No Tues Ride and the Boater Party

First off, no Tues ride for me. Too much to do and too crappy weather.

Last night was the big throwdown to raise money for a new feature in the Lyons Whitewater Park, the October Hole. Check this link for more details. There was a TON of stuff that had been donated for the silent auction. On top of that, the food was superb, the band was rockin, and there was a bunch of schwag freely given out. All in all a great night.

With a hungry 3 year old in tow, we quickly commandeered a booth and headed for the food.
It was quite the spread. Everything from roast chicken and pulled pork to okra and creamed spinach to brownies and peach cobler. The beer wasn't included with admission, but it was bountiful as well. After a few of Dale's finest, things were really starting to happen. After filling my plate a few times too many (I did have to keep up with the beer...) I headed over to the silent auction room to check the donations. For those of you familiar with Oskar's, the entire upstairs bar was filled with donated goods to raise money for the bikers.

It was hard to just get thru to see what to bid on. This one was evident upon walking in, though:
Kipchogee was kind enough to donate the Xtracycle and Redstone donated the bike. All together, a super duper kayak hauling machine. For a town this size, you can't beat it.

I haven't heard if they hit the magic number or not, but it was sure a hell of a time. We partied, raised money, and did some serious shit talking. Perhaps some good will come out of it and Greg will actually read his manual...

Anyway, if you see these two cats around, make sure to give them a big pat on the back for A)a great party and B)a killer place to boat.



MATT


ARN

Thanks Guys!!!

29 and single

Wow, I snuck out this morning for my first ever 29er SS ride. Unfortunate that I got out, too, really. I think I'm hooked. It's only a matter of time before one of these suckers finds its way into my garage.

I took Chris's Inbred 29er out today after a full sized breakfast of bacon and eggs. As it turns out, the workout the SS gave me was worthy of a big breakfast! Conditions on the lower section of trail were great. The dirt was a little damp, but otherwise perfect. The further up the garden I rode, though, the softer that trailbed got. I turned around right below the step. I spent the rest of the ride on some of the lesser known illustrious ghetto singletracks strewn about town. SS and 29 good stuff.

I realized on the ride that, in infinite Spinal Tap wisdom, that this bike is 2+9, which goes to eleven. It was that good. Did I mention that the snow was coming down like crazy?

Oh, one last thing. The "October Hole" boat party was tonight! Fun shit, I'm not kidding. Those guys can throw down. Not quite like us 2 wheeled folk, but it's all good. I'll have more to post in a bit but right now, after about 6 pints, I'm ready for bed...

Lyons Whitewater Project

Just a reminder that on Sunday we are having a fundraiser at Oskar Blues to raise money to build a new kayak hole just downstream from the new bridge in Lyons. There is diversion that comes from Carter Lake that runs all the way until Oct 31 hence the name of the feature "The October Hole". The only one of its kind on the front range. Even though this has nothing to do with biking, there is a ton of stuff to be auctioned that has been donated by local outdoor companies such as sleeping bags, backpacks, shoes etc. Check the link below the for a list of all the items. Redstone cyclery was kind enough to donate a Schwinn bike (Thanks a ton Dave). 25 bucks get you an all you can eat buffet and access to the band "Whitewater Ramble". Doors open at 4 and will go to 10pm. This event is completely non-smoking so bring the family please. Help support the town of Lyons in becoming the outdoor enthusiasts destination whether it be biking or boating, its all good. Maybe someday Dave and I will go into business together with a bike and boat store. Wouldn't that be sweet (I'm sure Arn would want in on that deal).

Tell everyone you know and even if you don't want the gear, you can't beat 25 bucks for a full meal and kick ass music.

http://mountainbuzz.com/viewtopic.php?t=7701

Cheers
Schu

no night ride for me

I'm out for tonight. Parents in town, new baby, and lots of slop and snow = no ride for me. Carry on...

demo for sale

Howdy all. It's time to part with the 5 Spot demo that's graced the shop for the last year. Gotta stay current and all. This bike has been ridden for about a year. It's seen duty as my part time bike and it has been out on demo a handful of times. It's a got a few scrapes and scratches on it but nothing outside of normal riding wear and tear. Everything is 100% straight and the bike is in great condition. For $2500, here's the breakdown:

2004 Turner 5 Spot, Large black (new in December 2004)
DHX air rear shock
Manitou Minute 1:00 coil over fork
Cane Creek S-6 headset (brand new)
Thomson 5x110 elite stem
FSA carbon riser bar
Avid Juicy 7 disc brakes (2004 made by Formula version)
ODI Lock On Grips
XT 9sp shifter pods (brand new)
Thomson elite post
Flite saddle
XT crank/integrated bb
XT front der
XTR rear der
This bike will have a NEW wheelset on it when sold. XT/Rynolite or XT/717 level.

