Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
#12
Issue #12 of MountainFlyer Magazine is out, and I really like their work;
But really, they have an awesome magazine, with great glossy pages and a focus on riding in the Rocky Mountain region. Check it out when you get a chance.
I think it's time to celebrate with a beer!
But really, they have an awesome magazine, with great glossy pages and a focus on riding in the Rocky Mountain region. Check it out when you get a chance.
I think it's time to celebrate with a beer!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Spring Sucks
As expected, the drive hom on Friday sucked. Though it did suck more than I figured it would, if that counts for anything. I had no choice but to go up the canyon, through town, and loop around the long way. We're talking complete white-out, 8-10 inches of fresh, unplowed snow on the road (which was only plowed one lane wide to begin with), and completely guessing where exactly the road was, as I limped home. But I made it damnit. Gold star for me.
I abondoned the car in the drive, and set to work gathering candles, fire wood, and the other stuff I would need while the power was out. Alex came over to keep me company, and to keep from freezing herself, since I had a nice big fire going.
Also as expected, all racing was cancelled for Saturday. I had a feeling that my start time for the cancelled Haystack TT was going to be 11:05.30... so at that time I went outside and decided to get in my effort... shoveling. At the start the walk looked like this;
51 minutes and 26 seconds later, it looked like this;
I guess that is a pretty good time for getting through all that heavy snow, but it was a horrible time for the Haystack course. Luckily I had plenty of refreshing drinks in the "refridgerator";
It snowed;
And snowed some more;
And snowed still more... lots of this is snow that fell off our roof as well, to make a big ol' pile. That frame that you see is the top of our porch swing.
Eventually, late Saturday, the snow started to slow down, and the road started to get plowed. And a bit after that, we got our power back. 36 hours doesn't seem so bad now, knowing that Craig and plenty of others in Evergreen/Conifer were still without power this morning! Clarence really didn't care, he pretty much just slept through the enitre weekend.
Now we have some real temperatures that I can deal with this week, but e will have to fight through what is sure to be an insanely muddy few days! This storm was about 3 and a half feet at our house... I shudder to think how deep it would have been if it was just about 5 degrees colder!
I abondoned the car in the drive, and set to work gathering candles, fire wood, and the other stuff I would need while the power was out. Alex came over to keep me company, and to keep from freezing herself, since I had a nice big fire going.
Also as expected, all racing was cancelled for Saturday. I had a feeling that my start time for the cancelled Haystack TT was going to be 11:05.30... so at that time I went outside and decided to get in my effort... shoveling. At the start the walk looked like this;
51 minutes and 26 seconds later, it looked like this;
I guess that is a pretty good time for getting through all that heavy snow, but it was a horrible time for the Haystack course. Luckily I had plenty of refreshing drinks in the "refridgerator";
It snowed;
And snowed some more;
And snowed still more... lots of this is snow that fell off our roof as well, to make a big ol' pile. That frame that you see is the top of our porch swing.
Eventually, late Saturday, the snow started to slow down, and the road started to get plowed. And a bit after that, we got our power back. 36 hours doesn't seem so bad now, knowing that Craig and plenty of others in Evergreen/Conifer were still without power this morning! Clarence really didn't care, he pretty much just slept through the enitre weekend.
Now we have some real temperatures that I can deal with this week, but e will have to fight through what is sure to be an insanely muddy few days! This storm was about 3 and a half feet at our house... I shudder to think how deep it would have been if it was just about 5 degrees colder!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Goodbye Cruel World
If you don't hear from me, it's because I'm lost in the snow, or have succumbed to complete and utter boredom. It's finally about time to head home for the day, but I do that with mixed emotions. The weather is shitty in Boulder, but hardly snowing. On the other hand, there's over 2 feet of snow (already!) at home, and no electricity. Which means no heat, no water, no interwebs, and most importantly - if it's not back on by midnight, no qualifying session for this weekends Formula1 race in Sepang! Arrrrggggghhh! If I can drive all the way to the driveway, without doing any snowshoeing, the trip home will be an unlikely success.
I might have to go the cheap beer route tonight, just so I can buy enough to keep me comfortably numb for the entire weekend. Especially since sleeping in front of the stove and waking up every hour to throw some wood on the fire, doesn't make for the most comfortable night.
Needless to say... it's looking like another weekend of all bike racing being cancelled.
I REALLY hate Spring in Colorado.
