Free Your Chain!

When in doubt - smile

2012-01-30T21:22:00.005-07:00

3 sisters in the snow makes people smile!
who would not smile riding this bike!

michelle discovered the joys of riding snowpack singletrack!
so the approach was a little sketchy- thats what rocks are for!
lubes
t.i.t.s. night rides - good times!

bob just happy the ice did not take him down
Fat bob held this together and managed some trials moves to get back on the hard pack!
what is not to smile about being here
yep - smile
some hike a bike is good for the soul

ran into an old family friend - horses make her smile
ice flowing like lava over trails requires finesse and balance and if you dont have it- your ass hits the deck - hard!

While the high country suffers

2012-01-08T09:06:00.004-07:00

Trails down here stay snowpacked and fun! - With lots of foot traffic- comes ice!

Which demands a weighted rear wheel- penalty for standing- immediate loss of traction and a possible handlebar to the teeth. So leg power begins to build on days like this!

What is normally a routine switchback- becomes a move of finesse and strength.
LUbes homeade pogies

Couple days ago at Meyer - rides are not long -or a ton of climbing- but the fun factor outweighs all of that!

a 69'd out monkey does the job!

A little vid my daughter worked hard to make for me from the Beerd Belly Ride

Beerd Belly Ride 2012! from PBR on Vimeo.

thank you katelyn!

Got Beerd?

2012-01-04T08:20:00.006-07:00

Some snow rides ! keeping it upright is good stuff!
Some rideable- some not so much- but all good!
Scouting out the beerd belly route proved to be a good idea- and a great hike with lubes- thank you for the birthday beers!!
I managed to get out -solo at meyer ranch and such a fun ride! not a long trail but the right ingredients to produce a big smile! While my son was in LA for a hockey tourney i had a great birthday with the rest of my family - and later cods gave me what i asked for - a goal and the hard hat! way to go!
I managed to stay out of this- nice and peaceful in the trees!
3rd annual beerd belly ride had 19 or so another joined mid ride.
The mandatory belly shot!
Bad andy packed in and hid some buried treasure- the group approved! That was easily the best tasting pbr i have ever had!
Huge turnout this year- nice warm day! far cry from the last two years in the single digits! conditions were perfect and nothing but fun was had!

I was given gifts - a duct tape pbr flask! thanks terry you the man!

It is time to kick off a new season of night rides and long days in the saddle and hopefully an overnighter or three!

the month of nite rides

2011-12-16T09:37:00.005-07:00

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

2011-12-11T20:46:00.004-07:00

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?

2011-12-07T20:58:00.005-07:00

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!

2011-11-11T07:02:00.004-07:00

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!

2011-10-30T20:40:00.007-06:00

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?

2011-10-17T10:42:00.011-06:00

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 .........

2011-09-28T08:18:00.004-06:00

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!

2011-09-19T07:54:00.007-06:00

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.

Just pics

2011-09-07T08:28:00.008-06:00

Chair rocks a good place to have a snack

t.i.t.s.

Some pro action - used to go watch the old Coors Classic

Vail TT was alot of fun

Jones Pass/ Herman/ Gtown with Goat, Jerry, Lubes and Guac
Sittin at 13245' - not a bad view
This ride never dissapoints

Choose your friends wisely!

2011-08-13T19:13:00.007-06:00

I believe i have - mGe- aka mountaingoat- lets just refer to him as evil one.

It was all wheelies and smiles and highpoints!

With picturebook views that my point and shoot just doesnt capture. I was the camera crew and the film crew for the day. SInce i had the only one.

duhn duhn duhn........put on you hike a bike face.
Yep i had blisters and sore as hell feet- my footbeds were toast before this ride. And my feet killed but it did not take away from the views or the company. Luckily we found the 2elk lodge open and a friendly painter said go on in and fill up with water.

SOme views you just cant describe.

When the trail pointed downhill most of me was happy- lets just say i was hovering above the saddle.

One more wall to scale and we are on the mostly downhill slide.

But lets just throw in a bit more hike a bike.

Like i said some views are just worth all the work.

Was a good day with mGe, jerry, sissy, drew and joe!

The Modus fills the sky at the highpoint of the weekly thursday night ride.

Even though evil mGe- tried to rip my ear off he has still shown me more of the state i grew up in than i have found. There are many and you all know who you are that i consider my friends! Thanks for the adventures and weekly escapes! I also want to give some recognition to e another good friend who's attempt at this years CTR didnt quite go as planned, but i believe if he chooses to attempt next year will do just fine. He was on a kick ass pace and just had some bad luck.

I love Colorado but.........

2011-07-24T17:58:00.005-06:00

But the beach is a pretty good place to chill......

Katelyn looks pretty well at home in CA

Sorry for the mangeled ear in the pic!
Congrats to my son for making a AAA hockey club- he got to be on the beach for his BD and got him a sweet longboard- i got to pull him along the boardwalk while he carved and looked cool. It was my training- normally he'd be pulling me! but his bd i cut him some slack! - Some well deserved family time! in one of our favorite places!

saw this guy every day on the boardwalk- (not my vid)- this is slow mo man.

Ate here alot! and we ate at our favorite mexican restaurant

next to casa bonita of course....

The usual t.i.t.s. ride 3 sis was a fun evening

Carey made it out on his folding bike- which he travels the country by motorhome while pretending to be working.

My payment for a light demo- sorry jay.... i'll reap the rewards you keep building a kick ass product!

Ode to the Burger!

2011-07-10T22:28:00.006-06:00

Spikefest '11 -3rd year for me did not dissapoint!

I missed the early departure for the fridays pub ride- so i did my own short version. A quick jaunt from camp brought me to the top of boreass.

With probably some of the best trail i have shared with the el mar! Quiet- tacky goodness- and just plain ol solitude!

Then sat. comes with a shuttle up to kenosha- with some of the normal riff raff that i call my friends! And a few new ones as well.
e blazed on up in typical fashion- i believe he was able to melt away a few of the drifts - only to leave the biggest ones for us to slog through! But these are character builders. While pedaling is why we ride bikes - pushing your bike is also time well spent! Gives you time to think. I was working on a non hydrated body and less than fueled body. How do i ride to breck and still have 2 liters of water in my pack. This is something i need to work on.

PHoto credit lubes

From this point on it was head down and move forward- did i mention that i am having a blast - just pretty much stayed to myself and kept quiet.

As we rolled into breckenridge- nearly 4:00 pm i was starving! opted out of the normal beer toast and went for the coca cola- seemed to help. Then on to the swiss burger and some fries! This appeared to be the solution!

Rain drops come and go on the climb up boreass- but energy level on the rise!

Thanks to Spike for the invite and all who i get to share these adventures with!

Pretty bad when the hair on my head stands up!

2011-07-02T07:10:00.002-06:00

Thursdays t.i.t.s. ride was some powerful stuff, Lubes baited us into beginning the climb up then casually broke his chainring only to coast to his car and watch us stomp that climb right into the abyss! ok.........that is a bit strong........we are spoiled in this arid climate we call home. I ride with enough back east folks to know that if it rains it rains you ride. Well the skies opened up on us as well as all the lightning - that is the part im not so into. The rain actually felt good! But that exposed ridge scared me a bit. Hit the far parking lot and remembered i had a dry wool shirt in my pack. That felt nice.

Also a lightweight jacket for later.

We were treated with some nice trail conditions. Lubes im sure was somewhere dry with a smile. But i believe the smiles we had were maybe a bit wider. After two long flat repairs- we got to descend in the dark- and im pretty glad we did because it was deeeelightful. !

Have a great weekend!

Let the Good Times Roll!

2011-06-26T10:34:00.010-06:00

Not sure who said it better - the cars, bb king or Louis Jordan:

Either way add a bike to a soul and Good Times are bound to Roll!

Nate on the Hundo

Joe on the hundo

Guacamole on the hundo
Sean was actually ahead of the other two pictured- way to go sean you are a machine!

little e climbing up chimney gulch on a t.i.t.s. ride

top of lookout

Spikefest training better late than never- either way its gonna hurt this year!

Lubes, Joe and i headed up to kenosha to ride east on the CT (my first time on this sect.)
Views definately did not suck today!

Joe, runnin the monkey as a ss today- i think weve got him converted back.

Hard not to gawk at this all day!

interesting features in this rock

el mar is the ticket- but looking at it all day and its similarity to:
really really made me wish that stupid ice cream truck and that sadistic tune it pings out all day long -would have rolled by right about now!

