The adventures of a top 60 pro mountain biker

One wedding down, two to go

2006-09-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

What happens when former bike racers get married? Other current and former bike racers show up. And when you get that many bikers together, not at a race, they party. Well we party at races as well, but at weddings we don't have to worry about races. The wedding was for my long time friend Ben Duke. He raced on the road in Belgium for a couple of summers, and more recently has done a bunch of mountain bike racing. His wife Nicole is a former pro downhiller. I first met a lot of my current racing friends through Ben originally. So it was no surprise that many racers and ex-racers were there. There was Mike West (Maverick teammate), Abby (Maverick teammate), but no Ariel, Chris Hopwood (Maverick teammate)... there's a theme here... Ashley Eyre (Maverick teammate), Botsy Phillips (former racer), and others. It was a beautiful ceremony. Ben and Nicole rode in and down the aisle on a tandem cruiser. The reception was in a beautiful building, and there was a crazy electrical storm going on outside. Abby and I left early, at about 10. Everyone else stayed and drank more. The next morning we met up and went and rode the Continental Divide trail from the top of Rabbit Ears Pass, to Long Lake and then down the Fish Creek Falls trail. The ride was sweet!! The trails were a bit wet, but not muddy. Eventually as people went other ways to make the ride shorter or longer, the group was down to West, Botsy, Ben, Nicole, Abby, Ashley, and myself. Everyone was on a Maverick. I haven't done the Fish Creek descent in probably 4 years, I was on a hardtail with a SID then, and I was walking a lot. This time, I rode almost the whole thing, and was railing through sections I used to slowly pick through. I made some impressive saves, and I think I have a new favorite descent. We got hammered by a thunderstorm towards the bottom, but it actually got more fun then. everything got slippery. It was a ton of fun. Botsy crashed twice... HARD! But came out of it ok, but with two bloody lips. Abby and I stuck around one more day for a meeting, and a sweet ride on Emerald Mountain. I grew up riding those trails, a couple times a week all summer long. I learned to ride a mountain bike on that mountian. Good memories.

Next up this weekend is a friend's wedding here. And then in October, West is getting married here. So another biker wedding is in the cards, and I have a feeling that this one will be a little crazier.

Hopefully pictures will be coming to me soon from last weekend, so I'll post them when I get them.

Congratulations!!!

2006-08-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

I was waiting for Martini to post this great news that he had for us on his blog. I was thinking he got named to the Trek/VW national squad... I mean he did joke that he needed to get his press release ready. I mean, I knew that when we left Snowmass he was single, so it couldn't be about a girl right? WRONG!!!

Last time I saw him, he was very single. Now, less than 2 weeks later, he's engaged. It's crazy. I'm way psyched for those two. Knowing Martini, he's got a great girl. The future Mrs. Nick Martin's name is Tracy. When I think about it, it doesn't surprise me that much. He's totally the kind of guy that will jump in head first, but not without good reason. So good on ya man. I'm in the same boat, not that I'm suddenly engaged, but I like the live with no regrets, you never know if you don't do/say/try something, don't die wondering (stolen from the man himself) mentality on life. It's a much more fulfilling way to live. I know this is incredibly cliched, but I don't really care, people wouldn't keep saying it if it weren't true.

Dude I totally stole the picture of you two.

Mountain Bike? Nationals

2006-07-13T17:55:00.000-05:00

Well, the Firecracker was going great, till I flatted out, and Deer Valley was going ok until that not recovered feeling started to creep into my legs at the beginning of lap two. I went as hard as I could, hoping that I would either come around or blow. And well, I blew. Needless to say, I dropped out on the third lap. But that's ok, I always have Snowmass this weekend to redeem myself. Snowmass will actually be fun compared to what everyone else is racing on out in Sonoma at Nationals. This looks like a long cyclocroos course more than a mountain bike course. as Nick Martin said... LAME. Oh well, I'm going to be in Snowmass ripping it up on their sweet race course. It sounds like maybe we'll see Martini there. It should be a good time. that's all I have for now, more later.

And He's Back

2006-06-28T19:33:00.000-05:00

A lot has hapenned since I've not been updating my blog. I got a job doing construction with Cale Redpath, fellow pro racer, racing for 3D bikes. My good friend Ian came down from Boulder with his girlfriend for a few days. It was a ton of fun. The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic came and went. I placed 14th in the Cat 3's, which is great for me if you don't know what I've been dealing with for the last year and a half. My very close Jo(anne) randomly came through town for a night. She had been working a Wilderness Medicine Institute WFR course at the Grand Canyon. Last weekend I went to Crested Butte for the Wild Flower Rush XC race. It's one of the hardest and most fun races of the Colorado scene. Jay Henry won the event in 2:10. Ross Schnell was 2nd, and the old man on campus, Ned Overend was 3rd. I was 20th, which is great for me, all things considered. It was great getting all the love and support from everyone (you know who you are) from everyone who saw me struggle through last year. Thanks a ton!!! Nat Ross was spotted, but I think we'll let the fact that he didn't race slide. He finished the Race Across America with the winning four person team in 5 days and 16 hours. The other people on his team were fellow pro mountain bikers Mike Janelle, Jimi Mortensen, and Zach Bingham.

Yesterday, Alisha, her sister and I climbed Mount Sneffels, 14,150 feet:

The climb up was amazing. After waking up in the back of Alisha's XTerra which was very cozy with 3 people, we finally motivated and got moving. Toward the top, we were thwarted from the normal route by some very solid snow (seen toward the top of the couloir). We had to find an alternate route by busting left up to the top of the spine on the left of the picture. Things got steep quickly, the kind of steep where Mom would ask "did you have a rope?" Hi Mom!

Then we followed the spine to the summit ridge, and on to the top. The views were amazing from the top. It is definitely the steepest most dramatic peak 14er i've climbed. And My favorite thus far of the 10 i've climbed. We could see the Elk mountains way up by Aspen and Crested Butte, Grand Mesa to the north, the heart of the Needles near Durango, The La Sal's by Moab, and the Abajo Mountains north of Cedar Mesa with some of the best canyons the greater Southwest has to offer. Quite the dichotomy; being able to see the deep sandstone canyons where I succumb the the land and fall deeper into it, because there is no other way, the land forces you deeper. All of this where the land falls away from me as I climb to the hieghts that I seek to achieve.

Alisha and I on top of Sneffel!

The view down from the top to Blue Lakes, the next basin I want to explore!

Check back soon, I'm back on the ball with this Blogging thing that we all love!

Bike Carnage!

2006-05-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

The morning started nice enough... my Uncle took Noah and I down to Venice Beach, Lunch at El Terasco in Manhattan Beach. Then we came back to my Uncle's house and figured out where to ride.

The guys at Helen's Cycles (awesome shop) in Santa Monica directed us to the Santa Monica mountains where there is awesome riding!!! This is a trail that we knew we had to come back down. It puts the dirt jumps in Test Tracks and anywhere else around Durango to shame!!! 1.5 miles of nothing but jumps!!!
This led us high above Los Angeles with amazing views down into L.A. and the ocean.
We linked onto some fire roads that just cruised up into the mountains. It's awesome riding. There's singletrack that follows the ridge up above the road, but climbing on the road was better for us today.

