Ouch

It has been a pretty good week since we got past the rain. Yesterday I rode the bus into work and then rode the mountain bike home. I was thinking to myself how awesome it is that I can ride my bike home on a route that is half road and half single track mountain biking through nothing but open space to and from work! It's pretty badass I won't lie.

So tonight I headed out to White Ranch after work which is down towards Golden. This place is packed with gnarly downhill and some ridiculously steep and tough climbs with obstacles. The main climb I did is called Belcher Hill and it is brutal! Steep grades and in some spots there is loose rock which makes it horrible to climb. I made it through the climb and took some serious punishment but it is time that I turn up the heat on training. I am already behind so I will be going hard to make up for lost time. Anywho I took a route after Belcher Hill that requires some hike a bike unless you are a freak of nature and can climb some ridiculous stuff(which the freaks do exsist out here and it is awesome to watch). I made it through all the hike a bike and it was time for a route called Longhorn. This is definitely a steep and technical downhill with little jumps lots of rocks, logs, tight single track, and 90 degree turns. As I was coming down one of these 90 degree turns I didn't get myself squared up and just below there was a 3 to 4 ft steep drop which was super tight between two rocks. I went into the groove fine but then as my rear tire came down I was almost vertical and my handle bars got wrenched and I went ass over tea kettle into a superman belly flop face first onto the trail where a rock was awaiting my chest to slamp into it. It was quite pleasant let me tell you. Oh well just another battle wound.

Alright I am exhausted and its about time to head to bed. Glad its Friday tomorrow.

Now that's OLD SCHOOL

I had a fabulous weekend! My good friend Jennifer White (now Galardi) came out to Denver with her husband for a visit. Andy's brothers both live out here so Jen was able to kill to birds with one stone visiting Andy's family and seeming some old friends. I thought I was just going to meet her in Denver but turns out they all came up to hike in Boulder a couple of days. So I met up with them on Friday after they hiked and hung out in Boulder for a while. Later that night we planned to meet up in Denver as well where Leia Watkins was going to meet up with us. I know both Jen and Leia from high school and it is always great to see both of them.

Friday night I took the bus down to Denver where Leia picked me up since she lives super close and we went back to her place. She has a killer studio apartment right near Coors Field where the Rockies play not to mention it is super close to Market Street where a lot of the bars are. A couple of Leia's friend met us at her apartment as well and we headed out to meet up with Jen, Andy, and his brothers. We all met up and had a great time at a couple of different bars. I paced myself because I wanted to head home on Saturday for a bit and get a ride in since I got my mountain bike back on Friday night before I headed down to Denver. We had a great time and everyone had a lot of fun. Jen, Andy and his brothers all took off before the bar closed but I shut down the bar with Leia and her friends and then we headed out to go back to Leia's place. Leia got pretty loaded and was absolutely comical! She is way fun to be around. Our cab ride was freakin hilarious as well. The cab driver looked like Milton from Office Space and he had bongos in his cab. Not only did he allow us to play them he had one between his legs that he beat on every time we came to a stoplight, pretty freakin funny!

Anywho we stayed up till about 4am and then woke up at 8:30am and Leia, Riley, and I had to go get Riley's car since he parked it on the streets downtown and had to get it before he got ticketed. Leia, Riley, and I all then got breakfast before Leia dropped me off at the bus stop to head back and get a ride in. I ended up getting a 30 mile mountain bike ride in. It was awesome since the bike is now in tip top shape with the new shocks all dialed in! So glad I spent the money. Now it is time to recover from it and put some good miles in.

Leia had planned a barbecue Saturday evening at her place so after the ride I hopped the bus again and she willingly picked me up again. We had a great time at her place with some of her friends and also another long lost high school pal who was in town. Brock Delinski had flown in from Arizona to hang out with the lady he is seeing and he came over and hung out with us. It was great to see him and he is doing really well. We all continued to stuff our faces with great food and Leia once again got pretty tipsy. Turned out she didn't eat as much as the rest of us and also got in the hot tub with some of her friends and one of her friend's little boy to play around. This ended up back firing on her and by the time we went out at 11:30 Riley and I were not so up to it. Anywho Leia's friends Clay and Emily picked us up and we headed out. Leia was starting to not feel so hot and was on the verge of getting sick (mix of not enough food, no sleep, and too much alcohol accelerated by the hot tub). But she was the one who wanted to go out so we gave it a shot. THEN turns out we get to the bar and Leia forgot her ID. We ended up having to leave and head back. Some of us were not so disappointed. When we got back in the car to head to Leia's place, turns out she couldn't handle the 3 minute car ride so Riley and I walked her home. It was a good walk home and kind of funny. Leia was apologizing over and over while Riley and I just tried to keep her upright. We made it back successfully got Leia in bed and Riley and I had another beer and ordered Dominos. Then we went to bed as well.

