Saturday, June 21, 2008
Florida Bound
I'm checking out for the week to go hang out with the Family in Florida. Back next week with some pics, perhaps funny stories, and hopefully not a horrible sunburn.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Worked...
It seems to be a requiring theme that I consistently don't get out on the bike until the hottest part of the day. It's not that I sleep in super late or anything but once I am up I eat a good breakfast then I let it digest and watch some tube and then what do you know it is 11am and the sun is blazin. Anywho I deal with it and head out anyway.
Today I ran some errands before I got on the bike which included going to the bike shop to get the rear mountain bike tire set up tubeless again. Joey the guy who always works on my bike for the most part was struggling with getting the tire to bead and once he did it turns out when I got the flat in the race last weekend I actually put a hole in the sidewall. The tire started to shoot the sealant out the side and guess what.... time for a new tire. I am realizing what happens when you really start to ride a lot. Good thing I have a new car and don't drive much cause my mountain bike is requiring more maintenance than a car haha! The good part though is I have worked my way into getting discounts everytime I buy something and get some free maintenance. They are good at taking care of there customers and I give them my loyal business. Win Win if you ask me and they understand that as well as I.
Anyway once I got back it was time to head out on the road bike for a few hours. I decided it was time to start climbing the canyons again. So I did non other than head to one of the steepest climbs around. Magnolia Road is stupid steep up off of Boulder Canyon. It is a calm uphill all the way to the start of the road and then it just goes up and up with gnarly switchbacks and steep straight aways for a couple miles. Then it chills out for a minute before it decides it wants to kick your ass again. So after I worked my way to "where the sidewalk ends" aka the road goes to dirt I turned and headed down. Did I stop with just that climb... no that's to easy even though I put some serious energy into the pedals. I got to the bottom of the road took a left heading west up the road about 500 yards and made a right to head up to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain.
Sugar Loaf starts out pretty mild but then towards the top completely works you. I made it to the summit dropped over the other side and was going to head down to "where the sidewalk ends" however, when I made it around a corner I remembered there was a steep downhill which I would have to come back up and decided better of it because I was almost out of water and would have probably been pushing the outer limits to make it back without completely working myself. So I turned her around and headed back to the apt. It was a killer hot day on the bike but the workout was great.
I was using the phrase "where the sidewalk ends" because that is the name of one of the rides around here that the pros do. It inlcudes riding Magnolia Road until the road turns to dirt... Sugar Loaf till the road turns to dirt, and lastly Super Flagstaff until the road turns to dirt. I forget the total mileage but the climbing adds up to about 8000ft. I was pretty happy that I virtually completed 2/3 of the ride. However, there was a lot left in reality because Super Flagstaff is a brutal final climb. I have done all of them seperately but just starting to piece all of them together.
Alright time to relax hydrate more and probably have a tasty beverage in the sun to reverse the hydration haha!
Happy Father Day again Dad since I talked to you earlier! Only a week till the Fam is together in Florida!
Today I ran some errands before I got on the bike which included going to the bike shop to get the rear mountain bike tire set up tubeless again. Joey the guy who always works on my bike for the most part was struggling with getting the tire to bead and once he did it turns out when I got the flat in the race last weekend I actually put a hole in the sidewall. The tire started to shoot the sealant out the side and guess what.... time for a new tire. I am realizing what happens when you really start to ride a lot. Good thing I have a new car and don't drive much cause my mountain bike is requiring more maintenance than a car haha! The good part though is I have worked my way into getting discounts everytime I buy something and get some free maintenance. They are good at taking care of there customers and I give them my loyal business. Win Win if you ask me and they understand that as well as I.
Anyway once I got back it was time to head out on the road bike for a few hours. I decided it was time to start climbing the canyons again. So I did non other than head to one of the steepest climbs around. Magnolia Road is stupid steep up off of Boulder Canyon. It is a calm uphill all the way to the start of the road and then it just goes up and up with gnarly switchbacks and steep straight aways for a couple miles. Then it chills out for a minute before it decides it wants to kick your ass again. So after I worked my way to "where the sidewalk ends" aka the road goes to dirt I turned and headed down. Did I stop with just that climb... no that's to easy even though I put some serious energy into the pedals. I got to the bottom of the road took a left heading west up the road about 500 yards and made a right to head up to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain.
Sugar Loaf starts out pretty mild but then towards the top completely works you. I made it to the summit dropped over the other side and was going to head down to "where the sidewalk ends" however, when I made it around a corner I remembered there was a steep downhill which I would have to come back up and decided better of it because I was almost out of water and would have probably been pushing the outer limits to make it back without completely working myself. So I turned her around and headed back to the apt. It was a killer hot day on the bike but the workout was great.
I was using the phrase "where the sidewalk ends" because that is the name of one of the rides around here that the pros do. It inlcudes riding Magnolia Road until the road turns to dirt... Sugar Loaf till the road turns to dirt, and lastly Super Flagstaff until the road turns to dirt. I forget the total mileage but the climbing adds up to about 8000ft. I was pretty happy that I virtually completed 2/3 of the ride. However, there was a lot left in reality because Super Flagstaff is a brutal final climb. I have done all of them seperately but just starting to piece all of them together.
Alright time to relax hydrate more and probably have a tasty beverage in the sun to reverse the hydration haha!
Happy Father Day again Dad since I talked to you earlier! Only a week till the Fam is together in Florida!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Gunnison Original Growler
Alright so I spose it is time I write about the race I rode on Sunday down in Gunnison Colorado. I took off Saturday afternoon and made the 4.5 hour drive down past the Collegiate Peaks, over Monarch Pass, and into Gunnison. I got into town signed up for the race and headed out to Hartman Rocks where the race was to camp on BLM land. It was quite windy but I got the tent set up and braced down with rocks and settled in.
I had to be up at 5 and get things around so I could get warmed up and ready for the race which started at 7am sharp. I awoke to cloudy skies and some wind. It was pretty cold in the low 40s and the threat of rain that came out of no where. As I was getting the bike ready it started to sprinkle and I thought oh hell what did I get myself into now. However, as we started the sprinkles subsided and the sun burned through about 30 minutes to a hour into the race.
The course stared with a steep uphill on one of the dirt roads for about 2-3 miles then we hit some awesome single track. After that it was back onto a ridiculous climb called Top of the World. More downhill single track after that and then more climbing. This repeated itself quite a bit and I was just concentrating on pacing myself and not getting carried away. The big dawgs were long gone and I was settling in nicely. I let quite a few people by and ended up catching most of them later in the race and most of them were actually only signed up for 1 lap. As I reached the half way point on the first lap I was feeling a bit tight but the legs were starting to loosin up. The later part of the first lap took a toll on me as there were some steep loose sections where you had to push the bike up, though I am sure there were some people who were able to make it up without a problem.
After coming down the last downhill and back to the parking lot I was pretty wasted. However, I was set on going out for my second lap no matter what because I signed up for it and I was going to finish it if I had to crawl back. I talked to a kid from Telluride who was kind enough to ask me if I needed anything and we chatted a bit. He said he thought about taking another lap but thought better of it. Tons of people were talking about how hard the first lap was and they couldn't imagine doing another. I didn't let that discourage me though and the kind fellow from Telluride wished me luck and I was off.
The first climb killed me but I maintained a steady pace and got it done. The first part of the second lap was going pretty well as I was riding with another guy and we were working together quite well until about 14 miles in when I got a flat tire and lost pace. This is where the bad news set in. I was getting the tire changed without to many problems and a guy by the name of Brad stopped and asked me if everything was good and I said yup no worries. He continued on and I was left there to change my tire. Turns out my CO2 pump broke and I had no way to get enough air in my tire so that I could ride it. This led me to start the 3 mile trek to the half way point aide station where I hoped I could get some help with air for my tire. About 2 miles into the walk completely exhausted Dave the event coordinator caught up to me as he was sweeping the course and asked what was up since he saw my foot prints and new I had been walking for a while. I told him what had gone on and he hooked me up with some air and asked me if I wanted to finish. I said "Hell yes" but if I get another flat I am screwed. He said no problem cause I will be behind you a ways picking up markers so keep on trucking. I gladly did cause quiting just isn't in my blood.