Then we started going down another ridge, and right where the trail met the road... I met the dirt. I definitely did not see the sharp turn in the trail to the right, and went straight, well straight put me off a 7 foot drop into a ditch!!!

The inventory goes a bit like this: Bent downtube, ovalized headtube, taco'd wheel, bent steertube, blown fork, and broken pedal cage. So far, that's what I've found. When I actually take it apart, i'll see what else is broken.

Here is a picture of where I took off from up to the left, I swear it looked like a nice roll into a steep, smooth drop onto the road, but it wasn't, the trail had gone to the right. I stuffed my front tire into the side of the ditch at the bottom. At least there was something between me and the ground when I hit. If I had slammed on the brakes, and tried to avert the impending disaster, I probably would have flown head first into the ground.

All in all, I'm fine... just very tight and sore. I'll just live on Ibuprofen for a little while. I'm have to try to find a bike to race on for the weekend, and otherwise I'll just hang out at the races, which isn't always a bad thing. I'll keep the reports coming. and just so you know how I feel about this... I was laughing so amazingly hard while I was looking at the scene and the bike carnage.

Race Day

2006-04-30T17:04:00.000-05:00

Ah racing... it's hard!! especially crits for me. It was a short lap, only about a minute long, but it was fast, and fun. There were a lot of hitters out there today. Todd and Troy Wells came out. Nick Gould, Miles Venzara, pretty boy from the north Jason Sager. His blog is always worth a read and one of the funnier ones out ther. He'll have pictures also. Fabulous Frank Mapel made it out. Last time I saw Frank he looked like this:

That was at the Snowdown roller races. good times. But today he was out, hairy legs and all to throw down again. Todd won the thing hands down. He lapped the whole field in the first 10 minutes, and then Anthony Colby and Todd lapped the whole field again. Then Todd, Troy, and Anthony lapped the whole field together. Then Todd and Anthony lapped the whole field again. So Todd was a lap up on Anthony, 2 laps on Troy, and 3 on everyone else. It was a good time. My mountain bike is now clean and happy for the drive to Flagstaff tomorrow. It's a long drive and I'm not necessarily looking forward to it, but whatever, it's not like I'm not accustomed to long drives already. There's always random funny stuff that happens during long drives, so hopefully that'll keep me entertained. I'll keep posting throughout the trip hopefully, and maybe I'll actually post more pictures.

Fontucky

2006-04-29T18:43:00.000-05:00

So I was reading in on VeloNews.com the Fred's Eye View article today, and it was referring to Fontana, CA as Fontucky. Apparently this is due to the proliferation of rednecks and hicks. Oh well, I guess I'll see soon enough. It's been a good few days here. I really don't think much could be better in my life right now. It looks like the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory guys have had a good time down in Bisbee. Cory Collier was 3rd in the TT yesterday, and Joey Thompson, my former DEVO teammate was 8th on the day. Today, Joey won the road race, and there is another TT this evening that I haven't seen results from. So it looks like a good weekend so far for them. Then while I'm in California, the Tour of the Gila will be going down in Silver City, NM. That's always an awesome race. Tomorrow we have a training crit down at Rivergate. That's where Rivergate Lofts are, and the place that became my second home for 7 months, Animas Surgical Hospital , where I had surgery, and all my Physical Therapy. I think I have my final appointment next week, while I'm gone. I guess I need to reschedule that one. oops.

If you need to waste more time on the computer, go check out UrbanDictionary.com, it's pretty funny stuff, type in Fontucky and see what you get. Enjoy!!!

Couldn't be better

2006-04-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

Oh man, Finals were finally over as of 8:15 this morning!!!! I can't describe how it feels to be done with school for the summer. I can now dedicated my life to cycling, and the odd jobs I do around here, but mostly cycling! Today after my final, I went to a coffee shop, and sat... just sat, no newspaper, no magazines, no thinking, just drinking coffee. I didn't have to worry about a thing. Then I went up to my friend's house and I walked her dogs, and then we went on a ride, and then to lunch. It was just a great afternoon of hanging out. I wish I could do it like this every day, but I know that things will get busier again. I'm really excited to drive out to Cali on Monday with my buddy Noah for the National in Fontana. We're driving to Flagstaff on Monday, and riding some of the primo singletrack that Flag has to offer, then we'll stay the night there, and take off for Cali the next morning. We'll stay with my Uncle in L.A. for a few days and do the whole beach thing (I REALLY WANT TO LEARN TO SURF!!!!!!!). Then we'll head to Fontana to get ready for the racing. I can't wait. Road trips are always a great time! Especially with good friends. I have a bit of work to do on my bike before I go, but that should be easy enough to do this weekend. I have so much free time, it's awesome! I love summer!!!

A Perfact Day of Riding

2006-04-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

A perfect day of riding Current mood: satisfied
Hey all... what an awesome day for me today! Instead of heading to Silverton Mountain like I had originally planned to do, I found out that the Hermosa Creek trail is in great shape, with only a few patches of snow/mud. It was SICK!!!! Such a good time. it was Blake, Noah, Max, Scott, Dana, and I. We headed up to the trailhead at the bottom of the trail near the town of Hermosa. And rode up the trail from there.

I think I reconnected today with why I love this sport, and why I love backcountry riding in particular. Riding close to town, while it's great fun, and easy to pull off a quick two hours sometime during the day. But backcountry riding is the reason that I love mountain biking. And I don't think there's one person who would disagree with me. When your going into the backcountry, everything just falls away. Those quick two hours, are exactly that... you're squeezing a ride into your life. But in the backcountry, for that day, or afternoon in our case today, it is your life. Once the ride starts, every pedal stroke takes me farther. Farther from the car, the trailhead, and the road, farther from town, farther from responsibility. It also takes you deeper. Deeper into the wilderness, deeper into the unknown (sometimes), deeper into myself. It lets me forget. Forget about the paper I have to write, the finals I have to study for, my new job, my internship, my broken car, the girl I like. Stress just drains away. For that day, I am mountain biking, and just mountain biking. No more no less. All I have to worry about is riding, and enjoying the wilderness; the sights, the sounds, the smells, and maybe my friend's company (it's never a good idea to go into the backcountry alone, although I do sometimes). Then as I'm getting closer to the end of the ride, the responsibilities, the thoughts, the things that have to happen take on a different light. They don't stress me out, and I can get them done easily, or think more clearly about them. That is why when I come home from a backcountry ride, or huge epic; dusty, muddy, bleeding, tired and hungry, I am so happy. And a good day of skiing, hiking, climbing, or a few days of backpacking, all do the same thing to me.

Anywho, it's time to eat up, rest up, and get ready for tomorrow's road ride from Durango Mountain Resort to Ouray and back. Six passes (twice each over three different passes), all over 11,000 feet, and about 100 miles. It's gonna be AWESOME!!!!

I'm a bum

2006-04-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

So, sorry for the lack of posts lately. I am sick of sitting in front of the computer right now. But here is a brief summary of things that have happened since the last post.

I went to the Nova Desert classic in Phoenix, and that was an alright time. I didn't do great in the TT, or the Super D, which we all decided had more pedaling than the TT. And then I dropped out of the XC. It wasn't because I didn't want to race, I just was sick of the course, and lost motivation. But it was a good time nonetheless. I saw the crew that I get the pleasure of hanging out with all summer, the racers around the state that I talk to but never see during the winter. It was also VERY hot! We were calling ourselves the pasty white boys from colorado. You could tell who was from AZ, or CA, because they hadn't spent the whole winter coverd in multiple layers of clothes.