Sunday was a relaxing day for all of us... well kind of. We decided to hang out at Leia's apartment pool. This was where it got interesting. Turns out two minutes after Leia and I got out to the pool to bake in the sun a whole crew of good ol boys... and yes I mean HAPPY BOYS! showed up with their mixed drinks and techno music. It was pretty crazy to see! There was a whole side of the pool just watching like WTF and the other side was all of them partying without a worry in the world. This went on for several hours. Leia, a few of her friends, and I just sat out and enjoyed the sun even though the craziness was going on in the corner. Her leasing agents actually had to come out and tell the wild ones to tone it down a couple of time. Once I got fried like a lobster and the clouds rolled in Leia, Riley, and I went into the complex and rented out the theater to watch a couple movies. After all was said and done Leia dropped me off at the bus stop and I headed back to my own bed after two nights of sleeping on a therma rest on Leia's hardwood floors. Not complaining though I actually slept really well and it was great of her to have me down there. She showed me a great time and she has some great friends.

Today I woke up after a great nights rest hoping to get some good riding in staying away from the 54,000 people running the Bolder Boulder 10K. Turns out it rained most of the day so I just cleaned up the bikes and stayed inside. I did get some slicks for my old rims so that I can ride the mountain bike on the trainer as well as the road bike. I got in an hour ride tonight and felt pretty good. I also made some homemade noodles for dinner this week. Other than that it was a relaxing day.

I had an awesome weekend seeing old friends! I hope everyone else had a great weekend as well. To the three ladies who were hanging out in North Carolina this weekend I got your calls and texts. Glad you were having fun and I miss you girls too!

Plain and Simple

I want my mountain bike back... that's all I can say. Perhaps it is because I have put all this money into it and I want to ride it. I am struggling to get on the road bike though I still have been. Did a tough interval work out on it last night on the trainer since there was a threat of rain but I am just jonezin to get on the mountain bike. Hopefully I should have it back tomorrow night but I am supposed to go down to Denver to hang out with Jenny and Leia. I think I will probably take the bus down and then catch the bus back and ride on Saturday morning.

I'll then probably head back down to Denver Saturday afternoon depending on what Jen has plans to do but Leia is having a get together so I might go to that.

All for now... can't wait for the 3 day weekend even though it is going to be freakin nuts around here with the Bolder Boulder going on.

PS the Subaru survived it's first hail storm this afternoon. I heard it start coming down in my office and went out and watched the hail come down. Luckily the hail wasn't to big and it stayed somewhat warm so it didn't do any damage. Storm was over pretty quick but I guess north of here there was a pretty big tornado. Still a tornado watch until 8 pm. Back on the trainer again tonight... boring.. but has to be done.

DEAL

So I got the call from the bike shop today after they looked it over to make sure what needed to be done with the shocks. The front definitely needs to be rebuilt and have new seals put on it no big deal routine maintenance. As for the rear shock it's shot. I had already picked out the one I wanted from looking around on the internet. Joey the dude that works on my bike all the time said he would get it for me for $50 bucks off retail so I was STOKED!

It's definitely an upgrade from my old one and has a pretty cool technology. Versus completely locking out it has 3 settings. The first setting is full suspension where when you pedal and when you go over things the shock is completely open and absorbs everything but you also lose a lot of efficiency it is pretty much a downhill setting vs. a uphill pedaling setting. The second setting reduces some of the shock but still has some bob in it. The third setting which has all the technology, adjusts to when you are up attacking out of the saddle and completely locks up so you don't lose any efficiency through the drive train and wheels to move forward BUT it also absorbs bumps when you go over something. I rode this shock when I rode but buddy Greg's new Yeti he got. It's an awesome shock for sure. So I am pretty excited.

Here's a picture of the new addition.

If it breaks.... you have to fix it...

So going out for a mountain bike ride has pretty much become comical. Everytime I have gone out to ride since we were in Moab something has broke. I do consider myself lucky that nothing broke while I was in Moab though cause that would have really pissed me off.

Anywho today I went into the shop (where I am now known on a first name basis and get great treatment) to get my chain fixed. Ended up the reason the chain snapped was because my rear derailleur has pretty much taken a crap on me so that had to be replaced. Joey the guy who always hooks me up with advice and has worked on my bike endlessly fixed everything right up for me. I joked that they have seen way to much of me lately and he said he was sabotaging things on my bike to get me back in there to spend money. No not really he's a good cat and I have a general idea about bike parts I just can't fine tune them.

