the month of nite rides

Seems night rides are all there is lately- so you make the best of it.

all down hill from here
dirt was pretty amazing- frozen mud/ snow/ dry dirt = a happy crew

hops enjoyed it!

Stops were brief and pace was a little quicker- temp wasnt bad. Legs plugged along -what was a bitch with granny gear is a slower grind up that dammed fire road to box cut-off. But managed to not blow up- the noise the tire makes on that snow reminds me of days as a lift op with that frozen cable making its way over the sheave liners hauling passengers up the mountain. I miss those days as a kid sitting next to my dad at Geneva Basin. Sometimes a bike ride is more than a bike ride.

Its just like riding a bicycle

Temps were down - down far enough i thought it may only be a couple of us out. But 8 sturdy souls made it out to pedal some green mtn. 7 of the mentality- "this is fun"! 1 of the mentality "f this im cold!" We have an interesting crew- lubes likes big jugs- what else can you say!

By the time we pedal our little warm up adjustments are sometimes required.

And at the top of that climb- more adjustments are sometimes required - this particular one had a sweet taste that deemed everyone adjusted.

I hit my first breather point a little sooner than normal- but still made that switchback. Put down a few stretches where the el mar and i trudged along side by side like the good ol days in snow too deep and crusted to over power. Then the power seemed to not be lost -like i feared it might. When you have no options you simply just ride- sure the breathing is a different kind of heavy. Sure enjoyed this ride as it did not suck in any way!


Evil mGe is taking a secluded leave of absence dubbed "training for work" however im calling it a front to become a riding machine and come back to d town to lay down a gauntlet and have us crying trailside! SO i may just have to stop using my weight set as a drying rack for wool clothing and ski gear.

Does your bike speak to you?

Im not sure what it was about this particular ride- this day- but i saw this pic the other day and how i felt - dont know if it was the trail, being alone, the anticipation of a big ride the next day. Who knows but i was feeling it. There was some hiking as there will be with a singlespeed. There was some water crossings and some wet mud in the face fun. There was a Dale's consumed at the top. There were views. But there was this section, where everything was right.

so i put the gears back in a cabinet high in the garage out of view as not to be tempted. They will possibly go back on at some point. But for now my bike says stand up and pedal you pussy!

Moonlight night rides!

Full moon ride with good company - made two weeks off the bike feel a little better! "lights out" rides are good fun!

Its all worth it to me!

I received this email a while back thought id share it!: (hope the sender doesnt mind!)

Hey Kevin,

I wanted you to know, running into you guys on Green Mountain is the 3rd luckiest thing that's happened to me, after meeting my wife and moving to Colorado. And it's only after moving to Colorado because that's necessary for running into you guys. The Thursday night rides pushed me to be in the best shape of my life, by a very wide margin. I look forward to them every week, and I know I'd still be struggling with easy trails and walking anything remotely rocky without you guys as specs in the distance, showing me what's possible even without gears or suspension.

Thanks for making the TITS rides happen, it means a lot to me.

-Michael
We got a nice short ride in last week and it was so enjoyable to have hirsch kicking ass and hanging on all the climbs- week before i was struggling to hold his wheel on a thursday night worlds at green mtn. I am not patting my back saying im fast because that is just not the case- the point im making is It is awesome to see people be determined and bust their ass and see the joy in their hard work and truly enjoying mtn biking! fuck n a!

put up an offer for a sat. morning ride and without details i was late, dragging and not feeling much up to riding. Rode with nick and a couple others for a bit and not wanting to be the bummer of the day- headed off on my own. (was great to run into you guys tho)
Head hurting and the gammut of emotions running wild i looked all around trying to find direction today. Sometimes a bit of trail can do that for me.
Conditions could not have been any better! And when i hit the CT - the world just came to complete silence- after the blasting of distant guns subsided. It was almost eery kind of quiet but with every pedal my head was feeling better and my focus was starting to clear up.


You cant change your tracks but you most certainly can steer a little better!


Coming down sandy wash today was pretty damn fun!



I am blessed with the people in my life- family and friends.

And dont look for the t.i.t.s. rides to disappear anytime soon because you guys keep me young! and as long as you keep coming and enjoying yourselves i'll keep em up! I have made SO many great friends through these rides! Thank you!

Beans?

This is a post about beans:

Found this bean in Chicago while there for Cody's tournament
Whilst in Chicago i missed this beanfeSSt! bummed about that! but hey- had to go to my sons first AAA hockey tourney!

No this beanfeSSt- Yep must be beanfeSSt there is snow on the ground! How is Pablo so in tuned with mother nature!?
(not sure whos photo this is but i borrowed it from beanfeSSt thread)


So i threw out an idea for a beanfeSSt V 2.0 (with Pauls blessing of course) not entirely sure it would happen on my end. And with a few PMs looking for a buffalo creek tour guide the stars aligned and V2.o was now a reality!

I secured the normal camp spot!
And apparantly some people find the need to shuttle buffalo creek?
Like i said - securing our spot!



So some Boston folks showed up for a night ride and some camping! and more riding! Although none brought any gifts they did bring that fun, loud and genuinely good guys attitude!

5:00 pm arrival

Quick bike build-
Ok so we had a beer while they built! But they had and hour to cook dinner, consume beers, navigate to BC all while Dave maxed out the diesel engine of the RV climbing up 285!
And shortly after 5:30 a crew was set for a night ride!
(photo credit mGe stolen from pbr :) )

Up the CT !
They were all fast on the downs!
What a stellar night to ride and star gaze!

Who designs a ride that ends with a climb! well... me! But a nice campfire and some beers made it worth it!

So feeling guilty about this i came up with a plan- i would drive their RV down to 543 so they could finish with nice long downhill and start the morning with that descent they earned the night before!

So after a nice big breakfast(with more beans in the burrito) i sent them on down with bobby and i would catch up to them. Caught them up baldy and we made our way up to Raspberry Ridge and black jack




They enjoyed the black jack- cant wait to see their helmet vids.



Bid them fairwell and bobby and i made our way back up morrison trying to stay in the shade -it was pretty damn hot!


See you at the t.i.t.s. ride!

I feel but a guest .........

Deer Creek -close to home but yet feels far away
Spectacular night at BC great strong pace different route was a real treat!


The sky was going off- only a sampling of the beauty offered up to us

Moose in BC- heard they have been around but first time ive seen them.
then a nice mellow pace with nothing but quiet and peace- and a few occasional sounds of a shift or two!



While we ease into the fall air i cant help but feel excited for early mornings heading up in fresh morning snow and laying down a skin track even if the runs are short and the turns not so great- or pedaling in a soft quiet snow covered trail.

But for now ill take these temps and colors!

Mixing it up!

Yah, rumors are true- i put some gears and a shiftie on the bar! I mean that is the whole reason i went with the el mar was options! SS / geared blah blah blah. im ridin bikes and that is one thing that makes me happy!

Even jerry aka: canyonrat is running a 1x9- of course he did in grande jerry style which included a new frame and new shiny parts!
HE didnt like the way it was shifting so he picked up his bike and threw it down the side of the mtn.! actually he took a pretty wicked tumble. luckily he was just banged up a bit.
Moots likes to hike at deer creek and once he hits the trail its on!
leashes suck!

Hit up falcon/ lair o bear with lubes
rode parmalee the wrong way.