Gear review

For the past week and a half, I've been able to return to *some* biking and running. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've acquired a new bike and now also have a new pair of trail running shoes to comment on.











First the bike:
My new Motobecane Team Fly is very light and has some great components on it. Some of the highlights to include:
FSA Team issue carbon cranks with FSA MegaEXO External Bearing System
Shimano XTR Front and Rear Deraileurs and Shifters
Avid Elixir CR brakes
Vuelta Team Superlite wheels
Ritchey WCS Stem, Flatbar, Seatpost, and grips
RockShox Sid Race 100mm front fork

These are the main points, but one of the things I don't like about it is the Ultegra 9 sp cassette they put on it. It's a 12-27 and doesn't have the range of gears I'm used to. Easily enough corrected with a new SRAM PG990. The bike is VERY light and not having ridden a hardtail in a long while, I'm used to a slightly heavier and more active full suspension.
I've had this bike out on a couple of rides, but yesterday was the first real test on anything mildly technical or fast. I have to get used to the differences like the weight (or lack thereof) and the Rigid rear end. Now I REALLY can appreciate the reviews of FS bikes when people say that it "climbs like a hardtail." Most of the time, this is an exaggeration, but at least now I KNOW what that's supposed to feel like! :-)
Also, the Elixir brakes are very nice. Maybe even too nice for me and this bike. I don't need that much braking power, but the ease and range of adjustability are really sweet!
The Vuelta wheelset is seriously light, but the jury is still out as to their toughness. I"m keeping in mind the mtn bike mantra.... "Light, Strong, Cheap. Pick two." We'll see.
The bike handles well enough, but the head angle is quite different from the Giant Anthem I've been riding. The Sid Race fork is 100mm of SMOOTH travel and has a lockout, but I haven't found the need to use it yet as it's not too active.
I'm not really in good biking shape yet, but I'm amazed at the ease at which I'm heading up hills already. This bike came with the skinny Kenda Klimaxx 1.9 tires which are ok, but I'll be replacing them soon with the Maxxis Ignitor 2.1. Also, on flats, despite the rear cassette/gear ratio, I'm able to hold 19-22 mph for a few miles. Haven't had this on any long flat sections yet, but it's very light and pedals easily.
The differences I'm feeling between this hartail and my past FS bikes are really noticeable. The bike is so much more responsive when cranking under load. Not at all squishy. The lightness allows it to get up to speed much quicker than I'm used to as well. One downside is that it's less stable on fast descents and around cornering hard requires different weight distribution.














Now for the Shoes:
Although I've been a Montrail and Vasque fan for a while, I got these Brooks Cascadias at a locally owned store. The owner, Alan Culpepper is a super nice and helpful guy. He's also quite the impressive runner with a very competitive history.
He was showing me some new laces that he plans to start selling soon. When I asked if I could buy a pair from him, he offered to give me a pair to test and give him my opinion.
The shoes fit great and are super comfortable. This is often the case when one tries then buys shoes, but doesn't always stay true when running the trails in them. Fortunately, this shoe feels even better running trails than it does in casual wear.
It weighs and fits like a road shoe but has enough support to handle rocky trails. The mid-sole is very cushiony but that's fine for me. Taller and heavier runners might not like it because it doesn't have as low of a profile as many other trail shoes out there and it may feel squishy to them. Works for me though. The shoes also have aggressive traction, but the lugs feel almost too soft. I hope they're durable. I've had shoes that lugs broke off on rocks before so more miles and trails will be the judge on this.



















The laces are a very cool concept. They're elastic and designed to be strung, tied once and that's it. From then on, the idea is to slip them on and off. The elasticity is supposed to keep them snug while allowing for foot expansion and flexing while running. Great concept and I'm sure it'll work, but finding that "sweet spot" between too tight and too loose is hard. The laces are a little difficult to run through some shoes, but once they're in, they stay put! I'll have more info on them later when they're for sale.

Train Hard, Win Easy.

I saw this video on Scott Jurek's blog and wanted to repost it here. It really makes me feel ashamed for my attitude towards running. It really is a luxury for me, but one that I feel I need. Now I just need to stop taking so much for granted and try to focus on doing my best with what I've got.