Feel free to email me at dave@redstonecyclery.com if you have questions.

the latest

Well, the latest is snow. Lots of it. Probably 6-8 inches fell at our place today. Of course, with the warm temps, a lot of it is gone already. There's only about 4 inches out there now. Not a great day for riding...

Lots of news lately. First, and foremost, the area Kayakers are throwing down on Sunday March 19 to raise money for the 3rd and final playhole in the Lyons waterpark. This upcoming new hole, the October Hole, is huge for Front Range kayakers. Since the new hole is downstream from a canal, this will offer boating all through the summer. Boater's season out here is usually done by the end of June but the new hole will offer kayakers the chance to play all the way into October! Anyway, I know it's not bikes, but come on out for a great time.

Sunday March 19 starting at 6pm at Oskar Blues. $25 per ticket gets you a live bluegrass jam band, a Cajun buffet, whitewater movies and all sorts of fun. Silent auction, too. They need to raise a bunch of $ so come on out!

Next, in an interesting turn of events, the Federal government is bailing itself out of it's own short sightedness by selling off capital resources to fund rural school districts. Confused? Yes, that's right. Big brother needs dough, so it's selling of chunks of land in OUR (that's right, we own it) very own United States Forests. Check here for more info and here to see exactly where the parcels are. Yes, it stinks like fucking garbage. Sorry for the foul words, but this is the most crap move yet I've seen from the US goverment. Please write your representatives today to explain to them what bullshit this really is.

birthday picture

Marley Allison Chase - 8lb 12oz, 21 inches long. She was born yesterday at 3:45pm. Everybody is doing fantastic!

more later...

redstone underground

redstone underground
Night ride tuesday

How does betasso sound. 6:30 at the library in Boulder. Let's see if we can get a ride together without redstone. I'll be on my new sweet 29er fully ridgid single speed on-one. Too cool.

Going Incognito

Indeed, the big day is here. I'm out for a night ride tomorrow everyone. Please meet up in my stead if you feel so moved. I'll be out for probably 2 weeks on the Tuesday Night Ride detail.

We're inducing labor on Tues for kid #2. Don't be surprised if I don't update for a little bit. Stay tuned!

THE BIG DAY

As you may or may not know, Mary is closing in on the big day to have their 2nd child. I have a feeling this one is going to come into this world wearing baggy shorts riding a Turner 5 spot riding a wheelie with a NiteRider HID mounted to his/her helmet , because we know how dark it is in there.

Please pass on our best wishes to Mary and hope all goes well. If there is anything the Schuman's can do to help out, do not hesitate to ask.

Cheers.....

zippin

I stopped and rode some north Boulder dirt today. I had the zip with me, too. Man, I got out on that bike just a little bit ago and I've been addicted. There's something to be said for a nice small quick 90's frame built from Logic Prestige tubing. XCPro, top mounts, and lots of Mavic. Even though this thing is 15 years old, it's one of the sweetest rides in the stable. And I've been addicted. It started a few weeks ago when snow rendered all trails off limits. The roads were gravelly and wet, too, so I snuck with a buddy of mine into the hills. For the last few weeks, we've been taking the hardtails out for 25 mile dirt road rides. Fun stuff. Not exactly a day in the saddle but it's sure more of a workout then spinning on the road (which I've been guilty of a little, too). Anyway, I guess a rigid classic was the next bike to fall. The North Boulder dirt beckoned me tonight. Had to keep 'er legal and all, since it was dark.

Tonight was learn to be smoove night. The Foothills and Boulder Valley Ranch stuff is pretty rocky. It's not technical, but there are a ton of little rocks everywhere. It's enough to give a slight pounding on a cross bike or a rigid bike. The nice thing is that you get a super smooth ride if you can move quick enough and pick a nice line. I was on the perfect machine tonight. I rolled north to Neva road and back. There were a bunch of dog walkers and runners out when I started, but I had the park to myself on the way back. Good stuff. Here's a parting shot of the sandy trail on top of the ridge at BVR. Conditions were great, too. Fast and hardpacked.

Hall Ranch

Did the Hall Ranch thing last Sunday, got Mr. Bionicon out for his first ride in 4 months. He just had kid #1 so I cut him some slack and rode the full nonsquish bike while he was on the supersquish bike. Those big 29" wheels on the OnOne do soak up some of the trail chatter, but they don't do much in the rock garden. Regardless, I can't keep from smiling when I'm riding it.

Howdy folks! And anticipation.

Stuck at work. Awaiting the moment when I am able to fly the coop. 0730 never tasted so sweet..... Home for a quick nap, finishing loading the car, dead heading through the Zion curtain as fast as I can without a ticket. All to further the goal of nailing a quicky ride on Slickrock before it gets dark.

