Rippin w/ the Rowell's PART 1

This weekend was FANTASTIC!!! I spent the weekend "Rippin w/ the Rowell's!" Below AJ, Heather, and myself Saturday morning under Colorado Blue Skies!



The good times started when I picked up AJ's Parents from the airport Wednesday night after work and we made our way up to Breckenridge. They were supposed to fly in the night before with AJ & Heather however Jim (AJ's Dad) had a kidney stone episode and was not able to make it onto the plane as planned. Horrible timing. However, his symptoms soon passed and Jim & Rena were able to catch a flight the next morning and catch a ride up with me. We had some good conversation and clear roads getting up to Breck around 9-9:30 and then went out for a Mexican dinner.

After dinner we stayed up chatting back at the condo waiting for Jennifer (our hostess) and her family to arrive from Houston. The bunch showed up around 11-11:30. At that time we met Sam, Jennifer's husband a Louisiana fellow who was in the Navy, Jacklyn, their 9 year old daughter and actress extraordinaire, Nathan their 8 year old question asking extraordinaire, and Abraham, their 4 year old who is much wiser than his size!

Everyone was pretty whipped so we headed to bed and woke up to gray skies however it was snowing which was great to see since there has not been much snow out this way on I70 until the last 2 weeks! Mother nature seemed to know everyone was showing up and looking for some good snow to rip! Jim, AJ, Heather, and I all headed out to the slopes and rode away the morning listening to the bombs go off on the higher slopes above the tree line. With the snow falling and the bombs going off we never made it over to the higher slopes as they kept most of it closed which was fine by me because that meant it would all be prime real estate for Friday morning or afternoon.

We all were pretty hungry from the breakfast of champions that we had which was either PB & J's or PB & Nutella, so we headed in for lunch a bit prior to noon. Rena hadn't quite made it back from the store yet so we sat in the hall way with no key and stuffed our faces with a Pro Bar that I had and Peanut M&M's that Heather had in her pocket. Rena was back shortly after that to find us waiting in the hall and we refueled on sandwiches and chips. Rena looked out for getting us fed the whole weekend which was awesome! Kudos and thanks to her!

After lunch we headed back out to the slopes to more new snow and made some good runs. AJ, Heather, & Jim had plans later in the afternoon to teach Jacklyn, Nathan, and Abraham to ski as they had never been! We didn't really see the point of them getting lift tickets until they at least tried it once so after we were done on the big slopes in the afternoon we headed down to the teaching area which was unoccupied and pushed the little ones up and down the hill teaching them the basics.

The kids did absolutely amazing!! It was awesome to see their excitement and how quick they picked it up. They were excited to hit the bigger slopes the next day! I'll have some video posted of the youngin's learning once I stitch it all together!

Once we were done working with the kids it was time for dinner. We had veggie lasagna lined up for dinner along with SNOW CREAM! I am assuming most who read this don't know what snow cream is! I sure didn't! But I am glad I do now!

And I'll continue with that in the next post! Lost my horrible writing mojo at the moment!

TO BE CONTINUED!

Night fall from Sandy's Condo (Jennifer's Mom) She was kind enough to feed us all on Friday night. More to come.

Time Flies

Been a while again since the last post. I have sat down a couple of times to try and write a blog and have things to blog about but just haven't been in the mood. So alas without further adeu I blog.

In the last couple of weeks my summer race schedule has taken some turns mostly due to not making it into the Leadville 100 and remembering a wedding I will be attending in August. I was extremely bummed at first about not making it into Leadville but I once again remembered shortly there after there are a lot of other races out there that have a much better course so no worries. Though yes it is prestigious to race at such a high elevation for so long. I was going to do Pierre's Hole in Wyoming the week after Leadville since I didn't make it in there but I remembered I will be heading back east for Scott and Leia's wedding and of course seeing family since it will be where I grew up. So August is going to actually be more of a recovery month with a Winter Park Race or two instead of a big race which is probably more of what I can handle anyway! End of July I have the Laramie Enduro if I register in time and then a month later will be the Park City Point to Point with a bunch of the guys from my team so that will be a great setup.

Another change to the schedule will be in July. I am going to race the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge on July 4th as the Team is being so kind as to pick up my entry fee which is absolutely awesome and I can't thank them enough for the opportunity. I was contemplating doing the Breckenridge 100 since it got the best of me last year but I will do the Firecracker 50 instead as it is a new experience and the Team is supporting it.

