"extra-dirt" via TrailCentral in Google Reader

Bike Porn: Not For The Faint Of Heart

2009-08-15T22:00:00Z

This past Wednesday I picked up my new track bike. The good people at Excel Sports in Boulder did a fantastic job of building it up and fitting me to it. Today I finally got a chance to ride it. I took it out on a spin at the local technology center (empty roads on weekends) to make sure it is dialed in before I take it to the track on Tuesday.

My Speed Chart for Today's Ride:

After my ride I took out my camera and did a small photo shoot. Imagine Austin Powers with a camera, "Oh Yeah Baby, Work with me, Work with me, Yes, Yes, NO! NO!"

Disclaimer: The images you are about to see may increase the pressure in your tubes. If you sustain overly inflated tubes for greater than 4 hours, seek help immediately as it may be a side effect.

Performance: A Video That Cracks Me Up

2009-08-14T14:52:00Z

I have to post this here so I can have a good laugh any time I want without searching for it.

It is totally true, but seeing as how I just bought a brand new fixed gear bike... I can't help but feel a little made fun of... Totally worth it! Give it a watch.

TrailCentral.com Is Slowly Sinking... But There Is Hope.

2009-08-12T13:11:00Z

It has been a while since I've posted anything regarding my website, TrailCentral.com (TC). The reason I've been quiet about it is because I haven't been working on it in over a year. Yikes! Well, that would be a true statement about 3 months ago. Let me explain.

About three months ago I had a hard decision to make because I noticed that the path TC was on meant one of two things: Continue to neglect it's operational needs and let it implode on itself or upgrade the server.

This was honestly a hard decision because my priorities in life have changed a lot to include family, work, fun, and much more. When I looked at it in terms of priority it seemed TC was always on the low end of the priority list. However, it is like letting go of a family member. If I think of all the lost sleep and energy I put into creating the site, it would be a hard pill to swallow to let it implode on itself and forget about it.

I know big time investors and business people would say, "Cut it loose and focus your energy on the next big idea." I agree with the statement when it comes to business, but TC has never really been a business. One of the most important things I've realized in my time away from TC is that it is not a business and honestly, I don't ever care if it becomes a business. What I care about is having a place where I can continue to play with new ideas. A place where I can explore the world of web development and system management. Most importantly a place where business need does not dictate what I develop, but a place where instinct and effort allows me to develop anything I want about a sport I am passionate about.

So after all that long winded rambling can you guess what my decision was regarding TC? Should TC sink or swim? I choose swim... but not an Olympic freestyle king of swim; more like a doggie paddle.

Three months ago I made a plunge and purchased a dedicated server. This single element (system management) has always been a black hole on my radar. In the past I've always developed code. If it worked... great! If it blew up my system... I always was able to call the 1-800 number and have an operations expert help me to get it rolling again. Honestly, I wouldn't have gotten a dedicated server without the help of a good friend I work with named Zach. He's an operations guy and knows his stuff. Plus, he is willing to let me ask really stupid questions and answers me with somewhat of a straight face.

Since I've started running the system I learned something; it isn't as intimidating as I thought. In fact, it has helped my development by allowing me to see how my code is running on my server. I no longer think in terms of getting it to work. I now think of it as getting it to work with performance and stability. Pretty cool!

I didn't make my decision a moment to soon. In fact, since working on the new server I've noticed that the old site has been acting up a bit, as if it knows I'll be shutting it down soon. I receive daily notices that I'm reaching the capacity of my current server. Each time I hit the ceiling it causes my database to lock up and at times takes down the entire website. It is ugly and I'm sure it isn't a pleasant user experience.

However, there is hope. I'm reaching the end of my development and hope to have the new server turned on in the next month or two. I'm making a lot of changes. I will E.O.L. several areas of the website that require a lot of effort on my part and I'm trying to enhance areas of the website that require community. This way the site will stay as fresh as the community that uses it and not look dated because I haven't updated it. While optimizing the performance I have also been updating the look and feel of the website, which was something I've wanted to do for a long time.

So the short of it is I hope you hang in there with me. I realize the old server is sinking and nobody will be more pleased than me when the transition to the new server is done. There is hope... There is a light at the end of the tunnel... and thanks to all of you who have been a part of my journey with TC. I'm happy to say the journey is not yet done.

My Third Century of the Year...

2009-05-10T03:33:00Z

OK. OK. So I had two legitimate centuries this year of over 100 miles and today I rode my first metric century of the year, or my third... Depends on how you look at it.

