Friday, March 30, 2007

Speed TV

Dave, I found this promo on the web about the show your brother is going to be in (see link below). I was trying to figure out which one was your brother, my guess is the last guy who speaks.

http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=713228110&channel=340485641

Horsetooth Mountain park

Took the Yeti north to Horsetooth. I've never ridden up there before and I have to say that there are some incredible trails in there. I only rode for a short time but climbed up the service road/Horsetooth Mountain trail and then down Wather and Spring Creek. The trails were in supreme condition. Nice and tacky with some snow and mud mixed in.

I may be back there real soon. I want to cover more of the park.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

ON my way to ride tonight...

Since I'm on the short leash these days, waiting for that kid that's now 5 days overdue, I check in with the wife right after work to see if I can squeeze in one more ride. I got the okay today, and headed to hit Pipeline and Betasso since I haven't been up there since the fall. After 20 minutes of navigating the wild hippy filled streets of Boulder I'm about to head up the canyon for my ride, and the phone rings. It's the wife.

She says, "It's Wednesday isn't it?"

Wednesday. Wednesday. What's Wednesday? I start going through the mental checklist. After a few moments it hits me: Betasso is closed to bikes on Wednesday.

nsfw.

Iowa Donut Racing

http://www.triathlon.stuorg.iastate.edu/drun/resultsdr06.php
So check this out. A friend of mine sent this over to me after I told her about the Charlottesville 10-miler coming up this weekend in Virginia. See the race results in the link above and pay close attention to the components of the race listed in the heading. You'll notice that the winner, Greg Obrien, ran the 5K race in 31:23. The real winner though, in my eyes, is Matt Spaulding - who ran the 5K in 74 minutes and 18 seconds, but not before he took down 26 donuts, giving him an adjusted time of 49:48.

God Bless Iowa.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Redstone goes to Moab

I'm still recovering from this last weekend. Tonight was the Tuesday ride, too. Just a day of rest later. To say I'm tired would be an understatement. Here is why...

Let's start on Wednesday eve. Late on Wed eve. Melis and I were at the bike shop, it was midnight or so, and we were drinking beers and working on bikes. Not to mention that we weren't in a hurry, as we were also waiting on MG from NE. No sooner than we cracked open our 2nd or 3rd beer, we were witness to blinding lights shining thru the front window of the bike shop. It was our good friend Johnny. Johnny Law. He thought he'd investigate since Melis's pickup was parked right outside the door, and the Jeep was parked right next to it with the tailgate up. Turns out he was a new night sargeant and was making the rounds. Since we're suspicious enough characters, I guess, he stopped in to make sure that proper things were happening in proper places. I assured him that was the case and he was on his way. Senor MG rolled up just as JL was on his way out. It was quite the reintroduction of a good friend not seen in too long. It ended up being a late night of packing and getting caught up.

We headed out on Thursday. It was a beautiful day, just the kind you want for a road trip. The drive was quick and uneventful. After a brief stop in Vail for real beer (for Utah) and snackies, I got a call from Tucson D, aka "the wind." It is for good reason that he has been nicked the wind, and it was just our day that the wind was on our side. Tucson D was already in Moab (with a rented motorhome) and had staked us out a mighty fine spot just up Sand Flats road. After much ado, screwing around, faceplanting on the road, and remounting a dirty burped UST tire, we headed down the long road (about 1/4 mile) to Slickrock. I had a taste of it when I was out last Fall and the sample was good enough that I wanted to ride it again. It had been a long time since I was out on Slickrock. Same for all of us.
Tucson D smiles in agreement. Yes, too long indeed. Since it was a mighty fine day and the wind had already ridden in the am, we decided it best to stop for a trail break before we continued on and the wind blew back to camp.


