Grand Canyon

Arrived in Flagstaff a few hours ago. Michelle's deck is covered in dry bags and gear. We head to the put-in tomorrow morning. In a few weeks I'll have some awesome photos and stories. Go have some fun in the meantime!

Moab

Moab is a really special place. I can't believe that it took me all these years to finally get there long enough to hang out and ride. Previously I'd only passed through long enough to have my sandals stick the pavement in a gas station parking lot. Slickrock is amazing. As hyped and touristy as it is, it's still amazing. Can't wait to go back.

I pulled an all-nighter volunteer shift at 24 Hours of Moab. Ouch. That's tough to recover from. I can't imagine what it would be like to race overnight when it's hard enough to just live through it off the bike. It was complete fun though. Can't wait to go back and race it next year. I worked the regristrar booth checking riders in and out on each lap. It was fun to see the strategy, get to know the different team members, and cheer them on. You could definitely see people fall apart through the night. Some people would be so cheery and cool, even at 3:00am after double laps; some would come in and just stand and stare; some would shout and freak out. I think we all got numb after a while. I spent some time checking in Duo and Pro teams and then spent the rest of the night on the Solo table. Those guys are animals. Josh Tostado would roll in, rest a hand on the table without unclipping, scan in and out, and roll out. Lap after lap for 250+ miles. I got to see Tinker Juarez up close and personal. I'm not much to glorify people or put them on pedestals, but there is something about Tinker that inspires and terrifies me. I'm repulsed by the desire to suffer but at the same time the guy makes me want to ride my bike to the ends of the Earth. I want a Cannondale Scalpel so I can be like him. The pro and solo riders were all so chill and methodical. They would roll in at a mellow speed, take their time, chat for a few seconds. The sport class riders would come in hot, nearly running into each other, shout for their team members, fumbling endlessly with their scan cards. Interesting to see the difference. I got to see a bunch of the Boulder crew, including Dave Chase (Redstone Cyclery), who is a total local hero of the Colorado front range area cycling scene. He cut the cord on his day job to pour himself into his little bike shop that could in Lyons. Met some cool folks from the cycling industry (check out Ergon and Point6).

Moab is cool. Everyone knows that. 24 hour racing is an experience that's tough to describe. I'm registering for next year. Who's in?

Autumn!

Fall Foliage Tour

Ahh. Finally a few minutes to sit down in the comfy chair and write. I had an excellent Fall Foliage Tour. If you follow my reflections on all things Western Slope you've seen pics from previous hut trips. The same group of folks from the hut trip get together every year to rendevous in Crested Butte for what we've dubbed the Fall Foliage Tour. Call us creatures of habit, but rituals develop for a reason. Several things that the FFT involves year after year: intermittent rain, laps on Upper Loop (gets better every lap even after I've done it several dozen times), hobo stew, campfires, meaningful conversation, old friends, new friends, aspen, single track, smoothies, and a new trail (The Dyke Trail this year; maybe Reno/Flag/Bear next year? ) Usually we throw in an epic ride one day but this year we had some walking wounded and took it pretty easy...but I have to feel pretty bad not to ride a bike. It seems like when I talk about all my favorite things around P-Towne it always involves bikes (or food). One thing I knew when I was thinking about moving here was that I'd be within 1.5 hours of epic dirt in CB and 1.5 hours of epic dirt in Fruita. The local singletrack was a complete surprise. Anyway, the point is that knowing that you're moving somewhere that is equidistant and accessible to two of the best places to ride on the planet, and then actually living it out - it's pretty cool.

Uncompahgre

I've been falling behind on the posts. This is from a rainy day on the Uncompahgre Pateau. The UP is a high plateau that stretches from Grand Junction to Telluride and is bisected by trails, dotted with aspen groves, and is another world. You can ride single and double track from the Geej to Montrose. I was fortunate enough to go on a market research trip to Telluride to talk with a focus group about some new winter boots (some days I write spec sheets and slave away at calendars, some days I talk to hot women in Telluride). On the way back we detoured up to the Plateau to rip the Aspen trail and what Brian calls one of the best downhill sections in CO. We set out under cracking thunder to squeeze in a hot lap before the boys had to be home to wives and babies. Got muddy and left smiling.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Rest in peace my friend. I'll see you on the other side.