theworldeffect.com

While I was battling snow and big rigs on ice, check out what my bro and Meg have been up to:

www.theworldeffect.com

Looks mighty warm there....

Not a good sign...

Last Wednesday I knew karma was going to bite me in the ass hard later. I made it to SLC in just over 7 hours (yes I was mildly speeding). That's good time on I-80 through Wyoming for all of you that are not familiar with that stretch of road. This is what Karma did to me on the way back:

Good times. The total travel time on the way back was just about double (12.5 hours). Nothing like wind, snow and glaze ice to make you feel alive!

Let me back up for a minute. Why was I in the lovely city of SLC?? Outdoor Retailer. This is where all of the biggest outdoor brands show off their new gear for next year. Normally I would be busting my hump in the (name omitted, not worth mentioning) booth. This time around, I joined hundreds of other outdoor folks looking for a job. This trade show felt more like a job fair than a place where retailers buy new product for next season. A couple brands (Chaco and Ahnu) were bought by big conglomerate companies. The atmosphere was strange, to say the least.

Even with the strange atmosphere, it was still nice to be there. I saw a TON of people that I haven't seen in ages. I had a lot of offers to go snowboarding after the show. Unfortunately, I had to head back because the fam was sick... now I have the illness too. Lucky me.

All in all, it was a good trip. I even landed a position with a local Boulder company that makes tents. I'll have more on that when all of the I's are dotted and T's crossed...

One for the weekend...

Picture Perfect Picture Rock

I snuck away from my office to enjoy some of the mild weather we're having. It was about 45 degrees and sunny, perfect for getting a ride in at one of the local trails. The Blue Beast was calling me from the garage to get out and ride... and ride we did. The trail conditions were just about perfect. Where there wasn't snow, the dirt was tacky:
In the shade there was about an inch of snow but it was pretty crusty and still offered quite a bit of traction:

I made it up to "The Great Wall of Heil" before turning back. When the sun went behind the hill, it cooled off a lot. There was only one other set of bike tracks on the trail:

I ripped down on the super flowy single track and enjoyed what was left of the sun. I couldn't get my tires to break free from the dirt. Sooooo tacky and sweet! Check out this view, I think it's one of the best around and the reason why I live close to Lyons:

So now I'm back at my desk looking outside and wondering if I should sneak out again! The weather is supposed to be good through the weekend. I imagine I won't have the trail to myself on Saturday.

There's lots of good bike stuff going on right now in the area. Boulder county is pushing forward with the Lyons to Boulder (Certain Death) trail. Check out Dave's synopsis of the plan and timeline here. This would be an AWESOME commuter bike trail to Boulder and eventually Longmont too. I also got an update on the Valmont Bike Park this morning: Local cyclist funds children’s cycling education at Valmont City Park. If you haven't heard of Valmont Bike Park, check it out here. This is going to be the absolute mecca of all things bike! Having a large donation like this is a BIG deal. I've already bought a brick with my sons' names on it.... have you?!

Well - back to the grind. Get to work already!

-Edit- Click on the pics above to get them in full. For whatever reason they turned out EXTRA Large.