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!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, May 26, 2008
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!
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!
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