Bike stoke at a all-time high

This is a real lame picture considering the rides I have had the last couple of weekends. This last Sunday I got to roll out with two good friends and enjoy hours on the road in the high country. With all of us having two kids this ride was nothing short of festivus miracle. The ride was highlighted on the descent watching a moose for a couple of moments.

I have felt so inspired riding the last couple of weeks and recognize that as a true gift. To be honest, I cherish this inspiration and try to honor it with the phrase "harden the F*@k up", while I ride in the hills. I have been working hard to get a little stronger this year and that quote has had a good place in my head.

The Pacer has been a fantastic rig for my Foothill adventures. I look forward to many more. Hope your rides have rolling smoothly.

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Saturday Ride

I am very excited about riding this weekend. The Pacer is ready to log some miles, I just hope my legs are ready to go. Looking for a long sustained ride with plenty of climbing. The weather forcast looks good, just need to prepare for a cold start and plan for the shedding of layers. Hope you get a chance to turn your crank this weekend.

Beautiful Day

Quick shot from Clear Creek in Golden. The bike comuting is picking up and have been able to get several days in the last couple of weeks. Slowly but surely increasing the distance. I am planning on bringing out the single speed this Saturday for mellow run. Hope you are able to enjoy a moment the sun.

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Big bike weekend

Wow. Big bike weekend at our house. My soon to be 4 year-old daughter Lucy is rolling on two wheels now. And she is fast and tough, putting multiple visits at the pain cave this weekend.

Also, Quinn got a new bike. A GF with gears, hand brakes, a front shock, and his favorite...a kick stand. He just can not figure out why I would not have one on my bike. I tried to explain that even though his cool factor goes up with a kick stand, mine goes down. He just thinks I am missing out. So a great weekend of riding with the kids and fun fixte run with the notorious one. Thanks.

Whole Ride

Took Saturday off from the board. Carey and I got a bike ride in this morning. We rolled to Whole Foods to pick-up some supplies for dinner. Nice and relaxed on the fixed gear. My legs felt good aftet yesterday's commute. Lungs felt good. I have been trying run at least one time a week at work. This has seems to have helped my cardio. Make sure you say "hi" to kids riding their bikes. Tell them they are cool with a sweet ride. Have a great weekend.

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Monarch & Salida

We had chance to get away for the weekend and chose Salida. Colorado is blessed with many awesome mountain towns, Salida is one our favorites. Nestled amongst 10 fourteen-ers and the Arkansas River, the historic downtown offers charm and hosts a very friendly crew of people. Good beers and good atmosphere were abound. Monarch ski resort also offerred a great taste of local flavor with many fun runs on the Arbor. Carey shot this pic in a moment of relaxation. just down this catwalk the view opens to show off the Rocky Mountains. Hope all is well in your world. Thanks Carey.

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Ouch

Once again we visited Loveland on Saturday. This is a shot of Carey just below chair 2 with the Divide in the background sporting her new jacket looking quite cute. On the final run of the day, at full speed, I got t-boned by another boarder. I felt very lucky to get up after the collision. Have been sore the last couple of days.

Sunday rolled into work for a couple of hours and got some ride time in. Finished the day hanging with the kiddos skateboarding. Lucy seems to dig it. Have a great week.
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get your taste on

Visited Pint's Pub last evening for Carey's b-day. She is so awesome, I am a very lucky man. Anyways, seemed like a great place to add to the LDL ride that will get reinstated this spring. They have a tremendous list for the Scotch lover in you, not to mention a fun list of small batch brews. Needless to say, Carey and I enjoyed our English night out. Thank you Carla for everything. Your homemade ice cream was to die for.

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Sweetness

I really like this pup. An Old English Sheep dog, he spends all of his time having fun and being your best friend. Maybe he has life figured by keeping it simple. Like the sticker says...We need more wag and less bark.

FYI- our 3 legged terrier named Simon is doing awesome.

bike commute variation

Wednesday was the best day of the new year for a bike commute. I got #4 in the books, finishing the evening ride in near 60 degree weather. Unfortunately, my route has been significantly altered to make way for a new exit along 470. Thus, I have had to take to the trails to get to Golden for work. That has been fun. However, in true Colorado style I awoke to snow this morning. I hope Loveland gets a good dumping as we are headed up with some friends on Saturday. I am totally stoked and will be planning my maneuvers as I ride inside today. Hope all is well in your world. Keep it simple.

Bluebird Day

We had close to a perfect day. And for that I say thank you. Carey shot this pic at the end of the day. We had a blast and Carey pushed us into the park, hitting jumps and rails. Who would of thought. The terrain park is below a lift, so you get plenty of heckling. Awesome. As a 36 year -old trapped in a 22 year-old body, I check my ego at the door and go and have a blast. I push my limits and try to get better. All of this equates to a lot of fun. Again, I say thank you for a great day.

Cholula & Loveland

I sure like Cholula. I put it on a lot of things, but especially eggs.