In other news we have gotten up to snowboard a couple of times. Still not much snow but good times. Ellen, Tim, Amy, and I all went up and stayed at Carl and Angela's house in Eagle since Stephanie came into town (Angela is Stephanie's sister). We all had a good time hanging out, eating breakfast and riding at Keystone.

Snowboarding at Keystone



I have also been able to get in more time on the trainer trying to rebuild myself and also been out for a few rides on the road bike outside. I rode for about 2-2.5 hours on Saturday with Greg which was a good time. He rode out from Louisville and I met him out on the road and we looped back around to his house and I then made my way back to Boulder. I had planned to stay out for 3 hours or so but the wind sapped my energy coming back into Boulder and I called it early feeling a bit drained. It was a great ride though.

Today I had probably the best ride yet. I was out for almost 3 hours enjoying the sunshine on the Superfly 100 mountain bike getting acquainted with my new saddle and trying to dial in my setup so I will be all ready to hit the trails if they ever dry off. Since the trails are wet I was out on a mix of road and dirt roads but it is perfect for trying to set up my position on the bike. I absolutely cannot wait to race this bike!!! This season is going to be an absolute blast!

Superfly 100 (Horsetooth Res in Ft. Collins)


Another item on the Trek Bicycle Store Team agenda is the team training camp which will be held out in Fruita on some of our favorite trails. We will spend a three day weekend out there in April getting to know the new members and enjoying great bike time with everyone. I can't wait!!

Lastly, my buddy Lincoln has set up plans to hike to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park (Moab, UT) on March 26 at 6am for his 30th birthday! My plan is definitely to attend as my birthday will be right around there as well. On top of that Rob might join me and we are going to turn it into a bike trip as well since for those of you who don't know Moab is a prime biking location. Rob hasn't rode out there since he has been living in Colorado so it is a must do. It will be great training for me as my first race inches closer May 8th.

Oh so beautiful Delicate Arch


All for now will try to update sooner. Work is going to be super busy this week and next then I am going to take a couple days off to ski with AJ, his sister, and his Dad who will be staying up in Breckenridge for 5 days! AJ's sister has a hook up in Houston, TX where she is living who has kindly allowed them to stay in there ski in ski out condo! Good times to be had!

Ellen made bomber crepes this weekend


PS I have added a link on the right to my Flickr account and You Tube page so you can see videos and pictures I have uploaded recently if you haven't seen them from Twitter or Facebook.

Race Season Update

I thought I would give everyone a bit of an update on what I am planning to do this year as far as mountain bike racing! Of course I am no where near ready for any type of racing but I hope to start consistent riding beginning next week. I say consistent because I have been riding BUT not very much making sure I don't over do it to soon.

I'll start off with our team kits of this year. Dave, one of the Owners of the Trek Bicycle Stores in Boulder and Louisville designed them with some input from the team members after a first run mock up. I am super excited about getting them. Dave and Brian the two owners of the Trek Bicycle Stores are pouring their heart and soles into racing this year sponsoring a mountain bike team, road team, and triathlon team! Thanks again guys for all your support. See my links at the right of the page if you want to know more about the Trek Bicycle Stores of Boulder & Louisville. So without further adue:

Trek Bicycle Store 2010 Race Kits


The first race on the list this year will be May 8th! I am returning to the 12 hours of Mesa Verde in Cortez, CO. I am already registered for this race (team name = Dukes of Dirt!) with my buddy Greg in the duo category. Last year I did this race solo but I thought it would be run to do as a team as well. Can't wait to ride the awesome trails in what is called Phil's World down in Southwest Colorado. There will be several other guys from the team there as well running the solo category.

Next on the race schedule Memorial Day weekend will be The Original Growler! (10 Trek Bicycle Store riders are racing including Dave one of the owners)


This is an awesome race in Gunnison, CO put on by none other than Dave Wiens, a mountain bike icon! This year the race sold out in less than a day! The field is limited to 250-300 riders and has gained a lot of recognition in what is now it's 3rd year. This race holds a special place in my heart as it was the first mountain bike race I ever did. I hope to improve my time greatly this year and I also hope the weather doesn't end up like it did last year! See picture below of me COLD, MUDDY, & WET!