Yes, I'm a good old American boy and I measure my distance with miles, but today was a special day. In honor of the 100th running of the Giro d'Italia, I decided to all go metric on your ass. *snap* "Oh, no he didn't", "Oh... yes, I did!"

It was a hell of a ride. It wasn't enough to do a metric century; I had to add a few challenges. For instance, I wanted to come as close as I could to a 20 mph average. Plus, to top it off I threw in a severe sinus infection, just for grins. Yes, It wasn't pleasant to see what I was farmer blowing out of my nose today.

So, the first twenty miles went like clockwork. I wanted to have a solid 20 mph average when I reached the 20 mile mark. I did a short warm up as I cruised out of my neighborhood and then I applied some pressure to the pedals. At mile 19.75 I was at what must have been 19.9999999 mph for an average with 3 minutes before the hour. I was sure I was going to reach my goal. As I cruised along congratulating myself prematurely, I saw a gaggle of geese crossing the bike path about 100 meters ahead.

As I reached them I contemplated bunny hopping over them to keep my pace, but I noticed their were some babies in the mix, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, I did the humane thing (as I always do) and stopped to let them trot across the path. I watched the 20 mph average slip, but it was worth seeing the babies. After they crossed, I got to the 20 mile mark 30 seconds past my wishes.

Well, I didn't let that slow me down, for the next twenty miles I tried my best to maintain my average speed. I did pretty well. at mile marker 40 I dropped a bit to a 19.5 mph average. With 22 miles still to go and an uphill slant the rest of the way I knew it would be a challenge to keep it above 19 mph.

My goal for the next 20 miles was trying to keep the speedometer above the average speed mark. I knew I had a couple of hills coming at the end of the ride, but if I could limit the amount of time below the recorded average speed I figured I was on the winning side of keeping a high average.

The miles ticked away and at the 55 mile mark I had dropped to 19.1 mph average and that is when I hit the wall. Boom! Not literally of course, but my legs did not want to go above 19 mph. In fact 15 mph was feeling pretty hard for my legs. Nursing myself back to my house I managed to keep the average speed to 18.8 mph.

Not bad, I would have really liked to keep the average above 19, but given my condition I'm not going to let it get to me. However, if I had a partner to pace with on this ride. I know I could have done faster than a 20 mph average.

Anyone interested in helping me achieve this goal?

2008 TdFR - Leg Two

2008-09-15T13:37:00Z

Recently I wrote about the first leg of the epic Tour de Front Rage (TdFR), which covers three major trail networks, 21 miles of trail, and 4,375 vertical feet of elevation gain. As I look back at the write up for leg one I can't help but loose my breath just thinking of the challenge.

I wish I could tell you the second leg is easier than the second leg, but that is not the case. In fact, you can expect more of the same and I do emphesize "more of."

After lunch at Matthews/Winters riders once again take to the trail. From here riders will ride through four more major trail networks on their way to the finish, including: Matthews/Winters, Green Mountain, Bear Creek, and Mount Falcon/Lair o' the Bear.

During this leg riders will pedal 34.73 miles. From this total, 14.75 miles are uphill, 17.67 downhill, and only 2.29 miles of flat riding. The good news is there is more downhill than uphill. The bad news is that the uphill will take riders another 4,958 vertical feet into the thin Colorado air. Maybe now you can see why I emphasized "more of" when talking about leg two? Without a doubt there will be more miles and more elevation gain than leg one. Ouch!

For those up to the challenge, the group will swing their leg around their bikes and make their way on Village Walk Trail at Matthews Winters. This section of trail offers a nice warm up after lunch with rolling, smooth single track. Riders then connect to Red Rocks Trail, where they dip into the valley before starting the 3rd major ascent of the TdFR. While ascending, riders take a right onto Morrison Slide Trail. The trail continues upward to the top of the mesa before descending the most technical dowhill of TdFR. Once past the technical descent of Morrison Slide, riders are once again connected to Red Rocks Trail where smooth downhill riding guides them to Highway 26. The highway is crossed and a tough single track ascent up the hogback is required.

From the top of the hogback riders connect with paved road and descend towards Green Mountain. From the western trail head at Green Mountain riders cross over C-470 via the overpass and ride towards a three way intersection. Either the center or right branch can be taken (Don't take the left branch) and the southwest corner of Green Mountain is ridden to the newly constructed water tower. Here is where it gets a bit tricky.

From here we have to weave our way through neighborhood roads on our way to Bear Creek. I leave it to your own descretion on how to get there. Follow any route you like in Bear Creek Lake Park towards the west entrance. From the entrance you are able to pick up the Bear Creek bike path towards Morrison. Follow the bike path to Highway 8 in Morrison and turn left. Follow the paved road up Highway 8, turn right on Forest Avenue, and another right on Vine to the Mount Falcon Trail head.

Once at the Mount Falcon trail head, climb the final major ascent of the TdFR by riding up Castle Trail to the upper parking lot. Having ridden this in the past, I can warn you that this is by far the hardest climb in the TdFR. By this point you will be tired, hungry, and you will likely be climbing it during the hottest part of the day. Be prepared. Castle Trail is a wide ascent that can normally be ridden with an average effort. However, given the circumstances, you will need to dig deep to get over the waterbars, and keep traction on the rocky dirt trail.

Once at the upper parking lot at Mount Falcon, riders will Once at the upper parking lot at Mount Falcon, riders will once again ride paved road down and ride Parmalee Gulch Road to Pence Park/Lair o' the Bear. From here riders will start the final descent of the TdFR.

Known as one of the best parts of the TdFR, Lair o' the Bear (LOB) will treat riders to a much deserved descent, but remember, it isn't all downhill. This twisty-turny single track does have a couple small ascents so save some gas for them. Other than a few slightly technical spots, sit back and let the tires roll, while still being respectful of the other trail users. Chances are you will be pretty whipped by this point so treat the descent with respect and ride within your impaired limit all the way to the creek. Once at the creak, ride the final flat section of trail to the LOB trail head where you connect with Highway 74. Ride Highway 74 to your shuttle in Morrison.

For those who make it this far, Congratulations! You will have accomplished the most difficult route ever ridden as the TdFR and you should be proud!

2008 TdFR - Leg One

2008-08-17T15:12:00Z

Welcome to the first of three reports regarding the 2008 TdFR course. The 2008 TdFR course was announced earlier in the month and I took it upon myself to head out to the course with my GPS so riders could have as much knowledge as possible before the big day arrives on September 20th, 2008.

While looking at the course list there isn't a doubt in my head that this will be the hardest course in the six year history of the event. That being said, I think the trails being used will make you work on the uphill, but will reward each of the riders handsomely on the descents.

Leg one is what I will be focusing on today. It includes White Ranch trails, Chimney Gulch, Lookout, and Apex trails. In all, leg one is 21.27 miles in length with 9.5 miles of ascending, 1.1 miles of flat riding, and 10.67 miles of descent. At the end of this leg riders can expect to have climbed 4,375 ft and descended 4,229 ft.

In years past White Ranch has been a bit of a disappointment for me. It has always been a long arduous climb up Belcher Trail before hitting some nice single track and then descending again on Belcher Trail. That will not be the case this year. After riding this years trails at White Ranch, I can actually say I'm excited for the White Ranch portion of this ride.

From the parking lot riders will slowly make their way through the sandpit and up Belcher, but instead of climbing the wide dirt road, riders will take the first trail split onto Whipple Tree Trail. Whipple Tree Trail treats riders to a nice single track ride as it winds its way into the valley before intersecting with Longhorn Trail. Riders will take a left onto Longhorn, which is where the real climbing starts. Climb your way up Longhorn, take a right onto Shorthorn, then take a left again on Longhorn. Longhorn will provide one more difficult ascent before intersecting with Maverick Trail. Maverick will let the riders regroup a bit as it has a couple small ascents, but for the most part winds it's way parallel to the hillside slope before connecting with Belcher Trail. As you may have gathered earlier, I'm not a fan of Belcher Trail, but the best way in my opinion to ride this trail is to ride it downhill, which is exactly what will be done all the way back to the White Ranch parking lot.

From the White Ranch parking lot, riders will get on paved roads and head towards Chimney Gulch.

At the base of Chimney Gulch you have to get back into climbing mode because this trail takes you all the way to the top of Lookout Mountain. The most difficult portion of the climb is the initial climb out of the valley, which is only about a mile in length. Once past the switchbacks the slope of the trail decreases and you are able to spin with realative ease towards the top. Midway up the climb riders need to cross the road and pass through a parking lot before reconnecting with the trail. If the climb has started to wear on you a bit, feel free to take a breather on benches near the parking lot before tackling the second half of the climb. Although the trail is not overly technical, the long climb can make the last effort needed to summit Lookout Mountain a bit difficult.

Once at the top of Lookout there is a visitors center. Bathrooms and water is available for those who need it. Once rested and watered, riders will hop onto Lookout Trail, which will terminate at the top of the Apex Trail.