Anyway I go out for my ride this afternoon and end up putting about 40 miles in. However I lean down to lock my rear shock out for riding on the road back home and when I start pedaling I realize the bike is still bouncing a lot when I pedal which it shouldn't do with the lockout on. So I look down and yup the lock out is on and I am still bouncing. Then I realize there is fluid all over below the shock which explains why I am bouncing. Either I blew the seal (lets hope because it can be rebuilt) or I didn't catch it quick enough and it damaged the shock which means it needs to be replaced. Nothing I can do but get it worked on. So I'll be making another trip to the shop tomorrow and riding the road bike this week.

Ain't broke... don't fix it!

Well I tried to do some preventative maintenance on the mountain bike today that ended up shootin me right in the ass. I put a new chain on the bike because it was definitely time however it wasn't broken. Turns out it caused my derailleur to bounce around a bit so I took it into the shop to have them take a quick look. They took one more link out. However, when I took it out to ride again it was still doing about the same thing. I thought maybe it needed to break in a bit so I kept riding. I started to climb one of the hills in south Boulder and bam chain snapped! SHIT I'm 6 miles from home. So then I go into Mr. Fix it and find a way to get it to hold so I can nurse it home. Looks like I'll be makin a trip into the shop again in the morning. I guess when you start to ride a lot these things happen.

Anyway today was a beautiful day out here. Had to have been about mid 80s. I felt like myself again this morning and ran some errands on the bike including getting some parts. Then I worked on the bike for a while in the beautiful sunshine. So hot I was sweating just sitting there but it felt good to get outside after the last couple of days stayin inside the whole day.

Looks like I'll get out on the road bike tomorrow unless they can fix up the mountain bike pretty quick. Supposed to be glorious as well.

On another note I am watching Indian Jones The Last Crusade and I never realized it before but the opening seen is filmed in Arches National Park. They film near Park Avenue and Balanced Rock as well as a couple of other arches. I guess I never new before because I haven't watched it since I went to Arches. Pretty cool though!

Yuck

Well the last two days have not been fun. I went into work on Thursday not feeling so great. After a few trips to the bathroom I decided it was best I head home. I spent the rest of the morning at home between my bed curled up like a baby and the bathroom. This lasted for about 3 hours and I felt slightly better which didn't take much because I felt awful. My body was completely achy and things went downhill again. I kept trying to drink small amounts of water since I was getting completely dehydrated. I didn't think I had anything left in my body.

I woke up this morning feeling a little better but took another day off work since I was so worn out and not sure how the day was going to go. Today I have put down small amounts of food trying to build my body back up. I still have hot flashes and what not but I am hoping tomorrow turns in another good day. I am frustrated by having my body get that torn up because my endurance on the bikes has probably taken a real hit after the great weekend in Moab last week. Oh well though I will just have to take it easy and slowly work harder and harder.

Timmy leaves for Glacier tomorrow. I'm sure he will have a great time in our second home. Wish gas prices weren't so crazy so that I could go up this summer. Oh well I am sure I will find great things to do around here as usual.

Moab and Funk + New Roommate

So the extended weekend in Moab was awesome! Tim and I got into town and the campsite at about 12:30am on Saturday morning. We awoke to beautiful sunshine and cooked breakfast with Keith Gnar and Joe Love from who met us from Steamboat. They got us a killer campsite that was close to both of the trails we rode over the weekend.

After breakfast we woke up and decided we would hit the Slickrock Trail which is world renowned. As we headed out the weather was beautiful and we were all excited to get some good riding in. Not more than 15 to 20 minutes in we were hitting the up and downs of the trail on nothing but awesome sandstone. As Joe, Keith, and I cleared a section of downhill to steep uphill we all looked back as Tim was coming down. Tim attacked the section and hit a little rut which sent him flying superman style. He flew out of the saddle and slammed onto the slickrock. I thought he slammed his face but luckily he had only ripped his forearm, hip, and shin on the pedals. It was a brutal fall that tore him up real good but it was still lucky cause he didn't hurt his dome.

We killed the Slickrock Trail sessioning a rock half pipe and headed back to the campsite for lunch. We hung out for a while drinking beer and enjoying the sunshine before we headed back out to the slickrock practice loop for the evening. This is when we got the shots along the canyon where I did some track stands along the canyon wall and freaked the guys out. We did some other free riding and had a good time. We headed back started a fire and enjoyed dinner and beer.

Sunday morning we worked at getting Keith around which is never easy. We decided we would do the Porcupine Rim trail which was 5 miles of climbing... 8 for Joe and I who climbed the road from the campsite and nearly 10 miles of downhill which had amazing drops and cliff singletrack. Keith couldn't handle the climb so he had Tim shuttle him up to the trailhead and Tim sat out since he was pretty beat up from the day before. Keith, Joe, and I shredded the downhill and then road back into Moab along the Colorado River. Tim was supposed to pick us up but Keith forgot his cell phone and reception wasn't the greatest for Joe who had his phone. So we grabbed some food, beer, and margaritas downtown and then I rode the 6-7 mile climb back up to the campsite to get Tim and the car and pick Joe and Keith back up in town.

