Intense Spider 29ers On Sale!

Intense has a handful of Spider 29er frames left. They need to blow them out to make room for the new 2010 Tracer 29er. I know they have larges left and maybe a few other sizes. Now's the time if you want one - only $1650. I had one and a lot of local yokals are on them. They are sweet!

Tuesday Ride 9/29

Bring your lights! We'll be driving into the forest to ride something we didn't hit on Sunday's BFR4! Space blanket and GPS?

BFR4 Recap

It's a good thing the shop is closed on Mondays. I took my daughter to school this morning and crawled back into bed! I'm whooped from yesterday's Big Fall Ride 4. In it's 4th year, the course just keeps getting better.

We shuttled riders up (about 14 in all) to the Peak to Peak highway and were pedaling by 9am, right on schedule. We rode Bunce School Road for 45 minutes or so until arriving at the Peaceful Valley Campground where we'd catch the north end of Sourdough. Bunce was smooth and fast, as the USFS had recently graded the entire thing.

Fall colors on Bunce were fantastic. In fact, fall color the whole day was fantastic.

The pace was good, spirits were good and the day was absolutely beautiful. Temps were in the 60s and 70s and there was not a cloud to be found in the sky. That's what I'm talking about when I think of Fall riding in Colorado! Sourdough was easily the toughest climb of the day.



Despite the moisture we'd had all week, SD was it's typical loose and sandy self. You could not even tell it rained up here.

A quick snack and photo break at the pond that's not a pond right now...
and we were off to South St Vrain. SSV has got to be one of the greatest trails around. It's got smooth and fast, steep and tech, rocks, drops, everything. There was only 1 casualty on SSV, but not enough to deter the rider from forging ahead.





After SSV and a handful of miles on dirt county road,

we found ourselves at Gold Lake perched high on a rock with a 360 panoramic view for lunch.

Lunch was good.

Jeep roads from Gold Lake connected us down to Jamestown where a few folk stopped at the Merc for a snack and some water.

A little bit of pavement later and we were in Left Hand OHV. LHOHV gets a bad rap (mostly deserved) from motos and shooters, but if you get far enough in, it feels as remote as anywhere else.



The plan was to climb up 286 and come down Carnage Canyon. Carnage has historically been where all of the big time rock crawlers go, but it was closed to motorized about a year ago for streambed protection. We climbed up Carnage about 2 months ago and it was all good still. Not the case now. Carnage was a total bust. Apparently, they didn't just close it. Within the last month, volunteers had come in to completely rehab the old road into the streambed it used to be. I was bummed to see the last remnants of the road gone, but the new streambed looks great. Anyway, we ended up hiking down most of it because it's not ridable. RIP Carnage Canyon, we'll miss you. From Left Hand OHV, we were back on the highway and heading to Heil Ranch.


That last 1.25 miles on dirt road to get to Heil sure seem long at the end of a long day.


Heil was tougher than usual. After riding 40+ miles, that first climb on Wapiti sure offers up new persepective. I like the reroute, though. We hammered up Wapiti and down Picture Rock. There was beer and brats waiting at the shop.

Thanks all for coming out. We had a strong crew, ZERO bailouts and we covered some serious ground. Got a few new ideas for next year, too ;)

cocky roadies

I love it when bad ass cocky roadies stop in the shop. You know the type. The ones that are too cool to pay full price for tubes, riding the latest $5k bike they scored on a shop deal because they work for a large pharmaceutical firm (cough, amgen, cough, cough). The ones that sneer and look down at my shaggy mtb persona. When they tell me about the superhardcore ride they're embarking on I'll say something like, "man, that sounds like a long ride. You need a Dale's Pale Ale for the road?"

That usually trips them up pretty good. Never had one hit me up for it either.

BFR4 reminder!

Don't forget, Big Fall Ride 4 is coming up this sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY! 8am at the bike shop and it looks as if the weather gods will smile upon us. We'll be hitting some of the finest riding at some of the finest riding areas in Boulder County. Last year played out like a greatest hits album of Boulder County riding and this year will be better. I've even got a late-in-the-ride surprise if you're up for it :)

See you Sunday!

Tomac 2010

Tomac has made a few changes with their 2010 lineup. Here are some of the new things we'll be seeing.

First off, the Tomac Vanish. 160mm of travel, $1600
Revised Tomac Snyper. 140mm travel, $1400
Tomac Flint 29er. $500 frame. SS or gears via a Bushnell eccentric bb.
New Tomac Automatic 120, $1200

No news on the Cortez, Type X, Carbide, or Carbide SL, but we'll keep you posted.

Clark from Tomac Bikes will be here this Sunday to join us on our Big Fall Ride 4. He'll be on his way back from Interbike with the demo rig in tow. I don't think he's going to set up for demos, but he'll have some sweet 2010 bikes for us to peek at!

