Semi-Retirement Moves Us South

Uncle Raul spared no expense in 1st class transportation for our guests.

Over the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays, we will be spending time in Oklahoma, Texas and then jump the puddle to Colombia.
Two weeks in the Sooner State have lead to rides on the Big Top through Post oak singletracks with  sandy washes,  man-built downhills and rooty switchbacks. Major efforts dodging poison ivy, sand burrs and needle grass thrown in.   Thunderbird State Park near Norman showed me a surprising maze of single track that wound endlessly through the Little River drainage basin in central Oklahoma. Trail building skills and efforts  here are much appreciated and come at a much greater costs than following a natural fall line in the Rockies.

What the state lacks in elevation is made up by traversing multiple canyons with 2x4 supplemented drops and red dirt landings. The roller-coaster single tracks are a soothing diversion from Front Range babyhead and waterbar dodging trails and high altitude panting.

Back for a family Christmas  and south again to Dallas with son Joshua and daughter-in-law Lilly.  Next stop,  Bogota, Columbia where the couple joined together in a Catholic church sanctioned ceremony.  Mountain bike riding there was limited to dirt trails in Simon Bolivar park on a rigid hardtail without clip-in pedals.  Was a blast to spin mountain bike rubber on my 3rd continent.

Big city riding means park trails and good company.  Daughter-in-law Lilybeth and her sister Laura kept me honest.

Back again in the states and contemplating a serious race season for 2012.

2011 Cross Country Series Ends In 9th Victory

If you are reading this, you probably know that for the last 5 years, I have had the opportunity to be a part of the COMotion Sports' cross country race team.  We mainly concentrated on the Mountain States Cup Series but have made our mark on the 24 Hour scene and Cyclocross venues.

 Over the Labor Day weekend, we collected our 9th consecutive series championship and unlike last year, we totally dominated with 20,144 points.  The closest runner up team scored 9,006 points.  As always, the freshman newbies towed the train.

Katie Sodergren, the Cat 1, 19-29 year old COMotion Sports racer blew out her competitors taking 1st place with an astounding 3,274 points. Katie participated in 16 of the 19 series races.  She and her father spent a lot of quality time together preparing  for and celebrating her summer wins.   Those many wins included a 1st place in the USAC Cross Country National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho. Her continuing career as a Colorado University racer is one our team can take pride in.

Cool summer blog has been in draft form too long and it's time to move on.

USA Pro Tour Challenge Completed

Just don't dress like a cycling groupie!

Teresa and I were able to be a part of 4 of the 6 stages of the inaugural USA Pro Tour Challenge and enjoyed every minute of it. 

• We saw the start of Stage1 in Salida and intercepted the breakaway on Hwy 50 on their way to Monarch Pass..
• I crawled up Cottonwood Pass from the east to witness the first Stage 2 KOM race while Teresa instructed the uneducated  RV Resort crowd as they flew by on Hwy 24 in Buena Vista.
• We welcomed the Stage 5 winner into Breckenridge then climber Hoosier Pass to stay over in Fairplay.
• Stage 6 was witnessed from the Civic Center in Denver where we cheered on the racers 12 times as they completed the final downtown Denver laps. Video below.

Colorado did an outstanding job of bringing the highest level of cycling talent in the world to its roadways.  The event will no doubt be recorded as a success in every category.  Crowds were phenomenal, accidents and interruptions were few and interest in Colorado two-wheeling received a huge boost. 



Teresa and Rwanda National Cycling Team members.

 In Breckenridge, we shared a gondola ride with two of the visiting Rwanda National Cycling Team riders.  The team will be in the US promoting cycling as a way to change the country's image and bring better times to Rwanda through cycling. See their story here.

RACING ACTION IN DOWNTOWN DENVER

The end results for us who already live the Colorado cycling life will be a greater awareness from vehicle drivers, added funding support for off road trails and bike lanes. More folks will accept cycling as a source of fun, fitness, economical transportation and a way of reducing fuel burning alternatives.

