Fall Foliage Tour 2009

Teocalli Ridge and Strand Hill. Good weekend.

Vegas, Baby

How to get to Vegas? Pay the up charge to fly from Gunni to Denver and deal with multiple connections? Drive to Denver and get on a plane? Get in the car and drive across the desert, have your radiator freak out and find out your engine is burning oil? No good choices. CB is a tough place to do business and travel from but it's also a pretty great place to live so it all works out in the end. I loaded up the Subi and made a very quick trip to Interbike. Next year I'm going to work it out where I have a week to get out there and back. It was heart breaking to pass up the exits for Moab, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Great Basin, Capital Reef, Escalante, et al, but I was on a mission. Good trip. Hard trip. My car was overheating most of the way out so I had to drive with the heat on to keep from cooking the engine. Got to Vegas and there was a shop right across the street from the hotel. I thought it would be the thermostat or the water pump but in the end the fan was unplugged. The guy at the shop said that less reputable oil change outfits will do that to make your car overheat so you'll bring it back to get the cooling system worked on. Hmmm. This guy could have taken me for a ride but he didn't. In a town that is designed to take advantage of you here is this guy showing the love and making sure folks get taken care of. If you're in Vegas and need your car fixed go to One Stop Auto. They are honest, fast, and really nice.

More guys in man-pris with shaved legs than you can shake a carbon seat-post at. The coolest stuff at the show? Gyroscopic wheels for kids bikes (gives an advantage when weening off of training wheels), Boo Bikes bamboo/carbon frames, Clif Rocs, www.extremesportsid.com, and the Bianchi Dolomiti with hand cut, chromed lugs. Looks just like the classic late 70's/early 80's frames.

Nice sunsets out there in the desert.

Cross Vegas! There's an amazing cyclocross race that happens in conjunction with the show. Great course with a field of heavy hitters. Met up with Matt and Sean from bIKE cLUB to shake some cowbells. Moots made cowbells out of the cutting scrap from their top tubes...the most expensive cowbell you'll ever rattle. Had fun catching up with the PI guys and watching people ride bikes really fast.

More Snow

I'm getting these up after the fact, but we finally had snow in town on Monday.





Kelly and Michah braved the storm to come over from BV and Taylor Park for the Notorious F.I.G. and to walk around in snow flurries.

Snow

I'm getting these up a little late. First snow of the season on Sunday. It looked like it was above 13,000 feet and was just a very light dusting. I was driving from CB to Denver and snapped a few pics along the way. CB was socked in when I left, so no official report from there since I couldn't see much above 9,500 feet. Last Sat/Sun the Aspens in CB were full on gold on north and west facing slopes and are still fairly green on east and south facing aspects. I just rolled into Denver from Portland after being away for a few days. l'll be able to snap some more pics and give a full autumnal assessment after the drive home to CB tomorrow.



My South Park geography isn't strong...I think this is between the Buffalo Peaks and Weston Pass


Antero and Shavano? You can barely see snow on the ridge top.


I think this is the south side of Shavano from the top of Monarch Pass

Labor Day

Labor Day brought a trip to the glitzier side of the Elk Range for Jazz Aspen Snowmass. What the Drive-By Truckers, Doobie Brothers, and Allman Brothers have to do with a jazz fest...well, who cares, it was awesome. I've wanted to see DBT for a long time and have heard legendary tales of their shows. Solid, fun, heartfelt. It's easy to connect with them. They make me want to get up and yell "hell yeah". The Doobie Bro's were flawless. The Doobies have always been imprinted on my subconcsious; seeing them though bought to light that they have more recognizable songs than almost anyone else - and the tightest vocals you'll ever hear live. Their stage presence can be described as joyful. The Allman Brothers had that look that you see on accountants who've sat in the same cubicle for years plugging away at a job that they are confident and competent at but brings them little joy.





We headed into Aspen for some quality shopping...and went straight to the thrift store. I scored an awesome "extreme" one-piece suit, circa 1991; why Johnny didn't get this one - well, he had a momentary lapse in reason.


Off to P-towne for the first visit since my lay-off from the shoe mine. I got to pick 15 pounds of the last peach crop. Rode on the super-secret trails...it was like being on a horse that knew its way home without any input from the reigns. My bike just went and I was along for the ride, in and out of arroyos, flying down ridge lines, and swooping through tight pinyon tree lines. I forgot how much I was in love with those trails and how much they saved me during exile there. Some of the best riding anywhere.

Alpine Tunnel

I had an awesome trip to Buena Vista to ride the old Denver and South Park Railroad grade up to the Alpine Tunnel. The tracks have been removed and the tunnel has collapsed, but some of the ties are still there as well as other remnants of the old narrow gauge. Dave came over from P-towne; we camped out on Cottonwood Pass and then drove up to the start of the ride near the ghost town of St. Elmo. The ride is mostly double track under massive 14,000 ft. peaks and scarp ridges. The rail grade provides a gentle but steady climb. One weird thing about riding rail grade up to a pass is that there are very few flat spots....it's not particularly difficult climbing but it keeps going without a break. The trip felt like a mini vacation; being above 10,000 feet seems to eliminate stress. Soaking at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs helps too.