biography of Dean Karnazes. This guy is absolutely insane and motivational at the same time. The limits he has pushed is body to are unimaginable. He has run the Western States 100 (an extreme 100 mile trail run through the Sierra Nevada Mts), the Badwater (135 miles through Death Valley on the road), and a marathon to the South Pole in Antartica and there is more to come as I finish up the book. Reagan you should tell Matt to read this book he would love it for sure.
That's all for now. Only three more long busy days at work and I am free for almost two weeks! The anticipation is building!
The legs still seem like they might be suffering a bit from the Rabbit Ears 10K. It's amazing what kind of a toll running takes on my body these days. Also sitting at a desk all day makes it hard to get the legs going. It usually takes me about 30 to 45 minutes to get settled in and most rides after work are only about an hour to 1.5 hours since it is starting to get dark early so I barely get going when I have to come back in. I also find it hard to just go out for a calm ride when I am by myself. I always end up really pushing the pace which I think will help me when I am touring. Hopefully anyway.
I talked to AJ again today and he is going to see a burn specialist tomorrow and hopefully he will have good news sometime tomorrow that they wound is healing how it should. He is in Bozeman now and will be there until I arrive on Saturday. I also made what I hope to be my last trip to REI to purchase my final gear. I got some shoe covers that will keep my feet warm and dry if we happen to get into any rain. I also got some compression bags that will help keep my load in the trailer compact and stable, not to mention keep all my wet dirty clothes seperate from the clean stuff. Although I am sure a lot of my stuff will not be clean for most of the trip haha. Part of the price you pay. I am sure it won't be any worse tha the pig crap I used to come home smelling like working on the farm!
On a final note I am flying through a book called Ultra Marathon Man that I got from Graham. It is a biography of Dean Karnazes. This guy is absolutely insane and motivational at the same time. The limits he has pushed is body to are unimaginable. He has run the Western States 100 (an extreme 100 mile trail run through the Sierra Nevada Mts), the Badwater (135 miles through Death Valley on the road), and a marathon to the South Pole in Antartica and there is more to come as I finish up the book. Reagan you should tell Matt to read this book he would love it for sure.
That's all for now. Only three more long busy days at work and I am free for almost two weeks! The anticipation is building!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Is fall arriving?
Last night may have been my best night's rest in quite sometime. I actually had to pull my down comforter on in the middle of the night instead of just sleeping with a sheet. Granted my fan was still on as well but there was definitely a little nip in the air. It was amazing to say the least. Timmy also had a snowboard dream so I definitely think fall is in the air. We both bought our Colorado Passes last weekend which is good for unlimited riding at Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, and 10 restricted days at Vail or Beaver Creek. We are both pretty excited about it!
So yesterday instead of a ride in the canyons on my road bike Tim and I went down to Golden Gate State Park between Boulder and Golden for a mountain bike ride. I had ridden the trails up there once this summer during a house warming party at my bosses house who lives up Coal Creek Canyon just a half mile from Golden Gate. I knew some parts of the trail were pretty loose and sketchy but there is a section of fast completely amazing single track through a meadow that makes the rest of the torture on the loose stuff completely worth it. Tim wasn't to happy during a lot of the trail and I asked him what the hell he wanted haha. I just think he needs to get those biking legs back and he might be in better humor. But he was also having a few mechanical problems and that is never easy to deal with. Been there dealt with that... no fun! Below are a couple of pictures of Tim coming through some of the fast singletrack which he really enjoyed.
Today is going to be a day of running around getting some things for the ride with AJ. I need to get a bike box from a shop, some spare parts such as derailleur cables, brake cables, spare chain links, and lights for night riding if needed. I just got off the phone with him a bit ago and we have come up with some ideas for the ride that are going to make it a lot of fun and probably quite comical. But you all are going to have to wait to find out and see what they are. AJ is also going to be going to the doctor again when he gets into Bozeman tomorrow and hopefully the Doc will say everything is ok. Otherwise the ride might be put on hold and I will be out of a bus ticket but let's hope there is no need for those thoughts. Anyway that's all for now.
So yesterday instead of a ride in the canyons on my road bike Tim and I went down to Golden Gate State Park between Boulder and Golden for a mountain bike ride. I had ridden the trails up there once this summer during a house warming party at my bosses house who lives up Coal Creek Canyon just a half mile from Golden Gate. I knew some parts of the trail were pretty loose and sketchy but there is a section of fast completely amazing single track through a meadow that makes the rest of the torture on the loose stuff completely worth it. Tim wasn't to happy during a lot of the trail and I asked him what the hell he wanted haha. I just think he needs to get those biking legs back and he might be in better humor. But he was also having a few mechanical problems and that is never easy to deal with. Been there dealt with that... no fun! Below are a couple of pictures of Tim coming through some of the fast singletrack which he really enjoyed.