Long stretches of some dirt roads joined our dots on the map

Some 40 ish miles with one small mis calc- on the CT but hey we got a lovely little climb that we would not have normally had! ;)

No pain no gain!

2011-06-12T11:35:00.003-06:00

Coach said get on a bike harder the better: to my son

This bike just does not fit my 13yr. old who is almost taller than me.

So on the ss it is. My old 69er - headed to 3sis for some fun/training

This bike is plenty used to stops like this!

then headed to flying j for a quick loop through the tight pines - this trail is just plain fun- short but fun!

Bike came home and got a quick fork swap to the Fox 100 and back to a 26" wheel up front. Glad this bike is gonna get ridden again. But ultimately he's ready for his own geared bike again.

Put your helmets on and pass me a nut roll

2011-06-05T22:43:00.004-06:00

My new trail snacks!! an old favorite yes, but i havent had one in a few years at least. Just sounded good- yep they are damn tasty and a good mixture of sweet salty goodness!!

What the hell is with "climbing" and not wearing your helmet- hit a popular spot today just because i was seeking a little bit cooler temps- i knew the crowds would be and issue but there is plenty of trail at 3 sis. Coming down EM east i noticed several people riding up with no helmets- i get it its hot- but on a busy day just Stupid! that is my .02 cents. take it or leave it.

Lost the pics of our bc night ride last week but all they would have shown was chad crashed out or passed out in the back of his truck- evil mGe flipping us the bird and going for barbeque and one fast guacamole keeping pace for a while.....i had to hurt him a bit......but in the end his epo'd enhanced moobs (hey that is his term) took control. We'll see if we can change that this week.

There is a sound.......

2011-06-02T09:49:00.007-06:00

Like the sound of a new partially loaded Fargo on its maiden voyage
Andy breaking her in on a casual pace....

the sound of a gentle breeze under a blue sky at buffalo creek

The laughter on a t.i.t.s. ride and the constant banter about my route choice for the evening ( for the record -i like the climb up EM east! )

The pshhhh! of Scar cleaning a switchback that we all failed to clean

Then there was most likely massive noise with heavy machinery used to clear cut sections of Indian Creek- although appears to be mass destruction- all useable fuel just left to die on the ground. Im sure the long term goal of this will suit the next generation or one after that. For we are only here for a short time.

but there are still places where the dense feeling of being secluded and the sound of nothing but a breeze and maybe a small trace of mtn bikers breathing heavily.

There is also the sound not necessarily heard but clearly visible that ones being is coming alive again!

The joy in riding a "new to them" trail

This sound needs no explanation!

The joy in running into a trail angel and her husband offering up some cold water out of the westfalia just in time for the climb back up! Thank You!!

The sigh of relief or the sigh of realization that a long day in the saddle is almost over....

Turns out it was a sigh of relief as the last two miles were a bit painful but very much enjoyable!

Moral of this post - for me at least- take time to listen more and speak less! thanks for checking in!

Afternoon with a Bender !

2011-04-30T17:32:00.004-06:00

What is bender? drink a case o beer and go ride? nope - it is when you have skates on and your ankles fold in! Its when your chain gets sucked into the spokes multiple times! Its when you skid on the trail and ride off the trail! ....these are all traits of a bender!

Mark (bender) and i hit up some 3 sisters for a quick after work jaunt.
He says i have a tazer in my pack- "if my heart explodes and i go down hit me twice with that bitch and put two of these tablets in my mouth and pour some water dwon me! if that doesnt work call my wife and tell her to call the insurance guy!" (he really had the tazer in his pack!)
ok.....so im a little harsh on the 50 yr old guy - but a bender is a bender ;)

This little fox had me dab on 3 sis to take her pic- other than that it was a clean run! I have two problem spot on the climb up sisters from the other side....one day.....

on a lighter note finally put the el mar on the scale and am pleased with the reading
Notice i did not jump on there! that is the area that needs some attention!

Black Jack?

2011-04-25T21:43:00.008-06:00

23 months in the making! Put the golden spike in Saturday! Along with 20 folks including a few from the USFS along our sides working! Official ribbon cutting!

perfect conditions to build trail! --then ride!

I hauled a few to the top of Raspberry Ridge for a celebratory toast- of which people were appreciative of a cold pbr!

Jason had a miscalc. which led to a second attempt- nailed it!

This is one of the long rollers that i actually rode
ok there were a few- but on to the real shit- i was walkin! not in me today!

I think Jeremy had his suspension dialed in! doh!

But did you see my new jersey??!!
i'm just gonna take a nap!
Some stellar terrrain here!!

a few pictures nabbed from here:

Spring

2011-04-22T07:00:00.009-06:00

Headed to the desert for some spring bread fun a few weeks ago. That is a 26" bike- FS Reign he loved it!
Slickrock in the eve is a wonderful place to be!
Cody and i hittin some of the sovereign trail.
katelyn on the practice loop

Doesnt get much better!
no trouble on this bike- except he wouldn't let me ride it! ;)

Picture below- look familiar? - just taken 3 years earlier
Went for the Hummer tour- something we would not normally do- but it was good times!! Crazy what you can do on slickrock!

Back to the practice loop- for some more riding!
Kids rocked the gopro for a bit each.

t.i.t.s night rides are still on! Just a little random lately- until this spring hockey is over.

Few bc trips here and there in one of my favorite places

This bike rides amazing! Love it

all for now..... thanks for checkin in!

Run to the Hills!

2011-03-25T08:00:00.004-06:00

BC for last weeks t.i.t.s. ride was a long night! Played with a gopro for a bit- night shots didnt turn out.

BC t.i.t.s. night ride from PBR on Vimeo.

Here is the punched up and edited version with additional footage: edited by mGe!

BC was looking real good! snow in the trees of course but all rideable!
Got a later start and drove home in blizzard sideways snow bs! was a rough one- great st. patty's ride though!!

Job was becoming a cluster f*ck- so i packed up my tools and headed to evergreen- not sure what the conditions would be had about 2hrs. to find out and liked what i found! few snowy patches but all rideable. Dabbed on 3sis descent and lost a brake spring- but a good solid loop. Ready to get back up there real soon!!
This view never gets old!
er..this view!

sometimes i need motivation in the form of the varied colorful sugary carbs

Then there is green mtn. sometimes even mike n ike's can't motivate- or even stranny's- but with a group of t.i.t.s. riders who count on you to come up with a route every thursday that is different from all others- we came up with a route allright straight into the wind! stop you in your tracks wind- cause havoc on firefighters wind!
That is about all i have to say about lastnights ride! -but once out of the wind and down in jeremys traverse all was eerily quiet and the pounding in the ears was overwhelming and messed with all balance and control.

Gotta pound out some work in the next 5-6 days then its some much needed family time and they suggested moab- so count me in!

Captain Jacks - and - some Salsa!

2011-03-13T16:13:00.010-06:00

Jeremy talked me into some more springs riding- glad he did- Ive got a permanent reminder of my last ride down that direction. - but that did not hamper me today! Ive got a new bike to start getting used to!

Sean on the corkscrew? i couldnt quite turn it over to make the 3rd switch but was cleaning most of the short steeps. Gear feels real good and the bike climbs well!
This was our point to take a left for more singletrack!
Kip guided us around his backyard for his morning ride! thanks kip

More old closed tunnels as we made our way up to St. Marys.

Which consisted of some spring corn
and eventually led to some hike a bike- ok - a good stretch of hike a bike in those lower trees.
But the reward was a boblsed run down a mostly snow- ice covered trail with just enough dirt showing to get on the brakes. Ice was soft enough the it was possible for the Captain to grab without slippage! What a great front tire that Captain is turning out to be! ;)
(couple misc. photos "borrowed" from mge)

After this descent was the point where i needed to break from the group and head home- The descent on capn Jacks was a hoot-the threat of oncoming motos hung in the back of my head but only encountered 2 near the top.

Twisted around a bit at the end of the ride and eventually found the TH where i parked- with a minor detour of some offshoots.

El Mar

2011-03-11T07:35:00.005-07:00

Broke in the el mariachi lastnight on the weekly t.i.t.s. ride! For those that say tits? well it started as "Today Is Thursday Sweet"! it has been a downhill trend ever since! no pun intended! ;)

this bike is lighter than the ol bianchi 69er- climbs great- or i had new bike stoke going but only one in front was nick who was running a gear ive only seen little e run up the mtn! The power transfer is flawless! A few minor tweaks and it will be dialed in - first thing to go is that speed V saddle- ugh it may have been ok at one time but it felt like a big ol diaper under my ass!
Runnin the niner steel fork- powdercoated by BFN industries
This slider setup kicks ass!
Typical green mtn view at night!
Ride details

PBR's rollin big wheels!

