Now that Ski Country USA is finally starting to get their fair share of snow I’ve actually begun collecting some helmet cam ski footage. Besides, what’s the fun of watching helmet cam footage of long road rides?
Please, take a quick 60 second bump run with me. Today’s interval sessions, if you will. Turn up the volume for some mid-80’s rap, yall. Set me up, Rev.
Well, Happy New Year to everyone. Here’s to hoping that 2012 is bigger and better than ever.
January means it’s high time to start doing my homework again. And so far, this winter’s been a complete role-reversal to last year at this time.
The ski resorts are dry, while the Big D saw twice its average December snowfall.
Recent mountain bike rides have meant spending more time washing the 6 lbs of mud off my bike than actually riding it. But with January’s current mildness, the snow’s all but gone and what road riding you can get in before the sun sets has been good…
Particularly last weekend’s ‘cafe’ ride with the boys, which included a stop at Valdic’s favorite cappuccino joint in Morrison. Valdic, the Luna Chix Pro Mountain Bike Team manager for the past decade couldn’t stop screaming, “see, you should’a had’a cappuccino!” in his heavy European accent, while cresting every hill ahead of the rest.
And while those who are trying to make a run for the glory head to the warmth of Arizona these months for training camps, us mortals bear through the shortened days and cold nights…
But the good news is that today is longer than yesterday. And I guess that’s part of what makes summers so great…
And besides, I’ve got PLENTY of helmet cam ski footage to collect, having barely broken in the skis this season, so I can only hope for snow.
And speaking of things that make you feel too cool, you ever get the sense people are laughing at you?
In spite of the fact that The Mrs. rolls her eyes every time she looks at me these days, I can’t help but feel the need to show the world how cool I think I am with a beard. I actually keep a chainsaw in the back of my truck right now for some instinctual reason.
This has really nothing to do with anything, but considering the seasons, I thought it fitting to deconstruct the annual holiday family picture. This is no point and shoot endeavor.
The scene is typically quite easily chosen, with an infinite number of appealing vistas…and we’ll ski out to said vista…
Take 1: Test shot with subject(s). Dog in correct location, pointed the wrong way, obviously interested in a squirrel.
Take 2…
Deconstructed…
But hey, this is important stuff, and you gotta get it right. Keep an eye on your mailboxes because your hard copy should be showing up any day now.
Happy Holidays to you all…
In other news, the Stunt Double was gracious enough to let go of his barely-broken-in Specialized Stumpjumper Expert EVO and send it my way…
Providing 6″ of all-mountain plushness, it will undoubtedly get me into all sorts of compromising situations come spring and summer that aren’t attainable on my S-Works 29er; all of which I intend to capture via helmet cam. I couldn’t be more excited to bond with it, but more on that later…
Well, I hope your Thanksgiving was a good as mine was. Me and the Mrs. headed to the desert for the holiday weekend, but we were able to find the time for a little riding and hiking…
Turns out what they say about jumping choyo cactus is true. While I was taking my sweet Giant Revel mountain bike rental of sweet jumps (ps we now definitively know the difference between low-end mountain bikes and everything else)…
…the Mrs.was busy getting jumped by a choyo. Barely grazing past this bugger left her leg perforated with red dots. A fellow rider wasn’t so lucky. This sucker’s needles were buried 3/4″ deep and believe me, they don’t just pull right out, either…
…Funny things happen when you spend a lot of time on bikes – you get attached. And so, when it comes time to put one of the steeds up on the auction block, it can be a little tough. It’s because we did time together, these bikes and I. They’ve provided an escape from the mundane, adventures, stories of epic rides, and maybe even a podium spot. So each time I sell a bike of mine I strip it to the frame, clean every part, and rebuild it like new.
Not only am I paying it forward so whomever I’m selling it to can experience the same joys the day I hand it over, but I guess in some corny way it provides a little closure…
It provides a little time to reflect on times past, trails ridden, and races lost. I just wonder what I’m replacing it with…
I was going to write a quick intro to my annual summer review video about how high definition video vs. a 5 year old PC dont’t get along. I was going to write about how the following 4 minutes of my mayhem took me no less than 20 hours to edit. The seemingly endless sifting, clipping, transitioning and waiting…
About how these semi-annual videos are probably more for my
enjoyment than yours, and if the blog serves as the ego-centric journal for the author, then these videos are like the Mountain Dew
commercials.
But instead, I’m just gonna let you turn up your speakers and push
play. These efforts are worth sharing. If you find it appropriate to share, go for it. Like me, I’m sure The Cult won’t mind…
2011 Journals from TwoWheeledWorld on Vimeo.
Cyclocross season is in full swing these days. Truly a sport that is as much fun to participate in as it is to heckle your friends in, I’ve participated in far too few cross races in my day. The thought of doing nothing but red-line intervals throughout November after a full summer of racing sounds about as appealing as, well, doing red-line intervals in November after doing a full season of racing…
Regardless of my opinion, cross races truly are a blast. And, living close to one of North America’s cycling meccas I took a short drive up to Boulder the other day to check out the Colorado Cross Classic.
If Todd Wells can make the 7-hour drive from Durango to race, I can surely drive 40 minutes to watch…
And with my 7-dollar sourkraut-and-grilled-onion-topped bratwurst in hand I yelled my ass off, with a glint of regret in my eye that I hadn’t signed up. Cyclocross is so cool that the Junior 15-and-under class had more kiddos registered than many Pro category races I did last summer….
And speaking of kiddos, one of my boys dodges the saurkraut in this run-up. I honestly can’t tell what’s more fun – racing or heckling your friends while holding 22 oz PBR cans…..
Meanwhile, Halloween came and went like mad and now we’re facing full-on winter. I was a bit vaclempt in missing the 3rd annual WMBA Halloween Costume Criterium. Having had such a comprisingly-good time a couple years ago I was sorry to miss it. But, me and The Mrs. had monkey business of our own…
Comin up, my 2011 Summer Review Audio/Visual extravaganza…
I consider myself lucky in many, many ways. One of those ways is that “The Man” (my place of employment) will actually pay for a portion of a fitness program for me. More and more businesses these days are subsidizing their employees’ quest to stay healthy by paying for things like gym memberships and the like…
The theory is that the healthier people are, the cheaper their healthcare.
Well, I thought I’d attempt to push the envelope a little and think outside the box. Go figure.
It may come as a shock to you but I don’t do what most Americans deem as “traditional workouts:” I don’t spend a lot of time in the gym. I know, it’s a huge surprise, when you consider the size of my massive guns and pecks, but it’s true – I haven’t actually “pumped iron” in some time now…
Disclaimer: This is not, actually, me.So, I approached “The Man” and asked about a cross-country ski pass. I had well-thought-out arguments about how I only go to the gym a few times a year, but XC ski, like, every weekend and it would be far more effective.
But unfortunately they wouldn’t concede. Oh well, I’m happy to take what I can get…
One of my arguments was, “I am an extremely active individual who stops at almost nothing to do my exercising outdoors rather than in a gym,” but it just wasn’t enough.
Okay okay, I’ll join my fellow office-dwellers in the occasional post-work-workout-on-a-pre-sweated-on piece of exercise equipment during the upcoming winter’s dread…… I tried.
In other news, as you’ve seen above, the yellow has turned to brown in the high-country and the shady areas are all but covered up with a layer of white. One more snowfall and it’s all over.
Last weekend was another up at Mountain Command with a coupla the boys, where we bid farewell to the trails for the year. I saw footprints from a bike, a human, a bear, an atv, a horse, a moose, and elk all within 20 yards of each other, and all heading in the same direction.
I have no idea what this means but I am thinking of building an Arc…
I see you on Facebook, in my inbox, and on Flickr; I see what you all are doing. As we are all on different trajectories in this life, you share it with me and I share it with you.
Evidence from everyone at this time of year. Pictures of fall in Colorado. And for anyone who’s lived here long I can guarantee it’s a Coloradan’s favorite time of year. I am no exception…
Fall in the Rockies is pure bliss, and I love seeing it from everyone’s perspective. Be it Gold Camp Road, Monarch Crest, Silverton, Georgia Pass, or Steamboat, Indian Summer in Colorado has surely taken hold…
And to me, the funny thing is the opportunity costs.
The cost of of being in one place means you can’t be seeing it from another. So thanks for sharing. A singletrack trail carpeted with golden aspen leaves is one of life’s great joys that so few experience…
But, if you’re in the mountains these days, you’re guaranteed not to miss out…
And I’ve been getting my fair share of saddle time, watching veins of gold rolling down the mountains…
I’ve even been charging up the light and commuting to work most days, while I still can before winter hits. Heck, I’ve even been getting enough saddle time that it comes in more than one form…
I have a love-hate relationships with horses. Just ask my childhood bro M-Dub about that time we were chased by a coupla pure-breds one pre-dawn morning while riding our mountain bikes to high school. But lately, I gotta tell ya, it’s been more love than anything else, and I swear I could do this, day-in-day-out…
Rambler and Penny. Thanks for not bucking me – love ya~
But, I’ve got the feeling that we’re gonna go from mid-70’s to mid-40’s in a heartbeat, so use it up while it’s still here.
And in other news, while I was dressing up like a real-life cowboy, ProCycling put together a 4-man team to take on the 24-Hour National Championships last weekend. Made up of Brady “Too-Tall” Kappius, former ProCycling “Junior-turned-Superstar” Russell Finsterwald, Kalan “Never-Met-An-Interval-I-Didn’t-Like” Beisel, and JJ “Never-Met-A-Training-Program…..Like Ever” Clark, the team reeled in the win in comfortable fashion. Congrats, guys…
Better get a move on dude…
…..For whatever reason I always get super motivated for racing just after the season ends. I cannot begin to explain why. Perhaps it’s because during the racing season I’m so involved in that which is the present and more honed in on maintenance and specific event preparation, like evading bears…
Or, maybe it’s because right now is the longest duration of time I have to prepare for next year and that’s motivating. Or, maybe it’s the change of seasons that’s refreshing. Or, the thought of a clean slate…….after all, you’re only as fast as your last race.
I had a rare opportunity to spend a weekend with the Stunt Double and Alan “Never-Did-A-Wheelie-I-Didn’t-Like” Keeffe up at the Mountain Command Post recently. For those who may be new to TwoWheeledWorld, I actually employ a stunt double due to the extremely dangerous nature of my antics. We appear to be identical, yet only one of us is expendable…
The good news is that after several years now, our resemblance is as good as ever…
Well anyway, the weekend was filled with more singletrack than ought to be allowed in one place…
None of us could wipe the sheepish grins off our face after three solid days of riding, and that was before the Stunt Double informed us of his ability to stomach in upwards of 7 ears of corn in one sitting…
After two days of cross-country bliss, the 3rd was spent hoodlumizing the DH trails.
Here’s Alan’s take on the day.
Trestle Bike Park at Winter Park ski area. Top to bottom fun! from Alan Keeffe on Vimeo.
As for my footage, you’ll just have to wait for my 2011 Summer Review…
And in honor of the start of the cyclocross season (you know, those “funnest bike racing event ever” races that almost never take part in), I give you this…
My 2011 mountain bike racing season ended with a gut wrencher at the King of the Rockies Tipperary Creek Classic in good ol’ Winter Park this past weekend. Heading into this series final, I was in 3rd place overall, with a solid 8pt lead on 4th, and I knew exactly who I needed to beat to step on the series podium.
The race itself went like clockwork: nearly 50 pros lined up on a cloudless, 60 degree Rocky Mountain morning. Rain the night before would make the 26 mile course tacky, and absolutely perfect for race day.
As the race unfolded I was firmly in control of my series destiny. I felt downright snappy, leaving it all out on the race course and finished a solid 17th place in 1 hour and 53 minutes; just a few minutes outside the top 5.
I was elated. Podium spots come few and far between and it’s truly one of the reasons I compete.
Well, as I was preparing to take that first step towards the podium as the announcer began the awards ceremony afterwards, it was not my name that was called for 3rd place. Thinking of the possibility of a miracle, that maybe my math had been wrong and I’d taken 2nd, the announcer continued…. But again, it was not my name that was called for 2nd place. ………nor was it my name that was called for 1st place.
My jaw hit the ground. I was dismayed.
Someone I hadn’t counted on edged me off the podium, as if I’d just lost a sprint finish. Soul crushing….
Putting on a smiley face and cheering as the awards went on, I couldn’t help feeling like I’d been punched directly below the gut….
Friends patted me on the back.
The Mrs pouted.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled with my 4th place in the overall series, having spent all summer consistently racing and working towards a series goal. But it was the excitement of expecting to take top 3 all afternoon, all day really, as the race unfolded, only to have that feeling yanked like a carpet under my feet that didnt’ feel so good. In the end I was 3 points off 3rd place. Which is to say that all season long I couldn’t find a way to pick off a measely 3 guys.
An excersise in humility.
I hate humility.
There’s always next season, yada yada.
But I guess that’s who should be on the podium, really. Those who do the best, and those who don’t finish consistently average. Those who sacrifice the most and work the hardest. I can tell you that’s when it’s the most rewarding. Some seasons I’ve been in that group – some seasons, I have not. On the flip side, all season long I did WELL enough to be within 3 points of the top 3, and that’s a big accomplishment. My mother always told me to look on the bright side.
I finished every race, I had zero crashes requiring medical attention, I had zero flat tires or other mechanical issues, and I know I had more fun this season than in a long time. ……..the bright side, indeed…
I guess I’m lucky there aren’t more fast pros who do the whole series cause it gives guys like me a fighting chance. An excersise in humility indeed…