Today is going to be a day of running around getting some things for the ride with AJ. I need to get a bike box from a shop, some spare parts such as derailleur cables, brake cables, spare chain links, and lights for night riding if needed. I just got off the phone with him a bit ago and we have come up with some ideas for the ride that are going to make it a lot of fun and probably quite comical. But you all are going to have to wait to find out and see what they are. AJ is also going to be going to the doctor again when he gets into Bozeman tomorrow and hopefully the Doc will say everything is ok. Otherwise the ride might be put on hold and I will be out of a bus ticket but let's hope there is no need for those thoughts. Anyway that's all for now.
Friday, September 7, 2007
I'm an Idiot
First things first:
1. I'm an idiot.
2. Good thing I work for a laid back Company.
3. Now the story of my Friday.
I woke up this morning with the plan of riding my bike into work. I hit the snooze alarm several times and decided to get out of bed. My coffee was already brewed and waiting for me as I had set the timer the night before. I sat down with my coffee and checked my email and what not. I hadn't packed the night before so I started throwing everything in my bag. I put in my jacket in case it rained, jeans, boxers, t-shirt, and all my toiletries. I proceeded out to the kitchen finally waking up as my coffee was kicking in. I made a delicious sandwich, fruit salad which I already had all cut up and put in a container, chips, and cookies. I put all of that in my bag as well.
I moved on to throwing on the cycling clothes, made a mental note to grab my sandals, phone, wallet, work key, and house key. I grabbed all of my tools and tubes for the bike ride to work, filled my water bottles, threw on the helmet, sunglasses, and bike shoes. I put my wallet, phone, and keys in my bag and I was ready to go.
I started out riding pretty hard as I made my way south through Boulder. As I came out the south side of town and started heading west up marshall rode I was feeling really tired and the legs were burning. I had somewhat of a head wind that made the rest of the ride kind of grueling. I blamed it on the fact that I didn't eat before I left but every Friday we have bagels at work so I never eat before I leave. I should have. As I finally made it to work I came up to the door to let myself in and rack my bike. As I opened the door I thought about taking off my riding shoes and putting on my sandals. Then it hits me and I say to myself; "DAMNIT! I FORGOT MY SANDALS!" Then I think wait I have shoes in my car. "IDIOT YOU JUST RODE YOUR BIKE YOUR CAR IS NOT HERE!" Yup I am an idiot. So I text Tim to bring my sandals to work. I take a shower, still no answer from Tim. He doesn't have class till noon so he is probably still givin the couch some love sleeping in. Yes he prefers the couch over his bed. So I decided to suck it up and see if my boss will take me back to my house to get my sandals. Of course he says no problem because he is awesome and we head back to Boulder because I'm an idiot.
As a result of this I will definitely be keeping a pair of shoes at work in case this ever happens again. Anyway the rest of the day was pretty uneventful but busy. The ride home was a little bit better but the legs are still sore from the 10K run last weekend. Oh well just glad I work for a good company with good people!
1. I'm an idiot.
2. Good thing I work for a laid back Company.
3. Now the story of my Friday.
I woke up this morning with the plan of riding my bike into work. I hit the snooze alarm several times and decided to get out of bed. My coffee was already brewed and waiting for me as I had set the timer the night before. I sat down with my coffee and checked my email and what not. I hadn't packed the night before so I started throwing everything in my bag. I put in my jacket in case it rained, jeans, boxers, t-shirt, and all my toiletries. I proceeded out to the kitchen finally waking up as my coffee was kicking in. I made a delicious sandwich, fruit salad which I already had all cut up and put in a container, chips, and cookies. I put all of that in my bag as well.
I moved on to throwing on the cycling clothes, made a mental note to grab my sandals, phone, wallet, work key, and house key. I grabbed all of my tools and tubes for the bike ride to work, filled my water bottles, threw on the helmet, sunglasses, and bike shoes. I put my wallet, phone, and keys in my bag and I was ready to go.
