Promontory crit

Yesterday was the first crit of the season. I was happy with my race since I'm just beginning to figure these races out and I can't sprint . A big thanks to Kevin for his advice, clinics, and coming out to coach. His advice really helped me stay near the front throughout the race without too much difficulty.

The start was the WORST. It took them probably 20 minutes to fix duplicated race numbers at the start line while we stood shaking in the cold and wind but at least it equalized my lack of a descent warm-up. The course was similar to a circuit race with 5 roundabouts and a nasty longer headwind stretch with a slight uphill before the corner to the finish. I could move up easily on all parts of the course with the important exception of the headwind stretch which I often lost several spots on. At 3-4 laps ago, I tried a break with a college guy but only ended up pulling the pack, stringing out the field while listening to the college kid chear me on- not the smartest move. I saw Lee, Charles, and Ryan several times during the race. I even felt Lee's front wheel on my rear- I guess I changed my line-Sorry Lee- but nice recovery. The four of us finished with the main field. I know the other BSV guys were with us until a preme that further shattered the field making it tough for the guys further back. Believe me, I've been at the back and the front is much easier once you get there. While the race was constantly changing at the front (constant surges which had to be covered to maintain a position near the front), the front beats the accordian affect and effort required at the back any day.

The final lap seemed to come quickly. I'm guessing I was 15th at turn1, 1st thru turn 2, 8th thru turn 3, dropped to 13th on roundabout 4- forced into curb and had to break-karma for maybe not having the best lines myself, 13th final turn, and 10th? at line. I think I finished 10th (based on my count of what I think was 9 guys ahead of me immediately after the line; the photo finish failed so I'll never know for sure but I had to be in the top 9-11). Great first crit of the season guys! Thanks to Jeremy and Kevin for cheering us on. Jeremy, that pro,1,2,3 race was brutal. Nice job! I think you outlasted Zirbel.

Ho

Easter Team Training Ride

With so much impressive training going on, it was only a matter of time until my number was called. The day started at 10am in sub-30-degree temperatures at Ziggi's with a merry troupe of 8 Blue Sky'ers.

We made our away across town over mostly dry roads, but as we ventured north of 66 we had to abort as there was simply too much snow! We continued our moderate pace west on Rt66, and then there was an absolute throw-down on Rt36. As one of our designated "good luck to you" parts of the ride, everyone was doing a bit of free-form interval work. I was going 100%, with a bit of variation in the tempo. Kevin started at the rear of the group and practiced closing gaps as they opened up. Eric was in "go hard until they crack, or I do" mode, and a few others like the 'Stick and Brad were just enjoying the day atop their Cannondale steeds. After 15 minutes of work we all met up at Nelson.

At Nelson we decided it was too damn cold, and instead of putting a halt to the ride I suggested we head to Amante's and wait for the day to warm (or for our spouses to pick us up). This suggestion was met with overwhelming acclaim. And so you have it, 2 hours into my "training" ride I was warming at Amante's with a cappuccino and a chocolate-infused croissant.

After some prodding by Kevin, we were awaken from our caffeine stupor and back on our bikes after about 30 minutes. Our moderate, conversational pace continued to Jay Rd and the Diagonal to 75th. By now it had warmed up and we rode north on roads that only a few hours earlier were treacherous. At Woodland and 83rd we all parted ways.

I decided it was time to put the new rocketship bike through its paces, so I put the needle at "tempo", put my hands in the drops, and "got on it" to Carter Lake. I pushed it on the dam and hoped to find the bathrooms open at the marina (I didn't), then I hit an unimpressive 47mph on the back side and continued a hard pace back to Longmont via all the rolling hills in between. I put in a few bursts of speed along Mountain View to see what was possible after 5 hours of riding (873W for 5s), and then cruised home thinking about how I'd spent most of the day on my bike, but it wasn't so bad because I had:

1. Swung a deal to buy a car.
2. Learned that the secret to bicycle hygiene is lemon-scented Pledge.
3. Heard way too much about Kevin's over-sized bottom, umm, bracket.
4. Burned 2900 calories which would allow me to eat approximately 2 pounds of beef upon my arrival home, and still weigh in the next morning minus 3 pounds.
5. Heard various cycling soliloquies addressing balm, bike tires, politics, next of kin, et cetera.

