Itty Bitty Betty Blog

Looking to the Future

2011-12-13T09:29:00.030-07:00

With 2011 getting ready to sneak out the back and 2012 shoving its nose through the crack in the door, it's that time when I reflect on the past year and look toward the upcoming one. I don't really make resolutions so to speak, but I do like to make plans and set expectations. These are my 'sporting' aspirations.

In 2011 I learned a new 'sport'; swimming. Although I officially started swim lessons in December of 2010, my progression in swimming really took off in 2011. Learning something new is a theme for me and I try to do it every couple years; it works my brain, engages different muscle groups and produces a steep learning curve that reaps huge quantities of satisfaction. I went from barely being able to swim two lengths to being able to complete a hard, hour-long swim workout of up to 3000 meters. Pretty satisfying! I am proficient in freestyle and the back stroke and finally getting decent at the breast stroke. I still struggle with the fly, but who doesn't?

Photo cred Jesper Kristensen

More important than being good at it, I simply LOVE swimming. I am a little surprised how much I love it. I'm not really an indoor sport person, but being in the pool is different. I enjoy working hard in my Tuesday/Thursday Masters Classes, 'competing' with the other swimmers and pushing myself through the sets. I enjoy quiet swims by myself, often in the morning before work, where I work on my technique or endurance without feeling the need to compare myself to others. Regardless of the type of swim workout I do, I am usually WORKED afterward! That being said, swimming is a nice compliment to all the hard running and biking I do; it is not pounding on my joints and it stretches me out. Finally, I feel like I have added an activity to my 'quiver' that I will be able to do long into my old age. I plan to continue my swimming in 2012 and to add open water swimming and triathlons into the mix (more on that below).

2011 was also a year to learn of limitations; MY limitations to be specific. I got sick this June with pneumonia. It happened while I was training for an ultramarathon; a trail run of 50km (31 miles). I developed a chest cold that would not go away and I stupidly jumped back into training before fully recovering. It took two rounds of antibiotics, a round of steroids and an inhaler to get the illness under control. But even once the pneumonia was under control, I was less than 100% all through the summer and fall (I am almost there now).

At first it was frustrating to get winded doing things I had previously taken for granted. But after talking with my doctor and other people who've had pneumonia, I realized I was lucky things were not worse. I began to feel a deeper appreciation for my previous good health. I vowed NOT to make my condition worse or allow myself to get pneumonia again (as several friends did) by pushing things too hard while my lungs healed.

So, I stepped back and took things easy. When I ran, I did not push it. When I rode my bike, I dialed it back. I put swimming with my class on hold for a while, since its difficult to do the class without pushing hard. All to keep myself from irritating my lungs and coughing. I wanted my lungs to HEAL.

I'm almost back to 100% now and able to push myself hard again without gasping for breath. Although I am still competitive (I doubt THAT will ever change), over the summer and fall I learned that it's OK and even fun to take it easy some of the time.

Because of my pneumonia, I was unable to compete in the ultramarathon and in what was to have been my first triathlon. I was disappointed, but at least I got to cheer Jesper on to his first, very successful ultramarathon!

Now, with my healthy lungs back, I have signed up for two XTERRA triathlons for the summer of 2012! XTERRA triathlons are held off road, so the biking is with a mountain bike and on trails and the run is a trail run. Since I am pretty decent at trail running and mountain biking, XTERRA's seem like a good entry into triathlons.

The first race is in late June up in Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming. The XTERRA Curt Gowdy Triathlon features a 1200m swim (~3/4 mile) in Granite Reservoir. Then it's on to a 14 mile singletrack mountain bike over every type of terrain imaginable; aspen groves, open meadows, narrow evergreen trees, and even slick rock. I've ridden there before and it is fantastic and beautiful! To finish the race, the 5.5 mile run will cover many of the same singletrack trails.

The second race, held at the end of August, is just up the road at Horsetooth Reservoir. This event, called the XTERRA Lory Triathlon, features a 1/2 mile swim (~800 meters) in Horsetooth Reservoir; it's reportedly one of the most scenic swims in the state with canyon walls on both sides. Then it's on to a 12 mile singletrack mountain bike over rolling terrain. I'll get to finish things off with a fun and challenging 5 mile run on a steep and rocky singletrack trail, finishing the race on a Slip-N-Slide!

I might squeak in a trail half marathon in early June; the 12 mile version of the Dirty Thirty. In 2011, this was the only race I was able to complete, since it was before I got sick. I thoroughly enjoyed it and did pretty well, even though I did it as a training run. I like this distance, since it is easy to get enough miles in to be well prepared without dedicating my life to running.

To 'train' for these races, I will continue to take the twice weekly Masters Swim Classes at my club and then I will get my butt into Boulder Reservoir as soon as I can in the spring to practice open water swimming. I have a wetsuit and will be hitting up all my triathlon friends to give me pointers! I have been running and will continue through the winter to maintain a solid base. Then in the spring, when the snow goes away, I'll ramp up the running to incorporate hills, intervals and speed work. Finally, I'll throw biking into the mix, maybe even do some spin classes over the winter. As you can see, I don't really have a 'formal' training plan and may not ever develop one beyond what I've described, with the foremost goal to have fun! And the great thing about 'training' for multi-sport events is that I get to do a whole bunch of things, things I love to do anyway!

Photo cred Jesper Kristensen

I'm curious to see if I will like triathlons. Who knows, this may be the beginning of a new phase for me. Or, I may decide to try something else completely different in 2013.

Argentine Pass

2011-10-02T07:42:00.042-06:00

It's 8:35 on Friday night; Jesper and I are in bed, ready to tun the lights out. Yes - we are party animals! The alarm beeps at 5:00 am the next morning. Gotta get to bed early if you wanna play in the mountains.

We load the bikes on the Durango and leave the sad-faced dog, promising to take her for a hike the next day. We are headed to Silver Plume to ride up through the glowing yellow aspens of autumn. Our goal, other than to see amazing fall foliage, is to reach 13,200 foot Argentine Pass, the highest pass on the Continental Divide in North America.

Way back in the summer of 2005, we first attempted to reach Argentine Pass on our bikes, but were denied by afternoon hail and thunderstorms; we turned around less than half a mile from the pass, disappointed but confident we were making the prudent choice. We knew we would be back.

This time around, it is October and we are not especially worried about the weather building up. Nevertheless, we arrive at the trail head early just in case. Besides, the early morning lighting is magical and certain to light up the aspens, which should be about at their peak. Starting at 9,200 feet, we ride up an old railroad grade used during Silver Plume's mining heyday. The road, reverted to single track in some wooded sections, climbs steadily and gradually for about 10 miles.

Jesper climbing in the early morning light

Other than the consistent ascent and the thin air, the riding is not challenging. This is good, since Jesper and I are both gawking at the brilliantly lit up trees, framed by a stunningly blue sky.

Jesper under clear blue skies

We stop a ridiculous number of times for Jesper to snap pictures. He has brought one of his big cameras and tries out all kinds of photographic techniques. The trees and I are willing subjects.

Surrounded by golden aspens (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

We stop at a historic building site, the old dance hall used by the miners to let off some steam. There, underneath the still standing chimney, we set up the timer on the camera and snap a few pics of us dancing.

Waltzing away in the old Dance Hall (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

It takes about two hours of riding for us to see any other people; a family on ATVs (it is a 'road' after all). On the way up, we will eventually see a few motos, a couple other bikers, several 4-wheel drive cars (most of which do not go to the top) and two hikers. Still, considering the brilliance of the aspens in this area, we are surprised not to see more people.

Fantastic fall foliage

At about the same time, we notice a buildup of clouds. WTF?!?!? According to the forecast, there is only a 20% chance of rain, but is is rapidly looking like the forecast was optimistic. Although we have brought extra layers, jackets, leg warmers and skull caps, we are not expecting cloud cover, let alone rain. However, as they often do, the mountains have other plans for the weather. It begins to rain; just a drizzle that doesn't dampen us too much. Clouds obscure the sun and we arrive at the old Waldorf Mine site, surrounded by the stark beauty of the alpine tundra.

Up above tree line near the Waldorf Mine site (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

We are at about 11,600 feet and have over 1,500 feet to climb in less than 2 miles to reach the pass. As we set off up the incredibly steep and loose trail to the top, it begins to snow a fine dry graupel. However, other than it being cloudy and snowing, the weather seems fine; it's October and we are not overly concerned about storms.

The steep slog up to the pass- (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

This last push up to the top is mostly hike-a-bike; super steep and loose rock, all between 11,600 and 13,200 feet. There is not much air. Jesper and I both 'try' to ride as much as we can; however, we manage only to travel short distances on wheels. So, we push our bikes most of the way, sweating in the increasing cold and wind. I am pleased that the last 50 feet or so to the top is rideable; it seems more gratifying to reach the top of the pass on the bike rather than pushing the bike.

Riding the last little bit to the top under ominous skies (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

I arrive at the top shortly after Jesper. The views are amazing! An immense valley falls beneath our feet on the other side of the pass. Grays and Torreys stand tall to the northwest. I can see sheets of snow coming at us from the north and west. We both begin to get very cold and start putting on more clothes. Then something weird happens; Jesper's helmet starts buzzing (WTF?); I pick my bike up for a summit photo op, Grays and Torreys in the background, and my bike is sizzling.

Jesper - my bike is sizzling!!! (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

BOOOM! We hear the thunder. Holy shit! We are at 13,200 feet, the highest point around and completely exposed in an emerging LIGHTENING STORM! We high-tail it off the pass as fast as we can safely ride on the loose steep rocks, ignoring our frozen hands that can barely hold onto the bars.

Hauling ass down from the top (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

Back down at the Waldorf Mine site, I am super duper cold, despite the fact that I'm wearing everything I have: short sleeved jersey, arm warmers, long sleeved jersey, jacket, skull cap, shorts, knee warmers and full fingered gloves. I wish my socks were taller so the 2 inches of skin between my knee warmers and the top of my socks was covered. But I am essentially completely covered from head to toe in one or more layers.

At this point, it looks a little bit like the weather is clearing. We have a secondary goal for this ride to go up another road that would take us to more impressive views of Grays and Torreys Peaks. We decide to give it a go; however, we don't make it very far before I hear thunder again. We decide not to push our luck and turn around for the bomber descent.

Usually, we don't stop often on the downhills to take pictures; we don't want to slow down and spoil the fun. But this time, we are interested in taking more photos of the amazing aspens. I'm still wearing all my clothes and must look odd to the hikers and cyclists coming up wearing shorts! We make it to the car just as another storm comes in.

Coming back down the way we came, it's still beautiful, just not as warm (courtesy Jesper Kristensen)

We end up riding almost 25 miles and climbing over 4,000 feet.

Once again, the mountains have shown us their might; being caught up high in an electrical storm is serious. We are super happy to have made it to the top of the pass, six years after being denied, and especially happy to have made it safely, albeit just barely. Had we not started so early, we would have been compelled to turn around before the top a second time!

Later that night after dinner and a beer, we soak in the hot tub and crawl into bed. It's 9:05 on a Saturday night. Yes - we are party animals!

Post Script: We did take the dog for a hike the next day.

The Waiting Game

2011-07-10T11:20:00.005-06:00

Diagnosis - PNEUMONIA. Not good.

My condition is relatively "mild", if pneumonia can ever be mild. It's sometimes referred to as Walking Pneumonia, or maybe in my case, Running Pneumonia.

My Doctor prescribed antibiotics, which I dislike taking, an inhaler and a narcotic cough syrup that knocks me out like a rock at night. I've been on the meds for three days and feel a little better, especially in the mornings. But by mid-day I am super tired again and prone to fits of coughing. I still cannot take a full breath without coughing. Not the stellar improvement I was hoping for. However, my Doctor said I should not expect to know if the meds are going to take this down until tomorrow or the next day - five days of meds.

So, I am on hold for knowing if I will be able to race next Saturday. My Doctor said it is not out of the question if the meds get at what ails me. I give it a 50% 50% chance at this point.

I am not going to get worked up over this though. My goal in doing this race was the training part. The joy of running with Jesper. The pleasure in running long distances, getting far from the trail head on my own two feet. Seeing my fitness improve as I pushed my body further and further. Gaining satisfaction from sticking to a plan, even when that entailed getting up early and running in the rain.

I hope I am able to race, but if not, I will be there to cheer Jesper on, knowing that I have already succeeded!

Think I spoke too soon...

2011-07-06T10:18:00.003-06:00

I thought I was OK, but I was wrong. I wasn't just tired from hard training. I was sick and all that high mileage running was preventing my immune system from bouncing back.

I caught a cold in early June while traveling for work. I took off from my training plan for a few days and then, feeling better but not great, jumped right back into my regularly scheduled runs. The cold dropped into my chest and then just hung out there as a low grade cough. I continued to ramp up my mileage, tipping over the 50 mile per week mark, which each Saturday comprised of a 20+ mile run. After three weeks of that, my little cough developed into shortness of breath and severe coughing.

I finally got smart this weekend when Jesper and I were at the race venue, Buffalo Creek, to do our last big run; a 25-miler. I started the run and promptly began hacking up yellow gunk. This is DUMB, I said out loud to no one but myself. My poor immune system would certainly not benefit from another long run. I stopped running at three miles and turned around for the car.

In retrospect, I think the training volume would have been OK but for my catching a cold. Because my training plan did not have a lot of wiggle room for achieving my top mileage, I stupidly jumped right back into to training. Instead, I should have allowed a week or two of "fluff" in my training. That way I could have taken a full week off from running and then eased back into my mileage and still have had time to reach my longest run distance before the race. It's all a learning process...

I am hopeful at this point that I have simply started my taper a bit earlier than planned, but within an acceptable time frame for this length of a race. However, after three days of complete rest, my cough is no better and may be worse. I am seeing the doctor tomorrow.

The final push!

2011-06-28T15:12:00.005-06:00

I am in the last couple weeks before my Ultramarathon and I am TIRED. Tired body and sleepy tired mind. This week will be the last of four 50-plus mile weeks. That's a 200 mile month - no wonder I'm tired!

I've decided to bail on all other forms of activity at least for this last big push. No swimming and no biking this week. Only running (and yoga).

Next week my running mileage will go down while I taper for the race. I am looking forward to the taper. I'm not accustomed to being so darn tired. I day dreaming about tapering! I cannot wait for the extra boost of energy I'll get from my reduced running volume. I look forward eagerly to my rest days; previously I hated them and only employed them because I'm supposed to. Friday, blissful Friday, is my next rest day.....

I think I'm OK though, and that this is exactly how I'm supposed to feel at this point in my training. My running feels pretty good - not super fast, but not too slow either. I am uninjured and amazingly un-sore. I am sleeping well (really well and a lot).

I hope to write a post soon that tells of how spaztic I am with all the energy from my taper. I have faith that my training program will deliver me rested and full of energy to my race!

Are you there Internet? It's me IttyBittyBetty.

2011-06-24T10:30:00.017-06:00

Blogging has not been the same since Facebook and my job with Ayuda. I see it in some of my other blogging friends too; we all get busy and Facebook is so easy and quick. We post pictures and brief updates. The blog falls to the wayside.

But Facebooking is not writing and I have missed writing. So I am back to blogging, at least while work is not crazy busy. Here's what I've been up to since my last intermittent posts:

Ayuda
Work has been very good and goes through very busy periods interspersed with more sane times. I still completely love my job and have been given more responsibilities as our small company grows. I just got through a few weeks of intensive travel and fire-drill crises projects; but right now things are relatively calm and thus I have some spare time to write over lunch.

Learning to Swim Competitively
My younger sister Chris learned to swim a few years back and raved about how wonderful a work out it was. She touted its benefits as a low-impact, all-body work out that would compliment my other more punishing sports like running and mountain biking. I'd like to be an active old lady some day and swimming seemed to be a sport I could incorporate into my routine and do for many, many years. So, I decided to give it a try.

This past December I started taking swim lessons at my fitness club, Lakeshore Athletic Club, located close to my office. Lakeshore provides Masters swimming classes and the Tuesday/Thursday lunch-time sessions are heavy on coaching and geared toward adults just starting a swimming program.

I knew how to swim before, in that I could splash around in the water and not drown. But I certainly knew nothing about technique or swimming efficiently.

I've come a long way since my first lessons where I was floundering and hyperventilating in the pool, choking on mouth and nose-fulls of water. It was quite humbling at first to be unable to complete a workout when other swimmers in the class, clearly less fit than I was, were kicking my a$$.

But my learning curve has been steep and I have worked hard at my swimming. No doubt when stacked up against a serious swimmer, I am still not fast. However, I can complete the workouts right up there with the faster swimmers in my class and my stroke has some semblance of efficiency. Best of all, I really enjoy the classes and my solo pool sessions.

I've signed up for an Xterra Triathlon in late August, so now I need to learn to swim outdoors!

Whole Lotta Running
Last year I ran my first official Ultramarathon, the Northfork 50. I completed the 50K version and had a great experience with the training and the race itself. This year, I've signed up to do the race again and will be joined by Jesper, who decided that all that running looked like fun! Having a race like this on the calendar is a serious motivator to stick to it; you cannot pull 31 miles on rocky mountainous trails at altitude out of your a$$.

My training took a slight detour in March when I began a process to resolve my long-standing piriformis syndrome. I embarked upon weeks of PT (lots of stretching and exercises), trigger point dry needling, a gate analysis and finally gait modification. It wasn't until May that my 'new' gait started to feel 'normal'. I think my new form is faster, but my real hope is that it is more sustainable.

One of the negatives from my training last year was that I ended up spending so much time without Jesper. This year has been different. During the week, we each do our own runs as they fit into our busy work schedules. But for the weekends, we synched our training plans so we would be running the same distances. On Saturday mornings we head off to a trail head and run the same course. We run at different paces and Jesper finishes a bit before me, but not so much that he's waiting bored out of his skull. We catch glimpses of each other throughout the run and get to chat when we pass each other at an out-and-back. Afterward, we hop in a cold river or lake for an ice bath together. Then we have a post-recovery meal together. We also both go to bed pretty early together! We sometimes do our shorter runs together, but just knowing we are both doing a 10-miler the day after a 22-miler engenders togetherness without us needing to be on the trail at the same time and place. Yep - we like doing things together!

We are up to 22 miles for our long runs and almost 55 miles per week total. All on trails. Lots of it very hilly and rocky. We are both amazingly injury free and feeling pretty good! The big race in in three weeks (on July 16th). Wish us luck!

New Sports
Once again, Jesper and I have added new sports to our already full bin of outdoor activities. We've taken up Stand Up Paddle Boarding, otherwise known as 'SUPping'. This is a sneaky way to get an awesome whole body workout in without you even realizing it!

The Front Range of Colorado has seen an explosion of bike parks over the last year or so. The newest, Valmont Bike Park, is very close to our house. Jesper got us both dirt jump bikes to ride the slopestyle, dirt jumps and pump track at this amazing new FREE venue right in Boulder. No pics of us yet, but stay tuned for AIR!

I hope to write more about our upcoming race and the other adventures we have planned for the summer!

Progress!

2011-03-25T15:39:00.005-06:00

I am happy and astounded to say my butt feels so much better I can hardly believe it! In fact, I now realize how much discomfort (pain) I had become subconsciously accustomed to; all day long discomfort, not just during running and such.

I am sure the two weeks plus of diligent stretching and strengthening exercises have helped, as I could feel less tightness just by doing my assigned PT. However, the real improvement came this week after my first session of Trigger Point Dry Needling.

The procedure itself was a tad painful and my butt and low back were sore for the rest of the day. But the next morning when I awoke, my backside felt completely different and that's when I realized how bad the situation had been. I still had some tightness and discomfort, but NOTHING like before. Sitting at work and in my car was comfortable - no need for the tennis ball wedged under my right butt cheek. Walking, standing up, swimming - everything felt untight in a way I haven't felt for a long time. I even tested things this morning by going for a run long enough to have caused my piriformis to flare up in the past (said run recommended by my therapist to see how treatment was working). Six miles and all I felt was a slight sensation in my butt, whereas before my right backside would have been super tight and I would have had a deep dull pain in my ass.

The difference in my butt (and low back and hamstring) now vs. before is almost as dramatic to me as the day I had lasik and went from blurry vision to crystal clear in a moment!

I am even more motivated than before to keep up with the PT. I also can't wait for my next dry needling session! Gotta go and do my stretches!

PITA - PT

2011-03-21T11:40:00.003-06:00

One week in and my Physical Therapy (PT) for my Piriformis Syndrome is going well. I'm supposed to do the prescribed exercises and stretches twice a day; I get a reprieve on some stretches if I do yoga that day. Twice a day is time consuming; like almost an hour a day of PT!

Nevertheless, I've been pretty good about sticking to my schedule. Even when it means getting up really early to do my PT BEFORE heading up to the mountains to ski. Even when it means getting up super early to do PT BEFORE running BEFORE work. The evening sessions are the toughest to fit in. I try to do some stretches at work to cut back on how much I need to do before or after dinner. I can see how easy it is for people to fall off the PT wagon; part of my reasons for posting this is to keep me honest about doing everything my therapist prescribes so I get better.

I am scheduled to undergo a session of Dry Trigger Point Needling this week. I'm pretty sure it's not going to feel all that great. Then I have a gait analysis scheduled for later this month to see if my running form is contributing at all to my problems.

I'm still running, swimming, biking and skiing, so all is good!

Pain in the Butt!.

2011-03-11T11:24:00.009-07:00

I've had a pain in the butt for years. No, it's not Jesper - he's the antithesis of a pain in the butt! It's a dull ache in the middle of my right buttock, with pain sometimes extending down my leg to the back of my knee. I've had a pretty good idea what it is for some time now, but today I finally got around to having an official doctor's diagnosis.

PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME!

For a tiny little muscle, that darn piriformis sure can cause a lot of problems.

Piriformis means "pear shaped", although I think it looks more leaf shaped. There it is, highlighted in a posterior view of the right buttock and leg. It can get inflamed/irritated from activities like running and become sore. It can also press up against the nearby sciatic nerve and create shooting pain down the back of the leg. Trust me - that's no fun! In addition to the pain, the syndrome causes diminished strength and range of motion.

I'm not quite sure why it's taken me so long to see a doctor about this; probably because I think I should be able to fix this myself through smart training and stretching. But I haven't been smart enough to fix it and I was beginning to dread the havoc it might wreak on my training for another ultramarathon this summer. Already, a hard day of skiing, running or swimming leaves my butt hurting. Last year while training for my first ultramarathon, it bothered me most of the time (day and night), although oddly enough, it rarely impacted my mileage. However the problem is not getting any better andI fear it's only time before it causes a whole host of other imbalances that will result in injuries that limit my ability to do the things I love.

So, I finally went to the doctor. As a first step, she prescribed PT, mostly to address lack of flexibility and strength in my hips. I can't wait to get started (how many people actually look forward to PT?). The best thing is I don't have to stop or slow down on my many activities while I do therapy! I am hopeful this takes care of the pain in my butt!

Vail Weekend with L&C

2011-01-26T13:15:00.020-07:00

Jesper and I just had one of the nicest weekends in a long time. Of course, we skied, which always makes for a good time. And we skied with Lynnette and Carmen (L&C), two very good friends who are some of the finest people I know. L&C are very talented mountain bikers from way back when I was a newbie on the bike. They live in Arizona and, although they are relegated more to dirt than snow, they ride the heck out of their snow boards whenever they come to visit us in the winter.

We met up with L&C last September to downhill mountain bike at Winter Park for a few days and decided that a ski trip to Vail was warranted in early 2011. We reserved a condo smackdab in Mid-Vail and made a three day skiing and riding trip out of it. L&C had never been to Vail, so Jesper and I showed them as much of the best we could in three days. We skied most of Saturday, ALL DAY Sunday and all day Monday.

