Flogging Daddy

Yesterday, I successfully avoided starting my car (no, I didn't drive the Rover and didn't drive wifey's car instead). Well, ok, this isn't entirely true, I did start my car to pull it back into the garage when the day was through.

Anyway, this isn't about not using dead dinosaurs. Because I did run my gas grill for about 2 hours making a beer can chicken.

Not about gasoline...not about gasoline.

Yesterday, Hope began making plans for lunch and supper in the morning. I took one look at her pregger belly and said, "why don't I handle getting/prepping/cooking food."

Emiko immediately took to this as it was a chance for her to head to the store with me. The two of us agreed that we would take our bicycle and trailer to our local grocery store.

The ride down was easy. Shopping left me very nervous as I had left a very rare titanium Yeti ARC locked in the parking lot for all to see. Not to mention the trailer....

But this story is about the ride home. Emi was quite content in her trailer as we left the store with a chunk of Babybel cheese in her hand. She was a talking up a storm as we climbed the first hill on the way home.

As we crossed Easley, she asked me to sing her the same song we sing when we turn onto 60th in our car.

"We're almost to Emi's house
We're almost to Emi's house
We're almost to Emi's house
We're almost there.

We're almost to Emi's house
We're almost to Emi's house
We're almost to Emi's house
We're almost there."

And then she will tell me which names to substitute in. Daddy. Mommy. Gibson. Jeffy. Baby Bear. Etc etc etc.

So I sang to her. In between each line, I'd take a breath and try to willfully slow my heart beat.

And then.

Emi began to yell, "faster faster faster" from her trailer. Right as I got passed by some schmo on a full suspension Trek. Who proceeded to blow up about 50 yards out in front of me. He must have heard me singing to Emi and decided, "I'll put the hammer down and pass this goofy Dad/daughter." But he couldn't hold the speed and I upped my output while still singing to Emi. I was still closing the gap when I turned into my neighbourhood.

When we got home, Hope looked at me and asked why I was so worked.

I replied, "no reason..." and collapsed on the couch.

I wanna go...

More Mountain Biking Videos

I'm going to miss this bike

I'm going to miss this bike.

I've cleaned her up, checked all the bolts, the wheels, lubed the chain and pulled my name stickers off the frame.

But then I got to my black tape.

As many of you may know or remember, when Anthony passed, I put his initials on a black piece of hockey tape around my seat tube. I've looked at it every day I rode since he passed away. I've looked at it on days when I was not able to ride. I have a similar piece of tape on the right housing of my skates. His memory is there every day.

I assumed after a year passed, I would remove the remembrance and on. But a year passed not too long ago and I was not able to remove the tape. Just as I have not removed his hand writing from my whiteboard at work.

My 575 is sold and the new owner is on his way to our house right now. Everything is done but I can see my bike silhouetted in the garage door from my seat in our kitchen. I can see that small strip of tape wrapped around the seat tube. Despite all the work I have done on the bike, despite all the rides I have been on with my 575 and despite the fact it has been over a year since Anthony left, I just can not seem to do it.

All this with Anthony's sprite-ish sense of humor hanging over my shoulder with a Seinfeld line, "You should just do it like a band-aid. One motion. Right off!"

I had decided that the tape would stay on my skates. But it would stay on that pair of skates. I go through a pair every season or so but I save my old skates in the garage so that pair, that memory, will be with me for the rest of time. Not so with this bike. Most of my bikes will stay with me but my mountain bikes move on to new homes every year or so.

I'll miss the memories. They will not go away but they will fade, just as the memory for this particular bike will fade. And I suppose that this is the process for moving on.

1st MTB Ride of 2010

It wasn't spectacular. It wasn't epic. It hurt (my ass...my lungs).

But it was fantastic!

I was with my good friend and co-worker, Phil. I had a grin on my face because it is 63 degrees out and it is supposed to snow tomorrow. It was warm and the trails were dry. The trails were easy and that allowed my thoughts to wander.

They wandered to the past season of hockey. I was thinking that I wouldn't think of Anthony as much (I think of him every time I step on the ice...more on that in a later post). Yet I realized he would always be there riding along. I see him in the shadows of riders. I see him in the pictures of the scenery, the plants and the animals that are framed in my mind. I'll continue to hear his subtle sense of humor.

I'll continue to miss my friend but at the same time, I'll continue to celebrate life.

Rides

The past few weeks have been filled with rides (the family is out of town and I've been trying to fill the loneliness of the empty house with a bit of outside fun). We have spent time at Nederland and Lair of the Bear putting in a few miles and getting some newbies out on the trail.

Yesterday, Flanders and I were a bit torn on where to ride. Ned seemed like to long a drive and we had just been at Lair the night before. In the back of my mind, I heard a little voice ask, "Where would Anthony go for a ride?"

Centennial Cone.

I was excited to ride a trail I had never been on before. And excited as it was one of Anthony's favorite local rides.

The wild flowers are out in force. So much yellow, red, purple and white. And their magnificence filled the air. It was refreshing to be out in the open looking down into Clear Creek Canyon. The trail was loose and exposed and it should have been the perfect ride.

Unfortunately, a stupid fall before the ride even began had left my right knee with a great deal of pain behind the kneecap. It felt like I turned back before I even really began the ride.

But I'll be back.

Ned

I decided to reinstitute the Nederland rides. In a previous job...a previous world...we used to leave our office at 12 on Fridays, drive to Ned, ride for many hours and finish up with a filling meal at Mountain Burger. Trust me, we tried a double and couldn't finish it...this is a very satisfying meal!

For the past three weeks, Phil and I have been leaving the office at 5:30 on Tuesday tothe Tuesdays, for the past three weeks, Phil and I have been driving the hour up to Nederland to ride the trails. We don't have a ton of time so we cram as much riding in as possible (generally 2 hours) before the sun goes down. We have talked about bringing lights and riding past dusk but as of yet, we have not found the need to throw halogens on our handlebars. It could be a motivation thing....

Why Nederland?

The riding there is pure fun. Rolling hills, nothing too taxing, good terrain and twisty trails that force you onto the last few knobs toward the edge of your tire. Your elevation gain over the front range contributes to a 10-15 degree decrease in air temperature and you are sheltered from the sun's intensity by a good deal of shade. You laugh, you grunt, you sweat and you grin. Everyone who has been introduced to Ned falls in love.

You start off on a trail that twists back on top of itself. You could be 50 yards ahead on the trail but you can reach out and give a buddy a high five. After an ever-so-brief climb, you hit a slow doubletrack climb that gives you a quick elevation gain. From there, you can bomb down a ripping singletrack that takes you past an old yellow bus. This trail feels almost tunnel-like...the vegetation hangs over that trail so close that you can't see into the woods. There is one straight shot where you can see ahead for about twenty or thirty yards but beyond that, you are riding on pure skill and reaction. To the other side of this doubletrack is a trail that looks almost like a mogul run. It is tight but if you have the skill, you can carve your turns from the top of each bump to the next. Great fun! From there, you can follow a double track out to a lollipop and there have been several other offshoots that we have been eyeing for future exploration. Our bushwhacking expedition last night took us down to a small pond with a little skiff. We rode out of the woods last night in the dark, quite satisfied with the evening ride.

There's more to explore, c'mon up, we are going again next Tuesday!

Yeti Tribe Gathering - Part Deux

I have one regret...we have only one Tribe Gathering per year.

The drive up was fantastic. I traveled with my co-worker Phil and a new friend, Chad (from Shimano) to Eagle, Colorado on Thursday night. We stopped off at Pazzo's Pizza in Eagle to meet up with Rob. One Azteca later (yummy but I didn't need the fourth slice), Chad and Phil headed off to Fruita and I went with Robbie to his new house. What a beautiful place...I wish I had pictures to show because there is no good way to describe how gorgeous it is. Kelly was asleep already, as was Shaw, their toddler...well, more of a walker now. We just packed the car, chilled and caught up since we haven't seen each other in quite some time. Talisker came to say his usual greeting and was very happy to see a friendly face coming into his house.