I ended up catching up to Brad about another 5 miles down trail as he got a flat as well. We rode the last 14 miles together completely exhausted. By the time we got to the line between 9 and 9.5 hours after the start Brad's two friends were there to cheer us to the finish. I was completely happy even in last position that I had finished the race. I would have finished in about 8 hours if I didn't have the mechanical issues but that's alright. I saw quite a few people out there who didn't get to finish because of things like broken derailleurs and even broke swingarms on frames. One of Brad's friends was one of the unlucky ones who broke their rear derailleur.
Even though I was trashed I made the drive home. After a shower my head hit the pillow and I was out for the night. I woke up yesterday with not much soreness but quite a bit of fatigue. It's a good sign to not have any soreness so I just need to keep riding. After two days of and getting all my stuff down around here I will be back on the bike tomorrow.
Off to Florida in a week and half so I need to get some good riding in and then take some good recovery during the vacation with the family and maybe a few runs just to maintain muscle strength.
We are going to have two reasons to celebrate in Florida. It is my parent's 30th Anniversary and I got news that my sister Leslie is getting married to her boyfriend now fiance Ryan. Congratulations to them and can't wait to see everyone in Florida!
Cheers!
B
I had to be up at 5 and get things around so I could get warmed up and ready for the race which started at 7am sharp. I awoke to cloudy skies and some wind. It was pretty cold in the low 40s and the threat of rain that came out of no where. As I was getting the bike ready it started to sprinkle and I thought oh hell what did I get myself into now. However, as we started the sprinkles subsided and the sun burned through about 30 minutes to a hour into the race.
The course stared with a steep uphill on one of the dirt roads for about 2-3 miles then we hit some awesome single track. After that it was back onto a ridiculous climb called Top of the World. More downhill single track after that and then more climbing. This repeated itself quite a bit and I was just concentrating on pacing myself and not getting carried away. The big dawgs were long gone and I was settling in nicely. I let quite a few people by and ended up catching most of them later in the race and most of them were actually only signed up for 1 lap. As I reached the half way point on the first lap I was feeling a bit tight but the legs were starting to loosin up. The later part of the first lap took a toll on me as there were some steep loose sections where you had to push the bike up, though I am sure there were some people who were able to make it up without a problem.
After coming down the last downhill and back to the parking lot I was pretty wasted. However, I was set on going out for my second lap no matter what because I signed up for it and I was going to finish it if I had to crawl back. I talked to a kid from Telluride who was kind enough to ask me if I needed anything and we chatted a bit. He said he thought about taking another lap but thought better of it. Tons of people were talking about how hard the first lap was and they couldn't imagine doing another. I didn't let that discourage me though and the kind fellow from Telluride wished me luck and I was off.
The first climb killed me but I maintained a steady pace and got it done. The first part of the second lap was going pretty well as I was riding with another guy and we were working together quite well until about 14 miles in when I got a flat tire and lost pace. This is where the bad news set in. I was getting the tire changed without to many problems and a guy by the name of Brad stopped and asked me if everything was good and I said yup no worries. He continued on and I was left there to change my tire. Turns out my CO2 pump broke and I had no way to get enough air in my tire so that I could ride it. This led me to start the 3 mile trek to the half way point aide station where I hoped I could get some help with air for my tire. About 2 miles into the walk completely exhausted Dave the event coordinator caught up to me as he was sweeping the course and asked what was up since he saw my foot prints and new I had been walking for a while. I told him what had gone on and he hooked me up with some air and asked me if I wanted to finish. I said "Hell yes" but if I get another flat I am screwed. He said no problem cause I will be behind you a ways picking up markers so keep on trucking. I gladly did cause quiting just isn't in my blood.
I ended up catching up to Brad about another 5 miles down trail as he got a flat as well. We rode the last 14 miles together completely exhausted. By the time we got to the line between 9 and 9.5 hours after the start Brad's two friends were there to cheer us to the finish. I was completely happy even in last position that I had finished the race. I would have finished in about 8 hours if I didn't have the mechanical issues but that's alright. I saw quite a few people out there who didn't get to finish because of things like broken derailleurs and even broke swingarms on frames. One of Brad's friends was one of the unlucky ones who broke their rear derailleur.
Even though I was trashed I made the drive home. After a shower my head hit the pillow and I was out for the night. I woke up yesterday with not much soreness but quite a bit of fatigue. It's a good sign to not have any soreness so I just need to keep riding. After two days of and getting all my stuff down around here I will be back on the bike tomorrow.
Off to Florida in a week and half so I need to get some good riding in and then take some good recovery during the vacation with the family and maybe a few runs just to maintain muscle strength.
We are going to have two reasons to celebrate in Florida. It is my parent's 30th Anniversary and I got news that my sister Leslie is getting married to her boyfriend now fiance Ryan. Congratulations to them and can't wait to see everyone in Florida!
Cheers!
B
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Destroyed...
Well the Growler lived up to it's name, many people spoke of how hard it was. I got destroyed and finished last due to some mechanicals however I was able to finish the race which was my ultimate goal. I'll post more tomorrow.. right now I need a shower and sleep... and sorry but I didn't get any pictures... I was there to ride and that was all I could concentrate on.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Decision made...
To ride the Gunnison Original Growler 64 mile mountain bike race this weekend (www.gunnisontrails.com/joomla) for those of you who want to read a bit about it. I talked with Greg tonight and though he won't be going to the race with me as of now because he has his daughter this weekend I have made the decision to ride it. He was saying he wished he didn't tell me about it so then he wouldn't have to be jealous of me hahaha! However, he gave me some wise words of wisdom from his experience in training for rides and told me not to blow it up this weekend and just continue to slow and steady get ready for the Breckenridge 100. I will definitely just be riding the race for a good training ride and enjoying a new area of riding.
Work has been busy with getting the month closed and walking our Senior Accountant through the process again. In the morning Patrick and I will be going over the monthly variances getting ready for a meeting with our CFO mid morning. Then I get to start learning some more new tasks with our Forecast 2 being due next week to our parent company Dassault Systemes. As Vesa is getting settled in Patrick is getting ready to pass more duties onto me which I am excited about. I still struggle with passing things on to Vesa but when I am forced to it makes it easier as more things come my way.
The rain is supposed to subside tomorrow so I will probably get a small ride in depending on what time I get out of the office. I am also planning on going to my local bike shop (The Trek Store) since Bob Roll and Gary Fisher will be there for a talk after hours from 7-10pm. Bob Roll is one of the announcers for VS. on Cyclism Sundays and also during coverage of the Tour De France. He has also ridden the Tour. As for Gary Fisher, he is one of the mountain bike pioneers and has his own line of bikes called Gary Fisher. Should be a good time.
Saturday I might go for a short ride here in the morning but then I plan to head down to Gunnison and get registered and set up camp. I will also check out where the course starts at 7am on Sunday. Probably take it easy for the rest of the afternoon hanging out either in town or at the campsite. I'll hopefully get some pictures and have a good report on Monday or Tuesday about how things week.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Work has been busy with getting the month closed and walking our Senior Accountant through the process again. In the morning Patrick and I will be going over the monthly variances getting ready for a meeting with our CFO mid morning. Then I get to start learning some more new tasks with our Forecast 2 being due next week to our parent company Dassault Systemes. As Vesa is getting settled in Patrick is getting ready to pass more duties onto me which I am excited about. I still struggle with passing things on to Vesa but when I am forced to it makes it easier as more things come my way.
The rain is supposed to subside tomorrow so I will probably get a small ride in depending on what time I get out of the office. I am also planning on going to my local bike shop (The Trek Store) since Bob Roll and Gary Fisher will be there for a talk after hours from 7-10pm. Bob Roll is one of the announcers for VS. on Cyclism Sundays and also during coverage of the Tour De France. He has also ridden the Tour. As for Gary Fisher, he is one of the mountain bike pioneers and has his own line of bikes called Gary Fisher. Should be a good time.
Saturday I might go for a short ride here in the morning but then I plan to head down to Gunnison and get registered and set up camp. I will also check out where the course starts at 7am on Sunday. Probably take it easy for the rest of the afternoon hanging out either in town or at the campsite. I'll hopefully get some pictures and have a good report on Monday or Tuesday about how things week.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Youngans
I was at work yesterday when I received a call. The name didn't come up so it wasn't a number that I had. It turned out to be little Neil Kauffman. He and his buddies are on a rock climbing trip and Neil is headed out to California to work for the summer in the High Serrias next Monday. They have been climbing in Wyoming and are now in the Boulder area to continue doing some climbing. Looks like rain for the next couple of days so they might be out of luck at least for a day or two.
I met up with Neil and 3 of his friends for dinner and some beers on Pearl Street and we caught up on old times. It's good to see him and he gave me some further updates on Joel as well. I offered them a place to shack up so I have 4 guys in my living room 2 on the couch and 2 on the floor, makes it pretty tight around here but glad I could do it.
Alright I have to get to work... kinda busy this week and next. Perhaps some updates on Neil's stay later.
I met up with Neil and 3 of his friends for dinner and some beers on Pearl Street and we caught up on old times. It's good to see him and he gave me some further updates on Joel as well. I offered them a place to shack up so I have 4 guys in my living room 2 on the couch and 2 on the floor, makes it pretty tight around here but glad I could do it.
Alright I have to get to work... kinda busy this week and next. Perhaps some updates on Neil's stay later.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Decisions
Today I had a great ride into work with a beautiful sunny morning in the 60s. The ride on the trails was peaceful and couldn't have been much better. I know the legs are improving because I had fatigue in them but was still able to ride on.
I was about to head out of the office for the ride home when I got an email from Greg the guy from work I occasionally ride with. He sent me a link to a 64 mile race this weekend in Gunnison down by Crested Butte in south central Colorado. The race is two laps on a course with about 4,000 ft of climbing each lap. It would be a great chance to see how the legs are doing and do some great training. I was going to head to Steamboat to get some big days in on Emerald Mountain with friends but I am contemplating the race for sure. I think I will wait to hear back from Greg to see if he wants to do it or not. It's only $25 to enter and all the money goes to the trails in that area where they have proposed to build a trail from Gunnison to Crested Butte which would be awesome! Anywho hopefully I'll get an answer from Greg tomorrow. I'll keep you updated.
Washed the bike when I got home tonight and it is ready for another ride into work tomorrow. Time to head to bed though. I have to leave at 6am to get to work and get a shower and what not and I am dog tired from staying up to late last night and riding in. Tonight I'll get some good rest though.
I was about to head out of the office for the ride home when I got an email from Greg the guy from work I occasionally ride with. He sent me a link to a 64 mile race this weekend in Gunnison down by Crested Butte in south central Colorado. The race is two laps on a course with about 4,000 ft of climbing each lap. It would be a great chance to see how the legs are doing and do some great training. I was going to head to Steamboat to get some big days in on Emerald Mountain with friends but I am contemplating the race for sure. I think I will wait to hear back from Greg to see if he wants to do it or not. It's only $25 to enter and all the money goes to the trails in that area where they have proposed to build a trail from Gunnison to Crested Butte which would be awesome! Anywho hopefully I'll get an answer from Greg tomorrow. I'll keep you updated.
Washed the bike when I got home tonight and it is ready for another ride into work tomorrow. Time to head to bed though. I have to leave at 6am to get to work and get a shower and what not and I am dog tired from staying up to late last night and riding in. Tonight I'll get some good rest though.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Critters
I keep forgetting to post something my Mom will be glad to know about. In the 2 years I have lived out here I have yet to see any critters (snakes) on the trails. This year I have seen 3 already. I saw one about 2 weeks ago and then on my ride on last Thursday I saw 2 of them on the same ride. I would rather do without!
Anywho I had another great weekend. I was going to go up to Ft. Collins with Leia to see Justin Sindelar however he didn't get ahold of me until Saturday afternoon when I was out on my long mountain bike ride and by then I had bought tickets to a concert here in Boulder for that night. So on Friday Leia went up to Ft. Collins anyway since she works half days on Fridays and then she stopped by here on her way back and we went out for some Pizza down on Pearl Street. It has been great to hang out with her more often lately.