Monday we headed to Fruita to do some singletrack and meet up with Rob who was coming down from Steamboat as well. The weather was a bit shaky but we headed out for some good rides anyway. Not 10 minutes into the ride I blew out my front tire on a high speed turn. Since I started running tubeless it was a complete freaking mess with sealant everywhere. I told the guys to take off and finish the ride while I cleaned up the tire and rim and put a tube in. We did another ride after that which was awesome and then Tim and I headed out for home while the others stayed around for another night of camping and riding. It was a great trip.

So tonight Alexis and I headed out to see my buddy Luke's band play in Boulder. Luke is touring out of Madison, Wisconsin and it was great to see him play. Turned out Alexis and I along with Luke's brother Boone and his girlfriend were the only one's there to watch him play. It was all good though as we heard a lot of new songs and they had fun entertaining us. I plan to head down to Arvada to watch Luke again tomorrow night and hopefully some guys from work will go as well.

Alexis has moved in and Tim is in Vegas with his Mom visiting his brother who lives there but will be moving back to Washington soon. Tim leaves on Friday for Montana and then Alexis and I will offically be the roommates.

This weekend is supposed to be awesome so I hope to get back on the bike and tear it up all weekend. Then next weekend Jennifer Galardi aka Jennifer White will be coming out with her husband to Denver to stay with Andy's brother. I can't wait to see her since it has been like a year and half since I have seen her. I love that girl and it should be good to see her!

All for now. Talk soon.

B

Sneak Peak

Just a peak of the trip. I'll post all the photos to a site and give you the link in the next couple of days along with details. For now here's a couple of pictures

Death on the LEFT!


Joe Love riding the wall on the Slickrock Trail.


The crew on the Slickrock Trail with the Moab Valley below.

Slickrock and Sunshine!

Well we are hoping for good weather this weekend as Tim and I head out to Moab to meet up with Keith and a few of his buddies to do some bike riding! I have received the heads up on some good rides out in Moab from a my connection at work and I trust he has lead me to some of the best trails.

So far I have been out on a couple of rides on my new wheels and I am extremely happy with them. I am running a pretty big tire in the front at the moment so the bike doesn't climb as well but it is good training for when I run a smaller tire at the Breckenridge 100. I am still running a smaller tire in the rear to make up for some of the resistance up front and I like the feel of it thus far. The bigger tire in front makes cornering a breeze and I can trust it to hold my line a lot better than with a smaller tire.

I have to make it through the day tomorrow trying to make sure I get a few things completed before heading out for the 3 day weekend. Tomorrow will probably go a little something like this... I will get in around 6 am no one else will be in the office... I'll grab some coffee throw on the headphones, turn on Thugzone on iTunes Radio and rock out on completing some work for an auditor till about 8 am when people start to show up (quite a mental picture I know! HA)... I'll then grab a bagel (bagel Fridays at work) then throw the headphones back on and do a review of the variances of our expenses... meet up with Patrick and Vesa and make any changes we see needed. Hopefully then it will be about lunch time... grab some grub and do some queries for marketing and set up budget variance sheets... then... peace out! Hit the road for Moab and hopefully get in around midnight where Keith hopefully already has a campsite for us.

Alright hopefully some good stories and pictures later next week when I get back... until then!

Smoooooth!

I had a great weekend of riding this past weekend spending Saturday climbing Hwy 7 out of the foothills and up to the Peak to Peak Highway. The climb adds up to about 4000ft of climbing with some pretty steep grades along the way west of Jamestown. The total ride was about 54 miles and took about 3 hours and 40 minutes. I was definitely wasted after the ride and was in bed by 9pm with a pretty brutal headache. I woke up the next day and hit the road again with a 2 hour pretty intense ride out in the flats. Altogether it was a good weekend of riding in preparation for 3 days in Moab this coming weekend.

I also made a purchase to upgrade the mountain bike. I bought some new wheels and hubs which are oooooo so buttery smooth! It has made my bike even better and I am glad I made the purchase. Hey I was just stimulating the economy! HA! I also went tubeless with the new wheels which was kind of a tough decision. I have heard both good and bad about going this way but I decided it was a good time to give it a shot. If I have a good experience then good times. If not well I just go back to running tubes in my tires no big deal.

Anyway just pounding through the week and can't wait for this weekend.

Oh yeah and on a final note I am going to have a roommate for the summer after all. It will benefit with both Tim and I. He won't have to pay rent in two places and I won't have to pay all the bills. Our friend Alexis is going to take Tim's spot for the summer. Shouldn't really change anything. She will be in classes all summer and I will be workin and riding as much as possible. Sounds like a plan.