Getting to leave for Moab, for a five day mini-vacation before a real vacation back east.
(yeah, visiting the in-laws. all good, because: a) I like them b) they appear to like me and c) it'll involve some time in boston, which will mean involving some damn fine eats while there)

That and new toys to play with. The 05 Boxxer Ride on my big bike (the rubber bullit) works quite nicely, but I like the workings and adjustments of the Pike on my hardtail even more. Once I discovered the 06 Ride Motion Control damping internals would retrofit, I ordered them ASAP. Then the waiting began. Of course, the guts just showed up at my dealers place Wednesday. Managed to do the parts swap with minimal hassle, other than some recalcitrant snap ring pliers. Once that problem was solved, things swapped over slick as pig snot. One all too brief parking lot/curb huck/bounce test later, and it was time to go to work. Things seemed fine, but a real ride report will have to wait until some real saddle time is put in.

Beer. Got to add beer to the morning shopping list. Bribery for the Moabite "guide services" of two days. One day to ride on my own, one more to hit Fruita and Grand Junction on the way home.

Thanks to Dave for putting all of this together, and the invite to join in. And thanks for looking. Some ride report and pics in a few days, perhaps while there; bringing the laptop along.

Just a few more ToC pics

Zabriskie's wife, as promised..




Here some more from Sunday.

The guy on the right in this one is Saul Raisin, not sure who the other guy is.


Leipheimer talking to his mom....

This was the final lead out of the sprint where Olaf Pollack two his second victory in a row.


Bobby J coming out of the trailer - what a nice guy he is.


The 05 Giro champ himself.

Tueday Ride 2/28

Last ride of February! 7pm - Let's meet up at the S Boulder trailhead off of Baseline, just east of Foothills. It's about 2 blocks west of Cherryvale. We'll ride out the S Boulder Trail and we will meander over to the Cowdry Draw/Doudy Draw/Community Ditch neihborhood. This is a pretty chill ride, nothing technical and a lot of road/flat type of stuff. I'll be on the hardtail! See you there.

More ToC pic

Here are a couple of more photos from the race.

By the way, the photo of the Cervelo bike was the bike that Zabriskie crashed on during the team time trial in last years tour. If you look close, you can see the damage on the drops....

Tour of California

Hola Amigas,

Myself and a couple of buddies are out here in California checkin out the race and wow what an incredible event these guys are putting on. Thanks to Dave "Thunder" Bergman, we scored some VIP passes as a result from his top time in the Herbalife sprint race. Dave got a time of 26 seconds in a 1/4 mile. The 3rd best out of 1000 contestants. You ride a road bike on a trainer against another guy and Dave put the thunder down. He races for Rocky Mountain Spine and Sport. I could only muster 30 seconds but tomorrow during the Redondo Circuit, I plan on redeeming myself.

Here are some photos from the day. I forgot to mention that thanks to the VIP passes, I managed to sneak out into the front of the podium for some great photos.

One other note, is we spent a little time with Michael Aisner, one of theee promoters of the Coors Classic and the Red Zinger classic. He is staying in our hotel so he shared some cool stories with us.

Cheers and I'll post again after tomorrows Redondo Beach Circuit race.

argggh!

wrong size! Anyone looking for a smallish XO-1

Tuesday Night Ride 2/21

How's the Neva Rd parking lot at 7pm sound? Keep your fingers crossed that it stays frozen! I'm game for going a little later if the ground will be firmer...

Anyway, sorry to stick down on the flats. We've only got a handfull of days left before the baby due date so I'm limited to areas with the best cell phone reception!

Banana Belt

The wife and I had a three day weekend, so we headed out for a one gastank road trip. Friday was spent at Copper Mountain (thumbs down for icyness and lift lines), followed by a pretty drive through Leadville and Buena Vista down to Salida. After a slice of pizza, we rested up for Saturday at Monarch Mountain. Yeah! With a run called Skywalker running along the Continental Divide how could it be bad? It wasn't! It was great snow and no lines. After playing in the snow we headed back to Salida and walked to a Mexican restautant to refuel for Sunday.





Sunday we got up and headed north from Salida toward home. Here's riding in Buena Vista. A touch over 2 hours from BV to our house. It's close! And while temps were just above 20 on the front range, we were basking in nearly 45 when we got done playing, me riding and the wife hiking. I didn't know what to expect ride wise, so I packed the Intense for the trip. While this ride was mostly flatish, I wasn't bummed at all to be riding the 5+" travel bike. I was floored at how well it pedals on flats - it's as feels as quick as a low travel xc bike. And then when things get twisty or rocky, it pulls out the long legs and soaks it up. I simply can't imagine being happier with this bike!

every dog...

Wow, what an interesting last couple of days. Starts off by the battery light going off in sedanster. Several hun' later and I'm out the door with new belts, alternator, front tie rods and a few other things. Feels good to have a breath of fresh air back in the car. The new tie rods make a huge difference, too, kind of like you don't know how worn your tires are until you get new tires? right...