Back on the trails

It's been a little over 4 weeks since my Arthroscopy and I don't think I could've asked for a better outcome. I've been continuing to see Dr. Jeremy Rodgers with the Colorado Sports Chiropractic Center and he's had me doing progressive stretching and strengthening for it and the knee has responded well.
Sunday, I was able to get in a 3 mile mountain run followed by another 4 mile bike ride also with some sustained climbs and decents. Afterward, the knee felt fine.
Yesterday, I did a 5 mile ride close to the house on some trails and although it still feels weak, the knee responded well again. I think I'll try another 3 mile trail run today on some easy trails at slow pace.
This is pretty exciting for me, but I want to keep it under control so I don't re-injure anything or undo any progress. Still, it feels good to be back on the trails!












Currently, I still have my Giant Anthem which will continue to be my full suspension race bike when the trails call for a FS, but I now have this SUPER LIGHT weight baby in my stable for some faster things when climbing fire roads and smoother single track are called for. (more pics here) WITH pedals and computer, it's still 19 lbs!!!

Not worth the chair you're sitting on!

Lance has some criticism for one of his critics!

On Giving

The following excerpt is from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It's one of my favorite chapters and summarizes my feelings on giving. Much of this book has guided my thoughts and feelings on a few different issues in life and I always enjoy re-reading it because I pull something new from it each time.

Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."

And he answered:

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself?

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving

And is there aught you would withhold?

All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father. - Kahlil Gibran

got cut

After having a quiet, but fun Christmas and New Year, I was able to get in a few more days of skiing.
The Dr's visit for the MRI results was on Monday the 12th and he scheduled the arthroscopy on Thursday the 16th. That was fast! I wish I could share the MRI results with you, but I can't seem to get a copy of them. He had a very busy schedule and that date was the only one open for him till March so I wanted to get the recovery started sooner rather than later.
So here we are one day after surgery and I'm simply amazed. That was the least stressful of any surgery I've ever had and coming out of the anesthesia was easier and smoother than I've ever experienced. No ill after effects at all and soreness is minimal so I've not needed any pain meds yet.
Initially, he planned on doing arthroscopy/arthroplasty since the debridement was deemed necessary. Once he got in, he noticed that there was more cartilage wear/damage than originally thought from the MRI so he decided to do a microfracture to force bleeding and stimulate more new growth and hopefully faster healing. You can see from the pics that there was quite a bit of fragmentation in the cartilage. This was smoothed out which should cut down on the amount of irritation. Time will tell.
I'm cautiously optimistic, but am a little excited to feel like I'm on the right track to recovery. Let's just hope I don't get too frustrated with the time it takes to recover adn heal PROPERLY and don't cause more injury with rushing the process.

Below are pictures from the surgery. Click on them for a larger version but be warned they are BIG!

skiing now

Been seeing the sports chiro for a few weeks with more mixed results. Mostly bad news for the knee. The exercises he's given me haven't been able to compensate for the damage that's already been done in there and the cortisone shot only provided temporary respite. At least it helped us know better what we're dealing with. Now, he's sending me to an ortho here in Denver and we'll do another MRI and go from there. Looks like some kind of procedure is inevitable. More on that later...



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Lately, I've been able to get in some skiing. Nothing crazy, just some fun alpine style in different conditions. I don't do moguls or jumps so it's ok on the knee. My first time out to Vail with Lee 2 weeks ago was awesome. The parking situation is pretty inconvenient, but the slopes were great and we were there while it was snowing and they already had about 10 inches of fresh powder on top of packed stuff. Very nice indeed. I'm loving my new skis.















Saturday, I went to Arapahoe Basin by myself and enjoyed a couple of hours. It's not as big as Vail, but there's a good bit of terrain to choose from and it's much closer than most other places. Plus, it's VERY convenient because you can park RIGHT beside the lifts. I literally skied back to my car when I was done. No resort there to complicate things.
















Pretty soon, the resorts will have most if not all of their terrain open and skiing will be much more fun (and crowded) since I like to find routes less traveled. With limited terrain open, it's hard to make your own tracks. Thinking of heading out to Breckenridge again this week. We'll see how the knee is feeling.
Lately, since I haven't been able to run or bike, I've been going to the gym and have been hitting the weights for the first time in a long time. The initial soreness felt great, but now I'm getting back into it and forgot how quickly I bulk up. I really need the cardio to keep the lean muscle mass and to burn off the layer(s) of fat that are building up. :-(

Michael Parkes

I'm not much of an art lover or critic, but I love this guy's work. I own the one titled Cargoyles. To see more, check out his site. http://www.theworldofmichaelparkes.com/html/artists.asp

going crazy

My knee hasn't been doing too well lately. I've been going to see Dr. Jeremy Rodgers of the Colorado Chiropractic institute for a little over a month now and I'm not sure what to report. The patella tendinitis isn't as bad (pain) as it was before, but as a result of the exercises my knee is pretty sloppy now.





Initially, Dr. Rodgers told me to take off 3 weeks of running while we strengthened some supporting muscles since I've been running over my 5th toe on my right foot and he wanted to get some abductor muscles stronger to pull my knee inwards a little to have my knee over my second toe when I started running.
The exercises combined with some taping has made my patella pretty unstable. It's not staying put at all. When I walk up or down stairs (i live in a 2 story home with a basement) it pops with every step because it's tracking mostly to the left of the groove it SHOULD be in. It's not like a knuckle popping that's loud, it's more like the sound of a dislocated bone sliding back into place with every step. This in itself doesn't hurt, but it leads to more inflammation and subsequent swelling.
He's sending me over to an Orthopedic that he works wtih for some Cortisone shots to try to get the swelling under control and if that doesn't help get us back on track with his program, then he's going to recommend 2 different surgeries. :-(
We've been trying to avoid surgery at all costs, but it's possible that there's just too much damage to allow the body to heal itself or compensate effectively. We'll see. I'm not going to put it off any longer once they say that's what they want to do. I'm going to get everything done at once and hopefully, be back on my feet healthy and training again next year.
This is very frustrating for me because running and biking are my stress relievers. I live in Colorado where it is beautiful, I have so many wonderful trails close by to explore and it's FALL! The best time of year for running and I can't enjoy it. I've had a few dreams lately about running and they've all been bouldering downhill after running some smooth single track with leaves crunching under my feet. Those dreams have been torturing me. I can't even bike anymore after last Sunday because of the instability and the swelling and pain afterwards.














So now I'm home icing it 2 to 3 times per day and will be getting the cortisone shots soon and then we'll see if it improves enough to resume the therapy program.
Maybe I'll at least get to get in some skiing this season. Since I don't' do moguls or jumps, skiing shouldn't be too hard on it. Just the easy stuff. Groomed or powder on smooth rolling terrain. If I can't even do that, I might just have to stop into a pawn shop for a good deal on a full auto cause I'm going to go postal!

Catching up and political rant.

Lately, I've had plenty to blog about, but just haven't had any motivation to do to. Here's an attempt to try to catch up.

About a month ago, I did a race with Adventures Xstream out near Vail. Although I was not anywhere NEAR being in race shape, I wanted to see how I'd do and wanted to see the scenery and test the AR skills.
Navigation was pretty basic with a couple of surprises and the distances weren't too crazy, but the terrain and the paddle gave me more of a challenge than I expected.
Race Breakdown:
The night before, we were given the course map and passport. We had to plot out our checkpoints and route based on the instructions.
The race started at 7:30 am in 30 degrees with an 8 mile bike ride to checkpoint #1.
At CP1 we received coordinates for CPs 2-4 to be reached on foot and we decided the best way to reach those in whichever order we chose. I was in the first transition about 2/3 of the way back in the pack, but was second out of the TA going into the navigation.
CPs 2-4 and the final run down to CP5 was ~ 5-7 miles and my knee and energy levels were still good.
I was still in second place beginning the first kayak leg and was still losing ground on first place, but still gaining ground on the rest of the soloists behind me.
I'm not a strong paddler and did not have a good boat so the class 2 river paddle wore me out for the first 6 mile segment. This leg of the race took us back to the transition area which we biked to at CP1 earlier. CP1 was now CP6 and after refilling the Camelback, I mounted the bike again in search for CP7 & 8. This part of the race took us up a LONG climb on a dirt road up the back side of some mountains. We climbed over 3000 feet in 10 miles and then had a decision to make about the route to take getting to CP8. The whole bike section was scenic, but grinding except for the downhill. The climb up took me 2 and a half hours (with a flat tire fix in the middle of it) and only 30 minutes to do the descent with a stop along the way for CP8. Getting back to what was originally CP1 & 6, I got back in the kayak for the final paddle down river to the start/finish. This last leg was more class 2 with a short section of class 3 and it was exhausting.
Surprisingly, I finished still in 2nd place and was 1 of the 4 or 5 soloists to finish the entire course. Many of the others couldn't complete it due to time cut-offs.