Two BSV Mountain bike Group rides in one day....

Well, there were two rides heading out today, one at 7am to Hall Ranch (organized by Chris Madden) and one at 10am to Heil Ranch (the official Team MTB ride sponsored by Cindy this week). Took off from the house at 6:50am near Airport and Nelson to meet up at Hygiene. The saga begins....

Early morning Sunrise--the weather appears like it will behave, even though the temps are at 30 degrees!


Short detour and a lap around Pella Lakes off of 73rd just before Hygiene--half way through the phone rings, the rest of the group has just arrived at Hygiene.


Okay, this was just funny as I approached the corner market, Looks like Chris has something to say to Kevin!


Heading West on Hwy 66--Kevin and Chris are chatting up their injuries and what to do about mending them.


About to enter the Hall Parking lot off of Rt7--sun is out, day looks awesome--temps are finally warming up and we all have to delayer a little before starting to climb. After hitting Hall last night too to test my newly rebuild rear shock, wondered how the legs would hold up.


Chris working it up the rock garden on Hall


Kevin doing more of the same--these guys both made all of this look pretty easy for both claiming to be injured. I just had to laugh about it and watch them pound up the rest of the trail.


Upper Bench at Hall Ranch--The boys waiting on me to catch up after I tried a few rock sections again--oh and my legs were nice and tired already. This was the last time I took a photo as these guys had to step on it to get back to town. I saw them again on the upper loop, but they were both just blurs as they screamed past me on the downhills! We said our goodbyes and I enjoyed the descent at my own pace.


Headed back into Lyons to refill with water, eat, and just take a quick break. Did get to see the kids of Lyons and the easter egg hunt at the park. Stopped at Redstone to say hi to Dave but he was across the street with the kids searching for colorful plastic eggs. It was pretty near when the whistle blew and about a 100 kids went running all around in hopes to grab their prize.


A sign we all know too well. I headed back out and took a right on 34 towards Boulder. Even though I was running late, I was still going to try to catch up with the 10am group ride at Heil Ranch. I had 10 minutes to get there--no problem, except for toasted legs and lots of wind!


Okay, I am still smiling and about at mile #32...legs were talking to me on 36 though and I was happy to turn onto Lefthand and head up to Heil.


A great sign to see at this point in the ride--now just a short climb up to the parking area and hopefully join up with the group--even though it was now like 10:35.


After waiting at the Wapiti/Ponderosa junction along comes a familiar BSV jersey and its Steve--whom I had not seen for like two years!


Along came Phil just afterwards....


And then Cindy.


We headed out the Ponderosa Loop Counter Clockwise and regrouped at the overlook.


A little taste of Wild Turkey Trail singletrack.


Cindy just finishing one of many of the banked turns on Wild Turkey.

After leaving the Heil parking lot and parting ways with Phil and Steve, Cindy and I headed back to Longmont via Nelson. It was cold and windy by this point with the sun long gone. My legs were pretty beat and I could feel it each pedal stroke. Did a quick stop at BlueSky on the way back and downed an R2 packet...hope that means tomorrow will not be as much limping around the house!

Its funny, after a day like today and its snowing right now as I sit here and type this up. My specs show that the day consisted of 53 miles and just over 4000ft of climbing/descending. 3-D map below shows the route. Looking forward to the next group ride in two weeks and meeting more team members!

First Mountain Bike Team Group Ride!

Sunday March 9th was the first 2007 Mountain Bike Team/Club Ride. Six soles braved the 55 degree windless and sunny day to checkout the Devils Backbone and Blue Sky trail network up in Loveland, Co. Several folks met up at the Designated Kmart parking lot at Wilson and Hwy 34, only a few pavement miles from the Devil's Backbone TH. Ed, Darrin, Jessica, and Cindy. Running late, I met them at the TH. After a few minor adjustments on brakes and shocks...we all headed out to enjoy the trail. Parking lot was not very full which showed us that even at 11:00am, this meant the trail would be pretty empty.

Here are Cindy and Jessica are sharing the trail with some local hikers.

Here is a great view of the Back bone proper. The trail heads to the right with some climbing and then North up to Horsetooth park in Fort Collins.

Here is a short climb on the first loop at DBB--that is Darrin and Cindy up ahead.

Here we are regrouping at the last loop of the Devils back bone. Off the North end of this loop, the Blue Sky trail joins up. Starting from the left: Ed, Cindy, Darrin, Jessica, Amy and John taking the photo.


Here is Jessica with Cindy just ahead on the Blue Sky trail dropping into the valley where Indian Summer trail makes a loop on the left hill side. Just after this descent, Ed got a flat and we took a few minutes for trail side repair and Co2 101.

Here Jessica, John, Amy, and Cindy are climbing up to the Coyote Natural Area trail junction. This is about half way to Horsetooth. The next section of trail was fast and fun so no pictures until we started climbing back to the Devils Backbone trail system.


Here is Jessica, Cindy and Darrin climbing up to DBB from blue sky trail.


Here is Cindy about to rock it out on the rocky steps up to the overlook!

Here is John climbing up the rocky plates at DBB, only a few miles from the parking area--you may notice the rear shock is completely bottomed out after developing an air leak. That is what happens when yo do not wear your team kit....

Everyone had a great day despite the mechanicals and we did about 18miles but only just under 1400 feet of elevation during that ride--just about all on single track. There are many more miles to be had there when the Horsetooth trails dry out and also Lory State Park. If you ride it all, you can get in over 40 miles of single track. With a little pavement riding, you can get in even more by adding in Bobcat Ridge. Elevations can be in the 8-10000 feet with multiple laps on Horsetooth, Coyote Ridge and Bobcat. The pavement ride adds a little more mileage. Looking forward to the next group ride to meet some more of the MTB folks!

Skinny Skis At Devils Thumb

"It's much more interesting to change your life to suit the temperature than to change the temperature to suit your life. Life isn't meant to be lived year round at 70 degrees." - Mary Schmich. When the temperature dropped to 30 degrees and 'Old Man Winter' came to visit mid-February 2008, the Blue Sky Velo members broke out their skinny skis with dreams of Devils Thumb dancing in their heads.

It all began at 7:15am at Blue Sky Cycles. The Blue Sky Velo gang met with much excitement and anticipation. Rob Love and Tim Johns quickly threw the freshly waxed thin skis in the 'lead car' and the group was off to Fraser, Colorado. With a quick stop in Boulder for some morning lattes and a beautiful drive up the canyon, we drove to I-70 on our way towards Winter Park. There was a feeling in the air that the day would be epic.

The train of Blue Sky cars pulled into Devils Thumb Ranch, the day's destination around 930am. The 5000 acre playground was callin' for some action. The group dropped their stuff off in the day lodge and ran to the ski shop to pick up some more skis and the instructor...Igor. Igor rallied the club at 10:30am for a 'learn to skate' lesson. With so many different levels of skiers, one wondered how Igor could possibly teach such a diverse group. Igor stepped up to the challenge and had advice for every skier from Blue Sky. Michelle, Angie, Michael and Darrin began to feel the glide for the very first time. Dave K., Chris, T.J. and Rob raced around the course perfecting skill and impressing all the folks surrounding the area.

Rob and T.J. bought the group some of the best sandwiches made in Winter Park after the lesson and everyone took a quick break before going back out and practicing the techniques learned from the first 1/2 of the day. As Michelle, Angie and T.J. made their way around the 'Ranch Loop' focusing on weighting each ski and extending their glides; Rob, Dave K. and Chris raced to 'Blue Extra' for a double pole showdown.

At 3:30pm when everyone was completely out of breath and the quads were burning red hot, the group decided to head down the mountain. Michelle said goodbye while moonwalking back to carpool vehicle number 2 and the caravan pulled away heading to Longmont. Everyone chatted about the epic weather (35 degrees/clear skies/sunburned faces) and incredible experience had by all.

