A week in the office; a week in the woods [9/16-9/24]

I've been happily unemployed and homeless since June... and luckily still have some savings left in the bank account. Floating around amongst a few friends' couches in Denver has been nice but it's getting boring/lazy... Fortunately(?) my old employers needed a substitute dispatcher for 6 days, so I'm back into the workforce as a productive member of society or something like that. I'd be working in the courier office in Boulder, and what better place to live than the National Forest outside of Nederland for the week?

I found a fantastic campsite a few hundred yards off singletrack not far from town and settled in for the week. It's a great life- wake up to the sunrise every morning, ride about 25minutes of trails on my way into town for a coffee at Happy Trails (my fave coffeeshop in the world) and catching the bus down to Boulder for office duties. After work it's back up the canyon on the bus for about an hour of trail riding, returning to camp with the aid of bike lights. The daylight is short nowadays, so my riding is pretty limited but still super fun.

sunrise from camp

September in the Rockies is my favorite time of year here: the air is crisp, the temps moderate, the aspens and oaks burning with vibrant fall colors. Every year I get a spur of motivation to make the most of the last few delicious days in the hills- and living in the midst of it in a tent for a week is just perfect.

my new neighbors

4 day Mini Tour: Denver > Longs > Ned > Boulder > Denver

My last big push physically before my 3 month summer tour begins- and more importantly I think, a trial run with the 'new' bike and my gear setup. Set up the bike last weekend, packed up on Wed/Thurs and I took a 'vacation' day Friday and hit the road at 7am headed west.

My agenda for the long weekend: bike tour to Longs Peak, hike to the summit of Longs, ride to Nederland and then find my 'puter seat in the courier office on Monday morning.

I elected to climb via Golden Gate Canyon, the most direct route onto the Peak To Peak HW. It is a long, long climb... a few years ago when I was "training" for my first Utah Tour, I tried to climb this road, sans gear. I had to surrender to bowing my head over my bars near the top of the long ascent. Yet today I, smugly, crushed it. 50lbs of gear and I made a steady snail's pace up into the upper edge of the Foothills. Not to brag, but all my training has really paid off! I used to think that working as a courier counted as training. False. Very false. Since early January, you could say I've been sorta focused on training, 5-6 days/wk... running, swimming, weights, yoga, some spin classes, a few weights/spin/yoga (what the hell is that?) and of course many long rides in the mountains made possible by the unseasonably warm and dry winter we had.

So after 16mi of rolling flats and 18mi of of climbs, I finally gained the Peak To Peak HW

From here I headed north on the P2P for ~50mi, undulating between 8K and 9.4Kft  through Nederland, Ward, Allenspark. Shortly prior to the Longs trailhead/camp turnoff, I stopped by Olive Ridge campground and met Roland & Margaret, a retired Swiss couple halfway through their year long RV tour from Buenos Aires to Alaska to NYC! They shared a beer (american Budweiser) as we chatted about my euro tour and art museums near Basel, their hometown.

 
Despite threatening rain clouds all afternoon, I arrived dry at the Longs Peak campground, still closed for the winter, around dusk. Some overnight storms brought rain, lightening and sleet and I packed up camp still encased in ice at 5:30am Saturday morning. 82mi and 9900ft gained my first day out with full gear.

Hit the 7.5mi (each way) Longs trail at 7am on foot and climbed above a beautiful inversion

The weather was spotty; snow flurries w/o accumulation all day. A few times I considered turning back but each time I'd stop to regroup, the clouds would start to break before I was ready to turn tail. And so I kept pushing up and ahead. Until I got through the boulder field and saw a tent, I'd been the only person hiking up this high today.

the "trail" through the boulder field en route to The Keyhole

I pushed through 'The Keyhole' and things started to get far more intense in terms of climbing, altitude and weather. The signs had warned that this was "not a hike" rather a "climb" and I finally began to understand their advice. The backside of The Keyhole was no joke; one wrong slip would send you sliding down into dire consequences!

The Keyhole

The red/yellow bullseye paint marks the "easiest" route to scramble beyond The Keyhole.

Traversed the west ridge and caught up to two Tennessean brothers while ascending "The Trough." Now that I wasn't alone up here in the dicey conditions, all three of us pushed onward through "The Notch" and across "The Narrows." The snow was picking up and starting to accumulate, and the warmer rock faces were beginning to freeze over. Things were getting messy and dangerous. We made it to the very last steep pitch before the Summit Ridge when one of the brothers looked ahead and murmured, "This is stupid."

We all agreed. One slip, which was increasingly likely, would lead to instant death as you cascaded off the cliffs below. We turned back at 13,900ft, just 350ft below the summit. Wise decision... wiser yet would have had us heading down much sooner. There were no epic views, no grand ski lines, no majestic summit. We were just experiencing it for what it was, but that was perhaps better than running into a trail traffic jam on a bluebird day with people streaming onto the summit.

13,906ft

  The return back to the Keyhole was harder than the climb up because the continuing snow/wind was covering our tracks as well as the painted route markers. And shit was getting slick! We progressed very slowly and cautiously with only a few scares; when the Keyhole came into view all 3 of us let out a howl of relief. The risk had not abated entirely, but the worst was behind us. I made haste down the mountain towards my bike/gear so I could ride back down to the Natl Forest campground 6mi south. The sky was still dropping flakes when I returned to the trailhead at 9400ft, but the storm was breaking up and I let out for the other campground where I knew I'd have the next day for the 'dryer cycle' aka Colorado sunshine!

As I dried, organized and hashed out my gear, I had the realization that this stuff, give or take a few items, will be my only worldly possessions for the next three months halfway around the world. I think I'm comfortable with this prospect... certainly wish I didn't have an apartment full of crap to deal with.

In the afternoon I hit the road again and headed south on the P2P HW for 35mi to camp in the National Forest near where I often go mountain biking. Weather squalls missed me again; 2 out of 3 ain't bad. In the early morning I packed up and rolled into Nederland for a morning coffee before jamming down the canyon to work dispatch duties in the courier office.

After 9 hours in the office, it was back to the road to ride home to Denver through the 'burbs. A very successful 4 day trek! About 175mi on the bike and almost 15mi of high alpine hiking for the long weekend.

sunset mountain biking Nederland; 1700ft gained

I was covering dispatching duties in the Boulder office again today; brought the mountain bike along and hopped on the bus up to Nederland after work. I squeezed in about 2.5hrs of trails in the convenient West Magnolia / High School trail system. Actually found some new trails I'd not explored before, which was fun.

The high country aspens are just beginning to send out their buds:

And eventually I found some leftover snow around 8700ft:

Rolled back through the town of Ned around 8pm with plenty of daylight left. Bombed down Boulder Canyon under the full "Super Moon" and treated myself to a post ride dinner of burger n beers at the Mountain Sun brew pub. What a way to spend a Friday night, yes?!?

Boulder Indoor Velodrome night, part II

Thanks to my buddy and former coworker Brian, and the good graces of former Motorola Team rider Keith Harper, the dirty Denver messengers got another go around on the velodrome. Thanks, guys! We tore it up for a few hours on Friday night... fun times indeed

Boulder > 4 Mile Canyon > Gold Hill > Sunshine Canyon: 23mi, 3100ft gained

I had to work in the Boulder office dispatching our bike couriers today so I took the opportunity to get in a quick road bike ride in the mountains after I got out from behind the computer. Started up Boulder Canyon for a few miles, then northwest up 4 Mile Canyon (another classic Boulder area climb.) This area had been devastated by the infamous 4 Mile Fire back in September 2010- burning over 130 homes and making it the most destructive (to man-made structures, anyway) forest fire in Colorado's history. I hadn't been here since the fire occurred and have been wanting to see the aftermath first hand. It's a fun, steep climb located conveniently close to town, gaining about 3000ft in 13mi from Boulder.

The road turns to packed dirt after about 6mi and gets into the thick of the burn area.

Continuing upwards, I reached the historic mining town of Gold Hill at 8100ft. The firefighters luckily saved this little mountain community and its 100+ year old structures from the fire. Just barely, as you'll notice how close the burn came to town. 

