Thursday,
May 29
Saturday,
May 31
Had planned on getting a bright and early start this morning for some climbing up in the Indian Peaks, but by the time I got all my shit together, packed a lunch and found some lost sunglasses I didn't roll out of the house until around ten, much to late to have much chance of summiting anything during the monsoonal flow were having right now here in the Rockies. Gave it go nonetheless, and came close to topping out on 13,397 foot high South Arapahoe Peak (photo) before thunderheads moved dangerously close, and I decided to abort mission. Being above timberline on a scree field when lightning starts cracking is really not much fun.
I'm getting tired of heading into the hills in my trail running sneakers, which provide zero usefulness on snow and get soaked easily, so bit the bullet today and bought a set of sturdy climbing boots and an ice axe. I want to hike more mountains in the future, to supplement the cycling. The cool thing about Montezuma's Revenge: if you so desire, you can go for an all day backcountry ski or hike some mountain and forego the group road ride and still call it training. Hell, half the race is hiking, and an important part of being successful consists of hiking up a 14,000-plus foot peak in the middle of the night with your bike strapped to your back.
Excited to get and earlier start tommorrow and hopefully top out S. Arapahoe and give North Arapahoe a go as well. And heckle the tourists with my new ice axe as well!
One of those days where the ride didn't really materialize until late. By the time I got back from work, wolfed down some food, and got distracted by the fox cubs, I only had about an hour and a half to ride before darkness. Elected for the quick climb up to 4th of July Campground. Usually in this situation, I'd opt to climb 505, but since this is buried in snow, it's not an option. A fun ride despite the time limitations. Actually, felt fairly tired with about as much pep in the legs as a 1984 automatic Subaru station wagon, so it's probably good the ride was shorter.
The big news out of Boulder is that the creek is running at record levels and there is a fairly significant chance of flash floods over the next few weeks. It's been bloody warm lately, and the snow is going quickly, hence the high water levels. The driveway by a spendy eatery in Boulder Canyon washed out and a nearby super short but fun trail is currently under about 5 feet of water.
Most of the crew is heading the Rage in the Sage in Gunnison this weekend. I'm electing not to do it, in my concerted effort to not peak out too soon. A few years ago I rode the 44-mile expert loop at Rage in the Sage on a single in my pilots suit in 85 degree temps. A major sufferfest, and I lost about 10 pounds of water weight that day. This year I'm electing to play in the high country instead - maybe try to summit South Arapahoe or something to that effect. Good luck though to the Spot crew this weekend.
Thursday,
May 29Back in the 1890's, the Colorado Rocky Mountains were a region based on mining and the hard men and women who survived the rough life for the chance at striking gold and silver. And while there are a lot of elements to mining that definitely tweek me the wrong way – environmental damage being the main one – I feel a certain kinship to old prospectors. I imagine the miners used bicycles in the summer - probably of the singlespeed heavy clunker type - and skis in the winter as a way to get around in the mountains.
There's a ghost town near my home called Caribou, and 100 years ago it was a booming town of about 5,000 residents. An odd location for a town - It sits at 10,000-plus feet in one of the windiest, snowiest and least hospitipal areas in the county. Well, eventually the gold and silver dried up, the town suffered disease and fire, and Caribou was no more. There's a ride I do often, that connects Nederland to Happy Valley via Caribou on old mining roads. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I figured I'd give it a go for the first time this year last night.
It's important to understand that even in dry years, this route rarely is clear of snow by June 1. Logic would have it that in this year of above average snowfall, it would be basically unpassable via bicycle. Of course, I knew this, but for some idiotic reason the warm temps down in Boulder, and massive meltdown got me thinking...maybe it would go. Poor choice grasshopper.
The climb up to Caribou itself was uneventful. The dirt road was perfectly dry, and while the 34x18 gearing was less than ideal, it was possible to keep it moving at a relatively non-knee-destroying cadence. Topped out around 10,000 feet and crossed onto the sacred ground, Caribou Flats. This is one of my favorite areas, and also a place that brought me one of the worst heartaches of my life, when I saw the destruction from the 4-wheel drive fracas mud festival a few years ago. Mindless destruction of a beautiful place - there are few things in this world that piss me off more.
Moving on, began to cross the flats and encountered massive, and I do mean massive snowdrifts. Decided not to stress about it, and began a long, long walk across the flats, intersperced with a few dry sections that actually allowed riding. The alpenglow and complete lack of any other person certainly made up for the snow walk. Honestly, this trail is probably about a month away from being appealing to most folks - some of the drifts were 8 feet high and extended for 100 yards. This place must have been freaky 2 months ago after the big storm.
Began the descent, and continued walking through drifts. Never ending drifts. Passed a few carcasses of ungulates that must have gotten caught in the storm - either that or they got attacked by Bigfoot. Near the bottom, the southernly exposed trail eventually dried out, and I was actually able to ride into Happy Valley. Caught the last glimmer of the sun over the Continental Divide, saw the fox pups, and called it another great day in this corner of the universe. Click here to check out a few photos of the adventure.
Wednesday,
May 28Off Camber RIP my arse. Sorry about the site being down the last couple of days. You see, apparently my contract with www.offcamber.com had run out, and all the bastard 4-wheeler sites that are relegated to offcamber.net and such were trying to snag it from under the intergalactic pilots. Needless to say, they got their gas tanks blown up and we're back in business. Apparently CNN.com got some bad info.
Holy shit the river is ripping today! For the first time in two years Boulder Creek overflowed Barker Dam, creating a murky, muddy quagmire the entire way down Boulder Canyon and in the flats. I noticed a number of official folks standing on top of the dam this morning nervously, checking for cracks on the archaic concrete blockade. While it would cause mass destruction and death down here in Boulder if the dam did crack, there's certainly a side of me that would be curious to see the spectacle.
