Boulder > Jamestown > Estes Park > Lyons > Boulder: 86mi, 8200ft gained

This was a ride that I'd been eying on the map ever since getting the Cannondale road bike last spring. I took the bus up to Boulder to make a Craigslist purchase of an avalanche shovel, then departed on the bike to Left Hand Canyon ascent to Jamestown. Continuing up Overland Rd towards the Peak To Peak Highway, the surface turned to dirt, with some ice and snowmelt runoff.

Further upwards to the Peak To Peak Highway, slinking below the looming Mt Meeker (and Longs Peak hiding out of sight just beyond it's summit.)

Once up high around 9000ft, the temps dropped to around 45 degrees and wind gusts kicked up to 40+mph. Some of the downhills required quite an effort to keep forward motion, but the views were amazing:

I eventually made it to Estes Park, the eastern entrance of Rocky Mt Natl Park. My hands were frozen but I stopped for a hot coffee before turning southeast and heading down the long descent into Lyons. From there, it was another 14mi of rollers into a strong headwind to make it back into Boulder for a beer with my friend Brandon and catching the bus back to Denver. Biggest ride in distance and climbing to date this winter. Anytime you make it up to the Peak To Peak is a worthwhile day of pedaling.

Deer Creek > High Grade Rd > Evergreen > Golden: 72mi, 5300ft gained

As if racing around the velodrome for 3 hours last night wasn't enough, I got a little over 5 hours of sleep (post-track camaraderie beers lingered into the A.M.) and woke up for an all day ride that I've been wanting to do for a while. I started up Deer Creek Canyon like I did the other week, then diverted southwest onto High Grade Rd. It was, well, very steep as the name would imply.

From there it was north on HW73 into the town of Evergreen, where I stopped for a coffee at the Ice House Coffeeshop, located in the repurposed lobby of the historic Evergreen Hotel. I think this was the first time I've ever seen (and used) a toilet with the old fashioned elevated water tank!

After a pleasant stroll around Evergreen, I headed down Bear Creek Canyon for a bit to Kerr Gulch Rd, then a brief couple of miles along the shoulder of I-70 (no frontage road on this stretch) to US40 and down to Golden. Back home to Denver as a cloud front covered the sun and the temperature really dropped substantially... it was warm enough earlier but I was under-prepared for the afternoon chill. A hot shower was quite the treat when I finally got home after 72miles and 5300 vertical feet of climbs.

Boulder Velodrome night

My buddy Brian set up an open ride night at the Boulder Indoor Velodrome for a bunch of Denver messengers to come up and try out riding on the track. I'd only ridden a velodrome once before, back in 2002 at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis when I worked at Jimmy Johns and was still a relative newcomer to riding a fixed gear. Tonight was a ton of fun- this track is wooden, short laps and steep walls. One of the resident track coaches was on hand to show us the ropes, give some pointers and safety protocols, and generally help decrease the likelihood of us killing ourselves or someone else.

my coworker Rob #08 coming through turn 4

 

I was able to ride my own track bike, here outfitted with drop bars once again. It was a great feeling to get this bike on the track finally! The g-forces in the turns get pretty intense once you get up to sprint speeds- it's a little unnerving to rail it into a 45 degree bank at full speed but feels sublime once you settle into the rhythm and are ready for the muscle strain in the arms and neck.

skiing at Arapahoe Basin

So far it's been a lousy year for snowfall in the high country, which has skiers (and ski resorts) bummed out. Last year set records, and I spent the summer getting motivated to get back into skiing and scrounging up cheap used ski gear. Everything I've bought so far is intended for skiing in the backcountry (avoiding the resorts and hiking/skiing uphill under my own power, then skiing back down in the uncrowded wilderness.) But I first have to get some practice before I venture out into the more challenging terrain and conditions of the backcountry so I hit A-Basin today for some fun turns and lazy rides up the ski lifts.

looking west over the Montezuma Bowl towards the Ten Mile Range

the East Wall- still closed to skiers due to lack of snow

Had a pretty fun day, although I'd definitely prefer to be out in the peace and quiet of the wilderness, ascending with my legs and lungs rather than buying a lift ticket with everyone else. But I got about 13,400ft of vertical in 6 hours... and you can't do that on your own!

Denver's big blizzard

Finally got a big storm down here in the city. We've had a number of smaller storms this winter, but nothing major until now. We ended up with almost 2ft of fluffy snow. It started on Thursday afternoon and luckily for me I was scheduled to substitute for my dispatcher in the Boulder office on Friday. (The downside was having to leave the house at 5:45am in order to catch the first bus up to Boulder, figuring it could be a long commute.) So I spent a few hours on the bus but avoided biking all day in the mess.

A few shots of my yard after clearing the snow:

It kept on lightly snowing until late Saturday night, but the roads were fairly cleared up by the time I had to ride for work on Monday morning. The city sure is pretty!

Georgetown ice racing & snowshoeing Naylor Lake

Every other weekend in the winter months, there is a group of dedicated motorheads who race their 4x4's on the thick ice of Georgetown Reservoir along I-70 at about 8500ft. I'd heard of these events but finally made it up to spectate. What what a crazy event it is! We made it just in time for the "Cheater" Class of racing, which is basically the all-out customized purebred element of these guys. Most of them use old Jeep chassis retrofitted with incredibly suped-up V-8 engines powering tires sporting 1.5 inch spikes for traction as they race around a course of roughly eight turns. It's loud, it's powerful, it's excessive, and it's American for better or worse. I loved it, naturally.

 
After getting our fill of guttural powersports, we drove (in my stock 95 Civic) a ways up Guanella Pass and strapped on the snowshoes for a late afternoon hike up to the solitude of Naylor Lake.

I like the dichotomy of this trip to the mountains: the gluttonous excess of horsepower and pollution from the racers and then the utter quiet isolation of watching the sun set from ice at 11,000ft. We were literally the last people on the trail; didn't encounter another soul on the way up or down, and did the last half of the hike out to the trailhead with our headlamps guiding the way. It was sublime.

back to the gym routine

Before I broke my elbow I was working out at the Denver Rec Center city gym 3-5 days a week. During my recovery process I tried to keep going at least a little, but then I got busy with the City O City construction project, my membership expired, and I took a voluntary period of laziness. It was nice to be lazy, to come straight home from work for a full evening of relaxing and making a leisurely dinner.

But I got sick of being lazy, so I've been back at the gym again for the past few weeks. It feels great to be doing some healthy training after work each day. On the one hand, it's depressing to see where I'm at in my physical condition and strength now versus where I was at before my elbow. On the other hand, after just a few weeks, I'm seeing a lot of progress each day and know I'll be back to my old levels soon enough. And eventually will surpass that too!

A typical week looks something like this:
Monday:  rest day (from my weekend excursions)
Tuesday: weight lifting, 2 to 2.5 hours. (full body weight regimen, mostly freeweights and core strength)
Wednesday: swimming, 36-44 laps (~1mi) of freestyle and a few 'rest' laps of backstroke when I need a breather
Thursday: running, ~5.5miles on the S. Platte River bike path
Friday: circuit strength workout, ~1hr high intensity program of "CrossFit" style strength/cardio routine
Sat / Sun: a good day of adventure and training in the mountains!

Deer Creek Canyon > Parmalee Gulch > Golden: 57mi, 4600ft gained

Another nice weekend, another nice long rode ride to explore some Front Range canyon roads. Today I headed up Deer Creek Canyon, a well loved road climb among cyclists around here. From there it was across HW 285 to continue up Parmalee Gulch / Meyers Canyon.

nice view north from Pence Park Open Space

Then it was a fun descent into the little mountain town of Kittridge...

outside the old Kittridge Mercantile (the website it also painted on the side, very vintage indeed)

And then further down Bear Creek Canyon, which I'd ridden up last week. I always particularly enjoy the experience of riding down a road/trail after having ridden up it. I always notice different things and get a different perspective. It's more fun to slowly ascend first, then quickly float down later.

Bear Creek Canyon

And then it was up and over north towards US40 to get to Golden. I took a nifty road called Grapevine-- very narrow, very steep in spots, with a very European Alps feel. The pavement eventually ended, but the hardpack dirt was actually a smoother ride than the old and decaying asphalt.

looking south over the Grapevine Rd switchbacks

Another great day seeing new places. 57 miles and 4600 ft of climbing

National Western Stock Show festivities

For the past 107 years, Denver has been host to the National Western Stock Show. I've attended it the past couple of years, but after that the event gets a little old for a non-rancher like myself. The elusive goal, though, has been viewing the 'best in show' cow while he's on display in the lobby of the uber-fancy Brown Palace Hotel downtown. (It's another bizarre tradition of the Stock Show.) Finally, I realized my dream this year! As I pedaled up 17th St to drop some deliveries during work I spied the stock trailer outside of the hotel, so I waited around until they carted the steer into the lobby of the fancy hotel. Then I watched while the beast pissed all over the carpet inside his pen. Fantastic.

Bear Creek Canyon > Evergreen > Golden: 67mi, 3700ft gained

With the unusually warm weather, it's a good time to get in a road ride in January. I headed out via the South Platte River bike path, to the town of Morrison (home of Red Rocks) before inclining uphill towards the mountains. It was a pleasant day, total of 67mi and 3700ft of climbing. Gorgeous, temperate January day....

Evergreen Lake, with patriotic ice fishmen

I-70 and our beloved buffalo herd (property of Denver, CO)

on the outskirts of Golden, CO

Glenwood Springs road trip

Grandpa gave me some money for a Christmas gift, so we hit the road for a weekend of (cheap) relaxation at Glenwood Hot Springs. I found a motel for $50 and we drove through a gnarly snow squall over Vail Pass, then got in a beautiful 2hr hike in Glenwood Canyon before settling in for the night. And eating pizza while laying in the hotel bed is always a treat!

Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon

scree field in Grizzly Gulch, north of Glenwood Canyon

misty crags above Grizzly Gulch

nice view from a $49/night motel, yes??

On Sunday, we soaked all day in the hot springs in town. No photos, but it was a fantastic day!

Christmas V.2.0

My family is awesome, and awesomely flexible. We've gotten into the habit of celebrating Xmas a week late; this saves mucho $$$ on the airplane tickets, as well as the hassle of travelling during the holiday crunch. So we have Christmas together each year, but a week late. We dig it.

This year was extra great because my Grandpa Elliott was in our company for my entire visit. He is an amazing, highly accomplished man--- it's not often that one has a conversation with a person who's 89 years old and is more spry, engaged and thoughtful than most people my own age. (Including myself!)

Mom, Grandpa, Dad, me

my childhood homestead. Mowed this lawn how many times???!?

 Had a day to mill about in Chicago, so I wandered around the Loop before taking the L train to Midway. I stumbled across a neat art installation at Columbia College. I'm sorry I can't remember the artist's name but I loved this oil painting of a tired cyclist....

an amazing sight above our earth, on my trek home

Merry Christmas

We finally had a white Christmas this year, the first in several winters as far as I can remember. Got a nice 6" or so on Christmas eve.... quite pleasant indeed. April & I stuck around home for the holiday again this year, just appreciating the cozy celebration and taking it easy, making good food and drinking doctored up eggnog.

After a lazy morning with a handful of gifts and strong coffee, we got out of the house for a sunny urban trek amongst the melting snow. I love being out on Christmas day, the city is so quiet it feels like it's completely deserted.

Mr. Xmas, who lived on the top of my car for a day

colorful condemned warehouse near the train tracks

stumbled across a semi truck trailer storage yard up north

Mt. Meeker and 14,259' Long's Peak neatly framed at 33rd & Blake St in the neighborhood

Elbow Surgery v2.0

The surgeon originally told me that most everyone with the kind of hardware I have in my arm eventually has it removed due to pain and discomfort. I need to have this done before the end of the year in order to avoid paying my insurance deductible all over again. And I'm very eager to see if it helps alleviate the pain I get when lifting or pushing things, pain when I do physical therapy to work on regaining more extension of my elbow, pain when I hit a bump while riding my bike, pain from a bumping my elbow on anything solid, resting it on a table, sleeping on it, reaching for something on a shelf... you get the idea. Pain of a lesser or greater degree from a whole lot of "normal" things I used to take for granted.

Although this is a fully anesthetized operation, it's fairly minor and should be a quick recovery (primarily waiting for the incision to heal up, then back to normal.) I hope the have less pain and sensitivity, be able to work harder on range of motion stretches, and to start lifting weights to regain strength in my left side. I've lost a lot of strength from the injury and the ongoing pain limitations.

Here's my range of motion before the surgery:

flexion is very good, almost back to normal

extension is a problem- this is as straight as I can go

scar from first surgery

....and... things went really smoothly! No significant post-operative pain, a soft splint that allows me to bend my arm some and use my hand fairly effectively. Nice! I even made a batch of chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon. Only took prescription painkiller for the rest of the day, after that I felt ok on my own.

I should be all set to return to work on my bike by Monday.... carefully. I built up my old touring buddy Bianchi cyclocross bike into a winterized urban warrior before the surgery. It's what I'll be riding while my arm heals (and whenever it snows.) Currently set up with narrow knobby tires, mountain bike style flat bar handlebars, brakes and shifters.