PRO TOUR CHALLENGE--COTTONWOOD PASS -STAGE TWO

We've lived in Colorado 14 years now and everybody knows you start above treeline adventures before 6:00am and finish by 1:00pm to avoid afternoon lightning and thunderstorms.



Everything I own atop Cottonwood  Pass trying to stay dry.



TV coverage of the Pro Tour Cycling Challenge did not consider this in the planning.   The ride up Cottonwood Pass from Buena Vista was 21 miles of predictive grunt work and 4,000 plus feet climbing but provided a challenge the road legs have not seen this year.

Two and a half hours later I was on top. In the first 20 minutes of the 1 hour long wait for the leaders, we were soaking wet, cold and eye level with thunderbolts.

The sky broke, the rain stopped and the breakaway group and -5 minute peleton flew by.  The sun only teased us with a 10 minute warm up.  The following descent was slick, cold and the least of my favorite cycling activities.  High speed road descent in rain with uncountable switchbacks.  Glad to report I am alive and will quit bitch'n soon.

Back at camp, we finished watching the race on the computer and was happy to see Big George land his 33rd pro win.   Break time after another slacker day in Buena Vista and we'll pick up the Pro Challenge later.

Teresa got this photograph of BMC racer Cadel Evans, 2011 Tour de France winner ,  just outside of Buena Vista. 

Can Frank and Andy Come Out and Play?

Frank was glad to see me in Salida.

Good time today following the Pro Tour Challenge Stage #1.  So much to see in such a short time, you have to plan carefully and hope for a little luck.  The pro team buses were almost an hour late arriving in Salida from Colorado Springs.

One by one they rolled in to the staging area and fans started following their favorite team's logo plastered Ubber $$$ motor coaches.  After an uneventful time hanging outside of the Garmin bus, we decided to go back and follow some of the latest arrivers.  That's when we spotted the Leopard Trek bikes piled on several team cars. Then there was an unmarked modest motor home sandwiched between a couple of  the Trek laden vehicles.  We suspected it carried precious cargo so we followed and took residence outside the bus door.  The hunch paid off.  Both Frank and Andy Schleck, Jens Voigt and the entire team slowly exited the bus one at a time after about a 30 minutes wait.  Teresa and I were 6 feet from the door.  We shot a few pictures through the bus windows and know Andy was bare chested and peaking out the front side window to build the crowd excitement. That would be the highlight we were looking for.



Andy Schleck emerged from the team bus and grabbed every pen and Sharpie offered.



The start was ceremonial but fast with 3 full laps through the streets of Salida a bike crazy town on any day.  We intercepted the breakaway and then the peleton on Hwy 50 on the way back to our RV camp.  Organization and participation by staff, volunteers and the Colorado Highway Patrol was phenomenal.

The stage was won by American Levy Leiphmer.  Frank podiumed 3rd and Andy finished 45th for the day.

Tomorrow I ride up Cottonwod Pass from Buena Vista to meet the racers under the King of the Mountain banner and then descend back to BV for a little more relaxation.

Mountain Biking An International Experience

Great thing about cycling is that it knows no geographical boundaries.  We've had many opportunities to ride with enthusiasts from all around the globe. We've travel to foreign countries and all across the US to share our passion.


David was amused at the possibility of being eaten by a mountain lion.

 Another short but great chapter took place this morning with a visitor from Australia.  David Collins planned a cross America holiday that included stops in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, New York and Boulder, Colorado.   The 31 year old website designer was accompanied by his wife, 2 year old son, brother and brother's girlfriend.   Boulder made the list based on his professional road cycling brother-in-law's recommendation and web searches of cycling in Colorado.

David contacted the COMotion Sports website asking if any group rides were available that he could join.  Word made it to me and I e-mailed David offering local guide service.  We hooked up in Boulder early morning and headed for one of my favorite trails, Heil Ranch. See our route and stats at http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=209701417094267827170.0004ab04b4d83a344ba27

The Aussie rider performed flawlessly on a rented Specialized 29er hardtail despite the extremely rocky trails served up by the Boulder County open space.  After the ride, we headed back to town and found parking lot fundraising burgers at the local Alfalfa health food store. Yum.

Dave will pay dearly for the few hours of mountain biking in Colorado.  Sunday brings a flight to New York city where he will serve as babysitter while the ladies shop the streets of Manhattan. 
Hope you enjoyed your time on the Colorado trails.

Breckenridge Yeti Tribe Meet Best Yet

Yeti Prez, Chris Conroy places the #10 Tribe Meet pint glass into my "Holy Grail" display case.

The 2011 pilgrimage to Yetiland had the group nestled in a unique "pine chip" setting outside the high country city of Breckenridge, Colorado.  It was the 10th modern day Tribe Meeting and was enjoyed by Yeti freaks from around the US and the globe.  

Seven COMotion Sports team members including Boni Sandavol, Sarge, Evie Calhoun, Jenny Gilkerson, Chris and Megan Taylor, and Ben Truitt attended this year's meeting showing support for our favorite sponsor. 
Weather could not have been better with warm temperatures, afternoon cloud cover and light breezes.  Nights were cool enough for the hoodies but ground sleepers did not freeze.

Saturday's Epic ride showed 3 busloads of freaks summiting Hoosier Pass, then descending into Southpark (Fairplay) and up again to the Kenosha Pass trailhead. Park County sheriff folks managed to get us across Hwy 285 without fatalities.
Ride options ranged from a 20 mile straight up and over Georgia Pass back to camp to a 40 mile version that added the West Ridge to Hwy 9 section of singletrack.  The rocky technical descent into Breck was perfect for my  575.  Many tires, rims and derailleurs were wounded on the downside ride.

All the big names with the company were on hand including pro racer Jared Graves,  Jared hung out at the RV and signed my recently completed BMX Yeti.  The limited edition bikes were release for Jared's 2008 Olympic Games competition.

Good times for sure.  Looking forward to the 2012 event and curious how the Yeti planners are going to top this one.  Somehow, I think they will.

Silent Summer Is On

Wow,  Teresa and I have been laying low this summer realizing that the retirement age of  68 or whatever number the current administration is able to legislate is a long-time coming. We're taking a 3/4 life-well deserved break from careers.



Salida crew at butt woop'n discussion of competition.....Ziggie hates the camera flash......

 Been supporting the COMotion troops at races, camping in RMNP, attending Rockies games and are bringing in grandkids all summer long.

24 Hours of  E-Rock winners

Teresa and Meg Taylor clean up the Crested Butte condo damage June 26th.

Tori and Katy and Sugar enjoy faux fireplace at Rocky Mountain National Park

Hiba and Nafe-great week in Peaceful Valley

Spending time watching birds, counting coyote sightings and spoiling the weiner dogs.

Gearing up now for Keystone, THE 10th annual Yeti Tribe meeting in Breckenridge, Snowmass and Sol Vista.  Hope your summer has been as fun!

YETI BMX BIKE COMPLETE !!

I have always propelled myself on 2 wheels. 

Two early morning paper routes got delivered on the Sting Ray well, a "Sears knock off version" of the Schwinn original when I was 12.  I wheelied that bike block after block and only rode both wheels when I wanted to.  Broke the frame 3 times and had nothing but pedal axles.  Seventy -one steps dropped on the descent off Raley Chapel on the Oklahoma Baptist University campus six times a week.

 When the Sears 20" bike was my ride, the term BMX had not yet been coined.  They were just Sting Rays.

Nearly 45 years later, I have returned to the perfect cul de sac bike to test the small bike skills again and re-live the fun stuff kids love.  If you know me, you know I have not yet grown up and am not in a hurry to do so. 