In years past, Apex Trail has been a straight shot down the mountain to the Heritage Square parking lot. That is not the case this year. In fact, Apex Trail proper will only be ridden a short distance with additional spurs from the trail adding distance and difficulty to this once easy section of the route.

From the top of Apex Trail, riders will ride to the intersection of Apex and Enchanted Forest. Riders will take a right onto Enchanted forest where they can enjoy this challenging section of trail before reconnecting with Apex. A right onto Apex trail again will lead riders downhill until they reach Sluicebox Trail. Riders will need to take a left onto Sluicebox and prepare themselves for the final climb before the lunch break at Matthews/Winters. Sluicebox Trail winds its way up the mountain before connecting with Grubstake Loop Trail. Once on Grubstake Loop, riders will be treated to a non-technical, but extremely gratifying descent towards Apex Trail. Riders will follow Grubstake Loop until reaching the Pick 'n Sledge intersection where they will take a left. Pick 'n Sledge then reconnects with Apex Trail and riders will continue to the Herritage Square Parking lot.

From Herritage Square it back onto the road as riders head towards Matthews/Winters. There riders will have a chance to refuel, before hitting the trail once again to finish the ride.

So... What do you have to look forward to once you are at Matthews/Winters? That is easy, Two more beyond category climbs, and one incredible descent. I'll post more about that in the weeks to come.

2008 TdFR: Date and Route

2008-08-14T15:48:00Z

RIDE DATE:
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008

THE ROUTE:
ESTIMATED DISTANCE -- 59.35 miles

WHITE RANCH -- meet at 8:30 a.m., wheels rolling at 8:45 -- Belcher, R
on Whipple Tree, L on Longhorn (new, challenging climb), R on
Shorthorn, L on Longhorn, L on Maverick, L on Belcher and back down
(8.65 miles).

ROAD -- Ride Highway 93 to Chimney Gulch (4.1 miles)

CHIMNEY GULCH -- usual route up Chimney to Apex (4.6 miles)

APEX -- Enchanted Forest, RIGHT Apex Trail, (NEW ADDITION STARTS HERE)
L Sluicebox, Grubstake Loop, LPick 'n' Sledge, L Apex Trail (5.8)

ROAD -- Colfax Avenue to Matthews Winters Parking Lot (2 miles)

LUNCH @ Matthews Winters Picnic Area

MW -- Village Walk, L Red Rocks Trail, R Morrison Slide Trail, R Red
Rocks Trail, X Highway 26, continue on Red Rocks Trail over hogback to
Alameda Pkwy (4.3)

ROAD -- R Alameda Pkwy, L Rooney Road to Green Mtn Parking Lot (1.5
miles)

GREEN MOUNTAIN -- Take trail over C-470, STRAIGHT at the 3-way
junction and follow usual route until you hit the 4-way trail
intersection near the water tower (do you know which one I mean?), L
on gravel road to Alameda. (NOT SURE ON MILEAGE -- 2.5 - 3 miles?)

ROAD -- I'm not sure if you dump out on Alameda or Bear Creek, but we
want to take Bear Creek Road south to Morrison Road, cross Morrison
Road and enter Bear Creek Lake Park. (1.7 miles)

BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK -- Follow any trail you like west toward
Morrison, eventually picking up the bike path near Bear Creek Lake
entrance station. (2 miles???)

ROAD/BIKE PATH -- Follow the Bear Creek bike path to Highway 8 in
Morrsion, turn Left. Turn Right on Forest Ave, Right on Vine to Mount
Falcon Trail Head. (2.5 miles)

MOUNT FALCON -- Climb Castle Trail to upper parking lot (3.8 miles)

ROAD -- Ride Mt. Falcon Road to Parmalee Gulch Road, turn RIGHT and
ride to Pence Park/beginning of LOB trail (3 miles)

Pence Park/LOB -- Standard route (8 miles)

ROAD -- Descend Hwy 74 to Morrison (4.4 miles)

END -- Dirt Parking lot at Morrison Road and Rooney Road

BIG ASS DISCLAIMER:
This is not an official event, and you can choose to do all of it or
parts of it. The course is not marked, there are no course marshals,
and there is zero, nada, zip support. You are on your own and will be
riding AT YOUR OWN RISK. The only thing we do is decide the route and
pick a start time. The rest is up to you and requires your own
planning.

AND FOR THE RECORD:
1) The Tour de Front Range is scheduled for September 20th at 8:45 AM
and will be starting from the lower White Ranch parking lot.

