Winter Time Project Priorities...You can help...

Break out instruction manual and mini pump for exercise ball..... Rebuild 3 Rp23s

Sort out 30+ jerseys for summer yard sale...naaw..

Replace air freshener cause I share the basement with 2 wiener dogs.....
Change out the Simple Green in the parts washer because I think some of the GREEN is not so simple.

Re-fill flask with Mr. Weller's finest..Christmas gift hint.....

Start at the beginning. 3.5mm, 4mm,5mm,5.5mm,6mm,7mm,8mm,9mm,10mm..Sharpies are for black wheel ding makeup. E-Tape for everything else.

Oh, yea NEW ASRc to reconstruct before the 2010 XC season.

Covidien buddy John Twa donated a twin SID providing parts for my ultra light ARC fork resuscitation. Should do that this year. Winter Park Hillclimb is just around the corner.4 pairs of Cranky Bros. to rebuild.
Sherman big bike fork to re-seal before the spring Moab assault.HOW ABOUT IT, WHAT SHOULD I START FIRST... I'M LEANING TOWARDS THE FLASK REFILL !!!!!

OUT OF RETIREMENT ALREADY-THINKING ABOUT 2010

After a month off and acting like I don't care, the local Cyclocross scene has me semi-motivated about actually getting off my duff and returning to competition.

Attending the 2009 Blue Sky Xilinx CX in neighboring Longmont was a methadone treatment into the addictive world of cycling competition.

Sugar and I just hung out with COMO buddies and fellow workers to enjoy the great Colorado outdoor recovery from a recent snow storm. Sun and mud were plentiful for a perfect Halloween Saturday in Colorado.

My personal pick for the win was Georgia Gould who took the Silver in Longmont

Women's Results:
1. Katherine Compton Planet Bike
2. Georgia Gould Luna Chix
3. Alison Dunlap Luna Chix
4. Meredith Miller Cal Giant Strawberry
5. Kelli Emmett Giant Bicycles
6. Amy Dombroski Webcor Builders
7. Heather Irmiger Subaru/gary Fisher
8. Barbara Howe Vanderkitten
9. Alison Powers Team Fuji
10. Lisa Matlock Strong Natural Grocers P/b

CT managed a respectable finish and spent 45 minutes waiting to power wash the muck from the drivetrain of his Yeti CX steed.

Oliver went silently by barely recognizable with the "red beard" removed. Something about getting married the week before. I don't get it.

Motivation had me riding the Yeti CX from B'field to the Boulder Cup race Sunday at the Boulder Reservoir. The 45 mile, 2K foot elevation gain road ride was not hard but I'll need to catch up over the winter months and pay for the Whoppers and fries.

Yeah, that's the ticket-snow mud and sunshine.

Still In De-Training Mode

Wedding done.
Since the season ended I've riden the Yeti CX 25 miles on the Dry Creek trail and one clumsy climb up Mt. Falcon. Studying what to do next while the weight piles on..Any suggestions? Just don't say Cros racing..

Final Weekend Split Between Friends and Team

The middle week of September was split between long-time friends Martha Spaulding and Dr. Paul Fournier and the 2009 COMOtion Sports team both celebrating monumental events. Friday's get-out-of-town scramble took us to the tunnel, then a hard right at Silverthorn up to Kremling and on to Steamboat Springs after ascending Rabbit Ears Pass. We were there for Paul and Martha's wedding atop the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort. An awesome event highlighted by a high altitude sunsetthat got more spectacular by the minute as we watched the evening retire over the golden Yampa River Valley. We were 10,568 feet above sea level.

After an evening of dancing with my bride of 36 years and a couple or six adult beverages later, we enjoyed the final weekend at a Colorado ski resort without having to switch number plates, lube chains or calculate glucose levels, warm up or start times. NICE!!!!

