Onward and upward!!

Today's little ride report finds our hero ascending into the National Park as he is prone to do!!

The Park is always a beautiful ride no matter how many people are driving about. They just can not ruin it no matter how stupid they drive and act!!

Water is running off!

The goal for the day was ride it up to Rainbow Curve. That is right as the road climbs up into the tundra above tree-line. See some snow, some birds, maybe some animals, and definitely some tourist people watching!!

A little break with a view!

Not long after this I stopped and talked to Jerry who was riding a loaded LHT heading down. He was from Denver, had gotten a ride to Steamboat and was riding back. Camped in Grand Lake and was heading to camp in Estes and then head home tomorrow. He was trying to get some touring miles in before his summer tour to Telluride for the Bluegrass festival. Sounds fun!!

Here's the snow!!! A bit below Rainbow Curve

This is my favorite sign to get a picture of my bikes with!!

Pretty nice day to be out!!
I hope everybody had a great weekend!!!

Back to work in the morning!!

Jim

It's a Birthday!

Not mine, Debbie, my wife!!

We have been married for a bit of time that means that sometimes it is hard to surprise each other with a gift.

My gift for her has some history of our time together.

We bought a piece of property together back before we had kids. With the recent pine beetle invasion we joined in with the State of Colorado forestry management program. As part of the program we have had to cut trees to mitigate beetle migration. Most of the trees were cut for firewood but there are  some of the trees that were big 200 plus year old Ponderosa's. We got some of that wood cut into slab wood.

Stack it and sticker it and tie it so it can dry properly without having twists and cupping.

Thanks to a nice design idea from my son David, I set about making a coffee table for Debbie's Birthday!
A bit of choosing the right pieces, sanding, assembly, did I mention a LOT of sanding????, I get a pretty nice gift that has some real family meaning for her.

The top turned out really pretty with the beetle blue stain in the wood.

She is very Happy!!!
I score some major "husband points"
All is good!!!

This just lets you all know that I'm not just a pretty face out there riding a bike around!!

Jim

MM

Not the candy, although, I do love me some peanut M&M's that come right out of the freezer. No, MM for a marvelous May of riding. Setting up a good summer I hope!!

Let's re-cap!

The month actually started with another winter storm blowing through which left the bikes in the garage for the first week. I pushed the ride in cold temps just because I had to get some miles in before heading to Santa Fe.
Got in a nice day of riding with Kyle down in Ft Collins!

Kyle took happy possession of the Univega and I turned my attention back to my Schwinn road bike to get ready for Santa Fe.I was more worried about my conditioning to ride a century than my bike.

Mid-month it was time to head out for the Santa Fe Century! Last year was my first time for a century and my friend Richard motivated me and kept me going to the finish line! This year he had other commitments so I was on my own. Met up with old cycling friend Teesie and her friends soon to be old friends I hope!!

Wind had her back up on the Saturday before so I planned on an early start to beat the wind.

Off we go!

It is becoming a pattern for me on these long rides that I am a slow starter but a strong finisher. Today was no different. I felt like I was pushing "water buffalo" legs for that first leg to the first food stop. The ultimate pedal shame was when a really big dude on a Surly Ogre rode up next to me on the hill that comes out of Cerrillos up to Madrid. We talked Ogre's for a few minutes and then he pulled away.

Limping into the first food stop.

Felt like a new man as I headed up through Madrid. Madrid is kind of a funky artsy place with many pretty painted up buildings. Or not so pretty! Not sure if this guy lived in this RR car or just ran his business out of it!!

I think the toughest part of this course is the climb out of Madrid up to the top of the ridge. I just put my mind into Rocky Mountain National Park climb mode and grinded it up. I even caught and passed Ogre dude! The payoff at the top is a great see forever view!

The route takes you through Golden, an old mining town.
A few ruins of bygone buildings

Then it is time for the infamous "Heartbreak Hill"

Everybody talks about this being the toughest part of the ride, but not for me. It's a no-brainer! ride up a little at the bottom and then jump off and hike-a-bike! I was walking my bike up and this "fast fred" was doing the side to side of the road weaving thing to stay on his bike and ride up.....I was keeping the same pace as him by just walking! Great run of downhill after the top and pretty soon you are out in the flats of some New Mexico high desert.

Some where they put a town I'm supposed to ride back to......