2011-03-10T09:05:00.005-07:00

After a long await the frame finally showed at the shop yesterday!

Late night build- minor adjustments made- test ride tonight!

(thanks to all who donated parts- jerry thanks for the mechanical skills) - not sure if i can keep it as clean as your bikes! ;)

Butler Gulch - first tracks

2011-03-06T18:38:00.004-07:00

andy k. and i made first tracks up the road geared up quick- a check of the beacons and were on our way!

Didn't quite beat sunrise but pretty close, so peaceful to skin up in the trees.

a nice easy mellow rolling approach
many options once you get up into butler gulch-
way up in that saddle to the west was the high point for a different ride last summer up to 13250'- lotso hike a bike!

andy was happy to be out in the backcountry
next time were gonna trade skis for a run- i want to try these Scotty Bobs made in silverton, CO.

soft snow and untracked unlike last time up!
again i chose to get more turns per climb- andy chose a more graceful approach- his turns looked sweet!

Here is the only piece of vid i got- rest is on andy's camera but im tryin to get that knee down!

Butler Gulch from Kevin Noel on Vimeo.

Blow Me Down!

2011-03-05T14:38:00.003-07:00

another windy night up on the green (er) brown hill for the weekly t.i.t.s. ride- and i say windy loosely. As in a previous post james peak was down right gusting. Then we get hit square in the face with F-5 winds. ok.....ive never lived in tornado country.......but i have had two brutal rides on gm with the wind- one was so bad i had to pedal down the fire road and could only get up to 5mph! no joke

Thursday night was no different- almost said F- it and turned around, but i had demo lights out being used and didnt want to be a puss. So trudged on- glad i did- once we got to lower box o rox things calmed down some. then rest of the ride was great! lesson learned dont be such a sally!

Nice little solo spin on GM this am nothing big just some miles.

Got the Stans set up tubeless with some specialized tires- just waiting on the el mar to show up! then dug through Jerry's parts bin for some bits i need to finish the build. (thanks jerry!) little frustrating when there is one in stock about 15 min. west of me and mine has taken over a month to get in. oh well.......

hope you get outside and enjoy the day!

"Were Just Gonna Take a Short Cut Guys"

2011-02-26T21:11:00.006-07:00

says jim...........

Smooth sailin after that little grunt- i think he was just checking the fitness and to see what his climbing mates had in the tank.

Nice gentle climb in the trees- calm morning.......too calm

Once out of the bowl and across the edge of the lake and the recent avalanche deposits. We lifted the risers again and began the climb.......Jim and his dog(bad memory forgot his name) kept the pace and waited on their companions. Noting mark

This is the point where the wind turned down right brutal- and you'd better not have any skin exposed. I had forgot a couple key items today that would have my skin screaming a bit later. My layers were spot on wool base, wool biking jersey, and my REI Element shell, gloves flylow. My face however only had my jacket zipped up- no balaclava!

Todd emerging from the winds.

IT was somewhere near this point that we were at our time limit and getting down safely and making it back to denver- since we were out with the coach- it would be bad if he did not make it back to the game on time.

We drove our skis into the snow carefully stripping skins and tightening up for our survival turns back down. Along came another BIG gust that knocked 3 grown men down to the snow- just to reassure us who is really in charge on the mountain. One of my skis flipped over and made two rolls and luckily did not take a one way path down the mountain! Todd had a slight hitch with his binding and was forced to nurse it back down the mountain. i made two pretty shitty turns with a slight bent knee and went down pretty hard as i gained speed and bounced off the hard snow i self arrested with one pole and manged to stop myself. whew that could have been bad.

more survival turns with windcrusted snow and bad lighting- threw in two turns with a dropped knee and snow got worse- ok alpine turns arent so bad!

This was the last skiable area with somewhat soft snow so we went down one by one staying off the steeper slope to the skiers right. I chose to "get my money's worth" and linked up some tighter turns (far right in pic) and we are back down to the main trail that had been groomed by the snowshoers out on a beautiful morning.

Back down to safety of the trees and the warm sun. Was it really as brutal as it felt- did i only slide for maybe 10 feet. Not sure but this was a tough morning and experiences like this reassure me of why i am alive and the beauty god surrounds us with.

To Jim it is a typical Saturday morning going to james peak as he casually mentions each weekend.........

Dry Dirt!

2011-02-25T09:04:00.004-07:00

Been over 2 months since tires have rolled some dirt! Lastnight the t.i.t.s. ride at GM proved to provide some soil not covered in snow. Great to see lubes pedlin around again. Won't be long and you be back with us on the ST.

Had a strong group with some new folks joinin in.

Still waitin on the El Mar to show up so i can start buildin it. Got most of the parts i need put together. Lookin forward to rollin a 29er!

My fitness is lacking- need to change that

If you like Pirates, this is gonna be a cool exhibit! Put the final touches on the painting, now just waiting for the opening!

Hi's and Lows!

2011-02-13T19:01:00.008-07:00

This was pbr's rig for 5 years- got me to the jobsite or to the trailhead whenever i asked. I packed the whole family in here for a trip to moab- including moots in the back with all the gear. Sure the back end sagged a bit when loaded down! But it never gave me any troubles.
Had to put her down, as all things eventually come to an end. Came out ok though- i wasnt driving it - it was parked at the time! Damn! i had some sweet stickers on that rig!!
Then said goodbye to another trusty steed- this bike deserves to be ridden so hopefully it will be rippin through the forest like it used to!

More ups and downs include the last two t.i.t.s. rides which consisted of some pushing, more pushing and eventually some downhill!
but sometimes the downhill is as much work as the uphill...........

t.i.t.s. Green Mountain hike with bike from Kevin Noel on Vimeo.

........more ups!
to the views...........

nabbed a couple pics from Goat's blog
yeah its groomed and its at the resort.......but no lift ticket needed.........

and eventually the top..........

one must be rewarded at the top..........
tools for the trade..........

read the sign thats all im gonna say!..............;) Jeremy did great! his first skin up we skinned up Loveland ski area before dawn!! FIFO style!

after the downs..............

more ups to come!...................

Another fine day at BC

2011-01-09T10:36:00.007-07:00

Met up with Michael for a jaunt at one of my favorite places.
The climb up sandywash was about %70 ride %30 percent hike. But i just like this climb. as we discussed on the way up something about bc just grabs you and is always a treat. yah its 45min from home but growing up just miles away it always feels minutes away. and feels like home.

opted to hit the BD trail up to the high point, michael hadn't seen it and i figured it would be mostly rideable. meh, again about 70/ 30 but that 70 turned into 98 on the way down!
I believe this is one of my favorite vantage points up here. along with chair-rocks.

pretty nice day to be outside as the temps pushed 50+ on our way down and the fluff turned to spring like snow and made for some creative moves to keep ones bicycle upright.

Sully was a little peeved when i had to take my jacket

But he held down the office at home and took care of paperwork for me!

PBR can still bring it!

2011-01-08T22:57:00.002-07:00

This was emailed to me....showin the boy the old man can still grab some air! Of course i landed this into a full on tele stance and transitioned into another tele turn........what you dont believe me!!??

Missing person

2011-01-05T11:47:00.006-07:00

Have you seen this man?

He has been known to alter his appearance! Even his skin color

same guy you ask?

Like i said hes elusive!!

Glad your out ridin with us again!!

Benders!

2011-01-01T17:08:00.014-07:00

No didn't go on a bender, more on that title in a few. Finally got to hit up the Ken caryl trails with a local and wow, that close and that much good stuff. I may have to become a "part time" resident of one of my customers.
Jeremy, Greg and I opted out of bc for a more local ride and glad we did! its always fun to ride new (to me) trails and there is some good climbing back there! and fun terrain. lots more to explore! some time

stole these two pics from Jeremy:

Nice !

Cody and i snuck away to Loveland for a day. workin nights isnt so bad as it frees up the days. Wind blows a bit at the top of the second highest chairlift in North America.

His second time on a snowboard and he was rippin it! my second day on snow as well and my tele turns were more like a slight raised heel and then a normal alpine turn. thats the nice thing about tele if you have to you can just make alpine turns. I was super sore from the day before when amber and i took moots on a hike at 3 sisters that turned into a trail run which was no problem for them but for my non running legs, more recovery time needed and less than 24 hrs was not enough.
oh well, still managed 15 runs made a handfull of decent turns and showed cody i can still grab some pretty big air for a 42 yr old.

