Night

Ok, so night rides start this Tuesday at 7pm, November 1st. Meet at the shop and bring a good light with a couple hours of burn time. Should be pretty fun, especially if it doesn't snow.

So, with Halloween and night riding approaching, I subject going right now on another bike blog is scary night experiences. Anybody got any good ones?

Last year about this time of year, I was night riding and running a tad behind schedule. I decided to freestyle it thru the bush, hiking. There's a spot on the trail that comes with in 30 yards of the highway about 1/2 mile up from the parking lot, so I figured I'd bail off the trail there.

Well, it's about 30 yards of thick brush so you have to look where you're hiking. I panned the dark and saw a set of eyes a few hundred feet away. I tried to keep my light on them, but I'd have to turn to look where I was going pretty frequently so I wouldn't trip. Every time I turned my light back on the beast, it was about 1/2 again as close. I was pretty damn scared by the time I reached the highway, those eyes were only 50' away. To this day I'm not sure 100% what it was, but I pedalled like a bat out of hell once I was back on bike.

no brakes no gears no freewheels

So this is public knowledge now. It's still on the cusp, but there exists a high probability that a new Velodrome will be built in Lyons. Doug from Ubikes and a partner have been shopping for a while for a site to build a track. They recently pitched the idea to the town of Lyons. From what I understand, all the town has to do is donate a couple of acres and Doug and Co will take care of the rest . The Lyons town board unanimously approved Doug's proposal. It's a go from Lyons' end.

I had the opportunity to discuss this with the Mayor here. Seems that Doug and his partner looked all over Boulder County but neither the city of or the county were willing to work with them. Recently, they'd been looking at some property in Weld County. The Lyons idea works well, though, because they escape liability by buiding on municipal land - same principal as a skatepark.

Don't know how high we should get our hopes, but it could be a sweet deal.

good

Night ride good.
New trail good.
Weather good.
Life good.

Hall/Heil Action Alert!

There will be an open house on Oct 25 at 6pm at the Lyons Elementary School. County Open Space staff will be on hand to present their preliminary
recommendations to the public regarding Hall and Heil trail connections. Be there and be informed!

After that last snow/rain mix, the trails sure are fantastic right now. I just wish I had the time to ride them more! This is such a great time of year to ride. It's killing me only being able to ride 1 or 2 days a week!

Got out with Scott this weekend for a little shuttle action. Shuttle as in point to point, though, not as in shuttle monkey. Not too bad for a shuttle, either - 12 miles and about 2000' of climbing. Although, we did get that 2500' descent thrown in just for fun... Got up pretty early in the am and it was damn cold at 8000'. The high point on the day was just over 9k, I think. There were still bits and pieces of snow up top, too. That snow, though - just made the dirt perfect. The day was great, the trail was great and we didn't see another soul. A fantastic day of fall riding for sure. We were pressed for time and had to boogie so there were no action shots. Here's a pic before the day started and before the sun was out:

It's great time for road riding, too. Especially now that they've finally finished paving US36 thru Lyons! The road crew was out early on Saturday to finish up. The reward is new fresh blacktop that stretches all the way thru town. If you really want to see something botched up, though, wait until next year when they pave Main St in downtown. That's another thing entirely!

Lots of good things with the shop, too. Fall is the slowdown time of year, but Redstone has been busy behind the scenes. The addition of Niterider to the lineup is just the tip of the iceberg. I can't say now, but we'll have a couple new brands gracing the shop floor soon. Maybe even a new demo bike, too. In other bike news, I just got an email from my GT rep. Things are going quite well for the turnaround of one of Americas premier homebread mountain bike lines. So well, in fact, that GT is dropping distribution in the sporting goods channel. No more Gart Sports, woohoo! GT is committed specifically to the IBD. IBD committment, full carbon road bike, what more is yet to come? Stay tuned for more.

Redstone sighting...

On the western slope! Next stop the world!

New light...

Tonight I ran my new Niterider light through it's third cycle: 3 hours, 40 minutes! It's like carrying a small sun with me on my rides. Soooo much better than halogen.

Thanks Dave!

the virtual interbike recap and some cool links

Interbike was this last weekend. I was unable to attend but had some buddies scouting out for my virtual attendance. There are some great things on the horizon. Here's some great GT news

More info on the carbon road bike:

Spec. will be the same as the GTR 1 and the Sug. Retail will be aprox. $2,499.00

* Reynolds Ouzo Fork (carbon steerer)
* Ultegra / Dura-Ace (der./shifters/brakes)
* FSA Carbon Cranks
* FSA Carbon Seat Post
* FSA Bar and Stem
* FSA Wheel Set
* Thompson Seat Post
* Fizik Arione Saddle w/ti. rails
* Vittoria Diamante Tires

One of the coolest road/commuter bikes I saw last year. Unfortunately they were unobtainable very quickly. We'll probably get one of these in soon.

Also, check out Bionicon:

Read RC's article on the 120mm 4 bar bike in MBA if you're skeptical. The one in the photo is a larger travel single pivot bike. Very cool.

Redstone's first ever BFR (Big Fall Ride)

First off, thanks for everyone that came out to our first ever Big Fall Ride (BFR).

We had no control over the weather and everyday this week had been just dandy. Imagine our dismay when we woke on Sunday to heavy fog and patches of rain. As I drove off for my breakfast burrito and coffee before meeting everyone at the shop, I was a bit leary. I really wondered what twisted souls would drift up to Lyons for a big ride in potentially disastrous conditions. My spirits lifted as the cars started rolling in! "Rain? We've got the right gear - let's ride!" It was music to my ears.

Even better was the music to my eyes. As we drove up the canyon to Peaceful Valley, we rose above the inversion. It was an abolutely fantastic day up in the mountains. We started the ride at 8500' and conditions were awesome.


We rode from the trailhead in Peaceful Valley south on Sourdough.



Sourdough has some really great terrain. Lot's of variety, too. We rode from fast sandy sections...



to dense woods...



to high alpine meadows...

BFR pt II

The first big alpine meadow also yielded the day's first money shot. The small lake, the aspens, the Indian Peaks... How much better can a fall ride get?


We climbed from the aspen vista into the aspens. This climb is a short but daunting loose scramble throug the trees. Don makes it look easy here.


And so does Jen.


From the lollipop loop, we faced our only real necessary evil. Coney Flats road is infamous for it's baby heads. This climb was a bit longer feeling. Especially with sections like this. Babyheads mysteriously devoid in this section, though...


Andrew was still having a good time.

BFR III

Jen smiled pretty much the entire ride.


The second money shot of the day. That's Sawtooth Mt right in the middle.


Last photo op for Greg before prior commitments called.


This is as far west as we got. We're at the boundary of the Indian Peaks Wilderness on the Buchannan Pass Trail.


Buchannan Pass has some fun sections! JL shows us how it's done, 29er style. Big wheels for big rocks.

BFR IV

Here's the last of the ride pics. Thanks everyone for coming out to enjoy great riding and scenery on such a beautiful fall day!

Andrew playing on the rocks. The drop looks bigger with 26" wheels.


Jen on the approach.


BP trail has some great scenery and trail features. Here's an excellent use of natural terrain. Again, note the smileage.


No ride is really complete without eating and reliving the ride over food and beer!


Saved one for you.

good news for Ft Collins peeps

I pulled this off of Trail Central. Good news on the Advocacy Front!
**********************************************************************

Its that time of year again. The leaves are starting to fall and the nights are cooler. It must be time for the 9th Annual Friends of Lory Trails Workday.

This year it will be held on October 8th at Lory State Park. The exciting news for those of us that ride on two wheels or four hooves is that this day will be the final work needed to reopen Timber Trail to multiple use. So please come out and leave your mark on the trail. Timber Trail has been closed to multiple-use since July 1997. The current renovation project is 1-2 years AHEAD of schedule. The work will only be finished if YOU show up on October 8th to help construct a switchback, a bridge, and 300 feet of new trail.

The workday is being hosted by the Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol this year. You can get all the INFO and SIGN UP at www.dpmbp.org. You can download the flyer to plaster your favorite gear shop or watering hole from www.dpmbp.org/flt/ltd05g.pdf

In case the warm, fuzzy, feeling of finishing off 4 miles of sweet singletrack isn't enough for you, there will be pizza and prizes to follow.

Night Ridin'

Well, it looks like the days are short enough now that night riding season is officially upon us. Tuesday 9/27 seems that it will probably be our last 6:00pm ride of the 2005 season. The days are getting short and we've been using the Braille method of riding coming down Hall Ranch. We'll give 'er one more go - after that, it's time to go nocturnal.

Any feedback out there for night riding? How's 6:30 or 7pm on Tuesdays sound? Since we're criminals if we ride county open space when it's dark, we usually drive into the forest as weather permits. Once the high country gets high and cold, we're driven down lower to evening cruises around Boulder Res. Whatever the ride is, it's dark and we have fun.

Thoughts?

Sunday 9/25 Fall Epic!

On Sunday, 9/25 (next Sunday) we'll be shutting down the shop for the day. It's a worthy cause - we'll be celebrating the first weekend of Fall Riding, as that will be the first Sunday in Fall. We'd like for this to become an annual event so come on out to ride some fantastic Northern Front Range terrain. Meet in Lyons at the bike shop at 8:30am to caravan up to Camp Dick/Peaceful Valley. Since I don't get to close the shop down to ride often, this one will be big. The plan is to ride until our legs fall off. Be prepared for all day on steep rocky singletrack. The ride won't be big mileage wise, but will take several hours. Bring lots of water and food! Thankfully, this ride will have a couple of bail outs. For those of you that are familiar with the trails in that neck of the woods, here's the proposed route:


Leave Peaceful Valley CG heading south on Sourdough. Sourdough to the Baptiste Wapiti loop, then back north on Sourdough to Beaver Res Road. Here, we'll head west on Coney Creek road, a jeep road full of deep water and loose rocks that takes us up the the boundary of Indian Peaks Wilderness. After resting and soaking in the incredible views, it's downhill back to the campground on one of the most challenging and techincal trails in the area. We'll have beer on ice waiting at the campground. Provided there's enough interest, I'll also toss in some charcoal and some sausages for the grill! Next Sunday promises to be a great time, come on out for a little end of the season torture!

Labor Day Ride I

On Labor Day, Libertine and I were able to get out for some great late day adventure. We were off to ride a loop I like to complete at least once per year. I'd done it last, actually, 2 years ago. I had been starting to daydream about it so I knew it was time. The ride starts with a 3 mile paved climb, then to a 7 mile jeep road climb to a county road. 1 mile of descending on a county road before turning off to the rough again. Luckily, just a little ways up the jeep road we came to some choice singletrack that climbed thru dense woods and heavy aspen stands. We found ourselves in the middle of a beautiful meadow at the base of one of the Twin Sisters.

Labor Day Ride II

The jeep roads grew more hectic and steep with a really fun descent thrown in for good measure. By this time, we'd been climbing for a few hours. The climb up to the top of Pierson Park was tough. The views of Pierson Mt were amazing.


We dropped down from Pierson Park in a hurry. This is the first switchback in a series of many. They just kept getting steeper, tighter, rockier, and looser as we descended.


The singletrack is great. It's relatively unused because it's hard to get to. Front Range backcountry at it's finest.


Also, in it's finest form, the rocks were scattering as we hustled down the trail. Scattering enough to do some damage that required heavy trailside maintanence.


We were able to reseruct our devices and make it back down the trail and back down to the car. Stairs aren't for walking!

It's a moose!

Heil Ranch in the evening

Yep, Fall is coming, we were off the trail at 7:30 and it was getting dark fast. I'm dreading DREADING the time change... But I'll have a new light by then. Anyway, here's some pictures from tonight. Left Boulder at five, only people in the parking lot, and cutting fresh tracks in the tacky trail. No better time to ride then after the rain!

Snow!

Snow on the divide this morning!! Time to get out while we still can, in shorts and short sleeves!