Topping out around 8300ft above Gold Hill, it was downhill back into Boulder via Sunshine Canyon. I was glad when the bumpy dirt road turned back into pavement so I could open it up safely for the long twisty descent into town.

backside of the Flatirons on the upper left

2 hours; 23 miles and 3100ft of climbing. Another day at the office.

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.

Mountain biking outside Boulder

My dispatcher had a couple of days off, which meant that I was on office duty up in Boulder. It being my favorite time of year in the Foothills and emboldened by my recent return to mt. biking, I brought the fatty tire bike up both days and took advantage of being next to some great riding.

On Thursday, I cut out of the office a bit early to catch the 4:40pm bus up to Nederland and got in 2hrs of really fun trails in the West Magnolia zone. My most recent trail day up here ended up with me in the hospital, so it was a victory of sorts to revisit my old trail haunt that I've ridden so many times since moving to Boulder--- 8 years ago. Sadly I forgot to pack the camera, and that's especially sad because it was perhaps the most electric and vibrant neon aspen colors that I've ever seen in my life! Sections of these trails duck through full canopies of young aspens, and it felt like a Disneyland ride to pedal through a fully encompassing tunnel of screaming neon yellow.

Friday I pedaled out from the office up to the Batasso Loop just a couple miles up Boulder Canyon, eager to check out the newly built Benjamin Loop addition. Got a late start, rode slow, and found the new spur to be longer than I'd expected. Luckily I had packed my lights and ended up pedaling the last hour in the darkness. This was my first proper singletrack in pitch black with only a headlight, and it was kinda fun. Kinda nerve wracking as well....


Started off well enough with a nice sunset ride outside of town....

But the last hour turned into this....  (Boulder city lights way down below in the distance!)
Made it home safe and sound, very very carefully.... ~4mi in the pitch black, a mile or two on technical singletrack.

1 Week Post-Op: Bike To Work Day

I'm covering dispatch duties in the Boulder office at work this week. It works out well to keep me restful and safe. Things are going pretty well... pain is at bay and I quit taking painkillers after just 48 hours; no alarming issues besides swelling in my hand. Aside from my garden ride last week, I hadn't been back on the bike until today. Each year a day in June is designated Colorado Bike To Work Day, where local businesses all over the Front Range (especially in Boulder) set up free breakfast stations for cyclists commuting to work. Designed to encourage car-free transit, it's a fun day to take advantage of free food and coffee all over town for those of us who ride every day regardless. This is my 8th annual Bike To Work Day here, and I wasn't about to let elbow surgery leave me on the sidelines. So I hopped on the mountain bike and caught the bus up to Boulder and kept my streak alive. While there are a ton of dedicated cyclists and commuters in Boulder, this day really brings 'em out of the woodwork. And I found that making my rounds to breakfast stations with an arm in a splint and sling earns mad props (and extra generous food offerings!)

Boulder working/biking 'vacation'

My dispatcher is on vacation this week, so that means I ride to bus up to Boulder to fill in for him in the office. It can be a nice change of pace and a welcome rest on the legs. (That our bike crews are really stellar makes my job of dispatching relatively low stress too!) The downside is wheeling out of the house at 7am to catch the bus in time to get a coffee before settling in. The upside is that everyday I get to take advantage of the foothills being only a mile from the office, whereas from Denver it's an hour of pedaling to get to the mountains. I rode four out of five days after work.

Batasso Loop never really gets old, a super fun mountain bike trail about a 15min pedal up the canyon. A steep climb up the connector trail brings you to a quick, twisty rolling (mostly) singletrack loop in the near foothills. A perfect evening after the office:

I made it up here twice this week. Next weekend Boulder County Open Space is unveiling their new addition to this trail, a second 3.5mi loop that hooks into it. Sounds like it'll be fun too, although the threat of getting a $60 ticket for riding it early kept me from poaching it.

I also got in two quickie road rides on the 'new' Cannondale after office days-- first was Lee Hill -> Left Hand -> Old Stage, then later in the week a big climb to the top of Super Flagstaff. This bike really scoots around... super stiff but equally efficient, especially uphill. I never owned a road bike (or anything similar) when I lived in Boulder so it was fun to tackle some of these favorite routes for the first time.