I'm a Lucky Little Snow Bird!

After a slow start this season, we’re finally getting hammered with snow in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. A series of snow storms started last week and should continue through this week. They’ve brought snow to the mountains and to Boulder. We could do without the snow down here in Boulder, as it’s derailed the Hot Tub construction. However, it is very pretty and certainly is helping us get into a holiday mood.

Jesper and I loaded up Strelka (Mushka had to stay at home), donned our Santa hats and headed up Flagstaff Road Saturday morning in a snow storm to cut down our Christmas Tree. The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) lets people come onto their park land for one weekend in December to help thin the forest by cutting down smaller trees. People are asked to cut down trees around 10 feet tall or less, although they don’t get too picky if you go a little taller. Good thing, because we did! Anyway, the only bummer about the whole setup was that they decided that dogs would not be allowed with you while cutting. This despite the fact that dogs are typically allowed in these areas and that no mention of this ban was made in the information posted on OSMP’s web site. They were trying to manage the higher than anticipated number of participants, but the forest is so big that having a bunch of dogs out there would not have been a problem. However, we sadly left Strelka in the car, where she promptly froze while we sought our tree. We took her out to romp in the snow later that day to make up for it.

Jesper and I tromped around for awhile not finding anything we liked. Most of the trees were scraggly little Charlie Brown trees, but Jesper finally found a beautiful, but tall, Douglas Fir. We debated selecting the tree, since it was probably 11 to 12 feet tall. However, we decided to go for it because it was by far the nicest tree we’d seen.

Holy Moly – that tree was heavy and we had a LONG way back to the car. Getting it up on the roof was quite a chore too. It’s a beauty though, in a natural way that a lot-purchased tree is not. We plan to set it up in the Living Room where the ceiling is really high. I’ll post a picture of it when it’s all decorated.

Since we’re not going to Denmark this year on account of Mushka being so sick, Jesper had a whole mess of vacation days set aside for a long trip to Europe. IBM does not allow him to carry them over. There’s NO WAY we are letting those vacation days vanish, so we’ve been taking off Fridays and Mondays and also plan to take off the whole week between Christmas and New Year’s. What are we doing with all those days off, you might ask? Skiing, of course! All this month of December, and starting on November 30^th, we’ve been skiing on Fridays and Mondays to avoid the crowds we’d normally encounter on the weekends. This has left Saturdays and Sundays free for stuff around the house and playing with the dogs. I’ve also had to get some work done over the weekend; work that I would normally do on a Friday or Monday. I’m very fortunate to have that kind of flexibility in my job.

We have lucked out with the latest series of storms on our ski days. Last Friday, Winter Park was slammed with about a foot of snow the night before. We skied there with a friend, Elizabeth, and were extremely fortunate to be there when they opened the Mary Jane side of the resort. Getting first dibs on runs that haven’t had anyone on them all season is wonderful. We went down Mary Jane several times, relishing in the fresh and deep powder. Even after many skiers/boarders had been down, the snow was still deep and soft. There was a lot of hooting and hollering! Whoo Hooo!

Yesterday, we lucked out again! We went to Copper and, although there wasn’t any fresh powder on the runs that were open when we got there, they opened the Sierra Lift at about 1:00 pm. This lift goes up above tree line and allowed access to two black diamond runs opened for the first time this season. Both runs (Gold Digger and Retreat) were super fun, especially since the resort was almost completely empty. After three runs through the powder, the snow wasn’t even close to being tracked out. By then we had done16 runs, which is a lot for one day, so we called it quits and grabbed a celebratory beer at Jacks. Sorry, I have no pictures of us in this wonderful powder at Copper; we were simply having too much fun to stop for photos!

Jesper and I will continue our four day weekend schtick next weekend. I could get used to this! I know I'm a lucky little snow bird!

Ski Season has Begun!

Finally! Jesper and I headed up to Copper yesterday (yes, we played hookey!) to start our ski season. I've decided that, as Colorado residents, it is a MUST that we start our ski season in November. Schwew... we just eeked into November, getting our first turns in on the 30th. Not many runs were open yet, but we had fun none the less.

Last year was our second year on tele skis and we both agreed that the first day on the slopes was awful! The motions felt gorky and the bottoms of our feet got cramped up in agony. You use those foot muscles a lot on, especially on teles. Of course, things got better after a few times on the skis and we both saw huge improvements by the end of the season (40 days on the slopes will help). However, this year, we both secretly worried that it would be just as awful a first day. Boy were we surprised! No gorkiness! We both flowed right into smooth tele turns. We weren't exactly were we left off at the end of last season, but I think we'll be there pretty soon. And although we felt some foot cramping, it was nothing like the pain we experienced last year.

So, we had a wonderful day and ended it early on a high note - beers at Jack's! Cheers to a great ski season!

Goin' Skiin'!

Whoo Hoo! We're finally getting some decent snow here in the CO Rockies, so Jesper and I are going skiing tomorrow. This time last year we probably had 4 or 5 days in by now. Oh well, we'll just have to ski a lot to catch up!

Here's a shot of me last year makin' some fine turns in the trees at Winter Park on a powder day:


Here's Jesper attacking the back bowls at Copper on a bluebird day:


Hopefully, I'll get some nice new pics from tomorrow's outing!

New Trail!

Yesterday I rode a new local trail with a couple friends, Tracy and Sasha; the Wild Turkey Trail up at Heil Ranch Park. I've been impressed with the amount of new trail for mountain biking that has been built in Boulder County since I've moved here in mid-2005. I come from Ohio where there is not a lot of legal mountain bike trail, although I heard it's getting better there too. When I moved to Boulder, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven with the amount of legal trail nearby. I heard locals complain about the lack of trails accessible to mountain bikers, but it
still seemed like a lot to me based on

Sasha with Tracy Close behind

my comparison with Ohio. Since I've been here longer, I've realized that, compared to hikers, runners and equestrians, the mountain bikers had drawn the short end of the stick in the Front Range, getting only a fraction of the hundreds (thousands?) of miles of trail.

So, the new mountain bike trails are good news. I've personally helped build several trails, including the one I rode yesterday. The original trail starts out with a rocky uphill for a few miles, standard fare for the Front Range. Then we hit the new trail, a stacked loop attached to the older trail, from south to north. For the first mile or so, the 2.9 mile trail was a wicked fun downhill, followed by a swoopy climb. We intersected the older trail and continued to climb up the original trial to the lookout point, where you can see the trails at Hall Ranch to the north. Work is underway to connect the Heil Ranch trails with those at Hall Ranch. This will create an amazing trail system that I can access from my house mostly on trail and ride for more than 30 miles without hitting pavement. Sa-weet!

After the lookout point, I had forgotten how much more climbing there was, up loose rocky terrain that sucks your energy like a hoover. I was on my Single Speed, so I was huffing and puffing like mad! Finally, we were headed downhill again for about three miles. Whoo Hoo! The two hour ride totaled about 10 miles. I would love to have done more, but I had a date with a rake and some leaf piles. Way fun Tracy and Sasha!

Tracy Rippen' Up Wild Turkey Trail

Indian Summer

It's been a prolonged Indian Summer here in the Front Range. Sunny, very warm (up in the 70's), and dry. I'm enjoying it for sure. On Sunday, Jesper and I headed out to sample the trails near Loveland; Blue Sky Trail, Indian Summer Trail (aptly named), Devil's Backbone Trail. I'm still not back 100% after sitting on my behind while my leg healed, but it felt really good to hammer on the SS.


But I'm torn. I'm itchin' for a little crappy weather. A cloudy day with drizzle and temps in the 40's. Perhaps I'm just nostalgic for Cleveland. All I need is one day. I thought I would get my one crappy day yesterday - the forecast called for clouds, drizzle and temps in the 40's. I was envisioning a run in my tights out in the rain. No such luck - it was sunny, dry and got up into the mid-50's.

Today it's supposed to be even warmer, getting close to 70 again. I think I need to embrace the warmth and get out and run in my shorts and jog bra.

Royal Bitch

I'm a mountain biker. It's my passion. That being said, I have always dabbled in road riding sporadically for fitness. Then I moved to Boulder, Colorado, where the road riding is fantastic! Beautiful sunny days. Bike friendly roads and drivers. Stunning canyons to climb up and fly down. Awesome views. Road riding became much more interesting and fun.

So, I bought an entry level bike got more into road riding. The bike served me well for two years, but I was ready for something better. Better than me, so I could grow as a rider. And a bike that fit me. At five foot one and a half inches, my 51 cm unisex bike was too big in every direction. I tested road some bikes and decided that I wanted a carbon frame. I determined the dimensions that felt best.

Armed with this information and a tape measure, I headed off the the Velo Swap with the hope that I'd find a nice bike at a super low price. The Velo Swap is an annual bike goods sale held in a massive facility used for major livestock events. Hundreds of people gather there to sell their used bikes, bike parts and other bike related goods. In addition, many bike shops come to sell end of the year bikes and parts to make room for the newly released models.

After waiting in line in the cold, Jesper and I were up front when the doors opened at 9:00 am. The place was instantly an insane mass of swarming people. Attending Velo Swap is an extreme overload of the senses. Hundreds of booths jam packed with bike stuff. Bikes, new and used, everywhere. Thousands of people moving in every direction, frantically looking for some fantastic deal. Jesper and I split up for a couple hours so we could each scope out the things we were looking for.

I focused on carbon road bikes sized 48 or 49 cm. I quickly discerned that there were a few other small women looking for the same thing. Hmmm... maybe there'd be a Cat Fight! After my two hour sweep, I had identified a few booths that had bikes I wanted to look at again with Jesper and a friend, Mike, who knows a lot about bikes. I quickly dismissed the Colnago, which was priced at $4,600. Just a tad too much! I also wasn't too sure about a bunch of used Fuji bikes, all from the women's professional Lipton Team. Quite honestly, they were butt ugly and I wasn't sure if a good price could make up their hideousness.

My main contender was a 49 cm 2007 Scott Contessa, brand new and beautiful. The asking price was $2,380. From my prior research, I thought the retail price was $2,800, however, I later found out the MSRP is $3,249.99. Mike offered that I would pay $2,200. We put the bike on a trainer and Mike adjusted it to fit me. It felt really good! Then I took it for a chilly ride outside. It felt fantastic! I returned to the booth and tried to decide what to do. The owner, a bike shop in Loveland, Colorado, informed me that a couple other ladies were seriously looking at the bike. I believed him, since I had heard this at other booths. The bike was a good deal (actually a better deal than I knew at the time), but $2,200 was a lot of money and a bit more than I had wanted to fork out.

Then I realized that for a few hundred bucks over my intended budget, I could have one hell of a bike. So I bought it, right then and there! I had slight buyers' remorse until I got home and realized I had bought a $3,300 bike for $2,200. That was an $1,100 savings! The bike is spec'd with full Ultegra components, an upgrade for me from my 105 components. The Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheel set is very nice. The brakes are short reach, so I can actually touch the brakes. Here's a linky to the full description: http://scottusa.com/us_en/category/72/contessa_road

I was the proud owner of a full carbon Scott Contessa. I instantly knew what I'd name the bike; the Royal Bitch!

I took the Royal Bitch for a short ride when I got home and showed it off to my friend Sue, who appreciates a nice bike. The next day, after I installed a new carbon stem, I went on a long, 50 mile ride with Sue, Mike, and some other fast riders. I got my butt kicked - I live in Boulder after all. But I knew this was a bike that I would be able to grow into. Today, I'm testing out the bike in the mountains. Let's hope this warm weather sticks around so I can continue to give the Royal Bitch the attention she deserves!

My father just turned 75. My siblings and I surprised him with a birthday party. Well..., he knew he was going out to dinner with my two sisters who still live near him in Westerville, Ohio. What he didn't know was that my two brothers, one who lives near Chicago and the other who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and I were joining him for dinner. And most of the grandchildren. With four siblings, most of whom have procreated, I have a big family.


It was a lot of work coordinating all five of us Kwasniewski kids' schedules. My brothers drove 100's of miles basically to have dinner and then leave the next morning. They were tired when they arrived in Westerville and I am sure they were extremely tired when they got back to their respective homes. I hope they realize that having us all there for this party will be looked on one day as very important. Our mother died 12 years ago so we are aware that some day (hopefully many years from now), our father too will pass away.




Papa was suprised!
The grandchildren were cute!

My dad was moved by having his children sing Happy Birthday in Polish.











Although it was a whirlwind weekend, it was worth it and will provide many wonderful memories some day long off in the future.