A couple of mini-adventures the last few days. Rode my standard commute yesterday - Sky Hexagon to Portuguese Man of War to Rock - in yesterday. Very warm, no need for long fingered gloves or booties or the like. On Monday slogged up to 4th of July Campground, and was surprised to find the road completely devoid of snow. What is not devoid of snow, however, are the peaks above F.O.J. campground. The mountains look so rad! There are some seriously sweet turns to be had up there - so much so that I believe I'm going to skip out on heat and dust of Rage in the Sage this year and spend the weekend above timberline.
Today, a commute home, although if it gets as hot as they predict I may skip the standard route and try to breakthrough either the Alabama Hill or Moose (suicide mission) routes and slide around the snow like a little kid.
As I write this, there is a thunderstorm sitting right the fuck on top of Happy Valley. I just heard the loudest thunderclap of my entire life - I though a plane had crashed into the side of Spencer Mountain. I sounded like a mortar shell smacked into our house. In the game where you count seconds from lightning to thunder, we are right now under one second. Glad to be inside and not up on Caribou or some nearby peak, playing the role of lightning rod.
Anyhow, went on a ride today with a reporter investigating the Magnolia Forest Restoration Project. A good time, and I learned a lot. Apparently, there is some method to the madness of the logging operation, as the Forest Service is trying to create a fire break in Lodgepole Pine stands which would, in theory, protect homes in Nederland and the Boulder Creek watershed. Still, it's an ugly proposition and who knows if the science behind it is spot on? Humans playing nature can always be a dicey proposition.
A few entries ago I was lamenting the fact that there is a lack of adventure on mountain bike rides here in Colorado because humans have eliminated the unknown and the somewhat threatening from our woods, ALA Alaska where you have to be on the look out for Grizzly Bears and such. Well, evidently, this might not be true. Check out www.bfro.net for the full story.
Saturday,
May 24Woke up this morning with legs feeling like I'd run a marathon from a hard week of playing in the mountains, so decided this would be a fantastic day to rest. Spring is in full effect here in Happy Valley. The hike up Spencer Mountain has become Spencer Creek, as the snow drifts are slowly giving way to power of the changing seasons. During our hike we saw a summer person, up from Denver no doubt, in khaki shorts and sneakers asking somewhat incredulously if there were any drifts left on the hike. Ummm yeah, big fucking drifts and a raging river. Tourists are funny.
Spent the evening working on my cyclocross bike, switching out cables, stuff like that. I got about a third though the project before I decided the passion wasn't there, and that it needed to wait for another day. I have to admit I don't have as much love for my "road/cross bike" as I do for either of my mountain bike or my single speed, despite the fact that it's a sweet Indy Fab. I started mountain biking in the early 90's, and didn't really even get on a road/cross bike till years later. It's still something of a foreign concept to me. While the process of working on my single or my geared MTB is simple in my brain, I feel disorganized working on my cross bike.
I guess when I think of my cross bike it's less about adventure and getting in the mountains, and more about riding the road on the flats and things like training. I ride for the Lewis and Clark element of our sport. Exploration, getting deep into nature, finding fresh singletrack, getting lost, hike-a-bikes, etc. I just seems like this is less likely to occur while riding a cross/road bike. That's ridiculous of course, because a cross bike is a great tool for riding dirt roads and even singletrack. I've had some great rides on this bike - a few years ago I was going through my "old school tour de france tough guy mode" and rode the Leadville 100 on it. I got shelled as the 90 psi tires rocked my body to hell, but it was kind of cool. I've also done some epic rides on dirt roads and singletrack. Still, the love affair with this bike lags.
Battled a few mosquitoes while working on the bike this evening. A sure sign summer is right around the corner.
Quite a comical ride this evening actually. I had planned on riding up the Shangri La Trail with Meriweather, but I was running late, and when I arrived at our meeting spot, no one was there. I decided to go on a suicidal attack up the 20-mile plus climb, trying to catch him. It was a futile attempt, since he was actually later than me and thus behind me, and spent most of the climb trying to catch me! We finally met up at the top of Shangri La, two-hours plus later. Needless to say, we both rode the route about 30 minutes faster than normal.
Saw a mother fox and about six cubs tonight way out in the woods that couldn't have been more than four weeks old. Amazing beauty and I fear for them. I hope people who encounter them have the decency to leave them alone. Memorial Day weekend has arrived, which is a mixed bag. It's good to get the time off, but the woods and creatures who live in them will encounter an onslaught of visitors after a six month vacation. Time for them to go deeper into the brush, escaping the chaos.
A note to mountain bikers visiting the trails this summer. Please ride in smaller groups this year - no more than five. Big groups attract more attention from local land owners and lead to closed trails. Many "social trails" have ended up closed in Boulder County because friends told friends about trails, who told more friends, and eventually the land owners get fed up and close the trail.
Ahh summer. The games begin. It's a busy time for those who subscribe to the theory "wilderness is the only thing worth saving."
Have exactly four minutes to blog before the bus comes to take me away up the hill. A double duty day. Rode the Hexagonal Sky Trail into work, and then hiked up Green Mountain with Burhop and Meriweather. Burhop laid down a vicious pace, sending us bike specific geeks into serious "drop prevention" mode. Clearly, more hiking is needed in the weekly adventure regimine. All in all, a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Time to go home and see if the LIVE FROM MOUNT EVEREST SUMMIT attempt on OLN TV is a success, or merely death on live TV.
Wednesday,
May 21A bit fatigued after alot of riding the last few days, and one more big one to come. Commuted up the road last night - an enjoyable but painful affair - in the cool crisp air. Tried to focus less on the actual momentary pain, and more on the motion of riding, the blur of the road, the surrounding hills. The herd of elk made an appearance at the top of Magnolia...always a welcome sight. Heard a rumor from a wood nymph King Nimby was scouting the situation on some Front Range trails "at the top of the hill" but I was unable to catch him.
This morning, met with Meriweather and Timmy for a commute in on a remote, but practical route. Spent the time moving deadfall from the winter, and discussing names for the trail, as the current one is too revealing and too industrial. I think I'm leaning towards the name "Portugese Man of War" right now, but looking for more ideas. A very warm morning, in stark contrast to yesterdays jaunt. Tonight, home with Meriweather along the historical Swizterland Trail route. Then in the next few days a few easier rides, some more recon of the clearcut, work, and then it's on to the much anticipated three day holiday! Who knows what adventures are in store for then, but I'd definitely vote for at least one day above treeline.
It's interesting to see the transitions in seasons just by scrolling through this months entries. The early month photos are all of rather snowy places, while lately we're moving into more pedal oriented photos. The passage of time, documented right here on this silly website.
Enough angry ranting about clear cuts and such for the time being. The wheels are turning among the troops, and action imminent to prevent more destruction from happening. The Intergalactic Single Speed Space Federation in full action! One more note though: it appears the root of the problem concerns who is actually monitoring the contracted logging operators. While the Forest Service may tell the contractors to do a certain thing, if it's not enforced it's a pretty safe bet the contractors will stretch the limits as far as they can. It seems to me the boundaries of standard fire mitigation have stretched and broken.
I would not have known about this issue if I did not ride a mountain bike, and would not know to fight to defend it. The whole John Muir theory proven: it's hard to gain a passion for the environment if you don't actually get to experience it. The feeling of riding through a clear cut area that used to be a pristine singlertrack is, I imagine, similar to seeing your dog get kicked by a stranger. Rage. The key is to channel the rage into something positive and keep at it.
I did have some quaint headline for this entry, as it started off a most enjoyable ride. The mist was thick in the highlands today, and I decided to give my standard singletrack commute a go for the first time this year - on the sky trapezoid trail and the banana blotch routes. It was a beautiful ride through the mist, mostly devoid of snow and mud, with just a few drifts to tromp over.
It was damp and about 35 degrees out, but I was prepared. Singlespeed bike (to avoid maintenance issues due to the moisture), a wool Spot jersey, leg warmers, Nema's and my Lake winter riding shoes. Windbreaker and wind pants for the open sections, and a down jacket for the big decent down to down. Wish I'd figured that one out about 10 years ago - would've saved a lot of painfully cold descents. A technological breakthrough for me this year: tubeless tires on the single. Very nice - can run about 25 pounds of pressure, making for plush and tacky traction. Tubeless tires are good technology, in that they can make life simpler. Sort of like the answering machine.
Anyhow, all was bright and chipper until I happened to come upon the Boulder County...ahem..."Forest Thinning Project." Let me prefice this by saying I'm not completely against forest thinning to prevent fires. The idea of a couple crews with chain saws, led by a naturalist, picking trees that are unhealthy and cutting them down to provide space for other trees seems like a good concept.
This is NOT what is going on in the Magnolia Forest Fire Mitigation Project. For lack of better terms, it's a full on clear cut. You can be pretty sure there won't be a fire anytime soon, since there are no trees anymore. Basically, the whole area at the end of Blue Dot and beginning of Yellow Dot is gone. Pine tree: gone. Aspen trees: destroyed. Habitat for the animals that lived there: eliminated. Believe me, I've ridden through this area every day for the past five years and I've seen tons of animals that used to call this home. Now it's basically a shrapnelled wasteland.
Yes it's true, the area will revegitate and come back. However, for Boulder County Forest District to call this fire mitigation is a complete scam. Here's what it is: They're commissioning loggers to come in, clear it out, and make a nice in profit in return. I wonder if a naturalist was even involved in the process?
To the local environmental groups: WHERE ARE YOU? We need your help.
Anyhow, I feel the need to try to do something, make a difference. If the clear cutters move a quarter mile to the west on the northern slope, between the tree you have to duck under and the open meadow with the fall line climb, they're going to have a war on their hands. This is pristine lush forest, and is habitat for tons of animals. Click here for images of the grim reality.
Sunday,
May 18A mellow day. Did my standard hike up 9,650-foot high Spencer Mountain (photo) - a nice hour and a half diversion. Mud season is in full effect here. Streams of water rush underneath the large sections of snow, creating an eerie hollow sound when walked upon. This hike, which in the summer and winter is quite popular among the locals, has all but been deserted the last week, as the melting snow creates a messy proposition. Not quite enough snow to bring skis, but definitely too much for light hiking boots. So I resort to Sorels, plopping through the puddles with my dogs like an 8 year old.
I'm trying to add more hiking in the hills to my standard "training" repotoire. Good for 'zuma, and it's nice to be in the mountains at a different pace too. Plus, you can't really bike anything right now in Happy Valley - lots of snow and muck. Seems like Happy Valley is about a month behind the folks in the Magnolia galaxy in terms of melt down.
While summer and winter certainly hold their delights in the mountains, my favorite two seasons are right after winter and right before snow flies. The skiers, bikers and leaf watchers have gone home, leaving splendid solitude to those who seek it. A note to all: please stay off the trails west of Peak to Peak for the time being. While they may be passable in places, they are super muddy, which will trash them. There will be plenty of time to ride trails up here soon.
They are predicting a small snowstorm and cold front tomorrow. The weather man just said the temperature in Jackson Hole, Wyoming - about 350 miles to the north - right now is 30 degrees. Sweetness! I love storms. While some people live for the lazy, sunny days of summer, I find my energy level increases exponentially when things cloud up, the temperature drops, and precipitation starts falling from the sky. I'm going to ride in tomorrow AM nonetheless. That ride in the storm a week or so ago was so fun, I want a repeat performance. Singlespeed is ready, and I packed my down jacket in my bag just in case the descent down Magnolia is brutal. Always be prepared.
