Yeti Tribe Meet-Wales 2009

COMotion teammate Chris Taylor and I took the plunge unsupported and represented the US at the 2009 Yetifan Gathering in Wales. Having attended all 8 US Yeti Tribe Meetings, I decided this year to go across the pond and attending one of the similar events there coordinated by Great Britain resident and http://www.yetifan.com/ creator Andrew. The 2009 event was held in Glyncorrwg, Wales.

Through the website forums, we got to know several of the Yeti devoted and arranged some assistance from tribe members there. Comotion team mate Chris Taylor has roots in the country and agreed to come along and share his left-sided driving skills.

Hosting us through the weekend were Fred and Melisa who treated us like rock stars and filled in the blanks when we were clueless. Fred designed a killer jersey to commemorate the meeting and is an avid mountain biker, rock climber, rugby player and golfer.

The organized rides began at the awesome Glyncorrwg ride center where many of the 35 meeting attendees were camping. Saturday's venture lasted a full 5 hours and had plenty of climbing and obstacles on the perpetually wet mountainside trails above the center. Sunday's ride was a shorter but at a quicker pace with fewer riders. They wore this old man out.

The riding might be compared to North Shore, or Northeastern US riding since rain was an everyday occurance. We were lucky and managed to get almost all the riding we could stand without be caught in any major rains storms.

The challenges of keeping drivetrains and bearing parts from rusting up is something we never worry about in 12% humidity Colorado. I dropped one very orange -nickle plated SRAM chain in the trash can after returning to the states.

I'll just let the photos speak for themselves and encourage anyone interested in more details to give me a shout.


A special thanks to all who helped put on the event and especially Fred and Melisa. We hope to repay the favor during a trip to ride Colorado's mountains.

STILES !!!!

More photos are on http://www.yetifan.com/ and CT's photo site at http://www.mtcolorado.com/raceday/thumbnails.php?album=43

DNFed

After 7 years of racing without a single mechanical failure, and DNF, Snowmass 2009 was the one. The same race 2 years ago forced an 8 mile bike push to finish but this was a plain ole DNF. Climbing out of the sawtoothed singletrack on the first lap, I found myself in a way too big front chainring and instead of calming down and downshifting, I stood up on the pedals and "CLINK" broke a power link barely missing the nut rupture associated with no-chaindrive-syndrome (NCS).

Confidence has been so high this year with the top level Yeti, Shimano and Continental trail-ware, I abandoned tools, spare parts and inflators altogether for the 2 hour ride. Gambled and lost.

There was little sympathy from team members as I whined about my mis-fortune and complete stupidity for not carying a single 2 oz. power-link.

Snake-eyes....you lose.

Highlight of the weekend was seeing the man..Lance Armstrong in the flesh and sweating like the rest of us. Turns out he looks like every other skinny racer on the start line but early on in the contest, he proved there was little competition for the Texan now sporting the Colorado State Championship jersey.

While I was licking my wounds at the top of the Short/Long lap divide, Lance came by me on his second lap through a choppy technical section and basically flew over the trail debris, across the service road and on to the lower section in a smooth flow making it look easy.

But he had a chain.

Just another day at work for L A.

Following day's Super D was a little better considering I finished without a mechanical, gained 1 spot in the series competition and beat Frenchie because he crashed. I did not break any bones or loose any flesh. I also did not suffered a position loss in the MSC Series XC competition since the locals beat everyone up.

Maybe I'm a lucky guy after all.

Thanks to Papa Taylor for the cool Snowmass photos.

Non-Stop August Starts With Copper Triangle Ride

August will be the month we did not stay home and pull weeds. Friday found us heading for Silverthorn where we would camp out at the Luxury Inn and I would be set for the 6:30am start of my first Copper Triangle road ride. Donations benefit the Davis Phinney Foundation http://www.davisphinneyfoundation.org/ and since the ride is on the Bucket List, this year seemed logical.

Most would doubt the intelligence of a guy who would leave his wife, 13 year old granddaughter and a friend all day in Silverthorn to shop the Outlet Malls but hey, you do what you gotta do.

The course ran me backwards on routes I have previously ridden during Ride The Rockies and the Triple Bypass. It also covered the awesome Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway between Leadville and Minturn I had not cycled. The Triangle consist of Freemont,Tennesee and Vail Passes.

The starting third of the course was a cold 36 degrees when we started the ascent up Highway 91 from Copper Resort to Freemont Pass at 11,318 feet above sea level then on to Leadville. I was 45 minutes into the climb before I ever used the big ring and an hour before the Dura Ace brakes were asked to participate. Once I could feel my fingers again in Pbville, thing got fun. Hwy 24 and Tennessee Pass is probably one of the most beautiful rides in Colorado with a 30 mile long stretch of conifer forest relatively unaffected by the pine beetle kill. We passed Ski Cooper and the famed Camp Hale on our way to the ultimate yuppie town of Minturn. After a parade through Vail's round-a-bouts it was on to the final climb of the day on the popular I-70 bike trail connecting Vail to Copper.

If you've traveled Interstate 70 in Colorado, you have seen the trail as it runs between the east and westbound lanes of the interstate after the Vail Pass rest area.

That single file bike path descent back to the starting line was our ceremonial final stage. The cheering crowds lining the corridored route through the resort base made everyone forget the climbs. For just a moment, we thought we were one of the hero finishers of the Tour de France. The event was flawless from my eyes. Well organized, supported throughout and a spectacular route. And the coolest thing on Vail pass..... Someone thought to have Cracker Jacks at the final aid station!