Next day (today) I go into the bike shop thinking that I'd be surprised if I even saw just a few folks in the door. Surprise! Seemed like there were a bunch of cyclists out just driving around. We're all junkies enough that it feels good to put some miles beneath our wheels, no matter what the wheels are. No objections here, some days it feels good just to cover some ground. Literally and figuratively, I guess. Anyway, some of the regulars were out today from as far away as Denver. Thanks for coming out and keeping me company, fellas.

It was so damn cold outside today. At least the sun came out. For the first day in the last several, hwy 36 in front of the house wasn't a snowy doubletrack snaking up the hill. The snow finally melted enough that there's only a snow divider between lanes now. Brrr, it hasn't been this cold in a long time. I'm still trying to convice myself to ride tomorrow morning. It will be early and cold. We'll see how ambitious I am when the alarm goes off.

Thursday Night Ride is still TNR...

OK, let's meet up this Thursday due to Tuesday being Valentines. Same time/plans etc, just a different night.

That is:
7pm South Boulder Trailhead The trailhead is just east of Foothills on Baseline. The lot is on the S side of the street about a block W of Cherryvale. From there, we can ride S Boulder trail to the 93 access road then down to the Marshall Mesa trailhead, where we can hit Cowdrey Draw and Doudy Draw. Then back. Good ride, 22ish miles.

IF IT'S SNOWING check the blog here. I'll put up any cancellations or changes.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

As of yesterday evening, I was fairly committed to my Sunday ride being a quick tour de Hall after close. Luckily enough, friend Scott rang asking what I had kicking for a ride on Sunday am? Want to come up and ride some ranch roads? You bet! This wasn't an oppornity to pass up, as Scott lives in a private neighborhood where he is surrounded by multi acre wooded ranches. Rides there are a mix of open sun and forested patches, sometime 1 car narrow dirt roads, great scenery and a lot of tough climbing. We logged a couple thousand on our 26 mile jaunt through the hood.


There was still a lot of packed snow in the shade. I was glad to have had an aggressive sideknob on the hardtail's 2.1s.


When I showed up at Scott's at 8am, we got talking about how much or little we've been riding. I mentioned that after close rides were now a possibility since there's more daylight now. "Man, isn't it pretty cold after work?" I hear despite the fact that we're standing outside ready to roll out in 15degree weather. Too funny.

Ok, so let's change gears and talk Tuesday ride! How about riding some South Boulder dirt? We can meet up at the S Boulder Trailhead just east of Foothills on Baseline. Ride that over to 93, access road to Marshall Mesa trailhead, then on to Dowdy Draw and Community Ditch. Not exactly technical terrain, but a good xc route with some good mileage (25ish, I think).

S Boulder Trailhead at 7pm?

Check out the new Maverick Speedball height adjustable seatpost. I like the bar mount on the Gravity Dropper, but this Speedball is clean!

Embracing My Inner Redneck

After a few great rides on the 29'er (rigid and all), I could jut tell the 5.5 was itching for some time in the woods. I headed up to Left Hand for a spin, hopng the snow wasn't too bad. Snow wasn't a problem heading up the singletrack, and I still had first tracks today!




The little snow leftover was good. The ice in Carnage Canyon was something else. Some sections were an ice skating rink with powered snow applied to the top. I was able to ride most of the way, and managed to fall pretty hard once while I was hiking though a particularly steep icy section. There were about 8 trucks headed up the canyon too - here's one guy, all throttle, no finese, making it through (and creating more) ice.

tyler

wow - big news for Tyler today. Looks like there's no escaping the USADA decision on his 2 year suspension. He's now sanctioned until the '07 season from the UCI. His professional cycling career is over. Here's the official write up.

A local doctor here has been testifying in court on behalf of Tyler. Here's the deal - Tyler has a mixed blood cell population that occurs naturally in his blood. The test is too hyper sensitive so it picked up on this. He had such a low amount of mixed blood cell population that it would be the equivalent of 100cc injection every couple of weeks. Which is to say - not much. For an athlete to have any sort of positive effect from blood doping more than 10% of red blood cells have to be effected. Tylers was more like .7%. Weird and it sucks. Shitty deal. Sorry Tyler.

It was a good day today. Heck, it was a 2 Maverick day and fun projects abounded. We wrapped up the day with beers all around at close. Much was consumed before we all had to return to our honey do's. It'll be a while before Greg can use the "going to take recycling" excuse again! Thanks for the beers, though! On to Sunday, now and I'm glad this hectic week is over. Arn was stoked with the new Flux, Jason's new Dean Super Vador is about one of the baddest assed road bikes ever, and Karl's front end remodel turned out great.

Another beer, please!

See you all on the trails,
redstone