I've been

In a commercial for the Trek Bicycle Store Boulder/Louisville...



Racing....

Me, Greg, (Greg and I took 20th Male duo) Les (Les took 5th Place Solo Male)



(Chalk Creek Stampede Nathrop, CO)



working... no photo needed

and I am going racing again... The Original Growler is BACK, with 64 miles of single track and 8,000ft of climbing... let's hope the weather is better this year than last....

M.I.A.

Yup, been missing in action from the blog scene yet again. At least I have been busy. Work has been busy with the Q1 close and I have been trying to ride my bike more. This past weekend I was in Fruita and Grand Junction for a three day weekend for the Trek Bicycle Store Team Camp and now I am getting ready to have my Mom and sister Reagan in town.

I am still currently busy with work and trying to edit video from the team camp and give all due respect to all of the sponsors playing part in the team. I am trying to have the project done before the Mom and Reagan show up on Thursday night as well as cleaning up and getting my riding in. For now a few pictures from this weekend taken by my teammate Les and a trailer to the main feature video that will be ready hopefully tomorrow night or Thursday!

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOTHER "DOWNSTAIRS DONNA!"

Climbing


Ribbon trail aka the Moon Lunch Loops Grand Junction, CO


"Fast Eddy" one of the Team Mascots Les's Miniature Pincher that goes everywhere with him


Mary's Loop Loma, CO


Me Bullet Hole


Video Teaser

28

Yup I turned 28 today. The day went on as usual with work and lots of it trying to get some things done ahead of time to make the quarter close a little more smooth especially since my boss is out with his wife having their baby. I don't want him to have to worry about anything except getting the little guy home and cozy.

For the birthday dinner I headed over to Rob and Megans'. They are two great friends and always willing to have me over for dinner. Tim and Megan's sister were there as well and we had a nice little BBQ enjoying the warm weather that has been upon Boulder.

I considered my trip to Moab this past weekend the time to celebrate my birthday even though we actually got together with Lincoln and some other friends for Lincoln's birthday which was on March 26. He set up the trip to get us all together and we had a great time. The weather was a bit shady on Friday but we were able to get in a hike in the morning to Delicate Arch and then a hike in the evening after the rain had passed in Devil's Garden. There was lots of time spent around the camp fire along the Colorado River and a lot of good laughs and memories were passed around.

I also go in a couple of good bike rides with Tim which included Porcupine Rim in Moab and Horsethief and Mary's Loop in Loma. Some video of the rides to come as my stack of need to be edited video grows.

More updates later this week perhaps. But I need to get back on the bike. I have been feeling pretty worked for some reason and I am hoping I snap out of it soon. Might do a race on the singlespeed this weekend, we'll see what the weather has to say.

Happenings

Short and sweet may be my new theme because I can't seem to get myself to sit down and write blogs these days but perhaps I can try and work on that a little harder. I also need to get through the hours of video that I need to edit.... ugh but it will get done sometime.

Anyway, what have I been up to the last two weeks? Since the weather was nice I put in a huge ride last Saturday with the Trek Store Cycling team and some of the U23 Trek Livestrong professional cyclists. Ben King and Tim Roe a couple of Australians did the whole ride with us and they are awesome kids with amazing talent. Super fun to ride with till I fall of the back. Some of the guys on the team are able to keep up with them (since this is a recovery ride for them) the whole time but they are always super enough to wait for everyone to catch up and make sure we all make it back together. Makes for a lot of fun to ride with the group not to mention the great teammates I have!

Sunday Ellen and I went up to Keystone and the weather was horrible. Terribly windy and cold and the trip was short lived. We spent much more time in the car than on the mountain because they started metering traffic at the Eisenhower tunnel which made a 1.5 hour drive.... 3 hours... lame, but the way it goes.

I got in several rides at work this week and the weather was great... 60s and 70s. But then Friday Boulder was hit with a foot of snow (its almost gone again though since it warmed up Saturday and Sunday). Ellen and I headed up to Vail yesterday and the conditions were great and the weather was super sunny but freakin cold. It was about 4 degrees when we started the day. I was a grump all day because I didn't get much sleep getting up at 5 am to drive to Vail but Ellen was a sport and put up with me. I am just over snowboarding this year I am in biking mode for sure.

Today I put in 4 hours and 69 miles up around Carter Lake north of Boulder. Super good day and put down a really good pace by I was cooked with about an hour left in the ride and crawled my way home. I feel like I am getting stronger but I believe I still feel the affects of Mono with tiredness. My body just doesn't seem to be happy all the time. But I'll get there.

Thursday night I am heading out to Moab to do an early morning hike to Delicate Arch with Lincoln and some of his friends for his 30th Birthday. Delicate Arch is one of Lincoln's favorite places on earth having grown up in Salt Lake City which is reasonably close to Moab and Arches National Park. It truly is an amazing place and is an excellent place to spend a 30th Birthday. I am going to make a long weekend out of it and get in some big rides on Saturday and Sunday after spending Friday with everyone. After this weekends ride I will begin picking up the tempo on my training adding in much more climbing and more high intensity intervals. We'll see how the strength in the legs builds from there.

Hopefully the training goes well in April and May 8th the mountain bike season begins for me. There will be a team training camp in Fruita starting April 16th for a long weekend which I can't wait for! Then my mom and sister Reagan will be out visiting me which is good to look forward to as well!