The Yeti Super X -BMX frame is one of only 200 built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Australian Yeti factory racer Jared Graves piloted his Yeti Super X BMX to a 6th place finish after crashing off the medals ranking in the finals.

Not likely that I'll be headed for the London Olympic races but it will look cool in the pits of the upcoming cross country race venues.  And there's the pump track in Golden and the soon to open Valmont Bike Park in Boulder grandpa will soon be shredding on the mini-Yeti.

Yeti 20er   BMX Specs

Handlebars –Blacklabel 8” Turquoise

Grips-ODI Yeti Clamp On- White

Brake Lever- Shimano DXR
Brake Cable Housing-Jagwire-White

Brake-Shimano DXR

Stem-Sinz- 50mm

Top Cap-Yeti-round thing

Fork-Sinz Stealth Carbon

Headset-Chris King-Black

Front Wheel-Answer Aluminite TI Limited Edition Expert 1.5-White

Front Tire-Maxxis Holyroller 2.2

Front Tube-black and holds air

Crankset-Shimano DXR 180mm

Chainring-Shimano DXR 42T
Pedals-Crank Bros Mallet-Custom Yeti Turquoise
Chain-SRAM 971 W/Quicklink
Seatpost-Thompson 31mm Setback
Seatpost Clamp-Salsa 35.0mm
Saddle-SDG Yeti Team Issue Turquoise Stitching-Ti Rails
Rear Wheel-Answer Aluminite TI Limited Edition Expert 1.5-White-16T Cog
Rear Tire- Maxxis Holyroller 2.2
Rear Tube-black and holds air

FIRST 29er TRAIL RIDE FEELS MIGHTY FINE

Saturday I hauled the new Yeti Big Top 29er to the Doudy Draw trailhead for my first off-road ride.

After a couple of years watching the 29 inch mountain bike gain in popularity.  I have to admit I was curious if the bigger hoops really made a difference in how the bike cornered and ironed out rough trails.  I found switchbacks were easier and the babyheads floated beneath the Fox fork.  Still need to test downhill handling and butt-beat factor on a 4 hour + ride.

The fit set up was copied from the 575 so the feel was very familiar.  Cockpit lengths and saddle to pedal height had nothing to do with the fact that the skewers sit 1 1/2" higher than my other bikes.  Stand over height was no problem for this 5'9" racer.  Even if a small sized Big Top was offered, I probably would have chosen the medium frameset .  I opted for the SRAM build kit from Yeti as a matter of value.  You simply can not buy all the components individually cheaper than the Yeti build kit. 

 For the Big Top, only one component level was offered.  I found out with the 575 Race level components that you don't have to be at the XTR Pro level to build a solid training/trail bike.  What you do see is more weight.  The Topeak Prepstand Pro scale tells the story.  Who cares? You're training right?  The small XTR'ed ASRc will feel like a feather on the Mountain States Cup ski slope climbs in June.

Only custom parts are grey shifter cables, white Yeti SDG saddle and to preserve the clown bike factor, The Big Top sports cheesy "8 Ball" valve stem caps.

And did I mention we're celebrating COMotion Sport's 8th MSC championship? Gonna be a fun year.

SORRY FOR THE LAG IN POSTS

Jeezus, been a crazy busy year so far with so much happening work wise, COMOtion Sports operations, boring health issues and new bike projects.  
All normal training cycle steps have gone south with suprise cases of shingles, (that's for old people!) plantar faciitis, a sliced finger and lost nail, and fatigue. Did finished  the12th ($40 co-pay ea.) sessions with physical pherapy masochist Shane to re-break the fibroids in the bottom of the foot and stretch them into submission. 80% successful.  Sleep in a boot until I tell you different>>>>>>

Otherwise, I'm great!!

With training camp less than 3 weeks away, I'm gonna spend the bulk of the time trailside cheering on my teammates.  I make mean Taco Soup.
First 29er ride....?  Sidewalk commute to Walgreens for more finger bandages.  Go  figure.  BMX project suspended when I found out SINZ products are "mid-grade".  Snob factor sets in.