I might have to go the cheap beer route tonight, just so I can buy enough to keep me comfortably numb for the entire weekend. Especially since sleeping in front of the stove and waking up every hour to throw some wood on the fire, doesn't make for the most comfortable night.
Needless to say... it's looking like another weekend of all bike racing being cancelled.
I REALLY hate Spring in Colorado.
Snow=Depression, Drugs=Depression
I'm cranky today. I usually try to keep Friday's upbeat, because I mean afterall... it's Friday. But the first of the weekend races have already been cancelled. The snow is falling in copious amounts - and while it's still mostly wet down in town, at home it's heavy and piled up high already, and I will be surprised if we still have power by lunch time.
Not to mention the fact that Tyler Hamilton single handedly sent his beloved dog straight to hell. It seems like we were just talking about animal abuse. At least his dog was already dead, but still, swearing on your dogs grave that you never doped, even after several convictions, holds even less water when you get popped again. A downright fucking disgrace to the National Champions jersey. Congratulations Blake Caldwell, in my head you're the current National Champion; I was pulling for you in that ride last year anyway.
And makes this press release on his own site, all the more laughable.
All kinds of excuses and explanations already being offered up. None of which seem to make much sense to me, but what I really wonder is if anyone will mention the fact that "depression" is very often an issue with drug abusers. Whether you're using performance enhancing drugs, recreational drugs, or both.
Oh yeah... and I want my fucking money back that I donated to the Tyler Hamilton Foundation. At least I wasn't one that donated money to his legal defense... that's looking like a bad investment, even in this current market.
Not to mention the fact that Tyler Hamilton single handedly sent his beloved dog straight to hell. It seems like we were just talking about animal abuse. At least his dog was already dead, but still, swearing on your dogs grave that you never doped, even after several convictions, holds even less water when you get popped again. A downright fucking disgrace to the National Champions jersey. Congratulations Blake Caldwell, in my head you're the current National Champion; I was pulling for you in that ride last year anyway.
And makes this press release on his own site, all the more laughable.
All kinds of excuses and explanations already being offered up. None of which seem to make much sense to me, but what I really wonder is if anyone will mention the fact that "depression" is very often an issue with drug abusers. Whether you're using performance enhancing drugs, recreational drugs, or both.
Oh yeah... and I want my fucking money back that I donated to the Tyler Hamilton Foundation. At least I wasn't one that donated money to his legal defense... that's looking like a bad investment, even in this current market.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bow Wow
Another great "race" last night. I was a little worried as the wind picked up, and the rain started falling right at the start of the ride... but of course I was mostly concerned about getting my fancy white shoes dirty. I didn' win the race, but I scored some good points in the chase for the overall series win.
THAT is sarcasm, for those that don't get it...
Ah yes... Spring is here... or at least sorta, since there are dandelions spouting up today, but snow forecast for Friday. Check that; this just in, already a Winter Storm Watch has been issued from Thursday night into Saturday morning. Must be almost time for the weekend - since there's snow in the immediate forecast.
Anyway, one of the great parts about Spring is that everyone has their cool little new fuzzy puppies out and about. It's fun to see all the little critters. But a big part of me actually hates it. Mostly because I'm here in Boulder, a college town, which of course means the majority of these dogs are living with some dude or dudette which can barely keep their own life in check. And that just iritates the hell out of me.
Too many of these animals will likely grow up with no idea of discipline or proper training. Which only increases the likelyhood that their owners will grow tired of them, and possibly even send them off to the humane society once they are no longer "cool". I'm no animal rights activists, but I'd rather see people tortured than some poor defenseless dog. Abuse is bad enough when you raise a dog without training or proper care. Abuse is even worse when you buy a little pink sweater for your dog, or carry it around in a fricken' purse;
But then you have these fucktards. These losers should be lined up in the town square for public mocking. Then we use packing tape to tape them up... but to the keel of a ship, rather than to a refridgerator.
"My parents gave me $150k to go to college and all I got was this lousy felony charge of animal cruelty"
THAT is sarcasm, for those that don't get it...
Ah yes... Spring is here... or at least sorta, since there are dandelions spouting up today, but snow forecast for Friday. Check that; this just in, already a Winter Storm Watch has been issued from Thursday night into Saturday morning. Must be almost time for the weekend - since there's snow in the immediate forecast.
Anyway, one of the great parts about Spring is that everyone has their cool little new fuzzy puppies out and about. It's fun to see all the little critters. But a big part of me actually hates it. Mostly because I'm here in Boulder, a college town, which of course means the majority of these dogs are living with some dude or dudette which can barely keep their own life in check. And that just iritates the hell out of me.