Not long after we stopped for another break. Not too bad, sitting on the edge of the rim, looking at the Portal. Such a beautiful day.
The day was getting late, and we were hankering to get into that real beer that we bought in Vail, so we were off.
Day Two *or* The Rainy Day.
I awoke to the drip drop of rain on the motorhome. Rain sounds funny inside those things. I was certainly in a state when it was bedtime on Thurs, and a quick perusal of the innards of the Jeep revealed that I had forgoten my sleeping bag. Good thing that motorhome had a queen sized bed.
We weren't in a hurry (seemed to be the theme of the weekend), as we were waiting on another trio of riders arriving from Boulder. Despite the rain, spirits were still chipper. The ride loomed upon us. What once started as a "we're not going to ride the same old stuff in Moab" trip, turned into riding the same old stuff in Moab. With the same old smiles, of course. It was around noon before we got off our collective asses to arrange the shuttle for Porcupine Rim. Last time I rode it, I was on the 29" Turner Sultan. I was eager to get out on the Intense 6.6 to see just what a big bike can do. Anyway, I was not smiling after I dropped off the catch cars and we drove up to the Porcupine Rim trailhead. I have ridden Porc as a loop a few times, but this was not the day. Especially given the fact that the skies had opend up and were DUMPING down rain. Discussions of aborting the mission were on board, but thankfully, it had stopped raining by the time we made it to the trailhead. We found a window. We would soon find out that this window was, indeed, a suckerhole. Not knowing this to be a suckerhole (as all suckerholes go) we geared up and rode off. Simply starting on the jeep road would have been too easy. Instead, feeling guilty and all about shuttling, we pedaled 6.+ miles up Sand Flats road.
It was a great way to warm up. Easy road, beautiful scenery. Of course, the road was less easy and the scenery was a little less beautiful as we neared our exit. But that's how climbing goes sometimes. Trees and a corral in Moab? Will wonders never cease?The descent of LPS was simply too much fun to take any pictures. The dirt was perfect, too. No, none of us made or even tried the big drop, but it was sure fun on the death defying steeps after that. It made me feel like I was riding in CO for a breif moment. We stopped to collect at the everyone takes a picture here viewpoint on Porcupine Rim.

Shortly after that it started raingin. Shortly after that, I quit feeling the urge to stop and take photos. What started off as a jumpin' off of rocks good time turned into, "What's the safest, least slick line down thru the rocky ledges." I was wishing the sun would come out just a tad to dry out the rocks. Otherwise, I think that's the fastest I've ever ridden Porcupine Rim. All of the super sandy sections were tacky and faaaaast. The singletrack near Jackass Canyon was particularly interesting in the downpour. Just as we wrapped around the edge of the canyon, the skies lifted and the rain stopped. Just enough to enjoy the last little bit of singletrack with clean glasses that I could actually see thru.

the Wind eyeballs itAnd Keith gets 'r done.

Good job fellas. Looks like we'll have to come back to ride this again dry. Did I mention that I killed my drivetrain on this ride. Really. Killed it.

After cleaning ourselves and our bikes, we were off to Fruita for another 2 days of desert bliss...

Another Redstone night on the town?


http://www.boulderveloracing.com/bvr/files/DEVO_24%20Solo.pdf

A movie about 24 hour racing? Maybe preceeded by some beers at the Julian? Anyone else interested?

Monday, March 26, 2007

Desert Heat??



Hey All,
Thanks for getting the trip to Moab & Fruita together. It was a a great group, great riding &...OK weather. I ran into some snow during my drive home Saturday, hope you guys missed it Sunday.

Cheers from the land of Beer & Cheese!

cm

Sunday, March 25, 2007

back in the office

Well, we returned from the desert relatively unscathed.

It was good. How about a Tuesday Hall Ranch Ride? 6pm at the bike shop. Don't expect to go to fast, though. Melis is out o' town and I am whooped. More on that later!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Desert Details

Thursday - Leave early. Meet at the bike shop (optimistically) at 7am. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to roll out by 7:45. Drive to Moab and find a camp spot on Sand Flats across from Slickrock. Set up camp and ride somewhere. After ride, eat, party.

Friday - ride all day. We'll be waiting on some Friday arrivals so we'll head out around 10. The ride is yet tbd. After ride, get back, eat, pack up camp and drive to Fruita. Set up camp in Rabbit Valley. Party.

Saturday - all day ride from camp. Get back, eat, maybe ride some more. eat. party.

Sunday. Get up and pack up camp. Roll out, hit Marys Loop stuff or 18rd on the way out o' town. Drive home. Tired.

If anyone wants to hook up for all or part, call the shop phone 303.823.5810. It forwards to my mobile.

back in black

No Thursday Special this week. In fact, Redstone will be closed this weekend, too. It's time for a trip to the desert, so expect some updates next week! We've got a big ol' posse going.
Without further ado... That's one good looking Intense Spider!


Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Heil

Continuing my North Boulder County Foothills trail tour, I stopped in at Heil today. Conditions are very good there as well, bordering on dry.

I sampled some Wild Turkey while I was out. It needs to age a bit more, but it's mighty tasty already.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Lefthand Good News/Bad News

I was up at Lefthand OHV tonight, and it was as perfect as that place gets. Carnage Canyon is about 90% dry, 9% wet, 1% sloppy. I went up that, up Fireman, down the singletrack to the right back to the Jeep.

Good news is that the closure notices are down from the Jamestown fire. I didn't have time to climb up to where the fence was, hopefully its gone, and if it is that opens up miles of doubletrack.

Bad news is that the printed new maps that show Carnage Canyon, but describe it as being closed. If you want to ride it you might want to do it soon before signage and or fencing closes it down.
Kerry from Longmont stopped in for some water this weekend. His bike was so cool I had to snap a couple of pictures. How about that friction shifting Suntour Cyclone? Pauls front and rear brakes. The package was complete with a Brooks saddle and shellacked cork tape. If it had lugs, Grant Peterson would be pround. Check out Kogswell if you're looking for a good all rounder and don't mind 650b tires!




I got out on Sunday, too. Rode Hall on the 6.6. Man, this winter has been tough on the old man here. I've been riding Hall on the Turner Flux, but that Intense 6.6 is a different beast entirely. The extra 2.75" of squish and extra 4 pounds definitely took a toll on me going up thru the rock garden. I'm a tired boy.
Anyone up for a Tour de Hall on Tuesday? Let's meet up at 6pm at the bike shop.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Golden

Headed down Golden way for a chance of pace this morning. Spring has sprung, the trails were excellent, and the capper was heading to the local beer store only to find the Dale's grill fired up with beercan chicken and Scottish Eggs - a mighty fine lunch!








Friday, March 16, 2007

New On One Inbred 29er

Allegedly scheduled for late April arrival. Pricing yet to be determined.


Reportedly, the ladybug is even included with the completes!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Thursday Special, 3/15

Beware the Ides of March. The Thursday Special is upon us!

15% off introductory price on all Transition frames or completes! We have Covert frames in stock/on the way for inventory and will bring in others as needed. Email me, dave@redstonecyclery.com for the scoop!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Bicycling Magazine

Keep your eyes open for an upcoming issue of Bicycling magazine where there will be an article about Tyler Hamilton. Our very own local Dr Finnoff will be featured as he was interviewed for the article. If you don't know, Greg is a doctor and was a medical advisor on Hamilton's defense team. Should be interesting.

Tuesday Ride Recap

Tuesday started great, but I knew I was in for trouble when Doperssuck showed up with the legendary Nick Martin. Nick's a good guy, a respectable fellow midwesterner, so you know he's good. Damn fast, too. The ride started off fast out of the gate. As soon as we got to the Hall Ranch parking lot, it was all systems go. I was pushing a tough gear just to hang on going up the frontside of Hall Ranch. Thankfully, we ran into some folks we know going up, so it gave me a good excuse to regroup with the rest of the gang. After regrouping, we rolled over the top past the bench and on to the backside of Hall. The big snowbank by the Antelope junction that I had to hike thru on Saturday was barely existant, but not without incident. Another rider on a Mav forked Ellsworth was going the other way and expressed, "Hmm, riding Hall Ranch at night is ILLEGAL, Hmmmm." Yep, sure is. I thought of the irony that he mentioned this as we were at exactly the same point on the trail. We kept going.

Once climbing again past the Antelope junction, Melis the Man started setting tempo on his SS and I was off the back before we made it up to the loop. Those guys rode the loop, but I pussed out. I had stopped a couple of times to bs with folks riding the trail so I opted out of the loop (which, by the way, is reportedely ok rideable shape). Luckily, I had just run into MK_ on his way down. He kept me company whilst I installed my light (for the road ride home, of course) and waited for the rest of the gang. We ripped it up on the descent and made it out before dark.

For what it's worth, if the Ellsworth policeman is reading this, we made it down to the parking lot safely without use of lights, and there were still a dozen other cars there :). Sorry to burst your authoritative bubble, occifer.

We escorted Nick and Doperssuck out of town (they still had to ride home to Boulder) and hightailed it to Oscars. The Dale's Pale tasted especially good, as did the luscious pesto burger. Yum.

