After Turkey Day Club Ride

It was a cold fall day, approximately 40 degrees when Dave K, Steve and I left the house for Ziggi's Coffee. All bundled up in our cold weather gear, we rode up main street with dreams of lattes in our minds. Excitement was in the air...especially since many of us ate more than our share on Thanksgiving day. We rounded the corner of 4th and main and what did we spot? Approximately 15 bikes outside the coffee shop! We obviously were not the first people there! Between 930am and 10am ~20 Blue Sky club members sipped coffee and ate wonderful pastries as everyone chatted about the upcoming ride. The group left Ziggi's promptly at 10am with full bellies and caffeine running freely through the veins. 2 by 2 (no, it wasn't Noah's Arc) we rode to Blue Sky Cycles to pick-up any stragglers. The temp. began to rise to a nice 55 degrees and everyone was feeling warm. We turned on Nelson and off in the distance, what did we see? More club riders ready to rock 'n ride! As our group grew to almost 30 people, we headed out to the diagonal. At a nice leisurely pace of 14-15 miles per hour, people chatted while sharing thoughts and goo. We rounded the diagonal, hit Jay road and then 36. A bathroom break was had at the driving range off of 36 and it was Blue Sky riders as far as the eye could see. Back on the bikes the group went to 66 for some extra base miles. At this point, the club separated into 3 smaller groups with some folks riding fruit loops in Lyons, others going to Rabbit Mtn., and still others back to 75th. WHAT A FUN DAY! With 30-50 base miles had, 2 flat tires and MUCH conversation, I'd have to say it was one of the best club rides ever. Leave it to the turkey (or ham if you are Kevin and Jennifer) to motivate individuals to mount and ride their bikes in late November. I know I look forward to many more to come. ---Michelle Vercellino

Boulder Cup Debunked

Coming out to the races and watching the Blue Sky heroes ripping it up is certainly a sight to behold, but what thoughts creep into those oxygen-deprived minds half-way through the race? It's time for a Boulder Cup edition of What were they thinking?


Jenna: Let's see Isaac try and register me for races when I'm in Europe!


Susan: You know this would be a whole lot easier without the sand.


Michelle: Who are you and why are you taking my picture?


Lee: I didn't actually remember to come on time, I was saved by the time change!


Jeremy: I totally have better chops than Geoff Kabush.


Mike: Is it too late to sell my bike for parts?


Dan: This is really uncomfortable but chicks dig it when I keep my mouth open like this.


Ron: I'm pretty sure I can't feel my foot right now.


Dave: I think I just puked in my mouth.


Bryan: I signed up for this?


Kevin G: Why am I seeing spots?


Kevin A: This is the way to beer garden, right?


Isaac: %$#^#@!#!!


Rob: You punks think you are so cool with your fancy derailleurs.


Jim: (Primal scream)


Bill: Draft this, sucka!


Bryan: Maybe I should start the next race on my pit bike so I can eventually ride the Merckx.


Jennifer: You know, I drag this stinkin' kid to race after race and I always end up on the edge of the picture.
Derrick: Should I let 'em know that I actually can walk? Nah!

Scarrry Halloween Cross

Last Sunday's Cyclocross race was sandy, hot and scaaarryy! Well, not that scary, we had bunnies, bees and dirty men dressed up for Halloween.

See more pictures here: http://www.blueskyvelo.com/PhotoEntry2.aspx?T=BSVBldrRacingBldrRez2007

The sand was crazy hard to run all the way up the beach with a bike over the shoulder! There was some nice mud sections, more sand, a little pavement, more sand. Some nice dirt tracks, full of goat heads. Sounds horrible doesn't it? Not at all! Not when you have fans like this:



BlueSkyVelo teammate Brian Moroney's kids (at least 3 of them)

'Cross is great fun to watch and even to race.... come give it a try (bring a cowbell) this weekend. Two great races going on in Boulder - details here: http://dbcevents.com/

Dickie Support Makes 'Cross Team Fly!

Dan Farrell showing Dave Harber the way to go, originally uploaded by duerkboy.

When you're racing a Cyclocross bike through slow grass, sewer smelling mud/water, over barriers as tall as your knees and squishing through a sand pit, what you need is someone to cheer you on!

And Blue Sky Velo sure does have that part of Cyclocross racing down. More than any other group or team or stand of spectators on the course, the Blue Sky Velo tent (make that 2 tents) was the most raucous, cowbell ringing, cheering (egging on the bunnyhop) enthusiastic crowd (kinda like our own little RockPile). Rob and TJ hung up the Blue Sky Cycles tent complete with full pit stop stands and tools and serviced a bunch of few bikes (even replacing Isaac's chain mid-race). Dan and Bill sported the Dickie overalls covered in Blue Sky patches. Dave K cooked up the brats on the BBQ and we had racing from 10am till 4pm. Who needs the Rockies when you've got a 'cross race!

Check out some pictures here: http://www.blueskyvelo.com/PhotoEntry.aspx (open the "10.20 Interlocken (boulder CX 2)" slide show).

And don't miss next week's race at the Boulder Reservoir (flyer here: http://www.boulderracing.com/pdf/Cross07_Race_Flyer.pdf) Cross races are the best spectator sport in cycling. And Blue Sky puts on the best spectator party - don't miss it!

Autumn Coffee & Group Ride

Picture this: cool autumn weather (approximately 50 degrees), 9 am, the aroma of Ziggi's excellently brewed coffee, Blue Sky kits and bike lovers. What do you get when you put all these things together? The fun group ride hosted by Michelle Vercellino on 10/13/2007!