I'd have to say this was one of the best Blue Sky Velo/Cycles events EVER. When the weather doesn't allow for cycling, break out the skis and get gliding!
-Michelle

Winter Group Rides in Colorado - ahh the crazy fun!

What's the first thing you do before heading out on a group ride in Colorado in January? Check the weather! But based on the weather, do you decide if you should stay inside or ride? No! (well, I don't, can't speak for all of you).... You check the weather to see how many layers you must wear and if toe Hot Packs are needed or if plastic baggies will get you by.

Last weekend, I left my house and it was 13 degrees! Met up with Bill and Barry (pictured) and we rode up to Carter Lake, then up again to Pinewood topping out at around 6,600 feet (started at a little over 5,000 feet). 80 miles and 4 hours later I don't think my toes or fingers ever quite warmed up (and it was still sub-20 degrees) - both my insulated bottles w/ Accelerade froze!


Yesterday, the weather was 30 degrees warmer - close to 50F, the only problem was the wind! Check out my two power files (blue line is speed, yellow line is watts/power. both are roughly 20 minutes long) - the one on the left shows riding into the headwind (11.6 avg speed/236 avg watts/156 bpm) the one on the right shows riding with the tailwind (24.3 avg speed/207 avg watts/145 bpm). Given, I was still pushing rather hard with the tailwind, but the difference in speed is quite stunning.



You think, oh, what fun! Well... not when a 50 mph gust blows you (me) off the road, front wheels hits the sand, bars twist, back wheel summersaults over the front of the bike and I've got Goat Head Rash all up my left side. At least 2 of us where literally thrown from our bikes due to the wind... hmmm. maybe should have stayed inside! After the 'tornado', we booked it back down the road to Amante. Big cappacino's... now that's a 'group ride'!















Today was a whole nuther story - it was calm, warm and beautiful. Aside from the snow drifts in the gulleys, I seriously thought it was April! We had 20 or so people show up and split into an A and B group with the A group running a paceline for 15 or 20 miles. The B group probably just had more fun... Of course even a perfect day has to have some drama if you're on a group ride in the middle of the Colorado winter: 4 of us were pulled over by the Larimer County Sheriff for turning right (running) a stop sign. He basically said he was just practicing for summertime when there's thousands of us Boulderites running ragged through Larimer County.

So, this post ends with a moral, two actually:

1. Don't run stop signs (seriously folks, cyclists have no right to complain about cars if we're bending the rules of the road) and

2. When you look at the weather, make sure you know where the coffee shops are along the route.

- Jeremy

Moonlight Snowshoe

Tuesday night. Brainard Lake Parking Lot. Full Moon. Light Snow. 20 +/- degrees. It was perfect Blue Sky weather for a snowshoe!















15 or 16 or maybe it was 17 (hope we didn't leave anyone!) Blue Sky'ers lit their headlamps around 8:30 pm and started trudging up the one of the forested trails. Jeremy & Suzanne's dogs had lit red collars and jingle bells and all four were running circles around the group. So there was no worry of running into bears or mountain lions! (I'd show you a picture of the dogs, but they all turned out looking like fireflys or fireworks buzzing around in the dark). Unfortunately, the dogs also scared away any possible sightings of Sasquatches.










Of course we started at the Pumphouse Brewery to get some good nourishment of the 'hops & wheat' variety before braving the outdoors.



Despite the fact that it looks cold, dark and snowy, snowshoeing with a bunch of people through the woods is a lot of fun ;)















Especially when there's lots of little pow wows... "what path are we on?" "anybody bring a compass" "anybody have a headlamp I can borrow? I didn't know it was going to be dark out here!" etc.















When we got to the actual Brainard Lake, it was amazing. The views were stupendous. Wait a minute, that was a different trip, the scenery wasn't actually that much different than it had been in the trees...















All joking aside, this snowshoe trip was awesome and if anyone cares about my recommendation, lets do it again! Thanks Rob and TJ for organizing!