Full 10 hours this Saturday coaching COMotion recruite Jeremy Miller building his spanking new Yeti ASRc race bike.  As usual, curve balls thrown with missing parts, no cable routing instructions and mis-matched components.  Left everything long and tall for re-trimming after Retul fit exposes fit issues.  See you next weekend Teresa,..Love you!

SIDELINED YETI ARC BACK ON THE TRAIL

Remember when you were a kid and lost one of your toys under the bed.  Then the bed was moved and you found it?  It was like a new toy!  That's kinda the way it was when I finally got the 2003 Yeti ARC off the basement rafters and back on the trail.  I got a new bike!

The ride died when I somehow got talked into selling the Fox fork and rebuilding the original World Cup SID to get her back to fighting weight.  I still have 2 World Cups sitting on the bench waiting for the rebuild.  But, they are rim brakes only.   In the meantime, I got this smok'n deal on Craig's list for a disc wheelset and sold the Mavic Crossmax rim brake wheels to a riding buddy.  Don't have a fork to use on the new disc wheelset.  Life is complicated. 

One of the COMo Bro's had an abandon Manitou Skareb AC/DC fork laying around and I begged long enough until he let me have it for loose change.  It's one of the first forks the Manitou engineers (or marketing) geniuses shocked the world by placing the reinforcing bridge behind the axle instead of the front where God had intended.  Works great and reduces the number of handicapped frames littering the basement.

Took the bike on the Dry Creek run today and it felt great.  Minor adjustments needed here and there but helped my hardtail buttocks get ready for the Big Top being delivery next month.  Reminded me too, how good burning quads can feel.

Estes Park Weekend

We just spent a weekend away from physical therapy pain, work and life with long time hunting buddies Gary Littlepage and Paul Springer. Thankfully, their counter-balances Meg and Rhonda were there to help keep our sanity.

Every couple of years we head off  to an excellent hide-a-way cabin above Estes Park. 
The goal,,,,,NOTHING.

Rhonda prepares a salad to-die-for on evening one.

Friday was a slow day getting ready for a 7:30am workout with my ASTYM http://www.astym.com/ therapist, Shane of Cornerstone Physical Therapy.  Lot's of fun on the journey to a quick recover for the plantar faciitis I whined about in the earlier post.  No pain -no gain.



Major "Nook" time for Teresa



The only focal point of the weekend was a gut-filling appointment with the Dunraven Restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine on Saturday night.  Mission accomplished

Everyone there is in the medical business besides me so there is the usual talk of current age related issues, Obama-care and the fact that we are all thankfully welcoming Gary into his 7th year of beating prostrate cancer.  Pays to be a stubborn Yankee. 

 Not a lot to do with cycling this week but that may be the point.  Winter time will be spent off the bike preparing for the upcoming race season through PT, spin classes and re-building the old body.





Meg and Gary are retired and busier than ever.  The couple squeezed in a trip down the Danube River in Germany between an Arkansas relative visit and son's wedding in 2010.

Life, animals and people are good in Colorado.....



Crap! that rowdy old bunch from Denver is here again!!



Winter Is Coming Time to Get Over Being Slow

I know, train, train train, race, race, race, lighten up, and then Relax.  Repeat.

That's the annual cycle for bike racers and the really sophisticated weekend warriors call it "Periodization" .  We've all read the books, attended the seminars and paid the coaches.  BFD.

Ending the year I'm looking at a mild success in the racing department.  I had a whole lot of fun with the 3 roadie events, a Super D Nationals podium, the Winter Park Short Track salvo, a saving grace MSC Fall Classic appearance in Breckenridge and the finale Cyclocross stab in amusement.