A big week for any New Englander like myself. The Boston Red Sox play the evil empire - aka the New York Yankees. The teams are tied for first place. Unlike most bikers, I actually like baseball. Not the salaries, the egos and hype, but the smell of a leather glove, the fire flies hovering around the stadium lights at night and the mellow chill atmosphere of most games. Being a Red Sox fan is basically a family-passed-on curse. Without exception, the team will start off like a canon, and then pull a full on choke by the end of the year. Hopes rise, and then hopes are dashed. The team has not won a championship since 1918. The same scenario will without a doubt happen again this year, but New Englanders everywhere will savor this week nonetheless.
Thanks for reading, and have plenty of adventures in your week to come. And for you Monday morning surfers, check out this gem from King Nimby.
Rode the Apex Trail in Golden today, after a long day of sitting in the sun and wind working a booth at the grand opening of a bike shop in Aurora. It's funny - I have a pretty good grasp of the trails in the 80466 zip code, but I've never ridden many of the classic routes in Denver. Basically, I hate driving, so my motivation to head down there is low. Today, I happened to be in the area, and got to give Apex a whirl for the first time.
What a fun trail. Lots of swooping singletrack, switchbacks, and one trail, Enchanted Forest, that reminded me of the Pacific Northwest with the lush vegetation. It wasn't exactly the solitairy ride, but it was cool to see so many considerate bikers having a good time. Pretty phenomenal that this trail sits minutes outside of one of the largest metro areas in the world.
One of my favorite things to do on a singlespeed is climb, and there was no shortage of that at Apex. My 34x18 gear was stiff, and I had to walk some stuff, but all in all it worked well. I definitely like the simplicity and cut and dry nature of big climbs on the single. Basically, you're either strong enough to make it or you are not. Front wheel washout, common in low gear spinning, is a non-factor on a single, so that frustration is eliminated. I'm too sleepy right now, but someday I'll go on about singlespeed simplicity. Good night.
As many of you know, I work for a nonprofit mountain biking organization out of Boulder. As part of our staff duties, we're often called upon to "grease the skids" as they say, "be professional" and shmooze with the industry folks. As part of this responsibility, I'm spending a large portion of the latter part of this week in what could be deemed the armpit of Colorado: Aurora. You see, Bicycle Village has opened a new bike shop that is apparently the "BIGGEST BIKE SHOP IN THE WORLD." Actually, it's all good - they're supporting our organization, and it seems like an darned nice shop. A far cry from your typical local bike shop, mind you, but a nice shop nonetheless. Definitely closer to Performance, than say Happy Trails, though.
Tomorrow I'll be working a booth in Aurora convincing newcomers and bike purchasers to join our organization, but more importantly, hopefully introduce them to some sort of code of ethics of the sport of mountain biking. Whatever. It would be easy to be cynical about the whole thing: the multimillionaires running the business who likely have never even been on an epic ride, the corporate sellout feel, the bloody Primal Wear gear. And in a sense, I am cynical about it, but then again, it's a great opportunity to stoke some people on the sport, get them in the outdoors and one step closer to realizing the only thing left worth saving is wilderness. And if they learn to yield to the uphill rider, that's a good thing too.
Managed to break away today for a nice Montezuma-style adventure straight-the-fuck-up from Eldora township to Eldora Ski Area. Sort of ski/hike combo event without crossing any roads or seeing another person. Come to think of it, the only other living thing I saw was a Grouse-type bird of some sort. Not surprising, since I can't imagine most animals would enjoy trudging through knee deep spring snow. A good time right outside the home- summitted a peak, got a nice workout in and spent quality time with the dogs.
A now a plug for a new story on Off Camber. One of our pilot friends used to be quite heavily involved in the whole bike industry thing. Living the dream so to speak. Or not. Nonetheless, here's a damned fine story about the industry, burned bridges, Gary Fisher and other niceties.
Hmm...go away clouds, and let the moon shine through. We'll keep you posted on the status of all that.
Went on a most enjoyable ride yesterday evening with Megan the Red and Meriweather up my favorite commuting route: 7.56-kilometer Canyon, to High Noon to Neutral Trail to Death Zone to Death Zone and finally up and away to Happy Valley. The route was completely dry, the pace was mellow and the company good. As Meriweather mentioned in his blog, we chatted so much the time just flew by.
For some reason, the ride got me thinking back to last years trip Meriweather and I took up to Alaska. That was, without a doubt some of the most amazing adventure riding I've ever embarked on. Not so much for the trails themselves, which were not really the classic singletrack dream, or even the scenery, which was absolutely stunning. The great thing about Alaska was the fact that you had to be prepared for the elements. Heck, riding out there, we weren't even the highest creature on the food chain - that would be reserved for the good old Grizzly Bear. Were we to get hurt and stranded, it was quite possible that we wouldn't be found until hunting season.
Man, there are a lot of memories from this trip: the incredibly wet but amazing ride on Johnson Pass, riding down a creek bed on the Eagle Trail at midnight, a porcupine keeping us up all night by gnawing on the siding of the old mining cabin we were staying in. The list goes on and on. Needless to say, Alaska still holds a pull on me. The perfect bike for there: a rigid titanium (to avoid rust) singlespeed with disk brakes (too wet for conventional equipment).
Anyhow, I sometimes get a little bored riding out here, because, with the exception of thunderstorms and hypothermia, there really aren't any natural things you have to be alert for. I've heard there are mountain lions in these hills, although I've never seen one. Dammit - I want to ride through the woods and know that there is something out there that could actually eat me! We've sanitized our corner of the world to the point of insanity.
I finally believe spring is here. On my hike up Spencer Mountain this morning with the pups, I noticed that Boulder Creek rose significantly last night as the snow in the above timberline peaks begins to melt. The creeks roar echoes across the entire Happy Valley, audible from 1,000 feet above. I predict one more snowstorm, a few little flurries, and then we're into summer. It's still very snowy on anything above 8,000 feet. Seven feet of snow - even two months later - packs a powerful punch.