2) This will be a point-to-point ride so arrange a shuttle with a
friend or expect an additional 5+ miles to be added to your ride since
you will need to ride from Morrison back to your car at White Ranch.

3) All trail rules and etiquette are to be strictly followed during
this ride. If you are looking to ride it as a race and not as a
social ride, then stay home! Please be embassadors for our riding
community during this ride and prove that mountain bikers respect and
belong on the trail.

The Benefits of Short Track Racing...

2008-06-17T17:35:00Z

Short track racing is nothing like cross-country racing, but I feel it can add value to your cross-country training. I will be so bold as to say that you will rarely (if ever) have a XC situtation in a short track race, but you will have a short track situtation in a cross-country race. In fact, you may have a dozen short track situations in a single cross-country race.

So, if you are willing to take your mind off the fact that a typical short track race is only 25 - 45 minutes in length, I feel you can really fine tune some technical aspects of cross-country racing that may help you get on the podium after your next cross-country race.

Starting Line: It is a good place to learn to jump off the line. There are times in cross-country racing when you want to be the first rider off the line in order to avoid a potential bottle-neck as the trail goes from dirt road to single-track. In short track your starting position is essential and it will force you to learn to click in and get the bike moving, fast!

Cornering: Short track races should have loads of corners. Some will be banked, others off-camber; some will have tacky dirt, while others may be sandy and loose. Some corners will be located at the base of a hill and others will be at the apex. Nowhere are you better able to hone your cornering skills than on a short track course. Not only are you forced to take a lot of corners, but you are required to do them at high speed.

Riding in a Pack: Most cross-country races start in a pack and then once you leave the line you don't have to worry about bumping elbows or tires with a fellow racer. Short track packs will string out a bit, but you will likely bump elbows in a corner with another racer, which brings me to the next thing you can learn from short track.

Passing: Learning when the best opportunity to pass a fellow rider will help big time on the cross-country course. I've been in dozens of situations where I had to figure out the best time to pass someone in front of me while doing cross-country. In short track you have short sprint areas that force you to find the quickest way to pass. Otherwise, you learn to take the proper lines into a corner to try to get around a rider in front of you.

Physical Limits: You can put your heart rate monitor on and force yourself to get in the anaerobic zone during your weekday workout or you can jump into a short track race and effortlessly push your heart to the limit. One of the biggest complaints I hear about short track is from people who say they are just starting to warm-up as the race completes. Plan your race with this knowledge. If it takes you 25 minutes to warm-up; plan on being at the race course 25 minutes before the race. Warm-up for the full 25 minutes and show up to the start line with a good sweat.

I truly feel that any serious mountain biker will find time to focus on these aspects of their training with the same zest as they do their cardio training. And what better place to hone these skills than at your local short track race series; Where you can race both friends and strangers as you train for the technical challenges you'll see on the cross-country race course.

Boulder Short Track Photo Journal - June 11th...

2008-06-12T04:34:00Z

Picking My Hub, Spokes, and Rim.

2008-05-04T14:08:00Z

So what parts do you need when building a wheel? The answer seems simple, right? You need a hub, a rim with the same number of holes as the hub, and spokes. How hard is that? Well, I later found that when actually making the purchase it wasn't that easy...

The Goal:
To build my first durable, but light weight, cross country bicycle wheel.

The Challenge:
Trying to build a wheel that balances my biggest concerns and likely the concerns of most people building their own wheel:

1) Durability
2) Weight
3) Price Point

The Hub:
The hub is likely where the biggest balance of the three points needs to happen. There are hubs on the market that are extremely light weight, such as American Classic, but their durability is a bit questionable (according to reviews I've read). Another option is to go with a high end hub like Chris King. I've heard great things about the durability of this hub, but their price will hit the checkbook hard. The other option is to go with the middle of the road such as a Shimano XT, which is a pretty durable hub that you can afford, but you pay for it in the weight.

There was one more variable I had to keep in mind. This is my first wheel build. I didn't want to buy a cheap hub that I wouldn't train or race on, but I didn't want to break the bank buying a hub knowing that I'm still learning how to build wheels.

So ultimately I ended up purchasing the Shimano XT hub with large flange. From experience I know this to be a durable hub that is cheap. I'd later use some of the money I saved on this hub to purchase a better rim, which will offset some of the weight concern.

The Spokes:
Spokes come in an array of lengths, sizes, and colors. Plus, you can get bladed, double butted, triple butted, or straight gauge. Going strictly from what I've read in books and online I decided the only types I'd be interested in are the double butted or the straight gauge.