Next week, same time, same place. See you there!

Monday, March 12, 2007

The Transition has Begun


Covert operations to commence shortly. Transition Bikes now at the Stone.

Tuesday Night Ride 6pm, 3/13

See you at the shop at 6pm! We can ride from there or go to Neva Rd. I heard it's totally dry now. It might be a good idea to bring a light in either case...

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Why is it

that it hurts twice as much when you grind a scab off your knee as it does when you scrape off regular old skin? Hall claimed the same knee it feasted on Wednesday, and this one hurt twice as much even though it was only about half the wound size.






Sure is great weather today!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Sorry but had to say something...

I know this a waste of valuable web space and completely unrelated to cycling but I just read an article about Courtney Love.

You know you've hit rock bottom when a rehab center sues you for an upaid bill.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Rabbit Mountain



So I rode Rabbit Mountain last week. Trail was in great shape overall with the exception of the north side. It has been a few days since so It should be totally dry by now.

Here a couple of photos from the cell phone. I especially like the one that I took inside my pocket. Its a framer.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Boulder Cup

Check it out - "The Boulder Cup" television program, a 30 minute recap show of the cyclocross race last fall in Boulder will air on ALTITUDE(MT):
Saturday 3/10 11:30 AM
Thursday 3/15 2:30 PM
Monday 3/19 10:00 AM
Thursday 3/22 3:30 PM
Thursday 3/29 3:30 PM

cool stuff - cm

Warranty

MIGZ & I made it out for a shortened night ride last evening. On a great night with the stars & moon above we had the event cut a bit short. MIGZ massive wattage snapped his Raceface drive side crank arm right off. I approached the scene quite surprised to notice him holding his bike & the crank arm with pedal laying on the rocks. He was able to limp that baby home with one leg. For his work he received a beer & an introduction to my whiskey drinking roommate in his Irish best.

We should have known it would be an eventful evening as a precursor to our ride Debaser came stumbling in brandishing wounds from his ride. Word is a full on over the bars experience, nice work!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

dopers suck, right?

Make sure to wear your dopers suck shirts if you go...

from bicycle retailer...

"Floyd Landis to Make Appearance at Colorado Bike Shop MARCH 07, 2007 -- BROOMFIELD, CO (BRAIN)--Floyd Landis will make an appearance at Bicycle Village's Westminster location on Sunday, March 11, 3-6 p.m., for a town hall style Q&A meeting. The public will have the opportunity to meet Landis and hear from him on the progress of the case to clear his name of doping charges.Proceeds from the event will go to the Floyd Fairness Fund (FFF), which assists Landis with his legal fees. There will also be a free autograph session and silent auction.Admission is $35 per person. To RSVP, call (303) 421-4001 or email landis@ssv.net. For more information, visit www.bicyclevillage.com. "

frorider's Intense Uzzi VPX

In Java, no less. Just looking at this bike makes me drool about riding in the forest. Intense Uzzi VPX, Rock Shox Totem (in the sweet new galvanized finish). Damn.


Sunday, March 04, 2007

trail conditions

Boulder County Open Space has entered the new millenium of the world wide web. Because this year has had such hectic weather, in order to prevent local trails from getting too beat down, Boulder County has created a public trail conditions page. Check on the Boulder County website for relatively frequently updated trail conditions. Of course, the Front Range bulletin board of mtbr works well, too.

Looks like we'll be experiencing some decent weather this week. Let's do another round of Boulder Valley Ranch fun on Tuesday. Meetup at the shop at 6:30 and we'll shoot to be at the Neva trailhead around 7. Next Tues, the 13th, we'll be back to daylight rides from the shop at 6! I have no idea what will be dry, but we'll exploit whatever we can by light of day. finally!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Thursday Special, and welcome to March

Is it March that's in like a Lion and out like a lamb? Looks like the end o March will be swell. I'm glad I got out on dirt 4 times last week, too. It looks as if it may be another spell of no dirt after the recent stormy weather.

How about some Avid BB7's for only $60/wheel? I have one set left, 160mm front and rear.

email me - dave@redstonecyclery.com if this brakeset needs to be on your bike!

Oh, the desert trip is coming up, too! March 22-25. 2 days in Moab and 2 days in Fruita is the very loosely based tentative plan. Give me a shout if you want to caravan out with us!