Here is where Bender comes in- a little pond hockey tournament on new years eve at evergreen lake. There was a one day tournament for the younger ones. 8 & 9th is an adult tournament. So cody was one of the 5 "Benders" played 3 games in single digit temps and won all 3. That put them in the championship game and they brought home the 1st place hardware. Which was a stick signed by this years avs. well stick was awarded to one of our players who showed the best sportsmanship. so as in all pond hockey bragging rights are as good as any trophy.

They also do a skate the lake night for new years which we have done in the past and its a pretty good time. Yes our sweet 16 made it up with us as well. she is growing up and in the need of some wheels very soon. permit check- driving around now check- nervous dad check!

Beerd Belly Ride 2011! 1-1-2011
Jeremy is the only one that was rockin a real beerd this year!

Bluebird skies and single digit temps....mmm!

The annual belly shot! no wonder goat never gets cold!

nabbed one jeremy took:

Young man winter!

nite

2010-12-10T20:35:00.005-07:00

there are times that the only sound you can hear is nothing- and it sounds good!

late arrival at bc lastnight but it was good, lubes, mordecai, hirsch and myself out for some tour of bc. i hit the deck pretty hard on the flat road on some ice and hirsch took note and duplicated my exit from the bike. mordecai danced with a rock and his chainring lost - his ride was over. lance said it best "no chain"

lubes and i traded off the lead but in the end his diesel overpowered the little engine that could

the descent was more fun than i have had at work in a long time!

we'll see what the weekend brings- line changes on codys team- looking forward to that!

Steamboat

2010-12-07T20:49:00.006-07:00

STEAMBOAT

Somehow this always feels like a welcome home sign.
I have never lived in steamboat. We have been coming here for years though. I was engaged here. Skied here, watched my son play baseball tournaments here, tubed with my family in the river. Rode bikes here. Watched in horror as my daughter came down from fish creek falls after falling from a rock with her head bleeding, not able to do anything because i was down below with our dog. This trip was no different. (except no blood this time)

This is jim gile, one of codys coaches those skis have been to the top of Everest and skied down.

- i was happy that i could hang with him. weather he was taking it easy or not. He is the "e" of climbing mtns.

Todd also skinned up the mtn. with us. Hauling his "piano's" as jim called them! Fat Ass Skis is what they are, but i would love to test them out in the deep powder!
There was an inversion on sunday when we met up at 6:45 for a second trip up the mtn- wow im skinning up two days in a row! that is more than all of last year. This year will be different.

Jim was not shy why switchback up the mtn when you can go straight up! IF there was 10" of new it may have been a different story. But 2230' straight up felt damn good on the legs! Different muscles- a whole different quiet- just the shuffle of the skins gliding up, and up.

Sat. we went over to howelsen hill to give cody a shot at boarding while the girls hit some shops and took photographs. There were some fast as shit skiers in the group with names from germany, austria, finland and a few from steamboat. these guys did not have fat skis. i am thinking i need some of these. been a long time since ive been on the skinny skis!

Time for more gear dad.

first time boarding and the only thing open on howelsen was a black run and the off camber poma that would lift you off the ground.

After my morning jaunt up the mtn. my legs were a bit noodly and my turns took a shit. As the us olympic telemark team ripped it up. 11 yr old kid dropping his knee like nobody ive seen!

Less i mention the reason for going to Steamboat- The Ski Town Classic Hockey Tournament-

Our boys won! Cody had the assist on the game winning goal! I was super proud! When this team passes the puck good things happen and that is all im going to say on this subject!!

Thursday afternoon delight!!

2010-12-02T22:45:00.009-07:00

Trails to myself today! All myself- kind of an eery sort of alone-i forgot what solo rides can do for your mind. Not that i dont enjoy riding with folks. Just a different kind of joy.

dug in my pack for some summer sausage and found a flask that has been hiding in the bottom. just a sip of strannys to coat the throat and stomach with some of Colorados finest! fitted with a koozie to keep from getting scratched and jingling in my pack- thats why i forgot it was there! Not a huge accomplishment for some but descending 3 sis- i have a couple problem areas but not today! - cleaned that whole fucking thing! no dabs
did i say the trails were quiet
and free of snow - any snow
except for up high and even mt evans is looking pretty - not snowy- head down closed my eyes and thanked God for this day and opened my eyes and the sky was bluer and the trees greener.

was having a rip roaring descent down east side, really "feeling " the trail today - maybe cause i forgot a shammy- just me and a thin layer of camo. not very forgiving. Nice bull i found his partner scared the shit out of me as he ran right in front of me!

Ride details

Off to steamboat for hockey and maybe sneek in a run or two!

Watched a really cool show on PBS about ski history in Colorado you can see it in segments here.

Thankful Weekend

2010-11-29T07:14:00.005-07:00

Great weekend for tree cutting, thanksgiving dinner with family and guests! Great day for a ride at BC as well! Didnt have the whole day so it was more of an exploratory ride. Up sandywash which is always good, just don't do it much. Up the BD trail to the lookout. That trail is really nice a couple hike a bike sections and it is wearing in real nicely.

Temps were just about perfect for a short-ish ride. IF i didnt have decorations to put up it easily could have been an all day affair.

heres the route

Hit the local dirt today

2010-11-22T13:27:00.007-07:00

Actually loaded up the truck and was heading to bc- but could not commit to an all day affair. came home headed out and rode some of the local path up to dirt. the wind was pretty much howling to the point it made trying to catch my breath a major challenge! i hate this shittin wind! almost bagged it but trails were empty and dry. a good combination. chose music today mainly to drown out the wind and give me some sort of motivation. Warsaw was jammin in my ears and a perfect groove for dipping and rolling trails.

Jeremy gave me a killer deal on his garmin and today was a test run just to make sure i am somewhat technically inclined i uploaded the ride just for fun. nothing huge but did find some new to me trail that will make it that much quicker to get to dirt rather than path. Nite rides from the house may start here now that winter is slowly showing up.

todays pedal

and i am now a bigger fan of smartwool!

Piece O Crap- 1

2010-11-14T10:06:00.004-07:00

This is sort of a rant post if you will- PC-1 chains just suck at least for me. Was jumping off the rear cog yesterday. I thought with the WI freewheel i would avoid this. nope ..

So went back with the trusty 8spd. Found a new one in the tool box. no more pc1 for me. That was lesson one, second lesson: pearl izumi base layers suck- i dug out my old pi base layer as it was a chilly day and all it did was trap all the sweat and keep it stuck to my skin. The wool on top was warm but with all that moisture and the cold temps made my upper torso pretty miserable. Will be finding a good wool base layer very soon!

now on to better things:

pint 2 pint III

2010-11-11T07:08:00.004-07:00

Second pint 2 pint i have rode in, this time starting at IW
Pretty kick ass turnout around 95-100 folks came out.
I think this made Mike owner of Ironworks happy! He is a good dude who likes our biking community.
Not quite a police escort out of the parking lot but we sure were a spectacle. Everything from ladies riding singlespeeds in bathrobes to guys in wigs and the like.
The train up green mtn trail was full on!
I had a minor chain break which turned into a long process of removing more links and fumbling with replacing them. ugh! Skirting the red rocks on a day like today was awesome. It was pretty hot at this point.
Then a midway gathering took over the lower apex lot, which a mid ride beverage may have been consumed. Those that chose to just hop on the fire road and bomb the other side- missed the point of the pint 2 pint. The route was clearly posted and even mapped by mGe. But i guess for some people arriving "first" was the objective. I was in it for the ride.
Turned to my extra gear for a few sections that was my feet pushing the bike.

all in all a very cool day to be riding bikes. I want to thank my daughter katelyn for taking a whole evening and making up the awards for this event. She put alot of time into them and they went over very well! The ipa at GCB was going down smooth after the finish and a growler to take home which is still full at this point. May have wasted it.

Snow is trickling down today, no t.i.t.s. ride planned tonight but may just have to get out on some local stuff just to pedal.

this weekend is looking like some cold weather riding and the time to start hardening up the soul and getting out. 70-80 degree temps were not going to last forever!

Beans- G-spots- and nite rides!

2010-10-22T20:39:00.006-06:00

7th annual beanfeSSt proved to be good times as usual! Had some smaller beans ride this year one a 12yr old and a 13yr old and both kids really kicked ass all day.