The next weekend I went to Salt Lake City for the University of Utah's race. The road race was interesting. It was a dead flat loop with a good chunk of the race on a dirt road. It's called the Hell of the North, it's namesake, the Paris Roubaix is a little tougher I think. I won the road race, and then got 11th the next day in the hill climb, which wasn't a real hillclimb. It was only 10 minutes, and was barely uphill, I think I shifted out of my big ring only once. It was a good weekend, and I got to spend the weekend traveling with the team which is always fun.

With the permission of my landlord, I dug up 70 sq. feet of our back yard for a veggie garden. It's going to be completely organic also. We're growing lettuce, carrots, bell peppers, serrano peppers, chives, kale, beans, cucumber, and a couple watermelons. That's been one of my little projects lately. In other house matters, we have found a new roommate to start living with us at the beginning of June. Her name is Megan, and I think she's going to be a lot of fun. She's a skier, a climber, a biker, etc. I'm really excited about that.

This weekend is our home race here in Durango. today was the team time trial, and the hill climb time trial. I didn't do the ttt, but I did the hill climb. That was hard, but short so it wasn't too hard to keep motivated. Tomorrow though, is the road race. It's 54 miles of pain and suffering. Anyone who has been here knows about the front hill up to the college. And if you don't know it, it's STEEP, and we go up it 9 times! It's probably THE classic race on the collegiate racing circuit in our conference. It's going to be brutal, but always fun. Anyways, I'll get back on the ball with posting on here, so check back.

Why?

2006-03-19T20:42:00.000-06:00

The last three days have been really good training days. On Friday, I got a good long transition ride in. I was definitly pushing it at tempo for a long time. It felt good. On Saturday I went for the Bread ride, and the group started with close to 30 people, from racers to rec riders. Shriver and I finally got to the front and drilled it to wake everyone up and see what the day was going to be like. the pace slowed back until we got to the bottom of Shalona hill. Shriver kicked it again, and I stayed on the front for a while. then had to back off to recover a bit, and was able to stay pretty close to the lead guys. The same thing happened on the Hermosa climb. We made it back to town, and went to Bread to refill on water, and then spun a firehouse loop. I got a good 3 hours 20 mins of training in. Then today I got a good hill climb workout in. An hour and a half hard climbs and short recovery. I am definitely toast this evening as I write this. I'm not necessarily tired, just well worked, and fatigued. I've got the next three days for recovery rides, and a rest day. Then it's time to ramp up the intensity again to open up for the Nova. The riding this weekend was a good confidence booster for the race and the rest of the season I guess.

I have been trying to answer to myself why I am willing to push myself to all levels of pain, and far beyond what I thought my body was capable of. It's been a common theme in a lot of what I do. From my life as a nordic combined skier, where you can't stop racing, even if your heart rate hasn't dropped below 185 for the last 15 minutes. In climbing where you push and will your body to the top of the route half convinced that you're going to fall every time you stop to place protection, or the Elvis leg's start going. Somehow, in all these situations I have been able to keep pushing, and finish what I had set out to do. It's a hard question to answer, and I have not been able to figure it out completely. But I like it, and when I am pushing myself, and testing my body, I am happy. I don't think I need to necessarily answer it as long as what I do makes me happy. There doesn't have to be an answer to everything in life though. Things are more interesting that way.

T-7 Days to race time

2006-03-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

That's right, seven days from now, almost to the hour, I will be on the start line for the Nova Desert Classic TT. Then that evening will be the Super D, and Sunday morning will be the XC. The Nova is such a fun race. This will be the 3rd time that I start my season at the Nova. This year however it's not a National, so there is less pressure. Last year I did the Marathon, and the Super D. I dropped out of the Marathon. I don't know that it was the best idea to do an 81 mile marathon for my first race of the season. I did however get my first top 10 at a National in the Super D, I placed 9th.

When I last posted anything I was heading up to Steamboat for spring break. That was a great time! The amount of snow in Steamboat is Stupid. And I had be told that about 20 inches had melted off in the week before I came to town! And then it continued to snow the rest of the the week while we were there. Needless to say I didn't get any time on my bike. I skied up on the mountian two days, and had a ton of fun. Then I busted out my nordic gear, and did a bunch of skate skiing the next three days till we left. It felt great to get back on my skate skis! I hadn't been on them, I think, in over a year. I got to watch the NCAA Skiing National Championships as well. They had nordic events and alpine. A number of my friends were racing it was really fun to watch events at Howelsen Hill. I didn't realize how much I missed and still love the world that I left behind as a nordic combined skier. Those were really fun times! I can see myself going back to coach sometime. I also stood out on the jump hill with some former teammates who are both coaching now, Brendan Doran, and Logan Gerber. Watching little kids jump is so much fun. I remember when I was a little grommet, jumping on th esmall hills. It was a lot of fun. So for those of you who don't really know what I did before my life as a mountain biker, I spent 14 years till I was 18 as a nordic combined skier. In the time before I quit, I had racked up 3 junior national titles, and was also on one Junior World's team. I also traveled for a while on the World Cup B circuit with the US Ski Team.

Competing in the World Cup B in Calgary:

World Junior Team in Schonach, GER.

Anyways, It's time for a bit of intersquad racing this morning in prep for next weekend!

Spring Break

2006-03-05T11:35:00.000-06:00

I've been really bad about updating lately. Oh well. It's Spring Break!!! The last week of classes before break, was a bit hectic, but not nearly as bad other weeks before breaks have been. I had one big take home test due, and a couple other minor projects. Training has been great. I am out of base and into transition, and still feeling great. Our non-winter has been great for training. It has been solidly in the upper 50's and even some mid 60's for the last couple of weeks. It's great finally being able to ride with some skin exposed. I even rode down a long climb with my jersey open the other day! Last Thursday night I got to see a climbing legend talk. George Hurley came to Durango and spoke about the history of desert climbing. I've read a lot of the accounts of his first ascent of the Titan with Layton Kor, and Huntley Ingalls, but hearing him talk about it in person was quite amazing. I am still hoping that I will get on their route, the Finger of Fate, this fall.

He had pictures from all of the early desert climbers. There were pictures from Kor and Ingalls' first ascent of Castleton Tower. There were old pictures of Yvon Chouinard on one of the first few ascents of Shiprock, which was the beginning of desert climbing.

It's too bad that the Navajo have closed it to climbing. It's close to here, and I would go get on it in an instant if it were open.

I am on my way to Steamboat tomorrow morning. I'm really excited to get home for a while. Take care of some business, ski a bit, or a lot. Get some riding in also. It seems as though the racing season has begun. The Tour of California already happened. A few friends are out in Merced, CA for their first race of the season, some Durango boys are rolling through Northern Mexico in the Vuelta Sonora, and the first collegiate race of the season is happening at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. My first race is coming up right after break. And then it's off to the Nova Desert Classic in AZ for my first mountain bike race of the season at the end of March. It's time to go ride!