I was doing what I wanted, supporting the awesome COMOtion Sports team all year and planning for  major commitments in 2011 when "The Foot" came marching in.  Not to be the whiner, but the Type 1 Diabetes is under control (pump in 2011?) and overall fitness was good going into my first cyclocross season.  Coincidentally, after the Aspen Lodge race, what I though was just a sprained ankle, may be something more.   I don't think the body designers planned on  humanoids picking up bikes and then jumping up-hill over 14" solid barriers or climbing 1-in-12" steps with a 23 pound aluminum load.

I'm still awaiting the MRI results and treatment recommendations.  FLASH NEWS..........Yea!! Cigna insurance just denied my already completed MRI evaluation because it does not meet their independent reviewer's criteria for "necessary treatment". 

My freak'n foot hurts people!!! 

Whaaaaa!!

I'll get over it and lose the 12 pounds me and Humalog gained since July by sweating with all the other January 1, 2011 fatties in Mountainside Fitness spin classes.

Update and prognosis....

Doc Marzolla reads the MRI and concludes we have a classic case of Fibromatosis, plantar fasciitis.  A torn ligamint or possible cyst developing.  Mild arthritis on either side of the ankle.  TREATMENT: Ice massages 2x daily, orthodics, night splint friend, and Physical Therapy 2X per week for 6 weeks.  Steroids and PRT injections if  the 6 week plan fails or followup MRI confirms cyst.   Told you it would be a short Cyclocross career.

ENOUGH AIR TIME;;;;;;;;;;;COCKPIT CHANGES REQUIRED

Keep thinking about why I've been over the handlebars twice since starting this Cyclocross stuff.   Never did that too often doing downhill, cross country or short track. Gotta be the bike. Although Todd Carver set me up on the Yeti ARC X a couple of years ago with the scifi Retul system, something has changed over time weighting me forward on the bike. Wrists feel strained after riding and sighting down the middle of the front wheel from the handlebars tells me I need to get back.  Stem is already a stubby 80mm.

The Salsa Bell Lap handlebars were magnum sized and and forward.  Throwing some money at the ARC X by replacing the Salsas with a 44 cm Easton EC70 carbon bar with different geometry might help.  Should also go with white cable housings and bar tape to show off mud better.

OK, slow news day. 

Cyclocross 2010--Chapter Two

The second week of the cyclocross career unfolded under the canopy of bright yellow Aspens, Long's Peak and a perfectly set fall weekend at 9,000 feet elevation.  Chris and Jason of DBC Events http://dbcevents.com/home/ sought out the perfect venue with on-site cabins and lodge rooms for cheap, an outstanding restaurant and required beer garden. 

Megan Taylor warms up on the trainer before the Senior Women Open event



Catherine, Dave and Lisse Attack a Walk Up Section

Aspen Lodge Resort & Conference Center http://www.aspenlodge.net/ pulled out all the stops to accommodate a large group of two-wheeling front rangers and found many new friends seeking a quick and quite get away.  We stayed in the Columbine cabin that miraculously was located at the start/finish line and served as COMOtion Sports base camp complete with restrooms, showers, tech support, Isles deep fried french fries and some left over PBR.

Official results show 5 COMOtion racers although I know there were a few not showing up on the roster (uh me and Kris with a K cause we DNFed ).  Results below.

Place
6 Stephen Oliver COMotion Sports Denver 3 Single Speed 

5 Karin Barclay COMotion Sports Boulder 4 SW 4

5 Megan Taylor COMotion Sports Denver 2 SW Open 

17 Cary Dunn COMotion Sports Pine 3 SM 3

 9 Scott Gordon COMotion Sports Boulder 3 SM 3

Also not listed are Catherine Chalecki (3rd) and Lisse Daugaard Gordon who I know were there.



Race results for me are brief.

Lap 1-go over handlebars while looking at upcoming technical section.

Lap 2- rear pinch flat in same area I performed the tumbling act for lap 1.

Lap 3- PSYCH!!! There was no lap 3.  Back to the pit area for beer. I'm done.



SNAKEBITE!!!