Someone recently asked why we take the time to update this website and the blogs. Well, for one, I like to document this stuff, and two, hopefully it'll motivate folks to get out of the rut and onto the bike. Looking for a good adventure well worth your time? Check out the 24 Hours of Light, held in Whitehorse, Yukon, June 28-29, 2003. Whit and I went up here last year and had a blast. The perfect itinerary: fly to Juneau, take the boat to Skagway, and then it's a short 100 mile trek over to Whitehorse as opposed to driving 14 hours from Anchorage. Get yer ass up there!
Tuesday,
May 13Ramping up the adventures this week, but nothing will compare to what our Pilot correspondant Nate in Ecuador is doing right now. Check out that mountain and this short report below:
On thursday, I went with some other hikers and some guides to the climber's refuge on Cotopaxi, a volcano near here. we slept at the refuge at over 15,000' for a little while, then started up the mountain at 1 am. The snowline was 1.5 hours up. we put on crampons and roped up and plodded along to the top for sunrise at 19,300'. I puked my guts out on the summit, and again on the way down. Epic. Then on saturday I went to the biggest waterfall in ecuador, and saw and tiny town local rodeo (get drunk and tease the bull, but don't kill it).
Pretty worked over from yesterdays excursion, so decided to do the wise thing and completely and totally chill. Well, I did have to go to work, but no rides or adventures to speak of. Spent part of the morning running errands in Denver and Westminster. Completely different environment from where I live, and wouldn't want to live there. That said, it would be easy to launch into the typical tirade against suburban hell and sprawl, but I'm not in the mood today. I think there is beauty everywhere, Westminster suburbia included. The views of the snowcovered peaks over the terminus of the Great Plains is awe inspiring, and I saw lots of birds and rodent-like wildlife off to the side of the road.
While it may seem that adventure in a place with malls, and tract (sp?) housing is out of the question, I believe there is opportunity anywhere if one seeks it. I suspect a ride across the many dirt roads found in the eastern plains under a full moon on a nice steel cyclocross frame would definitely be an intergalactic experience, as would exploring the bike paths and routes at dawn, listening to the birds and watching the day and life begin as the sun warms planet earth. If there are any prosepective pilots living out in this part of the galaxy, contact us and take us for a ride!
That was quite an adventure today in Timmy's blog. Never climbed Lickskillet myself. Nice work Timmy, and on a Monday morning to boot!
Finally, take note of the event above, and check out the May 8 entry for more info. The next lunar eclipse on November 8 - a Saturday night. It's a bit late in the year, but how about scheduling a lower elevation night ride that date and make it this year Intergalactic Single Speed Championships? Email us on at galacticpilot@hotmail.com for feedback on this idea, or other ideas you might have for the 2003 Intergalactic Single Speed Champs.
Sunday,
May 11Happy Mothers Day mom!
To celebrate, Meriweather and I embarked on a major slog today, into the Indian Peaks Wilderness via Hessie (trying to find some connection between this and Mothers Day but failing miserably). We initially had visions of making perfect figure-8 champagne powder turns in all of our fresh snow, but it soon became apparent this was not going to happen. Despite the large quantities of new snow, which ensure we will have plenty of great backcountry conditions this year through at least July, the snow was also was super sloppy and heavy, guarenteeing that we would suffer on this day.
We headed out of Hessie and up the drainage toward Woodland Lake and Devils Thumb relatively bright and early at 8 a.m. The first thirty minutes or so were great - the snow was cold, and we were making good time. Whit was on his tele set-up and I was on my split decision snowboard. It was a beautiful morning, and we enjoyed the sights and sound of the forest. Soon, however, the snow warmed up and began sticking to our skis. Whit brought a stick of yellow wax, and this actually worked fairly well initially keeping the snow off the skins.
Things were still going solid, until, in an effort to knock the snow off my skis, I snapped my pole. Hmmm...this would have been a clear case for mission abort, but no, we are pilots. Doing my best MacGuyver immitation, I found a stick, whittled it down, and shoved it into my pole shaft and duct taped the two snapped pieces together, which produced a fairly functional, if not somewhat crooked ski pole.
Onward we climbed, the canyon walls narrowing and the snow getting even stickier as the sun rose. We were not completely confident in the snow conditions regarding avalanches. There were a lot of different layers, and some serious slough potential. We did see some seriously rad terrain for future adventures, but these will have to wait until later in the season until the snow consolidates.
After some mega slogging at about .5 miles per hour up some steep wooded slopes, we were beginning to realize that Devils Thumb and the divide were out of the question today. Plan B - we began an ascent up something called Chittenden Mountain with aspirations of skiing some glades before calling it a day. After lots of map and GPS consulting, we eventually found our way to a totally unexpected wide open valley ringed by awesome peaks that are going to make for some great skiing in the upcoming weeks and months. Nice moderate slope stuff, above treeline and relatively safe.
At somepoint during our slog through the woods, I managed to snap my tree branch repaired pole. Unfortunately, while split decision snowboards are a great concept for going straight up a slope and straight down, they pretty much suck for any extended touring. Descending on them while split without skins on is a seriously challenging endeavor, and I managed to snap the pole while falling doing exactly that. I got to do my best old school Norwegian one pole skier immitation for the rest of trip. If only I'd had a pair of wooden 250 cm skis to cap it off.
We eventually made our way to the ridge where we made some fun turns and descended through the glades through super dooper slushy snow. Whit called it the heaviest snow he had ever seen and I have to agree. From here, it was an hour and a half slog back across flats and slight decents to the car. All told - nine hours of adventure at 10,000-plus feet above sea level. While we didn't find the best turns ever, and basically got our butts kicked by the mountain and heavy snow, we did discover some new terrain that will definitely yield some great ski adventures in the future.
On some days you have to pay the piper for the primo days to come. Today was one of those days. In our society we're often too concerned with making sure every experience we have is awesome, and we have little acceptance for lifes twists and turns that throw a wrench in our plans. I always find it sort of strange, how, when everyone describes their weekend ski or ride or whatever, the snow was always perfect or the ride was the best ever. It's almost like a little competitive game people play with each other.
Maybe I'm just going to the wrong places, but I've experience plenty of days, be it biking, skiing or whatever, that are far from perfect, whether it be skiing in garbage bags because of torrential rainfall, mechanicals on a bike ride or whatever. Yet these days are what keep life interesting - they don't take away from the experience...they are the experience. The key is to keep having fun and stay positive when the shit goes down. Here's to lots more adventures and the good, bad and ugly that accomodate them - in the near future.
Saturday,
May 10Winter is back in the 80466 area code in full swing. Received more than a foot of snow last night and today. My first thought was, "Poor Timmy." Ah well, no worries Timmy, it'll melt soon enough. Nonetheless, we've got to get that guy on a pair of backcountry skis for the winters here. Keeps the mountain biking adventure feel running 12 months of the year. Speaking of Timmy, it's good to see the pilots will be well represented at the Bjork concert. Timmy was telling me he went to see them in 1986 when they were the Sugarcubes. I think I was in 7th grade listening to Def Leopard at the time, but nonetheless, I'm super stoked to see my first Red Rocks non-Rave On the Rocks in quite some time.
Went for a great backcountry ski up towards Devils Thumb with Suz and the doggies (photo). We didn't get anywhere near D.T., but it was a fun slog breaking trail through deep heavy powder nonetheless. The only bummer of the day - had a bit of a verbal war with a guy who had a dog off leash, completely out of voice control, that almost got in a scrap with my dog. I have a tough time dealing with folks who ignorantly refuse to put their dog on a leash. First of all, not all dogs out there are friendly to other dogs, and it's irresponsible to let your dog just run up to other dogs thinking that they are. Secondly, if a dog is out of control to the point that it will run up to other dogs without thinking twice, what's to stop it from chasing wildlife all across kingdom come?
The guy was a real class act. He was silent as a mole until he got into his brand new Toyota Land Cruiser (California plates of course), at which point he got bold enough to roll down his window, threaten to shoot my dogs and run me over. I suppose it's easy to be bold behind the wheel of a two-ton SUV. Kind of scary that people like that are allowed on the road. I've gotten pretty pissed off in my life, but I've never even thought about threatening to run someone over or shoot their pets, bluff or no bluff. Anyway, no sense letting folks like that ruin your day.
Meriweather and I are planning a big adventure tomorrow into the Indian Peaks. Split Decision is ready to go, sandwiches are made, and the snow should be mid-season like. The good life.
Got some photos from Josh from the recent Fruita Fat Tire Festival. Enjoy.
Today was a rather interesting commute into work. Upon awakening, I looked outside and noticed Happy Valley had been transformed into Foggy Valley and there was about an inch of snow on the ground. Not to worry though...pretty much every day for the past three weeks the weather in Eldora has been considerable worse than anywhere else in the 80466-galaxy, and I figured this was just a repeat performance. As I started my ride out of the valley, across Outer Mongolia to West Magnolia, conditions were not realy improving much. Visibility was about 15 feet, there was a nice icy mist in the air, and the only thing breaking up the grey monotony was my bright orange Johnny Rotten.
These are really not ideal conditions for exploring singletrack, and I was running late to boot, so of course being the logical chap that I am I decided to see if my standard summer singletrack route was dry. The first stretch, which is about 1/4 mile long was in fact dry, so instead of taking the logical bail out, I was drawn in by more singletrack. This next section was a more serious commitment, about 2 miles long. It was good going for the first 250 yards or so, and then the snow drifts began. And kept going. And going. Drifts extended as far as the eye could see, miles long in all directions.
The situation was dire. I shouldered the bike and headed up and over the hill back to Magnolia road, when right in front of me, tada, a singletrack trail I'd never seen before. Any day that you find new singletrack is a good day, but especially one when it's foggy, snowy, and 34 degrees out. Perfect. Followed my new singletrack quite a while before it to got dissolved in snowbanks. No worries...there will be time enough to explore that.
Bailed out onto Magnolia Road, having covered about 1 mile in the past 45 minutes. The fog thickened, and I was beginning to dread the decent down Magnolia, especially since I was already slightly chilled riding the rolling terrain on Mag Road. Through the fog, I passed a herd of about 30 elk. They huddled closely together, I suppose as a method of protecting themselves. I noticed one Elk however, standing away from the crowd, standing tall, looking me over with a sort of curious scorn. I wonder if he (or she) was some sort of leader of the herd?
Moving on, the decent down Magnolia pave begins. Visibility is pretty much non-existent, my brakes are not working, it's wet and cold. Not the coldest decent I've done, but right up there. My saving grace - I made a thermos of Hot Chocolate this morning, so every five minutes or so I'd stop and take a few swigs from that. I arrived at work cold, but not the stupidly hypothermic cold that I've achieved before.
All in all a great morning - eerie foggy conditions, johnny rotten riding smooth, discovered a new trail, rode singletrack, saw some elk and hot chocolate. Not a bad way to cap off the week. I figure if you are having fun riding your bike you'll do well when it matters, and right now I'm having as much fun riding as I ever had. Hell, I get giddy thinking about how much fun that lunar eclipse ride is going to be.
It looks like Old Man Winter is gathering the troops this weekend to make one last stand. They are predicting a foot of snow in the northern and central rockies, and I'm going to enjoy it. A perfect weekend for ski adventures through the forest, spinning some records, lighting up the fireplace and enjoying the good life that the mountains provide.