Hard to believe about an hour ago I was up in those mountains riding

Came out of the food stop at Stanley really feeling good about my ride. I was even passing other riders (I never pass anybody!) and just had my scherve on, ready to gobble up the last 40 miles. Then I felt a bit of squirrely-ness coming out of my back wheel. Checked it out and my tire was worn through and the tube was bulging up and out some. Rode it for about ten miles until I lost the tube. Got the tire off and glued a couple of patches to the inside of the tire and ran a little strip of duct tape on the inside of the tire. put in a spare tube and nursed it along for about 3 more miles until I lost that tube. Put in my last spare tube and made it about a half mile until total failure! The tire would not allow any pressure at all. So, my 100 mile ride turned into a 73 mile ride and then a ride back to the start in the SAG truck. A bummer at first but turned out OK. I had spent so much time screwing around with it, that the afternoon wind had blown up to make it almost unride-able out there. Found my self back for a nice dinner and a cold beer with my friend Teesie!
Pretty good day of riding!

Turned out the tire failure got me moving on a change I have been wanting to do on this bike. Move up to a bigger tire. I had 700/25's and changed to 700/32's. Richard, you are right! The rough ride I was not liking was a function of tires. The wider, taller tire give me a much smoother ride at 80lbs of pressure instead of the skinny tires at 100 lbs of pressure. I'll never go back!
The month ended with the passing of my old friend Greg Hurt. We shared some great times being ski instructors together in the late 70's early 80's. There was a nice memorial for him on Saturday and then on Sunday I thought I would ride up to Hidden Valley to think of him and the times had up there.
View of Upper from Horseshoe Park. Good Times skiing up there!

Pretty day for a ride with all the views that anybody could want!

 It was not so much losing Greg that affected me but the time gone by and the knowledge that those kind of times will never return for me. Lost youth as it were. I was so carefree and happy at that time in my life. Maybe that is the base of bike riding happiness that I seem to find out there when I pedal away. That feeling of carefree, zero responsibility.
 I know in my mind that I embellish that time in my life, it is just the passing of Greg that brought it to a lot of thought of a past lifestyle. It sounds like I am an un-happy person with my current life. That is not the case at all, it is just a different life of grown-up responsibility. I enjoy today's life and embrace it and live it! Just all these different events brought the past back to fondly think of and remember.

At Hidden Valley after riding up, I hiked up to the middle of Raven, the practice slope where I gave many, many lessons. Looking up over my shoulder at Spruce where the revegitation of trees is beginning to take away the site of the ski run.

After I got back to town I felt more at peace with myself that I had done something to remember and honor my friend.
Memorial day, I got in a nice ride with Kyle again. We pounded back up through Horsetooth except went north to loop through Bellevue and La Porte and back to Kyle and Lea's apartment. I'm able to commute now everyday and lunchtime rides are going well so, all in all in was a very good month to get things rolling for a summer of bike fun!

I hope everybody is getting out and enjoying their time on their bikes!

Jim

Move it Forward

Being a Dad is one of those jobs in this world that I managed for the most part to get right. My kids actually like having me around!
In talking to my #2 son, Kyle this last week back and forth about his life and what has been going on he mentioned that his girlfriend wants to get going with some bike riding. This gets me fired up because it is a new possibility to fix up another bike!
A little history. When I retired from the running world after battling through two bouts of Plantar Fasciitis I found my way back onto a bike. I started with a purchase of an entry level commuter bike, a Schwinn World Avenue. Featured an upright riding set-up, it did the job well which was get me back and forth to work for a whole summer. Then came the Surly LHT and a return to my touring roots. Then I rebuilt my Univega the first time and this was the bike I let Kyle use for his college bike.

First rebuild version!

He rode the crap out of this bike for two years getting around Ft. Collins. It also was stored outdoors and came back after he was done...... a little rough. Then he and Lea got a place together in Ft Collins and got a job that was within close commuter distance so I gave him the Schwinn World Avenue and he has been happy! I have also been happy with the total rebuild that I completed on the Univega and it has been my bike of choice for these last six months or so.

And as Paul Harvey says....The rest of the story......

I decided to return the Univega to Kyle so he can move the World Avenue on to Lea and they can enjoy some bike time together!
My wise friend tim joe tells us "nothing lasts forever". I would add, except family. So, I am very happy to see the bike go to him. He will ride it everyday plus has started to show a desire to go out on rides just for the sake of riding!!!! More and more like his old man everyday!!!
I drove it down to him this last Sunday and we went for a nice ride together. We did the loop up through Horsetooth, down through Masonville, around to Loveland and back to Ft Collins. Had a blast!!

Here's Kyle on his new/old ride at the top of the second of three hills to get up and over Horsetooth.

As for me?? I am back on my Schwinn Le Tour. It is a good bike that I like to ride very much. It is a bit of a harsher ride mainly because of the alu frame and the skinny tires at 100psi. I have plans to change the tires to a 28-622 that I can run at 75-80psi which will smooth out the ride. The geometry is actually better on this bike for long road riding for me. I have done 100 miles on it and felt pretty good afterward!

