Down for the Count; Groveling at the Growler

What a great weekend in good ole' Gunrack.  Wiensey was at it again, throwing 300 or more folks out into Hartman Rocks for some classic single track amongst the sage and rock.  It's a deceivingly brutal 64 miles that gives riders no quarter.  Up, down, around; with little time for physical or mental rest, the course is constantly dealing out another challenge.

My race was a race to implosion as I hammered my way into oblivion.  Some sort of volatile mixture in my stomach had me puking out at skull pass on the first lap, spraying myself all over my right arm and leg multiple times.  After this pleasant incident,  I could not hold down any food or water, specially at the pace I was riding.  I finished my first lap in about 3:15, too fast for my own good.  By the time I set out for my second lap I knew I was headed to a bad place.  I was getting goose bumps and chills yet it was 70 degrees and sunny.  I was getting some liquids down but things were not settling in the belly well.

After skull pass on the second lap I pulled into the aid station for some shade and a coke.  No sooner had I snapped open the pop top of the coke than up came all that I had drunk in the last hour or so.  Spraying of the sage commenced for a few minutes.  The aid station volunteers no doubt enjoyed my suffering.  Violent chills and uncontrollable shakes began.  Twenty minutes later I was no better off, and about to have one of the course workers check me out, when Sally, an EMT working the station came over.  She said she had been watching me and I didn't look so good.  I said I must look as bad as I feel.  She took my vitals and blood sugar count and told me I was done for the day.

Weinsey happened to be out at skull resupplying the water so he gave me a ride back to the front side where an ambulance met me to check my vitals once again.  Seeing some improvement and the fact that once I stopped riding, I was eventually able to get some liquids down, they set me free to wallow in my sorrow.

Regardless of this heinous experience, it was a great weekend for a great race.  I am looking forward to completing the Full Growler next year, after a trip back to the drawing board that is.

What a day...

Lance is out of ATOC, Floyd is out with the truth, Cadel throwing punches in the pack at the Giro, what next?  Great finish in the Giro today too!

In the Dog House

Just bought a new bike that I couldn't afford but it had to be done. My MTB is a 9 year old Trek OCLV.  It's a sweet ride for sure, but it is getting hard to find components and I've been drooling over disc breaks and the new full-suspension technology for years.  The wife is not happy, I'm in the dog house.

Soul

Living in Boulder is a love hate thing for me.  It's a beautiful town with tons of riding, (although the single track is not as abundant as I would like), and the weather makes it easy to ride my bike all year.  There are tons of people on bikes all over town, the surrounding roads, and in the hills above town.  Quite a tribe on two wheels.  It's a different tribe than I'm used to, with all the speedy road racers, sick bird hucksters, trendy hipsters on fixed gears, and of course the fat tire freaks.

Living in Crested Butte for over ten years was an awesome time in my life.  Lot's of time on skis and bikes.  I got to ride with, and know, many of the legends of the mountain biking community.  I loved hearing the stories about "back in the day" from the likes of the Cook Brothers, Wes Williams, Coach, Dave Lindsey, and the list goes on.  It's a tighter smaller tribe up there in the mountains and I miss that.  Lot's of soul.  I'm not saying that Boulder has no soul, but let's not forget our roots as mountain bikers.  Here's a sample of some roots.

Back on the Bike

Francisco, is that you?

Haven't posted in quite a while, although I'm fairly certain no one is following anyways.  Still, this is my place to rant and rave, wax poetic, or just ramble on about stuff my wife doesn't want to hear about.  Like the new bike I'm ready to sell my car to be able to buy.  I wish...  I could never do that... could I?

Didn't ride so much through the winter with the crappy weather and all.  Also wasn't able to get up into the high country very much either.  I did take a nice long trip to Thailand though, which was an experience I will never forget.  I'll post more on this later; some photos with the stories behind them could be good.

Ah yes, back on the bike, that is where I was going....  Been back on the bike for a few weeks now and it sure feels good.  The Growler is coming up in a couple weeks.  Although I have much less time on the bike than last year at this time, I feel really good.  Lots of riding last season helped build up my base miles I guess.  Regardless, it will be a hell of a race down there in Gunni.  Hope to se you there!

Also went down and shot the Battle the Bear and the Front Range 50 MTB races last weekend.  Would have rather been out there doing my five laps, but a hacking cough/cold would have made it a bad idea.  Good to see a bunch of folks from last seasons CX races out there.  Bear Creek Lake Park single track is so fast and rolling!

Airborne

The other day I was pissing in a ditch out on Oxford Road.  An hour and a half into the ride and things were flowing.  Dirt, mud, hardpack snow, worked together to set the adrenaline free.

Out of the corner of my eye an orange flash in the sky and some smoke.  A parachute falls with a trail of smoke behind.  I never even think plane crash.  I thought it was some kind of skydiving stunt over the rez.  Then balloon boy came to mind.  But for some reason I never though about a mid air collision.

I stopped at the market in Hygene for some powdered donuts later.

When my wife got home that night after work,  "did you hear about the plane....?"  before she finished I had goose bumps and finished the sentence for her.....Crash?"

She told me the details and I took a seat as I thought about it.  I had watched this thing happen.

The randomness of life is constantly amazing.  It's even more amazing when witnessed from the saddle of your bike.

Two days later I got a call to shoot a couple of real estate properties from the air.  Never been up in a helicopter before.

What I had seen the other day was on my mind, but I know driving on the freeways in LA is way more dangerous than flying in a helicopter.  It was a small four seater with the door removed so I could shoot freely.  What a killer  feeling!  Like surfing through the air.

Seeing things from the air like that is something else.  I wish I had the cash to hire a chopper for an hour or two.  The visual patterns created by both natural and man made are captivating.  Hopefully I'll get the chance to go up again.

Telling it like it is...

Here is an interesting article with some strong statements from our US Masters Champion 45-49, Johnny Bold.

http://www.cxmagazine.com/bold-words-thoughts-nationals-worlds#more-10798

Definitely some things to think about as the U.S. CX scene seems to be gaining momentum.