Long TIme

2006-02-24T21:33:00.000-06:00

Wow it's been a long time since I posted anything. A lot has happened, and unfortunately I am not going to say much about what is going on till it may actually happen, so just be patient. I did figure out my spring break plans! I am going to Steamboat. I say that I am going to take care of business... which I am, but I am also going to take full advantage of the 29+ feet of snow there! I can't wait. I am going with my friend Kylie... she's never been to Steamboat. I love taking people who have never been! They never know what to expect! Hehe... I kick my own ass whenever I go... so ya ready Kylie? and in this picture you can't even see the Sundown side to the right of the visible ridgeline, or Pioneer Ridge to the left of the picture! I Love Steamboat! I am officially done with base, and in the middle of my rest week. I am ready to start transition and go fast! I am still feeling great, and feel I will be ready for the season once it comes at me full force. I am going to be doing some of the collegiate road races which will be fun after my hiatus from road racing last year. My first mountain bike race is going to be the Nova Desert Classic in Phoenix at the end of March. That's always a really fun race. All of us mountian boys show up there white as can be, and come home with a pretty good sunburn... goodtimes. The tour of California is going off right now. It's been an incredibly successful event thus far. Apparently the crowds have been huge also. It's a really good sign of things to come for American cycling. I've only ever driven Hwy 1... but thought the whole time how much fun it would be to ride it... Isn't it gorgeous!?!
Hope all is well out of the isolated hole of Durango!

No, Thank you Martini

2006-02-16T14:44:00.000-06:00

This is Nick Martin, aka, Martini. Check out his blog for a really good bit about why many of us blog. He always has awesome stuff to say about life, the world, cycling... basically everything. There are many things that he writes, that I feel the same way about. I first met Nick during a trip to Fruita when he was working at Over The Edge. My buddy Kris was working there, and he introduced us. I had no clue that we would become friends later on. I was still a Junor X and he was racing Semi-Pro, I think. It was a while ago. Nick has become one of the people whom I really look up to in this sport. We are on the same journey in our goals as professional cyclists. I think that is a connection that we all share. We know what eachother is going through, and have the utmost respect for that. I was there when Nick won his first semi-pro national here in Durango a couple years ago. I was so psyched because I knew how hard he had worked. Watching that, motivated me in a huge way. Since I really kind of skipped semi-pro after Jr. X and went straight to pro at 19 years old, didn't have the same thing to work towards in winning a semi-pro national, but I still have begun my drive up the pro rankings. Every time I break through the next ten, I know it will be a small victory. So Nick, Thanks a ton, you've helped me in ways you probably don't even know. And to everyone else: My family first and foremost, Ariel, Abby, West, there really are too many to thank for all of the support. So thank you all!

Best of Ride!
See you soon!
Thanks!
Ethan

Look at the Snow!

2006-02-14T00:27:00.000-06:00

I mean seriously, I haven't heard of a winter in Steamboat this big in a Loooong time. I remember the 95-96 winter when we had a 300 inch January, but I was only 11, so I wasn't able to appreciate it the way I can now. Mmmmm... Powder! There's so little snow here that I haven't even cared about skiing, but now in the last few days I've really wanted to ski! I don't have a pass here, not that it'd really be worth it anyways. I was spoiled I guess growing up in Steamboat. Jo said that you can kick the head of Buddy Werner's statue at the top of the mountain. There is a 94 inch base up there, and over 27 feet of total snowfall! Amazing. I need to go home soon. I haven't seen a lot of people for a while, and the last time I was there for New Years, it didn't feel like all I know it to be because of extenuating circumstances. I think it might be good to head up there soon. It wasn't really my idea, but now that I think about it I really want to go. Breakfast at Creekside, coffee at Mocha's, margarita's at the Rio, skiing the Gates and Fish Creek, maybe hike Hahn's Peak for some awesome backcountry trees, snowshoing with Buck, the list goes on! I've gone skiing twice this winter, and it was when I wasn't supposed to. It was about 7 weeks out of surgery... oops!

I have one more physical therapy appointment left after today. Luke worked on my incredibly tight back today, and it was amazing. I feel so much better. I have officially passed the 3 month mark out of surgery. I am half way to when I am supposedly going to be given the 100% all clear. I want to climb hard! I can only climb easily right now. But that's ok, easy climbing is better than no climbing! Hopefully I'll get outside before too long.

Random Question:
What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

Loooong Weekend!

2006-02-12T16:44:00.000-06:00

It's been a freaking long weekend in many ways. Friday night I went out on the town, I didn't drink at all, but I was still up till 2:30 a.m. I went out with Kylie, Laura, and Laura's mom. It was a good time. I love going out with my really great friends. Then I was at Bread by 10a.m. for the group ride. Ransom, Alex Hagman, Molly and I headed out on our ride to Mesa Verde National Park! We got to Mancos, and it started getting really windy. We rode up into the Park, and the climbing started. And once the climbing is over the huge rollers begin, and it was still windy. We rode all the way out to Cliff Palace, and saw a few other Cliff Dwellings, and Ruins. It was definitely the most unique and fun ride I've done. The ride is beautiful. I've been to Mesa Verde a few times, and it's always kind of boring because you have to drive from viewpoint to viewpoint. Riding out there made it a lot more interesting and fun. When we rolled into Mancos again, I was bonking HARD! I decided that I needed to call someone to come pick me up. I called my roommate and he started driving out. At that point, Hagman, and Molly decided to wait also. Only Ransom headed back to town on his bike. Alex laid his head on the table, and fell asleep almost instantly. I had a nasty gas station breakfast buritto, and some candy. Boy did that hit the spot. I got home and took a nap. Then I got up, and got showered, and all dressed up for Mike Schmidt's birthday party. It was a cocktail party. I even wore a tie! That was a ton of fun. There were a lot of my good friends there. I again went home at about 2:30 a.m. And again I was up and at Bread at 10 for the group ride. we started with a really big group, but lost a bunch at the end of the vally on CR250. Hagman, Ransom, Bryce, Chad and I kept going on. I went to the top of Coal Bank Pass, then turned around and came back by myself. I stopped in at Tamarron to fill my bottles, and say hi to Kylie... that's where she works. I rolled on into town, and am watching the Olympics right now. I love the winter Olympics. It's the only time that they show ski jumping and and nordic combined on tv. Tonight is a 9p.m. bed time night. Tomorrow night I am going full moon hiking with a bunch of friends. That'll be a good time!

Another one Bites the Dust!

2006-02-08T20:05:00.000-06:00

Well, it's official, Roberto Heras has been banned from racing for two years, stripped of his Vuelta title, and fired from his team. He also can't ride for a ProTour team for four years. Both his A and B sample from the 20th stage of the Tour of Spain tested positive. I'm glad to see someone with such high profile caught and charged. I just want to know when the decision on Tyler Hamilton is going to come down from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We'll see. I get fired up on this subject. I'll just say that people like this have no place in our sport. I'll leave you with a picture and a thought from one of my favorite guys on the NORBA circuit, Geoff Kabush...

"I'd rather have a clean sport than on with more money in it"

Right on!

2006-02-07T19:51:00.000-06:00

Ohhhh wow! Snowdown was such a good time. I went to a bunch of events, and had a lot of fun. The parade was a great time, and so were all the parties afterwards. My new bike is amazing! It rides so well, and I've got it fitting really well also. It doesn't handle quite as quickly as my Giant did, but all that means is that I have to turn a little bit earlier... no biggie. I am a huge fan of carbon also! It rides so well! You can't really feel that little bit of road vibration that you do on a aluminum bike.