Too many of these animals will likely grow up with no idea of discipline or proper training. Which only increases the likelyhood that their owners will grow tired of them, and possibly even send them off to the humane society once they are no longer "cool". I'm no animal rights activists, but I'd rather see people tortured than some poor defenseless dog. Abuse is bad enough when you raise a dog without training or proper care. Abuse is even worse when you buy a little pink sweater for your dog, or carry it around in a fricken' purse;
But then you have these fucktards. These losers should be lined up in the town square for public mocking. Then we use packing tape to tape them up... but to the keel of a ship, rather than to a refridgerator.
"My parents gave me $150k to go to college and all I got was this lousy felony charge of animal cruelty"
Monday, April 13, 2009
Take It To The Streets
No racing this past weekend... again... so I figured it would be a great chance to do something I've wanted to do for a long time; go get my motorcycle license.
Bikes and bicycles have cracked me up for a long time. A few weeks back, on one of those 75 degree days in February, when I was really starting to get the itch for a motorcycle again, I stopped in at Performance Bike. They had this ugly GT Marathon full-suspension mountain bike sitting front and center on the showroom floor. For the "meager" sum of $5,999.99.
All I could do was chuckle... because just before swinging into Performance, I had stopped at the local motorycycle shop, just to take an innocent look at a few things. Much like a bicycle, the motorcycle that really had my lust, was even better looking in person. Damnit. Damnit because it seemed too pricey. The brand new, bike had an MSRP of $6399.00. A mere $400 more than the GT. I don't know, it sure seems like you get a whole lot more for a motorcycle, than you do with some skinny, light weight bicycle. Like, an entire functioning engine. It's just funny how riding bikes will invariably skew your sense "expensive bikes" in very short order.
So anyway... I looked around and decided that I would take one of the motorcycle safety classes that are all around the area. In particular, I found ABATE of Colorado, and signed up. While I've got a fair amount of time on motorcycles, it sounded like a good plan to take the class. They go over all sorts of techniques for riding, and cover a lot of safety issues with riding. And at the end, you can take a written and driving test that meets the requirements for your license. Sweet.
I spent a lot of time this weekend with my new pal Henry. Henry was a red, 250cc Nighthawk, that most of the class was riding. Not a very exciting bike, but a very maneagable and easy to ride bike. After just a bit, I was ready to go ride Henry for real...but I behaved, and listened to the instructors. The class overall was good, only like 25% classroom stuff, and 75% out on the bikes. Sunday we started early, and we were out on the bikes by 7.30am, and it was definitely cold. But that's okay, everyone wanted to make it through the class before the rain and/or snow came, which would have meant coming back for another class.
Suffice to say, I am now a licensed motorcycle rider... driver... thing. 100% on the driving test (plus public mention of my perfect riding technique), and 98% on the written test... stupid question. Got my endorsement today, and now all I need is a motorcycle... how long until my birthday?
Bikes and bicycles have cracked me up for a long time. A few weeks back, on one of those 75 degree days in February, when I was really starting to get the itch for a motorcycle again, I stopped in at Performance Bike. They had this ugly GT Marathon full-suspension mountain bike sitting front and center on the showroom floor. For the "meager" sum of $5,999.99.
All I could do was chuckle... because just before swinging into Performance, I had stopped at the local motorycycle shop, just to take an innocent look at a few things. Much like a bicycle, the motorcycle that really had my lust, was even better looking in person. Damnit. Damnit because it seemed too pricey. The brand new, bike had an MSRP of $6399.00. A mere $400 more than the GT. I don't know, it sure seems like you get a whole lot more for a motorcycle, than you do with some skinny, light weight bicycle. Like, an entire functioning engine. It's just funny how riding bikes will invariably skew your sense "expensive bikes" in very short order.
So anyway... I looked around and decided that I would take one of the motorcycle safety classes that are all around the area. In particular, I found ABATE of Colorado, and signed up. While I've got a fair amount of time on motorcycles, it sounded like a good plan to take the class. They go over all sorts of techniques for riding, and cover a lot of safety issues with riding. And at the end, you can take a written and driving test that meets the requirements for your license. Sweet.
I spent a lot of time this weekend with my new pal Henry. Henry was a red, 250cc Nighthawk, that most of the class was riding. Not a very exciting bike, but a very maneagable and easy to ride bike. After just a bit, I was ready to go ride Henry for real...but I behaved, and listened to the instructors. The class overall was good, only like 25% classroom stuff, and 75% out on the bikes. Sunday we started early, and we were out on the bikes by 7.30am, and it was definitely cold. But that's okay, everyone wanted to make it through the class before the rain and/or snow came, which would have meant coming back for another class.
