The Blue Beast

I got out on the Blue Beast for a couple laps at Hall this morning. It was perfect; sunny, 50 degrees and not a soul on the trail until I was on my way down. For being at work, I'm feeling pretty dandy.

Abs is leaving for Steamboat with some girlfriends to run a 1/2 marathon this weekend so it's going to be a boys weekend. We're planning on heading over to the Lyons Outdoor Games to watch some kayaking and dirt jumping. I think the boys will enjoy it.

Hope you all have a Rippin' weekend like these Playmobil dudes:

Memorial Day Weekend

Sorry regular readers, it's been a while since my last post. I've had a busy last few weeks with an 8 day stint in Sunriver, OR for a sales meeting (eh) and some tough meetings with customers (double eh). But let's cut to the chase shall we?! Memorial Day weekend ROCKED!

I started out Saturday with the 8th annual Lyons Fat Tire Fest. Let me tell you, it was just what the doctor ordered! This year Death March Dave split the group in to an A and B group. I decided I wasn't feeling up to the 'A' all day Death March as I just got back from a sales meeting. I always go to the sales meeting with good intentions of keeping my fitness up by running but I ended up drinking a whole lot of these instead. So, the 'B' group was definitely the way to go for me. Not to say it was easy by any means!

We started in Estes Park with 20 riders.

It was a nice 1500 ft. + climb to the single track.

Good views the entire way.

Right before the sweet single track down into Homestead Meadows.

Pierson Park Trail is sweet. It doesn't get a lot of traffic and it's a great downhill.

Yep. I took a nice digger on the way down. Right over the bars skinning my shoulder and right leg. The bike was not injured!

There's a bunch of great single track around the old homesteads.
At the bottom of Lions Gulch. The total ride was right around 16 miles. Not too long but definitely a good time. There should be more photos of the 'B'eeeer ride here soon.

Sunday we celebrated our oldest son's birthday at Meadow Park in Lyons with his closest 12 friends and their families. We had squirt guns for all of the kids to squirt each other, at least that was the plan. I think the parents got th most wet.

The Party boy on his way home.

After Saturday's long ride, I didn't think I would get out the rest of the week. Ab was nice enough to let me go ride in the forest again with Dave and Clay. Another great ride but I only snapped a couple pics:

A view towards Longmont. A bit hazy...

You never know who you're gonna run into in the forest. Homey didn't have a spark arrest on his bike...loud and forest fire starting potential. Yikes!

Monday, Ab ran the Bolder Boulder and kicked ass! She ran 8:00 miles and finished in the top 40 of her age group (580 total runners). The rain also started and really didn't end until yesterday. I like the rain at our house because we're basically in the cloud. It was a nice lazy day after a busy weekend:

Friday Rocks!

So I can't take credit for this video (see howtoavoidthebummerlife.com) but it's exactly how amped up I was this morning. You see, I too had a Nutrigrain bar for breakfast before my ride at Hall Ranch and I FEEL GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREAT!!!:

Speaking of being amped up. Check out the pure AWESOMENESS the NRA sent our office and Beau so graciously modeled:

Charlton Heston's replacement??

"...from my cold dead hands!!!"

Careful buddy, this is what truckers wear to pick up "chicks" at truck stops.

Beau's new formal wear.

Yep, good stuff. I'm thinking the jacket will work really nice for his engagement party tomorrow. The weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate so the NRA jacket may be the ticket...

Have a good weekend everybody!

Babylon Sound System......MASSIVE!!!

Yesterday I got home to find a padded envelope from my buddy Erich in Durango. This could only mean one thing: NEW TUNES! When he was out a couple of weeks ago he talked about this local "Selector" named I Gene and how he threw down some rockin' reggae tunes in his weekly reggae show. He sent me a three disc I Gene master mix and a live Barrington Levy bootleg. Saaweeeeet! Here's a sampling of what he sent me:

I haven't been able to listen to it all because the first disc is so good!

Two rides in a work week

Wow. Two rides in a work week. I haven't done this since last year. Tuesday I rode Heil Ranch with the Redstone crew. We did a nice figure 8 loop at the top including the Wild Turkey trail in both directions. The Turkey sure is swoopy and fun from the North to South.

This morning Denny and I got a ride in at Hall before work. I thought we might not be able to ride when I saw my wet deck and driveway this morning. But when we got there the dirt was nice and tacky. I also busted out the Single Speed and it felt great! I think I may be over the bronchitis.

The Blue Beast at the top of the Antelope trail

There wasn't a soul on the trail.

The sky looked threatening the whole ride but we stayed dry.

It's getting nice and green up there!

Classic Reggae Tuesday

I listened to this on the way to work this morning:

Fred Locks is a lesser known reggae artist and somewhat obscure most know for the album "Black Star Liner". Apparently there is an album he recorded in 1995 "Culturally" but I haven't heard it. If it's anything like "Black Star Liner", it would be worth cheking out.

Tuesday ride tonight. My most favorite weekday other than Friday....

Weekends are good

I cut out of work a little early on Friday to go down to the Children's Museum in Denver. Let me tell you, for a weekday this place was out of hand. Half the exhibits were broken and half the parents just let their kids run rampant in the place. I didn't take many pictures there but this one will give you an idea of the overall feeling of the place: Maybe not that bad but it was still a bit much for my one and three year old. We decided to get the heck out of there and check out the Landry's seafood house commercialized aquarium. Don't get me wrong, the place is pretty cool but don't you think it's a bit weird to have a seafood restaurant inside the aquarium?? My boys liked the aquarium and it was a lot more calm in there.

Saturday we had a soccer game in the morning and then my 3 year old and I "helped" uncle Beau with some home improvements. I think we ended up doing more harm than good when installing the the Millennium Falcon sized light fixtures. Beauman - you best get a certified electrician to check that out.

On Sundays Ab and I usually trade off with our excercise. She went for a 10 mile run in the morning and I got to ride my bike with Clay. We went up into the forest and rode Coulson Gulch. It was great to ride where there wasn't a crowd.

All smiles on the saweet single track.
There wasn't anybody down on the North Saint Vrain. I think I'm going to try and ride this again next Saturday.

Definitely a good way to end the weekend. By the way, the inhaler seemed to do the trick. I could breath a lot better! Hopefully I get over this Brochitis soon. My next ride is on Tuesday....

Happy May Day

Happy May Day! Look what I woke up to today:

The drive down the hill was plenty nasty. Apparently as soon as everyone starts thinking spring is here, they lose all snow driving skills. But it sure is nice to have the moisture. I took these on the way down to the doctor. I haven't been in a couple years and I only really go when there's something physically wrong with me. I've had a hard time breathing while mountain biking the last three weeks. The first couple weeks I attributed it to a cold that I must be just getting over. Last Tuesday, I was dropped by the guys like a bad habit. I knew something just wasn't right. It turns out that I have a nice case of Bronchitis induced asthma. Sweet. Now I have to take antibiotics for a week and use an inhaler for another 2.5 weeks. At least it wasn't my fitness level completely. Maybe if I use my inhaler 3 times before the ride next week I'll beat the rest of the guys up the hill...

Speaking of the Redstone crew. A few of us went down to Boulder for the premier of the movie "Seasons". If you're into mountain bikes, it's worth checking out. The soundtrack is killer! It's good to get out and drink some beers with the guys.

More good stuff to come. In the meantime, check out how easy life should be: