Evening in the garden

Our garden got off to a wobbly start this year, but it's coming along. We got inspired and ambitious back in early April when we were having an unseasonably warm stretch of spring. So we took our chances and sewed a bunch of seeds a few weeks earlier than we normally do. Soon after, of course, it dropped to near freezing for several nights, followed by a bunch of cold cold rain & hail while we were in Utah, and kind of stunted things. The Utah trip put us a couple weeks behind an ideal schedule for transplanting starter plants. Plus the free starters that we graciously get from Denver Urban Gardens were smaller than we'd expected.

It shouldn't sound like I'm complaining, cuz I'm not. I'm just eager to see growth spurts and be teased with the first blooms of our tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, etc. It'll happen eventually but this growing season is going to take a bit of patience. Summer has finally arrived with consistent temps in the 80's so things should be taking off now.

Plenty of lettuce, arugula, radishes, sugarsnap peas and cilantro already so we are enjoying hearty fresh salads every day. What a healthy, tasty pleasure of the early summer!

Friday elbow update

I actually went back to work on Wednesday and Thursday for 'light duty' deliveries and some time consuming court filing jobs. I really have little to no pain, still not taking any painkillers. It's just hard to deal with one arm and a poorly functioning left hand. I'm trying to get in as many hours as I can before being laid up after surgery, but more so, I'd rather be outside moving around whenever possible. As much as I typically wish I could take time off work to get stuff done, I can't really get much done with one arm... and it gets boring fast.

At the Fracture Clinic, they say the cuts are healing just fine and scheduled me to go under the knife on Wednesday morning. I'm excited to get this over with and start healing! My surgeon will be Dr. Gladu, the head of the Kaiser orthopedic department and an elbow specialist. Hopefully I'll be in good hands.

In my 32 years, this is the first broken bone I've ever suffered, my first surgery, first anesthesia. I guess I'm overdue, statistically speaking. I've experienced a lot of this vicariously through April's ordeals from her humerous compound fracture and severely shattered elbow (suffered in an unlucky bike accident in San Francisco in October 2008.) Her injury is a far more complex and severe break than mine, and she's had 3 operations trying to regain her elbow function. She's still working at it today.

My fracture is a simpler fix, typically done with either a plate screwed over the broken pieces or, more commonly, a "tension band wire" repair. The complication of an olecranon fracture is that the triceps muscle tendons attach to the part of bone that's broken off. So that piece of bone has to be held in place to heal, and it also has to resist the forces of the triceps trying to pull it back apart. But it's also critical to regain the elbow's range of motion as quickly as possible while the bone heals. Therefore there is no cast, just the surgically installed hardware holding things together. As soon as the incision heals enough to remove the stitches, physical therapy begins asap to work on motion. Typically it takes 3-4 months to regain (almost) full motion, and 6-12 months to regain full strength.

So, Wednesday the pros cut me open and screw me back together. I can't wait to get on with the healing!

Elbow update

Had my initial evaluation with the Fracture Clinic this morning. Turns out there are some small cuts and scrapes on my elbow from landing on the concrete, and the doctor says that has to heal over before they can do the surgery. Apparently they won't make an incision through a wound because of a high risk of infection, specifically a bone infection in this case... and bone infection is a bad, bad thing.

So they cleaned up the wound, dressed it and put me in another splint. The doctor assures me that there is a 2 week window within which they can surgically repair the bone and not run into problems from the delay. Sounds a little suspect, but I'm not the doctor nor do I want an infection.

Got a prescription for some oral anti-biotics and a follow up appointment for Friday.

Bliss, followed by Disaster

Made my first trek of the season up to my beloved Nederland mountain bike trails on Saturday. 7am bus from Denver to Boulder, then the 8am bus up to Ned. I couldn't believe my eyes when I spied my old friend, former co-worker, bike racer extraordinaire, current Crested Butte resident and all around amazing girl Eszter also waiting for the Ned bus. She and (equally great) Chris were back on the Front Range for the weekend, and she was heading up to handily dominate the Single Speed USA event. She went off to race, I went off to ride, but we crossed paths a few times throughout the day and I eventually made my way to the race finish to say congrats and interlope with the lovely, wacky world of single-speed mt. bikers. Good times, great riding, wonderful folks. I was finally getting my mountain skills back, riding well both up and down and having a blast. 4hrs, 4000 vert ft climbing.

Then the disaster- back down in Boulder, riding back to catch the bus home via the bikepath. Distractedly looking over my shoulder, a momentary bit of carelessness, and  WHAM!!  I was picking myself up off the ground before I'd even realized that my handlebar had clipped a handrail and made my intimate acquaintance with the concrete path. What I quickly realized next was that my left elbow was not what it had been a few seconds earlier. Immediate swelling, a really funky feeling when bending it, and no strength to support myself with it. Not good.

Pedaled myself to the Boulder Emergency Room for evaluation and x-rays. My heart sunk when the nurse eventually walked back in with a right-to-the-point, "You need surgery." I'd broken the end of the olecranon, which is the "cup" part of the ball-and-socket joint.

broken and displaced 2cm:  fracture is visible directly above "20.0mm (P)"  (click photo to enlarge)

They put me in a splint and released me to follow up with my Kaiser Permanente insurance provider. I rode back to catch the bus to Denver, rode from the bus home. Pain was never bad, just felt like a bad bruise even without painkillers. Maybe that's a good sign?

Dad taught me to ride without training wheels when I was only 3 years old... I've spent the following 29 years riding year round, my primary hobby and my passion. For the past 11 years I've earned a meager but comfortable living as a bike messenger, making deliveries day in, day out, in any and every weather condition imaginable. 29 years, countless crashes- some pretty scary and severe, most mild and dumb. Today was only the third time I've ever needed medical attention from a bike wreck (the first, coincidentally, was for stitches on my right elbow when I was about 13.)

So now it's time to wait for an appointment at my Orthopedic Fracture Clinic in Denver.....

Memorial Day weekend rides

Long 3 day weekend and perfect weather made for a couple of good rides this weekend. I forgot my camera both times though.

Saturday I checked out White Ranch Open Space just outside of Golden. I'd been out there once before- about 7 years ago, not long after moving to Boulder. I was then just getting into actual mountains on my mountain bike, and we amateurs were discouraged by the loose, rocky initial climb up the the trail network. So I was determined (and confident) to get the best of it this time around. The climb was fine, although the trails are overused and poorly laid out amongst the terrain. Not bad for being so close to the city, but that's just the problem. Still, 3hrs on the mountain bike is no reason to complain.

Sunday was a road bike day, and it turned epic. Denver > Golden Gate Canyon > Peak to Peak Highway > Coal Creek Canyon > Denver. Perfect weather, long 17mi climb up to 9200ft on the P-to-P, great views, clear air, some more climbing on Coal Creek, and back home in time for dinner. Totals: 88mi, 7000 vertical ft of climbing in under 7hrs. Nice!

The extremely gusty winds came in Monday morning- couldn't have planned a better rest day!

Utah Canyonlands backpacking trip-- Pt. 3 (days 8-9)

After a relaxing night in the hotel (we didn't have to scramble to take care of much since the trip is winding down now) we did a daytrip into Arches National Park, a quick 5mi drive north of Moab: It's Saturday, it's a prime travel/tourist weekend (just prior to Memorial Day) and it's right next to a town without a vacant hotel room under $200 tonight. It is packed!! No surprise, but it's a bit jarring to the senses after our week of seeing just a handful, if any, other people each day of hiking. Arches is a fairly small, condensed park- at least that which is easily accessed by car. Traffic and parking was terrible, so we elected to venture northwest on an 8mi gravel road to the less frequented Klondike Bluffs area of the park. Good call, sanity somewhat restored.

From the trailhead we took a pleasant 2.5mi hike back to Tower Arch for our token arch experience. Lunch beneath it was nice, and saw some very interesting geologic features along the way.

Marching Men formation; LaSalle Mountains beyond

beneath Tower Arch

Arches is a really interesting place that I'd love to come back and explore when it's less crowded; or rather, when I had enough time to venture into its undeveloped backcountry regions. A daytrip, however, is no way to do it justice.

For our last night, we drove back to where we started- our secret stash campsite northwest of Moab. We had the place to ourselves, stoked a nice fire of fragrant juniper deadfall and cooked up a tasty dinner of steak, baked potatoes and smores over the fire. A gorgeous desert sunset bode us farewell.

Utah Canyonlands backpacking trip-- Pt. 2 (days 5-7)

After a free continental breakfast we drove 65mi southwest from Moab for the next two nights in "The Needles" district.  The Needles has the classic slickrock sandstone and spires typically associated with the Moab desert region. Weather forecast called for mid 60's and a good chance of rain, so we're hoping to stay as dry as possible. First leg was a relatively mellow and stunning 4.1mi hike back to a campsite in Lost Canyon.

This huge boulder offered the perfect awning over our tent. The backside had a perfect protected kitchen nook for cooking and sipping coffee. Clouds and drizzle moved in overnight, but the tent stayed nice and dry with our rock shelter.

Lost Canyon campsite

The second day of hiking was a long one, about 7mi, and it rained a good portion of the day. Never poured hard though, so we stayed mostly dry with rain gear and dried out a bit during the breaks. It was actually a real rare treat to witness the desert amidst a steady rain. The water makes evident how many of the surreal rock features and plant groupings have come to be. I couldn't have asked for a more fascinating day to spend hiking around the desert!

ladders to climb over the wall into the adjacent drainage

We got to our campsite in Elephant Canyon just as the rain let up for the night.

Elephant Canyon campsite

It was a relatively short 4.1mi hike out to the car on Friday, with some beautiful slickrock canyons and only a brief rainstorm.

We got back to the car just as more storms were swirling nearby and drove through some heavy downpour on the way back to Moab. We sprung for another room at the same hotel, treating ourselves to pizza, beer and a nice soak in the outdoor hottub after a few days on the trail.

Utah Canyonlands backpacking trip-- Pt. 1 (days 1-5)

April and I reserved some backcountry (hike-in-only, self supported) campsites in Canyonlands National Park (near Moab, UT) for the following week and are stoked to spend some time in the desert. I've traveled around the Utah deserts a fair amount, although have yet to get very far into the backcountry and haven't been to Canyonlands NP. This will be April's first visit to Utah ever, so it's going to be a real fun trip for both of us. Canyonlands is a large park, divided into four geologically distinct regions that are somewhat difficult to travel between.

We're starting the trip with two nights camping in the northern "Island in the Sky" district near the Green River, hiking out for a night in Moab, then driving south for two more nights camping in "The Needles" district.

After a day of driving from Denver, we car-camped the first night at a beautiful area on BLM land that we found on a whim while driving on a sandy 4x4 road north of Moab.

looking northwest into the "Island in the Sky" as the sun sets

The next morning we packed up and set off for the first leg of our hiking trek into the backcountry. We'll be camping at the western outlet of Upheaval Dome for two nights, but first have to hike 4.9mi around the northern ridge of Upheaval Dome. This sign cast us on our way, and we figured, "heh, it's a national park... how hard can it really be?!"

It was smooth sailing for the first several miles, meandering through a pleasant canyon valley that follows a seasonal streambed. Then we hit a section referred to as 'The Breach' where the canyon narrows into extremely steep walls of large broken boulders and loose scree. The streambed cascades over a precipitous dropoff, so the trail switchbacks up the north wall and then back down as a way to get around the seasonal waterfall. It got pretty sticky, some 4-5ft ledges to navigate and essentially no trail, just following rock cairns indicating the route. Doing all this with fully loaded hiking packs proved strenuous and sometimes stressful, but we pushed through and made it back down to the streambed... and soon saw a small rattlesnake crossing the trail ahead of us without incident.

looking west from "The Breach"

Got camp set up in the late afternoon and fixed a restful dinner. Today's 4.9mi wasn't a long hike, but wore us out. Camping two nights at the mouth of Upheaval Dome was worth just about any effort! (Note that the tent is the small, light green spot in the photos.)

Syncline camp looking east

Syncline camp looking west

We had the whole second day free and hiked 3.5mi down Upheaval Canyon drywash to the Green River. Flow was high from the spring runoff and it was actually backing up into the wash and flooding out parts of the White Rim Trail. Lots of lizards scurrying around and many interesting flowers, grasses and myriad of colors and textures of rocks.

"Hardscrabble Bottom" section of the Green River near Upheaval Canyon

We got some gentle rain on the second morning and packed up a wet tent, but the drizzle let up just about the time we began the 3.4mi hike out via the southern section of the Syncline Loop Trail. This leg regained all the 1100ft of elevation we lost on the way in and spent a good portion navigating through broad boulder fields. Luckily no real technical sections, just a lot of rocky switchbacks.

our trail ascends this rock field, then up the one above it on the right

April looking back into the canyon we hiked out of

We wheeled into Moab and got the cheapest hotel room we could find. Time to get a hot shower, buy some supplies, wash a load of laundry, dry the tent in the hotel bathroom, and enjoy a cold beer at the local brewpub. View from the room wasn't too shabby either!

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.

New steed in the stable

I happened to stop into Saint Marks coffeeshop for an americano and spied a few old bikes for sale on the sidewalk rack out front. One in particular caught my eye- a sweet old Cannondale Criterium road bike in nice shape. After a couple days of phone tag and some inner debate on whether or not I really need another bike, I finally caught up with the seller and took it off his hands for a cool $150. (Turns out he's the owner of said coffeeshop, a mellow guy who likes to tinker with whatever he gets his hands on.)