Suffice to say, I am now a licensed motorcycle rider... driver... thing. 100% on the driving test (plus public mention of my perfect riding technique), and 98% on the written test... stupid question. Got my endorsement today, and now all I need is a motorcycle... how long until my birthday?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
First 2009 Road Race
...well... no, not really. More like the first Bus Stop ride of the year. Granted, some people do approach it as a race, but believe it or not... it's just a ride.
I usually shy away when it's a lot windy out... but it really wasn't windy till we got north of town. Oh well, we were off. I usually spend days like this in the wind, getting in some extra work, and not bothering to fight for spots in the gutter. But I felt pretty good. And even better in the Fruit Loops. I even took some points - not sure where I stand in the overall though since it was my first time at the race this year. I'm kidding! It's not a race you goons! Really, all that matters is that I got in some good efforts, and those efforts felt good. The legs might have felt better than at anytime last year. Oh yeah... except for about a mile south of Lyons when about a 10 inch section of 20 gauge wire shot up off a wheel, and literally STUCK in the side of my calf! Now when was that last tetanus shot?
Most of the Burger King commercials are kinda creepy... but this one, I think I watched 10 times in a row, laughing the entire time!
I usually shy away when it's a lot windy out... but it really wasn't windy till we got north of town. Oh well, we were off. I usually spend days like this in the wind, getting in some extra work, and not bothering to fight for spots in the gutter. But I felt pretty good. And even better in the Fruit Loops. I even took some points - not sure where I stand in the overall though since it was my first time at the race this year. I'm kidding! It's not a race you goons! Really, all that matters is that I got in some good efforts, and those efforts felt good. The legs might have felt better than at anytime last year. Oh yeah... except for about a mile south of Lyons when about a 10 inch section of 20 gauge wire shot up off a wheel, and literally STUCK in the side of my calf! Now when was that last tetanus shot?
Most of the Burger King commercials are kinda creepy... but this one, I think I watched 10 times in a row, laughing the entire time!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Yeah... I don't walk...
Overheard at a bus stop on the Boulder Campus today;
Is it even fucking possible to "not be used to walking"? And if you somehow aren't used to walking, shouldn't it take all of 2 days to get used to it? Maybe it was her retarded Ugg boots that were making things difficult. And just so you know, yes, she was getting on the bus for a ride to the parking lot where her car is. People are retarded. It takes 11 minutes to walk from one corner of campus to the other. If you go slowly, it takes all of 20 minutes to walk from one campus to the other!
This weekend had a total of 4 bike races cancelled. That made for 6 races in the past two weekends. Which also meant that I had entirely too much time in front of the television this weekend. Luckily, seeing the weather was bound to be crappy, Chuck had the foresight to get us set up with some track time, just for the team!
Even if it's a fairly small track, two hours of flying around the track is bound to be beat a trainer workout any day!
It will be even nicer one of these days, when we get to race for real!
Pretty nice weather today at least, though a touch windy. I think I just might pack up early, and see if I can't scoot up to catch the Bus Stop ride tonight... I imagine someone will be there right?
"Yeah, I really like Boulder. I'm from Fort Collins though, so I'm really not used to walking...I usually only walk from my car into whatever store I'm going to."
Is it even fucking possible to "not be used to walking"? And if you somehow aren't used to walking, shouldn't it take all of 2 days to get used to it? Maybe it was her retarded Ugg boots that were making things difficult. And just so you know, yes, she was getting on the bus for a ride to the parking lot where her car is. People are retarded. It takes 11 minutes to walk from one corner of campus to the other. If you go slowly, it takes all of 20 minutes to walk from one campus to the other!
This weekend had a total of 4 bike races cancelled. That made for 6 races in the past two weekends. Which also meant that I had entirely too much time in front of the television this weekend. Luckily, seeing the weather was bound to be crappy, Chuck had the foresight to get us set up with some track time, just for the team!
Even if it's a fairly small track, two hours of flying around the track is bound to be beat a trainer workout any day!
It will be even nicer one of these days, when we get to race for real!
Pretty nice weather today at least, though a touch windy. I think I just might pack up early, and see if I can't scoot up to catch the Bus Stop ride tonight... I imagine someone will be there right?
Friday, April 3, 2009
April Showers = (Possible Blizzard Conditions)
Is it me? Or is it getting darker outside?
It always seems this time of year, that we get a couple races in early, and everything seems fine, and then there is a rash of canceled races that leave you wondering if we'll ever get to "turn the pedals in anger". Both of last weekends races were canceled. And after some ugly dumping snow on Wednesday afternoon, which converted my 28 minute commute, into one of 178 minutes...
...now there is another storm on the horizon, which has already canceled one race, and is threatening to cancel the second one... again. Oh, and as I look up, it's not so much over the horizon, as rain/snow is already obscuring the tops of the flatirons. Uh oh.
Well, at least we have some indoor, back-up plans in the books. The plan is to hit the track for a couple hours tomorrow morning, which sounds really fun at this point - after being back on the trainer for two weeks. The real issue that may upset the plans is if it snows enough that it's too treacherous, or downright impossible to leave the house in the morning... you know, when it's supposed to be dumping.
If that's the case, then I guess I'll have to find other indoor activities. There's always prepping to do for cyclocross season, which just might have to include this little ditty;
Why waste beer trying to shake it on racers, when you can have a gun to shoot it at them!? Though, make sure you don't use it at a dbcevents race.
The horror...
The horror...
The horror...
It always seems this time of year, that we get a couple races in early, and everything seems fine, and then there is a rash of canceled races that leave you wondering if we'll ever get to "turn the pedals in anger". Both of last weekends races were canceled. And after some ugly dumping snow on Wednesday afternoon, which converted my 28 minute commute, into one of 178 minutes...
...now there is another storm on the horizon, which has already canceled one race, and is threatening to cancel the second one... again. Oh, and as I look up, it's not so much over the horizon, as rain/snow is already obscuring the tops of the flatirons. Uh oh.
Well, at least we have some indoor, back-up plans in the books. The plan is to hit the track for a couple hours tomorrow morning, which sounds really fun at this point - after being back on the trainer for two weeks. The real issue that may upset the plans is if it snows enough that it's too treacherous, or downright impossible to leave the house in the morning... you know, when it's supposed to be dumping.
If that's the case, then I guess I'll have to find other indoor activities. There's always prepping to do for cyclocross season, which just might have to include this little ditty;
Why waste beer trying to shake it on racers, when you can have a gun to shoot it at them!? Though, make sure you don't use it at a dbcevents race.
The horror...
The horror...
The horror...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Don't Be That Guy/Gal
Well... here we are... April Fools Day. What an absolutely retarded day...
Trying to find stuff worth reading on the interwebs is hard enough, without an endless number of sites posting retarded fake stories that aren't even close to believable - and worse yet, are even further from being entertaining. Worse yet, is ones that do it year after year after year. So anyway...
Yesterday was Neo's birthday. He turned the big 8. We didn't get to take Tayler out for her birthday, so we decided that she should come along, and celebrate as well. Usually it means going out to play for a bit, but the weather was crap. So it was straight off to some pet store to pick out some toys. Then, off to Dairy Queen for some ice cream! Neo waited patiently (sort of) in the car, for us to bring him his cone.
Time to dig in!
This was Tayler's first ice cream cone, and she didn't mind it at all...
The look of absolute love... and probably a bit of an ice cream headache...
Tayler uses the largest tongue in the world, to clean up a bit;
Once we were home, Neo and Tayler got to test out their new toys, and new bones;
Now excuse me, because I think the weather-people have pulled an April Fools joke on me, because it sure as shit is not snowing outside.
Trying to find stuff worth reading on the interwebs is hard enough, without an endless number of sites posting retarded fake stories that aren't even close to believable - and worse yet, are even further from being entertaining. Worse yet, is ones that do it year after year after year. So anyway...
Yesterday was Neo's birthday. He turned the big 8. We didn't get to take Tayler out for her birthday, so we decided that she should come along, and celebrate as well. Usually it means going out to play for a bit, but the weather was crap. So it was straight off to some pet store to pick out some toys. Then, off to Dairy Queen for some ice cream! Neo waited patiently (sort of) in the car, for us to bring him his cone.
Time to dig in!
This was Tayler's first ice cream cone, and she didn't mind it at all...
The look of absolute love... and probably a bit of an ice cream headache...
Tayler uses the largest tongue in the world, to clean up a bit;
Once we were home, Neo and Tayler got to test out their new toys, and new bones;
Now excuse me, because I think the weather-people have pulled an April Fools joke on me, because it sure as shit is not snowing outside.
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