The next morning I wandered upstairs to see Shaw walking about! He was a little shy at first but warmed quickly. A quick hello with Kelly too before Rob and I hit the road and headed for Fruita. We arrived before most Tribe members, quickly set up our camp site and then I headed out to help out with Tribe set up. Rob went for ride #1.

At 4, Rob got ready for ride #2 and I geared up for a quick ride with him on Mary's Loop to Horsethief Canyon. Once again, I am at a loss for words to describe Fruita and the riding. You are often on rock or in sand and the view is simply phenomenal. The hike-a-bike section down to Horsethief drops you past several millennia of geologic history. Horsethief, is a quick little screamer and over way too fast. We should have done a second loop but I decided saving energy for Saturday was important.

We got back to camp just as Ben, Rabbit, Loren, Hope and Gibson began rolling in. Rabbit and Loren even showed up with extra burritos for Rob and me! Hope and I don't get to see these guys nearly enough. Ben is an old friend from Middlebury who was my riding partner, skiing partner, overall fantastic friend who suddenly showed up in Telluride after too many years of being out of touch. How good is it to have him here in Colorado? Fantastic! How often do we get to see him? Let's see...6 hour drive coupled with crazy schedules...next to never. A travesty. Rabbit and his girlfriend, Loren hail from Aspen. Rabbit went to UVM with Rob (and Hope) and has quickly become a close friend of ours. Loren rapidly earned our stamp of approval as she fit in perfectly with the crew.

Saturday morning brought the loading of our bikes for a shuttle to the Ribbon. The Ribbon is a rotor scorching, tire roaching descent along a slab of rock just outside Grand Junction. It is wide open with massive exposure in several locations (think long drops over cliffs that come up out of nowhere). You have to be on your game out here and follow the proper route as a wrong turn could result in rapid acceleration (think 9.8 meters per second squared). There are a few hike-a-bike sections that were easily negotiated. From the Ribbon, we hiked out to the top of Tabeguache and followed that down to Holy Cross. Great fun and I was pooped by the end of the ride.

This is not us but it should give you an idea of what the Ribbon is like.

Saturday afternoon brought the arrival of Kelly and Shaw, finally completing our group. This was Shaw's first camping trip and he was a trooper. I think he even slept through the night, I heard him stir around 5ish but he fell back asleep until the sun came up. Good stuff!

We hung out around our camp while Kelly and Loren went for a ride. Upon their return, we settled in for a night of fun and festivity which included a spirited game of Catch Phrase. And the word of the night? Laissez faire. Trust me, you just had to be there!

Sunday, our allergies got the better of us. Hope and I packed up and headed for home. I had a near run in with a Yeti Bettie while watering a plant. She was nearly standing in my crop circle before she realized my efforts to propagate a healthy plant in desert environs. We said a quick goodbye to Ben and then headed to Fruita for a tasty breakfast. Despite a lengthy wait for our food, we were quite happy with our overall experience. Goodbyes to Rabbit, Loren, Rob, Kelly and Shaw and we were on our way home.

Not without one more stop. Vail Village for a second helping of Pazzo's Azteca! To the house where we unloaded, cleaned up and napped. I even found it in me to make it to my drop in hockey session last night. Never made it out of second gear though. Just passed the puck a lot, laughed and had fun being on the ice.

So...the first weekend of fun and excitement this summer was a blast. All of us have agreed that we need to do this again soon. The weekend has reminded me how important these friends are. It's so easy to let time pass knowing that our friendship is solid enough that we don't have to always see each other. Yet it is so important to make the time to see these friends. They are the important ones, the ones that will always be there for us in our struggles through life; to help us out, offer guidance and support, hugs and love. You can't find friends like these just anywhere but we got to see them in Fruita this weeekend.

Yeti Tribe Gathering 2008 - Fruita, Colorado

The summer of adventure officially starts!

I leave tonight for Fruita, Colorado to ride with the Yeti crew and about 175 other Yeti freaks. Along the way, I get to meet up with some old friends and their baby, I get to ride with other old friends who are making the trek with their Yetis and I get to camp out with a pregger Hope and Gibson.

Good fun! I'll see some of you out there, the rest I shall talk to in the near future.

Oh...and of course, the summer of adventure officially culminates with a tiny new addition....