So, I've finally graduated from cyclocross to full on roadie. Turns out it's a 1987 bike, almost all original parts:

frame originally built on 8-28-1987, my 'new' Cannondale Criterium

I dug up a bunch of spare parts from my boxes of bikejunk, and was able to upgrade to Ultegra derailures, built up some wheels with combos of Ultegra/Campy and Dura Ace/Mavic and Maxxis tires, threw on a Thomson seatpost, SLR saddle, ATAC pedals, shorty Nitto stem and some low-end STI levers. My only cost was $12 for cable stops to replace the downtube shifters:

the upgraded setup: $12 and many hours of work later

Along the way I deconstructed an OLD front wheel that I used to ride on snowdays and never really serviced, in order to reuse the Dura Ace hub with a better rim. Unscrewed all the nipples to find the spokes held their cross-pattern from gunk and corrosion alone!

 

A bearing rebuild was clearly in order but it rolls smooth now. This bike is really fun, extremely stiff, and fairly light for it's age and components. I'm looking forward to some good exploring in the hills this spring and summer!

While in the mode of bike overhauls, it's time to lace up a new front rim on my mountain bike as well... a couple seasons overdue....

Rocky Mt NP- Emerald Lake

My National Parks annual pass expires at the end of March, so we took a jaunt up to Rocky Mt NP for a snowy hike to Emerald Lake at 10,200ft. Beautiful day in the high country. I'd done this hike back in August and it was cool to see both seasons in full effect.

Valentine's Day in the mountains

We took a long weekend back to the Bunny Lane Cabins near Buena Vista, including a ski day at Monarch Mountain. Got a nice hike at the Denny Creek trail before settling into the cabin for a couple of nights of ping pong, wine, good food and fun times. Cooked our entire dinner atop the toasty woodburning stove!

Skied a day at Monarch, which is one of the last 'old school' ski hills around. 4 fixed lifts (3 doubles and 1 quad), no big lodge, no condos, no hoopla. Just a great quiet ski hill with some avy controlled sidecountry terrain to boot up.

We checked out Cottonwood Hotsprings before heading back home, although would recommend Mt. Princeton next time. Then a cheapo dinner at Quincy's for some $6 filet mignon for Valentine's Day and back down to the city.

winter around town

A few photos from around Denver of late...

Denver Big Air freestyle ski/snowboard trick contest came to town. They built a 135ft jump in the middle of Civic Center park. I didn't make to the competition but it was a sight to behold.

 

Denver sunset

Sam with a bizarre delivery at work

Steamboat / Strawberry Park ski weekend

April's older sister Sandra came out from Illinois for a visit and a jaunt to the ski slopes. We booked a couple cabins at Strawberry Park Hotsprings and hit the road in my overstuffed car, skidding over Berthoud Pass, white knuckling it over Rabbit Ears Pass and rallying up the steep snowpacked road to the springs. Forecast called for snow that night, so I preemptively installed the tire chains for the ride out to Steamboat resort in the morning.

We woke up to a foot of fresh powder, loaded up the car with our gear and made it all of a quarter mile before getting stuck up the first hill. There was no hope making it up the slope, even with the chains on. So, we bagged the ski day and soaked instead. I took a nice snowshoe up to the ridge behind the springs with a great view that I forgot to photograph. They've had record snow this winter here, it was incredibly beautiful with everything capped in 4ft of soft snow.

We skied on Sunday instead, and what a great day it was. Turns out half the lifts were closed yesterday due to wind and whiteout, so lucky that we didn't make it to the resort on Saturday as planned. Perfect weather and wonderful soft snow. This is the first time I've skied in seven years, but like riding a bike it all came back immediately and I jetted around the entire sprawling resort. It was an expensive day at $98 for a lift pass, but lots of fun and absolutely no lines for the lifts. Time to learn to get into the backcountry and away from the development, clearcutting, and sprawl of the commercial resorts.

April & Sandra at Strawberry Park

National Western Stock Show

It's the 105th annual National Western Stock Show here in Denver, good day to take in the sights and smells of the 'old west' or something like that.

Xmas v2.0 with the family

Headed back to the midwest for the holidays, but it worked better (and substantially cheaper) to celebrate a week after the official holiday. Really pleasant and relaxing week with my family. A special treat was making to the extended family's Christmas gathering at Aunt Lisa's place in Naperville, and then spending the next few days at home with my immediate family and Grandpa & Meredith.

Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Meredith

After the family time, I spent a day walking around Chicago before my flight left at night. I'd heard about the new glass viewing platform, called The Ledge, installed at the Sears Tower observation deck 103 floors and 1353ft above ground. I had gone up to the top with Dad once when I was really young but had never been back up, even while living in the city. (I did make it up to the 88th floor a few times for courier deliveries, but no view from the mailroom there.) It's worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood.