Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Red Rocks Territory
Coming Soon.
There are lots of fun projects coming up over at Filament. Lots of riding... and shooting...
km
There are lots of fun projects coming up over at Filament. Lots of riding... and shooting...
km
Thursday, August 19, 2010
They're not called the 'Goodlands'
The Maah Daah Hey trail is truly one of the most rugged trails there is. The fact that North America's longest continuous singletrack trail lies in the Badlands of North Dakota should, alone, let you know that you will be in the middle of nowhere. A friend of mine, Nick Ybarra, invited a group of riders to ride the 111-mile trail from end to end in hopes of having someone set a new trail record - which I believe stands at 15 and a half hours. I coaxed training partner and friend, Josh, into making the trip back home with me. (which nearly coincided with my great grandmother's 100th birthday!) The catch: Josh had to work until 3pm the day before the ride, meaning we would be pushing it to make the start time of the ride - 4:30AM.
I need to mention that a few days before we headed out, another North Dakota native, Ryan Levander, passed through Colorado to do a half Ironman and do some more riding. He came out to Golden and I loaned him my training bike so he could get a taste of some front range riding. As Josh, Ryan and I made it up Chimney Gulch and over towards Apex, we came upon a sharp right-hander. Josh and I have ridden this several times so we knew what was up. However, Ryan has not and when we heard how fast he was going we knew he was in trouble. Just as we looked back we saw Ryan fly through the air and land smack dab on the side of his face. After a few seconds of unconsciousness he became aware of what happened. When he asked me for the 3rd straight time if my bike was okay - and after he told us we didn't take the photo that we just took 10 minutes earlier - we knew it was time for me to get the car... I felt comforted knowing that Josh has been working in emergency rooms for the past couple months. He got Ryan to the hospital and the CT scan proved that it was a concussion and nothing more. Nothin' like gettin' your bell rung...
Fast-forward to 2AM Friday morning. Josh and I pulled into my parents' driveway and within 15 minutes we were eating a breakfast feast that my mom whipped up. It was a weird feeling eating such a huge breakfast at 2:30AM... My mom had also prepared, labeled, and packed all of our food for the ride. I can honestly say that no ProTour cycling team in the world has the support I get from my mom. After slamming the food, it was off to the trail head - another hour and a half from where we were.
We ran a few minutes late, but made it before the scheduled departure time. I was surprised that Nick and crew were already gone, but then found out why they had already left... look closely.
Nick had left directions on how to navigate around Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This re-route is pretty short, but it's local knowledge. Josh and I spent an hour and 45 minutes roaming around the tall grass and the rugged ridges of the Badlands. Josh was super positive and would crack jokes whenever we would find ourselves completely turned around. I'd be saying things like, 'I think we should be about three ridges over.' and he'd be singing 'Piano Man' (or something like that...) This map shows you how lost we actually got. Keep in mind that this does NOT show you the time we spent off the bike roaming around as my gps was attached to my handlebar.
Back on the trail and hauling, I noticed Josh started to get a little quiet. I could see he was getting really hungry and he kept mentioning food. When we finally reached the cooler that Nick's dad had left for us just shy of halfway, Josh attacked it like he was about to eat his last meal. 1500 calories later (I'm probably exaggerating... maybe not) He asked me, 'Should I have another Ensure?' 'NO!! You're going to be in a coma if you eat any more...'
Well, 30 minutes later, Josh had the most colossal physical and mental collapse I've ever seen him have. We're talking about a seasoned professional mountain biker here. Even as we're back in Colorado, we're still unclear of exactly what happened out there. As it became clear we weren't going to make it back to Medora - the end of the trail - we decided it was time to pull the plug. The dangerous thing about this trail is that you can't just call it quits and walk off the trail. We were in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we stumbled upon a rancher working on a random cattle water well. Even though Red (what a great name!) was hesitant at first, he not only gave us a ride back to Medora (35 miles away) he also gave us a tour of the ranch where he worked, Elkhorn Ranch. Turns out that Elkhorn has an account with my family's business. How's that for a small town connection!
We were greeted with smiles and hugs from my mom, aunt, cousin and grandma. We had some good food and shared our story - all in all a great time considering the circumstances.
Josh and I hung out with my family all day the next day and enjoyed the beautiful summer weather. It seems every time I go home, I never have enough energy to enjoy the small town bar scene. (I'm not really a bar guy, but hey - when in Rome...) Josh and I headed to the local bar where we ran into all sorts of fun. We got heckled by a group from a bachelorette party, ran into some of my old friends, and we just about got caught in the middle of a bar fight between a couple big cowboys from Texas and some 'dudes' from the local college.
I can never really thank my family enough for their generosity and hospitality. It made for a truly unforgettable trip.
I need to mention that a few days before we headed out, another North Dakota native, Ryan Levander, passed through Colorado to do a half Ironman and do some more riding. He came out to Golden and I loaned him my training bike so he could get a taste of some front range riding. As Josh, Ryan and I made it up Chimney Gulch and over towards Apex, we came upon a sharp right-hander. Josh and I have ridden this several times so we knew what was up. However, Ryan has not and when we heard how fast he was going we knew he was in trouble. Just as we looked back we saw Ryan fly through the air and land smack dab on the side of his face. After a few seconds of unconsciousness he became aware of what happened. When he asked me for the 3rd straight time if my bike was okay - and after he told us we didn't take the photo that we just took 10 minutes earlier - we knew it was time for me to get the car... I felt comforted knowing that Josh has been working in emergency rooms for the past couple months. He got Ryan to the hospital and the CT scan proved that it was a concussion and nothing more. Nothin' like gettin' your bell rung...
Fast-forward to 2AM Friday morning. Josh and I pulled into my parents' driveway and within 15 minutes we were eating a breakfast feast that my mom whipped up. It was a weird feeling eating such a huge breakfast at 2:30AM... My mom had also prepared, labeled, and packed all of our food for the ride. I can honestly say that no ProTour cycling team in the world has the support I get from my mom. After slamming the food, it was off to the trail head - another hour and a half from where we were.
We ran a few minutes late, but made it before the scheduled departure time. I was surprised that Nick and crew were already gone, but then found out why they had already left... look closely.
Nick had left directions on how to navigate around Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This re-route is pretty short, but it's local knowledge. Josh and I spent an hour and 45 minutes roaming around the tall grass and the rugged ridges of the Badlands. Josh was super positive and would crack jokes whenever we would find ourselves completely turned around. I'd be saying things like, 'I think we should be about three ridges over.' and he'd be singing 'Piano Man' (or something like that...) This map shows you how lost we actually got. Keep in mind that this does NOT show you the time we spent off the bike roaming around as my gps was attached to my handlebar.
Back on the trail and hauling, I noticed Josh started to get a little quiet. I could see he was getting really hungry and he kept mentioning food. When we finally reached the cooler that Nick's dad had left for us just shy of halfway, Josh attacked it like he was about to eat his last meal. 1500 calories later (I'm probably exaggerating... maybe not) He asked me, 'Should I have another Ensure?' 'NO!! You're going to be in a coma if you eat any more...'
Well, 30 minutes later, Josh had the most colossal physical and mental collapse I've ever seen him have. We're talking about a seasoned professional mountain biker here. Even as we're back in Colorado, we're still unclear of exactly what happened out there. As it became clear we weren't going to make it back to Medora - the end of the trail - we decided it was time to pull the plug. The dangerous thing about this trail is that you can't just call it quits and walk off the trail. We were in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we stumbled upon a rancher working on a random cattle water well. Even though Red (what a great name!) was hesitant at first, he not only gave us a ride back to Medora (35 miles away) he also gave us a tour of the ranch where he worked, Elkhorn Ranch. Turns out that Elkhorn has an account with my family's business. How's that for a small town connection!
We were greeted with smiles and hugs from my mom, aunt, cousin and grandma. We had some good food and shared our story - all in all a great time considering the circumstances.
Josh and I hung out with my family all day the next day and enjoyed the beautiful summer weather. It seems every time I go home, I never have enough energy to enjoy the small town bar scene. (I'm not really a bar guy, but hey - when in Rome...) Josh and I headed to the local bar where we ran into all sorts of fun. We got heckled by a group from a bachelorette party, ran into some of my old friends, and we just about got caught in the middle of a bar fight between a couple big cowboys from Texas and some 'dudes' from the local college.
I can never really thank my family enough for their generosity and hospitality. It made for a truly unforgettable trip.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The air up there
I called up my sizzling fast good friend, Jen Gersbach, (who also happens to know the Vail Valley inside and out) to order up an epic high country mountain bike ride. As she drove up to Keystone for the CO state championships, she offered a few good trails and 'off-the-top-of-my-head' directions for me to write down.
Josh and I headed up and had a great day in the high country of Colorado. Unfortunately, I guess my camera was jealous and in an act of aggression, deleted all of my photos so I wouldn't be able to share any visuals of our trip. Let me just say that sweet singletrack, good company, fresh air, and wild raspberries equals a heluva good time. These high altitude rides are great for fitness levels, which is great for me as the big races of my season are approaching.
I've thrown my hat in with the other riders who will ride the Maah Daah Hey trail in Medora, ND next weekend. While this isn't a race as much as a personal test, the idea is to see what sort of times can be posted over the 111-mile long haul. I've never done the whole trail so this should be a fun, epic adventure. I believe the goal of this ride is to raise awareness of this trail in hopes an official race will take place in the near future.
Plenty more racing coming up...
Josh and I headed up and had a great day in the high country of Colorado. Unfortunately, I guess my camera was jealous and in an act of aggression, deleted all of my photos so I wouldn't be able to share any visuals of our trip. Let me just say that sweet singletrack, good company, fresh air, and wild raspberries equals a heluva good time. These high altitude rides are great for fitness levels, which is great for me as the big races of my season are approaching.
I've thrown my hat in with the other riders who will ride the Maah Daah Hey trail in Medora, ND next weekend. While this isn't a race as much as a personal test, the idea is to see what sort of times can be posted over the 111-mile long haul. I've never done the whole trail so this should be a fun, epic adventure. I believe the goal of this ride is to raise awareness of this trail in hopes an official race will take place in the near future.
Plenty more racing coming up...
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Kudos to mtbracenews.com
Shannon Boffeli and his crew from mtbracenews.com have been remarkably impressive in their coverage of mountain bike racing. I say this for a couple of reasons: 1 - The fact that they cover East coast to West coast racing is great for the sport. 2 - They race these events along with the racers they're reporting on. Based out of Utah, I know it's not an easy task to get to these races, race, and then write up an article about it - all while having a 'real' job. (in addition to putting on the Park City Point to Point race this September)
Here's a report from the Laramie Enduro. Note the 8th placed rider in this pretty tough pro field...
Here's a report from the Laramie Enduro. Note the 8th placed rider in this pretty tough pro field...
Sunday, August 1, 2010
'You WILL be attacked by eagles'
There's nothing like being on the start line of a mountain bike race. As the event director looks at his stop watch and yells, '2 minutes!' the nerves in the group begin to elevate. My nerves are exceptionally elevated when I know I'll have to push my body and mind to the limit for the next 5 hours, as was the case in the Laramie Enduro this weekend.
Now on top of that, our race director added two little pieces of information before the gun went off. The first was a reminder that last year, a particular section of the race course had claimed, 'a set of broken ribs, a couple broken legs, a few collar bones and a broken back - in addition to the countless cases of road rash. So be careful on that descent.'
'Also, be aware that you will be attacked by eagles about a mile after that descent. There is an eagle's nest that you will ride past. That's just the way it is.'
I'm really pleased to report that I didn't really crash and I did not get attacked by the threatening eagles.
The Laramie Enduro is one of my favorite races and I didn't know I was going to race it up until 3 days before the start when Rich, the director, invited me in. With the winners of the last three editions of this race toeing the line, I knew it was going to be a real hard day in the saddle.
The last time I raced this event(07) I was fortunate enough to go home with the win. The same was true for Jay Henry(08) and Barkley Robinson(09). This trio of riders would ultimately make up the front group and we would end up riding with one another for three and a half hours. The pace was ridiculous at times and it seemed that each one of us could make it to the line first. I was feeling really good, but had a few 'spot of bother' moments. In one of those moments, I totally smashed into a rock with my drive train and destroyed my brand new chain. My mistake on that part of the trail eventually cost me a chance to see the last climb with Jay and Barkley. I did a little trail side maintenance and began my journey to the finish line with my bike stuck in the big ring. (I now have even more respect for you single speeders!) In reality, it wasn't so bad and save for a flat tire on the way, I made it back in decent time and ended up 3rd. Jay ended up putting a little time into Barkley and grabbed the win - even after he flatted early on in the race. I felt proud to be racing in that group of guys. They're some of the nicest fellas in the peleton and at the end of the day, it was fun to re-hash our time riding together in the race. Jay's wife, Cynthia, saved my day by handing me bottles at a few points along the course.
Overall it was a great, albeit short, trip. Rob and I drove up and I crashed with friends, Ward and Bobby. Ward, being a man of preparation, handed me a nifty little map with aid station, elevation and mileage markings.
Five hours will do ya in. Today is a day for cleaning, resting and eating. Until the next time - ciao.
Now on top of that, our race director added two little pieces of information before the gun went off. The first was a reminder that last year, a particular section of the race course had claimed, 'a set of broken ribs, a couple broken legs, a few collar bones and a broken back - in addition to the countless cases of road rash. So be careful on that descent.'
'Also, be aware that you will be attacked by eagles about a mile after that descent. There is an eagle's nest that you will ride past. That's just the way it is.'
I'm really pleased to report that I didn't really crash and I did not get attacked by the threatening eagles.
The Laramie Enduro is one of my favorite races and I didn't know I was going to race it up until 3 days before the start when Rich, the director, invited me in. With the winners of the last three editions of this race toeing the line, I knew it was going to be a real hard day in the saddle.
The last time I raced this event(07) I was fortunate enough to go home with the win. The same was true for Jay Henry(08) and Barkley Robinson(09). This trio of riders would ultimately make up the front group and we would end up riding with one another for three and a half hours. The pace was ridiculous at times and it seemed that each one of us could make it to the line first. I was feeling really good, but had a few 'spot of bother' moments. In one of those moments, I totally smashed into a rock with my drive train and destroyed my brand new chain. My mistake on that part of the trail eventually cost me a chance to see the last climb with Jay and Barkley. I did a little trail side maintenance and began my journey to the finish line with my bike stuck in the big ring. (I now have even more respect for you single speeders!) In reality, it wasn't so bad and save for a flat tire on the way, I made it back in decent time and ended up 3rd. Jay ended up putting a little time into Barkley and grabbed the win - even after he flatted early on in the race. I felt proud to be racing in that group of guys. They're some of the nicest fellas in the peleton and at the end of the day, it was fun to re-hash our time riding together in the race. Jay's wife, Cynthia, saved my day by handing me bottles at a few points along the course.
Overall it was a great, albeit short, trip. Rob and I drove up and I crashed with friends, Ward and Bobby. Ward, being a man of preparation, handed me a nifty little map with aid station, elevation and mileage markings.
Five hours will do ya in. Today is a day for cleaning, resting and eating. Until the next time - ciao.
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