Carmen and Lynnette getting ready for the first big run on Saturday

The snow was awesome, due to almost 50 inches of freshie in the week leading up to our trip. Best of all, Blue Sky basin was closed on Saturday (after five inches of snow on Friday and lots of wind on Saturday) and then opened on Sunday after 13 more inches on Saturday. Of course we were there when they opened Blue Sky to try out the foot and a half of untracked powder ! Dang it was GOOD! We focused on Pete's Bowl and skied the hell out of Lovers Leap, Hornsilver, Resolution, Big Rock Park, Grand Review, and the Star til Blue Sky closed that day, only stopping to grab a quick snack al fresco. Once Blue Sky Basin closed, we continued to ski until all the lifts on the front side closed.

Carmen riding through the trees in Sun Down Bowl

Lynnette in the VASTness of Vail

Monday was another great day. Although there was not much new snow, the temps were perfect for keeping the huge amount Vail had gotten in the past few days fresh. We showed L&C some more Bowl action - Game Creek Bowl, Sun Down Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, China Bowl, ... We finished up with tired legs and drove L&C straight to the airport in Denver.

Jesper skiing down Ptarmigan Ridge

There's plenty more of Vail left for them to sample. More bowls and much more on the front side. I think they'll be back!

Check out my pics here!

Morning Run

2010-08-27T10:06:00.013-06:00

I run in the mornings before work with Strelka two to three times a week; typically Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I usually run a four mile loop near my house. Mentally, it's a great way to start the day and it's physically good for both me and Strelka. I get up at 6:00 am, while Jesper is still sleeping, and am out the door at about 6:10. I take Strelka sans leash, since she knows the route well. We slip out the back gate and run 0.15 miles on pavement to the trail head to the City of Boulder Open Space near my house. From then on, it is all dirt.

As fall approaches, the mornings are getting cooler and the sunsets more beautiful. In the heat of summer, the sun is already way up by the time I head out. But now, it I start out in the coolness of dawn.

Heading east toward Gunbarrel Hill - you can barely see Strelka in the shadows

As we run up toward Gunbarrel Hill, Strelka sniffs everything and usually poops along this stretch. Then we head into a more open area with no houses nearby, just wide open rolling plains and scat evidence of coyotes and bears. While I've never seen the owner of the bear scat, we often encounter one or two coyotes in the morning as well as deer. But not today; only bunnies, prairie dogs and lots of birds.

Strelka posing as we get into the wide open prairie

As the sun comes up, the air gets warm fast. We are on our way to a 95 degree day and I am happy to be getting my run in before we reach that high. We run north up the series of rolling hills, the top of each presenting a view of the Front Range mountains to the west.

Strelka posing on the top of a roller with the mountains in the background

Then we get to the BIG hill up to the water tower. I prefer to do my running loop in this direction primarily because I like to run UP this sucker, sometimes doing hill repeats.

Chasing my shadow up the BIG hill

Strelka "dogging it" up the BIG hill

Since I do the same run every week, I meet up with many of the same neighbors out walking and running with their dogs. We are all on a schedule to get to work, so we end up passing each other in almost exactly the same place every day. There is always time to play when we meet up with other doggy friends of Strelka's.

Strelka and Sadie, her Cattle Dog friend, chasing each other in the prairie grass

Sometimes we see "the BIG Dogs" out on the trails. Strelka is not sure what to think about these critters, but I hold onto her collar tight just in case she thinks about running up to them.

Proof we live out West!

Strelka and I finish up the run with a drop off of her pooh in the bear-proof trashcans at a the main trail head. We continue down the trail and then onto the pavement and in through the back gate, arriving back at home a few minutes past 7:00 am. I wish I'd have taken a picture of the smile on Strelka's face when we finished!

Alaska!!!

2010-08-04T12:47:00.066-06:00

The mosquito bites still itch, but I don't taste the DEET anymore when I lick my lips. It's hard to believe that just a few days ago, I was on a ridge overlooking Denali (aka Mt. McKinley), worried about a large black bear that seemed to think we were camped out on his berry patch.

I just returned from vacation in in Alaska with Jesper and his Dad, Ole. It was amazing.

Jesper and I have wanted to do an epic, active, outdoorsy trip with his Dad for several years. At 65, Ole is in great shape and he loves to hike and play in some pretty rugged terrain, so we were free to plan a physically rigorous trip. We selected Alaska because Ole, who has been almost everywhere on the planet, had not been there yet and Jesper and I had it on our "list" as well. We have been talking about a trip together for years and began making firm plans as early as late 2009, researching where exactly to go, then booking flights and reserving gear.

No - we did not go on a cruise. Our trip had two very active and outdoorsy phases:

1. Sea kayaking (and overnight camping) in Prince William Sound among the glaciers

2. Backpacking (and overnight camping) in Denali Sate Park just outside of Denali National Park, with views of Denali (Mt. McKinley) and the Alaska Range

Both Jesper and I (and his Dad) have done a lot of backpacking. We all felt pretty confident about what to bring and what to expect on that phase of the trip. None of us had done an overnight sea kayaking trip, especially one of several days in what could be an inhospitable and remote area. Well, I have done several overnight paddling expeditions, but in the context of adventure racing, where the objective is to go fast and not carry much. For our vacation, we were much more interested in traveling in comfort, relatively speaking. Some of our planning worked out very well; some of it not so well. Suffice it to say, we learned a lot for our next sea kayaking trip.

Jesper's parents flew to Colorado from Denmark a few days before Jesper, Ole and I needed to fly to Alaska. We spent the time introducing Vibeke, Jesper's Mom, to Strleka, our Rhodesian Ridgeback. Vibeke, who has no interest in tromping around for days with a pack on her back or paddling a kayak filled with gear, would be staying at our house watching Strelka while we were off in the wilds. We cannot thank her enough for taking such good care of our puppy and our home.

Early in the morning on Saturday, July 24th, we gave Vibeke and Strelka hugs and kisses and headed off to the airport with an enormous pile of gear. The luggage fees were going to add up on this trip. We flew directly to Anchorage and arrived to cloudy weather, just ready to spit rain. Apparently, the weather this summer in Alaska had been inordinately rainy; maybe we should have planned our trip on a Non-El Nino year.

We spent Saturday in the booming metropolis of Anchorage, enjoying fresh seafood and one of our rare nights in a hotel this trip. We awoke very early Sunday morning to make the drive to the small fishing village of Whittier on Prince William Sound. There we met up with Perry from the Prince William Kayak Center, where we rented kayaks and other essential gear we did not bring with us. A steady drizzle had begun and Perry concurred that it had been a very rainy summer. In addition to boats, paddles and PFDs, Perry and his staff provided us with additional dry bags and a big black tarp to use to help stay dry and to ward off the mosquitoes; apparently the bugs are attracted to to the tarp and not your body. Perry also outfitted us with Helly Hansen waterproof fisherman's bibs (yes - just like the kind the seafood counter guys at Whole Foods wear) and rubber boots. These items were life savers!

Finally, we had everything and we headed down to the marina to meet up with Capt. Gerry Sanger of Sound Eco Adventures. We had booked Capt. Gerry well in advance for a combination glacier/whale watching tour and water taxi out into Prince William Sound, from where we would take 3 days to paddle back to Whittier. Unfortunately, the conditions were worsening and Capt. Gerry made the call to cancel the tour part of the excursion. He was able to taxi us and our boats/gear out to a beach close to our originally selected drop off location, where he unloaded us on a rocky beach. We were bummed not to go on the tour, as it would have been a great opportunity to see some areas we would not be able to paddle to. However, we understood the priority of safety first and appreciate that he taxied us out in such bad weather.

Unloading the kayaks on a lonely stretch of beach

So, there we were on a cold, rainy beach in a remote area of Alaska, miles from civilization. We were a bit stymied as to what to do, since we were at our drop off location hours before we had intended to get there. We scoped out what looked like a decent place to set up camp and decided to stay put until the next day, hoping the weather would improve. It did not. In fact, it continuously rained hard and harder, a cold 45-ish degree rain.

We set up tents and the big tarp and then gathered 'fire wood'. Everything was saturated from the weeks of unending precipitation. I had brought along a jacket I thought was waterproof; however, it was clearly only water resistant and that was not enough for the kind of rain we were experiencing. And I had an insulating layer made of down, which was useless once wet. Big mistake; cold water soaked into the layers beneath my jacket. Wet to the skin, despite my waterproof pants, I sat under the tarp while Jesper valiantly attempted to start a fire. Jesper is very good at starting camp fires, but the sopping wet wood and the continued torrential rain proved his downfall. I would have given anything for a roaring fire....

Our first kayaking campsite during a brief lull in the torrential rain

We decided to get dinner going under another tarp located away from our sleeping area (for bear protection). We dined on our only fresh meal of the trip; steaks that had been frozen and thawing all day, sautéed veggies and instant mashed potatoes. As all meals are when you are out in the elements, it was quite tasty.

After dinner, we crawled into what we thought would be a warm dry tent. Unfortunately, the saturated ground beneath the water proof floor of our tent (under which was a brand new tarp we had purchased from REI in Anchorage that had holes in it) was soaking up through the floor. The result was that our sleeping pads, then our sleeping bags and finally our dry clothes gradually became wetter and wetter. Note to self - do not bring down sleeping bags (all we have), or down ANYTHING on a trip to Alaska ever again. It was not a warm night, but Jesper and I zipped our bags together and managed to get some sleep.

We could hear the rain on the tent wall all night and we woke up to what had to be even worse weather than the previous day. It was raining harder, it was colder and we could hardly see anything around us; we were that socked in.

To say I was cold is such a complete understatement; it's hard to describe the intense feeling of being wet and cold to the core for hours on end, teetering on the edge (over the edge) of hypothermia. I am no wussy, but if the weather didn't improve and allow me to get some of my clothes dry, I was considering paddling straight back to Whittier. In the end, my desire not to ruin our long-planned vacation lead me to agree to paddle away from Whittier, down into Blackstone Bay. We figured the paddling might get me warm. I was hoping we would not need to use the 911 function on the SPOT as a result of our decision to go further away from the warmth of civilization.

We dismantled the tents, loaded up all our gear into the kayaks and took off paddling in a windy downpour. We were not yet into the protective waters of Blackstone Bay, so the water was rough with choppy waves and wind. Visibility was not good. Nevertheless, the padding generated body heat and I was almost warm for the first time in more than 24 hours. Harbor seals, undeterred by the weather, came close to the boats to check us out. We paddled to the location we had originally scoped out in our planning sessions for the second night and found a good spot for the tents on drier ground than the first night's campsite.

I cooked a curry dinner that I had pre-packed back in Colorado. This meal, and all the others, was one of the successes of the trip. Instant rice, dehydrated veggies, dried coconut and curry powder and prepackaged chicken. I went to bed in a damp down sleeping back with damp clothes on, hoping my body heat would dry things out. Ha! I was cold, and progressively colder. Jesper and I had our sleeping bags apart (more comfortable to move around), so I didn't have his body heat to steal. I began shivering uncontrollably. I was so cold, I could barely think straight. I finally woke Jesper up, whimpering about how cold I was. My honey took charge! He commanded me to get out of my damp clothes. He zipped our bags together. Then he laid on top of me - a human blanket - until I was warm enough for him to spoon. I was too cold for this to be sexy...

The next day was not raining! I could not believe it! I wouldn't call it sunny, but it was not raining and we had good visibility to reveal that we were in an amazingly beautiful place of steep cliffs running straight down to the milky grey-blue glacial water. The air was warm-ish so we hung out clothes to dry and they complied quickly. The previous day, we had hung our clothes under the tarp but they stayed sopping wet from all the humidity in the air. We decided to leave the campsite set up with our drying laundry and paddle down to the end of Blackstone Bay to get up close and personal with the several glaciers that terminate in the bay. It was a beautiful day to kayak; the water was a smooth as glass and it was warm enough that everyone got delightfully overheated. I didn't even where my neoprene paddling gloves!

We could see a large glacier hovering over our campsite; we knew it was there but the visibility had been so bad the day before we could not see it. As we rounded a point of land jutting out into the water, we had a clear view of the glaciers at the end of the bay. Wow Wow Wow!!

Ole and Jesper kayaking past one of the many impressive waterfalls in Blackstone Bay

As we approached the end of Blackstone Bay, we passed scores of impressive waterfalls rushing down steep cliffs into the water. Once we reached the end of the bay, paddling among the icebergs calved off the glaciers was one of the highlights of our entire trip! We saw more harbor seals as well as sea lions; a large group of them lounging on a big iceberg. See otters also checked out our boats. There were so many different kinds of birds, diving into the water to pluck small fish in their beaks. The break in the weather could not have come at a better time.

Jesper paddling among the glaciers of Blackstone Bay

We spent hours exploring this magical place; enjoying the deep blue color of the glaciers, listening to the subtle tinkling sound of the water melting in the icebergs, touching the ice, trying to get close to the marine life. Many photographs were taken!

Glaciers and Icebergs

Finally we decided it was time to head back to camp. We planned to dismantle it and paddle some more to our next location. Good thing for the LONG daylight in Alaska in the summer! We ate a late lunch and, loaded up with all our gear again, paddled back out and across Blackstone Bay. We saw bald eagles, more sea otters and seals and what I think were Dall Porpoises and reached our final kayaking campsite at Decision Point hungry and tired, but still thrilled from the beauty of the day's exploration.

Snack time on the way to Decision Point - starburst and Danish licorice!

The Decision Point campsite was built up with sleeping platforms and elevated walkways over the wet ground of this rain forest area. There was even an outhouse! Ordinarily, I would eschew such man-made amenities on a camping trip, but after the overly wet conditions we had experienced for two days, I was thrilled with the prospect of a guaranteed dry night in my tent! We enjoyed a nice meal of pesto tuna on the beach and went to bed under a very late night twilight.

Outhouse in the mossy woods of Decision Point

Ole filtering water at Decision Point on our last foggy morning paddling

The next morning it was socked in again with clouds and drizzle. We felt lucky to have gotten a break the day before for tour among the glaciers. We dismantled camp and loaded the kayaks back up with our gear. At this point, we were back in the main channel into Whittier and we started to see a fair bit of commercial boat traffic. Around 3:00 pm, we paddled into the harbor we had left 4 days before, met back up again with Perry and unloaded/washed all our gear. Then, with dry clothes on, we sat down for the finest fried fish meal I have ever enjoyed; fresh Rock Fish caught earlier that very day, excellent salty french fries and a quenching Alaska White wheat beer. Simply delicious!

We had originally planned to drive straight to the Denali area and start backpacking into the wilderness that night, but we decided to make a stop in Anchorage, which we had to go through anyway, and stay overnight in a hotel. That way, we could wash and, more importantly, dry our very stinky clothes. We could also stop at REI in Anchorage and get me a jacket that was truly waterproof, as well as another layer of fleece I would save for campsite use only. In hindsight, I don't know what we were thinking when we planned to go straight to the backpacking leg from the kayaking leg.

Thursday morning after breakfast, we got back in the car for the 2.5 hour drive from Anchorage to Denali We were doing a point-to-point trip, so we had to figure out a way to get the car to point B and get us to Point A with our gear. We opted to drop Ole off at Point A, the Little Coal Creek Trailhead, upon which Jesper and I drove down to Point B, the Byers lake Campgound and then hitched a ride back up to Ole. It was Thursday afternoon and we finally began our hike of the Kesugi Ridge in the 325,240 acre Denali State Park, which lies to the southeast of and adjacent to Denali National Park. The hike along Kesugi Ridge provides impressive views of 20,320 foot high Mt. McKinley and the Alaska Range.

Not that we could see any of the bigger mountains in the Alaska Range at the time; fog still hung low, obscuring the tops of the tall peaks. But the rain had abated and we were optimistic about getting some views of "The High One". We had originally planned to hike for 5 days (3 full days with two partial days on either end), but made changes to our intended mileage to accommodate the hotel stay prior and a hotel stay the last night. Although this cut out a full day of hiking, we felt confident we could make it up by hiking half days each on Thursday and Sunday and full days on Friday and Saturday.

We hiked up and up onto the ridge until we came to a large bowl area with relatively flat ground and somewhat out of the wind; this would be our first night's campsite. We dined quickly on Mulligatawny, as it was chilly out. I luxuriated in my warm fleecies and my dry tent that night.

The next morning was once again socked in with fog and a slight drizzle. Boo! We were up upon the ridge now and anxious for some views of Denali! As we hiked, it slowly began to clear, finally affording glimpses of more and more of the big mountains to the east. It was glorious!!! We still couldn't see the top of "The High One" yet, but we were hopeful.

Jesper and Ole hiking along the Kesugi Ridge

The hiking was fairly easy up on the ridge. I felt great and must say that running an insane amount of miles every week is excellent training for backpacking! Poor Jesper was suffering already from the bane of his hiking existence - blisters! He was such a trooper, as they would only get worse and worse.

Denali trying to show her face to two weary hikers

The trail rolled up and down along the ridge above the tree line. I LOVE the tundra and find it to be one of the most beautiful of landscapes. Rugged rocks thrown here and there. Teeny tiny miniature flowers. Brilliant green and yellow lichen. All intersected by stream crossings and waterfalls.

Lichen and tundra shrubs

There were also a shit ton of low, scrubby berry shrubs everywhere. This place was one gigantic berry patch! Soon we had our first bear sighting. A very large brown bear was sauntering along to the south of us, parallel to our trail. He was about 125 yards away and didn't seem to notice us. Did I mention he was very large? We were thrilled to see him but happy he didn't get any closer. We saw another bear, this one a black bear a bit further away, later that day.

We hiked about 9 or 10 miles on Friday and stopped when we arrived at a magnificent site for the night. It was high on a prominence overlooking the ever-clearing view of the Alaska Range. It had ample flat areas for placing the tents. It had a babbling stream running nearby for filtering water. The temps had warmed up all day into the comfortable realm and we had stopped early enough to enjoy a relaxing dinner of chicken polenta with wild mushrooms, along with some wine and beer. As we dined and moved onto dessert of biscottii and whiskey, the summit of Mt. McKinley finally showed her face (Jesper and Ole got some nice pics)! It was the perfect backpacking evening!

The next morning was somewhat cloudy again - dang! But we were happy to have had our little window of opportunity the previous day and especially the evening's unveiling of "The High One". We hiked up high for a bit and then finally arrived at a trail intersection with a sign, revealing we had gone a mile or two less than we had thought. We would have a LONG day of hiking on Saturday, since we wanted to be back to the car on Sunday by 3:00 pm.

Finally, after mostly hiking on the ridge, we began to go downhill into a large drainage area. We had entered an overground, boggy, spooky land with spiky Devil's Club plants and slippery steep slopes. It was NOT my favorite place to hike.

Overgrown bottom lands

Because of the difficult terrain, it took us a long time to make our way through this area back to the other side where we finally hiked back up to our beloved tundra. During this time, Jesper's blisters and raw spots really began to hurt him. Although the rest of his body was able to hike at a brisk pace, his feet rendered his pace to a shuffle as the long day of hiking continued. We were all happy to be back up above tree line again.

Jesper tending to his blistered feet

At about eight o'clock, we finally felt like we had made it far enough to call it a day. We were beat. Jesper's feet were chum. We set up camp on the summit of a prominence with good views of the Alaska Range if the clouds would go away. I went down to a nearby lake to pump water while Jesper and Ole set up the tents. As I prepared dinner (corn chowder with smoked salmon) a good distance from the tents, we observed our third bear, another black one and made note that there sure were a lot of berry shrubs in the area.

The next morning we actually set the alarm to ensure that we got going early, however our plans for a quick camp tear down were somewhat derailed by another visit from a black bear. It may have been the same bear from the night before. This time, he was approaching closer and closer and he most definitely knew we were there. His presence and direction of travel prevented me from pumping the water we would need for the rest of the trip, so we waited and waited. After half an hour or so, he finally ran off in the opposite direction. Like I said at the beginning, I'm pretty sure we were in his berry patch.

Last bit of Tundra before heading down to the car at Byers Lake

The trail planners for Alaska do not get the concept of switchbacking! Steep stuff!

We only had 5 or so miles to hike but we wanted to be done in time to make it back down to Anchorage before REI closed at 6:00 so we could return the bear canisters we had rented. So we pushed it. We hiked along the tundra until the ridge line dipped back down into a drainage area that lead to Byers Lake where our car was parked. It seemed to take forever, even though Jesper was setting a very good pace despite his blisters. It paid off and we arrived to back at the car around 2:00 pm, early enough to celebrate with the one beer left in the car and to stop for sandwiches in Trapper Creek on the way back to Anchorage.

After we dropped off the canisters at REI, we cleaned up in our hotel room and then enjoyed another fine meal of fried salmon, halibut and cod, all fantastically fresh and washed down by a cold beer. I must say, I have never eaten so much fried fish in my life, but Alaska does fried fish right!

The next day was filled with three flights back home. It was a long day but we were happy to have a day of rest.

This was a great vacation, despite the rains, but clearly not something everyone would appreciate. We most definitely plan to return to Alaska! We learned so much on our first overnight kayaking/camping trip; we know we can make the trip more comfortable next time. For the next Alaska visit, we plan to ski the Chugatch for several days and then kayak/camp for several days in the Prince William Sound Area. Sometime in late May, which should allow us to catch the start of the whale migration. I think we'll plan it during a non-El Nino year!

I will post more pics to my Picasa site soon. Here is Jesper's first post of our trip.

Race Stats

2010-07-19T11:00:00.006-06:00

First things first, I finished! Not everybody did - there were many DNFs (all DNFs have been removed from the race results which I think is odd).

Secondly, it was a fantastic and rewarding experience. My training prepared me fairly well and I felt as good as can be expected during the race; no stomach problems, no blisters, no sunburn, no chafing - just super sore and tired muscles. I embraced the pain and enjoyed every minute of it, thankful for having a body that can do something like this.

I had the best cheering squad. I cannot thank my sweetie Jesper and friends Patrick and Suze enough for their efforts in supporting me and contributing mightily to make the day a great experience. They were out there all day cheering me on at four of the six aid stations and at a couple of locations out on the course. This was quite a feat, since they traveled by bike on trails not being used by the racers so as not to be a disruption. Many fellow racers commented to me, "Gee - you have a lot of fans out here!" After every aid station they were at, I had at least a 30 minute adrenaline pump.

Now for the stats:

31.3 miles
4,500 feet of climbing and 4,500 feet of descending
95 degrees - the hottest day of the year so far up there and a dearth of shade through the burn areas
Altitude ranging from 6,700 feet to 8,000 feet above sea level
All dirt (a lot of it loose) ; mostly single track with some double track

My time was 6:32:45
I was the 24th runner to finish the 50K out of 77 finishers (top third)
I was the 9th woman to finish the 50K out of 37 who finished the race (top quarter)

I will post more later. For now, check out the link to Jesper's webpage, which has some pictures.

2010 - the Year of the Runner

2010-06-22T15:43:00.013-06:00

OK - so I realize 2010 is actually the Year of the Ox under the Chinese Zodiac, but for me it has been the Year of the Runner. Last year was decidedly NOT the Year of the Runner. A bout with plantar fasciitis left me unable to run at all, and barely hike, from March through August.

For those unfamiliar with plantar fasciitis, it is an inflammation and micro-tearing of the fascia that runs along the bottom of your foot. Plantar fasciitis is quite painful and can debilitate a runner for years if not brought under control. I stopped running completely as soon as I knew I had it (in both feet!) and began a program of stretching, massage, running shoe changes and, eventually, running form modification via the ChiRunning method.

When I restarted my "running" routine in August, I began low and slow.

Walk 10 minutes, jog 5 minutes, walk 10 minutes - Done.

The next week: Walk 10 minutes, jog 5 minutes, walk 10 minutes, jog 5 minutes - Done.

And so on.

This from a person who had been running 3-4 days a week, up to about 7 or 8 miles at one time.

It was tough to start out doing so little, but fear of being hampered by plantar facsiitis for years motivated me to proceed cautiously. I was able to able to bike without foot pain, so I rode a lot; mountain, road, downhill. So, I guess 2009 could be called the Year of the Bike, but most years are the Year of the Bike for me. I digress...

I have long wanted to do an Ultra Marathon Trail event. Ultras are basically any race longer than a marathon (26.2 miles). Most Ultras are on trails, probably because all that pounding on pavement could not be good for you. As I slowly increased my running mileage throughout the fall and winter, I decided to sign up for an Ultra in 2010. It wasn't so much that I wanted to do a race, it was more that I wanted a goal to 'train' for. The process of 'training' - aka doing lots of running - was more of my goal than the actual race. I know, kind of Zen.

I discovered a new race in July not too far from my home. The North Fork 50, to be held on the schmoove trails of Buffalo Creek in the Pike National Forest, offered a 50 Km and a 50 mile race. I opted for the 50 Km version, signed up and booked lodging nearby for the night before. There - I was committed to run 31 miles in one event!

And so I began 'training'. I laid out a weekly plan for upgrading my mileage (or is that kilometerage, since I am doing the 50 Km race?). I have been good about sticking to that plan, but also flexible when LIFE happens. I started running two to three days a week before work. I added a progressively longer Wednesday after work run into the mix. And I gradually increased my weekend run distance; 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 23. That's where I topped out - 23 miles in one run. I will have to pull the other 8 miles out of my ass.

In early July I began to taper. I logged in over 140 miles for June. I've been a runner almost consistently since 1974, when my best friend in Junior High/High School got us into running to meet boys (it worked BTW). But this is by far the biggest volume of running I have done, even in my adventure racing training days. To some folks in Boulder, 140 miles in a month is not a lot, but it is for me and probably most people.

What has all this running done for me? And more importantly, how has the process of 'training' benefited me mentally and physically?

First off, I have lost weight. About 10 pounds (maybe more - I haven't weighed myself in almost a month). This is a lot on a 5'1" frame that wasn't exactly big to begin with. Even my bicycling has benefited - my climbing feels great! The weight loss has given me an excuse to buy new clothes too!

Oddly enough, I have MORE energy than I did before. Some of that may be due to other factors (namely that I am super motivated about my career again and that energizes me too), but I think a lot of it is due to the running.

My dog is in fantastic running shape. Strelka had been a bit of a wuss in becoming the trail dog I wanted her to be. She would get all out of breath and, being a complete creature of comfort, decide to stop and rest a lot. She would get hot and just lay down in the middle of the trail. Not any more! She now happily runs four to five miles in the morning with me before work. She runs the first four miles or so of my long weekend runs with me, sometimes even in the heat (I try to run her mostly early in the day, since I know that dogs are not as efficient at cooling themselves as humans are). In short, she has become a trail dog throughout this process and she has developed a love for running which will help keep her healthy and trim!

I have been able to think a lot on my solo runs; or not. I toyed with getting a little mp3 player for my long runs (and may still do that) but I have found the time alone in my head to be a good thing. I have planned out all kinds of things; solved all sorts of problems. I have also emptied my easily-distracted brain and meditated for long stretches.

I start my days off centered and content on the mornings I run before work. In addition to the physical results, my soul is lifted by the beauty of the mountains, the clear blue skies, the birds singing and my dog happily galloping and sniffing all over the open space next to my house. It's a good way to start the work day.

I have committed to stretching by doing yoga three days a week to keep from becoming a tight ball of constricted muscles and ligaments. Yoga is beneficial period, so any excuse to do more of it is a good thing in my book.

I decided to get regular massages, at least every 2 weeks. I realize not everyone can afford this 'luxury', but I'd rather pack my lunch everyday and not eat out so I can afford this. I think the massages are helping prevent injury and they also allow me (actually my massage therapist) monitor problem areas so I can focus stretching on these areas.

I have learned to enjoy ice baths. I knew ice baths would be a good idea once my mileage got up there. They are known to reduce inflammation and soreness with no negative side effects. Well, except they are freakin' COLD! At first I could barely stay in the water for a few minutes. I whimpered so loudly Jesper thought I was dying. But then, I employed some smart tactics to stay as warm as possible and I actually ended up kind liking the baths.

Me in my ice bath, staying as 'warm' as possible in fleece top and hat while drinking HOT tea

I am reaping HUGE satisfaction in my discipline of sticking to my running routine. There's something to be said about setting a goal and taking the steps to get to it. There are mornings when I do not want to get up early and run, but I set my clothes out the night before and I get up when that alarm sounds. I am always happy afterward, both from the immediate affect of running but also from the satisfaction of being disciplined.

My race is in 3 days. I have my own personal goals for a finishing time, but I have already reached and exceeded my goals through the process of 'training' these last several months. The race is just gravy.

Wish me luck!

Where do People Find the Time to Watch TV?

2010-05-24T15:12:00.007-06:00

I feel like I'm a pretty 'together' chick with decent time-management skills. I can get shit done in a timely manner and I feel like I don't squander my time or dilly dally. However, I am at a loss: Where do people find the time to watch TV?

I am challenged to find time to use my neti pot on a daily basis (which takes five minutes), let alone sit down and do NOTHING for 2-4 hours, as apparently the average American does each day. Heck, I don't even have kids, which are a HUGE time suck! Come with me as I analyze my day; maybe we can scrounge up some time for TV watching.

During the week, I wake up at 6:00 am to either run or work out pretty much every day except Wednesday, when I get to 'sleep in' until 6:45 am and then read all the personal email I have disregarded for days. After running/working out/'sleeping in', I shower and get ready for work. I suppose most people do the 'get ready for work' part, but maybe they are sleeping when I am running/working out. Or are they watching TV?

Every weekday morning I drive about 30 minutes to work. I think this is probably a pretty normal commute time, so I don't think my TV deficit comes from this. I work until 5:00 pm or later, sometimes doing yoga or going for a bike ride at lunch to be more efficient with my time. After work, I drive the 30 minutes home, sometimes stopping for groceries. Home around 5:30 or 6:00 pm.

Upon scrutiny, it is clear I have no time for TV from the 6:00 am to 6:00 pm slot during the day on weekdays. Maybe evenings are the ticket.

On Monday evenings, I make a quick change into my yoga clothes and go to a wonderful 90 minute class with Jesper at a studio near our house. We get home around 8:20 - 8:30 pm and eat a late dinner, usually of leftovers. After a quick dip in the hot tub (15 minutes is about our max), it's time for bed at 9:45 or 10:00 pm. Maybe people stay up later and watch TV, but that would cut into my eight hours of sleep, the minimum I like to get each night.

Tuesday evenings are flexible. Sometimes I do a big mountain bike ride right after work that lasts until 10:30 pm or so; on those nights I go straight to bed after cleaning up. Or I do a road ride after work and then make a nice dinner and go to bed early. One Tuesday each month, I go to the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance Board meeting, have a late dinner and then go to bed. No time for TV on Tuesdays.

On Wednesday's, I have been going for a long-ish trail run with some girlfriends. I leave straight from work and we run from about 6:00 until 7:15 pm. Jesper often cooks dinner on Wednesday nights since I am not home until after 7:30 pm. We use the time while he cooks to get reacquainted and talk about how work was that day, plans we have for yard work, house work, upcoming vacations, etc.; whatever it is that's going on or should be going on in our lives. Or, we both get out in the yard and work on whatever project is pending. Then we hot tub it and go to bed around 9:30 or 10:00 pm. Hmmm... still no time for TV.

On Thursdays I go to the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance Gurlz Ridez. After riding and a quick dinner with my girlfriends, I am usually not home until after 9:00 pm. Putting my bike and gear away, showering and hot tub take my evening to about 10:00 pm. Time for bed. Maybe we could put a TV out near the hot tub, but we'd only get about 15 minutes to watch it, so that is clearly not the time for me to squeeze in American Idol or some other useless show.

Friday nights are reserved for Date Night with Jesper. We usually head out to a restaurant as soon as I get home from work, hot tub it and get to bed around 10:00 pm. I don't know about all of you, but I am pretty tired come Friday and not about to stay up after Date Night to watch TV.

On the rare weekday evening I have a few spare minutes, I try to read personal emails or maybe even read a BOOK.

So, I have failed to find time during the week to watch TV (heck - I have barely found time to read and reply to my personal email). Maybe I need to find the time on the weekend. Yeah right.....

In my view, weekends are for:

Sleeping in (as much as my body will let me, which is usually no later than 7:30 am)
Riding, Running
Getting things done around the house and yard
Cooking nice meals
Getting reacquainted with my Honey

Clearly sleeping in takes away time from watching TV! That is not the solution.

I have been going for one really long trail run either on Saturday or Sunday, followed by an ice bath (brrrr...) When I say really long, I mean like 15 miles. The whole ordeal (getting ready, running first with the dog and then taking her home and heading back out to run the rest by myself, finally doing the gawdforesaken ice bath) takes over three hours. If Jesper and I don't have a big house or yard project going on, we try to get out on the day I don't do my big run for a bike ride. This can take up to four or five hours (or longer if we drive a ways to a cool biking trail). I realize many Americans do not dedicate this much time to exercise on their weekend days, although judging by how fat most are, maybe they should... Obviously, I am not able to watch TV while out trail running or riding my bike.

Before and after running or biking, there are always things to do around the house or yard; clean (vacuum, dust, mop, clean bathrooms, wash/fold clothes, on and on), pick up dog poop, weed. Then of course there are the Big Projects. We are into one right now, building a new back deck/patio/retaining wall/garden. When we are doing a Big Project, we spend every waking weekend minute (except for my run and for eating) working on the project, usually until dark. This past weekend, we were so busy (no ride, only my 3 hour run) we did not even make it into the hot tub in the evenings. Clearly no time for TV.

Somewhere in each busy weekend day Jesper and I like to cook a nice meal. Cooking takes some time, and I suppose I could put a TV in my kitchen. However I prefer to chit chat with my honey while listening to nice music. Besides, I am sure I would lose track of my recipe if I tried to cook while watching TV.

This is my warm weather schedule, but the winter schedule is jam packed with skiing.

So there is it. No time for TV. Clearly I am doing something most Americans are not that is sucking away my time. Hmmm... maybe I could find that elusive TV time if I gave up exercising, cooking healthy meals, sleeping, interacting with my significant other, or doing home improvement projects. But then I would be stressed out, overweight and out of shape, sleep-deprived and I'd have a crappy house and a poor relationship. No thanks - I don't think I need TV that much!

Dirt!

2010-04-13T12:58:00.020-06:00

Snow - Dirt - Snow - Dirt

That is the pattern in Colorado.

From November through March - we ski. From April through October - we ride our mountain bikes.

In April and November, we tend to do both, getting pretty exhausted trying to do it all.

For our last foray on the sticks, Jesper and I went to Winter Park/Mary Jane for some spring skiing. I love spring skiing - nice corn snow and no crowds. We managed to get back into the Vasquez Cirque one last time this season, taking Suze and Patrick back there for their first time. This area is barely lift served - the nearest chair gets you about a mile from where you can drop in, so you need to skate ski or hoof it along a gradual uphill mile slog. Fortunately, the views as you make your way are completely spectacular. The runs down the Cirque are XX Black - steep but wide open at first. It is one of the prettiest areas at any ski resort I have been to.

Jesper dipping in to the Vasquez Cirque

Suze and Patrick shusshing down the Cirque

Jesper showing awesome form in the Cirque

We had a feeling this might have been our last ski day in the resorts this year, as the dirt has been calling....

HELLO - this is DIRT calling for Jen and Jesper!

The next day, we answered the call of the dirt for my first real ride of the season. We opted to ride the single speeds at the Devil's Backbone out and back on the Blue Sky Trail. Almost 20 miles on the SS for the first ride out this season was good enough to poop me out! The 'Bone starts out with some super fun technical trail for about 3 or 4 miles. Then the trail smooths out for some fantastic rolling hills. You get to enjoy the techy stuff all over again at the end. The scenery at the 'Bone is straight out of a cowboy western and true to this there were several groups out on horses. The day was picture perfect - low 70s and sunny - and we ended it with a trail head adult beverage. YUM!

Post ride perfection! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Jesper rockin' it at the Bone

The following weekend, we decided it was over for the snow, at least for this season. We packed up the Durango and headed out to sample the buff-smooth trails at Buffalo Creek, this time, bringing Patrick along for his first visit to this wonderful riding destination. Once again, we rode the single speeds. Now I don't have anything against gears, but the trails that have been dry just seem to have been well suited for the single speeds. We hit Gashouse, Charlies' Cutoff and more, logging in a nice 25 mile ride; sufficient to work up a big appetite for food and brews at Buck Snorts. I had ulterior motives for going to Buff Creek - I am running my first ultra marathon there this summer and I was anxious to refresh my memory of the trails. I will be back there soon to hit the trail on foot in preparation for my 'race'.

Jesper at Buff Creek

Patrick zooming around the cool rocks at Buff Creek

This past weekend it was once again just Jesper and me on the single speeds again. Although the Front Range had received another wallop of snow (after a few days straight of rain), we managed to find trails that were reported to be dry on Sunday. Bobcat Ridge up past Loveland. OK - I know, this is not really a trail most people would think of as single speed friendly, but there is something eff'ed up with the bottom bracket on my Safire, so I didn't want to ride it. Let's just say we got a good work out in riding the single speeds! We ascended the rocky and steep Ginny trail and then did an about face and ripped down it! We were both so happy to have been able to get out on dirt that day, as we were not optimistic the day before. I wish that trail was closer, as it is simply a blast!

Jesper in a brief spot of sunshine on Bobcat Ridge

Me coming down the Ginny Trail (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

It's almost May now. The snow in the back country is a little iffy this year and I am focusing on running one day each weekend, leaving the other day for mountain biking. It looks like we have officially made the shift from SNOW to DIRT.

Best Birthday EVER!

2010-02-09T08:17:00.018-07:00

This past weekend was my birthday. I turned 46 on Saturday, February 6th. It turned out to be one of the best birthdays ever (if not THE best). Why was it the best? Here's why:

After months of searching, I found a fantastic company with the perfect job opening. I interviewed in late January and was offered and accepted the position the evening of February 5th, the eve of my birthday. In addition to really needing a job due to my consulting practice dwindling away to almost nothing, I was really excited about this particular job and would have been crushed if I did not get it. I can't imagine a better birthday present than this job!

For my birthday itself, we slept in and I went for a LONG run. Later that day, Jesper set out a beautiful bouquet of flowers and then, over the course of five hours or so while I sat at the kitchen bar and chit-chatted with him, he prepared the most fabulous four course dinner:

First course - crisp bread with sushi grade salmon, spring onions, creme fraiche and caviar, accompanied by an inorganic Bonny Doon Albarino! Simply delish! Sorry - no pic.

Second course - shrimp and sea scallops sauteed in butter, white wine and saffron, served with a creamy curry soup and accompanied by the Albarino. WOW!!

Third course - veal roast stuffed with sage, prosciutto and mozzarella cheese, served with tiny potatoes, tomatoes, gigantic capers, cream and butter, green garlic olive cream purée, and artichoke salad. Accompanied by a Bonny Doon Cuvee Splendide Syrah. Dang my guy can cook!

Fourth course - homemade lemon eclairs with coffee (decaf). The yummy conclusion to a wonderful birthday dinner.

Although the new job was a fantastic present, Jesper continued to spoil me with a book my sister told him I would love (she knows what I like in the way of reading) and a Patagonia scarf. But that was not all - new wheels for my single speed!!! Hand built NoStans rims with Hope hubs!! I had no idea!! I had been wanting new wheels - mine were rather wonked and heavy - but could not afford them on my dwindling consulting pay. These babies are beautiful and svelte! Thanks Jesper (and Dave Chase at Redstone for making them)! I can't wait to put them on the Snow Queen and go for a ride!!!

To work off the amazing dinner, we then we skied for two days. We always take our birthdays off and since mine was on a Saturday, we took off Monday. Our friend Suze joined us for Superbowl Sunday with almost no lift lines and practically empty slopes. Then Jesper and I skied just the two of us to even fewer crowds on Monday.

Jesper in the POW we managed to find (we are good at that!)

Suze skiing with great form!

The long birthday weekend ended with me tired but excited to start the new job a couple days later. I cannot imagine a better birthday!

Good Bye 2009, Hello 2010!!!

2010-01-05T14:09:00.019-07:00

2009 was a mixed bag for me. OK, OK - it kinda had some pretty sucky parts. But I'm the type of person who sees the glass half full and looks forward to the future. Despite some bad juju, 2009 was filled with many good things and I ended the year with a lot of family, fun and fluffy white stuff.

Just a few days after my Grand Targhee Cat Skiing early Christmas gift, Jesper and I packed up the Subaru, made all Santa-like with the Yakima Christmas Box loaded to the gills with gifts. This time Strelka came along for her longest road trip yet - Ohio; never thought that dog would ever set paw in Ohio, but I couldn't bear to board her again and I love to have her around for Christmas. Jesper and I drove the 1,300 miles straight through, opting not to stop in Kansas as tentatively planned. A massive winter storm was on our tails and we were fearful that an overnight rest stop might turn into Christmas in Kansas! We made it to Ohio in good time despite a rimey fog through most of Kansas. Dang - that's a long drive!

We had planned for all of my siblings to be together this Christmas, our first since my Dad died. But my younger brother Jeff was ill and did not make it. It was very disappointing not to have him there, but we decided to make sure each of us enjoyed the holiday regardless. Jesper, Strelka and I stayed with my younger sister Chris and her family (husband Steve, daughter Emma and son Ben). My older brother Vince, his wife Nanako and their two boys (Kyle and Eric) stayed with my older sister Vicki and her family (husband Doug, son Tyler who is grown up and moved out and daughters Tasha and Tara).

On Christmas Eve at Chris' house, we all symbolically donned one of the dozens of silly/trashy/ethnic T-Shirts my Dad had been fond of 'collecting' for a family photo. Jeff even put one on at his apartment in Saint Paul and we included him in the photo in effigy. Digging through the piles and piles of joke T-shirts reminded us all of Dad's raunchy sense of humor!

The family in Dad's T-Shirts with Jeff in effigy (photo cred Steve Webster)

Christmas morning came early in a house with a 9 year old! There were many, many presents for my sister's family and quite a lot for me, Jesper and Strelka. As usual, Jesper spoiled me! The 'best' gift was the warming, washing toilet seat my sister Chris received from her husband. Not only was it a most unusual gift, but my sister was absolutely thrilled that her beloved husband bought her a toilet seat!

Jesper helping Strelka open one of her presents

After a Christmas day run with my younger sister, we cleaned up and headed to our big sister's house. Big is relative. Although she sometimes seemed gigantic to me when I was young, Vicki is 5'2" and svelte. Funny how things change like that. It was good to hang out with the whole family (minus Jeff). My family is loud and fun and I thoroughly enjoy the chaos of our conversations.

Chris and Vicki had a few surprises up their sleeves. First off was a sweet and sentimental slide show Chris put together with some of the photographs my Dad took of us kids growing up. My parents had all five of us within just over 7 years, something I can't even imagine. We all grew up very close and affectionate. We also seem to have grown up half dressed and filthy, based on the pictures! But under the mud and dirt we played in, we were a happy lot. Might have been all the cake we ate - seems like there was always a birthday party for one of us! The slide show also featured numerous pictures of my parents before they started their family. I am very happy my Dad was a bit of a shutterbug.

One of the many cake-filled birthday parties of my childhood, my fourth - I'm in the chair with my back toward the camera (photo cred Victor Kwasniewski)

All five of us with Mom, from l to r in front - Vince, Chris and Vicki; in back - me, Jeff and Mom (photo cred Victor Kwasniewski)

After the slide show, we had our sibling gift exchange. We played the exchange game in a manner that allows and encourages stealing gifts from each other. It was a hoot! Especially funny was the gift I gave, which Jesper chose much to my chagrin. Earlier Christmas morning, I had opened a wonderful gift from Jesper - a kitchen mandolin. I have wanted one of these for years! I also purchased the very same mandolin as my sibling exchange gift. Hey, you often buy gifts you would like to receive yourself! Great - now we had two identical mandolins! Fortunately, my brother-in-law Doug stole the mandolin from Jesper, who ended up with a dutch oven (we needed one!) and the book/DVD "Julie and Julia", which I can't wait to read and watch! I ended up with some ear buds that actually fit my small ears and some body glide - perfect for the training I will be doing to run some long distance races this year.

Vince implementing the Eenie-Meanie-Minie Mo procedure in selecting his sibling gift (photo cred Tasha Carnes)

Box 'o catalogs! (photo cred Tasha Carnes)

Later that evening, Vicki's in-laws and family showed up for a dinner of various kinds of lasagna. Before long, it was time to go back to Chris' house; another Christmas had passed.

The next day, Vince and his family left early to fly to Colorado of all places for a week of skiing (Jesper and I would join them early the next week). I had a nice day visiting with some friends and former colleagues I had not seen in awhile - good to get caught up! On Sunday morning, Jesper and I packed up Rubie the Subie again for the long drive back to Colorado. I must confess, I was completely useless on this drive. Once it began to get dark (not that late this time of winter), I could not keep my eyes open! Jesper, rock star that he is, essentially drove straight through the whole way.

We arrived back at our house at 5:00 am Monday morning and tried to sleep until about 10:00 am; I had more luck than Jesper, whose head was still in DRIVE mode. That day, we did laundry and unpacked from one trip, only to pack again for another one; this time a week of skiing up in Summit County. Jesper and I rented a 2 bedroom, pet-friendly condo with our friends Suze and Patrick through January 4th. We headed up mid-day on Tuesday the 29th of December with plans to ski for four days straight with friends and my brother Vince and his family, who were staying at Copper.

We had a nice NYE dinner in Frisco to ring in the new year. It was wonderful to spend more time with Vince on the slopes and apres ski. I had to laugh when my girlfriend Sue proclaimed him "adorable", but upon reflection, he is pretty adorable; funny, always smiling and self-effacing. Not a bad skier either! I discovered that three days of hard tele skiing is just about right for me. I was completely cooked on day four!

Vince following Jesper down a steep slope

Me coming down under the S Chair (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

NYE dinner - Vince, Nanako, Sue Bushman, Suze Bragg, Patrick Bragg, me and Jesper (from l to r)

On Sunday January 4th, we had a leisurely morning at the condo. Vince and his family had departed the day prior and made it home safely. Jesper and I had only been home 5 out of the previous 23 days; I was ready to be home again too. Good Bye 2009, Hello 2010!

See more pics here!

Cat Skiing the Ghee

2009-12-16T15:21:00.027-07:00

In February of 2009, Jesper went to Grand Targhee in Wyoming with his Stick-it-to-the-Little-Man group of skiing buddies. The highlight of his trip was a day of Cat Skiiing the Ghee. Grand Targhee (the Ghee) is located west of Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. They get a shitload of snow - over 500 inches - and the resort is off the beaten path, thus not crowded or skied out. The Cat Skiing operation is the gem of the Ghee.

For the uninitiated, Cat Skiing, or Snowcat Skiing, is like back county skiing without a chair lift and without the strenuous effort of skinning (not that we mind strenuous effort or skinning in particular - we love that stuff). The beauty of Cat Skiing is that you get to do run after run after run of unblemished powder all day long; many more than you could do skinning. The Cat is a special vehicle that rides on snow using tracks kind of like those on a bull dozer. Snow Cats are used for grooming ski runs; modified versions are also used for carrying passengers up to the good stuff. Grand Targhee resort dedicates an entire mountain - 600 acres - exclusively for guided Cat Skiing. No one else can go there and no lifts serve the area, although the resort blasts the area for avalanche control. The guides milk the powder so each group that is taken out is guaranteed fresh POW. Jesper had such an awesome day Cat Skiing with his buddies, he decided then and there he would take me one day.

Fast forward to the end of 2009. As an early Christmas gift, Jesper booked us a four day trip to the Ghee with 2 days of on-mountain skiing and one day of Cat Skiing. What a great present! However, as my Christmas gift trip approached, Jesper began to worry. Despite an early season jump, the Ghee received much less snow from October through early December than normal; they only had about a 4 foot base and much terrain was not open. In fact, the Cat was not running yet, a major disappointment to those folks who booked a day for early season Cat Skiing and a possible problem for us. A friend of ours who lives near Jackson, WY even called us to say we should try to reschedule. Unfortunately, we would only be credited with lodging or on-mountain skiing. Jesper looked at the forecast, which was predicting a massive snow storm right before we were scheduled to arrive. Banking on that forecast, we decided to go for it.

I think Jesper and I may be the luckiest people alive. We drove up through Colorado and then into and and west over Wyoming, with reports that the Ghee was finally getting dumped on. We arrived in a snowstorm that had already brought almost a foot of snow. It then proceeded to snow the entire night, dropping 9 more inches. Come Monday morning, our first day on the mountain at the Ghee, there was almost 2 feet of fresh powder!! We lucked out - the resort opened up the Cat Skiing that day.

We tried really hard our first day skiing to take it easy and save our legs for the next day when we would be Cat Skiing. We were not completely successful - it was just too much fun. It was also impossible to see anything! The entire mountain was engulfed in a cold snowy cloud. It was a complete whiteout up top until about midway down. You could barely see the chair ahead on the lift.

On the Dreamcatcher chair lift in a snowy fog

I could not see Jesper skiing down if he got more than 30 feet away. The fog was so thick, you couldn't tell if you were pointed up or down sometimes, creating a nauseous sensation of vertigo. We have since learned another nick name for the Ghee - Grand Foggy!

Jesper skiing fantastic powder in a whiteout

We skied some great powder, most of which we couldn't see, but the fog probably kept us from overdoing it more than anything else.

The fog dissipated lower on the mountain - Jesper floating through the trees

Me coming down in deep pow!

After a nice dinner in Driggs, ID, we hit the hay early to rest up, hoping the visibility would be improved for our day on the Cat. Jesper and I are lucky people! Tuesday dawned with better weather - perfect weather in fact. The clouds were much higher, well above anywhere we'd be skiing. We could see!

The Cat holds 12 customers, but ours was not fully booked and a couple people didn't show up (we have heard this is highly unusual). It was great only having 8 people, all of whom where good skiers/snow boarders. We were able to do a ton of runs, only limited by the speed of the Cat to come and get us.

Jesper and I posing in front of the Cat

The powder on each run was beyond incredible. As promised, we had freshies each time. The guides take care of everyone and also manage to make each person feel special, all the while keeping track of where to take us to guarantee fresh snow. I don't recall how many runs we did, but we started at 9, took a small snack break and then a short lunch break up in a patroller cabin and then skied until just after 4:00. It was a day I will not forget soon -I've never skied so many runs of pure powder! We didn't take many pictures, preferring to enjoy the experience without the distraction of taking the camera out. Jesper and I made it an early night, tired to the bone in a good way. But neither of us could sleep - we continued to have visions in our heads of skiing down deep, bottomless powder snow.

Jesper in the pow on a Cat run

Wednesday I woke up sore! I didn't realize the night before how hard I had worked the last two days. I guess we skied harder than I recalled through all that fun! Never-the-less, we hit the slopes almost as soon as the lifts opened to give our last day our best shot. Once again, thick clouds had rolled in, settling low on the mountain. We couldn't see shit. Then the temperatures rose and the snow turned to a fine misty rainish sort of thing. Rime began forming on our goggles, a double whammy with the fog! We were so glad we had had good visibility for our Cat Skiing the day before! We skied a couple runs, scrapping the rime off our lenses every few hundred feet, and decided to take an early lunch in hopes the conditions would improve. After lunch, it got a little colder and the rime turned to real snow, but the fog remained. The conditions after the rainy precip were challenging to say the least; a bit of crunch on top of everything. By 2:30, my legs were completely toast and Jesper was dizzy from the whiteout conditions. We decided to stop before we hurt ourselves, knowing that we had gotten plenty of great skiing in.

Jesper and I stayed one more night and then made the long drive home. We were so lucky to have just squeaked in on the start of the Ghee's Cat Skiing season and to have had the only day with any real visibility!

I can still feel the sensation of all that powder under my skis. I can't wait to go Cat Skiing again!

End of Summer

2009-11-16T09:20:00.032-07:00

Summer has departed, letting both Autumn and Winter in at the same time. The so called "shoulder seasons" are highly variable here in Boulder. It seems that the Jet Stream bounces up and down high above us, resulting in an alternating weather pattern of warm days and snow storms. We have already had two such snow storms; nestled in between, we had balmy days with warm temps.

I like the variation. The weather forecasters usually know when a change is coming, so you can usually prepare. Although freezing temps followed by warm weather can make for mucky trails, most of our trails dry pretty quick (I do not condone riding muddy trails). Due to the fast-changing weather, you can often get out and do a "summer" sport one day, followed by a "winter" sport the next.

After the first snow storm in October that dropped over a foot of the fluffy stuff (within which we snow shoed and snow hiked), sunshine, wind and warm temps melted the snow away in a couple days and dried out the trails. We put the snow shoes away and got out the mountain bikes again for some fun with good friends from North Carolina who just moved to Colorado. We wore shorts and short sleeves (OK - except for Suze, who didn't realize how much warmer it can get from night to day here!). Nothing beats riding dirt in November wearing summer riding clothes!!

The boyz (Jesper and Patrick) hanging out at the Nelson Loop

Patrick at Hall Ranch on his first mountain bike ride as a Colorado resident!

Suze over dressed a bit.....

... but she clearly still had FUN!

During this warm phase, I ran in shorts and Jesper and I got out on the single speeds. On Thursday, I was able to ride my road bike in 74 degrees, wearing shorts and a short sleeved jersey. The afternoon was sunny and the air, while breezy, felt comforting on my exposed skin. Nothing beats a warm sunny road ride in November!

Crappy iPhone pic of my road ride up Left Hand Canyon

The next day, as predicted by the weather forecasters, everything changed. We awoke Friday morning to clouds; gone were the sunny skies. The temperature dropped steadily during the day. By 3:00 when I was ready for my afternoon run, it was 35 degrees and a full-on snow storm! I ran decked in winter running clothes in a near white out. Nothing beats a trail run in a snow storm! (sorry - no pics!)

The snow kept coming, so Jesper and I decided to head up to the mountains on Saturday to get in our first day of skiing. This is the earliest we have hit the slopes of any season since we moved out here; we are anxious to get in ski shape early so we can maximize an upcoming cat skiing trip to Grand Targhee in mid-December. We knew the snow would not be great, very little terrain would be open and it would get crowded. However, we also knew we would not be skiing yet at our peak, possibly only having the legs for half a day anyway; might as well get our first day over with before the good snow comes!

Copper reported 5 inches of freshie, so that's where we headed. We arrived right about when the lifts were starting up. The snow was surprisingly good and at first, the slopes were not crowded. Other than Jesper's new boots causing him some foot pain, I thought we both skied really well especially for our first day! I had imagined that my legs would be quivering and shaking after a few runs, but they felt solid! We managed to ski until 2:00, when the combination of Jesper's painful feet and the increasing crowds rendered it, in actuality, beer-thirty. Nothing beats a 1554 after a day on the slopes!

Jesper making one of the first turns of the 2009/2010 season!

Jesper looking good!

We opted not to ski again on Sunday, deciding instead to take advantage of the snow to take Strelka out for a snow hike before it all melted. Hoping for some majestic views of the Flatirons, we planned a hike from Eldorado Canyon (South Mesa TH) up the Homestead Trail, across the Shadow Canyon Trail and back down the Mesa Trail. Although we only saw a few other people, the trail had been packed in enough that Gore-tex shoes were adequate. Jesper wanted to play around taking some video, so high mileage was not our goal; I think we only hiked about 3 miles. We started out under low lying clouds and diffuse snow fall - so much for the views - but the clouds began to lift toward the end of our hike. Sometimes the mountains are even more stunning when they are partially obscured by clouds. Nothing beats the beauty of the Rockies cloaked in snow and cloud!

Jesper and Strelka heading up the trail

Jesper is the teeny - tiny figure heading down the trail

The clouds began to lift, but still obscured the Flatirons

Jesper and Strelka on the snowy trail

The clouds dispersed to reveal the Flatirons sprinkled in snow

By the time we hopped in the hot tub Sunday night, the clouds had been replaced by clear skies. Monday morning dawned sunny and bright. According to the weather forecast, we will be back up in the mid 50s by tomorrow. Time to get the bikes out again, and maybe the skis too, this weekend. Nothing beats the variable weather of the Front Range!

BFR4!!!

2009-09-28T13:01:00.023-06:00

This past Sunday, September 27th, was the long awaited Redstone Cyclery Big Fall Ride 4. This annual event began four years ago (duh!) and Jesper and I were fortunate enough to make the very first one. We had just moved out to Colorado and found out about the ride through mtbr. The Big Fall Ride (no numbers at that point) was billed as an all day epic ride in the national forest near Lyons. We didn't know a soul going on the ride, but it certainly sounded like our cup of tea! Although the ride organizer, Redstone owner Dave Chase, joked about making the participants use his name in vain before the ride was over, what Dave really likes is for people to be happy and smiling, even when they are tired, hurt, cold and hungry; no complainers! We smiled the whole day, even after I fell off an 8 foot scree field and jacked out my rear brake (had to ride Buchanan Pass with only a front brake)! We became huge fans of Redstone and good friends with Dave Chase.

Since that first ride, we have been on many a Dave's Death March Ride and numerous Tuesday Night Redstone Rides. We have also been regulars on the BFRs, although I ended up missing BFR2 when I lacerated my shin in 2007. For 2008, Dave made BFR3 even longer than the previous years. The weather was cold, with a little rain. Maybe I didn't eat enough (tough to eat when you are too cold to stop), maybe I wasn't in as good of shape as I should have been, I don't know, but BFR3 was hard on me. The ride ended with a climb up Heil and down Picture Rock. Those last 10 miles in 2008 were brutal - I was worn out. I was still smiling, but I was worn out, completely. I've been riding a lot this summer and also running, so I felt I was going into BFR4 in good shape. I was hoping that this year I would have more energy, even though the ride was going to be even longer, with more climbing.

Although the weather forecast for BFR4 was stellar (temps in the 60 and 70s with ZERO chance of rain), fewer riders showed up at the shop for this year's ride. This was probably due to Dave's cautionary disclaimer about the ride:

This is a BIG ASS RIDE. Seriously, it will be hard. Mileage will be 40-50, over 4,000' of climbing and around 7500' of descending. This is not a novice ride. Heck, this isn't really an intermediate/advanced ride either. We'll call this an experts only ride. Be prepared for anything and everything. There are NO BAILOUTS. Well, you can bail, but it means a long, long ride on the road back to anywhere important. If you're in doubt if this ride is for you or not, it probably is not.

After serving the ride up this way, 14 brave souls turned up Sunday morning ready to ride; me and 13 guys, some Redstone regulars and some new faces.

Bikes loaded up and ready for a BIG day! (photo cred Matt Saunders)

We started the ride off Peak-to-Peak Highway, ascending Bunce School Road, a gradual mostly uphill jeep road that served to get us warmed up. After about 5 miles, we arrived at Peaceful Valley, home to some of the best technical trails in the Front Range. That's when the real climbing began. Up, up, up we went on Sourdough, a rocky trail with baby heads galore that weaves through the pine forest.

Me on a bridge on Sourdough (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

We topped out at just shy of 10,000 feet in the meadow at the intersection of Sourdough and South Saint Vrain (SSV).

The group at the high point of the day, taking a food break (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Me and my honey (photo cred Matt Saunders - with my camera before I broke it!)

After a picturesque lunch break overlooking the Indian peaks and golden aspens, we headed off on SSV. This is one technical trail! We were about 11 miles in and I was feeling really good at this point. I was looking forward to a very technical downhill segment on SSV I had been trying to clean all year; the part that dumps onto the short dirt road section. I had been able to ride all of it, just not all of it at one time. I wasn't even wearing my armor, but I felt in the groove. I hit the section and the bike just flowed under me all the way down. When I got to the bottom I couldn't believe I rolled through that section like it was easy peasey! Maybe all the downhilling has helped me on the super technical descents! Needless to say, I was spaztically excited for quite awhile. That is until I kissed a tree.

Like I mentioned, SSV is one technical trail. I was rocking through droppy, rooty, switchbacky section after section. Then I arrived at tough part and as my front tire went over a rooty, droppy switchback, I went over the bars. Smack dab, teeth first into an aspen. After I figured out that my chompers were intact, I was surprised to hear the back log of guys behind me go, "ooooohhh that doesn't look so good." What didn't look so good?!!?! I couldn't tell! I was then informed that my chin was scratched up a little. Come to think of it, my chin did hurt, as did my arms and my legs (bruises surely to come). Feeling that nothing was hurt too bad, I hopped on my bike and continued all the way down SSV to the trailhead off of Peak-to-Peak Highway. I arrived to see this:

My scraped up chinny-chin-chin (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

It was just a scrape, but it looked rather bass ass, I must say (now it just looks like a scabbed over, oozing goatee). My close encounter with the aspen somewhat dimmed my enthusiasm for aggressively attacking the downhills that day, but I still rode everything, just a tad slower than usual. Worse than my scrapes, bruises and diminished mojo was that I broke my camera : (

After SSV, our group headed across Peak-to-Peak and began climbing again on gravel roads toward Gold Lake. Atop a rocky outcropping overlooking the lake, we dined on lunch number 2 and enjoyed the spectacular views. I recalled that at this spot last year, we were surrounded by black, nasty clouds, but this year it was crystal clear as far as the eye could see. We were about 20 miles in, almost halfway, and I still felt energized and fairly fresh.

Another beautiful place to dine! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

I knew the remainder of the ride would be predominantly downhill, although there were a couple of climbs toward the end that could suck the life out of me. I vowed to continue eating on a regular basis at every regrouping. We made our way from Gold Lake to Jamestown on some fun trails and jeep roads.

View from the trails near Jamestown (photo cred Matt Saunders)

I hit the ground again a few times and felt like my technical skills were out the window, probably due to too much caution post tree-kissing, but my energy remained high. I ate again in Jamestown while we hung out by the Merc for awhile. Then the group headed down Left Hand Canyon Drive, one of the few sections of the day that we would ride pavement. After a few miles on the road, we tucked onto the Left Hand OHV trails, first on a bluff above the road and then getting in deeper.

We ascended up FR 286, one of the last big climbs of the day, and decided to come down Carnage Canyon. I had never been on this trail, which had recently been closed to motorized vehicles. Since we had just climbed a fair bit and we needed to get back down to Left Hand Canyon Drive, a descent down Carnage Canyon sounded like it had potential to be some ripping fun. NOT! The Forest Service had been out in force with what must have been some honking big machinery. They dug up the entire canyon, rendering it soft and rocky in a decidedly unrideable way, apparently intending for this area to be restored to a creek bed. We pushed our bikes down for almost 2 miles, trying hard not to twist an ankle. We got the message loud and clear from the Forest Service - this is no longer a trail! We won't be back.

Despite the bust that Carnage Canyon was, no one complained. I for one was grateful for the opportunity to stretch out my back and use different muscles for a bit. Carnage Canyon dumped us back on the road, which we took for about 2.5 miles to the entrance to Heil Valley Ranch. We were about 38 miles in, with 10 more still to go, but it felt like we were almost done because we were back on very familiar territory.

This is were I started feeling really wonked last year. Not so this year; my legs still felt remarkably fresh. I ascended up Wapiti at a good clip, passing a couple guys in our group and chit chatting with Dave for awhile. Then Dave pulled away, everyone seemed to find their own pace and I was left to myself. Once the Wapiti climb terminated into the Wild Turkey Trail, I dialed it back a bit. Wild Turkey is super chunky and rocky and after over 40 miles in the tank, in my head I knew I should be just a bit cautious, lest I end up a casualty on the rocks. I focused on riding clean and smooth, and I maintained this tactic when I got on the top, techy part of the Picture Rock Trail. I had so much fun as I ascended in the golden, waning sunlight. Once past the silo and on the swooppy flat part of the trail, I increased the speed again, enjoying the flow of the trail. I arrived back at Dave's shop after being out on the bike for about 9 and a half hours. That's a long day in the saddle, but I finished feeling like I had the energy to keep going for more!

BFR4 ended up being one of the BEST rides ever; impressive among a long list of pretty awesome rides I have done! The group of riders was great; we stuck together well, everyone was super cool and there were no whiners! This was the longest ride for a few of the guys and it was so fun to see them crank it out! We hit some fantastic trails and saw some beautiful scenery. Most importantly, there were no serious injuries (my face plant aside), somewhat amazing considering the technical nature of some of the trails we rode!

Final stats:

48 miles of riding
5,400 feet of climbing and something like 7,000 feet of descending
Highest point about 9,900 feet
Out there about 9 1/2 hours, in the saddle for about 6 of them
3,200 calories burned
Endless smiles
Zero complaining!

Thanks Dave - I'll be back for BFR5!

DH Learning Curve

2009-09-08T10:15:00.012-06:00

My education in DH skills continued over the long Labor Day Weekend. On Saturday, Jesper and I met up with our friend Dave for a day of fun at Keystone. We love riding with Dave! Jesper and I had talked about trying the smaller Fuzzy Bunny drop feature (I think on TNT or Motorhead). Dave had done Little Fuzzy Bunny for the first time a couple week's prior. I was so stoked for him! His success and encouragement that I could do it made me really, really want to try it, despite being terrified of doing it!

The Bunnies: Allow me to describe these features. They sit side-by-side, about four feet apart from each other, on the top of a steep slope. Here's a pic of some anonymous guy on the approach:

As you can see, the features start as wooden ramps that rise up above the ground. Out of view of the photo, just as the slope of the ground begins to go sharply down, the wooden ramps abruptly end. Little Fuzzy Bunny (the closer one in the pic that the guy is riding) rises to over 3 feet above the ground before its mid-air terminus. Big Fuzzy Bunny continues up almost 3 more feet to over 6 feet in the air. The idea is that you ride up the ramp, getting as much speed as you can, and then sail off the end of it, landing partway down the steep slope. Yeah right.....

The last time at Keystone, I followed Dave all the way to the end of the Little Fuzzy Bunny and FROZE. I couldn't do it; I chickened out. However, after doing the little drop on BeAllUCanBe at Winter Park last week, I was thinking about trying Little Fuzzy Bunny again. Maybe...

As Dave, Jesper and I headed toward the Fuzzy Bunnies, I got it into my head that I would check the feature out once and then ride it, following Dave off the end to make sure I had enough speed. I waited for Dave to go. All of a sudden, Jesper came flying off Little Fuzzy Bunny!!! WTF?!?!? Apparently, he had decided to just GO FOR IT! And he did it! He didn't even have a huge amount of speed, which erased one of my fears - that I would crash because I didn't go fast enough. Bolstered by Jesper's success, I was ready to try it myself, so I asked Dave to lead me off. Maybe...

As we walked back up the trail to ensure we could get enough speed, my heart was racing, my breath was labored. I was scared. I forced myself to slow my breathing. I cleaned my goggles. And then I had nothing else to do but either do it or chicken out (again). I swallowed hard and then told Dave that I was ready. He informed me that he wouldn't go too fast, lest he send me off the ramp with more air than I would be comfortable with. I followed him down the trail, keeping about 25 feet of space between just in case he had trouble (wouldn't want to ride over him if he somehow crashed!!). I got to the end of the ramp, the point at which I had balked the last time, and I didn't hit the brakes. I went off the edge and felt oddly calm as I sailed through the air. The landing felt much more smooth than I was expecting. It was EASY!!! I let out an excited hoot and holler - I had done it!! I rode the Little Fuzzy Bunny 2 more times, each time going faster with better and better form, getting my front wheel higher and landing further down on the transition.

Here I am coming off the lip of Little Fuzzy Bunny. No turning back at this point - I was committed! As you can see, the feature places your body, sitting on your bike, pretty high in the air. You can also see the Big Fuzzy Bunny next to the little one I'm dropping. Amazingly, my crazy Jesper tried the Big Fuzzy Bunny all on his own. I was behind him, getting ready to come down the little one, so I didn't even see it! My guy has some Cajones, although he decided after one run on the Big Bunny that he would stick to the little one until his form was more dialed in, and his form on the Little Bunny got very good, IMO. I for one KNOW my form is not good enough yet for the Big Bunny, so I will stick to the little guy for a while! I'm super proud that Jesper did both the Bunnies! I'm super proud that I did the Little Bunny! Yay for us!

First REAL Crash: After my success on Little Fuzzy Bunny, I had my first real down hill wipe out. I went over the bars on a section of Jam Rock, a very hard double black run. I had made it past what I consider the hardest part of Jam Rock, the big rock roller that dumps you out under the lift, and was going down a steep, rocky section before the TP Tree. I believe the TP Tree is there for those riders who $hit their pants coming down this difficult run.

I don't know what I did wrong, but before I knew it, I was slammed over my bike onto a big rock, which I hit with my face and my right hand. The bars of my bike hit the rock so hard I took a chink out of the rock (and scratched up my brake levers pretty good). Had I not been wearing a full face helmet, I would not have any front teeth; I have a big ding in the mouth guard of my helmet to prove this. I know my body armor prevented me from ripping open or deeply bruising my chest, arms and legs. I walked away with a very sore right hand, which I had bruised, but otherwise no real injuries. The crash ended my day - my hand hurt too much for me to feel confident holding onto the bars - but I am so impressed with and thankful for my armor. Although I only rode half a day, I was completely satisfied having slayed the Bunny!

More Fun and Crashing at Winter Park: On Monday (Labor Day), Jesper and I met up with some friends (Kim, Dan, Carey, Craig and their friends Josh and Jason) for a day of down hilling at Winter Park. It was a great group to ride with. Dan is a very talented rider who can go FAST and get big AIR. Kim is also fantastic and inspires me as to what a good female rider can do. Yes - she has done the Big Fuzzy Bunny! I like following her. Carey is also a really strong rider with awesome technical skills, as is her husband Craig. Craig's enthusiasm for trying stuff sight-unseen was unbelievable. They both rode their AM/FR bikes and absolutely slayed it! Winter Park also slayed them and they both went home with matching, but opposing side abrasions on their bums.

With a large group, we didn't take too many pics that day. Jesper snapped some of us riding the Big Wall Ride. This is the feature Carey wiped out on going FAST. Here I am doing it much better than a couple weeks prior, getting up higher on the wall.

I took a digger on a chunky, chundery fast section. I'm working on going faster on this kind of terrain, letting bike just GO under me (I was very slow at this at first). When I slid out on a loose dusty, rocky curve going fast (for me at least), I was able to bail off the bike without getting injured at all, thanks to riding platforms. I simply jumped away from the bike. Had I been clipped in, I would have gone down hard. The armor probably helped too. That was a confidence building crash!

Ultimately we did six runs, including a final, 2nd run on Trestle, on which I flailed a bit due to being tired and went OTB again. I know, who does Trestle, the DH Race Course, on their sixth run when they are tired?!?!? It is one demanding run, and we had already done it once. Yet again, my armor did it's job when I crashed and I walked away unscathed (as soon as I got my bike off me!). Another confidence building crash.

Two more days of down hilling are under my belt, and there are still three more weekends left this season at Winter Park! I've learned to get AIR, I've learned to let it GO on the chunder and I've learned I can crash hard and come away OK! Like I said, learning new things is FUN!

Learning to Fly!

2009-08-30T10:43:00.015-06:00

At the youthful age of 45, summer 2009 has finally been my year to take up Down Hill Mountain Biking! By this I don't mean riding a bike down hill. I do that all the time, sometimes on pretty gnarly terrain. No, I mean the kind of riding where you put on body armor (arms, legs, chest, back) and a full face helmet, take the chair lift up with your heavy Down Hill (DH) bike and then rip down super gnarly trails made especially for such bikes; sometimes riding special elevated rock or wooden features, some of which require you to fly through the air to exit them.

I had wanted to get into this discipline of mountain biking for quite some time; it looked super fun and I felt it would help me bring my riding to another level. My GFs out in AZ gained skills through their DH'ing that I could clearly see in their XC riding. They were faster on the descents and they could ride some super techy sections that I wouldn't even try, and I try a LOT of stuff, even when it's beyond my abilities! I wanted to be able to ride the way they did, and I felt DH would help me.

I held back for a couple reasons. Firstly, I was adventure racing the last couple of years and, out of concern for my teammates who had invested a lot of time and money in racing with me, I didn't want to get injured (not that I ever want to get injured...).

Second was that I didn't have the right kind of bike; a burly bike with the lots of suspension and the right, slack geometry for DH. I even had the specific bike in mind that I wanted - a Transition Syren. I had been lusting over this bike for quite awhile. The Syren is a sweet woman's specific Down Hill-Free Ride bike made by a small, rider owned company. The bike, designed with the input of lots of female riders, has received rave reviews for the 2 or 3 years it's been on the market.

This year, I managed to eliminate both obstacles that had kept me from Down Hilling. I decided not to race purposefully so I could do more things with Jesper and maybe so I could try Down Hilling if I could scrape up enough money to buy a bike. Good quality mountain bikes are expensive and I have a personal rule against buying bikes on credit, so I would need a fair bit of cash in hand to buy a Syren. Finally, in late July, I had the dough so I ordered the bike. She is beautiful (and no one will confuse me on the trail for a guy!)!!

My pretty pink bikey (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Yay - I had a DH bike! Now I needed to go ride it. My friend Kim graciously took me out for my first day at Keystone and showed me the ropes. I had a BLAST! Once I started getting used to riding with flat pedals, the bike took me over and through stuff I couldn't believe!

There was only one problem now. My honey didn't have a DH bike and he's my all time favorite person to ride with. I wasn't even sure if he was interested in Down Hilling. Nevertheless, I arranged for Jesper to borrow a friend's bike and gear and I dragged Jesper to Keystone with another friend, Dave. Jesper did great - riding with speed that I envy. But I wasn't sure if he LIKED it; he was an uncharacteristically unreadable. I was worried that I would be doing this Down Hill thing without my favorite riding partner.

I needn't have worried! The next Thursday night when I returned home from my weekly Gurlz Ride, there in the garage was a shiny new Boyz DH bike next to my shiny new Gurlz DH bike! Jesper had found a brand new Specialized Demo 7 at a great price. He also picked up a Full Face helmet, some armor and Five Ten shoes. Yay - we were now a DH'ing couple!

Jesper's Demo 7 (photo cred Jepser Kristensen)

We have been up to either Keystone or Winter Park every weekend for the last month, having a BLAST!!! Each time out, we get better and better. We are getting accustomed to not being clipped in. We are learning to trust the bikes on super steep chunky stuff. Jesper started out fast, but I am getting faster on the chunky chunder; switching to braking with my index finger alone, vs. my middle finger alone, oddly enough helped me feel more comfortable with speed, as did getting better tires (thanks Jason!).

We are also learning to get air! Winter Park in particular has several groupings of progressive features - table tops, dirt kickers and wooden ramps - that gradually allow you to get comfortable being in the air. Finally, yesterday at Winter Park after getting more and more air on these progressive features, we did our first hucking drop! It's a brand new feature on BAllYouCanB; a 3+ footer made so it can be rolled, but we drummed up the nerve to launch off it into the air.

Jesper did it first. He was so calm about it, soaring through the air with a perfect landing.

I was so proud of him! But yikes, now I had to do it!! I was very nervous, worried I would screw up the landing and wreck. But I pushed that feeling aside and dropped in. And then I flew through the air and landed just fine! I didn't get as high as Jesper, but I was flying! My second effort was even better.

Look - I'm flying! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

I know hucking off something this high is considered easy by many DH riders, but for us, it was a first start to getting comfortable with air. I was stoked for the whole rest of the day. I know we will be going bigger and bigger!

It's so fun learning something new with my honey! We are learning to FLY!

Jesper's Birthday Ride

2009-08-19T12:48:00.008-06:00

Jesper's birthday came shortly after we returned from a LONG vacation traveling around Colorado to sample some of the finest mountain bike trails in the world. I kind of feel like his special day got swallowed up by the vacation. Plus, when I went back to look at the pics from that ride, I was blown away by how beautiful it was!!! So, here's a short post to celebrate my honey's 39th birthday ride!

We have adopted a practice my brother Jeff follows - never to work on his birthday. Jesper's actual day fell on a Sunday, so we took Monday, August 10th, off. On Sunday, we chilled and did basically nothing, very unusual for us! Monday we awoke even earlier than we do to go to work and loaded up the car with bikes (the Safire and the Spider). I know, you must be thinking we were nuts to go on yet another mountain bike ride after riding for our entire vacation! I guess we like to ride our bikes!

We headed up I-70 to Copper Ski Resort, which the Colorado Trail snakes across on its way to Kokomo Pass and beyond. Kokomo was our goal as an out-and-back, although we had as an option a loop coming down Kokomo to Camp Hale. I had ridden a portion of this part of the Colorado Trail last year up to Searle Pass and was looking forward to taking it all the way to Kokomo!

Like most Colorado rides, this one started by going up, and up, and up. After about 8 miles of up, we made it to Searle Pass, then rode up and and down above the treeline until we hit the high point of 12,390 feet before Kokomo Pass. Jesper and I both LOVE being above tree line. The tundra is so ruggedly beautiful!

Kokomo Pass was COLD and windy and the clouds were building up, so we passed on the Camp Hale loop and headed back down. What took over three hours to ascend took just over an hour and a half to go down, and that included a 15 minute lunch stop! That downhill was a lot of fun!

After 22 miles and over 5,000 feet of climbing, we ended the day with a beer at the bar we frequent many a day after skiing. It was kinda strange to be there without snow, skiers and all the other wintry things we usually associate Copper Resort with!

Here are some pictures of the ride:

The birthday boy coming out of the forest above tree line

Abundant flowers in August!!!

Muted colors of the tundra and the numbered peaks in the distance

Kokomo Pass (~12,000 feet) was cold and windy!

Jesper taking off on the descent - wheee!!!

More of my pics here! Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Mountain Town Hopping Vacation - Summer 2009

2009-08-09T13:14:00.027-06:00

Jesper and I had so much fun in 2008 doing a driving vacation wherein we rode our mountain bikes EVERY DAY for a week+, we decided to do it again this year! Last year, we hit Grand Junction, Park City and Steamboat. This year's menu of tasty trails included Crested Butte, Telluride and Durango.

We left Boulder on Friday, July 24th right after work (OK - a little before the end of the work day) and drove to Crested Butte. Neither of us had been there, so we were super excited! We booked lodging in a swank hotel up in Mt. Crested Butte through Tuesday, allowing us four days of riding in this summer mountain biking mecca.

For Saturday, morning we had made plans to meet up with some friends from Boulder who were camping in CB for the weekend. We rode about a quarter mile from our hotel to the trail head of the Upper Loop Trail and rode that (and Upper Upper Loop) to Brush Creek Road, which we rode to the Strand Hill area where our friends Andria, Jason, Nicole and Tarka were camping. Upper/Upper Upper Loop and Brush Creek Road put about 9 miles of some nice riding under our belts before our combined group continued up West Brush Creek Road to the Teocalli Ridge Trail. Teocalli Ridge, billed as 'Very Difficult', was super duper fun, especial once we hit the LONG downhill section. There were some fun techy and tricky sections and we sessioned a few of them. I even got air on a rock ledge jump!!!

Nicole sitting at the top of the Teocalli Ridge ascent, ready for some awesome descending!

After finishing Teocalli, Jesper and I still had 9 miles of mostly uphill to ride back to our hotel. Thirty hot sunny miles later, we were back at our room, hungry and tired! We found a great restaurant in CB with delish food, yummy wine/beer and the last real day of the TdF on the TV, which we watched as we ate at the bar. All-in-all, a dandy first day!

On Sunday we drove down to CB to supposedly do a really big adventurous ride with Andria, Jason and Tarka. Problem was the weather. It had rained all night and we were worried that the trails would be a sloppy mess. After consulting with some locals at a bike shop, we modified our ride location plans and headed back up past Mt. CB to the Snodgrass trail head. We rode the Snodgrass Trail down to Washington Gulch Road. Snodgrass was an absolute BLAST; fun swoopy trails through an amazing ancient aspen forest. I think there was an entire mile through the woods where I didn't pedal or brake! Then began the long climb up Washington Gulch Road. These roads I refer to riding are gravel roads, not paved and, although not as interesting as single track trail, often provided magnificent views.

Nice views from Washington Gulch Road summit (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

We finally arrived at the single track and the 403 Trail and headed for more uphill. What goes up must come down and as we circumnavigated Gothic Mountain, we ultimately reached the top of our ride.

Unfortunately, the weather had moved back in and it began to rain as we descended. We had been forewarned that the CB soils could turn to a gluey cement when wet. Sure enough, the soils on 403 did just that. At first, we rode through pine forests with enough needle duff to keep the trails rideable. But then we got out to the open and the trail conditions deteriorated rapidly. I ended up behind a couple girls from another group who were having too much fun on what had now become a slip and slide. Andria and Jesper were both frustrated by the design of their Intense bikes, which clogged up mud and plant debris such that the rear wheel would not spin. Although my wheels remained free to roll, my bike was a mud-packed mess at the bottom. We all took the time to wash our bikes off in a creek, as well as our shorts and jackets.

Jesper un-clumping his bike in the creek after the descent down the 403 Trail

We had planned to ride up Gothic Road to descend the infamous 401 Trail, but the weather up that way looked SCARY. So, we pointed the bikes down the road and made it back to the cars just before all holy hell broke loose - hail, lightening and wind! Our friends headed back to their camp site to tear down and Jesper and I headed to our posh hotel room to freshen up before dinner at a nice little Italian place in CB.

Monday morning dawned with sunny skies! Yay! On our own now, Jesper and I decided to ride the 401 Trail (the full meal deal with no shuttle and the extra bonus miles at the end). We climbed up Gothic Road to the start of the 401. The trail initially trended uphill, taking us through high alpine meadows. Near the top of the trail, we stopped for Jesper to do some maintenance on his front brake.

Not a bad place to stop for bike maintenance!

It was a pretty place to stop. Crested Butte is renowned for its wildflowers, which were especially spectacular this year due to all the rain we've had in Colorado. When Jesper was done fiddling with his brake, I rode ahead a bit and crouched down off the trial to take pictures of him with some chiming blue bells in the foreground.

Jesper near the top of 401

As I crouched down to take the pictures, I felt something strange tweak in my lower back. Hmm.... that was odd. It continued to feel a little bit odd as I rode the wonderful, swoopy single track down through fields of flowers so tall they were hitting us in the face!

Famous Crested Butte wildflowers!

The 401 Trail is as amazing as its reputation portrays. Wildflowers out the wazoo, fantastic mountain views and tight single track racing along the ridge line. After an almost endless buff downhill, we arrived at Rustlers Gulch and stayed on 401 as it climbed back up again. Now my back did not feel so good. I was relieved when we finally reached the car.

We cleaned up at our hotel and headed back down to town on the free shuttle bus. After walking up and down the main drag a little, we opted to have dinner at a Mexican place. My back hurt from the walking and I was hoping sitting would feel better. No go. I was on the verge of pain and discomfort through my entire meal.

Worse yet was lying down. No position was pain free and moving from one position to another was excruciating! I did not sleep much that night. I awoke Tuesday morning in pain. I could not bend over or twist my back. I pretty much decided I had pinched a nerve; a big one. It was a beautiful day; a perfect day for a mountain bike ride. I could barely walk.

We had planned a big honking ride, but we scaled our plans back, more so if Jesper did the ride by himself, I would not be sitting by the car alone all day; not so much so that I could possibly do the ride. We opted for the Dyke Trail, out and back starting at the Horse Park trail head. We got to the trail head and I decided to try riding the bike, just to see what it felt like. Oddly enough, being on the bike felt better than sitting, standing or lying down. Hmmm.... would riding really easy make it worse or better? I decided to try the ride. I was in constant discomfort interspersed with flashes of pain, but the pain and discomfort were worse off the bike. I warned Jesper that I might be grumpy and we set off.

Jesper on the ride up through the aspen forest on the Dyke Trail

The ride goes out mostly climbing, first through a stunning aspen forest. I took the ascending really slow, in my granny gear, and stopped to walk anything that would make me pull a power move. It was a bit frustrating, walking stuff I normally could ride with ease, but I was just happy to be riding! We got to the end of the trail and debated our next step. Jesper wanted to make sure I had it in me to ride back the on the trail; the other options were for us to ride the road back (would be faster and less jarring) or have Jesper go back on the road and get the car for me. Amazingly, my back felt even better than it had when I started the ride, so down we went on the trail. Downhill was easier than uphill, but I road cautiously, so as not to get myself in a position where I had to juke a move or god forbid, come off the bike! Coming down through the steep single track through the aspens was fun and beautiful!

It wasn't a long ride, but I highly recommend the Dyke Trail - very fun! After our ride, we sort of cleaned up with Wet Ones and pointed the car south to our next destination - Telluride! I was happy when the drive was over, since sitting was not remotely comfortable. We had lodging in another swank resort hotel, this time in the Mountain Village above Telluride at the Mountain Lodge. We checked in and took showers to get clean for real. By then it was getting late. We hopped on the free gondola that takes you down the mountain, hoping we would find some restaurants open after 8:00 on a Tuesday. Having our first view of Telluride coming down from Mountain Village on the gondola highlighted the fantasy land beauty of this place! It is truly a magical place, so pretty it almost seems fake.

View of Telluride from the gondola at dusk

To our good fortune, we found a nice place, 221 South Oak, which had a pretty expensive menu but offered two-for-one entrees on Tuesdays!!! We had to sit at the bar, but that turned out to be more good fortune - the bar tender/waiter was an avid mountain biker who, once he determined we were strong riders, filled us in on some places to ride that are not on the maps. Great dinner, great price and great trail beta - not a bad evening. We rode back up the gondola and hit the hay. My back was feeling better (bar stools were more comfortable than the car seats, I guess) and I actually slept that night!

The next morning (Wednesday) we did one of the rides suggested by our bartender friend - Prospect Trail across the ski resort and then beyond into unmarked forest service land with awesome single track through meadows, aspen and pine forests connected together by bursts of forest service road. The ride started with a lift from the gondola; bikes and all! We encountered a few people while still on the ski resort property, but then pretty much had the trails to ourselves (and one very lost man we found riding by himself). Jesper especially loved the fast swoopy downhills through the pine forests; soft pine needle duff infused with a smattering of roots and rocks. The weather began to turn and we got rained on a tad, the clouds making for poor picture taking in the dark, spooky forests. The day turned sunny again and we finished up the loop on the Galloping Goose back to town.

Jesper on a nice flat and groomed scree field on the Prospect Trail (not all scree fields are this nice!)

My back felt even better on this ride! I wasn't near 100%, especially on the climbing, but my mobility was improving and my descending was getting more confident accordingly. At times I was in discomfort but not really in pain. Yay! Post ride, we headed straight for a local establishment that served beer and food - we were hungry and thirsty! There we met up with some other Boulder friends - Tina and Charlie, who joined us for a drink and an appy.

My back did not feel too hot that night - not sure why - but the next day we had grand plans anyway to ride some other trail recommended by our bartender friend. We checked out of our room and found a cafe in town. The egg, ham, cheese, tomato and basil sandwich we had was the most delicious breakfast we had the whole trip, but the service at that place was abysmal. Nevertheless, I'd still go back for that sandwich!

Our ride started out from town and headed northwest of town. We had barely left the road when -SNAP! Jesper's derailleur completely sheared off. A little rock had gotten lodged in the pulley. I rode and Jesper pushed and strode his bike back to the car. By the time we got back there, due to our very slow breakfast (that was part of the bad service), we decided to just head off to our next destination - Durango! So, we kinda rode that day, but not much....

We opted to drive from T-ride to Dgo over Ophir Pass. It was a more direct way than going back up north to Ridgeway and then down to Dgo. We knew Ophir was a gravel road and recommended only for 4-wheel drive with high clearance, but our bartender friend was adamant that our Durango would be fine. The man must have been smoking crack cocaine! The 'road' started out as a gravel road and then became rockier and rockier, with those rocks getting bigger and bigger. The need for high clearance soon became evident. Jesper did a great job of maneuvering the car, with only one chunky hit to the underside of the car.

As we approached the pass itself, we came upon the scree field. For those not familiar with a scree field, it is basically a loose and steep pile of loose rocks that are falling off a mountain. On this particular scree field, some road service folks had flattened out about a ten foot wide platform for cars to drive over; okay, for one car at a time to drive over, because there was barely enough room for one vehicle, let alone another to pass! To the left, the loose rocks went up steeply. Down to the right, loose rocks continued for a couple hundred steep feet before running out. A couple mangled cars lay at the bottom (I kid you not). Our adrenaline started pumping!

The "road" on the scree field over Ophir Pass; loose rocks up to the right and a couple hundred foot drop off to the left, with not much room for the Durango in between

Then we arrived at a rock slide and we stopped the car. Since the rocks on a scree field are not attached to anything, they continue to fall, courtesy of gravity. A section of them had done so and were now covering the place where the driver's side wheels of our car needed to be. We got out of the car to assess the situation. The slide would compel us to drive over an 18 to 24 inch higher section on the driver's side. This is not a huge height to go over, but it would tip the car toward the abyss, which made us understandably uncomfortable. I recommended getting the shovel out and digging the rock slide away, but Jesper felt that would take too long and another car might start coming our way. Rationally, we knew the car's suspension should be able to suck up the difference in the height of the 'road' surface; other cars had clearly done it based on the tire imprints. So, upon Jesper's suggestion, I stayed out of the car and went ahead to watch and let Jesper know if things looked sketchy as he prepared to drive over the rock slide.

View looking back toward the 'road' perched on the side of the scree field - the abyss down from the 'road' continues well below the bottom of the picture!

I don't think either of us breathed as Jesper drove over the rock slide. The car sucked it up and went over with barely a tilt. Schwew! I got back in the car and we continued a bit further until we hit the pass at 11,789 feet! I can't believe we drove our Durango up to almost 12,000 feet!

The sign says "OPHIR PASS - 11,789 FEET"

The other side of the pass, although clearly requiring 4-wheel drive, was nothing like the west side. Holy crap - I still can't believe we drove that 'road' in our car, and neither could a bunch of our friends (who had all done something similar once). I think we'll stick to hurling ourselves down mountain on our bikes!

We arrived in Dgo and found our hotel, the Iron Horse Inn. Decidedly NOT as swank as our first two accommodations, we kind of liked it better. Both swanky resort places had mandatory Valet parking, which was a PITA with our bikes and gear all being on/in the car. At the Iron Horse, the car was right outside our room, with lots of space to work on bikes. Came in handy since Jesper needed to put a new derailleur on his bike! Plus we had so much room; a full suite downstairs and then another complete room upstairs!

We headed into town and walked up the main drag, stopping finally at the ice cream place. We so rarely eat ice cream - YUM! We grabbed dinner at a decent Chinese place (I was craving veggies and that place delivered), and then when to our hotel suite for an early night in bed. All that poor sleeping was catching up to me!

The next morning we made plans to meet up with Tina and Charlie again (they were following us one day behind it seems) to ride Molas Pass to Coal Bank Pass. We opted not to shuttle, so the ride started out with an 8 mile ascent up Highway 550 from Coal Bank Pass to the start at Molas Pass. The shoulder on the highway was wide and I honestly think this ended up being as fast as a shuttle would have been, even with me riding a bit slow due to my back.

After the ride up Highway 550, we were treated to 18 miles of luscious single track that wove through forest and up into the tundra, my favorite terrain. The weather gods treated us to a wide variety of conditions - sun, hail, rain, lightening, sun and then more rain. Weather when you are up that high is pretty spectacular.

Tina and Charlie coming up through the flowers!

Jesper descending with Engineer Mountain in the background

Tina beneath Engineer Mountain and some ominous clouds

I felt great on the downhills and pretty good on the climbs. We finished on a section of trail that clearly sees a lot of horse traffic, creating a poop, rain, mud mixture - YUCK! Otherwise, an simply stellar ride with great friends!!!

Dirty Girls! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Why is my tush dirtier than Tina's?!?!?! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

On Saturday morning, it was just me and Jesper (my all time favorite riding partner) so we were limited to rides that could be done sans shuttle. We opted to do a long single track ride that would sample part of the Hermosa Creek Trail, first ascending the Jones Creek Trail, then climbing more up the Pinkerton-Flagstaff Trail before BOMBING down the Dutch Creek Trail, which merged onto the Hermosa Creek Trail. Something like 20 miles and a whole lotta of climbing. Pinkerton-Flagstaff in particular was a heinous climb, frequently a hike-a-bike. We were rewarded with one of the most fun downhills I have ridden with the rocky Dutch Creek trail.

Cool aspens at the beginning of the incredible Dutch Creek Trail descent

I took absolutely ZERO pictures on the Dutch Creek and Hermosa Creek descents! Way too fun to stop.

The next day, Sunday, August 2nd, we slept in a little bit before hitting the road back to Boulder. We had debated getting in one more ride, but felt after 8 days straight on our bikes, we could use a day off. Plus, we wanted to get home, relax, hot tub it and get to bed early. We arrived back in Boulder officially still on vacation through Wednesday. We took Monday off from riding again, but we both did some much needed yoga. We also picked up our happy woogie from the kennel.

On Tuesday, we packed up the bikes once again and pointed the car west toward Summit County for another final vacation ride in the high country. Our salutatory ride was another piece of the Colorado Trail, this time near Breckenridge. We met up with friend Craig McNiel for part of this ride. We started up Tiger Road and headed out past the Dredge Ship trail head to the Colorado Trail, which we climbed all the way up to Georgia Pass.

Craig, me and Jesper at Georgia Pass (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Coming back down was a blast and so much faster than the ascent up! At this point, about 22 miles in, Craig bid us farewell and headed back to his car; Jesper and I continued on the Colorado Trail over the West Ridge section. After some initial climbing, we were treated to probably the best descent on the entire Colorado Trail! Final stats for this last vacation ride were 35 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing.

My smile shows how much fun the West Ridge descent was!!! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

And on our final day of vacation, we rested.

Wyoming Camping Weekend

2009-07-07T14:57:00.006-06:00

Jesper and I traveled north over the Independence Day Weekend, finally managing to take Strelka on her first camping trip! I'm not going to write much, since Jesper prepared a very nice report on his website.

I do have some nice pictures of my honey, which he does not have on his site. Plus some extras of Strelka, since she's so pretty! So here's a linky to my Picasa site with a bunch of photos.

A few posted here to entice you...

Don and Jesper in search of the Laramie Enduro route

Full belly = sleepy pupper!

My honey rocking the SS at Curt Gowdy

Still snowy up in the Snowy Range!

You don't need an adventure race to have an adventure!

2009-06-28T10:45:00.025-06:00

You don't need to adventure race to have an adventure; this Saturday's ride was absolute proof of that. Dave from Redstone organized the ride, which was billed to be an all-day death march, 6 - 8 hours of riding. Eight brave souls showed up for the ride (Lee, Brian, Dave, Doug, Rob, Don, Jesper and me).

Me and 7 fit guys head out from funky little Jamestown - not a bad view!

The plan was to ride a large sampling of the trails up near Jamestown in the Roosevelt National Forest, starting out along James Creek, heading down Bell Gulch, around Gold Lake, up and along a ridge line with views of Gold Hill and then down, down down back to Jamestown. Despite a few obstacles and a major mechanical, the plan was realized almost to a T!

Jesper and I have done the ride along James Creek many times. It is an old road that has been closed to motorized vehicles for years, becoming more and more single track every year. In the spring and early summer, one section of the trail is usually covered in water. We've had a lot of rain this spring and the result was that a significant portion of the entire trail was under water.

The one section that is often wet was a raging river. Most of us opted to climb up over a steep scree field to get around it. Yay - the adventure had started!!

We usually ride this section, but not when it has white caps! (photo cred Dave Chase)

Jesper and Rob crossing the scree field

Dave decided to forge through the water, practically freezing his nuts off in the process (that water is COLD!).

Dave opting to take the creek route while the rest of us scrambled over a scree field

It wasn't easy either way. We rode along the trail/creek for awhile, the deafening sound of the supercharged creek filling our heads. It was a hot day, so the splashing and wetting of our feet felt good. The trail eventually crosses the creek and ordinarily this can be easily walked (and sometimes ridden). Not this day. Jesper and Dave waded into the creek, at this point a raging river escaping its banks. I walked in until the water was knee deep. Dang - It was COLD, so cold my feet hurt! The current was also amazingly strong, even at knee-deep depth. I watched as Jesper and Dave struggled in water almost to their waists to make their way toward the middle of the creek (er, river).

Jesper forging into the raging creek

It was pretty clear to me that, at my size, I would not be able to cross the creek without being swept downstream, probably losing my bike in the process. So I headed upstream to the slippery log that lays across the creek. Some of the other guys were there and already crossing it.

Doug crossing the slipperly log

Jesper and Dave soon abandoned their attempt to wade across the water and joined our group, deciding the log was a better option than the creek. I've crossed the log before, even wearing my biking shoes and carrying my bike. But this time, the water was so close to the log and moving so fast it made crossing on the log 'seem' more sketchy. Since half the guys were already across the log, we implemented a little team work to get the remaining bikes safely over. Then the rest of us walked or scootched our butts over the log. Yay - more adventuring!

Making me feel like I was on tightly honed adventure racing team! (photo cred Dave Chase)

I checked my Forerunner - we had gone about 3 miles in one hour. Scree fields and raging river crossings tend to slow a group down! We continued up, up, up, finally reaching the top of the first big climb of the day (there were more to come). After a little snack, we took off, or at least we tried to take off. Lee made it about 50 feet before a rogue rock bounced up and completely sheared his derailleur off! The part was jammed tightly into his cassette. Oddly enough, his replaceable derailleur hanger wasn't bent in the teeniest bit. As the guys tried to extract the derailleur from the cassette, I kept going to let the front of the group know that there was a major mechanical and that Lee would be turning around to walk his bike home.

Lee was BUMMING, not so much because of his bike being broken, but because he was having such a good time and the day was so pretty - he hated the idea of not being able to finish the ride. Jesper, Doug, Don and I hung out and ate some more, waiting for Dave, Brian and Rob to rejoin us. Imagine our surprise when the group came into view with Lee riding along! Brian had masterminded an amazing zip-tie repair that allowed Lee to ride, albeit with only 3 gears, but it was still riding. Our group of eight was still intact!

Lee's zip-tied derailleur

This is where the GPS tracks start to look like an etch-a-sketch doodle (although we never repeated any section either direction except maybe one little tiny connector)!

BLOG EDIT - I had a route posted here, but apparently it caused some controversy among the local ride scene. None of the trails we rode were illegal and all of them were on published maps. Nevertheless, I have removed the image to keep the peace.

We descended a super fun section to a point we had been to before and then pointed the bikes back uphill again for a grueling jeep rode climb I am all too familiar with, except it didn't seem so bad this time. Then we headed down into Bell Gulch on a trail that is labeled as a 'road' on the maps but has reverted to overgrown singletrack over the years. The descent just kept going and is the kind that makes you think, "Hmmm... I'm gonna need to do some serious climbing to get out of here!"

Jesper and I did something like this ride last summer. At that time, we continued on the 'road' west all the way to the Nelson Mine and then hooked back to the east to encounter Gold Lake. For Dave's ride, we took a spur trail almost directly south of Gold Lake and headed north up a stupid steep jeep road. Lots of hiking, which made Dave happy, although no one used his name in vain.

Jesper smiling even on a monster hike-a-bike! (photo cred Dave Chase)

We arrived at Gold Lake and cruised some up and down rollers at around 8,700 feet, hitting a ridge line trail I had not been on before. We stopped once again to put down some food and enjoy the fantastic views.

Not a bad place to take a break (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

After the ridgeline we had over four ripping miles of endorphine enducing downhill; rocky terrain through the woods and buff super-skinny singletrack through wide open meadows. The amazing beauty reminded me of how fortunate I am to live in this piece of paradise!

Skinny singletrack on a ripping downhill! (photo cred Dave Chase)

After over six hours out on the bikes, we were ready for a beer and excited chatter about the day's events. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day - great ride, great weather, great friends and a great adventure! Who needs racing?!?!?!

Riding Routine

2009-06-25T09:47:00.011-06:00

I've been getting into a good riding routine lately. Part of it is that ski season is over, and when ski season is over, we ride our bikes. Part of it is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE mountain biking. Part of it is that I LOVE my new mountain bike, a Specialized Safire. Part of it is that I don't have to run as much as training for adventure racing since I'm not racing at all this year! And part of it is that I can't run much, as I am recovering from a case of Plantar Fasciitis, so I need to ride to get some exercise.

The Gurlz Ridez started up in April; I started getting out at least once a week for these rides most Thursday nights, dodging the excessive rain we got this spring The Gurlz Ridez range from beginner to advanced; sometimes the riding is easy and sometimes the riding is challenging. Regardless, the rides are always fun and social. I love seeing beginner riders take their riding to a higher level. I am inspired by being part of a large group of really good female riders on the advanced ride nights. I have found a great group of like-minded women through these rides and they have become my closest friends. The Gurlz Ridez are a good thing!

The group of advanced gurlz ready to tackle White Ranch (photo cred Tracy Emmanuel)

We used to hold the Gurlz Ridez on Tuesdays, but switched to Thursday to free up Tuesdays for the weekly Redstone ride. The Redstone rides really push me. I am one of the faster riders on the Gurlz Ridez, but on the Redstone rides, I am toward the back of the pack and working hard to hang on! Not many women come on these rides and most of the guys who ride are very, very good mountain bikers.

Me and a bunch of guys on the Redstone ride - there is another woman hiding behind me! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Dave Chase, owner of Redstone Cyclery, hosts these weekly rides and generally holds them up north in the Roosevelt National Forest. There is a lot of technical terrain up there, not to mention a lot of opportunity for massive climbing; in a 3 to 4 hour ride, we typically climb 4,000 to 5,000 feet over 10 to 15 miles. Despite the low mileage, the group moves fast! I am confident these rides are improving my riding, both uphill climbing (my bane - I have very good technical skills but want to be faster!) and downhill. I am worked on Wednesdays!

Sample section of not even the most technical of trails (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Profile from last Redstone ride - after a warm up loop, we ascended from 8,600 to over 10,000 feet, and then we got to go down it in the dark - Whoo Hoo!

The last couple rides have run up against nightfall, so I have had the opportunity to use my lights and do some night riding. I LOVE night riding. There is something special about being out in the woods in the dark, whizzing down a rocky trail. It forces you to flow over the terrain and ride loose. Often, the group gets spread out and I find myself all alone on a section. Oddly enough, the effect is peaceful and not frightening.

Getting dark - almost time for the lights! (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Jesper does the Redstone rides with me (or I do them with him???). There are faster guys there for him to chase, so I think the rides push his skills too. We are lucky that the two of us can ride together at this level; not many couples can. The area we ride in is beautiful, offering incredible views of the mountains in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area; I love that Jesper and I can share in this beauty.

We have been riding on the weekends too, at least one day. Some of these rides have been LONG all day events. Some have been exploratory - finding new and secret trails to ride. Others have been more social. Last Sunday we did a fun ride with two other couples, once again up in the Roosevelt National Forest on the Sourdough Trail. Loads of climbing (over 4,000 feet) over 12 miles on a beautiful sunny day with good friends. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

Me riding through a rocky section on the southern portion of the Sourdough Trail (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Although I am anxious to get more running in too, I plan to keep this up - mountain biking 3 or 4 times a week - up all the way until ski season starts again. I love my riding routine!

'Splorin' with my Honey!

2009-06-08T08:19:00.016-06:00

Jesper and I are bearing the fruit of my decision NOT to race this summer. Not racing is intended to allow me the freedom to ride hard and make my own adventures with Jesper, unencumbered by race day commitments, training plans and the motivation to not get injured (now don't get me wrong, I don't intend to get hurt, but I felt the need to dial back my desires to ride aggressively last year out of concern that I would let my team down if I got injured). So, free from these constraints, I've been riding more aggressively this year. This weekend, I also got to go adventuring with Jesper, exploring new and hidden trails.

I can't say where we explored or what trails we rode. All I can say is they were in the National Forest system, although hard to find and intentionally not well advertised. Jesper did his homework online and by asking around. He studied the maps and inserted way points into the GPS. He knew what the topography should like when we were in the right place. Armed with this info, he totally rocked the navigation and found everything we wanted to find!

We rode our SS bikes. I was initially questionable about this plan. This was going to be a lot of ride; over 5,000 feet of climbing and 30 miles if we were able to do the full route Jesper intended. Neither Jesper nor I have logged a lot of SS miles this year, mostly since I have been grooving on my new FS bike, the Safire. I had visions of me walking my bike more than riding it uphill. However, we must be in better shape than we thought. We rode all but the loosest and steepest climbs, which we would have walked even if we were in tip top shape.

The ride started on a forest service road and then cut to a fantastic single track trail on a ridge line.

Single track with views

Parachute Balls from some funky flower

The single track ended, but after some dirt road, we were once again on single track trail. We had been riding for over 2 hours and it had been awhile since breakfast. Time for lunch and an assessment of our progress visa vis the weather.

That was one of the best lunches I've ever had! Fantastic home made sandwiches made on fresh rolls with ham, salami, cheese and avocado. Chased with sugar cookies. YUM!

You know it's chilly out when you take a lunch break and keep your helmet and gloves on while eating!

As we ate, massive thunderheads were sprouting up all around us and we knew from checking the forecast that a front system was coming in. The temps dropped considerably down into the 50s and we donned jackets and knee warmers. Although we really wanted to continue, we also did NOT want to be caught in a frigid, hail storm, hours away from the car. Regrettably, we decided to cut the ride short due to weather and skipped finding the second secret trail we were looking for. We turned around and finished the ride under threatening skies.

Jesper clearing the tree/log pile with ease

Clouds building up as we high tail it back to the car (photo cred Jesper Kristensen)

Our final tally was about 20 miles of riding with 4,000 feet of climbing. We'll be back to find that other trail, probably on some weekend I WOULD have been racing!

Click here for more pics.

Gettin' the Hell Out of Dodge (in the Dodge while Dodging the Rain)

2009-05-26T08:49:00.033-06:00

I am not sure who picked the 4th Monday of May to celebrate Memorial Day, but I don't think he or she had a clue about weather patterns in the US. Almost without fail, Memorial Day weekend is cold and rainy no matter where in the country you are. This, despite warm sunny days that precede the holiday weekend; warm sunny days that dupe you into thinking THIS Memorial Day weekend will be different. HA!

For many years, my family would get together to go camping over Memorial Day weekend as a sort of annual reunion; the Kwasniewski Trailer Trash Weekend. May would start out cold and rainy, but then, toward the middle of the month, the skies would clear and the temps would rise. It would start to look promising for Trailer Trash! However, almost without fail, we would arrive at the camp ground on Memorial Weekend to rain, sometime torrential. We still managed to have fun - muddy fun - but ultimately we got smart and moved our Trailer Trash weekend later in the summer for better weather.

The same weather pattern happens out here in sunny Colorado. Memorial Day weekend seems to be the last blast of a rainy spring. This year, Jesper and I were jonesin' to get out of town and we somehow forgot that Memorial Day weekend was almost guaranteed to be rainy. Other than going to Ohio for my Father's funeral in March (not really a vacation), we hadn't been away from Boulder for a while. We were also ready to take Strelka for her first camping trip. The past two years had been shy on the dog-camping with Mushka being too sick to go anywhere. We wanted Strelka to enjoy camping so we were keen for her first exposure to it to be positive (read warm and sunny).

Where to go? All we knew was we wanted to get out of Boulder, ride our bikes a little, take Strelka and maybe hit up some destinations we had been interested in seeing. Jesper got it in his head to go see the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, home to the tallest sand dunes in the US. These dunes were formed by sand left behind after ancient lakes receded. Predominant winds from the southwest blew the sand toward a low curve in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The wind funnels toward three mountain passes - Mosca, Medano, and Music Passes. The sand accumulates in the natural pocket formed by the three passes and the opposing wind directions cause the dunes to grow vertically. The result is pretty bizarre; huge sand dunes nestled up against 14,000 foot, snow-covered mountains. They sounded pretty cool to me too!

As the weekend approached, Jesper and I scoured the weather web sites to see where the conditions would be best. We knew the forecast called for rain in Boulder, so we searched north, south and west (why bother going east?!?!). Much to our disappointment, we would have to drive to Canada, Mexico or Washington State to get away from a large green blob centered over the southwest. It wouldn't even help if we wanted to go east, because the entire eastern US was a bunch of green blobs too. What did I expect? It was Memorial Weekend after all, and that means RAIN.

So - there was nowhere we could drive to that would likely be dry. We decided to head south (toward the Great Sand Dunes) and play it by ear. We loaded up the Durangutan with camping gear, bikes and the dog and hit the road Friday after work. We had no specific plans and no reservations for camping spots or lodging. Some might call this folly on a holiday weekend, especially since all of Colorado is a tourist destination this time of the year (well, except eastern Colorado). We call it "spontaneous"!

Friday Night - we made it to Manitou Springs, home to the Garden of the Gods, definitely a tourist destination, but a spectacular one. As we were approaching the Springs area, rain looked eminent. Heavy, cold rain. Hmmmm... maybe we didn't want to spend the night in a tent (not that I knew where we would set it up in the first place). Good thing for iPhones! I researched pet-friendly lodging in the area. After many unsuccessful attempts, we got lucky and found a motel right in Manitou Springs. Josh and Josh working the front desk were super nice and friendly. The Mexican restaurant down the road was very tasty and the waitstaff was also super nice. There was even a park across the street from the motel to walk Strelka. It rained all night while we slept in our dry motel room. All in all, Friday night worked out great. Dodging the rain.

Saturday - After along night's sleep (I had been burning the candle from both ends the previous week and was SUPER tired), we headed over to the Garden of the Gods with Strelka. I am so glad we checked this place out! Talk about some freaky rocks!!! I get to see some pretty cool rock formations out west, but these are some of the coolest.

Freaky Rocks (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

Jesper on the rocks!

We walked around for a couple hours, snapping pictures right and left, although the cloudy day did not make for ideal photography. The rain had abated for the morning, but the clouds were building up again. It began to pour just as we got back to the car. Dodging the rain.

We continued south on I-25 and stopped in Pueblo for a ride. We've seen lots of pictures of friends riding in this area and wanted to try it out. It's a little too far to go there for a day trip, so this was a good opportunity. Doh! - I forgot to bring my armor! Based on the pictures I'd seen, armor could come in handy on these trails. The trail system is somewhat a maze of stacked loops coming down rock lined canyons and gulleys with drops and big rollers. It looked like it might rain any minute, but the trails never take you far from the parking area, so we could always rush back if the clouds opened up. We met a very helpful local named Eric who gave us route recommendations (and some water); he said we should be sure to go down Hooters Canyon and Watertower.

Jesper coming up one of the many rocky gulleys at Peublo

I usually see photos of people going DOWN this!

We rode around for a bit more than an hour, and we did come down Hooters and Watertower, both of which were super fun. Hooters had some fantastic rocky/ledgy stuff that I had a ton of fun on, doing over and over so Jesper could snap some pictures with me as his model. Do I have to ride that fun stuff again????? Okay..., if you insist!

Me with my Blue Steel Face; it's gnarlier than it looks! (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

I was happy to make this tricky turn on the 3rd try; sticking your tongue out helps! (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

We could have played around for a bit longer, but the heavens were opening up and rain began to fall. We high-tailed it to the car. Dodging the rain.

We continued south on I-25 to Walsenburg. I love driving around places I've never been and may never be again. I mean, why would I ever go to Walsenburg, Colorado? We stopped at a liquor store in this tiny town to buy beer and wine. Not much of a selection, so we passed on the wine and left with a six pack of Tecate. We picked up US-160 in Walsenburg and headed west toward the Great Sand Dunes. As we drove, we watched spectacular weather happening all around us; localized areas of hail and rain punching out of the low, dark thunderheads. It didn't look very inviting for camping!

This time, I was not so lucky with the iPhone, namely because there was No Service. We were in the boonies. We didn't get service until we practically arrived in Alamosa, while the biggest town in this area, still a very small town. We called hotels and motels. We stopped in to inquire about room availability for the night. Everything was booked. All the camp sites were even booked. We were almost resigned to sleeping in the Durangutan when we stopped at one final hotel in Alamosa. Although they were booked, the nice folks at the front desk recommended two places in Monte Vista, an even tinier town off to the northwest. I called the first place and they had ONE room left and it was pet-friendly. We booked it immediately! We headed northwest, watching rain all around us and periodically driving through it. Dodging the rain.

Sunday - We decided to get up really early on Sunday to hopefully catch the morning sunlight on the Great Sand Dunes. We would need a miraculous break in the weather, but we figured the worse that happened was we got up early and it was still cloudy and rainy. We got up at 5:30 and it was still cloudy, but not raining at the moment. We checked out and drove back east to the Great Sand Dunes. Grey clouds hung low in the sky, but the sun was trying to peak underneath them over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We entered the park before the pay booth was even open and pulled into an almost empty parking lot. Even with the crappy weather, I suspect the lot would be full later in the day.

A river separates the parking lot from the dunes. Because of the moving sand, it is not possible to erect a bridge, so you have to walk through the water. It is shallow but wide. It is one cold MF too! That water comes straight down from the melting snow in the mountains. The water is so cold it hurts! Once across, we began trekking north up the dunes. It was chilly and a bit windy as the sun struggled to burst through the increasing cloud cover. We saw one other person with a dog; tiny ant figures off to the distance. Otherwise, we had the entire gigantic sandbox to ourselves.

A vast expanse of sand nestled up against the mountains (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

The dip in the river made Strelka all spunky and she busted out several cases of the zoomies; dashing back and forth at break neck speeds. She was so darn cute! Up we went until we summitted the first wave of dunes. You can't see any dunes to the north of these from the parking lot, but once we reached this point, a vast expanse of undulating sand presented itself before us; surrounded by mountains shrouded in a white cloak of snow and clouds. It was very beautiful. We hiked around, seeking untracked dunes and trying to make the most of the increasingly poor lighting. We never saw a ray of sunlight hit the sand.

A boy and his dog

Jesper crossing the cold river to get back to the car

Finally, our meager snack of an apple and a banana wore off and we decided to head down to get some breakfast. Descending was easier than climbing up the dunes and Strelka got a charge out of racing down, almost out of control. We had good timing; once we crested the last big set of dunes we could see the masses beginning to ascend. I'm glad we visited this unusual geologic feature. I'm not sure when we'd get down there again, although we may go again if only to be there for better picture taking weather. Other than getting our feet wet in the river, we did manage to stay dry. Dodging the rain.

After a very yummy breakfast (awesome huevos rancheros) at a restaurant with lots of dead animals on the walls, we pointed the Durangutan north. Time to start heading back to Boulder. The Great Sand Dunes lie at the edge of a very large and flat alpine valley. When I say large, I mean large. Covering about 9,000 square miles (122 miles by 74 miles), and sitting at about 7,500 feet in elevation, the San Luis Valley is the largest alpine valley in the world. Expansive and flat as can be, the valley seems to go on forever. To the east lie the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and to the west, the valley is bordered by the San Juan Mountains. As you head north, the mountains pinch in, eventually swallowing up the valley just south of Salida. We drove through barely fields, potato fields, lots of alfalfa and rabbitbrush, all vibrant green from the recent and continuous rains. Once again, we could see powerful storm cells off in the distance, then closer and closer until we drove through cold rain showers.

I hadn't thought we would be going to Salida, but like I said, this trip was spontaneous and Salida happened to be on the way once we decided to make our trip into a loop. Salida is home to one of the most famous mountain bike trails in the world; the Monarch Crest. We rode the Crest last August for Jesper's birthday, but knew there would still be too much snow lingering to ride it in May. But maybe we could find some trails at a lower elevation that were snow free....

On the way into town, we pulled off onto some dirt roads in the National Forest to have a look-see. Maybe we could find a nice spot to camp. The roads were muddy from all the rain and the camp sites were full. Maybe we could set up in a flat back country spot close to a road. We found nothing flat (it is the Rocky Mountains after all!). We finally pulled off to the upslope side of a very exposed gravel road. It was still morning and the sun was making another effort to come out. We pulled out the camp chairs, fed the dog and got a sleeping pad out for her to lay down on. Jesper brewed a wickedly strong pot of coffee, which we enjoyed with a cookie and some reading.

Hanging out during the brief sunshine near Salida

Then, the clouds once again began to build up. We watched as they billowed up and surged toward us. It was time to pack up and get back in the car. Just as we were finishing, the rain came again. Dodging the rain.

We drove into town thinking perhaps we should try to find lodging. Finding a place the previous night had been difficult, so I was a tad worried. As we passed through Poncha Springs just outside of Salida, Jesper pulled into the first motel he saw. The proprietor said they had a room. The look her face when he asked if it was a dog-friendly room was priceless! She looked at him like he had asked if we could bring children in the room! Of course we could bring our dog in the room with us! Didn't everybody have a dog? Heck, she told us lots of customers brought horses with them (they of course stayed outside in the parking area). The proprietor had a Slavic accent and Jesper shortly noticed the small polish flag hanging in the lobby. Pretty soon, we were chatting about the Polish side of my family with Lucy and Bob, the Polish owners (like from Poland) of the Rocky Mountain Motel. My Dad would have loved this!

With lodging secured, we took strelka into Salida for a light lunch and sight seeing. We headed back to our room for nap just as the sprinkles began. Dodging the rain.

I don't nap much, but that little rest was delightful; I awoke refreshed and ready to go! We left Strleka in the room and once again made our way into Salida for dinner at a restaurant on the Arkansas River. We hit the hay early in anticipation of waking up before the rain clouds built up. Although the Crest Trail was covered in snow (3 feet in some places according to Polish Bob who had been up there the day before), we selected a route up Forest road 220 and then down the Rainbow Trail, which we had done before as the end to the Monarch Crest Trail ride last year. The ride would get us to just over 9,500 feet, which we figured would be clear of snow and cover about 20 miles.

Monday - At 6:30 am, we were the first people in the Bounty Restaurant in Salida Monday morning. Great omelets and coffee and super nice wait staff. After fueling up, we drove to the O'Haver Lake campground and parked the car. We started up the dirt road, the mud and puddles indicative that it had rained again the previous night. The road became rockier, more of a Jeep road, and began to afford us awesome views of Sheep Mountain and Antora Peak. We crossed Silver Creek a couple times; riding through when we could and running through it when we couldn't. Better to get the feet wet than the whole body!