Saturday Alexis and I got up and went to the farmers market and then I put in a great day on the bike. I climbed Flagstaff up to the Walker Ranch Trail. The Climb is about 10 miles and 2,000 ft on the road and then 8 miles on single track with one section that you have to hike a bike up steps for I don't know maybe 200ft up.... BRUTAL... especially since I wanted to stay in front these two hikers that I had passed right before it, which meant no stopping... I bonked for a bit after that but was able to recover after climbing the trail on the bike a ways to get ahead and eat some food and drink some fluids. It was pretty hot out but ended up being a great ride. In the evening I got cleaned up and Alexis and I went to see what turned out to be a PHENOMENAL show at the Boulder Theater. We went to see Paper Bird a local Americana/Folk/Ragtime/Jazz type sextet with 3 amazing women singers and 3 guys who play Banjo, Trombone, and Guitar. THEY WERE AMAZING! All of which are between the ages of 19-24. You all should check out their myspace page and give a listen. The link won't work so copy this into the address bar http://www.myspace.com/paperthebird On top of that their opening act Laura Goldhamer was amazing as well. She has some super creative animation slide shows that go with her songs and she was so into it! Definitely a good show!
Today I went to Hall Ranch and did 3 laps up on the loop of the trail. It was a bit cooler but I was still feeling the fatigue of yesterday and I desperately need to go to the grocery store so I can load myself up on all the calories possible. I did do that tonight as well. I am going to start riding into work on the mountain bike as long as the weather stays nice which the forecast looks freakin amazing with 80s early in the week and 70s later in the week with nothing but sunshine though there is always a chance for rain in the after noons around here. Although that is what the bus pass is for if it does rain. I should be able to put in about 40 miles a day on the bike by doing so, so that should continue to progress my legs.
Alright everyone have a great week!
Anywho I had another great weekend. I was going to go up to Ft. Collins with Leia to see Justin Sindelar however he didn't get ahold of me until Saturday afternoon when I was out on my long mountain bike ride and by then I had bought tickets to a concert here in Boulder for that night. So on Friday Leia went up to Ft. Collins anyway since she works half days on Fridays and then she stopped by here on her way back and we went out for some Pizza down on Pearl Street. It has been great to hang out with her more often lately.
Saturday Alexis and I got up and went to the farmers market and then I put in a great day on the bike. I climbed Flagstaff up to the Walker Ranch Trail. The Climb is about 10 miles and 2,000 ft on the road and then 8 miles on single track with one section that you have to hike a bike up steps for I don't know maybe 200ft up.... BRUTAL... especially since I wanted to stay in front these two hikers that I had passed right before it, which meant no stopping... I bonked for a bit after that but was able to recover after climbing the trail on the bike a ways to get ahead and eat some food and drink some fluids. It was pretty hot out but ended up being a great ride. In the evening I got cleaned up and Alexis and I went to see what turned out to be a PHENOMENAL show at the Boulder Theater. We went to see Paper Bird a local Americana/Folk/Ragtime/Jazz type sextet with 3 amazing women singers and 3 guys who play Banjo, Trombone, and Guitar. THEY WERE AMAZING! All of which are between the ages of 19-24. You all should check out their myspace page and give a listen. The link won't work so copy this into the address bar http://www.myspace.com/paperthebird On top of that their opening act Laura Goldhamer was amazing as well. She has some super creative animation slide shows that go with her songs and she was so into it! Definitely a good show!
Today I went to Hall Ranch and did 3 laps up on the loop of the trail. It was a bit cooler but I was still feeling the fatigue of yesterday and I desperately need to go to the grocery store so I can load myself up on all the calories possible. I did do that tonight as well. I am going to start riding into work on the mountain bike as long as the weather stays nice which the forecast looks freakin amazing with 80s early in the week and 70s later in the week with nothing but sunshine though there is always a chance for rain in the after noons around here. Although that is what the bus pass is for if it does rain. I should be able to put in about 40 miles a day on the bike by doing so, so that should continue to progress my legs.
Alright everyone have a great week!
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