A brilliant ride home last night up Magnolia. Cool temps, and feeling relatively solid for this early in the year. The meadow after you crest the pavement was just rad looking in the late day sunlight. Of course, I paid the price for that ride today, feeling like I got drop kicked by Mia Hamm, but it was a nice excuse to take the day off, walk the hounds in the morning by the creek, and ride the intergalactic space bus into work.
The weekend is near, and the next adventure is being planned. Purchased a pretty sweet book, "Front Range Descents: Spring & Summer Skiing & Snowboarding in Colorado's Front Range " which has a cornocopia of cool activities for the next few months.
Finally, an event to announce. Next Thursday, May 15 will be the Intergalactic Singlsespeed Lunar Eclipse Ride. Between 8:03 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. the moon will be in full lunar eclipse, meaning all intergalactic pilots will be called to duty for this most important mission. The event will commence at 6:00 p.m. with dinner at the Rio Grande Space Restaurant in Boulder. After imbibing a space dinner and Intergalactic Margarita's, riders will pass Eben-G-Fine park at approximately 7:15 to pick up any straggling pilots. Finally, we will visit the Batasso Galaxy, circling the loop under the climax of the eclipse. Lunar Eclipse means it gets dark, so brinng your lights, and for all Intergalactic Pilots, full uniforms. For Mountain resident pilots, a planetary vehicle will be available for a commute home. Click here for a story about the last Intergalactic Lunar Eclipse ride many eons ago.
Another hectic day at work today, but who really cares. Going to try the Sugarloaf route home today. They've been digging up a pipeline on this road for the past year, making it off limits to bikes, but apparentely there is a break in construction before it's closed again. The sun just popped through after an all cloudy day, so it should be good. That's all for now.
Stellar commute into work this morning. Perfect temperature, no wind, blue skies. Feeling a bit spry this morning, jonesing for singletrack, and anticipating a long day at work, so decided to add the Batasso Loop onto my Magnolia ride in. There was very cool moment, when I saw Timmy and the Mexican decending down Magnolia at the exact moment across the canyon that I was heading up Sugarloaf. We spotted each other across the void, gave a greeting whoop that echoed off the canyon walls and over the drone of traffic and Boulder Creek, and they headed their way and I headed mine.
Crazy day at work as the deadline for our next newsletter looms. The best way to work however - controlled chaos. Hopefully, out of the quagmire comes something brilliant. Somehow managed to get a ride in this evening - Batasso again - on the Moots. A nice bike that is definitely growing on me. A bike ride in the mountains is the perfect recharge on crazed days. Working late tonight, in my cove on the foot of the Rockies, blacklights shimmering and...gasp...teeny bopper skater chick Avril Lavigne tonights i-pod choice. Windy tonight, with a blustery feel, meaning tomorrows commute to work could be a fun one. Gotta run!
Sunday,
May 4After Fruita last week, and the Nebraska Hill adventure on Easter Sunday, it seemed motivation was a bit low for an all day backcountry epic among the intergalactic pilots. Took the opportunity to head up the I-70 space corridor and enjoy some very variable snow conditions at Arapahoe Basin in the Pluto Galaxy. I'm not sure what it's like where you live, but here in Colorado it doesn't feel very spring like. It was an absolute white-out blizzard on the top of Loveland, and it's snowing and blowing quite hard right now in Happy Valley. I don't mind - come July and the 100 degree days down on the flats we'll be wishing for a freak snow storm.
Skied up over Spencer Mountain and got a look at Tennessee Mountain, which in the summer is my main commute home. It's looking pretty snowy right now, and I have a hard time believing I'll be riding this anytime soon. Some of my favorite rides are up and over this mountain in a misty rainstorm, and then decending down through the fog into Happy Valley. Fun stuff but we'll have to wait. The funny thing is, this is just a normal year snow-wise, but we've all been spoiled by our last three drought years. I remember back in '95 the Boulder Creek Path was flooded and Rollins Pass wasn't passable until September. I doubt we'll have a repeat of that, but it's not out of the question.
On Friday I rode the Boulder classic route, Batasso Loop, in the evening with my girlfriend. This trail is heavily used, but it was so nice to be riding singletrack. Even better, the entire surrounding hillside was a brilliant shade of green!
Found a pretty cool website today, the National Geographic photo of the day who are also responsible for this stellar shot of the Antarctic Desert on this entry. Now there's a cool job – National Geographic Photographer. Travel around the world, immersing oneself in different cultures and having a forum for artistic expression. Even more importantly, they motivate one to leave the comforts of home and check out the big, beautiful world, whether it be Tennessee Mountain or Iceland. As Bjork says in one of her ballads, "If travel is searching, and home what's been found. I'm not stopping."
Hmmm. Just realized I have no fucking idea what I want to do when I grow up. And I kind of like it that way.
Feeling a bit agitated. I'm starting to anticipate the summer onslaught of motos, 4-wheelers, mountain bikers on group rides and endless traffic. I get antsy because I fear for our backyard...the surrounding woods and mountains. I think most people respect nature, and recreate in a way that is according to this. Nonetheless, I've seen a lot of things in the past few years that get the blood boiling – moto's cutting new trails across the forest canopy, 4-wheelers high pointing on pristine meadows, vagrants littering West Mag and even mountain bikers cutting trees for stunts and to make challenging sections easier.
You do what you can to help defend the wilderness, but it gets challenging. You pick up trash, but the next week it's back. Unless we start going to all out war and start carrying shot guns in our Camelbaks, it's going to be challenging to stop the motos from cutting new trails. The Forest Service doesn't enforce anything however, so you're sort of forced into a self police situation. To many fucking people...therein lies the root of the problem. We all want place to ride our bikes, hike, birdwatch, moto, hunt...whatever...but there are simply too many bloody people.