Jesper on Forest Road 220

After 5.25 miles, we finally arrived at the Rainbow Trail intersection; 9 miles of up and mostly down sinewy singletrack lay before us. This is one fantastic trail! It is rocky is some places and buff in others. It travels through spooky, dark pine and aspen forests and then breaks out in the open meadows. The trail dips down and then back out of numerous drainages, perched along a tiny sliver of foot-wide dirt on the edge of the slope. We had the trail almost to ourselves, only seeing two hikers and their dogs. Fun, Fun, Fun!

Jesper on the Rainbow Trail

The morning began with a little blue sky and some sun, but the clouds once again began to roll in as the day progressed. We could see storms all around us, causing us to think we might not make it back to the car without getting wet. Miraculously, we made it to back down to US-285 without rain and we rode back up the bottom part of Forest Road 220 to the car dry. Dodging the rain.

It was time to head back to Boulder. We drove up US-285 in a line of returning vacationers. It was cloudy, but the rain held off all the way back home. We unloaded the car, grabbed a beer and hopped into the hot tub. That's when the rain started. No more dodging the rain, but hey, we were wet anyway!

Click here to See Jesper's many excellent pictures and here to see my photos of Jesper and such.

Not Quite the Weekend I Expected (but still fun)

2009-05-18T08:56:00.015-06:00

Our Plans: Jesper and I had grand plans for this past weekend. We wanted to RIDE RIDE RIDE our mountain bikes. Our plans were contingent on a couple of factors:

1. The first factor being whether or not, and how much, I would have to work over the weekend. I had BIG grant proposal due on Monday (what sicko sets a grant deadline for a Monday, knowing everybody will end up working over the weekend to finish it?!?). My team had lofty goals of finishing the grant on Friday, but I was so uncertain about this, I even passed on going back to Ohio to help my sibs out with a big house improvement project to get Dad's house on the market. I crossed my fingers that I would be able to ride a little bit both days.

2. The next variable was the weather. Every weekend for the last month, it has been gorgeous during the week, only to turn nasty on the weekends. We were hoping this trend would change (and it did!).

So, Friday came and, not surprisingly, the grant was not done. Ugh - I would have to work on the weekend. So, I made plans to ride early Saturday and do grant work afterward and hoped to figure out a similar work/ride split for Sunday.

Plans Derailed: I awoke at about 3:00 am Saturday morning with a massive headache. I tossed and turned until a more decent hour. As Jesper and I prepared breakfast, my headache intensified: the pounding was incredible and mostly on one side of my head; I was dizzy; and even though it was cloudy, I just wanted to close my eyes to block out the light. Realizing that I looked like $hit, Jesper told me to lie down. It felt better to lay perfectly still with my eyes closed and a blanket over them. I managed to eat some breakfast and then lay down again, this time with my eye shades on to completely block out the light. I laid on the couch ALL DAY like that, only getting up to eat because Jesper made me. Clearly, no riding was going to happen whatsoever. I managed to send one work email letting my team know that I was sick. Otherwise, I was completely incapacitated. I eventually went to bed desperately hoping I would wake up the next day magically feeling all better.

And the next day I woke up feeling ALL BETTER! I was up earlier than Jesper, so I hopped online and researched migraines; I had a suspicion that's what I had experienced. BINGO - I had a classic case: unilateral pulsing headache; dizziness, photo-sensitivity; improvement of symptoms by NOT moving; I even had a rash on my neck that I hadn't noticed the day before. Classic migraine.

Prior to this experience I thought I had an idea of what a migraine was like - you know, a really bad headache. Unh Uhh... I now know that a really bad headache doesn't even come close to the feeling and pain of a migraine. Your worse hangover, not even close. Not even close. These things are so unbelievingly aweful! I hope I never have another one and I feel so sorry for the millions of people that have chronic migraines.

So, the migraine completely trashed our riding plans for Saturday AND kept me from doing anything on the grant. Would I be able to sneak in a ride on Sunday? I jammed on the grant and made plans with my work-team for me to finish my stuff up around 2:30, let them digest it and then work more on it after they'd given me their feedback. From 2:30 to dinner time, while they were digesting my budget info, Jesper and I sneaked away for a ride!

The RIDE: We headed up to Nederland to ride the Dots with Jesper's Intense 29-er Spider and my borrowed Specialized Safire. I have this bike as a demo bike for a bit, as I am looking to replace my 6 year old Titus with another 4 to 5 inch travel FS bike, preferably before I break it! (I also plan to add a BIG bike to my quiver). I'd ridden a lower end of the Safire, but now I have at my disposal for a little while the Expert Carbon version of the bike; not quite the top of the line, but almost.

That is one super sweet bike! I plan to write a detailed review of it after I thoroughly test it out, but here's the low-down: that little bike is MADE for a woman, not a man. Tube thicknesses are thinner since a female rider doesn't weigh as much as a male rider. The geometry is proportioned for a smaller person with a woman's typically longer legs vs. torso. And, most importantly, the suspension is designed for someone around 140 pounds or less. Most suspension is designed to work for a male rider at 160 to 180 pounds. I have never been able to get a suspension system to work properly for me; if I put the lowest amount of air recommended in it, I can't get all the travel I should and if I put less air in it, the shock or fork doesn't work right. The Safire has suspension dialed in for someone my weight and has Specialized Brain technology. The long and the short of it is the I get all the travel I need when I need it and no bob.

Once I got used to the fit, which positions my body differently on the Safire than on my Titus, I had a blast rocking that little bike up steep loose stuff and down technical rocky stuff. Here's some pics of me enjoying the bike:

Coming down a rocky techy section (it's steeper than it looks!)

Making a face as I whizz past Jesper - don't want to hit him!

More techy rocky section and more funny faces!

I'm smiling, not grimacing!

Jesper had fun too!

Jesper rockin' the Spider!

Jesper in the aspens

Jesper and I ended up having one great ride; not quite the 2 whole days of riding we had planned, but it did the trick. Wore me out, made me smile and gave me a huge sense of satisfaction. I didn't even mind working a bit Sunday night and getting up early jam on the grant again Monday morning.

The Grant: Oh - BTW - I finished the grant at 2:40 Monday afternoon. Twenty minutes to spare!

I am such a DORK!

2009-05-06T16:52:00.007-06:00

It is BEAUTIFUL today. Deep blue skies. Brilliant sun. Little fluffy clouds (just a few). Almost 80 degrees. BEAUTIFUL.

I had to get out for a road ride! So, I wrapped up work early and took off a little before 3:00. I planned to ride up to Old Stage via Niwot Road and head back home via Jay Road. A nice little 25 mile loop with 2100 feet of climbing.

It was so pretty, I brought my camera along. Here's my happy bike, ready and rearing to climb up Old Stage.

So, I take the picture and I say hi to some other riders who ask if I'm OK.

"Yeah - just taking a picture!"

Then I go to get on my bike and my front tire whooshes out from under me! Seems I placed it over a massive ant hole. Soft, unconsolidated sand. I went down HARD!

"Are you SURE you're OK?"

"Yeah - just completely embarrassed!"

(I still enjoyed the climb)

2009 Race Schedule

2009-04-27T14:46:00.004-06:00

Some people post the races they plan to do on their blog as a way to make a commitment. Seems like a good idea; if you announce to the world what races you plan to do, you may be more likely to stick to those commitments.

I've raced every year since 2000; mountain bike racing, adventure racing or (usually) both. a little bit of running races. That's about a decade of racing. I enjoy racing; it feeds the competitive side of me. The kind of racing I do transports me to beautiful locales, often at stunning times (like 2:00 am under a full moon). Racing also give me a goal, a reason to eat well, run and ride a lot.

However, it takes time and money to race and train. Last year racing kept me away from my honey a fair bit; more than I wanted. I've taken this into account as I plan for my 2009 racing season. My plans are as follows:

April - no racing
May - no racing
June - no racing
July - no racing
August - no racing
September - no racing
October - no racing
November - no racing
December - no racing

Yup - NO RACING the entire year!

This does not mean I will sit around and get sloppy and fat! On the contrary, no racing will allow me and Jesper to go out and create our own adventures. We will go out for LONG rides on the bikes, exploring for hours and hours, getting lost and then found again. We will take Strelka on overnight camping trips. We will run long distances together, using the fast packing gear we have accumulated. We will get more into bouldering and rock climbing. We will do real down hill mountain biking.

I will be able to do ANY ride I want (gurlz rides, Redstone rides, ...) ride as hard as I can, and not have to worry about how it will affect an upcoming race; thus providing fodder for my competitive side.

I'm really excited about NOT racing! There, I've committed!

Spring Snow Storm

2009-04-21T09:31:00.023-06:00

It happens pretty much every year. Our weather starts to get warm through March and then BAMMM - mid-April arrives with a spring snow storm. It happened again this year.

This year, Front Rangers were lulled into a false sense of security with a dry and warm winter. Folks were getting used to riding their bikes in shorts. Trails were snow, ice and mud free. We hadn't seen any precipitation in months. And everyone thought it would continue that way into summer.

Not so fast! A massive weather system developed that would bring significant quantities of precip to the Rocky Mountains on Friday, April 17th - these storms always seem to hit on the weekend. NOAA forecast up to 50 inches of snow in the Front Range, although the exact elevation at which the weather would be snow vs, rain was questionable. In the end, a mix of rain, snow, hail and sleet bore down on Boulder for 3 days. Up just a tad higher near Ward and Nederland, they got more than 2 feet of heavy snow. Best of all, Winter Park got 36 inches of the white stuff from Thursday through Sunday morning.

For obvious reasons, Jesper and I decided to ski Winter Park on Saturday. It was the resort's last weekend to be open this season, along with most of the other major ski resorts. Winter Park had gotten the most snow in this mid-April storm, which mirrored last year's storm that allowed us a fantastic last day at Vail on the Saturday of their last weekend in 08. All day Friday the storm raged on and our plans for getting up to Winter Park, or any resort for that matter, went out the window. Pretty much all the main roads up through the mountains, I-70 and US40, were closed due to the weather, accidents and avy danger.

Plan B: We opted to go snowshoeing with Strelka on Saturday up in Peaceful Valley. The snow was deep and heavy, not the light fluffy stuff we are accustomed to. The trail had only seen one set of cross country ski track on it, so we were essentially breaking trail, Jesper going first to pack the snow down for Strelka and me following up. We tried having me break trail, but I couldn't pack it down enough for Strelka to avoid serious post holing. I guess I don't weigh enough!!

Strelka struggling while I tried to break trail

We didn't end up going very far in our almost 2 hour outing, but we sure worked up a sweat and an appetite. Strelka was such a trooper, uncertain at first about sinking into the snow. She slept well in the car afterward while we enjoyed a nice late lunch and beers at Mountain Sun.

On Sunday, we were not to be denied! We got up early for a relatively easy drive to Winter Park; the storm had blown out and the roads were all open. All the while during the storm, the resort did not open the Panoramic Express Lift, which provides service to the Parsenn Bowl. On Sunday morning, this entire terrain lay waiting for us with 3 feet of untouched snow! Jesper and I did a few laps under the Sunnyside Lift until the Pano opened. As we rode up the Pano, we saw skier after snow boarder and after skier flailing around in the deep snow. It was hysterical! Despite how excited they were to ski in all the new snow, a lot of people were clearly unprepared for the strength and skill level skiing in really deep snow takes.

Jesper and I fared better on our first run, but it was very challenging, especially in the completely untracked sections and on less steep pitches. Each run got easier, as portions of the slopes saw more traffic. We still found huge areas of untracked snow, but we tried to hit them only where the slope was steep enough to maintain speed. After a run or two, the entire area cleared out (all the skiers in over their head went somewhere more groomed) and we skied almost by ourselves.

I am desperately trying to insert another photo, but darn blogger has refused to let me do this for TWO DAYS - what the heck is up with them? For now, you'll just have to imagine what all that snow looked like!

All that heavy, chunky snow wore us out and I especially began to feel it in my feet (I have Plantar Fasciitis - ugh!), so we ended the day early and sat outside for an apres ski beer and some live music courtesy of 5-Toed Bob and the Stragglers. It was a fantastic way to end the ski season!

When we returned to Boulder Sunday night, all the snow had melted in the warm spring temps. Good Bye Winter!

Spring Road Ride (part of getting back to normal)

2009-04-15T08:39:00.009-06:00

The weather in Colorado in the spring is quite variable; cold and snowy one day then warm and sunny the next. We were presented with a couple days of the latter, to be followed by a couple days of the former. Jesper and I knew we had a brief window of warm and sunny opportunity to get out before the cold rainy and snowy hit later this week, so he yanked me away from my office yesterday at 3:00 to go for a road ride. It was sunny and almost 70.

I had been toying with going on a ride by myself and was envisioning riding up over Old Stage Road for a little bit of climbing - maybe a 1,000 feet or so. Jesper would have none of that! We were going to go over Lee Hill Road AND Old Stage, maybe a little bit up toward Jamestown too. A whole lot more climbing than I had originally planned. Realizing I had absolutely NO reason not to follow Jesper's plan, I agreed.

It felt good to spin the legs, even on the approach to the canyons, which is slightly and gradually uphill and into the wind. The ride started working out the sore muscles in my back from the back bends in yoga the night before. Before I knew it, we arrived at the steep part up Lee Hill; with grades from 10% to 15%, I was soon out of gears and standing up in the saddle, with little reprieves to sit down and grind. Jesper waited for me at the false summit partway up, proclaiming that I was climbing really strong! My climbing has definitely improved since I got the light, carbon Contessa with it's compact double drive train and a 25 in the back. I LOVE that bike!

While we were stopped, a little fox crossed the road, getting very close to Jesper. It certainly wasn't afraid of humans! We watched as it trotted off into the forest and then got back on the bikes for the last mile or so to the top. Somewhere along the way, our sunshine turned into clouds and it began to slightly trickle rain. We put on the arm warmers and jackets and were super happy with that decision once we started down Lee Hill toward Left Hand Canyon. Lee Hill had not yet been swept, so it was covered with the sand the road crews put out for traction in the snow and we took it slower than we normally would have. I hate having to brake on the downhills.

We hit Left Hand Canyon, where Jesper pointed his bike up again; more climbing as we headed up toward Jamestown. We ascended about 1 more mile before the rain became steadier; it was time to turn around. Left Hand Canyon had been swept, so we were able to bomb down it. I LOVE getting my Speed On on the road bike!

At the intersection of Old Stage Road, we had another decision point; ride up Old Stage for more climbing or stay on Left Hand for a flatter, albeit slightly longer ride home. Of course we opted to go over Old Stage! What was another 1,000 feet of climbing at this point? Despite my tired legs, I managed to stay in the saddle up until the end where the grade tops 15%. Toward the summit we encountered another fox, this one trotting along the road with several mice in its mouth. It stopped to add a dead piece of mousey road kill to its already full mouth and headed up toward the woods. I suppose it was bringing dinner home to a den of kits. We watched this guy, who was much bigger than the first fox we saw, for awhile before hoping back on the bikes.

The rest of the ride was DOWN until about a mile from our house. Our race back home on Jay Road with the wind at our backs and a 2% negative grade made me feel FAST! We arrived home to beautiful sunny skies, the rain we encountered now a dark smear over the eastern plains.

Our 29 mile ride took us 2:12, not bad considering our fox-watching breaks. According to my Garmin, we climbed (and descended) about 3,000 feet and I burned about 1,600 calories. A normal day for me! We're planning a mountain bike ride tonight, for another normal day.

Here's the profile:

Getting back to my new "normal"

2009-04-13T08:44:00.005-06:00

My life has been a bit out of whack lately, the result being sparse blog posts.

My father died last month and between the visits home for the funeral and to help get his house in shape to put on the market, I have been gone a lot.

I miss my Dad very much. His death has brought my Mom's 1995 death back up to the surface. Lots of raw emotions. I am fortunate to have four wonderful siblings, two brothers and two sisters, I am tight with. We are helping each other get through this together. And then of course I have Jesper, who has been wonderful.

Things will go up and down as I continue to grieve, however, I am ready to get back to my new "normal". My father loved my blog posts, so I hope my enthusiasm to write them is renewed. Stay tuned.

Vernal Equinox

2009-03-20T11:12:00.004-06:00

I look outside my window and see Spring - sunshine - buds on trees - bulbs coming up through the soil - a freshness in the air.

I love Spring. Heck, I love Winter, Summer and Autumn too, but what I really love is the change - the promise of something new. Skiing shifts to biking, with a few wonderful, exhausting weeks of overlap. Cotton sweaters replace wool. Dark, cozy evenings reading under a blanket turn into warm nights drinking a glass of wine outside.

Although I love all the seasons, Spring is special. Spring brings to me a promise of all the biking, camping, running and all the other outdoor pursuits I intend to do to make this year even better than the last. It's a new beginning. Spring assures me that life, wonderful and beautiful, goes on.

Open up the windows and let in the fresh air!

Jen Goes Off to Play While Jesper is Away!

2009-03-04T13:30:00.028-07:00

Jesper headed up to Jackson Hole, WY late last week for 4 days of skiing with the guys. This trip, dubbed "Stick it to the Little Man 3" has become an annual event. It's a boys only trip, so I can't go. I got smart this year and made plans to ski the entire time he was gone up at our fine Colorado resorts. I even made arrangements for bringing Strelka up to the mountains with me while up there.

Sue drove up with me Saturday morning; Mike would be joining us after he got off work in Denver. We headed over to Union Bowl for our first run. Sue loves Union Bowl, for good reason. However, it is not often a first run of the day; ungroomed, very steep and that day loaded with fresh snow still warming in the morning sun. It was HARD, but it was GOOD! So good, we did several laps on it. Despite the crowds at the parking lot, there was no one in this back area of the resort, so we never waited in any lift lines.

Sue in the blue on Union Bowl

Mike arrived and we decided to take a Cat ride up Tucker. For those unfamiliar with Copper, Tucker Mountain is off the back of Copper Bowl and is not accessible by lift. If the patrollers open the mountain, you can skin all the way up or take the Cat halfway up and hike the rest of the way. Copper has stopped running the Cat during the week and so getting up on Saturday provided access to slopes untracked for a week except by the patrollers doing avy control. We got in line for the Cat and promptly took advantage of Mike's status as a patroller to nab a spot in the front seat of the Cat. No waiting!

We had checked out the lines down Tucker before we got on the Cat and concluded that Taco, a wide run to skier's left of the glades we usually take, looked massively wind loaded and fairly untracked.

View of Tucker Mountain with wind-loaded Taco in the middle

Taco was awesome! The snow was steep and deep in a gully that ran almost all the way down the mountain. Down in my tele-stance, the snow whooshed by my face and over my head when I made a turn. Mike and I, both on teles that day, took a couple tumbles each. We all had a blast!

Mike coming down Taco

Sue looking up at the sweet lines we took down Taco, and there was still more to be had!

Me, 'bleeding POW' after a tumble coming down Taco

Tucker takes a long time what with the hike in, so we went back over to the other side of the Copper Bowl and did more laps on Union Bowl. Mike has gotten really good on his tele skis and he helped me out by shouting encouraging tips on the really steep runs; point 'em straight down! Toward the end of the day we headed over to some of the groomed black runs over by the Super Bee lift. All of a sudden, it was almost 4:00! We had been skiing all day - no break for lunch. I was cooked - almost non-functional - and happy to find that Sue and Mike felt the same. We skied HARD that day!

The next day, Mike had Ski Patrol duty, so it was just me and Sue. I was worried how my thighs and hammies would feel after the hard skiing we did the day before. My legs weren't exactly fresh, but I was able to ski hard, albeit for a shorter day. Sue and I skied some Union Bowl and then did laps over and over on Copper Bowl. We found this nice gully midway down with good snow and a fun pitch between the rocks.

Sue skiing the gully on Copper Bowl

It was so warm I skied in a sweater; no jacket. After awhile, we made our way back over to Super Bee and did a few runs there before heading back to Sue's condo to take the doggers on a long hike in the woods.

We returned to Sue's condo and celebrated a wonderful two days of skiing together with an apres ski beer. Then, I bid farewell to Sue and made the short drive to a condo friends of mine from High school were staying at. Click here for more pics of skiing with Sue and Mike.

Doug and Michelle, who live in Florida now, come out west for a ski trip almost every year. I've known Doug since I was 14 - more than 30 years - and Michelle since later in high school and college. Doug and Michelle were staying at a friend's condo in Silverthorne for a week+ of skiing and snowboarding. I joined them for 2 days and hope to ski with them again this coming weekend before they leave. I am grateful to have been invited to stay up at the condo with Strelka (thanks Dawn and Bill).

On Monday we went to Breckenridge. I am not a big fan of Breck, but I have heard great things about it so I suspect I may not have been on the good stuff yet.

Doug, Michelle and me on Peak 7 at Breck

I didn't actually ski any of the really good stuff on Monday, since I was tired and content to ski with Doug and Michelle on groomed runs. It was a great opportunity to work on my technique and rest my legs a bit and I did get the skinny about the good stuff for the next time I go there. Another warm, sunny day, we were able to dine al fresco for lunch and enjoy an apres ski beer outside.

Doug, Michell and me enjoying an apres ski beer outside

The next day we decided to go to Arapahoe Basin. It was warm and had been so for a few days; we felt Vail would be mush. A-Basin is higher, which keeps the snow colder. Dawn, our condo host, also joined us with her 4 year old son Zack. Zack went off to ski school and the four of us skied a bunch of A-Basin's blue runs.

Zack, stoked after learning to snow plow!

Following lunch, Dawn and Zack, who was stoked after his lesson, went off on their own, Michelle did her own thing and Doug and I hustled up to the East Headwall, which had just opened while we were eating! Just as I skied up to the gate, a patroller was putting the rope back up. CLOSED! We just missed it by a minute! We were super bummed, but made the best of it by skiing some really fun black runs on skier's right of the front side.

Doug coming down Falcon, a black run skier's right on A-Basin's front side

We headed back down to find Michelle. Dawn and Zack were heading home; it had been a long day already for the four year old. I split from Doug and Michelle to ski the double blacks under the Palavicini chair; just the wide open, moguled runs, not the trees, as I was alone. This part of the mountain is super steep and worked me over good. Sufficiently tired, I reunited with Doug and Michelle for a few last runs together. We ended the day with an apres ski beer, although I nixed the al fresco component since it was getting chilly. All in all, a great day; I really like the laid back attitude at A-Basin and the terrain and views are spectacular!

Apres ski beers and a big bowl of ketsup!

Four good days on the tele skis! Here's a link to more pics from my two days with Doug and Michelle.

Jesper too had a great time at Jackson Hole, although he caught some stomach bug at the end :-(

Check his website out for video and pics of his trip.

When I grow up....

2009-02-22T13:11:00.029-07:00

When I grow up, I want to be Lou. Or Tom. Either one.

I met Lou and Tom Sunday. They are friends of a friend, Craig, a former Boulderite who moved permanently up to Silverthorne, right next to many Colorado ski resorts. Craig is in his 50's and 'retired'. He is in fantastic shape; he skis almost every day. But I am getting away from Lou and Tom.

Lou and Tom are also retired. They also live in Silverthorne. Lou and Tom are old enough to be my Dad; Lou is almost 70 (not sure exactly how old Tom is). Lou and Tom ski almost every day. Lou noted that he gets into the back country about 3 times a week. Back country means skinning, which means hard physical exertion. These old guys are in awesome shape! These old guys kicked my butt!

This is Tom

This is Lou

Tom had planned a back country trek along the infamous 'Commando Run' and Craig was kind enough to invite Jesper and me along. This ski trek starts at Vail Pass and ends at Vail Ski Resort, some 15 miles to the north. Back in the 1940's, the Army's 10th Mountain Division did the Commando Run as part of their training. The trek travels northwest over Shrine Pass and Two Elk Pass before ascending up Siberia Peak and the into what is now Vail Resort via the back bowls.