HTFU

That's right. HTFU

Funny how things work out sometimes...

OR... great day to break in a new bike!


I got out Sunday for what I thought might just be my last ride of the summer. The forecast for Monday was downright evil, so I had to take advantage of the blue skies and warm temps while I could. I got out for some post bike shop late day adventure. It didn't dissapoint.

That is, until I caught a stick in my rear der. Bye bye Mr. Derailleur Hanger. A quick assessment proved that the derailleur was still in great shape. Another quick assessment showed that I did not have a spare der hanger for the Tomac. Fortunately, I had one for the Intense. Ghetto fix strategy #1. Make it work. I used the QR to hold the Intense derailleur hanger over the Tomac frame. The fit wasn't perfect (and neither was the shifting) but I was able to find several gears that I could pedal solidly in. Sweet, and downtime was only 5 minutes.

I wasn't too bummed about the der hanger being blasted. It would take another couple of days to get one, but the forecast is for rain/snow for the next few anyway. Today started out exactly as advertised, but we actually saw sun and 60 for a time this afternoon. I didn't feel like getting out on the road. With last night and this mornings rain, it was a great opportunity for perfect dirt. Hall Ranch, here I come. On my new SS weapon, the GT Peace 9er.

I picked this up recently for a couple reasons. Mainly, I missed having the 29er SS and secondly, I needed a ticket to get into the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo coming up! I better get into SS shape quick. Back to the bike though, this thing is leaps and bounds better than the original Peace 9er. The bike rides like butter and the fork has just enough give to keep those big wheels feeling comfy. It was my first time back on a SS in a while, though. A quick tour up Antelope, loop, down Antelope was just what the DR ordered and fit perfectly into my time budget for the day.

Here's the proverbial Long's/Meekers shot from the top of Hall. You can't see them very well, but you can surely see snow on the shoulders. Perfect end to summer and a great day to say hello to Fall!

Tuesday Ride update 9/22

RMNP cross ride for his Tues, 9/22 is CANCELLED.

Bring your mountain bike and depart from the shop at 5:30. I think we're probably better off tomorrow to keep 'er east of the Peak to Peak. Any suggestions?

So it looks like now Friday, 9/25 is the new we've got set for the RMNP cyclocross bike ride. We're still going to have to play it by ear. Stay tuned.

Cruisin

Couple o' sweet Schwinn Classic 3 Speed cruisers. We donated them to this years Lyons Duck Race fundraiser. I spent some time rolling around town on one this morning. It made for a perfect Saturday morning spin. Schwinn still has a few of these beauties left for $450 :)

Mountain Flyer #14 is out!

Stop by your favorite place to pick up the Rocky Mountain regions best mtb mag, Mountain Flyer. Issue #14 features an article on backcountry bike survival from Lyons own Lizzy Scully. Lizzy is also the driving force behind www.lyonsrecycling.com.

Lyons to Boulder Trail Dead in the Water

Thanks NCWCD! We love you too.

Here's a copy of the letter I just got from Boulder County...
******************************************************************************
A message from the Board of County Commissioners on the
proposed Lyons to Boulder Regional Trail



Since the early 1970s, the concept of constructing a multi-use recreational and commuter trail from Lyons to Boulder along the Boulder Feeder Canal has been a key component of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan. The trail concept, which has received the strong support of bicyclists, equestrians, runners, hikers and businesses would provide a continuous link between Lyons to Boulder and offer a highly picturesque recreational amenity in north Boulder County.

Early this year, we asked county staff to begin exploring ways that the county might
construct a trail in this vicinity using a route that would appropriately balance the aesthetics and safety concerns of constructing the trail while taking into account the potential trail impacts on property owners and residents in the region.

For over 10 months now, county transportation and open space planners have worked
diligently to identify a trail alignment, or set of alignments, that would provide for the best recreational and scenic experience for trail users, taking into account the breadth of neighborhood, environmental, cost, management, and agricultural concerns and challenges of constructing a trail through this area. County staff has spent numerous hours meeting with residents, talking with property owners, poring over public easement records and evaluating a wide range of options for constructing a trail in the Lyons to Boulder (LyBo) corridor.

From these efforts, our planning staff identified three potential trail alignment scenarios that were presented to the community earlier this summer for feedback. Staff has since been collecting public input and preparing a recommendation for us, the Board of County Commissioners, to consider at a public hearing later this fall.

All of the proposed alignment options include the use of substantial portions of the rights of way along the Boulder Feeder Canal, a residential and irrigation water ditch owned and managed by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Each of the route alternatives recognizes that building a trail that is responsible to the environment, trail users, and adjacent residents requires the combined use of existing roadways, the feeder canal corridor, and public open space.