It's the Orbea Opal. Full Dura-Ace, Dura-Ace wheels, ITM stem and wing bars, Time pedals, and the same Fizik saddle that I've been using for 3 years now. It's the seat's 4th season. I hope I never have to part with it! It so broken in and comfy!

Last night I went to burger night at The Palace. It's the best burger night in town. I went with Bryce, Chad, and Jarod, and a few other guys. Afterwards Bryce, Chad and I went to Falconburgh's for pint night. Some other friends showed up a little later... Laura, Kylie, and Shai. Good times!

The bike is so much bigger than my last one, that I feel like I tower over people now. Nick is 6 feet tall, only two inches shorter than me, and today on our ride he looked tiny next to me, which I never really remember noticing. But he noticed it also... how much I towered over him. At that point he called me The Brontosaurus. We'll see if it sticks. We rode from town up to Lemon Dam, and then turned and headed up to the Vallecito dam. We then came back the same way we went. In the headwind coming back down Florida rd. Nick started calling me The Wall! Apparently I am good to draft off of... go figure! It was a good ride. It's always nice to get out for almost three hours with the coach. I rolled into my house and had 15 minutes to get changed and to class. I made it right on time. Then after class, I went to physical therapy. I only have one more week of PT, before I am done with that phase of recovery, and start doing my own workouts. And it's dinner time! Later!

Disco Do It!

2006-02-02T22:38:00.000-06:00

If anyone out there in bike land is wondering what happened to Fabulous Frank Mapel after he retired. Here he is. He grew out his curly black hair, and dresses in ... I don't know what... and pushes Rockstar Energy Drink on impressionable young riders in Durango... you dirty man.

The theme of Snowdown is Disco Do It! It's awesome to see everyone walking around town in their costumes! Here is a picture Mark, Eric (won the golden plunger, but lost his hat), and Ed at the roller races last night.

Good time! Tomorrow is the parade! One of the best events, and the kickoff to one of the biggest nights in Durango! We'll see who turns out tomorrow night. I'm sure we'll see Fabulous, maybe Deadly Nedly, Bobke? Who knows!

Off to the races... In a gym?

2006-02-02T00:12:00.000-06:00

Ahhhhh yes, now that snowdown has officially started, we can all kick back, relax and watch some fun events. Tonight, my Snowdown kicked off with the 19th annual Roller races! Yup, roller races. Race for 15 minutes, as hard as you can, and see how much distance you can cover. There are special wheels with computers on them. Some people were putting in distances over 8 miles, which means that they were averaging 32ish mph. THe infamous Chad Cheeney, and our team coach/director Dave Hagen went head to head. Let's see how they warmed up...

Dave Warming up on the rollers...

Chad (on the left in blue down jacket) playing hacky sack

Chad traditionally wears jeans and no shirt... maybe this year he just didn't have it... maybe he's running out of luck with his jeans, or maybe it was the 4.5 hour ride that he went on today, but Dave won the dual. Alex, a Durango native, and FLC team rider won the overall event. I heard a rumor that he beat the roller race records. If anyone wants to see a documentary on the roller races, let me know. Bob Roll is even interviewed. You see how big this thing is!

Another FLC cycling team member took home the Golden Plunger at the Polar Beer Plunge tonight at Carver's Brewing Co. Eric Ransom won in fine style, diving into a horse trough full of beer in the courtyard of Carver's. You might say it was a little cold. Eric can go into Carver's any day of the week, for the next year, and get free beer in his plunger.

I rode my new bike today for the first time, I'll post some pictures soon... it's beautiful!

Mmmm sushi!

2006-01-29T22:19:00.000-06:00

Well, it wasn't as epic of a night as I had thought it might be. But I'm kind of glad about that. I started here at home with my roommate, and we had a vodka-tonic together before I went out. We had to christen the bottle of Belvedere Vodka! I went to East by Southwest to meet afew of my friends for dinner. Molly, Noah and his girlfriend Shannon, the girls from the house I lived in this summer... Corinne, Casey, and Kelly... my Search and Rescue colleague Katharine, and Finally Nick and Jen came out. After some sushi and Mojito's, Molly, Nick, Jen and I went to Lady Falconburgh's for a couple beers! I started my brick... 2 down 98 to go, to get my brick! Then Molly and I headed over to Noah's party, and we had a great time there. Molly went home early since she had done about 8 hours of riding before going out! I just stayed there all night. Sorry no pictures.

But I'm not too worried that I didn't go big last night... because there is an event this week, that is the coolest event of the winter. It's one word that encompasses all possible mayhem in a small Colorado town... SNOWDOWN!

Some of you may have gone to a World's Fair, or to the Olympics, the Superbowl, but if you haven't been to Snowdown, you haven't seen anything yet. Just click on it look at the event schedule for yourself! I turned 21 just in time! Those of you familiar with the Winter Carnival in Steamboat have an idea... yeah it really isn't the same... nevermind. I'm looking forward to the belt-sander drag races. And Outlaw Josie Pete's Golf Tournament... and the outhouse stuffing, the gong show, the Light Parade, The Polar Beer Plunge, the well... you get the idea. My only dilemma is that I don't yet have a costume, and I'm sure the thrift stores have been picked through. I'll figure it out. All I need is some creativity.

oh no...

2006-01-28T15:45:00.000-06:00

Well, today is the day after which I have nothing to look forward to in future birthday's except getting older. It is my 21st today! I went out to the bars last night at midnight for a little while, but kept it pretty low key. Tonight is the big night. We are going to East By Southwest for Sushi and Mojito's and Sake maybe. Then we're going off to the bars again. I'll go start my card at Lady Falconburgh's... after you drink 100 different beers there, you get to paint a brick on the wall. hmmm. That's a lot of beer! Yesterday, My friend Molly baked me a birthday cake! I went over, and had some cake... it was awesome. Cake and booze all day today! Tonight is also Noah's birthday party. It's called Noah's Ark. You have to come as an animal and bring a date or a mate... you have to be the same animal. That'll be fun also.

This past week has been my rest week, and Sunday will end my first block of base training. Only one more to go, then I get to start going fast! I'm feeling great having recovered for a week now. I am feeling great on the bike, and my endurance has mostly come back. My power levels are coming up also. I'm ready for a pretty exciting year of racing.

Check back for pictures of my birthday

It's January...

2006-01-23T23:13:00.000-06:00

...And I went on a mountain bike ride today. I went into Horse Gulch, and rallied around on my favorite trails in the Gulch. It was awesome! The trails were a mix of hardpack, the normal horse gulch moon dust (normal for July), and snowpacked/icy patches. The snow and ice has a surprising amount of traction! It has dirt that has been deposited by many other tires, and is therefore pretty tacky, but not like the dirt... obviously. It definitely throws a bit of a twist into your favorite trails. It's good for skills though, it makes you keep your bike more upright while trying to maintain speed in the corners, you can't just lay into them like normal. I'm going to do more of my base on the mountain bike. Because it is more of a full body workout, you stay much warmer. And the speeds are lower so the wind isn't a factor. We may be riding right now, but just wait till this summer when we burn for it.