Not the usual nite ride followed by campfire and beer swilling. I got up to camp about 10:30 after codys later game. pulled in and it was eerily quiet. Only one dog running around and checking out who i was. We sort of made friends and i secured my cocoon in the back of the truck with one less beer in my growler of GCB red.
Pretty good sized group and a pretty mellow one. The usual suspects were out in front all morning. I was comfortable mid pack. Not in top shape but really havent been all summer.
Baldy just works me. I only stopped here for a quick photo opp of spike!

The new wool i think this will become a favorite piece of gear! (pic stolen without even thinking twice from spike!)

I brought out some mexican corn and some kool-aid for a break.
The trail trash talkin was flowin full bore at the top. All down hill from here, doh! We started at the top of shinglemill one more climb gang. ok with me.

-Whats this G- spot i speak of? not this one, but when in gunny this is the spot!

Im talkin about this one and you can only find this one here. Jay is the man and will take good care of you. If you find the urge to go nite riding do yourself a favor and try one of these!
I am a truly happy camper! thanks jay!

gspots and t.i.t.s. rides (who comes up with this shit) just our thursday nite crew making our rounds up and down green mtn. and i thought my route kicked ass and its been a while since i rode jeremy's traverse in the dark and watching 10-12 folks head down and i mean straight down was a hoot!

I have to admit since e headed to leadville kind of took some pressure off to try and keep up but not to worry mordecai made it out with us and he's rockin a fixed as well. Missed his otb but heard it was a good one! miss riding with ya e! I enjoy the extra energy and challenge when we ride.
Pretty stellar nite on the big green hill! being in the forest and tight twisty lush singletrack becons my soul, but these simple rides this close to town and riding with friends and grabbing a beer after is rewarding in its own way! I always feel whooped after green mtn rides and there is plenty to keep on busy. Those that say green mtn is easy arent riding it right or arent riding with us!

Try and keep these posts more regular.........

Sunsets, Smiles, Slapshots and Singletrack!

2010-10-03T18:58:00.008-06:00

Looking west from the top of Green Mtn. on a thursday night t.i.t.s. ride!
Trusty Amoeba's lighting the way with the eastern skyline in the background

Trips For Kids , COMBA and IMBA all paired up for Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day! This was the first year i was able to help out and what a great time! Everything was organized and all the kids showed up smiling and ready to ride! After 4 brief workshops it was time to ride i was leading team Santa Cruz and was assigned a small loop of flat wide trails and i knew right away my group was ready for more, so we made quick work of this loop with one small hill to climb at the end and on to another loop that was more singletrack. I had a girl that rode on my wheel the whole way and she would not let me stop to take many pictures as this was about them riding!
One small creek crossing was a huge hit and almost everybody made it across! But everybody got a little wet!
Oh yeah that felt good on this warm morning! (photo credit Jake7)
This was my group and as ive said before kids rock!
Jonathan here missed the group shot, but this guy had some real spirit! And that is a kid who enjoyed his ride!

Then it was off for my sons game which he scored a hat trick in. won 7-1

Took one of our dads on the team up to 3 sisters for some afternoon singletrack. Seeing these trails from a new perspective is always a good time! John did great and was diggin it!

Fall is hanging on but soon the leaves will be gone and the season will change for a while. But memories of this weekend will likely hang on for quite a while!

Thanks for checking in. Looking forward to beanfeSSt this coming weekend!

Sometimes simple is just enough

2010-09-26T21:57:00.005-06:00

Had plans of going up higher on saturday, but that meant getting up early, driving longer, fighting traffic. Pshhhht! screw that! i'll take a quiet day (no people) at buff creek thank you. Solo day out meant ipod on shuffle and turn the pedals. It may be a large grove of aspens covering a mountainside or a tiny patch but when the light hits them just right they are about the most beautiful sight!

One of my favorite spots at BC is right here. One other is on this side of the green mountain loop near the bottom while climbing.
Somewhere on the green mtn. loop

No stops today other than a little walking the loose steep washed out stuff. My reward was a ham and lettuce wrap and some go go juice!

Like i said no stops so the only time i pulled out my camera after lunch was this section of sandy wash.
Another stellar early fall morning, few people out enjoying their rides as well. Ran into a boy scout troop taking a breather while climbing sandy wash. So good to see kids out enjoying gods creation rather than sitting on the couch enjoying mans creation.

BC is a good place to get into the right spot

Aspens

2010-09-24T12:21:00.003-06:00

While most of it is further west, there are some to be found in Buff Creek.

Showed up for the t.i.t.s. ride early so rather than basking in the sun in my chair i opted for a quick solo loop. Not sure what it was, the lighting, the slight breeze or the change in the air. But all was right and the climb up morrison just felt good! Was in awe of my surroundings - it all just made sense even if only for a brief time.

Then back for the rest of the crew! And a good crew it is!

I think everyone enjoyed the evening!

35 miles of bc riding at its best!
Hope to catch some more aspens on saturday maybe gold dust from como.

Slackin! and lost identity.......

2010-09-19T08:27:00.008-06:00

photo credit mGe ^

Following rides are over the past few weeks and in no particular order:

Bad andy and i made the drive up to Sourdough starting out on this lovely gem! which quickly turned into a 2 mile slog through swamp and big moose country. Fortunately no bull moose!
This was our destination, next time we find a better way
But all that quickly forgotten, there is so much goodness to be ridden on CO.
Testing my skills on the logs, rode 3 of the 4 crossings
After the fast and baby head descent we get to this- and this is tamer end of sourdough!
bad andy
what lushness
just cracking up about something- this bike continues to take the beating so why get a new one!
on to a t.i.t.s. ride - which have been pretty rare lately. People associate a hammerfest which they arent, so i toned it down last week and we had the first annual t.i.t.s. cruiser ride complete with prizes.
new bridge on lower box o rox. Build day is in the works stay tuned- please gonna need some help getting this thing done before the snow!
Upper centennial cone this ride is always fun no matter what!
mGe! i finally pushed him up a few of the climbs today i think all his high country riding had wore him out! either way i was feeling good!

Now hopefully i will not have too much trouble with losing my wallet and getting my account sorted out and becoming a victim of id theft- although maybe my credit will improve now ;)

Thanks for all the good rides lately gang has been fun! Hockey season is on first scrimmage today for cody and katelyn is rockin the court as well!

Some Govt. trail coming last week of oct. hope the snow holds off for this trip to aspen!

I knew kids were fast!

2010-08-27T23:26:00.006-06:00

Few posts ago i mentioned riding with bryce and Ryan his brother, both from Missouri.

Got an email that Bryce raced his first SS race the Missouri singlespeed championships and there were 66 riders in all - he hoped for a top 10 ended up getting 2nd place! way to go bryce!

Now i know there seems to be a theme about age and fastness! as i raced my second 24hr race rage in the sage. I bettered all my lap times from the previous race. and had the fastest av. lap time on our team. Which i felt pretty damn good about. 12 SS 4 man teams this year two years ago there were 3. We got 9th out of the 12. Crazy fast ssers out there. I believe i was the only one riding a rigid 69er!!

Ryan rockin the hawaiian kit!
ryans gf hangin out waiting for his return somewhere near 3:00 am maybe, not sure. My 4th lap was approx 4:00 am and it was brisk but it felt really good! no music this lap just pedals turning and the smell of sage! I hate phil ligget's term "he's in the pain cave now" as this played over and over in my weary head. I had some killer heart burn reflux shit that would not go away all night and during riding was not a problem but any downtime that should have bee for sleeping was not happening!

Another fast dude and only a mere 15 yrs old Noah Talley turned in a 50:16 lap time which was the fastest and i believe turned in the fastest night lap in his first 24 hr race just proves that age and speed kind of go together! Jay let me rock the new and improved Amoeba on the helmet and this thing is sick, not that the old was bad but this thing is wider and brighter and is said to go a 3.5hr on the same batt. maybe i'll have to upgrade!! ;)

But for this 41yr old this year was a victory for me!

thanks for checking in....

One week left!

2010-08-15T22:16:00.007-06:00

Till 24hrs. in the Sage!
I have got in quite a few "training rides" well not really training just riding maybe at a slightly higher pace than my normal pace. Found a map where to meet up with Andy C. at 3 sis.

a 1x1 sighting! and bad andy bringing up the rear!

A short hike with a tired lab - will return to this trail again sometime for a longer exploration. and maybe do a little bouldering.

t.i.t.s. ride was a trip to the cone! Centennial Cone. With a group of 5 rollin later into the evening with a couple mechanicals than planned. Brought us a treat of the persian meteor showers at the TH. on a clear night it was a real treat.