The trip is not about downhill skiing, although we wore downhill tele skis and there is a reported 5,000 or so feet of descending. With 2,500 feet of climbing and most of the descending consumed in up and down rollers along ridge lines, this trip is more about getting 'out there' into amazing mountain vistas than it is about downhill skiing. It is also about working your butt off all day long.

The plan, as conveyed to us by Craig via email and a brief telephone conversation, was to meet at 7:30 am at the Rio restaurant on Main Street on Frisco. We had a bit of a drive from Boulder, so Jesper and I set our alarm for 5 freakin' am and were on the road at 5:30. As we approached Frisco, we weren't sure which exit it was, so we called Craig. No answer. Apparently, his cell phone was already stuffed in his back pack. We found Main Street and drove the length of it - nothing called Rio. Hmmmmm...

So, we pulled around at Mexican restaurant with a completely different name and prepared to call Craig, who had extracted his cell phone and was calling us at the same time. After a few minutes, we figured out that we were at the right restaurant - the guys were parked on the other side. Come to find that the restaurant used to be called Rio 10 years ago! These guys still refer to it as Rio and it never occurred to them we wouldn't know, even though we've only been on Colorado for 4 years and we don't live in Summit County! We all had a good laugh; it was a humorous way to start the day out, and the trend continued.

We donned our gear, including avy beacons, and set off. The parking lot was filled with skiers, snow boarders and snow mobilers. No wonder there were lots of people; it was warm and sunny - almost like a spring day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and wouldn't be the entire day. No wind either. You could not ask for a prettier day.

Parking lot filled with skiers and snow mobilers on a blue bird day

Despite the crowds at the parking lot, people dispersed onto the various trail options and we soon only encountered a few other skiers from another group. We skinned up the drainage basin of Ten Mile and Turkey Creeks, wide expanses of snow that Tom promised morphed into glorious wild flower meadows in the summer.

Jesper and Dennis skinning up an alpine meadow

Lou set off first like he was in a race. I thought to myself, "surely this old guy won't be able to maintain that pace" --- WRONG! Lou kept this up all day almost until the very end. Layers were shed as we warmed up and we all soon were skinning without jackets.

As we attained a high meadow, the Sawatch Range appeared to our left, dominated by Mount Holy Cross, striking with it's snow cross markings. The extremely rugged Gore Range majestically appeared to our right, Tom swearing our vantage point was the most beautiful view of this mountain range. Untracked white fields of snow in the foreground with rocky, snow covered peaks as far as the eye can see; the views were unbelievably beautiful.

Jesper and me, with Mount Holy Cross in the background (photo credit Craig McNeill)

After a few miles of some uphill and some rollers, we pointed our skis straight up the fall line, the actual trail zig zagging underneath us using switchbacks we were not obligated to follow on the snow. Lou finally slowed down a bit to accommodate my slower uphill pace. I was not able to go as fast I as would have liked due to a bum left thumb, which I had sprained the weekend prior. It was still very sore and I couldn't use my left hand to push off my pole, significantly diminishing the power I could generate (I may not have gone on the trip at all had I known how much trouble my thumb would end up giving me, but I'm certainly glad I went now).

We continued to climb, stopping to eat our lunch at aptly named 'Lunch Rock'. The location was exposed and windy, so we soon cooled down and felt the need to get moving to generate some heat. Personally, I would have chosen another, more sheltered location, for lunch. However, Lunch Rock, which looked like a big marshmallow as we approached it, afforded spectacular views of Copper Resort and the Ten Mile Range to the southeast and the Gore Range to the east.

Lou approaching marshmallow-looking Lunch Rock (photo credit Craig McNeill)

Me and Dennis at Lunch Rock with Copper Ski Resort and the Ten Mile Range in the background (photo credit Criag McNeill)

After Lunch Rock, we skinned through the trees along a ridge line and hit our high point of the day, somewhere around 11,700 feet. Jesper and I had our GPS units and maps and knew the official track stayed to the east and north, but we were just following the other guys, who have done the route numerous times. A debate ensued between Lou and Tom about how long to stay to the right up on the ridge and when to descend.

Lou and Dennis on the ridge before we prematurely descended

Finally, the desire to ski some downhill won out and we descended through the steep trees in some luscious untracked powder. When we got down, Lou proclaimed, "Crap, we went down too soon!" Instead of staying high and ending up at Two Elk Pass in position to summit Siberia Peak, we had dropped down and ended up at Two Elk Creek, just outside of and at the bottom of Vail's Mongolia Bowl. We had added a lot more climbing to our day.

We snacked and put our skins back on for the long slog up Vail's Silk Road; all the way from Two Elk Creek up to Two Elk Lodge, bypassing Siberia Peak itself and staying on its western flank. We crossed over and up Mongolia Bowl, Siberia Bowl and China Bowl, all of which were closing for the day. It was strange to see the last remaining skiers and snow boarders out there, knowing they had been riding the lifts all day while we had climbed all the way using our own powers.

More uphill skinning at the end of the day

We skinned back out of bounds up on the ridge line above the Mushroom Bowl. A large cornice paved the way down to a steep and cliffed drop, probably quite avalanche prone, which NONE of us felt inclined to attempt. We stayed on the ridge line until we encountered a rock gully we needed to negotiate to get back down to Vail proper. Skis came off for this one! From then on, it was a short skate ski to Two Elk Lodge, which was long closed by this time.

Jesper making his way toward Two Elk Lodge (tough to see but down the white slope toward the left)

All that was left for the day was to ski down one of Vail's fine ski runs to the car. We opted to ski down the black diamond run Blue Ox, usually a nice run, but that day a sheet of ice from all the radiant heating! Legs tired from skinning up and up all day, we all struggled on Blue Ox. Lou finally succumbed to the effects of his blazing pace and wiped out hard. He finished the day with a bloody nose, but still in good spirits. Everyone was glad to make it off the tilted ice rink that Blue Ox had become.

We were done. We were tired. We were satisfied. I was wonked! Those old guys kicked my ass! I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that Jesper and I will, one day, be retired and able to ski every day in the back country like Lou and Tom. Yep - I want to be Lou or Tom when I grow up!

The whole Gang - Dennis, Lou, Craig, Me, Jesper, Tom (photo credit some guy from the other group with Craig McNeill's camera)

Stats: 15.7 miles; 4:26 moving time (3:00 stopped time); 3.1 mph average moving time; 2 mph avg overall time; elevation gain ~2,500 feet; lots of laughs.

White squiggly line is our track (click on the pic and its easier to see)

More pics here.

Jesper's pics here (come on click it - you KNOW they're good!)

Happy Valenmetime's Weekend!!

2009-02-16T13:05:00.033-07:00

Jesper and I love skiing and we love each other. What better way to celebrate Valenmetime's Weekend than skiing together?!?!?

(BTW - don't ask about the special spelling of Valentine's - it's a long story rooted in high school silliness and will make some old friends giggle when they read this, especially if they are eating a sammich with mamonaise on da half side).

We were so excited to hit the slopes before the anticipated Prez Day/V-Day crowds, we got to Mary Jane on Saturday morning 45 minutes before the lifts were even running!! We scored a parking spot within spitting distance of the Super Gauge Express Lift! Guess we didn't have to get up at 5:15 am afterall.

Proof that we parked right next to the Super Gauge Express, which is in the background!

I brought Flat Ben Jr. along - I fear I will need to mail him back to Ohio soon. He tagged along safely tucked into my pack. He's been having a great time skiing Colorado's fine resorts.

FBJ peeking out of my pack

Jesper and I skied Winter Park/Mary Jane on Saturday and finally made it over to the Vasquez Cirque. We had wanted to get over to this area for a couple of years, ever since we felt our skills could handle it. The Vasquez Cirque is a hike-in double black diamond EX area accessed off the top of the Parsenn Bowl at over 12,000 feet. The skiable terrain is reached by a long hike or skate ski in along a ridge; skins might not be a bad idea. Steep open bowls that drop into pine glades can be accessed after a mile long hike. Or, the hike can be made quite a bit longer with another mile of drop-in points along some cliffed out chutes that dump into the same trees. All the "runs" funnel onto a flat but winding traverse through the trees to the bottom of the Eagle Wind lift.

The Cirque is considered part of the resort in that it is avalanche controlled. However, it's a big area and not routinely patrolled. Due to the remoteness and the round trip time it takes to make it through this area, the Vasquez Cirque is frequently closed when the weather is even the teensiest bit foul.

And for the last two years, it has either been closed for weather when we have been there or we have been skiing with friends who would not appreciate the long hike in or the challenging terrain (or both). When we saw the OPEN sign on Saturday, we were stoked!!

We skate skied out along the ridge, trying to decide how far to go before we dropped in.

Jesper standing near the first drop-in point: let's go further!

We opted to continue further past the first drop-in opportunity, mostly because we both needed to pee and we had to make it to a clump of trees just past the West Headwall for some privacy. You can see the cornice along the edge of the Cirque in the photo above and the rocks between the West Headwall and the Alphabet Chutes. It is there that we eventually made our way. With a rock outcropping immediately to skiers left, we eyeballed a drop-in that appeared less steep than some of the other approaches.

Jesper checking out our point of entry down the Cirque

OK - it was pretty steep, but the snow looked very nice. Jesper went in first.

The trees down below look like those fake ones on a model train set

It was a long run down to the trees.

Now Jesper looks like a tiny toy

We alternated going down. You'll have to check out Jesper's pics to see the ones of me. I got a sweet shot of Jesper from a vantage point below him. Look how nice his form is - shoulders pointed straight down the fall line!

Jesper charging the slope head on!

But we're still not down yet!

Jesper almost down to the trees

As we approached the tree line, we poked down into a little mini bowl ringed with trees and large rock out croppings. It was beyond beautiful.

Jesper with the Big Hard Sun behind him

Jesper smiling BIG!

The snow was so deep, you can't see Jesper's legs below the knees!

We dumped out onto the traverse and took the Eagle Wind Lift up, then skied down the side of the Parsenn Bowl back to the bottom of the Sunny Side lift. After all that hiking and powder skiing, it was time for lunch!

Although the clouds were moving in, we decided to see if we could get one more try at the Vasquez Cirque after eating. Surprisingly, it was still open! I am glad we had good visibility on our first outing, since we couldn't see a thing on our second trip; it was snowing pretty hard. We dropped in almost as soon as we saw the OPEN signs between the South and West Headwalls.

Jesper skiing down in a white out

Although we couldn't see very far, we found some fantastic POW and took some cool video. We finished up the day with a cold 1554 at the Jane.

YUM 1554 - foggy effect courtesy of thawing camera

The next day, we once again got up at 5:15 am, this time for a day of skiing at Copper with our friend Tim Shanahan. Tim is the most enthusiastic skier I have ever met. He bounces and smiles all the way down the slope and you can't help but feel energized when you ski with him. Except when your legs are wonked from 2 trips to the Vasque Cirque the day before.

Once again, we beat imagined crowds to the resort and were among the first people in line for the lift. We did one warm up and then took Tim up the Storm King pommel lift, with the intention of heading down Spaulding Bowl.

Tim at the top of the Storm King lift - amazing white snowiness (or is that snowy whiteness?) everywhere!

Spaulding was not open yet, so we entered Copper Bowl for a couple of rough runs. It was really cold and the snow was funky because of it; very slow in places and then faster where the sun was warming it up. It was going to be a blue bird day, so I was confident the snow would soften and get faster, which it eventually did.

As soon as we saw the Cat running, we coerced Tim to ski down to it for a run down Tucker (OK - Tim was game for absolutely everything we suggested the entire day; no coercion necessary). The Cat at Copper is free and takes 10-12 skiers at a time up to a ridge line on Tucker Mountain. From the ridge line, you hike (yes- more hiking) up the ridge to one of several drop-in points. On the picture below, the Cat deposits you off to the right side of the picture, and you hike to one of many drop-in opportunities; we hiked out as far to the left as we could that day, to Freemont Glade 2. All the runs off Tucker are considered double black diamonds, with the Freemont Glades also being designated EX. It's steep and remote.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Before we could even get to the hiking and skiing, we had some waiting to do. The Avie Control guys were still finishing up their patrol of Tucker and then we had to wait for room in the Cat.

There were 43 people in this line! Good thing we were near the front!

We entertained ourselves with FBJ while we waited and used the time to get some food down.

Jesper, FBJ and Tim hanging out in line for the Cat up Tucker

Jesper having a snack and FBJ enjoying the mountain views

The Cat ride is kinda cool. We got a little briefing on the conditions from a patroller while riding up. The snow was reported to be variable and challenging to ski. Hmmm.. hadn't softened up completely yet.

Tim, wondering why I'm disturbing him from the patroller's briefing

It's a lot of work getting up to these runs. After the hike, we put our skis back on for the downhill fun!

The views are pretty amazing up here! (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

The run down was totally worth the wait and the hike, according to Tim.

Tim coming down Tucker like Tigger on skis (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

I think Jesper might be enjoying himself coming down Freemont 2!

Me, throwing chunks of "variable and challenging" snow on Tucker (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

After all that hiking and challenging skiing, we needed sustenance! We did a couple more runs in the Copper Bowl and then we skied down Gold Digger (very nice) to the T-Rex grill. Believe me, hot dogs are delicious at 10,000 feet!

Jesper inhaling one of two gourmet hot dogs

Flat Ben Junior came out of the pack to hang out again with his buddies.

Tim, Flat Ben Junior and Jesper, messing with FBJ at lunch

We kept on skiing, despite Tim's earlier prediction that he would only make it to 10:30! Jesper lead us all over the mountain. We only stopped after I hyper-extended my thumb on the icy, rocky, "single track" to Lower Enchanted Forest. Despite the injury (I HOPE it's just sprained), it was still a great day and a great weekend filled with skiing.

Did I mention that I love skiing? Happy Valenmetime's Day!

Flat Ben Junior Skis at Winter Park/Mary Jane

2009-02-10T09:38:00.011-07:00

Jesper and I rented a funky little condo in Winter Park so we could ski for 3 days over my birthday weekend. Of course, we brought FBJ along! He liked the stuffed moose hung on the condo wall.

Flat Ben Junior hanging out with the stuffed moose

FBJ having fun with ski bunnies Suze, Jen and Mary Lou (photo credit Patrick Bragg)

Winter Park is home to a fantastic ski resort that merged two ski areas into one; Winter Park on the right and and Mary Jane on the left. The highest point, the top of the Parsenn Bowl is 12,060 feet in elevation - that's pretty high!

Map of Winter Park/Mary Jane showing the Ski Runs

Mary Jane is known as the wilder side, which obviously means it Jesper's and my favorite. FBJ liked it too. It's Extremely Colorado!

Me and FBJ at the sign to Mary Jane (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

It was very windy when we skied, so I kept FBJ in my pack; I didn't want him to perish on a mountain top like the first Flat Ben!

FBJ was tucked safely in my pack while I skied (photo credit Megan Ryan)

Down at the base, the wind was calm, so I took FBJ out to visit with friends who were skiing with us.

FBJ with me and Kim at the Winter Park base (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

FBJ enjoyed coming out with us for dinner.

Me and FBJ at dinner after a hard day of skiing (photo credit Jesper Kristensen)

After 3 days of skiing, FBJ needed to stretch his sore muscles, so he went to yoga class with me and Jesper.

FBJ doing a head stand while Breanna, the instructor, does a handstand

What adventures will Flat Ben Junior encounter next?

Middle Aged?? Not Me!!

2009-02-09T11:06:00.024-07:00

MIDDLE AGE

I turned 45 on Friday. According to my older brother Vince, I have now entered the ranks of the middle aged. Middle aged?!?!?!? Me???? I don't think so!!!! That rule may apply to others, but not to me (OK, I know my friend Cynthia is laughing at that comment!!!).

I don't feel 45.

I don't act 45, or at least my idea of what a lot of 45 year old's act like.

I don't think I look 45 (other people tell me that all the time, and I assume they are not saying it just to be nice).

Me (not looking 45) with Flat Ben Junior and Kim (also NOT looking her age)

I think it's a HOOT that I'm really that old, like it can't possibly be true.

I am fortunate to have been born with an abundance of energy, which I have managed to maintain through the years. I've been smart enough to have taken good care of myself, physically and mentally, so that I can continue to be very active; as active as many in their 20s. So, how did I celebrate my entrance into middle age? By tele-skiing my tookus off for three days!

JK BIRTHDAY PROTOCOL 101

Jesper and I do not work on our birthdays; we adopted this protocol from my brother Jeff and now take every birthday off to partake in something fun and active. Having a birthday in February means I usually go skiing (although this year it was warm enough in Boulder to mountain bike if I wanted to). Being that my birthday was on a Friday, we decided I should celebrate my birthday the entire weekend. That sounded just fine to me, so we rented a condo up in Winter Park, where some good friends from North Carolina (Suze and Patrick) were staying and other Boulder friends (Kim, Dan, Megan and Ryan) would join us for an anticipated 3 days of skiing.

DID I SAY THREE DAYS?

Hmmmm... 3 days on tele-skis. Would I be able to do it and still enjoy myself? Since Jesper and I spent 2 weeks in Denmark this December, we are down a little on our ski days. It takes many days of tele-skiing to get the legs accustomed to doing lunges all day long and for the little muscles in the feet to get used to all the flexing they do while on the slopes. Back in January when we booked the condo in Winter Park, I was still feeling pretty worked after 1 day of skiing and I was worried about how 3 days would go.

Some of you may not be familiar with telemark skiing (or tele-skiing for short). Tele-skiing is a downhill method of skiing with special skis and boots that hinge at the heel and flex at the toe. This allows the skier to go uphill, like a cross country skier, a feat made even more nifty by putting "skins" on the skis. Skins are self adhesive fabric strips you stick to the bottom of the skis to add extra friction when going uphill. We did not skin during our weekend at Winter Park; that's what ski lifts are for (Megan, you nut!)!!! The other difference between tele-skiing and regular alpine skiing is how you proceed downhill. A telemark skier genuflects one knee down to initiate the turn and then does the same thing on the other leg to turn the other way. It looks like this:

I love tele-skiing because it is graceful and rhythmic. It get's you very close to the snow. And, it's an awesome workout. Like I said, doing lunges all day long! Hence my concern about doing this for 3 days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

We arrived at the condo Thursday evening, unpacked and got the dog settled and went over to our North Carolina friends' condo for dinner, drinks and games.

The next day was my birthday!!! Yay! We met up with Suze and Patrick and proceeded to show them our favorite places on the Mary Jane side of the resort. It was cloudy, windy and cold, but we still managed to get up the Panoramic Express Lift a couple times.

Patrick coming off the Panoramic Lift

I was surprised they were running the lift, as it is usually closed when it's really windy. I did not enjoy the lift ride up at all (really freakin' cold!) and the top of the Parsenn Bowl was wind scoured and icy. But as soon as you dipped into the bowl itself, the wind-deposited snow was nice and the trees were fantastic. We also did a couple/few laps on the Mary Jane Trail run. This long, blue run has a great pitch and always has great snow. It did not disappoint on my birthday! Jesper and I even did one non-stop run from top to bottom, finishing up with shaking quads and hammies!

After lunch, we headed over to the Winter Park side of the resort.

Patrick and Suze up on the Vasque Ridge (el. 10,700 ft.) on the Winter Park side

Jesper and I haven't spent a lot of time on this side of mountain since we first started tele-skiing. Now in our 4th year on tele skis, we were struck by how our perceptions of certain runs had changed in a couple of years. Slopes that had seemed steep were easy. Off-camber runs that had vexed us before were fun! I guess we've improved our skills in the last couple of years!

A rare photo of me AND Jesper (photo credit Patrick Bragg)

We headed back over to the Mary Jane side of the mountain for another COLD Parsenn Bowl run (still can't believe the lift was running) and some more laps on Mary Jane. A pint of 1554 was the perfect way to end the day on the slopes.

Jesper took me out to a very nice birthday dinner at the Tabernash restaurant at the Iron Horse Resort. The food was excellent (salmon with udon and cucumber strips) and the tiramisu was yummy. The service was also first rate, so I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Winter Park. Afterward, we were too tired and full to get in the hot tub!

KIM AND DAN JOIN THE FUN

Saturday morning our good friends Kim and Dan arrived with their dog Patch for an overnight stay at the condo. Initially, Strelka was very protective of her new "home" and wouldn't let Patch in! But after a few bared fangs and growls (mostly on Strelka's part), they settled down, even playing and laying next to each other. We left the condo fairly confident that both dogs would have a nice day together and we wouldn't come home to a bloody mess.

Patch and Strelka playing in the condo

Kim and Dan are fantastic mountain bikers who hadn't been on their snowboards in 2 years. You wouldn't have known it from how they rode; it was like they had been hitting the slopes every weekend! We met up with Suze and Patrick and the 6 of us skied/rode a bit together at the Mary Jane side.

Patrick, Suze, Kim , Dan and Jesper all heading off the top of the Parsenn Bowl (el. 12,060 ft.) on the Mary Jane side - it's kinda pretty up there...

After lunch, we separated and Jesper and I took Kim and Dan over to Vasque Ridge on the Winter Park side via Thunderbird Traverse, Eagle Wind, Lower Egress and Big Valley. That was a lot of traversing for anyone on a board, but Kim and Dan know what they are doing and had no problems. Once at Vasque Ridge, we played around in the trees and on some runs Jesper and I had never been on, including some big black steep moguled runs. Oddly enough, we all really enjoyed the moguls. What's up with that? Snow boarders and telemarkers enjoying big, steep moguls?!?!? Kim had a huge smile plastered on her face the entire day, so I think she was having fun!

Dan and smiling Kim at near the top of the Parsenn Bowl

We ended the ski day down at the absolutely packed Derailleur Bar, replete with Jaeger Girls. The vibe at Winter Park is sure different from the vibe at Mary Jane!

Jesper sporting his Jaeger Girl Shirt!

Dan and the ever-smiling Kim

Later that night, Megan and Ryan showed up, bringing yet another set of fresh legs for Jesper and I to contend with. Oddly enough, I was not nearly as wonked after Day 2 as I had been after the first day of skiing; might have been the overindulgence of wine on Thursday night that contributed to my tiredness Friday!

MEGAN AND RYAN (aka FRESH LEGS)

Sunday morning Kim and Dan took off after breakfast to head back down to Boulder. We met up with Ryan and Megan, who had skinned up Sleeper with a friend at 7:00 am, (I said she was a nut!) and Suze and Patrick for our Day 3. This was Suze and Patrick's 4th straight day and they were getting tired. So, after one run together, they decided to go off and ski at their own pace, recognizing that Megan and Ryan had fresh legs. Jesper proposed that our smaller group of four hit some black bump runs. That sounded like a good idea after how nice the moguls had been the day before. Note to self - don't do bumps before you are warmed up and before the snow has softened! Our feet cramped up and we all struggled to make our legs do what we wanted them to do the whole way down. We had enough of that and next decided to brave the cold and head up to the Parsenn Bowl to hit some yummy tree runs on the way down. We must have done 3 or 4 laps of this. It was super fun and challenging to keep up with Megan and Ryan, who are strong, fast skiers.

Even though we were enjoying the laps from the Parsenn Bowl immensely, we decided we needed to show Megan and Ryan the Vasque Ridge area of Winter Park. We skipped lunch and headed over once again via Thunderbird Traverse, Eagle Wind (yummy), Lower Egress and Big Valley.

Ryan, Me and Jesper, posing for our Camelbak ad at the top of the Vasque Ridge

Jesper skiing down to Ryan and Megan somewhere over at the Vasque Ridge area

Jesper and I only had time for a few runs over there, since we had to head back to the condo for a late check out, which was followed up by an apres ski beer with Megan and Ryan. Beer tastes so good after a day of skiing!

After three days of tele-skiing, I felt surprisingly good! I could ski some more! What's all this talk about being middle aged?!?!?!

Thanks to Jesper, Suze, Patrick, Kim, Dan, Megan and Ryan for celebrating my birthday weekend with me and making it one of the most memorable birthdays I've had!