Early on in the planning process, we acknowledged that in order to provide a high quality, safe multi-user regional recreational trail, we would need to partner and work closely with Northern Water which had established trail development guidelines in June 2000 for any agency or organization seeking to construct a trail along its canals. Applying Northern’s guidelines, our staff was able to identify trail alignments along the feeder canal that would be managed effectively and ensure the safe, secure and efficient operations of the canal.


Up until the past month, discussions with Northern Water had been both encouraging and constructive. However, recent communications with individual board members and actions from their board of directors, including their decision in August to rescind their trail development guidelines, have made it clear that permission from them to use the feeder canal for any part of the LyBo trail is unlikely to be forthcoming.

While existing roads and adjacent county open space properties located within the proposed trail corridor provide a physical means of traveling between the Town of Lyons and the Boulder Reservoir, such a trail would be far less appealing, more costly, and more environmentally destructive than using portions of the feeder canal which offer existing cleared stretches of land, sweeping views of the plains and mountains, and a continuous path from north to south.

Under this new set of circumstances, we believe the construction of the Lyons to Boulder trail is not feasible at this time. As a result, we have decided to suspend our efforts on this project and direct our trail planning focus and funding to other portions of the county’s regional trail system.

We would like to thank county staff for their hard work on this project, and commend
members of the public for their spirited discussion on the upsides and downsides of the various trail possibilities along this corridor. We believe that we, and future boards of commissioners, should be open to resuming the public process where we left off should opportunities arise in the future for further consideration of a Lyons to Boulder trail.

Sincerely,

Boulder County
Board of County Commissioners
Ben Pearlman, Chair
Cindy Domenico, Vice-Chair
Will Toor, Commissioner

September 18, 2009

Tuesday Ride 9/15

We're going to go ride some steep stuff - I have a surprise waiting and it's in Left Hand OHV. :) Bike shop at 5:30 and we'll caravan up! Bring lights!!!

BMA Sufferfest Recap

Yesterday was the 2nd Annual BMA Sufferfest. A few good peeps from BMA started this ride last year and this year was the same route. Riders would start in Nederland, take a quick tour of the West Mag trails, then back up to Eldora townsite, up 505 road to Caribou, down Rainbow Lakes Road, then north on Sourdough. BMA set up camp at Beaver Res road, but riders had the extra option of doing the Middle St Vrain road and Buchanan Pass trail. I wasn't camping, so I parked at Camp Dick/Peaceful Valley. I planned on riding the 19 miles or so on the road to Ned where I would start the ride. The forecast was for highs in the 50s with a 60% chance of rain. Sufferfest.

Skies were cold and grey, but no precip when I started pedaling at 6:45am. I made it about 5 or 6 miles down the road when Debaser, good friend and Sufferfest volunteer, pulled over on his way to Ned. I hopped in for a ride. I was hesitant at first, but was glad I hopped in 2 miles later when the vehicle started to get rained on! Finally made it to Ned with time for coffee and a breakfast burrito at Happy Trails.

Despite the chilly and damp weather, there was a strong turnout. By this time, the rain had let up and the skies were cloudy and gray.

The initial tour de West Mag was great. The trails were in great shape and the dirt was perfectly tacky. We rolled out of West Mag and up the road to Eldora townsite. I had never been on 505 and was eager to get up to Caribou. Skies were holding. The view was great. You can see Eldora ski resort at the top hiding in the clouds.



The climb up 505 was a tolerable 2000' gain on a pretty good jeep road. We rode thru a little rain here and there and a little snow here and there.


So far, conditions were good. We rolled out of Caribou and down to the southern Sourdough trailhead.

After starting the climb on Sourdough things started to get bad. It started with a light drizzle, but quickly turned to wet snow. I was happy to have left my Swobo woolie on. I had a shortsleeve baselayer on underneath. So far that combo was great. I love the natural ability of wool and I especially love my Swobo wool top. I was still relatively comfortable on my upper body. My gloves and shoes were totally soaked though, and I was starting to get chilly.


Further up the climb on Sourdough and conditions were getting more miserable. Sufferfest.


I quit taking pics at this point. My gloves were completely saturated, my shoes and socks completely saturated and I was starting to loose feeling in my extremeties. For the remainder of the ride, I was relegated to taking turns between running and riding. It's a good trick. Running helps get your circulation going. After 5 minutes or so of running, I could start to feel my toes. By now the weather was full on in suckville. Thunder, lightning, and snow dumping down. Sufferfest. Finally made it to Beaver Res road where BMA had officially called the ride. I don't think anyone was up for Buchanan Pass at this point. I stopped for just a bit, just enough to down a mug of hot cocoa. My feet and hands warmed up nicely. From here, I still had to go north to the car but it was all downhill. That was the worst part, as it turned out. By now the snow had turned to grapple and light hail. The trail down to the car was the most technical of the day. I couldn't feel my extremeties again because the trail was 1-2" deep water wherever the trail could hold it. The water was cold, too. It was just about ready to freeze over by the time I'd ride thru it.