Sunday noonish we headed south to Breckenridge to celebrate with the team who made the 7th consecutive Mountain States Cup Series championship a reality.The series awards came late but as predicted, I managed to survive for a silver medallion second place in the Cat 2 50+ men's division. Elephant Rock century and Copper Triangle plus sixteen races including the Super "D" series is a long and (+$) summer sport.

The Team laid cool as ever passing time before the final series announcements with an impromptu Nerf football game under the stage.
After category awards, we took our rightful place center stage announcing once again that we were the most organized, talented and serious team in the series. Credit to the freshmen for carrying the alumni through- Margie, Evie, Cary, Holly and Ryan spot lighted the podiums and kept even the oldest of the group enthused about the year's outcome. Thanks guys, proud to call you teammates.

2009 Mountain States Cup Series ChampionsLANCE DID NOT DO 8

Sol Survivor Now Understood

Teammate Cary Dunn and I enjoyed the reasonable way to ascend Sol Vista's climb..................................
The next to last stop on the 2009 Mountain States Cup Series ( http://www.racemsc.com/ ) was held at Sol Vista Ski Resort and titled "Sol Survivor. I'm not sure if I was the only one, but survivor describes the 3 day stay accurately.
Having broken every training, diet and race preparation rule this year I should not have been surprised that my performance sucked. I've been run down now for the last 2 months evident with high blood glucose readings, respiratory infections, constant sinus drainage and multiple fever blisters.
Enough excuses.

I wanted to cement a podium for the series final in Breckenridge next weekend without having to endure the 3 -event stage race final.

Mission accomplished!!
Adding 344 points for the series through the XC and STXC gruel, I'm in for a second place finish in the Cat 2, 50+ series. My apologies to cheering COMotion Sports teammates embarrassed by my double-lapped short track run during the 30 + youngsters race.

The XC course included never ending climbs and the most technical descents ever encountered in 7 years of XC racing. Riders attempted to stay clipped but somewhere between the first drop and the pass beside the EMT hammock, you died. If you made that descent...your eyes were closed and you smoke dope. The terrain mimicked a badly cleaned, 15 degree fireplace pit that was littered with baby heads, momma heads, daddy heads and dinosaur heads. Add on that airborne dust eliminated any visibility. The same section was used in the Super Downhill and qualified for the pure Downhill route. The emergency vehicles streaming past our resort room all weekend was a reminder of just how tough the conditions were at the Sol Survivor.

Monday's Super D race was as always, a fun ride. Knowing what was in store from the XC drop, I was sure to purposely line up in the second squadron and I just grabbed the ASX by the horns and tried to ride the 41 pound bucking bronc to the bottom. The over 50 trio of me, Woody and Frenchie have had fun all season long and politely assembled at the rear, grinned and grunted downward. I elected to toss the Yeti down the drop and slide on my butt until we were reunited at the bottom.

Sol Vista hosted the team's annual feed and sponsor appreciation event. Thanks to Felix, Marcy and crew for rustling up the grub for stinky and hungry COMotion racers and friends.

To get an idea of a typical SV DH run, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1LIAUpKwk&feature=relatedt

COPPER CUP COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE....

Last place in the XC, next to last in the Super D and a two in a row DNF in the Short Track left me wishing this season was over. In reality, it all but cemented a second place attendance award for the 2009 Mountain States Cup XC Endurance Series with the +144 points awarded for 7th.

Youngster teammate Carry Dunn performed the hat trick this weekend winning all three events but may have pushing me off the podium in the 30+ Super D series.... All good!!!

The second ever DNF was caused by an over enthusiastic team member who pushed me faster than the tiny little 1.95 Kenda tires have ever gone on the ARC hardtail. The push was so violent that the jolt caused the tire bead to spin off the rim exposing the under-inflated road tube to the jagged rocks on the downhill section. My neck has also been stiff stince the incident.

Next week we wrap it up at Sol Vista with a laid back holiday weekend racing all three disciplines celebrating the 7th COMOtion Sports Team win with the wieners in attendance and the BBQ and beer a priority.

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!