The rest of the season stacks up maybe something like the following:

Jun 12 - Winter Park Hill Climb
June 26 - Winter Park Super Loop
Jul 10 - Winter Park Point to Point
Jul 17 - Silver Rush 50 Leadville, CO (Depending if I get into the Leadville 100)
Jul 31 - Laramie Enduro Laramie, WY
Aug 14 - Leadville 100 Leadville, CO (Lottery Notification Feb 8th)
Aug 14 - Winter Park Mary Jane Circuit (Backup for Leadville 100)
Aug 22 - Full Tilt MSC Telluride, CO
Aug 28 - Winter Park King of the Rockies
Aug ??? - Pierre's Hole 50/100 Grand Targhee Resort, WY
Sep 4 - Park City Point to Point - Park City, UT
Oct 9 - 24 Hours of Moab

Nothing set in stone yet but those are the major options as of now. I am looking forward to it! Hopefully some good video from these races as well! Stay tuned!

Happy Happy Boy!!

My iBook G4 slowed me down for the last time this morning! I have been contemplating a new MacBook for quite sometime now but haven't pulled the trigger. I was tired of not being able to watch video at full speed, watch Netflix online, or even run certain programs because my iBook didn't have an intel chip (basically it is just too old). I knew I wanted to get a Mac and not a PC even though PC's are far cheaper. However, in 5 years of using a Mac I never had any problems with it other than the one time that I blew the harddrive up which was totally my fault.

Everything about a Mac is better for home use in my mind. I play with pictures, music, now video with my new helmet cam, watch TV, and movies on it, I do everything on my computer and just believe it is a better way to go for me. Finally I must say I am stoked with it as I type from the new digs right now!

I also have to give a shout out to my Dad for contributing. I was just going to get a refurbished MacBook to save a little dough because I had heard people say they are pretty reliable but my Dad thought otherwise (due to previous experience with refurbished electronics) and just told me to get a new one. Thanks again for watching out Pops!

Looks like some snowboarding should be had this weekend. Not much new snow but there was some over the week so perhaps we can at least do a bit of riding. Other than that I will be trying to catch up on some work since my week has been filled with nothing but meetings it seems like and Ellen will be studying now that she is fully emerged in school.

PS watched XGames Super Pipe Qualifying tonight and Shaun White is on Lock!! The dude looks amazingly smooth and if he keeps this up he will be bringing the US home another gold medal! Scotty Lego (another Olympian for 2010) did not qualify which is very disappointing. Perhaps a bit of inexperience and nerves missing his last trick on both runs. Really wishing Kevin Pierce and Danny Davis didn't get hurt! Hope they are both on their way to recovery!

Ups and Downs of Recovery

Tea in hand, day two of rest, day two of core performance. As many of you have seen on Facebook or Twitter I got in a couple of good rides this weekend outside! Only problem was the ride on Sunday with my buddy Jon in combination with a late night celebrating Greg's birthday at the Avs Hockey Game left me worn out.

I took yesterday off other than starting my core performance work out which is only 30-45 minutes of core exercises. Today was a good day at work however I was still feeling pretty worn out when I got home so I just did my core workout again and decided another night of rest wouldn't hurt. I guess the driving winds Jon hand to pull me home in on Sunday wore me out big time. I am ok with resting though since I definitely don't want to over do it and delay myself even longer coming back. I'm just trying to listen to my body.

Not this past weekend but the weekend before Ellen and I stayed up at Keystone with Brendan and Abby as they had several friends from New York City come out to do some snowboarding. We had a great time with everyone and no one got hurt so that is a plus. There were definitely some humorous wrecks witnessed none of which were by me since I was just trying to stay upright with the pretty sketchy conditions. The New Yorkers loved being on the big mountains though and it was good to see them having a good time.

This past weekend Ellen and I finally saw Avatar in 3D. Overall, I was impressed, it was a good movie and it actually left me feeling like I was in a dreamland for a little bit afterwards. Maybe I was just tired who knows. Saturday I went for my first post sickness bike ride outside and Ellen studied all day now that she is back in school. We took it easy the rest of the night watching a movie and cooking dinner. Sunday we woke up to some howling winds which left me contemplating the days ride with Jon. Ellen took off for a run and came back saying it really wasn't to bad outside. Jon should up around 11 and we headed out. The first 1:45 min was not bad but the last 45 min was pretty much wind induced torture which led me to the need for rest I spoke about earlier. I bonked out for a little bit and Jon blocked the wind pulling me in. I was able to recover a somewhat and he bonked out so I took a pull on the front as well. Instead of heading right back to the apartment we took a short detour to Chipotle for a burrito and then it was just the 9th St. Hill back to the Apt to devour our burritos and call it a good day.

The weekend ended with the Avs Hockey game at the Pepsi Center for Greg's birthday. I was informed by Greg and Mary Beth at the game that they may be leaving us here on the Front Range. Mary Beth was offered back her position in Mt. Rainier National Park that she held this past summer and has not received to many job offers otherwise which makes for a hard decision. Greg works from home for a sister company of mine so relocating is not a big deal for him. However, I am definitely hoping they are able to stay around Colorado as they are two of the best people I know around here!