Well, I guess that's about it. I was mildly hypothermic by the time I got to the car. Took me about 5 minutes struggling with the clips to get my backpack off. Even longer to take my shoes off. Good stuff. This ride was definitely a character builder, one that I'll look back on fondly after I've forgotten the pain. That ought to take a couple of years. Sufferfest. I'll be back next year.

Big Fall Ride Four!

Save the date - Sunday September 27. This will be our 4th ever Big Fall Ride, BFR4. We'll meet up at the bike shop at 8am (yes, 8am) for the ride.

This is a BIG ASS RIDE. Seriously, it will be hard. Mileage will be 40-50, over 4,000' of climbing and around 7500' of descending. Your wheels will spin on jeep road, singletrack, dirt county road, and paved road. We will hit it all :)

Riders will be shuttled up to the Peak to Peak near Allenspark to start the ride. We will start up Bunce School Road and ride a route on mostly singletrack and jeep road all the way back to Lyons. I prerode this course last year and busted my hump to finish it in 6.25 hours with minimal breaks. On last years BFR3, we rode the same route but started at Peaceful Valley. With approximately 25 riders, it took us just about 8 hours. The addition of Bunce will add another 45 minutes to one hour.

Here's a link to a few posts of last years goodness. This is not a novice ride. Heck, this isn't really an intermediate/advanced ride either. We'll call this an experts only ride. Be prepared for anything and everything. There are NO BAILOUTS. Well, you can bail, but it means a long, long ride on the road back to anywhere important. If you're in doubt if this ride is for you or not, it probably is not.

Oh, we'll have the grill fired up and a cooler full of beer waiting, too! (and soda)

For those of you not in doubt, we'll see you on 9/27! Looking forward to it.

Tuesday Ride 9/8

Get your lights charged and bring 'em to Ned. We'll be leaving Lyons around 5:30ish. Meeting at the main West Mag lot right off the Peak to Peak south of Ned. See you there, and don't expect us in Ned til 6:30 at the earliest. None of us really know the area well, so we plan to get lost in the dark. Should be fun.

Lights mandatory!

Labor Day Ride

Here's a couple of shots from our Labor Day ride today. We got into the backwoods and it was good.
Chad on the steeps
OB on the snacks

Scott on the stairs

I hope everyone got in a good ride today and didn't "labor" too much! :)

stolen!

I saw this on FB and had to put it up. Ill will to all evil doing bike thieves!

Intense's new 29er, the Tracer 29er

Well, it's finally here. After a few years of promising a 29" 5.5, Intense has finally unveiled their 29" all day trail bike at Eurobike. Let's see what Interbike brings in a few more weeks! The Tracer 29er will have adjustable travel from 4.75-5.25 inches.

Check this video interview with Intense's Jeff Steber here. It's a German site, just click on the first video up there.

Here's a pic of the 29er Tracer, snagged from MBA's website.

Lyons to Boulder Trail update

I talked to Mike Barrow yesterday, who had just got word from County Commisioner Will Toor regarding the latest status of the prospective Lyons to Boulder Trail. Initially, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) had adopted a wait and see attitude about this potential trail using some of its land. Now the NCWCD is starting to reconsider it's prior approval and they may not go ahead with the plan. This would effectively kill the entire Lyons to Boulder Trail reality.

The background not printed in a recent Daily Camera article is that the NIMBYs and anti trail folk that live near the canal have been attending the water board meetings and hammering them with their anti trail rhetoric. It's extremely one sided and biased, especially since the water board meetings are in Berthoud Friday mornings at 9am - it's tough for supporters of the trail to get there, while the mostly retired folks that are against the trail have no problem making the meetings. The water board now has the (mistaken) opinion that these disgruntled NIMBYs are in the majority! Damn. We need folks to show up at the water board meetings, or hammer them with emails and calls. Show your support of this trail!

Link to Daily Camera article

NCWCD website

NCWCD contact info -
220 Water Ave, Berthoud, CO 80513
970.532.7700

From the NCWCD website:
"Regular meetings of the Board of Directors for the NCWCD and Municipal Subdistrict begin at 9 a.m. on the second Friday of each month at the District's headquarters building, 220 Water Avenue, at the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 287 and Water Avenue in Berthoud. (formerly Larimer County Road 10). The telephone number is (970) 532-7700. The Boards also conduct planning and action sessions on most Thursdays of the week preceding regular board meeting week. Board of Directors meetings are open to the public."

Board meeting agendas are here.

Please, please, please, write, call, or show up at a NCWCD meeting and show your support!