I started out riding pretty hard as I made my way south through Boulder. As I came out the south side of town and started heading west up marshall rode I was feeling really tired and the legs were burning. I had somewhat of a head wind that made the rest of the ride kind of grueling. I blamed it on the fact that I didn't eat before I left but every Friday we have bagels at work so I never eat before I leave. I should have. As I finally made it to work I came up to the door to let myself in and rack my bike. As I opened the door I thought about taking off my riding shoes and putting on my sandals. Then it hits me and I say to myself; "DAMNIT! I FORGOT MY SANDALS!" Then I think wait I have shoes in my car. "IDIOT YOU JUST RODE YOUR BIKE YOUR CAR IS NOT HERE!" Yup I am an idiot. So I text Tim to bring my sandals to work. I take a shower, still no answer from Tim. He doesn't have class till noon so he is probably still givin the couch some love sleeping in. Yes he prefers the couch over his bed. So I decided to suck it up and see if my boss will take me back to my house to get my sandals. Of course he says no problem because he is awesome and we head back to Boulder because I'm an idiot.
As a result of this I will definitely be keeping a pair of shoes at work in case this ever happens again. Anyway the rest of the day was pretty uneventful but busy. The ride home was a little bit better but the legs are still sore from the 10K run last weekend. Oh well just glad I work for a good company with good people!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
The Beginning
So I am putting this blog together for much of the same reason that many others do. It's an easy way to keep my family and friends updated with what's going on in my life since I am not to big on using the phone.
I'll just go ahead and get started with what is coming up for me in the next week since not much is going on currently. A week from tomorrow Friday Sept 7th I will be jumping on a Greyhound Bus from right here in Boulder with my bike and bob trailer all boxed up and head 19 hours to Bozeman, MT. It's actually only a 9 hour drive but with all the stops and what not it will take a lot longer. I am not looking forward to the ride but what awaits in Bozeman makes me super excited!
My good friend AJ Rowell has been riding for over 3 months now on his Trek 520 Touring bike and covered over 4,500 miles from his starting point in Prudhoe Bay, AK. I will be meeting him in Bozeman to tour from Bozeman, MT to hopefully somewhere between Logan and Salt Lake City, UT. We will ride through Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, and cross through the Wasatch Mountains to Utah. I am expecting it will be around 400 miles in about 10 days or less. I will also hopefully get a chance to stop in and say hello to my friend Lincoln who might put a story together for the news about AJ's ride. AJ will then continue on his journey down to the Mexican border and then head east to his hometown of Cullowhee, NC.
This vacation has been a long time coming as I have spent a lot of time talking with AJ during all of his planning and keeping in touch with him along the ride. I can't wait to be a part of such a great cause. AJ is not only riding for himself and his love of riding bikes but he is riding for a number of charities. Check out www.whyiride.org to see how you can help his cause. I will have more posts as the days till the ride dwindle. I CAN'T WAIT!
On a quick side note I should have a pretty active weekend as usual. I will probably have a good day climbing in the canyons on my road bike Saturday possibly pulling my trailer getting ready for the ride. Then Sunday I might get my first couple 14ers in this year with my former CFO. I have been doing so much riding this summer that I haven't even really thought about my goal of climbing all 54 14ers. Oh well though as long as I am outside enjoying the sweet mountain air we breathe!
I'll just go ahead and get started with what is coming up for me in the next week since not much is going on currently. A week from tomorrow Friday Sept 7th I will be jumping on a Greyhound Bus from right here in Boulder with my bike and bob trailer all boxed up and head 19 hours to Bozeman, MT. It's actually only a 9 hour drive but with all the stops and what not it will take a lot longer. I am not looking forward to the ride but what awaits in Bozeman makes me super excited!
My good friend AJ Rowell has been riding for over 3 months now on his Trek 520 Touring bike and covered over 4,500 miles from his starting point in Prudhoe Bay, AK. I will be meeting him in Bozeman to tour from Bozeman, MT to hopefully somewhere between Logan and Salt Lake City, UT. We will ride through Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, and cross through the Wasatch Mountains to Utah. I am expecting it will be around 400 miles in about 10 days or less. I will also hopefully get a chance to stop in and say hello to my friend Lincoln who might put a story together for the news about AJ's ride. AJ will then continue on his journey down to the Mexican border and then head east to his hometown of Cullowhee, NC.
This vacation has been a long time coming as I have spent a lot of time talking with AJ during all of his planning and keeping in touch with him along the ride. I can't wait to be a part of such a great cause. AJ is not only riding for himself and his love of riding bikes but he is riding for a number of charities. Check out www.whyiride.org to see how you can help his cause. I will have more posts as the days till the ride dwindle. I CAN'T WAIT!
On a quick side note I should have a pretty active weekend as usual. I will probably have a good day climbing in the canyons on my road bike Saturday possibly pulling my trailer getting ready for the ride. Then Sunday I might get my first couple 14ers in this year with my former CFO. I have been doing so much riding this summer that I haven't even really thought about my goal of climbing all 54 14ers. Oh well though as long as I am outside enjoying the sweet mountain air we breathe!
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