Like the missionary ridge fire in June and July of 2002. It burned almost 75,000 acres... and some of our favorite trails! The area is open but there are still problems that were caused by the fire: mudslides, falling trees, etc. I would much rather give up my mountain biking for a few months here, if we might not burn. But the weather channel says that there is no signifacant moisture in sight this winter.
On another note, I went to the climbing gym for my first time since surgery this evening! it feels good to go again. I'm psyched. Hopefully I'll get outside in the next couple of weeks. Bill, I hear the Creek is good right now as long as you're in the sun! I'll need to get a few more weeks of strength back before I could go there though! But soon!

Good rides, good friends!

2006-01-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

It's been an interesting few days of riding here! But great nonetheless. On Thursday, I went to a spin class. I once told my Dad that I would NEVER do one. Well now I have, and I know why he loved them. I know that whereever he is he's laughing his ass off at me right now, and saying "I told you so!" Nick taught the class, and it was awesome. It definitely worked me! It was fun though! Then yesterday I went out at 4 p.m., it was really cold. I followed a snowplow for a while. Not a little one on the front of someone's truck either! It was one of those enormous orange CDOT one's, and it was plowing snow in front of me! It was cold! and snowy! This morning I went for the 10 a.m. ride from Bread. When I checked the Weather Channel website this morning right before I left the house, it was 12 degrees! Luckily we started going up Edgemont, and the warmed us up pretty quickly. We headed to Ignacio, and then a group kept going on straight towards Navajo Dam, and 115 miles of riding. Me, Shagman, Mr. Todd Wells, Jimmy, Lee Ro, Chad, and Wheel Club crusher Joe, turned towards Bayfiled and then went to Helen's Store, and back into town. It was definitely the fastest I've done that ride during base. We did the 70 or so miles in 3 hours! These longer rides are so easy if you've got a good group of people. Everything else is good, Molly gave me her rear rear wheel off of her old bike since she just got her new Colnago from her new team Colorado Premier Training. She and I then went to get Sushi... mmm sushi! Sushi is absolutely the wrong thing to eat during base. I can usually get the Calamari app, and three rolls between two people, and i'm quite full. Last night, I probably could've eaten another roll by myself. It's too expensive to eat during base! I think it's about time for a couple hours of napping!

AHHhhhhhh!

2006-01-18T23:34:00.000-06:00

So much stuff to do! This morning, I had a meeting at 7a.m. for my BP internship! then I went home and slept for an hour, and then went to class. Then I met one of my clients for my internship for lunch. Then I went to class again. Then I got to go for a ride... some much needed alone time! I went on a new dirt road that I had heard about, but I wasn't really sure if it was the right one, but it was, and that was a good time. I love riding the dirt roads around here. Then I came home and quickly cooked dinner before heading to Joes to meet with another client for my internship! I guess the good thing is that I'm getting on top of my internship! that was a struggle for a while, but things are going well with it. For those who don't know I am doing an internship with BP... Beyond Petroleum or as they are formerly and more familiarly known, British Petroleum. You know the logo. I/we, are the trainers for their corporate fitness program. I have 4 clients, and they are all at different levels of fitness. It's really fun and interesting. We even got shirts with the logo on it! Tomorrow is a bit more chill! I have nothing in the morning till 10. Then class, PT at 1p.m., class, ride, dinner, spinning (Nick is teaching), meeting with BP client, study session, homework, bed. Ok, maybe I do have a lot to do... oh well, I like being busy, until I freak out because I need some time to myself. If you don't have enough to do, let me know and you can do something for me!

The Weekend

2006-01-15T14:17:00.000-06:00

This weekend was a perfect way to kick off the new semester, and a new year. There were good signs of things to come. Beginning with Nick's party at the Abbey, which was great fun, and hopefully more good will come from that as he gets recognized. Regardless of how much fun that was, I was beat by the time I went home at 2 a.m. I proceeded to wake up at 8:30 and be at Bread for the 10 a.m. group ride. We headed down La Posta road, where I broke a spoke on the dirt, to Hwy 550 south of town, and then turned East toward Ignacio. From Ignacio, we headed up to Bayfield. In Bayfield we stopped at a gas station, and got some fuel... I had a King Sized Baby Rith, and a "cappucino" with which I got a free Twix bar. Noah did the same, and for the next ten minutes of the ride, we rode with cappucino's in hand till we found someone's trash can at the end of their driveway, and threw the cups away. On our way North brom Bayfield towards Vallecito Reservoir, we headed onto the dirt roads up Horse Creek... I think that's what it's called? We then dropped back into the backside of Durango down Florida Rd. It was a great ride with great people. A little over 4 hours. I was pretty tired by the end of the ride. I felt great during the ride even though I got only 6 hours of sleep the night before. I feel my endurance coming back, and it's a really good feeling! Today it's actually snowing for the first time since I got back from break, and about the 4th or 5th time all winter! But it's melting quickly, the roads will probably be bone dry tomorrow. Now I just have a few errands to run, things to mail, bills to pay, and homework to do, and hopefully an hour our so on the trainer! I hope everyone else's weekend was a good one also!

Niko CD Release Party

2006-01-14T16:14:00.000-06:00

By day he is Nick Gould... Pro mountain biker, personal trainer, and my coach. By night, he is transformed into Niko. He is one of Durango's hottest DJ's and is on his way up. Last night, the Abbey Theater, here in town was transformed into a club for the release of Niko's first CD. It was a great show. There was a lot of good energy, and many people out on the dancefloor! I kind of became the unofficial photographer for the night. so here are some pictures.

The Abbey transformed!

Local DJ Brain Ess opens.

Nick and his girlfriend Jen

Niko on the decks.

What I do

2006-01-12T10:07:00.000-06:00

Rounding Punta El Pulpito, Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Me backpacking through the Galiuro Mtns. in Arizona

When people ask me what I do, I tell them that I mountain bike, climb, ski, backpack, sea kayak, travel, the list goes on. So, the other day, while I was riding, I decided to figure out what it was that I do, that I have a deep desire to do, based on what I currently do. I rode and I thought, and I came up with one word that I think simply describes me, my desires, my dreams, and even some of my personality. I am a Mover. Whether it's over the ground on a bike, or by foot, up a cliff, over water, on snow, or around the county... state... country... or world, I move. And I love to do so. I also hate being couped up inside for a long time. I think during my recovery from surgery recently, my desire to be outside really hit me. I need to be outside, and moving... preferably in the desert. You can even take all the technology I love away from me, and it doesn't matter when I'm doing what I love.

24 hours of Gunnison... my only duo 24 hour race thus far.

I think that my family and friends may already know this. I get anxious and irratable if I don't do something, or go somewhere. All of the things that Iwant to do in life also somhow come back to this one core idea. So the next time that I'm asked what I like to do, I will simply say move, and then tell them of the ways I like to move.

Climbing in the Cochise Stronghold, AZ.

iGod

2006-01-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

You know those voices in your head when you're bonking? You think maybe God is telling me I'm crazy for riding this long, in this wind, having eaten as little as did yesterday... Nope, You're hearing iGod... the combination of music and your own delerious thoughts. There it is... the next best thing to a human riding partner... iPod... all hail! 3.5 hours up to Helen's Store, Bayfield, and back into town the long way by getting somewhat lost on the county roads East of town. And it was all kinds of windy. I did it by myself, which I like, but if I didn't have my iPod, I wouldn't have been able to keep turning down roads that I didn't know. I would've kept heading into town the way that I know. luckily now, I found some more loops that I can do, and even more roads to explore next time I need to cram hours into one day to make up for two days of not riding. I only fell half an hour short of getting all my hours because on my way into town, I felt the bonk coming, and had to get a king sized Baby Ruth to make it the last 30 minutes. I went home and made a sandwich, with the idea that I was going back out for a little while. I ate my sandwich, and fell asleep for an hour, in my chamois still. It was dark then anyways. I should've been able to do that ride without bonking, but I didn't eat very much yesterday. But, I had fish taco's from Zia for dinner, an at least once weekly affair for me. I also hit my other favorites today: Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich from Durango Bagel... and Durango Joe's for the best coffee in town. Classes start tomorrow, they should be good. I'm mostly excited for my class load: Sports Ethics, Sport and Excercise Psychology, Marketing, and Management and Organizational Behavior. MOB is the one I am least looking forward to, but whatever, I've heard it isn't too hard. I'll be well fueled for tomorrow,and I wonder who I'll ride with tomorrow?

Riding Alone...

2006-01-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

There's something about riding alone that is awesome! I think that everyone needs to do it a bit. I've ridden with people for the last three days, and I don't think I'd turn anyone away from riding with me, but, whenever I get to ride alone, it makes me happy. I get to listen to good music, and think about things, that in our crazy lives we don't necessarily get to think about. Everyone has their own "alone" time. A lot of my friends ask me if I need my alone time, or ask me why I always like to hang out with people. I think sometimes to the point that I annoy some of my friends sometimes. But when I ride alone, whether it's for 2 hours or 5 hours... I can get all the time I need. I love it.

Today I rode on the South Platte bike path for two hours. The trail systems around here are great. I can easily get my hours in without really getting on the open roads. Which around here is hard because you have to drive to the good roads. Tomorrow I'm going to Boulder again to ride with Martini, Abby, and maybe Ariel. That should be good. Even with how great riding alone is, I wouldn't be able to ever train enough without good training partners. Good training partners are key.

Base goes on...

2006-01-04T20:51:00.000-06:00

Another good day of base for me today. I drove up to Boulder to hit their endless roads. it was a bunch of fun. I was going to head up into the mountains, but it looked like it was snowing up there, and I thought it was going to be snowing on me soon enough anyways. But as I went on my way of not knowing where I was going, the storm moved off to the south, and I never really got hit. I stopped in at the Maverick factory on my way back into town, and said Hi to Ariel and Abby. I talked to them about doing the California and Utah race month together. It's 4 weeks of road tripping starting in Snowmass for the Blast the Mass, then Nationals in Mammoth the next weekend, onto the Downieville classic the next weekend, then the Brianhead National, and then back to Snowmass. It'd be a ton of fun traveling, riding, and racing, with two awesome people. On Saturday night we may head to Club Vinyl to see Richard Vision. I saw him at the Global Dance Festival at Red Rocks a couple of years ago, the night after the Mt. Evans hillclimb. Maybe this time I'll be more into it, since I won't be so tired! Anyways, off to watch a movie...

Get Your Base On!

2006-01-03T20:44:00.000-06:00

Well it's official, Base has started! I started on Monday, and it feels great. I'm feeling good. I have good power, and now the endurance is going to be coming along. I ran into Christina Begy on my ride on Monday. She's one of the Maverick girls, and a sick endurance racer. Hopefully I'll hook up with her for some rides this week. I'm probably headin up to Boulder also to ride with Martini when he gets back from his Florida base camp on Thursday. I also ordered my new road bike! It's and Orbea Arin. Full Dura-Ace, ITM cockpit... with Wing bars, Dura-Ace Wheels! Hopefully I'll have it by the end of next week. I've begun to get all of my travel plans together for this year. I'm more excited about racing and traveling to races than I was during my best season 3 years ago. So far the outlook for the season is a good one. Good races, good traveling, good friends... that's why we do this sport right? And when I need a break from it all... I just plan other trips, like the 10 days of backpacking in Utah that are currently in the works... with another great friend! Honestly, life couldn't be much better for me right now! Oh yeah, and Happy New Years!

Back in Denver... And Riding!!!

2005-12-26T19:27:00.000-06:00

Heather and I flew back into Denver last night, and went to Christmas dinner with my Mom. I slept great last night... I think I was in bed for almost 14 hours! We got up and went to get some groceries and breakfast and some other shopping. Then we came home, and I couldn't stand the 60 degree weather and not being able to ride my bike... so naturally I broke my doctor's orders and rode my bike a week earlier than I was supposed to... oh well! It felt fine anyways. I'm still going to start base a week from today though... I'll just ride a little bit this week. But I got to work on my tan lines a bit. two hours in the sun.. gotta love it. I had plenty of power but no endurance... I guess that's what I get for not being able to ride for 6 weeks. And that's what base is for also. I'm heading up to steamboat later this week for New Year's... that'll be a ton of fun. I'm looking forward to being more active starting this week. Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and has a Happy New Year!

Greetings from the Midwest

2005-12-20T21:00:00.000-06:00

So, I sit here typing, and I can see the Ford international headquarters across the golf course from the house... That means one thing, I'm in Detroit. Heather and I flew into Detroit yesterday and are staying here with Heather's Mom, and step-dad. It's a good time. We got like 12 hours of sleep last night! I've needed a night like that since finals started. We went for a run this morning! considering that I don't run and my legs only go in circles... it was ok. it hurt like hell though. Martini, I know what you were talking about earlier. I'm all messed up now. But I'm having a ton of fun here! I get to start base in less than two weeks! I can't wait! My shoulder is doing really well. I have full range of motion for forward elevation of my arm. I am at about 45 degrees for external rotation, but that's where they want me right now. Tomorrow, I get to start doing restricted exercise, and start strengthening it. Ooooh... and I got a 60GB video iPod from my Mom for christmas. I'm addicted... I already have all my music on it, and there's more than enough room for all the music I could ever want. Now I'm ready to do the Ignacio, Navajo Reservoir, Aztec loop without running out of music! Hopefully ther'll be some pictures soon, so check back.

All Done!

2005-12-14T23:54:00.000-06:00

That's right I'm done with school... for a few weeks. It feels so good to be done with all of those classes. I'm ready for a change. Finals went pretty well. I'm not overwhelmingly thrilled with any of them, but I feel that I did well on all of them. It's time for skiing (shhhh... don't tell my doctor), and snowshoeing, and everything fun outside again finally. And riding, in a couple of weeks! Anyways, I'm on my way to Denver tomorrow, and then to Ohio on Monday, so you may not hear from me for a while, so... Merry Christmas, and I'll catch you all later.