A week later, Ben Holmes (a.k.a. Bad Ben) and his wife Vicky came from KC to visit us. I had the privilege of seeing them in Leadville a few weeks earlier in August during the Leadville 100 mile trail run where they were supporting some fellow trail nerds who were running it. It was fun to also get to help out and watch that action unfold.
While Ben and Vicky visited, Ben and I got in a short but fun run in on the trails near my place.
Over the past few 3 months, I've been running about 6 or 7 times, biking about 3 times that, and the knee has been getting worse. I knew I had to do something about it soon.

Ski season is coming up soon and I now have my own set of skiis and have the Colorado Pass so I really hope to be able to take full advantage of it this winter. The way my knee has been feeling, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do that.
SO, I decided to put out a request for recommendations from the Boulder trail Runners mailing list. After receiving several recommendations, I decided to go with Dr. Jeremy Rodgers with Colorado Sports Chiropractic Center and go with his recommendation if I needed to see an orthopedic for anything. Many of the recommendations I received from the BTR list are below.

1. Dr. Voss of Boulder Orthopedics and Bob Cranny [Altitude Physical Therapy] (both x3)
2. Dr Stephen Paul (x3)
3. Lori Faulkerson (x2)
4. Dan Ocel (x1)
5. Jeremy Rodgers Sports Chiro (x3)

My visit with Dr. Rogers last Thursday was very positive and I'm enthusiastic about doing treatment with him. Hopefully, we can get my knee healthy and back in shape in time for ski season, but more importantly to me, in time for next year's running and adventure racing.
Of course the previous statement will be heavily dependent on the knee as well as my ability to race with whatever resources are available and those are dwindling with the economy taking such a downturn.

ON THAT NOTE...
I'm sick of the political ads, the negative commercials, the lies, and the blatant ignorance of the general public. For those of you who want to go along with the mass media's interpretation of what's at the root of the economic problems, you might want to get your facts first.

And for those who don't really believe that there's a democratic/liberal bias to CNN, I was trying to post comments with some facts in response to some political and economic articles and NONE of them were posted by the moderator. However, most of the comments that WERE posted were slamming Bush or Republicans in general and the slams had nothing to do with the articles. Why weren't my comments posted? There were nothing inflamatory there, nothing obscene, and no advertisements in my comments.

Here's some info for those of you who wish to know a little brief history leading to our current economic situation.

This is in case you were wondering how the housing crisis happened, which in turn has affected the stock market…as well as all financing in general.

During the Clinton administration all credit requirements for loans were lowered. This (combined with the dot com boom) helped caused an economic boom we all hear about during the Clinton Administration. Initially the lower standards were for low-income individuals. The middle class and the rich all took advantage of the same relaxed standards in order to buy investment homes. Everyone bought houses they couldn’t afford with no money down. Eventually, all of these mortgages were bundled and sold as investments on the stock market. Finally the bubble burst and now we are in a bad economic situation.

Clinton’s involvement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

This is from the New York Times in 1999

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=1&sq=Fannie%20Mae%20Eases%20Credit&st=cse

Good quotes:

· “Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.”

· “the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.”

· “In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.”

In the early Bush years (2003-2005) republicans attempted to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was fought by the democrats and no regulations passed. We don’t know why they didn’t pass, what we do know is that the largest campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been to Democrats. Obama receiving the second most of any Democrat. I am not sure if there is a tie, but it is interesting. In any case, Pelosi should get her facts straight before she speaks and blames the crash of the stock market and the housing market on President Bush and the republican party.

Actual congressional hearings when the republicans were trying to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the democrats were against it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

McCain trying to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2006

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=109-s20060525-16&bill=s109-190#sMonofilemx003Ammx002Fmmx002Fmmx002Fmhomemx002Fmgovtrackmx002Fmdatamx002Fmusmx002Fm109mx002Fmcrmx002Fms20060525-16.xmlElementm0m0m0m

Maybe we need to hear it in basic language (with an angry guy explaining the crisis.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYKk-uHTcks&feature=user (btw-I love this guy)

Although we know the war (that both parties voted on) is a large part of our national debt. The collapse in the financial market driven by the mortgage lending market and bundled products on the stock market are the cause of our economic downturn.

Check out this fascinating ppt:

http://www.slideshare.net/eldon/sequoia-capital-on-startups-and-the-economic-downturn-presentation?type=powerpoint

Sequoia called in all their startups to tell them how to survive the downturn.

Just in case you continue to hear Democrats blaming the Republican Party for the economic situation, you now have the facts!

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying vote Republican or Democrat or Independent. I'm saying the same thing I've always said which is my motto in life. Know what you believe, but more importantly, know WHY you believe it. Bottom line is THINK FOR YOURSELF and don't believe everything you hear. Especially on TV.

I'm no fan of President Bush, because Republicans have traditionally advocated LESS government and more personal responsibility, but under his tenure, the Federal Government has grown tremendously and I don't believe we're approaching "the war on terror" the right way. Anyone who thinks or says that "Bush's tax cuts" were for "the rich" obviously doesn't understand how our tax system works and is guilty of perpetuating ignorance.

Anyone who believes that Obama's tax plan which will result in 45% of the US population NOT PAYING ANY TAXES AT ALL yet still receiving a rebate is good for the country is being lulled into socialism. But that's delving into a topic that I don't have the time to explain right now.

Ok, enough of the rant.

Currently, we're all in Orlando for my work. I'm here for 2 weeks of training and we're catching up with old friends and will get to see family as well. Pictures will be forthcoming soon.

Enjoying the Colorado Summer!

I've been slower with the updates on the posts lately due to some fun time with more friends visiting. Here's a few highlights...














Here, Sean and I stand at 14,063 feet on top of Mt. Bierstadt.



















In the above picture, we are beginning to make our way across the sawtooth over to Mt. Evans. This was a little scary and precarious in places, but definitely doable without ropes. Just takes a lot of nerve.














Above is me perched on one part of the sawtooth. Below is a weasel that was curious about us. Cute little guy that followed us for a minute. Probably wanted to see if we had any food.

















Below is a view from atop Mt. Evans. In the bottom of the picture, you can see the parking lot for the folks who like to take an easier route up to 14000 feet. The peak of this one is at 14,264 feet above sea level.














Below, you can see one of the few animals able to survive in the tundra climate of the upper Rocky Mountain peaks. The Rocky Mountain Goat. This guy was a little shy and didn't want us coming too close. It's amazing how agile they are on the side of the mountain.


















Sean and I made the ~10 mile trip in about 9 hours. We had thought we would be faster than that, but it seems we underestimated the conditions. That being said, we were just happy to be done safely. During the trip, we were snowed and sleeted on a couple of times by an approaching storm front that closed the road to Mt. Evans on Friday. The day after we were there, it snowed over half a foot on both mountains. Looks like our timing was just right.

Recent photos

This is from when Shane and I climed Mt. Bierstadt after biking.














We also got to visit Lee and Monique and Connor while they were camping outside of Georgetown.















After hanging around the campfire for a while, we decided to go for a hike near Mt. Bierstadt.















Isabella had fun and stayed awake the whole time.

Slacking

Yeah I've been a slacker lately on the updates. A lot has been going on and I haven't been very good about having the camera at the ready to capture all the fun moments.
My sister came to visit as a last minute trip courtesy of a birthday present from my Mom and Grandmother. During her visit, we also had a visit from our friends the Jones family from KC. That visit was a little last minute as well, but we were glad to see them again and to get to spend some time with them. See more about those visits on Isabella's blog here.
During their visits, I wanted to help them explore and enjoy the wonders of living in CO as much as possible and since that means getting outdoors, I was able to get in some good training. My knee is now paying the price for all that activity with the tendonitis on the right knee and the ongoing LCL issues on the left knee. A doctor's visit is in the near future for me!
Here's a summary of recent activities since the Firecracker 50 race:
Biked a little over 230 miles on trails
Ran with my sister on local trails














Climbed/ran Mt. Bierstadt <-- yes actually made it to the summit!
Went to a Police concert.




























Hiked part of Mt Bierstadt and Deer Creek Canyon twice with Isabella in the backpack.

Gotta figure something out

This past weekend, was fun, but it was also an eye-opener for me.

