I'm not sick, but i'm not well

Its been one hell of a last three days. Its only thursday, but between finals and skiing, life's been going at about a hundred miles an hour. Winter break is now official. 18 days of blissful, school-free, excellence. The family is considering a snow snob trip, wait till it snows, then go there and ski. I'm not complaining.

Classic season for me really got going this week. Monday and Wednesday up with the team. The combination of intervals and techy work keep it honest. Not to mention the pseudo-cold i've been fighting for the last week. Skiing is definitely not the best cure. but its the only thing that makes it feel better, kinda like scratching a mosquito bite.

Since i finished my last final this morning, went up for a long ski with mike. got to ski the zarlengo loop and jenny creek. never been down there, and looking back on it, i'm not sure why. The whole deal is fairly rad. Nobody was out there, not even the groomer. The wind has drifted in the tracks entirely, which was tricky in spots but it really is a sweet four kilometers. While following the fluorescent yellow hat, my legs and shoulders decided at a very inopportune moment to remind me of the threshold intervals from yesterday. hoo boy. it was all good though. we followed that with phoebe's, meadows, and twin twisted.

When we switched to skate stuff, my stomach was already whining about not having anything but an english muffin since breakfast, and there was a bonk on the horizon. what to do? eat two candy bars and keep going. Out to buckeye, up woodcutter, down to a loop on meadows, and back along 17th. saw dv8 at the yurt. It sounds as though there's plans in the works for one heck of a beat down at the rock. racing hurts, but this... this would take the cake. Crazy. monday~10km, wednesday~12km, today~21km season to date~190km.

Chocolate Cake For Breakfast

Yum.

A whirlwind of a weekend. Too much work and not enough play, pretty much sucks. Lots of homework and studing, but skiing too.

NBP yesterday, hour on the skate skis. Finally felt like I was able to push it without getting wobbly. ~20km

afternoon classic at the park today. Really tricky conditions, not just to ski, but to wax as well. went from like -15C in the shadows to +5 in the sun, and the tracks are way way old. The new classic setup is sweet, at least from what i got so far. Looking forward to the season ahead! (tomorrow up at the rock) today ~10km, season to date~147km

Running on empty

Its been a wicked tough week, and its not even over yet. Finals next week, and boy are people stressed. like nervous breakdowns stressed. A total of nine tests in the next 5 days of school, and ive got a cold coming on top of all that. At least i get to go skiing.

caught the a.m. shift at the park on wednesday. Bright and early, except without the bright. and very, verry cold. The downy kept my core nice and toasty, but when temps are in the single digits, I dont think theres anything to do about toes and face. Nothing functional anyways.

This afternoon was at the park again, but not quite as cold as wednesday. lots of poling technique and form work. Keep it up and forward. It was fun to get a nice long skate in. Today~18km, season to date~117km.

Snow

went up to the land of love yesterday in search of some new snow. And new snow we did find. even though the traffic was horrendous, there were almost no lift lines and very few people in your way. On occasion, you looked up to see a massive horde of carhartt-clad, jean wearing s.p.o.r.s. descending the groomers, but with a little creativity and ten minutes of hiking, there were face shots to be had. granted, thats on teles, but a face shot is a face shot.

Quick and dirty at The park this morning. Must have been 120 people skiing on 3 km of tracks. Ugh. At least it was skiing. And almost landed a three off a jump some kids were building. I think thats my new goal for the season. Today~12km, Season to date 95km

Puking White

It feels like winter has finally managed to meander its way into the central rocky mountains. Over a foot in most places, and it doesn't look like its letting up soon. sweet.

Headed up to the high country tomorrow, trying to get the early start and avoid the 1.5 million other people who have smelled fresh snow.

A few new links on the left hand side, tis the season for snow reports. Also dropped a couple of the riding links. Biking is about on the bottom of my very long list of things to do at the moment.

Lots of nordic skiing this week, four days infact. That puts it up to double digits! excellent. past two days up at eldora have been nuts. Massive amounts of loose snow, and an apparent lack of groomage have made things, interesting. Interesting but awesome. Its tricky to skate in, but the snow is so sticky that it almost gives you the same kick as a pair of classic skis with not quite the right wax. Word.
Today~6km, Season to date~83km

windy

very, very windy today. blown over fences windy, street signs ripped of the pole windy. warm and westerly.

the storm that came through last weekend didn't quite live up to its expectations, but it did drop a respectable 10" at loveland. While it wasnt enough to open anything new, it made the skiing much more enjoyable. rumor has it that another storms a comin this weekend, hopefully that'll do some justice to our early season snowpack(or lack there of).

day 4 of nordic skiing today up at eldora. Even though the air was uncharacteristically calm and warm, the conditions were fairly treacherous. Frozen icy chunks and snowmobile tracks, combined with slow bulletproof snow was a bit sketch. 4x4 intervals kept it honest, but it was great to be out on the skinnies, and not doing dryland was a bonus. today~15km, season to date~55km

Frozen Fingers

There has been a definite drop in temperature in the past 36 hours. Hopefully, its a sign of things to come. They say its suppostd to snow sometime soon, maybe tonight.

I can't help but be a bit jealous of the San Juan ski area townspeople, heres the latest winter storm warning:

BY THIS EVENING...HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD OVER THE WARNED AREA. PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL BY SUNDAY MORNING IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 1 TO 2 FEET OVER THE SAWATCH RANGE AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...WITH UP TO 3 FEET OVER THE SOUTHWEST SLOPES AND HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. TWO TO 4 FEET OF SNOW IS EXPECTED OVER THE SAN JUAN AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS.

I hope that a bit of that precipitation makes its way up this direction, it always sucks when youre the only place without snow. Alyeska has had 237 inches of snow in November, and Whistler has almost two thirds of skiable terrain open.

And we sit here in lovely Colorado, cursing the weather gods who, once again it seems, have decided to give us more than 300 days of brilliant sunshine. damn.

To end on a better note,

Update

It has been a while since the last post. But thats certainly not from a lack of material to write about. It may be thanksgiving break, but it seems like its been busier than usual. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about having 9 days off from school, and I'm not whining about spending five out of the past seven days on snow, but the last thing this week has felt like is a vacation.

Saturday and Monday were up at loveland. Its so awesome to be skiing again. Even though the terrain was... limited, and the snow was scarce, its good to have some white stuff to slide along.

The new jak's are sweet. I was a bit sketched at first; one because they're fat: 100 at the waist which is usually a sign that a ski is not meant for hardpack. Also they're not very heavy(for their less than svelte build), again another sign of a soft snow ski. But was I ever wrong. These are the most rippinist, gnar-shreddin skis ever. Imagine a tank that handles like an italian sports car. Yeah its that sick.

the last three days were on the skinnies at North Boulder Park. Not much, and not for long, but its better than running. A bit of a skijour on Wednesday, which was a good workout, but a harsh reminder that I either need to get a real kit for it, or teach my pooch how to not get hit by the skis. In reality, its probably both, but in the mean time, its still fun

A Touch Of Grey

I have to say that four day weekends are very enjoyable. On Saturday, myself and a couple of friends rode up to the fourth o' July campground, locked the bikes and hiked up to the top-ish of the arapahoe glacier trail. It was great to be up above treeline again, and the weather was just about perfect (asides from the very top, but that doesn't really count) Didnt manage the summit but it was fun anyways. Plus, the pizza at the end was just icing on the cake.

A hot run up sanitas yesterday. There were lots of people on the trail, which is not my favorite, but it was still a good workout.

More news! just got a new pair of beautiful Karhus. Jak Team 100's. These are doing nothing to quench my thirst for snow, just making me more stoked for skiing.

ouch

crazy tough dryland today. A good reminder that I have a long way to go to get into skiing shape. Lots of running and jumping. quads are screaming at me. ouch.

does it make any sense? That on occasion, it is possible that your head can be completely emptied by the raging noise? The hurt? The pounding? is it possible to empty your legs of the slowness? Or just make it hurt worse?

No soul, rhythm or flow. But in the midst of the banging and the rattling, there is a point of quiet and solace. Not structured but defined, is the point. Feels like I'm on the outside looking in, searching but not finding.

impossible is nothing...

I think that sometimes, it might be possible to ride the lameness out of your legs. it feels like I've been pushing hard lately, digging for some sign of a spark deep down. I've ridden almost every day this week, and today was the first day that there was a hint of snap in the legs. Maybe there is some hope for the ski season. I'll find out soon enough, dryland is going, I just need to drag myself out and start working. let the quest for fitness continue.

Certain Death?

Feels like some sort of time-warp at the moment. Just a moment ago, it was Friday, a whole two days of blissful freedom ahead of me. In the blink of an eye, BAM! its monday. oh well. just another day.

did get some fun riding in the last couple a days. My legs hurt much more than they should be hurting, especially considering that they weren't particularly long or arduous rides. I think its time for ski season. Its time for a change of pace. I think, my legs hurt because they're telling me that its time to stop treading water. Time to give the fire a different type of fuel. A fuel that involves two sticks and a lot of fluffy white stuff.

stfu. straight the (insert profane word of choice here) up.








I wouldnt go there if I were you

I just got the news that one of my former coaches, Chuck Bolden, lost his battle with leukemia this past Sunday. I can not say that we were the best of friends or that he was like a brother to me, but what I can say is that he will be missed. Despite the limited amount of time I was able to spend with Chuck, his humor, kindness, and sincerity of heart were more than enough to prove to me that he was special. The courage that he had, and the strength it took to face a disease like that, strikes me in a way that very few people ever have. I would like anyone who reads this, whether you knew Chuck or not, to take a moment and sent your thoughts and prayers to Chuck's family and friends. Chuck, not quite sure how to say this, but goodbye you will be missed.

IGSSC 2007

Sick nasty time up in the mountains this past sunday. Winter chills and thrills, along with some fire jumping, patiotic capes, cinnamon rolls, fresh baked asiago bread with hickory smoked gouda and summer sausage, and a real live coconut. Stellar crew, and one of the better snow rides ever, i must say.

On the Horizon...

ZONE FORECAST FOR SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/NORTHWEST
BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW. VERY WINDY. LOWS
17 TO 25. WEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 70 MPH ALONG
AND EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. CHANCE OF SNOW 20 PERCENT.
.FRIDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. WINDY. HIGHS 43 TO 53. WEST WINDS 20 TO
30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 55 MPH.

.FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. WINDY. LOWS 29 TO 37. WEST WINDS
20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH.

.SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. WINDY. HIGHS 46 TO 56. WEST WINDS 20 TO
30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...CLOUDY WITH SNOW LIKELY. MODERATE SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS. LOWS 21 TO 27. WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 60 PERCENT.

.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW LIKELY. COLDER.
LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. HIGHS 27 TO 37. LOWS 16 TO 22. CHANCE OF
SNOW 60 PERCENT.


... word

Re-entry

Returned yesterday from spending three days in the desert fun. Paying for it now though. Lots of homework and laundry to catch up on. The World does not stop my friends, not even for the 24 hours of moab. Super fun time out there, got to spend some time hangin with an awesome crew. I worked the pit this time around. All night long, running around, lubing chains, Charging batteries, eating luke warm rammen and hanging by the fire. Put in a sunrise lap with one of the riders, which was stellar.
Way too tired for much of anything at the moment. Let the pictures talk, they're more exciting anyways.




















In other news, the IGSSC returns. So stoked, its not even funny. not one bit.

One if by land, two if by ski

The snow will be falling soon, I believe. I for one am ready for winter. Lots of nordic stuffs happening of late. Imagine somewhere around 50 people. Half of them are dazed salespeople, reps, and such, the other half, screaming kids hyped up on chocolate cookies, packed into a 400 square foot box overflowing with skis, boots, wax, and lycra. This will give you a close idea of the past hour and a half of my life.

On the plus side, I scored some seriously rad new classic gear. Alpina rc boots, fischer race classic, which are currently in the shop getting mounted. And a vertitable cornucopia of waxes. So stoked! A-basin beat loveland this year, oh well. No skiing for a bit at the rock. Ill be ready though, when it comes, i will be ready! Let it snow.



Also, it is possible that i could get a part time deal on an at set-up this year. Sick nasty! And by the way, headed to the moab mañana. report on that when i get back.

Adventureousity

I had a bit of an itch in my legs today, sitting in those stupid little desks. Wanted to get out somewhere, do something new. so, with such thoughts in mind, rolled out this afternoon to scout some new trails.


Blasted it up the big tarmac first thing. My legs are definitely feeling the lack of riding in the past month. Then down, and up. Poked around a bit, looked into some things that I've wanted to ride, not a whole lot o' luck, didnt find any thing amazing, too many fucking houses. but spirits were high none the less. We made our way down to the big road.

About a month ago, i was headed down from jamestown when stack of rocks above the road caught my eye. so what you say? a pile of rocks? whoop dee frickin doo! but; it just so happens that upon this pile of neatly arranged rocks, lay a skinny little bit of dirt covered in pinecones and rocks. ¡Qué Bueno!


Took a bit of time to ride such trail in an easterly manner, and dropped back down to the pavé via one of the most depressing areas of wilderness i have ever laid eyes on. Beer cans, barbasol containers, hundreds of thousands of shotgun shells, plastic bags, sixpack-rings, ammunition boxes, littered in every square inch of this gully. Every square fucking inch. god people piss me off sometimes. ruining a perfect hillside with their trash, not to mention the sound of .22s mixed with two-strokes and V8's. Have some common fucking sense. Fucking motor heads.


Ah well, what can you do when you are armed with no more than 20 some odd pound hunk of metal, and a skinny pair of shaved legs? Not much. finished the alright. Overall, an excellent end to a not so great tuesday.

whirl wind of a weekend

Weekends are too short. weeks are too long. lots of riding this weekend. friday night night ride. saturday ned ride. fun fun fun. Leave for moab this thursday. I wont be racing this year, kind of an odd prospect after the years past. There's a definite change in attitude going to the race as spectator. Much more chill. heres some pics though:



handlebar silhouette


Nightlit sage


hmmmm...


up.up.up.


sandwiches, snapple, cheesecake, singlespeeds, not sure what more you could want


the new surly fork is sick. its not purple, but its still rad.

Some Cushion For Your Pushin

Cross round #1 this morning. Hurt bad, heavy legs, heavy bike. But I learned some stuff. Alls well that ends well.

Friday Night Two'fer

Two rides last night. T.G.I.fucking.F. all I have to say right now.

Drastic Fantastic

Rode in the sunshine and the leaves today. fun fun fun. It realy feels like summer in town but up en las montañas, the seasons sure are changing. Almost got a frost last night. Ski movies are premiering at the moment, oh well, can still get the dvds. The single felt slow today, the legs, empty. oh well...

roads and rain

pedal pedal pedal pedal. cars cars, whoosh, watch out. up. up up up up. Pedal. ahhh relax, look at the leaves. stop drik some coke, eat. watch a cowboy movie. uh oh rain. pedalpedalpedal run away here it comes. wet. up some more. stop put jacket on. down down bumpy bumpy wet spluttering splattering wet mess. down down down brrrr. crossay is sick but road sucks.

hut to hut by bike

last weekend (i know its a bit overdue) headed into the mountains for a hut trip. One catch, it was by bike. The Surly is by far the fastest and most awesomest bike i own. It rolls over just about anything and accelerates like a ducati. Most of the trip was on dirt roads, and it was unbelievably fast. And its so sick to be able to pedal a reasonable tempo on flats! any ways back to the trip

Started just outside of eagle, CO in yeoman park, went mushroom hunting while the shuttle was shuttling, and learned a bit about fungi from Ruthi Mathis.

Rode 10ish miles and 3000 some feet to the peter estin hut. Cool hut, cooler views, and a gnarly outhouse.



Next day, somewhere around 40 miles to the next hut with a low pressure trough moving in about mid-day. the barometer dropped by 200 feet that morning. However, regardless of the impending weather, we rolled out on a killer ride. Got to spend some quality alone time with the bike, some new tunes, and really stellar scenery.






These pictures don't quite do it justice, but the clouds, the light, the leaves, everything was feeling like fall.

Anywho, it started precipitating about lunch time, with 15 miles to go, it could have been worse, but it was still wet and cold. I dont have pictures from the rest of this day because i had to secure the camera in a ziplock baggie. Just use your imagination. Thunder was just about a consistent 3-5 seconds, and we had 2000 feet to gain in the last six miles. the only problem; five of those miles only gained 700 feet.

we made it to the hut cold but intact. I'm not sure a wood stove and hot cocoa has ever been so nice. Chicken curry and rice for dinner, yum.

Woke up the next morning to find that winter had decided to visit the cabin.
two inch an hour flake-age is a nice compliment to sausage and blueberry pancakes especially in a hut in the mountains. Clouds eventually lifted and blue sky came out of nowhere. made for some specatcular views.



A great weekend indeed. Lots of riding this week, tired legs. But loveland is making snow, and fall adventures are yet to be had.