A straight gauge is thought to help eliminate spoke twist while building your wheel. For those who don't know what spoke twist is; I plan to write something about it soon. Although straight gauge spokes are said to help eliminate spoke twist, they tend to be a bit more difficult when it comes to tensioning the wheel. This is based of what I've heard and read and I'm not speaking from experience on this topic.

Given my knowledge base I opted for a double butted spoke. A double butted spoke starts wide at the hub, gets thin in the middle, and then gets wide again at the rim. Double butted spokes do come with different buttes with the main difference being weight. Basically the difference is where the butte starts on the spoke. The more light weight spokes accomplish this by having a shorter butte. The weight difference is nominal when compared to the price difference and I opted for the larger buttes on my double butted spokes.

The Rim:
I'm still a bit old school when it comes to wheels and I'm still riding tubes even though the market trend is to ride tubeless. I had taken a hit to the weight when I opted to build to a Shimano XT hub. However, I saved a bundle of money which I was prepared to spend on a nicer, light weight rim. I wanted something that would have eyelets, which produce a nominal weight addition, but make it easier for beginner wheel builders like me to set the spokes angles, while offering a bit stronger spoke hole.

I selected the Mavic XC 717 DISC rim. This is a light weight rim weighing in at 395 grams and is said to be a great sturdy rim for amateur racers and cross country riders a like. The price is a bit higher than I wanted to spend, but I've been riding Mavic rims for years and know them to be strong, durable rims, which ultimately pay for themselves over time.

The Conclusion:
I've picked the parts I needed to build my bicycle wheel. In all the price was below what I would have paid for a pre-built wheel, the durability should allow for years of riding, and the weight should come in at a healthy 830 grams. This isn't the lightest wheel on the market, but it isn't a tank either.

The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt

2008-05-01T02:16:00Z

I've been wrenching on bikes as long as I've been riding and the only part that I never touched was the bicycle wheel.

The bicycle wheel is a truly magnificent piece of equipment that happens to be a black hole of mystery for me and many others cyclists. This mystery seems to be getting more and more mysterious as the trend is to buy pre-built wheels, which are strong and often times cheaper. The down side is you are confined to the trends of the market with pre-built wheels and don't get the satisfaction, pride, and personalization that building your own wheels give you.

Determined to shed light on the black hole of wheel building mystery I decided to learn how to build my own wheel, even if it cost me twice as much as a pre-built wheel. To do this I turned to the web to find a good (highly recommended) book. All reviews pointed me to a book called The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt.

I spent a week reading this book before starting my quest for parts. Just reading this book shed a ton of light on the subject. It is amazing how misunderstood the bicycle wheel really is. In his book, Jobst Brandt, does a great job of debunking a lot of the bicycle wheel lore. He does this by clearly explaining the Theory of the Spoked Wheel with words and picture diagrams. After explaining the wheel he then goes into detail on how to build and repair bicycle wheels, which was clear enough to actually guide me through building my first wheel. Later in the book he gives examples of equations to prove his wheel theory.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in building their first wheel. This is becoming a big interest of mine and you can expect a lot of posts about this in the future.

Pearl Izumi One Day Sale

2008-04-27T14:09:00Z

I heard through the grapevine that Pearl Izumi was having a one day "friends and family" sale that started at 9 a.m. yesterday. My friend said he was going to be there at exactly 9 a.m. and he'd see me there.

I got there at 9:05 a.m. and parking was already limited. As I made my way to the entrance I was greeted with a line that stretched four a breast and wrapped around two sides of the Pearl Izumi warehouse. I thought to myself, Peral Izumi sure has a lot of friends and family. I suppose when you make high end athletic clothing near Boulder, CO you are bound to make a lot of friends.

While I walked with the line towards the entrance I tried to think of things I would need. I already have a couple racing kits, which work well for my training. With an empty mind I rounded the corner and walked through the door where I was greeted by a beehive of activity as people picked, prodded, and hustled trying to find the best of the deals. As I looked among the hundreds of people already in the warehouse I knew it wasn't going to be easy to find my friend.

As I looked around there was certainly deals to be had. Most of the items were extras, production mistakes, samples, stuff like that, which is why they were selling them so cheap. For instance, bib shorts were selling for $20. Any bib short in the bike shop with Pearl Izumi on the tag would be over $100. I had to buy a pair of those. Next I went to the accessory area where I was able to find gloves, arm warmers, and socks. Honestly, I think a cyclist can never have enough gloves or socks and the deals were smoking so I bought a bunch of each.

After about an hour of looking I was satisfied with what I had and tried to pay. I wish I had a picture of the line. The check out line snaked through the warehouse for a good quarter mile. As I got in line I noticed that the friend I was suppose to meet was next in line. We chatted for a bit, but we couldn't help but notice that for the full half hour we had been in line we hadn't moved. At this rate it looked like it might be a couple hours before checkout.

Luckily for my friend his brother was there. He gave his brother his stuff to pay so he could leave and get some other stuff done. I too had a lot of stuff to do and I couldn't stand in line for hours to check out. My solution was pretty simple. I got out of line, squirreled my bag in a corner of the warehouse, then left. The sale was from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. so I figured I'd come back when the line had worked itself down. It would be great if the bag was still there when I returned. If not, no big deal. I returned to the warehouse around 1:30 p.m. and without a problem I was able to grab my bag and walk right up to the checkout.

Dispatches From The Ditch

2008-04-24T14:41:00Z

My long time friend and co-founder of TrailCentral.com, Dwight (pictured to the left), started blogging a couple weeks ago. After much hemming and hawing about what to name it he decided on "Dispatches From The Ditch." I believe this is the perfect name!

This is what it is about:
"I grew up in the Colorado foothills, near an area we called the Ditch. As kids, we would build forts, dam the stream, shoot bb guns, and just have fun. This blog is about my goal to keep living a life full of activity, fun and adventure."

I highly recommend adding it to your reader.

Sometimes 14,200' Isn't High Enough...

2008-04-20T14:45:00Z

Mount Elbert
14, 440'

04.19.2008

If you are keeping score:
Mount Elbert: 2
Me: 0

Cyclists Consume Lots of Bananas...

2008-04-15T02:12:00Z

Did you watch the show on National Geographic last night called Human Footprint? If not, let me catch you up a bit. It was a two hour show that unloaded statistic after statistic about consumption of a typical person from infancy to old age. For the sake of the show the life expectancy of a typical person is 77 years 9 months.

We Americans have a BIG footprint on the world. The show did a good job of getting that point stuck firmly in my head. However, the good news is that while I was watching the show I couldn't help but be relieved by how often I'm on the lower end of the average scale when it comes to consumption. For instance: in a lifetime one can expect to drink 3,796 pints of milk. Not me, I have an allergy to it... The average New York Times reader will dispose of 40,040 lbs of newsprint. Thanks God I gave up reading years ago! I'm kidding, however, I don't subscribe to newspapers. I much prefer the Internet for my news. Although, I'm quite certain I raised the average of the number of bananas and eggs the typical person consumes. The number may seem large to others at 5,067 bananas and 19,826 eggs. But to me, that seems light! Hell, I must of put that amount down in the last couple years...

It was an eye opener and those little factoids stuck in my head. So much so that I woke up this morning craving banana bread. How did I make that connection? bananas and eggs, throw in some flower and sugar and presto; you go from factoids to craving banana bread! I've been sick and running a pretty bad fever the last couple days so give me some room for non-sensible blabber.

This afternoon my fever broke and when that happens I need to do one of two things.

1) Clean and disinfect anything I may have touched.

2) Make comfort food.

I opted for number two.

I've been eager to try a recipes I found in MountainFlyer Magazine (Yes, I too contribute to the human footprint), which by the way is an awesome magazine to read! The recipe is called Better Banana Bread by Christina Buchanan

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (I used high altitude flour)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoons (unsalted butter)

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

4-5 mashed bananas (I only used 3)

Directions

In a medium bowl I mixed the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate bowl I softened the butter and mixed with the sugar. I then mixed the butter/sugar mixture into the flour mixture. I then added the two large eggs. I mixed for a couple minutes. At this point the batter was pretty dry. I then added 3 bananas, but you can add up to 5 according to the recipe. I then put the batter in a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 greased bread pan and placed it in the oven at 350 degrees.

Total prep time was about 30 min.

Total cook time was 60 min.

Total cool off time was 15 min.

I compared this recipe to a similar one by my lady, Betty Crocker. How did it add up? Well, Betty uses nearly twice the sugar, twice the flour, and buttermilk. Three ingredients that don't do us cyclists any favors. Plus, it requires more ingredients, which just makes our footprint even bigger.

So you may be thinking that there are fewer ingredients in Christina's recipe and it helps me decrease my footprint, but how does it taste? Well, I cut a slice and gave it to my son and the first words out of his mouth (and I'm not making this up) was, "This is delicious." I tried a slice myself and I couldn't have agreed more.

The Colorado Race Season Is Officially Underway...

2008-04-12T13:55:00Z

Today at 8:30 a.m. the first rider leaves the starting line and with it kicks off the racing season for hundreds of mountain bikers in Colorado and many riders who travel from out of state to the premier events hosted by Mountain States Cup.

This year the Mountain States Cup plays host at 10 venues across Colorado and New Mexico where both cross-country and gravity riders will give it all they got.

This morning is the first race of the series; Rabbit Valley Rally is located near Fruita Colorado and warms the racers up into the season with a time trial on Saturday and cross-country on Sunday. Good Luck Racers!

For those who love Fruita, but don't race; you may be thinking to yourself, "So much for the ribbon thin singletrack I love. Once a race tracks on those trails they will get wider." I'm glad to say that this has been considered by the MSC promoters and before the race each rider must sign a Code of Conduct derived by COPMOBA. If this will detour riders from destructive trail riding while racing is unknown, but at least it is putting trail etiquette in the front of their mind when they sign the Code of Conduct.

Tuesday Night Rides. Will You Be There?

2008-04-06T15:01:00Z

It is Spring and if you are anything like me, it hasn't come a moment too soon. I stopped enjoying my workouts on the indoor training sometime in mid-December. Since then I've noticed my workout habits and appearance resemble that of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Obsessed with "My precious" bike as I dwell in a dark basement; my skin becoming a pasty white from a lack of sun...

The trails are starting to dry out and more importantly the group rides are starting to roll. Now is the time to adjust your eyes to the sunny Colorado skies and join a group ride. It will allow you to get some sun on your skin, enjoy the company of others, and start the year of right by getting into the pack and improving with them instead of trying to catch up later on.

This year I'm riding with a team called Feedback Sports and Every Tuesday at 5:30 the team will be riding trails in the Golden area. The starting location will be at Big Ring Bike Shop in Golden, which means there will be some pavement to ride before hitting the dirt. It is important to note that the ride pace will be based on who shows up. If enough people show up I'm sure the pack could easily be broken into two groups (fast/slow).

I know it can be very intimidating when trying to join a new cycling group. I'm afraid cycling packs can be very clique-ish. I want to assure you that the Feedback team does have fast riders, but everyone of them are nice, patient riders, who are willing to ride with all types. I'm hoping by writing this I'll encourage some of the beginner/intermediate riders to show up.

If you are fast or slow, I hope you will join the team as we ride into shape together and hopefully make a few friends along the way.

I'm On A Roll... Actually, A Mountain...

2008-03-24T04:26:00Z

I'm on a roll. Actually, A mountain, but you'll get my point when I take the time to explain.

I've just posted the second Trail of the Month for 2008, which given my record over the past year is an amazing accomplishment. For some reason in 2007 I only posted one Trail of the Month. So I believe that makes it a "Trail of the Year," but lets not get caught up in semantics.

I have a New Years resolution to write one more write-up than last year. I'm not the type to set myself up for failure by expecting myself to write twelve even though that would make it a true "Trail of the Month."

Well, I've officially met my goal and the pressure is off. Anything posted beyond this is icing on the cake. Having met this goal and not having anything more to prove to myself makes it more likely that I'll continue to post future Trail of the Months. I don't know if you are anything like me, but I tend to perform better when there are no expectations to live up to.

Having said that, the roll will continue from here. But before I get ahead of myself I think it is important to bask in the glory of my accomplishment by letting you know what I wrote about this month.

A couple weeks ago I stood on the top of Mt Bierstadt with my buddy, Dwight. This 14er is located in Clear Creek County and is the subject of the March 2008, Trail of the Month.

As I said, by standing on top of the mountain I'm able to say I'm on a roll. A roll I hope will continue. Time will tell.

Mt. Bierstadt - Slideshow and Map...

2008-03-13T15:37:00Z

On March 09, 2008 my buddy, Dwight and I hiked our first winter 14er, which was Mount Bierstadt. Honestly, by the end of the hike I was thinking this would be my first and only winter ascent. However, a few days of rest later and I'm excited to make winter ascents next year.

I'll be writing about this trail in detail for the TrailCentral Trail of the Month, but until then I wanted to share some of the pictures and the map.

Slideshow:

Map:

View Larger Map

Winter 14er - Success!

2008-03-11T04:21:00Z

Mount Bierstadt
14,060'

03.09.2008