I need to pick something and do it whole-heartedly. No more of this dabbling in this and that and trying to be above average at everything. This goes for most aspects of my life and it's becoming more and more dis-satisfying. I have the ambition to be really good at most things I apply myself to, but since I try to do so many things, I'm not as good as I know I can be at anything.

Last week, we learned that Allison's Grandfather Smith had passed away at his home during the night. This meant we needed to get a last minute ticket back to NC for the funeral. While in the midst of planning, I wasn't sure I'd be able to go due to work obligations and upcoming changes. (more on that later) Our friends Brian and Nicole helped us get a buddy pass (Nicole works for Delta) which got Allison to Atlanta for free based on standby availability. Once in Atlanta, she caught a ride with her cousin Eric on his way to NC. At the last minute at Allison's request, I got a ticket to NC through priceline that left Denver 1 hour later than the flight she and Isabella were able to get on. Mine went all the way to NC so I beat them there by a day.
Once there, everything went smoothly and I returned home on Sunday afternoon while Allison stayed behind for a few more days. Her return trip to Denver was supposed to be on Wed afternoon so instead of driving back to ATL from Fayetteville, her sister Amy bought her a ticket from Raleigh to ATL stopping over in Charlotte. However, once in Atlanta, she was unable to make it on any of the overbooked flights and kept getting bumped. She and Isabella were both exhausted from the trips and we had no idea when she would be able to come back. Frustrated with the whole mess, I just bought them a ticket from ATL to DEN for the next afternoon and put them in a hotel so they could both get a good nights sleep and be home at a definite time on Thursday.
On Thursday, I picked up Allison, Isabella, Mark Koester, and his girlfriend Katie at the airport and brought them all home. Later that afternoon, Mark, Katie and I went to the Rockies game losing 1 extra ticket we'd purchased for Allison because she was too tired to go and we didn't want to add any more confusion to Isabella's already crazy world now that she was finally home.
We had a good time at the game. It went extra innings against the FL Marlins, but the Rockies were able to win it at the bottom of the 12th.
THEN we were dazzled with a very cool fireworks display at the stadium.














While at the game, Chris Locke and Eric Tiffany arrived at the house. They had been driving from KC all day and were staying with us since we all were doing the Firecracker 50 mountain bike race in Breckenridge on Friday July 4th.

We got up early (5:30) and hit the road around 7 am for the 1.5-2 hour drive over to Breckenridge for the race. This was the National Marathon MTB Championship race so we knew it would be a packed race full of talent. We had read the course description, but I don't think it really sank in with either of us just how much climbing there would be.














The race consisted of 2x25 mile loops. The course was BRUTAL and very technical on some of the descents. There was ~1000 racers that started and I have no idea how many finished, but the finish rate was MUCH lower than the start total. Of the 45 pro riders, only 32 of them finished. Many dropped out during the first lap from exhaustion and/or mechanical failures.

My age group started several minutes behind the elites and the beginning was a lot of fun. The bike race was the kick off to the parade in the middle of town and we were part of it. We had to ride an enforced 10 mph behind a course marshal until we were outside the outskirts of town at which time the marshal peeled off to the left and we began racing in earnest.
The first 6.5 miles was all uphill and seemed more like one of the mountain stages in the Tour De France than a mtb race.














Several of the downhill sections were very steep and technical and many riders experienced multiple flats and some race ending crashes. During the first big decent, the rebound adjustment valve on my Fox 32 F80RL front shock blew off due to the rough terrain and this left the inside of my shock wide open. This was not a good thing as dirt can get in and all of the oil was getting out. And every time the fork would compress, it would shoot oil all over the right side of my body. I had shock oil from my helmet all the way down my right leg pooling in my shoe. This was a yucky situation made worse by the super dry conditions which caused all the dust to stick to the oily part of me. The busted front shock also meant that I had to ride more carefully through the rough stuff (couldn't ride race pace) because it was destroying my bike.

I completed the loop more tired and beat up than I should have been due to the mechanical issue, but it also made me realize how much fitness I've lost with my lack of focused training.














The next day (Saturday July 5) we rode part of the Colorado trail and then did the trails close by my house. Chris and Eric were both tired too, but they wanted to get in as much Colorado biking as they could. Great training weekend for me. Now I need to pick a race to train for and apply myself.