Ellen and I at the Avs Game


Just another day in paradise otherwise. Time for me to finish my tea and hit the sack. Hope everyone is well!

PS Helmet Cam is mounted for the next trip snowboarding!

Sweet relief!

Yes Saturday morning was a fantastic time for me! I finally got back on the bike! Well sort of. I rode the trainer at a super easy pace for 50 minutes while Ellen was out running. I have truly never been so happy to be on the trainer. I was officially going crazy on the inside, and I'm guessing the outside as well if you asked Ellen.

Let's take a step back though. Last week as I posted on Monday was my first week back in the office in several weeks. We are currently going through our year end close so the week was busy and this next week will be as well. Getting out of the apartment was good for me and I think it helped progress the healing process. As the week went I was able to get back into my groove a little bit.

Wednesday night I picked up Ellen from the airport as she had flown back in from three weeks in California and Arizona. We got a snow storm that day as well so the roads were interesting getting back from the airport but nothing horrible. Mostly just the amazingly terrible Colorado drivers that always make things interesting.

I have been trying to keep my diet pretty healthy to aide in the recovery of the virus the best I can. In addition to adding a daily vitamin I have actually found a pretty good setup for my lunch at work. It involves the following:

Midmorning Snack
Banana or yogurt & fresh granola mid morning snack

Lunch
-Whole wheat pita or bread with turkey breast, green & red peppers, pepperjack cheese, & spinach, usually a bit of honey mustard as well (avocado occasionally as well)
-Carrots & Cucumbers
-Boulder Canyon Natural Foods "Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper" Potato Chips (AMAZING!)
-Some kind of cookie (I'm not that big of a stickler!)

Afternoon snack
-Apple or Pear usually but any fruit
-String cheese or Nuts (Raw Almonds & Walnuts)

I have also greatly cut back my caffeine intake. I was drinking way to much coffee in the mornings and I have started to drink caffeine free tea as a substitute. I do still love my coffee don't get me wrong but I have to put some kind of a limiter on it. Tea has been a fantastic solution.

So back on the topic of getting back on the bike. I must state that I am not doing any sort of hard ride at all. Just trying to get the legs spinning again and working on pedaling drills to make my pedal stroke more efficient and smooth. The ride on Saturday was fantastic! My heart rate was in the 130s for the whole ride and would occasionally go into the 140s during the pedaling drill intervals.

After our workouts Ellen and I went over to Abby and Brendan's to watch football. We ordered up some pizza and chilled out for the game. It was a super good time and a great way to spend the afternoon.

Today I rode the trainer for an hour with the same routine as Saturday and once again felt very good. I will continue this routine for several weeks and possible start to add in a core workout as well to rebuild my strength. My sanity just may come back yet!

Ellen went up snowboarding today with Abby and Brendan and they also met up with Tim and Amy for a short bit. It's a bummer to be missing out on the snowboarding however I am stoked to at least be making some kind of physical progress in getting back to normalcy.

All for now... sorry for the randomness. I wanted to write something tonight but my thought's aren't all together, DEAL WITH IT HAHA!

Back in the Office

Today was my first day back in the office after taking a week of sick time and then working from home for a week. My morning started out a little rough as half way to work I realized I forgot my wallet and phone. On any other day I would have said forget about it but I wanted to send out my gifts for my Mom & Dad that are well over due. That's another story. Anywho, I turned around went back and got them and the rest of the day turned out relatively smooth.

Tomorrow is a big day! Registration opens for the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde Mountain Bike Race which I am stoked to do again! The event takes place on May 8th down near the four corners west of Durango in Cortez, CO. Cortez is home to Osprey Backpacks for all you backpackers out there and some SWEET! single track. Not to mention Mesa Verde National Park is right there as well. Last year I told my buddy Greg I would like to do it as a Duo and he was much obliged to be my partner.

This is Greg... the old man! He calls this picture "Holding back the Vomit!"



Greg aka Fiona (as I call him) is a absolute hoot and it should be quite the riot racing with him! Normally people like to talk smack to the other teams and such but for some reason I have a feeling we will be talking smack to each other. I'll probably be yelling at him telling him to get his skirt out of the chain and who knows what he will have to say back it's always original and hilarious! The Trek Bicycle Store of Boulder Team should have a few other riders there as well who I will be cheering on and helping out in between switching off laps with Greg. I CAN'T WAIT!!