Six Blue Sky riders came out on Saturday to enjoy all the fun and festivities while participating in a 2H15 minute group ride. I know what you are all thinking, 'group rides in fall???' but that is absolutely right! As long as it isn't Arctic conditions outside (and even sometimes then) we are out riding and increasing our base miles.


We all met at Ziggi's in Longmont at 930am and drank lattes/coffee. Some individuals even ate great pastries to gear up for the ride. We departed Ziggi's around 10am with warm, full bellies and swung by Blue Sky Cycles to pick up any stragglers. We then proceeded to the diagonal, to 36, to 66, and back to Ziggi's. At our moderate pace of 17 miles per hour, we rode approximately 40 miles.


Everyone had such a blast that none of us can wait until the next group ride. Look forward to seeing more of you there in the near future!

Gunnison 'Cross

At 6pm on Saturday two roadies hit the road for Gunnison with chestnuts roasting (ok, maybe it was just our asses on Jennifer's heated seats) and visions of Sunday's race course. On the WSC athletic fields, utilizing natural features and some amazing terrain, making for laps straight out of European cylo-cross ... will suit more power riders and has a mammoth run-up. The drive southwest to Salida was marked by rain, snow, hail and lightning. Kevin was certain our positive karma would yield sunny 85-degree temperatures on Sunday. I was somewhat skeptical. Am I a meteorologist? No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Sunday morning we hit the continental breakfast. As continentals go, it was a 7 ... as breakfasts go, it was a 3. Either way we were an hour east of Gunnison and just waiting for the blue skies to open up above us. I decided to keep Kevin apprised of his 85-degree prediction as we climbed up Monarch Pass. 32 degrees, oops now it's 34 degrees, oh wait now it's 27 degrees and snowing. We arrived at the Western State campus with plenty of time for Kevin to perform the patented "no way I'm going outside in that weather" warm-up.

Once Kevin hit the course for one lap of warm-up before his race, I decided to walk a lap to see what was in store for us. It wasn't on any athletic fields, there was 50 yards before the first corner, there was hardly any elevation loss or gain to be found, and only one section of barriers per lap. What am I forgetting, one little detail, oh yeah ... the course was 95% grass with 17 180-degree turns. 17 180-degree turns ... yes, you read that one right. About one u-turn per 24 seconds of racing. I'm no genius, but I think someone pulled a little something something on a couple of roadies, and I could tell you this even without staying at a Holiday Inn Express last night. The course was basically u-turns on grass courtyards between dorms on the Western College campus.

During Kevin's race the rain picked up from a sprinkling to a steady rain, but the cool criterium cucumber kept his composure and looked vigilant in a 4-man group vying for 4th. I can't give you many more details from Kevin's race, as I was huddled up in the car with the heat cranked as I applied alternating layers of warm-up balm and Vaseline. On the last lap Kevin disposed of a few of his companions, but failed to take 4th as the mere 50 yards of pavement wasn't long enough to unleash his massive sprint.

An hour later in the 4s a soaked Kevin took the line with me as the rain started to let up. There wasn't much time to sort out the hole shot with 50 yards into the first 90-degree turn into some double 180s, but a couple guys took off like madmen and promptly piled up in the first corner. I was able to ride through the mess and give it some gas on the front of the field. A group of three of us stormed off the front of the field and built a massive gap -- the group was me, Velonews, and Red Rocks Velo.

I'll spare you the gory details and just spell it out for you. Velonews gets a gap, I ride up to him and drop Red Rocks, then I crash, then I bridge back up, drop Red Rocks again and now Velonews crashes, then I power away solo while Velonews paces himself and Red Rocks back to me, but then just as they make contact I go down again, bridge back, drop Red Rocks again, Velonews crashes again, then Red Rocks and I have a little gap with 1/2 a lap to go, but of course I crash again, game over. I'm just happy I got that out with only 1 sentence. Am I a run-on sentence expert? No, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. Despite getting gapped on occasion, the Red Rocks Velo racer had the cleanest race and took the win, I recovered from kissing the concrete to finish 2nd, with a worn-out Velonews racer (probably the strongest guy today) coming home for 3rd. My efforts netted a case of CLIF-bars (You like? I give you good price) and a T-shirt.

Many thanks to the iron-crosser Susan who was out there racing and cheering once again.

On our return trip we meandered back via Salida to visit the mythical Amicas, a wood-fired pizza joint I can never visit during the Salida Omnium because the place is packed full. We enjoyed some fine pizza, calzones and microbrews before hitting the road for home.

Cross Rules at Frisco

Blue Sky hit the mountains in fine fashion as 12 'crossers converged on Frisco for a weekend of cheering, heckling, cowbell, Dave Towle shout-outs, brats and beer. Oh, and there was also some racing, and as always, we laid down some ground rules:

Rule No. 1: This is how crit riders carry the bike.


Rule No. 2: Back troubles be damned, get a newbie on the course!


Rule No. 3: Do the double. 35+/4 podium regular Jim Daus multi-tasks cowbell and beer.


Rule No. 4: If a warm-up spill dirties your white gloves, crack out a new pair.


Rule No. 5: Say "yes" to the bunny hop! (Especially when the Blue Sky grill is smoking.)


Rule No. 6: When a certain Kilmoyer is having a birthday, eat cake.


Rule No. 7: Your old radio flyer wagon is for sissies. 'Cross calls for the all-terrain.


Rule No. 8: Get the hole shot.


Rule No. 9: Bring your pain face.