Thursday, February 26

Working hard today, but from home. It's good to be home. The past four days I've basically been home just during sleep time, so it's nice to stay in the hills, with the dogs. A ski race this weekend to look forwards to - the Leadville Loppet - so I'm going to try to break away at lunch and bust out some warm up kilometers. Funny how in nordic skiing it's kilometers but in mountain biking it's miles.

Some interesting blogging from the various sites. Lots of different opinions, which is good. That's kind of the beauty of the world actually. People are different, and it's good to express those differences, because you can't live life honestly by walking around on your tippy toes on certain subjects for risk of offending someone. Some love spring and summer, some love winter. Some eat meat, some don't. Some ride a snowcat, and some choose to (GASP!) not ski at all. Some go to church, some are atheists. We're all friends, willing to express our differences but also tolerant of those differences. Because in the end, I know that my friends are the good guys, the people I'd want to go to battle with when the shit really goes down.

Wednesday, February 25

A beautiful ride in this morning. Almost springlike out, and it was a wonderful relief to commute in today on the bike, doing what I could on this day to go against the grain, against our societies slow but determined course to destroy this planet and every thing on it.

Saw a film last night, as part of the Banff Film Festival, that left me feeling numb and angry. Entitled, "The Cost of Freedom," by Vanessa Schulz, the movie investigated the wolf reintroduction process in 1995 in northern Idaho. The film outlined many different aspects, and rather than give a blow-by-blow account, I'll just strongly recommend that you do whatever you can to pick up a copy. It's extremelly powerful stuff, and won't leave you in a good mood, but it's a cause that definitely needs more good people to understand and fight for. The sheer intolerance of human beings, not to mention the inhumanity of so-called "friends" of the wolf is enough to motivate one the head up to Idaho with a .45 and start shooting ranchers. But of course, this is not the solution.

I feel a little inept when it comes to discussions about issues like these. I don't know the facts as well as I'd like. Issues about the wolf, about western ranching, about the beef industry, about trapping, about the Fish and Wildlife Service. I'm motivated and committed to learn about these issues, and I suspect that armed with the facts, a difference can be made. Time to do the research.

In the spirit of this "Canus" post, here's a picture of my pup in a recent snowstorm.

Monday, February 23

Entering a bit of a busy cycle, with deadlines looming, as well as travel for the next couple of weekends. While I like seeing new places, I value more my time at home, in the hills of Happy Valley, exploring on my own timeline. We're a bit removed from the rat race here, the stress of life, and I'm often reluctant to little "heaven on earth" cocoon.

Yesterday was a classic example of why. Drove down to Monarch ski area at 4:45 a.m. in the morning for a day of Snowcat skiing. The drive down wasn't so bad. Empty roads, and witnessed an incredible sunrise on the top of Freemont Pass, glimmering off the Collegiate Range. And the cat snowboarding was, quite simply, the best single day of snowboarding I've ever had. I've had better single runs, and better moments, but in terms of the entire day being exceptional, nothng touches yesterday with the Monarch Snowcat Tours. A variety of runs, ranging from wide open bowls, to moderate and deep snowed glades, to rock bands to very steep chutes. An amazing day, with great snow, awesome surroundings and good people. I'll post some pix as soon as I get a chance.

Unfortunately, while the riding was the best single day of snowboarding in my life, the drive home may have been the worst single drive in my life. A drive that should have taken three hours, took a whopping 6 1/2. Perhaps you've heard of I-70 traffic home from the ski resorts. I certainly have experienced my share of this, but in recent years, I've altogether avoided it but not venturing anywhere near this road on a weekend. And now I know why. Bumper to bumper traffic for 60 plus miles from the town of Dillon to the Colorado gambling capitol, Blackhawk. I arrived home at midnight, a Montezuma's Revengish 20 hour day. Ouch.

It was surreal how many people were on the roads at 8, 9, 10 and 11 o'clock on a Sunday night. Don't these people have to work? There was a wall of traffic heading UP to Blackhawk at 10:30 p.m. to go gamble of a Sunday night. Bizarre. I can't imagine sitting in this traffic more than once a decade, but there are amazingly tens-of-thousands of people who do it every weekend. Either they really, really love to ski or they simply enjoy sitting in traffic, enhaling fumes. We live in a strange society, almost Matrix like. The people are kept happy with new cars, malls, and security, yet the bullshit we put up with on a regular basis is mind boggling. We're rife for a revolution of sorts, if people would just wake up from their OnStar induced Coma.

They tell us we have it good. Somehow I think it can be better. Much better.

Wednesday, February 18

Lest people start to think this is website about skiing (it's not), I chose to ride into work on this most beautiful spring respite. A nice ride, with swirling winds, but for some reason I was severely freaked out on the highway by cars. I don't like the frozen bike path, as it forces me onto the exposed road for a longer period of time. I not a big fan of riding on busy roads - hence the reason I'm not a road rider. Nonetheless, it was good to be out there, before the snows strike again.

While this is not a website about skiing, it's really not a website about biking per se either. Based on our geography and the way we live our lives, bicycles are a wonderful WAY OF LIFE for us. Way of life is important, because it's a lot different than the ever so popular "lifestyle" word tossed around these days. While I do a fair amount of fun adventures on a bike, it's also an important utilitarian tool for me. Three seasons of the year, and sporatically in the winter, it gets me to and from work. It keeps me fit (lowering your insurance costs), causes less damage to the environment, and is a simple reliable mode of transportation - certainly more so than my 17 year old truck with 196,000 miles on it. The single speed thing fits right into this simplicity and utilitarism - I stink at working on bikes, so the singlespeed is necessary to keep my transportation in service for the highest percentage of days. All the expensive disk brake, suspension gizmo's in the world don't mean squat if you're bike is in the shop all the time, or they consume your mind so much that you can't focus on the ride.

Lifestyle is a completely different thing. Lance Armstrong with his Subaru ads for example touts lifestyle. Buy your Outback, throw your Trek on top of the vehicle, drive to the nearest trailhead and live the "dream." This is not about preserving the environment (eliminated by the drive), simplicity (eliminated by the high zoot suspension bikes) or using the bike as a utilitarian device to get around. It's a shame Lance chose to promote the sport in this way. How about an ad campaign where Lance encourages kids and adults to ride to work and school, instead of peeling their Subaru out in the parking lot?

So anyhow, this is not a website about the single speed lifestyle. It's more about ways of life that are out there, outside the norm and adventurous. Frankly, if a fisherman in Greenland, who spent his days striving in the rough seas of the North Atlantic - but never rode a bike - wanted to post a blog I'd be all for it. Or the kid who lives in the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest and uses a sea kayak to get around...that would also make the cut.

So what is this website about? A few words come to mind. Self sufficiency. Utilitarian. Solo. Earth friendly. Simple. Soul. Core. Outdoor. Funky. Against the grain.

An image pops to mind. A few years back, I signed up for a canoe trip along the Colorado River with the CU Outdoor Program. A fun adventure through amazing red rocked desert (although something of a cluster at times). Three days into the trip, a kayaker came gliding by us. A woman. Solo. Clearly on an extended mission, based on her sheer quantity of gear. Smooth as hell, skilled at her craft. She gave our raucous crew a simple hello, and then glided around the next bend, unpretentious but with amazing grace.

That's what it's all about.

Tuesday, February 17

So I was in Comp USA today, searching for some computer shit for work, when I got distracted by one of those Playstation II consoles you see in places like Target, etc. So the featured game was DOWNHILL DOMINATION. Quite a representation of our sport. You get points for running over hikers and killing deer by landing on top of them. Whoever the fucking idiots were who came up with this game should be shot point blank in the head.

Searching through some old emails for something, when I happened upon our first invite to the first IGSSC. A lot of energy back then, a lot of stoke on the whole 1x1 thing. Gotta get back to that level, somehow, someway...

To all die-hard cyclists and their brethren,

BRATT (Berms Ramps and Teeter Totters) is pleased to announce a formal invitation to the largest and most prestigious Intergalactic Single Speed Championships Qualifier festival ride in the galaxy!

Yes, it's true, the Intergalactic Single-Speed Championships Pre-Race Qualifier night ride/ barley sampling(IGSSCPRQNR/BS) will be held in Nederland, Colorado, on Thursday night at 6:08 pm, the 14th of October 1999, pon arrival of the 5:40 PM RTD space destroyer to Nederland outer galaxy, Nederland, Boulder County, Colorado, USA, North America, World, Milky Way galaxy. This event is larger, darker, longer, and more uncut than any other Intergalactic Single-Speed Championships Pre-Race Qualifier night ride/ barley sampling races in any other galaxy! Forget the stupid "world championships" and such, they pale in comparison...Do they have Nederland? Do they have teeter totters? Anyone can ride a teeter totter in the day...the true test for the Jedi Warrior is riding a Teeter Totter under a black veil of darkness. Do they have trail guru/ Jedi Knight D*** "Skywalker" (name withheld to protect the innocent) guiding the fleet? Do they follow BRATT's 6 Rules of the Trails? No they don't, but the IGSSCPRQNR/BS does! (sort of) And we shall tour them all and make sure you all pound a local brew to honor each and every one of them! Oh yes!!!

We will begin with a space-ship bus ride up to the Nederland star system (bring 2$), and continue on with a spectacular ride-yet to be determined as far as you know...(may it rain and snow) we shall travel through asteroid fields, the moons of magnolia, the peak-to-peak galaxy, the ridges of Whit's baggies, and eventually return to Boulder. Everyone is welcome. Bring lights unless you are Obi-Won-Kanobi and can visualize the trail in complete darkness. OOOOhhhmmmm. Any bike will do. While BRATT strongly encourges OFS, the IGSSCPRQNR/BS is an equal opportunity event. X-wing fighter geared bikes are welcome. ‘Cross, Cruiser, Townie, Track, Junker, Roadie, Jalopy, Big Wheel, UniCycle, they are all welcome in the IGSSCPRQNR/BS.

The monumentous the Intergalactic Single-Speed Championships Pre-Race Qualifier night ride/ barley sampling event will conclude with barley sampling at a local Moss-Eisly Nederland tavern. There are numerous options how to return to death star Boulder. The RTP star destroyer returns from the outer galaxy Nederland to death star Boulder at 8:20 PM and 10:50 PM. Or, for the true Jedi Warrior, a stealth night ride attack to death star Boulder followed by a night of dancing your ass off at SOMA will conclude the Intergalactic Single-Speed Championships Pre-Race Qualifier night ride/ barley sampling. Just remember to use the force Luke. Thank you and hope to see you there!

Monday, February 16

About to fall asleep following an exceptionally active three day President's Day weekend. Winter fun abound, in the form of three days of snowboarding, a couple days of nordic skiing, one fairly large epic with friends and a couple of hikes up the hill with the pups. Fell back in love with snowboarding, an event corresponding exactly with my first true foray in '04 into the deep woods - Lewis and Clark, the alleys on the ridge. Note, this is not your standard image of tree skiing, such as you might see in Steamboat Springs with Billy Kidd turning through widely spaced Aspens. No, at Eldora, it's WOODS SKIING (or in this case snowboarding). Brace yourself, never stray with your balance, tree grabbing for survival, face scraping branches, Puff Ball jacket ripping woods. Shrapnel, really, when you take into consideration the numerous branches and rocks scattered about on the ground.

What it lacks in aesthetic pleasure, it more than makes up for in sheer adventure. Getting away from the crowds. If your lucky, maybe 5 to 10 turns in untracked powder, down a finger alley no wider and a twin bed. This is where I spent my weekend for the most part, sometimes with friends, and sometimes alone. A lot of work for a little bit of joy, but half the joy is in the work.

Yesterday, the Rollinsville Redneck, Meriweather and I tele-skied up from my home, to Eldora, out the backside and back home again. Always heard about this route, but until yesterday, never tried it. Highlights included a near vertical skin up sugary powder (two steps forward, one slide back), a few runs at Eldora, a hike along a wind scoured ridge at 10,500 feet above sea level, and best of all, an untracked gully. A hidden gem after, yes, a lot more work. Practiced our avalanche avoidance techniques by digging a pit and analyzing snow layers. Great fun, and useful stuff to know too. I don't know much, so I'm cautious. Want to keep doing these adventures for some time to come.

I forgot to mention the woods near the end of yesterdays adventure. Perhaps it was the denseness of them, the strangely shaped limbs or the creek running through them, but there was a stretch of forest that had an almost elvish, sacred feel about it. Hidden, and hard to get to, just the way it should be.

Feeling a charge to get OUT THERE, ski, board, bike, ski some more, the call of the wild, the call of adventure. The heart of winter, the charge of the cold of the snow. Would rather do that than rest. Rest when you're dead, I suppose.

Thursday, February 12

Been putting the nose to grindstone at work this week, so decided to reward myself with a morning of hooky. A perfect morning - fresh snow, brilliant blue skies and a temperature of 18 degrees below zero. Too cold for snowboarding, and freezing on the Eldora slow boat lifts, so waxed up the ancient white wooden skis and headed to Brainard Lake. A far cry from a weekend, as I was the only person up there. A good close to two hour ski before work, in perfect temperatures and splendid solitude. My skis were a little slow due to the cold snow, but it didn't matter. It feels like winter has finally arrived in earnest. After a few week hiatus, getting a stoke for riding the snowboard. The woods should be covered, if not super deep, so avoiding the crowds this weekend should be an option. Got to rev it up for a BIG adventure next weekend...cat skiing at Monarch Pass. I can't wait.

Wednesday, February 11

The heart of winter, and quite possibly the coldest night of the year tonight. It could easily drop to twenty below zero this evening. A Call of the Wild type night, so I'll quote some Jack London and leave it at that.

"Dark spruce forest frowned on either side of the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but a laughter more terrible than any sadness - a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the sphinx, a laughter as cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild - the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild."

Tuesday, February 10

Waxing the skis in the shed tonight. Three coats of blue-green for tomorrow, as they are predicting colder temps and snow. The smell of melting wax, the heat my small space heater puts out battling 18 degree temperatures outside, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush. Melt wax, iron in, repeat. And yet, for some reason, my thoughts today were on spring. On the roaring Boulder Creek. About a lush Pennsylvania Gulch, Johnny Rotten slung over the shoulder. About the Mount Toll snowfield in May. Barker Dam overflowing. I love winter, but I have no fear of spring. Rain, thunderstorms, the freak storm. Summer...that's another story. Heat, dryness, fire, smoke...I'd just assume it didn't exist, that spring ran from May to October, broken up only by winter. Let it snow, let it snow.

Sunday, February 8

Finished up a fabulous book about the 10th Mountain Division last night, Climb to Conquer : The Untold Story of WWII's 10th Mountain Division Ski Troops. I'm not particularly into military war history books myself, but the 10th Mountain Division is a unique story, and would interest anybody who is a winter or mountain sports enthusiast. The 10th Mountain Division was the army's ski troop division for World War II, and they trained just a stone's throw from here. Some amazing folks were in the group, including people who eventually started Aspen, Vail, Taos and a whole host of resorts. Somewhat surprisingly, David Brower, the Sierra Club legend, was also a commander in the 10th Mountain Division. Interestingly, because Brower later fought many of his division mates to protect the environment from ski area development in later year. Enough on that though...I recommend reading the book.

Motivated by the tenth, I decided to skin up from my house in Happy Valley, up over Happy Pass to Eldora. It was a splendid way to arrive at the mountain, away from traffic and whining 8-year old fat kids with ketchup on their face. A nice one hour long, 1,000 vertical foot climb to the mountain in windy conditions with light snow, getting the blood and muscles moving. This is where tele skiing truly shines - when the uphill component is added to the fray. Truth be told, I'd rather have a snowboard for most condition where the sole objective is downhill bliss. But that's the main limiting factor - it's downhill based, subject to technology for the most part to make it work efficiently.

The skin up was on many of the same routes I ride my bike on in the summer, only now it was covered with eight foot snow drifts. Arrived at the mountain, took seven or eight runs, and headed back the same way I came, feeling lucky as hell. Ski in ski out living, at about 1/30th the price someone in Vail would pay for the same luxury.

And thus concludes another weekend. But good times await this week. Nordic skiing in the mornings, in preparation for a slew of races coming up, including the Elk Mountain Traverse, and a much anticipated show by Gary Neptune on Thursday night about a cross country ski around the Arctic Circle. Good stuff, to fuel the soul for an upcoming THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!

Oh, and apparently I had the bird below identified wrong. That would be a Gray Jay, NOT a Mountain Chickadee.

Saturday, February 7

A spectacular day at 10,000 feet above sea level. Brilliant blue skies, not a breathe of wind and perfect ski trails at Brainard Lake, a 180 degree opposite from last week where we were skiing in pea soup conditions with heavy snow. The views were off the hook: Mt Toll, Audobon, Navaho, Arikaree - an awesome ring of 12,000 and 13,000 foot peaks along the Continental Divide - shimmering in the winter sky. The wooden white skis worked to perfection today, motoring uphill and gliding downhill like the just belonged there. It was crowded in the lot, but once you hit the trail we saw very few folks. At lunch, we were joined by a pair of obviously well fed Mountain Chickadees, feeding on scraps. A great day, away from it all, out in the woods, everything working. Suz even nailed a tricky, switchbacky downhill with grace and smoothness. And now, off to Mud Lake for yet another broom ball game.

Friday, February 6

Friday, finally. A long week of work, which caused an inner dilemna, because the snow is finally starting to fly in earnest around here. The more snow we get, the greater the pull into the outdoors, the slopes, the white trails. Finally relented this afternoon...bailed out of work, hopped the 2:10 bus to Ned, and hoped to get an hour hour of boarding in at Helldora. As it turned out, wind had shut down the mountain when I arrived, so I went home, worked some more, and shoveled the 10 inches of new snow off my struggling ice rink. Heavy snow and new ice rinks don't mix so well, but I'm not really complaining. It's an experiment more than anything else...something of a trial and error for next winter, when I'll start it up in November.

Tonight, we played broomball under a full moon at Mud Lake. Spectacular scenery, in a surreal way. For a bit, we even had small kerosene torches ringing the court - the homemade variety - creating something of a pagan environment. A very cool evening indeed, with the Rollinsville Rednecks and a bunch of PHD students from the flats sliding around and laughing to the gills. It's quite a game, as it takes the uber athletes among us and pretty much levels the playing field. Not being able to effectively move around tends to do that.

Tomorrow, another adventure on the Norwegian wooden skis. The anticipation is bordering on that of the first few times I rode my singlespeed. The skis just feel so good, so pure. It's the weekend!

Tuesday, February 3

In the shed tonight, waxing skis for an early A.M. session, I glanced over and saw my bikes - all three of them - resting contentedly. The midst of the off season, not determined by any training schedule, but by the cold, the snow, the heart of winter. Hard to believe that in two to three months time, we'll probably be pulling double sessions up and down the hill. For now, it's time to give the bike a break (with the exception of Friday lunchtime 1x1 rides) to keep the mind, soul and body fresh for springtime. Not like it's that much of a sacrifice. Snow is falling heavily tonight and the options - classic skiing, skate skiing, snowboarding, tele skiing, backcountry skiing on the Norsk woody's, hiking or just sitting indoors with a warm beverage and a hard back book - are nearly endless. If you fight winter, it'll kick your ass. If you embrace it, it will embrace you right back.

Monday, February 2

It's 10:13 p.m. and I'm building an ice rink. Filling, I guess would be the more appropriate word. I suppose I've been motivated by our recent broom ball games, because yesterday at around 4 p.m. I started flattening out an approximately 50 foot by 35 foot small rink in our front yard. Some left over 2x6 from book shelves never built serve as the end walls. Tried to make a layer of ice on snow to start with, but this proved to be futile, and while I suspect it would work it's not necessarily conducive to a quick set-up. So I picked up a couple $20 tarps at McGuckins, and as I type this, my rink is filling. Good weather for it too - 16 degrees and dropping, with not a cloud in the sky and the wind shockingly absent. When complete, it will be a beautiful venue, surrounded by Mineral Mountain to the north, Spencer to the south and the Continental Divide to the east. Locals will have a definite home ice advantage, as the rink will sit at 8,706 feet above sea level where the air is thin and the fox roam. Set up for night games too, utilizing white Christmas lights and kerosene torches around the perimeter.

A stellar weekend. The best of 2004, I'd venture. Saturday, my girlfriend and I headed to Brainard Lake to do a ski into the Indian Peaks Wilderness. For me, a Christmas gift of wooden Asnes Norwegian Army skis. Full on old school. Wax tip to tail with Polar for your glide wax, and then apply kick wax. Occasionally Pine Tar (still have that torch dad?). Anyhow, these skis are awesome. Sturdy and fast, they feel like hopping on a Columbus tubed steel bike after being relegated to aluminum for five years. We made great time and had a great time, rounding Brainard Lake, Long Lake via the Waltrop Trail and CMC trail. All in a snowstorm straight out of a Vermont Christmas Card. Followed this excursion up with another spirited Broom Ball game at Mud Lake. A small crowd, but oh my god was it fun. We were all doubled over laughing after the first minute. One thing about broom ball - you feel about eight years old when your playing. To hell with Yoga - want stress relief...play broom ball.