Rick- aka Yo-retro.
Funrover showin no fear

Andy K. aka slowbogey leavin all that shit behind him and gettin strong!
Nice pic Jeremy took at centennial cone!

No pics from today but wanted a solid ride in closer to home so i opted out of the ride that will soon be posted here! Ol mGe! So had a few of us up to buff creek (i know i know evil mGe!) but we put in a good loop including green mtn. I stomped up shinglemill not stopping till the CT and waited a bit for the others. Wanted to test the legs and not a super fast climber i was more than pleased with the way i felt! Rick, mark, john and chris made it up and we toured the finer trails of bc. Hockey season is on as well as vball for my teens which means " conditioning camp" for both and tryouts for both gonna be fun!

This is some race!!

2010-08-05T07:02:00.001-06:00

I know the rains they endured were fierce and they have kept on keeping on!

13ers, Old flumes, and campin out!

2010-08-04T21:12:00.015-06:00

Jeremy, Lubes and i headed up to Jones pass for a little hike a bike action!

Wildflowers on the way up!

did i mention hike a biking

oh, and there was some hike a bike

but to get to the top, Oh man! My first 13er and to ride, push and eventually carry my bike to the high point of 13,215' was amazing!

Even the Goat had to carry his bike

Overlooking butler gulch

Yep, here's our descent!

Side tour to Herman Lake

Just set up camp this past weekend and cody comes back "guys there's moose over here! "

3 Moose, luckily no bull!

On o the CT what a lovely climb up towards Georgia pass, but todays ride was only going to about 10,900' to the flume trails of Spikes adventures.

Followed the flume trail a bit and our pass was running short, since it was a family camping trip. So we made our way down the south fork and back to camp.

Andy enjoyed these trails!

And even some bushwacking through swamp could not dampen our spirits!

Some downtime, with light rain hitting the tent- one night before the real shit hit! non-stop

What a mean dad! making my kids hike!

Somehow they always find a way to build a fort. If you find yourself in need of some shelter, just off the CT after crossing the middle fork this would make a nice place to spend the night. Some great effort was put in by my kids and their friends!

Spikefests and chill rides

2010-07-22T22:48:00.013-06:00

Spikefest turned up a couple moose on the way up this side of Kenosha!

Wildflowers going off in the high country!

My way of keeping the pace, jump in front and keep the tempo down!

Mt Guyot, which sits at 13,297 ' is always a good site that means that is one climb out of the way!

Mateo and spike hammering

The Great flume wall

Lubes on the scree

mateo on the beauty black sheep

Weather cleared off nicely, just an hour before this it was looking mighty grim with possibility of bailing in breck. But God said get back on your bikes and ride! That burger and beer never tasted sooo good!

Next up was an early afternoon off and taking the neighbors friends Ryan and Bryce up to BC for some XC riding. They tore it up! Bryce who is 19 stayed on my wheel on the shinglemill climb and i knew i was in trouble. At the saddle of morrison creek i gave him the lead and he proved to be a strong young rider.

Coming in from Missouri they LOVED BC and what is not to love you can be in the lush colorado trail then out in the open burn area with a variety of terrain.

Ryan who is 16 also had no trouble keeping the pace we ran today. They pushed this 41yr old around on a nice 25 ish mile loop

Great to ride with these two young men!

Then we were lucky to have a free condo in Steamboat for a couple days and got to ride with my good friend Andy who is finding a new way to live his life and whatever i can do to aid in this is ok by me! Especially if we get to ride together again! We chose to hit up the Mad Creek trail. New to both of us. A beautiful morning we had.

Nice gentle climb up with good conversation.

Up to the Mad Creek Cabin. We took off and headed up the trail taking a wrong turn which led us to another trail that will be explored at another time. Back to our intended route of going to the wilderness and back.

Turnaround point which was shitty because the trail ahead looked mighty good. But that is the way the government sees it - No Bikes in The Wilderness. Something that need to be changed.

Next up was up to the Red Dirt trail for our descent. Which no pics were taken just to keep it a secret. Well, no secret but just too much damn fun and no way im stopping to take pictures kind of descent!!

Yah, views suck!

The last few weeks have been great! With the 24hrs. in the sage not too far away it is time to put some miles in and start getting fit. The heat lately has zapped all motivation to ride at all. That is why i have lights i believe , just need to get out and pedal in the dark. Summer is speeding by and several rides i wanted to do, are looking slim to happen this year. Box O Rox is also on the backburner we need to get this project done sooner than later, but this heat is gonna have to settle down.

Get out and ride if you can and if not hit the trails by foot there is alot going on out there.

July- now the rides begin!

2010-07-06T07:45:00.004-06:00

Late June brought full moon rides at BC on a t.i.t.s. ride. That left Jeremy and i out for a few hours with nothing but empty trails and the setting sun chasing us through the trees.

Another t.i.t.s ride found us at Georgetown on the cliffside trail- Silvercreek. Not the ride we planned due to booming thunder and a little too close lightning strikes!

Hit up Waterton, Indian Creek, Ringtail and back to the roxy loop with lubes and Sean this past weekend and ran into Jerry. Sean ducked out on a shorter loop. Next up Spikefest this weekend! SOunds like Goatboy is going to just "take it easy" and ride with us 55 milers. With a different finish this year that may require some more route finding it will be nice to hit up some new stuff!

Goat was with us in spirit today!

Lubes railin the ringtail
the mandatory roxborough shot!

Just have to plan right and eat as this is a big day for me at least with the little riding as of late. Nothing too big to prepare but the mind is ready and legs willing!

Not always about the ride

2010-06-21T21:57:00.003-06:00

This was the first campsite, just finishing dinner when the local sheriff rolls by and says we gotta move, no signs but apparently no camping. Which was no easy task at 7:00 pm. everybody pitched in and we more or less loaded as tight as we were, with 4 people, 130lb. labrador, 4 bikes and gear, back into 4runner and off to find a new spot. Which turned out to be quite nice! Not next to the water and bugs!

Found a little bouldering to do as my kids are taking a liking to this. Of course cody has to have all the gear to go along. Today was a bike helmet and tennis shoes.

Always something peaceful about a campfire, unless there is stranny's being passed around! Not this trip though, rest and relaxation and exploring. And great food prepared by my wife.

Wet a line or two but caught nothing, except for a smile or two!

Victory! Not sure the rating on this one, he made it up alot easier than i
I got to sneak in a solo ride and it was much needed.

Last weeks, night ride was a rare tuesday and we headed up to idaho springs for some new to me trail. Well, we started on the old Waterline trail above the waterwheel. I used to run that in junior high for ski team training. Forgot how narrow and exposed that bit of trail is!

The crew! minus dan who apparently ducked out of the pic. Something about witness protection.

Our high point for the evening, 3.5 miles above squaw pass and at the top of Warren Gulch. Just in time for a little thundering applause for our arduous 4000' climb only to lose the same in 5-6 miles back to idaho springs!

This was the plan

2010-06-12T15:57:00.005-06:00

But mother nature and lakewood parks put the kabosh on this project.

Had a good number of people lined up to work today lets just hope it comes together again real soon! Thanks to all those ready to go today!!

Dont get me wrong, i appreciate what mother nature has done lately! Just wish she could of held off a bit! ;)

Welcome to the Jungle!

2010-06-09T19:52:00.003-06:00

Set alarm for 4:00am and met up with bad andy, scar and danno for a little deer creek. The lower rattlesnake trail was wet, overgrown and smelled oh so good! After the first few lashes across the face, i decided to pull over and take out the camera (which also doubled as letting the group go ahead and knock off most of the water of all the overgrowth ;) ) it actually felt pretty good though! Not too many mornings like this. The rain the night before treated us to near perfect trail conditions!

Scar hitting the plym mtn. trail.

The dawn of a new day for all to see, hear and bask in! I just wanted to get around the next corner to see what God had for us next!

No dissapointments!

bad andy
pinch flatted on the way down red mesa

Off to work...........but my mind wandered back to here a lot today!! May just head back here on Monday morning for a little more! Hope you had a great day!

Im still Fat!

2010-06-08T18:02:00.007-06:00

No not that kinda fat, (although im working on that too!) but the fats up in Georgetown! Started with a little bit of railroad grade. With some tucked away singletrack in to warm up the engine's.

then it was up up and more up to the old waldorf mine site at about 11,800' : Some remnants of late season turns remain in that center couloir on Torreys peak at 14,267'

The evil mGe and Guac makin it to the top.

Then it was some fast downhill and then some quality time pushing my bike up alot to get to here.

After this i didnt pull the camera out once i was too busy grabbing a handful of brakes for the wild ride back down. You know its steep if Jeremy's walkin!!
Nice to be in the high country and breathin clean air!!

To Grandmothers house we go

2010-06-01T22:20:00.005-06:00

I had a plan to ride from waterton to this point ( somewhere near bailey) via the CT, based on my lack of much riding lately, one day a week maybe two. Thought that was a little more than i had in me. So i just opted to sleep in, and get dropped off in buff creek. It was hot and nearing 12:30

For a holiday weekend trails were pretty empty, i was pleasantly surprised. Climb up shinglemill felt great up to CT. I love the Colorado Trail!

This is where my big boy pants were starting to creep down, i headed to the right.

And rightfully so as i neared the top of the last climb i was waay underfed and not hydrated at all. Once i hit the road anything that tilted upward was just suckage! The washboard proved to be a bit jarring and actually popped my back and that felt pretty good!

The last of the steep roads and it is a longer one, totally doable on a 32x18 but here is where those big boy pants fell all the way down to my ankles and had the hike up shame up this hill. But that was soon forgotten as i crested and tore down the other side, oh one more hill but i could smell food and a frosty pbr from here so i stood on the pedals and drug my sorry but down the driveway!

To this place that is just as cozy as it looks!

Once fed, the fort building began put up main supports and they took over from there.

not too shabby

the point overlooking the river and a good place to think, thanks guys!

For a great weekend!

Up and down!

2010-05-28T21:35:00.004-06:00

Spent some time in Vancouver with codys hockey team! Two times in Canada within 4 months. Little less snow this time around.

This is Big Doug, 900 year old tree was about 200 ft tall.
Capilano Suspension bridge, 230' across and a long ways down!! And very shaky going across. Good thing im not afraid of heights.

Cleveland Dam

So, i didnt do very good on the hockey pics

Pike place market

Back to biking, t.i.t.s. ride at 3 sisters it was one week ago that i rode and it was 3 sis. This one week between rides has got to stop! Just get to feeling good, then get lazy and have to work extra hard to keep up with the crew!

Here's funrover gettin it done on some rocks on dedisse

Nice to know who your friends are!

Time to get back into shape! No excuses

New bikes are sweeet!

2010-05-17T22:44:00.006-06:00

Nope, i didnt get a new bike but take the bars off, grease. Install new bottom bracket, put new brake pads on and my bike is oh so quiet and smooth. Ive had a bar creak for about oh, 4 years. no more! Its stealthy other than my hard breathing!

No ask lubes what a new bike is like. He rolled out "high ho silver" today

Yes that is a 29er Lubes is just a big ol boy. Spike laying down the over/ under on when this frame snaps.

Snap?? why do you ask that?

" Seriously, once we crest that ridge the rest of the day is all downhill, no shit! "

Ran into ed and jj on the CT

Sean - why do my cranks feel wierd?
ON the way to the lost creek wilderness via the LEGAL rolling creek tr. up to the boundary

last one is dedisse from last week

Enjoy the world!

Lotb and some sisters

2010-05-07T22:03:00.002-06:00

Hit up lair o bear on tuesday with lubes and we ran into too many toyz at the start. He geared up and joined us. He does not have much to say to me. Once we started climbing we parted ways and lubes and i stomped that climb like a bad habit! I pushed beyond the pain in some areas instead of giving in. It is slowly coming back and these climbs are helping. Once up top the winds picked up and clouds were moving in fast.

Never did see scott again, i guess he came up and bombed back down. All that suspension would probably be pretty fun! I hit the rock section and i froze up, dammit i dont get it. I have rode that section a bunch of times but was not feeling it. It is all in my head and i just need to ride that shit!

Thursday was a sublime ride with tacky trails at 3 sisters. Put foot down twice on sisters descent made the hard right by the rock that has pestered me the last few times.

Bike is ready for some new pads and bb is making some noise and getting some slop. Pads in and waiting for the bb to come in.

ahhh! Thats what im talkin about!

2010-05-02T14:53:00.003-06:00

Finally getting over the crud! I was not bailing today! Not totally over it , but im over it!
Today was Jeremy's little plan, But we were just up there to ride a normal ride. Although i was tempted to give it a go.
Met up with Michael (velocipede Jockey) and Lubes We got off to a normal start time of 8:00 It was a bit chilly but we managed.

Ran into AV boy and he was looking strong, he had a bit of an early start then not long after ran into jeremy at about the 27 mile mark of his route of some 80 odd miles. You can read more here of the: first annual Spring Buffalo Creek Spiderweb Classic! We made it out to chair rocks today that had been foiled the two previous times due to weather.
Chair rocks
Kitty is looking really nice!

Down with the sickness

2010-04-27T21:04:00.002-06:00

No this is not a sweet vid with some Disturbed playing! wish it was.

4:20 ride and t.i.t.s. ride last week was it for me. My lack of energy and muscles shutting down was the sign of things to come. Had a bigger ride planned for thurs. nite but some wet snow moving in put a damper on things and we all agreed to head down shinglemill. Still knocked out a 26 mile out and back with some nice kitty involved!

Spent the weekend lying around watched a few movies and pretty much was a big grump. Both kids had the same thing so we all battled! Had planned on meeting at bc on sun. morning and i bailed on that.

Back to work today in evergreen and no bike. tomorrow though.......hmmmm......

Some random pics from past few weeks

2010-04-21T07:08:00.005-06:00

These were my bunk mates for the 6th grade outdoor lab trip few weeks ago.

Getting their survival skills going

The Astronomy talk at outdoor lab is always very cool with great hubble pics as well!

My sons new favorite thing was in the boulder house! Now he's scouting out lines we could build in the house including an inverted section!

Low repel is always a challenge taking that first step back and trusting.
BC is finally becoming more rideable after a seemingly long winter up there! Yes it is greening up and the trails are in amazing shape!
from our t.i.t.s. ride last week
Build day on the double black diamond trial includes several drops like this one we were working on.
This mess was had after some of our trail crew leaders wanted to launch a boulder off the side of the mtn and hopefully have it fall into place where we could use it. Problem is this granite just breaks apart and makes a clusterfuck mess! After removing most of the boulders we started to gain some ground just in time for the day to near an end. This section was a hard one to be assigned to. There are many build days to get back and finish it on. Might be on a crew or someone else may take it on and come up with more than we could.

looking better already

Dave was testing out their section they worked on it was looking pretty damn good and he made it look way easier than it was!

Some 4:20 action at 3 sisters yesterday green trees, green snacks and nice and tacky trails!

Spring is full on i believe

2010-04-11T20:22:00.002-06:00

Have some work to be done in the next couple months.

including trail work on GM on the box o rox section. work in general is piling up and that is a good thing right now.

Have some plans for camping alot this summer

rode GM last week for a night ride and then a monday ride was headed to bc but other plans sent me to green mountain instead for a shorter afternoon.

Spent last week up at Id Ra Ha Je mountain lab school with my son and his 6th grade class. I was the only dad who bunked/chaperoned the 7 boys and was a great experience ( went with katelyn's class a few years back) and yes it snowed again not 4feet but it snowed.

Was a great time watching these kids who hardly ever get to the mountains learn some basics of outdoors and challenge themselves! Got to do some repelling, bouldering, challenge course, riflery, and archery. As well as night hikes and devotion time.

Pics to follow-

Today was spent riding BC finally some dry trail and a beautiful day! Blue skies, 29 to start but warmed up quickly! Very quickly. Rode with Jerry(canyonrat) and sean(av boy) and although we said would be a casual ride it felt like the pace was a bit higher, and it felt good! Maybe a thurs. night t.i.t.s. ride up thata way this week.

bikes r cool ride your bike

2010-03-30T22:17:00.009-06:00

Yes i too have one of those bike with shifty things and some squish. Although the suspension on this is set up stiff and i think i even locked out the rear this day just for fun. Snow ride a while back .

Sunday proved to be shitty again around here so mGe, texts and said 5:30 meeting up and heading to pueblo. Dry? sure! the ney sayers on mtbr. pshhhh! not always right.

av-boy (sean) on his uhmm, lets just say a nice grey-ish bike!

Pedros point almost looks tropical- well, not quite but compared to lately its good!

The instigator and our pace leader. HE just keeps gettin faster. note to self: lay off the ice cream!

Jerry aka: Canyonrat on his new steed a Siren ss and she is a beaut! Seeing a theme here?

Good ol creek crossings are nice when its hot and not 30 degrees!

40 mi. for the day and we were all grins!

Short commute on the roadie this am and took a longer way home. So in the same month rode all 3 of my bikes in some fashion. But it always comes back to the steel 69er that i have grown to love.

Got 28 minutes its worth watching!

2010-03-22T21:40:00.003-06:00

http://vimeo.com/10309216

People who love something dont let things stand in their way of doing them.

Lookin back on some Voo Doo healin

2010-03-17T22:10:00.008-06:00

Headed to Pueblo last sunday,(slow in posting been busy at work). With the time change met jeremy at 5:30 am which was really 4:30 but oh well. Ridin is better than sleeping in. Roughly 2 hrs. later we were unloading in the cool temps and what looked to be the first in the lot. OF course who in the hell gets to pueblo at 7:30 in the morning on a sunday! None of the photos are in order but here was our morning.

We found this relic, (should have brought it home) at the voo doo loop. Did a little research when i got home and found out these were in a set of 64 that came out in the 70's with the whole broncos team (dad do you remember these?)

Its original state:

Riding with wilson!, about the first 5 pics i took of jeremy were either head cut off, behind a bush or this one. Pretty funny actually!

The highlight of the day was coming up on two bald eagles on several occasions, probably a couple sets of them. Again more research, female bald eagles also have the white head.
Being no more than 5 feet away from one as it took off from a ledge just below the trail scared the shit out of me but one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen!
Ramp into keyhole, stuck to mostly the xc stuff but played in a couple canyons on the rocks.
i believe this was my second attempt as the first one was lame, had to go back and get it. i did.

Just what i needed some saddle time and head clearing time. Jeremy was ahead of me most of the time so that gave me time to soak in the scenery and just ride. Close to 40 miles and 1700' (felt like more) Cloudy and cold but i didnt care. i was riding as were the eagles soaring!

Meyers ranch

2010-03-06T07:35:00.006-07:00

A little after work thursday evening spin into the darkness. The t.i.t.s. rides have been lacking lately due to shitty trails, being out of town so mostly just a few here and there with a handful of people. Still just lacking power and lungs. This evenings ride was short but good all around! Meyers is a sweet little trail with just enough climbing to keep you breathing hard, throw in some soft snow and you've got a full workout! Temps were pretty warm which softened things up. As the eve. went on snow firmed up nicely! Just in time for the descent! ;)

up

some down
napping
basking in the glow of the amoeba!
Goat wheelie boy

285 down there somewhere
Jeremy brought our hydration
i convinced him the trail was this way and he found a soft spot!
Spring is approaching......got to get the skis out at least a couple times that is lame! best backcountry is yet to come though!

it hurts so good

2010-03-01T22:16:00.010-07:00

Little HR spin on monday after getting home from Quebec before going to airport to get cody.
nice packed down singletrack a quick 30 min. ride to get here.

then its on to the sat. ride from Cary's house. Starts off with a nice warm up climb out his front door. Not a bad place to live......Jeremy and his quickness
Sean and i photo credit mGe
jeremy sayin "go on get it" in his southern drawl
once we get past here should be good to go!
ok ok a little hike a bike never hurt anybody!

Today was a head clearin day, snow, hiking, some riding, more hiking and many laughs! The journey and the stuff in between is where its at! Didnt have any expectations today so was not dissapointed in the result.

That is until we got to the road-126- and headed back toward pine valley. The geared hammerheads were off and spinning and the lonely singlespeeders were left to spin away. Then there was one and more tome for the mind to wander. I think i saw and appreciated my surroundings more today than i have in a long while. Didn't matter if i was last but i was pretty worked when we got back over pine valley and making the 2 mile climb back to carys house. I have ridden this hill twice now and this was more painful than the first. Time to get my lazy ass back in the saddle and pedal, spring is approaching!

little update

2010-02-17T19:10:00.004-07:00

Boys just played a few scrimmages with a very busy schedule. Which keeps us on our toes to meet the bus and be on time for everything because as we have found out the bus will only wait for the boys if a parent is late the bus leaves. better be on time! We have not missed a bus yet. But it does not allow much room to just kick it and explore too much. We have skipped a few things just so we could check out some things we were set on seeing. Beers are about $7-$8 each at most restaurants so i have skipped out on those! Did go to the Ramparts game lastnight, the local Junior hockey team owned and coached by Patrick Roy. Our billet family has been so nice and good to cody and his teammate austen. They have come to watch all games and have fed them well. They even brought coffee and donuts for our whole team parents for this mornings game. Very gracious family. This mornings game was game 2 of the tournament. We were placed up against last years champion of the tournament. This team has played in 50 of the 51 years this tournament has been in existence. They are an all star team which gets kids from all over and build it just for this tournament. They have paid coaches and huge sponsor money! They have made it to the finals the last 4 years and they are Sandbaggers and should be in the AA bracket. We are AA at home but are considered B for this tournament which would make the Hershey Bears a AAA team. So needless to say they kicked our ass! 9-1. So we are out of the tournament beaten by the Hershey Bears from PA. Now we have two scrimmages a day for the next two days then one a day till Sunday. We hit the tubing at Valcartier. Which was a total blast! Super steep tubing runs when you get 6-8 people all hooked together you haul ass!

Yesterday was a tour if the ice hotel Wow! amazing! this place was! My pics wont do it justice but it truly was amazing. Prob. pics up when i get back.

So we are here wishing our boys made it further if it werent for those shittin hershey sandbaggers! But our boys are getting an experience of a lifetime and some time for our family as well. My daughter and wife are getting their fill of the culture as well. Good time for our family too! Hit up a bike shop yesterday and was kind of like a bicycle village. Couldnt find anything i wanted to buy though. Still one i want to find that is supposed to be really cool though!

Hope you all are good! Ready to get back and get a ride in!

Avoir!

I have to add this bit, this is the by far the best jacket you could own! handsdown!

1 game 1 win

2010-02-12T15:13:00.002-07:00

Boys played their first game today and won. Their goalie kept that team in the game for sure. Shots were way in our favor but we couldnt seem to find the back of the net very well! Cody got an assist on the winning goal for a 3-2 win in overtime! Boys head to their billet families tonight. The Avs are treating them like gold and it is really cool. Going to check out some sights tomorrow I spotted an ice bar just around the corner from the hotel.

pics to come next couple days.

just arrived!

2010-02-11T22:35:00.003-07:00

finally to quebec at our hotel little too fancy for me but that is where the team is staying! Oldest hotel in Quebec! (more on that later)

its 12:40 in the morning updates to follow! think i found an old bike shop to check out when i have time to sneak away!

Hope the BC ride was fun!

snowy singletrack

2010-02-08T07:04:00.005-07:00

Met up with Eric , Scott and Jerry at GM. Been a long while since ridin with eric. Good to see you man! Havin fun on the climb right out of the chute. Never gets easier but a little better each time up. Scott decides to twist his bottom bracket cup out and head back down to fix it. So 3 o us trudged on not bad on the climb up the singletrack. Soon as we hit the road, ugh! Grind our way up to Rooney valley and a snowy descent down. We decided to head over to Zorro and on up to Dakota. Snow and slick rocks anyway made for a sketchy ride. I was clipped in maybe 10% of dakota and that was ugly! Rode some walked more, bounced on my seat with feet in the air a few times! Stayed upright barely!

Picked up some Chub to take to the neighbors for super bowl, glad to see the Saints pull out a win for them and the city of New Orleans.

Few more from yesterday

2010-02-05T07:01:00.002-07:00

Good ol box o rox trail. Actually riding relatively smooth at the moment. It is just the mud bog section that sucks right now.

nite ride out -day ride in!

2010-02-04T22:22:00.002-07:00

Met up with Scott (nabbed your photo!) and we hit lower GM around to Zorro. "your gonna make me ride dakota aren't you?" "yep" he says. ok only one way to gain confidence again. I'm fine on the climbs and the descents although a little slow. But the technical has been handin it to me lately. Today, had an earbud in with some music goin and felt it a bit more. Rolled alot more that the other day. Let go of the brakes a little more and most of all was smilin! ;)
Headed back to GM temp went down some and climbed box o rox. With the wind at our backs we wound our way down rooney over sol terra and back to the TH. Then lubes rolled back to his house.

not a bad place to ride a bicycle

2010-02-03T08:00:00.001-07:00

borrowed this pic from Jill up in Alaska one can only daydream........