Things are shaping up nicely for a day of snowboarding tomorrow. We roll to Loveland and enjoy it immensely. I am getting close to double digit days, and the snow has been the best since we moved West. One of the value added benefits at Loveland is the Cholula packets. They probably have them other places, but I have not seen them. I like their portabililty. As one who brings food with them on most adventures including work they are appreciated. There you have it, a lot of love in todays post for both Loveland and Cholula.

commute #3

Cold Sunday morning. Headed to the GCC to help out and cover a shift. Had some real cold toes by the time I arrived. Nothing a nice warm shower would not cure. A tailwind on the way home was appreciated. Great game sunday night. All in all, a good weekend.

skiing w/ the kids

Busy Saturday. Helped a friend move in the morning and then went Loveland with kids. We as a family had some fun on the bunny hill. Quinn is really starting to be able to do a lot on this own, this is very exciting. Lucy and mom had some sweet runs. My wife is a superstar. Thank you Carey.

Slow Thursday

Short indoor spin today working the base. I felt slow all week. Two days in commuting this year and maybe #3 tomorrow. Hope all is well in your world.
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A change of mindset...

Hoping to meet one cycling goal this year, 10 cross' races. I am at 9 for the season with two weeks remaining. No sweat you might think. Enter snowboarding and the fall of snow on the rockies. My wife already has two days in the snow. Today on the first of December I got my first day in the white stuff, Carey got her third. She is really getting good and is very excited for this year, super cool for our family. My son had a great lesson today at Loveland witch culminated in his venture to the "big"side of the ski area and made it down on his own in near white out conditions. Needless to say, I was very proud of both my wife and my son today. Not to mention I had a ton fun. So what about cross' season? Will I meet my goal of ten races or will sirens' call to white mountains capture my attention. Tough choices in Colorado. I am greatful for my blessings.

Highlands Ranch (Denver) Race Report

Rolled the Vanilla SS Saturday in the 35 4's. Going in I had two goals I wanted to accomplish in this race. First, commit to the start. Secondly, I wanted to attack all dismount areas. Mission accomplished. In the end, I felt good about my effort. I dug deep and kept closing. In this race, one gentlemen in particular had my attention. He happened to be the other singlespeed, rolling a classic Surly. He took it to me a couple of weeks ago, so when I passed him I felt good. He was not going to have that and stomped on by. I had him marked, but he had about 15 seconds on me. I hung in there til' the last lap and I made a move. He was pushing a larger gear than me and I sensed his legs were getting tired. I attacked hard on a small climb with a 180 turn at the top. As I passed he was kind enough to throw me a shoulder. I went down and lost several spots. That's racing, lesson learned. I try hard to be a nice guy out there, I will just have to make sure when I make a move I am more prepared. We chatted quick after the race and he apologized. Good race. Thanks to those who put on the race. ICCC held a great event.

Great Saturday Ride

Saturday was beautiful. After a stressful week of vet bills and dog concerns I needed to log some time on the bike. Not a race. Not a training ride. Just the kind of ride where I am able to connect to my bike, my friends and the environment. Mission accomplished with my good friend Lars (pictured) at Indian Creek just outside of Sedalia. Lars hooked me up as a newbie to this trail with a damn fine ride of 2+ hours, perfect fall weather and a total connection. Thank you.

Speaking of great friends, my dog Simon got hit by car this last Monday. He got pretty dinged, including a collapsed lung and the current use of only three legs. This may change, but it may not. We sure are happy to have the little Jack Russel Terrier because it was touch and go for a while. Needless to say, we are looking hard at dog insurance, cause this stuff does get expensive. Not to mention the latest member of the family Oliver (pictured), the Old English Sheep dog. Yes, we do like a certain amount of chaos in our lives. This upcoming weekend is the third annual Chili Cook-off. I will race Saturday, enjoy friends Saturday night and try and keep it simple.

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Great weekend...

Quinn's last soccer game was Saturday morning. Soccer has been alot fun and we have been so fortunate to have great coaches and a good group of parents. Next, Marky B rolled by and we got a fly-line wet. Wrapped up the evening with a Pork Chop and a Buckeye victory. Sunday rolled in, and I rolled out to Boulder res for the race. The race went real well with a field of 95 riders. As my old coach used to say...assholes and elbows. The results were not great, but it was my best race of the year. Definitely need to commit to my starts. Looking forward to a good weekend of riding, but there will be no racing for me this weekend. UCI races will be rolling in Boulder. Should be fun to watch and support friends. Finally caved and sold my vw camper van. Now I am sportin'the element. I do like.

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Getting Fired Up...

For the race this Sunday at Boulder Res. I will be rolloing at 10:35 with 35+ crew. Starting to have develop some fun rivals, the kind that make you dig a little deeper during the week. This week was real good with two commuting days, a day of yoga and a day for spinning out the legs.

I was cleaning up the desk top and found this great picture of Carey on her summit of Mt. Massive near Leadville. It was awesome for her. There is something special about making it to the top and reaching your goal. She is the best.