All for now hopefully updates more often with how the training is going etc.

Rippin w/ the Rowell's PART 2

First off my apologies to all for taking so long to continue the story. Things have been a bit hectic and I haven't had the motivation to blog but without further adue!

And so the continued story begins. Before I get to where I left off with the snow cream I must mention something about the veggie lasagna. This was not your normal veggie lasagna by no means. This veggie lasagna was flown up from Whole Foods in Houston via checked baggage!! Yes, that is correct I said checked baggage! Jennifer actually packed it in a cooler and flew it up and it survived!! Nothing like veggie lasagna spiked with jet fuel as AJ put it! HAHA! Good stuff!

Alright so back to where I left you off last time with the marvelous snow cream!! Here are a couple pictures of Rena going through the process.





The process of snow cream started with Rena sending AJ and I outside with pots to fill up with real snow which had just fallin that day! There is a great quote that goes along with that as well. Prior to AJ and I going out we were talking about where we could find good snow that hadn't been stepped on yet. Jacklyn was saying how we could get it from off the deck and all she would need was "two parachutes and a zebra!" We all started laughing and she began to explain exactly how it would be done! She was also going to need a kangaroo so the zebra could get in the kangaroo's pouch and the kangaroo would jump back on the porch. It was a pretty witty story!

Snow cream consists of just a few ingredients. You mix the fresh snow with evaporated milk, milk, and vanilla extract! No lie it is absolutely delicious!

Friday morning was absolutely gorgeous with amazing Colorado Blue Skies! We had a delicious breakfast (I waited too long and now I forgot whether it was the morning of eggs & sausage or biscuits and gravy! Either way Friday and Saturday morning were great breakfasts thanks to Rena!) and Ski Patrol was still busy bombing the upper parts of the mountain so Jim, AJ, Heather, and myself got our legs under us and ripped some of the lower slopes for an hour or two and then noticed they opened Lift 6 and Imperial Lift which meant we could make our way to the fresh snow that had fallen in previous days! We were not disappointed by the conditions other than a bit of wind up on the top of Imperial. Even the old man Jim was enjoying the conditions in between gasps for air!

On our second trip up Imperial we went off the north side of Peak 8 which makes for one heck of a long run! AJ and I found a cornice to jump off of into the fresh snow and Jim and Heather made their way around to find an easier entrance into the bowl. Once we were all down in the bowl we were greeted with soft pillows of snow and great skiing! Heather cruised up to where I was and said "my little Texas legs are tired!" PS we were only half way down! HAHA! (some video to come if I can ever get around to editing it!)

After making our way down we headed back over to the condo for lunch. By this time Sam & Jennifer had taken the kids up on the free tow rope and got them warmed up to hit the slopes with Jim, Heather, and AJ for a few more lessons! This time there would be no pushing involved as we were going to take the lift up. Once again the kids absolutely amazed everyone and made their way down like they were seasoned professionals weaving their way through traffic and all! (also video of this to come)

Friday night we were so graciously hosted by Sandy, Jennifer's Mom. She had fabulous soup brought in from a local restaurant and we had a merry old time! Also at the shindig was another family who Jennifer's kids go to school with. There are a lot of families from Houston that have condos in Breckenridge. AJ and Heather even had a friend from back east who has lived the latter part of his life in Steamboat show up! He graced us with a few good jokes as well:

1. What is the difference between tele ski's and a vacuum?
2. What is the difference between a Ski Patroller and God?
3. There is a snowboarder wearing a suit in a car who's driving?
Answers at the end of the blog

Snow cream was also the dessert as there were others that night who had never had the tasty treat. This time brownies were included as well! Tough Duty!

The big kids aka AJ, Heather, Jennifer, and myself decided we would go out for a drink on the town since we hadn't gone out at all and it was Heather's big 3.0. birthday on Sunday! AJ, Heather, and I waited for Jennifer to get back from her Mom's tucking her kids in and Jennifer checked to see if Sam wanted to join us as well. He had been sleeping with Abraham and when she asked him if he wanted to go he responded with "you know I have been thinking about that and I can't, I'm too old for it, but you should try, you should go" HAHA! That isn't the exact quote but it is pretty close! Jennifer asked him about his response the next day and he couldn't really remember it so he was likely half asleep when he came up with it! So the four of us went on our way finding a good spot for a beer and a chat.

Saturday morning was the last day of riding and the weekend warriors were in full force. Jim, AJ, & Heather were greeted with the lines that I get to deal with vs. the luxury of week days when the crowds aren't around. We spent the day ripping fighting tired legs. Everyone was pretty tuckered out but we got it done.

The weekend ended with a trip down to a coffee shop for a snack and a pick me up before driving the Rowell's down to Denver for their early morning flight. The Rowell's and I gave our biggest thanks to Jennifer and her family and we headed out. We made the drive to Aurora and had dinner at Ted Montana's Grill and said our good bye's.... tear....

I have to say there is never a dull moment with the Rowell's and I enjoy every minute of time with them! Thanks again to the Touche's as well for their true hospitality and Rena for slaving in the kitchen for us!

I'll do my best to get the videos up this century!

1. Where you attach the Dirt Bag!
2. God doesn't think he's a Ski Patroller!
3. The Cops!

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.