Saw an article in the paper about taking the wolf off the endangered species list, in part, because Wyoming politicians are concerned that the Elk harvest has been down the past few years and they blame this on the big bad wolf. Basically, this would put an open season back on wolves, just a decade after they've finally been re-established. Even if the claim that wolves are lowering the Elk Harvest number is true - and there is zero evidence to back this theory - it seems pretty fucked up that we humans think we have the God given right to kill one animal just so people can come and shoot another.
Had an interesting run in today with the law. Was driving home to Eldora from Nederland when I decided to stop at the Nederland High School trailhead that is so popular among people looking to ride the West Mag trails. I wanted to hike the trails and see how much snow is on them. Upon a quick recon found that there is still a lot of snow with some big drifts. Got back to my car and a police officer was walking up to the trail, trying to figure out what I was doing. He asked me some questions and ran my I.D. Apparently the trailhead is right next to a water treatment plant, so the 5-0 is extra concerned about trespassers. Nothing came of it, but I wonder if the police realize that more than 100 mountain bikers pedal past that very spot on a typical weekend summer day.
In other news...just read that mountain bike racing is in trouble. Events are being cancelled, prize money being nixed, sponsors pulling out. No big surprise there really. The sport of traditional mountain bike racing has simply gone the way of the dinosaur, and there are always those who will lose out. It's a bit hard living in the pro-mecca of Boulder to keep perspective on these things, but I'm pretty sure 99.5% of avid mountain bikers in this country don't give a rats ass about all this. Races are great, and the sport flourished back in the day of $20 entry fees with a t-shirt and epic point-to-point races. Toss in a good buritto feed afterwards and now your talking. Counter this with the current day NORBA Nationals, held on boring courses in dusty ski areas in the same bloody locations year in and year out. No wonder it's gone defunct.
Basically, race organizers decided that putting on races should be something you make a profit on, and once this happens, the every day Joe Blow racer starts to suffer. Higher entry fees and courses with the creativity of a Olympic swimming pool are driving folks away. It's hard to predict where the future lies, but it sure seems like 24 Hour races and combo adventure race type things are fairly popular. And while were at it, how about some aspiring movie director take a crew of these honch racer types and do an adventure, travel around the world style film ala "Endless Summer" with a real plot and less mindless locking it up down scree fields. Something with soul.
The whims of the mountain bike racing world, NORBA and all that. Doesn't really matter too much when you're ripping down some trail on your single just as the sky turns that reddish hew at dusk. That's the soul and beauty of the sport, and no ski area expo, box van or rat lab race course has ever succeeded in capturing it.
Friday,
May 2Did not attempt the break through of the north side of Switzerland Trail Galaxy last night, so the report on that will have to wait another day. Running a bit late last night so I commuted home on something that I almost never do - Boulder Canyon Interstellar Highway. A good workout with 3,000 feet of climbing but holy shit that thing is scary. It's not so much the cars that freak me out...it's the drivers. I know for a fact that most drivers are probably paying 75% attention most of the time they are at the wheel. Their minds are elsewhere, flipping the stereo, eating french fries or gabbing on their cellies. How easy it would be for one of those fucks to swerve their fucking F-250 two feet to the right. Game, set, match. Needless to say, it was a less than pleasant ride.
Got up early this morning, and after brewing some Yerbe Matte and listening to some records, began my commute down to work about 45 minutes earlier than normal. A balmy 24 degrees in Happy Valley, and the sun never really rose high enough to warm things up. No worries though - todays i-pod selection was Chemical Brothers "Surrender" which made for a groovealicious spin on the single down to work.
I just received word that the Single de Mayo event has been changed to NEXT THURSDAY May 8, 2003. More info as it comes in from the Intergalactic HQ. Finally, I guess the corporate slogs over at VELO NEWS (See Wednesday's entry) have published info about the upcoming Kokopelli Race and Grand Loop races, meaning Mike Curiak – who is not a promoter but simply a honch rider looking to put on a fun and challenging get-together sans prize money, porta potties and insurance hassles – is getting inundated with email from folks looking for info. Apparently this website is referenced as the place to check out info on the Kokopelli Trail, so you can do that by clicking here.
My friends who live on Magnolia always boast to me that, depite the relatively high elevation, they live in something of a "banana belt." And they're right...the trails dry out sooner and it's invariably sunny and warm every time I pass through the Magnolia Galaxy.
I however, live in Eldora. By the way the crow flies, Eldora is only about 5 miles from Magnolia but it might as well be on the moon. While the soft, sun-kissed Magnolians bask in their hammocks, and play in their half pipes, Eldorans battle 8 foot drifts and 50 mile per hour winds 9 freaking months of the year. You see, we're close enough to the Continental Divide that we get snow pretty much every time any little rinky dink system moves in. And then there is the wind. The wind comes off the high rocky divide and funnels down two canyons converging in Eldora to create an effect akin to those summit shots of Everest when that massive plume is blowing. The wind can make the four mile spin from Nederland to Happy Valley similar to that scene in the movie "Perfect Storm" when the boat was about to sink.
This morning was a classic example. I wake up for my ride down to work, and in my morning stupor notice that there are 2 inches of fresh snow on the ground. Happy May Day! No worries though - I pedal to Magnolia (the shelf road/West Mag connector is dry!) and it's balmy as all hell. I feel like snoop dog rolling through the LBC with my top dropped down. Riding gears today, so this section passes quickly, and the decent begins. It's cloudy in the flats, meaning inversion. Inversion means cold and damp conditions, ensuring that I arrive in Boulder in a near hypothermic state after a 3,000 foot decent.
All part of spring time in the Rockies. Tonight, I'm debating a suicidal attempt at breaking through the north side of the Switzerland Trail to Peak to Peak. There's about a 2 percent chance this will actually work, but like Shakelton trying to bust through the polar ice cap to reach the South Pole, we must try.