Semester wrap-up

2005-12-11T21:46:00.000-06:00

Finals week... enough said. I have my psychology final tomorrow morning at 7:30, Tuesday at noon is my econ final, with my statistics take home final due by 3 or so, and then my Legal envirionment of business final at 3:45 wednesday... then I'm done! I have a doctors appointment at 9:30 Thursday morning, and then I'm off to Denver! I'm heading to Ohio for Christmas with the Girlfriend's family! I'm excited though, it should be a lot of fun. I'm feeling ok about finals though. I got a lot of studying in today, and got a lot of my take home final done... so I'm relatively stress free right now. Last night I went over to Nick's house and we watched Rize. It's a documentary by David LaChapelle. It's about these dance groups in South Central L.A. They aren't gangs or anything, there are kids involved, and everything, and they are really good for keeping people in south central out of trouble and away from drugs. I was really skeptical about it being any good, but if you have a chance, you should definitely check it out. I'm so ready for the end of the semester. I liked most of my classes this semester. Strangely enough though, desert mountain biking, was pretty lame. Troy, Snyder and I would just go on our own rides once we got to wherever we were supposed to ride. It was kind of a joke. Econ is finishing ok, Legal environment is finishing of well, same with Stats. we'll see for good by the middle of next week when final grades are released. It's bedtime, 9:15, but I have a final in less than 12 hours.

Durango takes it to Providence!

2005-12-10T15:11:00.000-06:00

Cyclo-Cross at it's finest in Rhode Island

In a fine showing today at Cyclo-Cross Nationals in Providence, Rhode Island. Durango brought home 3 national championships. Fort Lewis won the overall collegiate title. Troy Wells, aka Rudy Bear threw down a huge Bear attack, and ended Jesse Anthony's winning streak in the U23 National race. My boy and former 24 hours of Gunnison teammate, Adam Mcgrath was 5th in the U23 race. Troy's big bro Todd won the Elite Men's national title against Ryan Trebon aka Tree Farm.

Troy battles the mud and snow in shorts!

In the collegiate race, Brent Bookwalter, a former Devo teammate of mine, won the collegiate race, riding for Lees McCrae College in North Carolina. Matt Shriver was second for the Fort, Adam Snyder was 7th, Eric Ransom 12th, and Jon Belcher, aka Birdman, aka Cupcakes was 21st. Our girls did well also. Tina Dominic was 3rd, Molly Hummel was 8th, and Onowa Pelham was 9th. Way to go on the overall title everyone.

I got on the trainer yesterday for about 40 minutes. It felt good to get the legs spinning again. I'm looking at new road bikes for next year right now. I'm thinking of an Orbea, full Dura-Ace, FSA carbon cranks, hopefully my dreams will come true, and I'll get to start base on a brand new bike which is always good motivation for the long hours of base, cause new toys are always fun to play with right? Anyways, back to studying for finals... ahh the life of a college student!

Skinny white wonder!

2005-12-08T21:18:00.000-06:00

Look at that! That's Rasmussen at the 05 tour. See, I thought that I was pretty skinny, which I am, but not like that! My left arm has been atrophying in my sling for the last 4 weeks, and it's still bigger than his arm. And nor am I a very strong person. at least he's rockin some killer tan lines! So, I have a projectt due tomorrow, and what am I doing right now... clearly not the project. I went to PT today, and my sling is off for good! My range of motion is always improving, and I get to start riding outside in four weeks. I can start inside whenever I want, but I don't want to do four weeks of base on a trainer. That would suck. But I get to start two weeks earlier than I had planned. I think, since I have nothing more to write, I'll work on my project... Maybe.

Organic

2005-12-06T19:03:00.000-06:00

Nothing to exciting today. I went to PT and my shoulder is getting back good range of motion already. I get to take my sling off on Thursday morning! Can't wait for that.

I never really was a huge believer in the organic food movement. I didn't want to spend the extra money, and it was for hippies anyways. I have always bought organic meat. But, I have now been eating fully organic for about a week, and it's amazing! I think the real thing that caught me onto it was that I had some eggs that were organic, and they just tasted better! Then I started getting everything else organic. And it all tastes better. And after a week, I've noticed another benefit... I feel better all around! I have more energy, and even if I don't sleep well, my energy levels are better. That'll be good with the upcoming racing season. Maybe it's cause I'm not processing all that extra crap that comes with non-organic foods. I have always, for as long as I can remember, even if I'm perfectly healthy otherwise, I've always been stuffed up. Winter, summer, anytime of the year. All of a sudden the other day, my nose and sinuses cleared up! And I've also felt better mentally and emotionally! Maybe that's partly an energy thing. But my thoughts have been clearer, ive been able to concentrate better, and my emotions have been more stable, and I've been able to think through issues better. Something that I think would've pushed me overboard didn't make me lose it the other day. I'm not stressed out right now, even though this week is really busy and would normally be stressing me out. The only negative is the price. I'm going to try to keep on it as best as I can, and as my budget allows. So that's my new discovery! My suggestion, eat organic, even if it's not all the time, some of the time is better than none.

Props

2005-12-04T19:51:00.000-06:00

So, today the Fort Lewis College men's soccer team won the Division 2 National championships. Finally, we have another national title besides our cycling ones! They beat Franklin Pierce College out of New Hampshire, 3-1. There was one red card in the game, and then in the last few minutes, the FP goalie came out of the box and actually played. Then we scored on an empty goal with 3 seconds left. The Refs made them do another faceoff even though there were only 3 seconds left. When they blew the whistle to start, the FP center picked up the ball and drop kicked it off of the field. That's sportsmanship for you. So way to go guys!

I'm Bored!

2005-12-03T16:53:00.000-06:00

What do I do when I'm recovering from surgery? A lot of studying, reading, spend a ton of time on my computer, far too much tv and movies, physical therapy. I've gotten outside a bit. I've gone on a few hikes, and went snowshoeing on Rabbit Ears on thanksgiving with Heather (my girlfriend for those who don't know) and Jo. This is me and Heather on Rabbit Ears.

What do I wish I was doing right now? Anything other than what I am doing. Steamboat is getting hammered with snow right now! Almost every day this season has been a powder day! Look at it!

Or climbing in the desert! Mmmm climbing! My friend Bill and I were going to climb many of the routes in the Fisher Towers this fall, some of the scariest climbing in the world. The "rock" has a layer of mud caked over it... so much fun! We were going to end the season with the Sundevil Chimney, the obvious deep gash in the rock in the picture below. 1000 feet of overhanging mud chimneying... fun! But my shoulder problems put a damper on that! next year Bill!

Many people have started base already, so there is this feeling of falling behind everyone else with my training, but I know deep down that I'll still hit my peak mid summer when I want to. Things aren't nearly as bad as I make them sound. I am having fun, and am glad I had the surgery done. It will be a lot better in the long run this way.

If you haven't heard, the Colorado State Patrol is going to wait a year to "research" the problem with the number of cyclist in events on the State's roads. So that's good news for now, hopefully they will never put a cap on participants. Tomorrow the weather calls for snow for the Cross race up on campus. There will be pictures!

First post!

2005-12-02T13:35:00.000-06:00

Ah hell, I can't believe I'm doing this. That's right, you can follow what I do, and where I go. Not only will I post info about riding and racing, but everything I do. Right now, I am recovering from surgery, 3 weeks out. I get out of my sling in a week. And two more weeks of school... make it stop! More to come, I'll keep adding stuff and I'll have a picture soon enough. If you care about the future of cycling events in Colorado, please go to www.bicyclecolorado.org and sign the online petition to the Colorado State Patrol, which recently put a cap on cycling and triathlon events within the state to 2,500 riders/racers, and they have the right to reduce that number at any time if they see fit. It could seriously jeopradize the future of events here in Colorado that we love.