Here we are post-ride about ready for a cold adult beverage!

 And full circle to the start of this blog......it is great to have your kids that want to go out and have some fun with the activity that you enjoy so much!!!
Plus now I can start doing a little bit of hunting for the next old steel bike that is begging to be recycled for myself!!!!
Have a great day everybody
Jim

Maybe!

A happy return to outside lunchtime riding yesterday!!

It was a real Hawk buffet out there on this ride. The ground squirrels are out but had to run about on top of the snow cover. I watched four or five of them get snatched up by hawks. Easy pickins'!!
Circle of life stuff while riding my bike.

Maybe this marks the transition to spring finally. Moisture will continue on in the form of rain and we can climb out of those teen temps.

Stay positive everybody, I am!!

Jim

Outa-town!

Every Spring I have always tried to get a trip down to Albuquerque. In the past to touch base with my folks, now I keep up the tradition to visit with my sister Nancy and my Brother-in-law, Mark.
This was an odd year because I kept making plans and then stuff kept happening to postpone it.
Does anybody "deserve" a vacation? I don't know the answer to that. Probably different for everybody. I know for me, the winter does get to keeping on a bit and I can tend to start draggin' ass a bit in my job, just going through the motions. A long weekend away seems to re-charge my batteries and gets me going again.
Finally got all the planets aligned with employees and wife and family and a chance to roll out!

This is the morning of leaving, -2 degrees, brrrr....good timing!!

I have made this drive so many times.........same stops for fuel, same stops for bathroom breaks, pretty consistent, 8 hours door to door.
The whole plan for the weekend was a chance to get some miles in on my bike with some golf with Mark and some non-responsibility down time for ME!
Started out with a little city riding early Friday morning. I dragged a bit of the cold temps down with me but it warmed up by the end of my ride for the afternoon golf session!!
Some nice riding for city riding on Tramway where there is about ten feet of shoulder!

Pretty hard for me to ride by My favorite Albuquerque coffee spot!

Over the years Mark has become a pretty good friend. We share a lot of interests and I sure respect him for the job he has done with raising his son (my nephew!) and being a good life partner with my sister. They sure have built a very nice and fun life together. Headed north to Santa Ana to play golf.
I always have liked this course. A very pretty mix of green grass, desert, and the Sandia mountains in your view!

Happy Jim!!!

We also managed to find our way around with a few of these

After we got back home Mark broke out a wee bit of the Irish......the conversation went on into the night!

The next morning found the three of us on our bikes on the most excellent Bosque trail that follows the Rio Grande. Albuquerque sure has a lot going for it to explore on a bike. There are great rides no matter what style you prefer. Road riding in all directions of town, bike trails all over town if that is your style, and many dirt roads and trails leading out of town and into National forests not all that far of a drive from anywhere. I have so many bases to touch and find out about. Excellent LBS's with info and Cass's and Gypsy's blog to follow with the idea that those guys are willing to offer up places to explore and experience. So much life to live with limited time.......this whole work/responsibility thing is sure crimping my fun!!!

Nancy and I taking a break next to the river.

You know, the real world keeps turning while I was checking out of reality. My most excellent daughter-in-law was skiing up on the top of Breckenridge with Dave and twisted up her knees in some deep  cement-like new spring snow and had to be hauled off the mountain.
Bummer!!

And, one of the guys killed in the avalanche near Loveland ski area was from Estes that David knew and had spent some time with back country on sno-boards up in the National park. Makes me sad...but relieved that he was only on the mountain at Breck, helping his wife deal with a crash that can be walked away from.

What a great time I had. Said goal of re-charging the batteries was achieved. The only bummer was the drive home. This is what greeted me as I headed back up the mountain from Lyons......Winter's last blast (I hope!!)

Snow to leave by, snow to come back to, but a lot of sun and fun in between!!

Thanks for traveling along with me!
Jim

Sprung??

Is that even a word? I consulted with my girl in the office who is my go to person for grammar and spelling. She confirms that it is the past tense of the word spring.

Just not in Estes Park. I live in a fantastic, beautiful place, but, in my opinion it is the toughest time to live here. Not twenty miles away down either canyon Spring is going on. Green grass starting, buds on the trees, bulbs coming up, warm temps, soft rain. Yet come back to to town and still brown, cold wind, white flakes. In the future I don't think I will ever be a "snow bird" and flee the winter months but I might become a "spring bird" and head out for the month of April!

I got the outdoor riding season going this weekend. Always seems a bit counter productive to pack a bike in my truck and drive someplace to ride but that is what I did for Saturday. Started down in Lyons for a flatland ride.

 Lyons north up to Loveland and back. I picked up 20 degrees in air temp and probable dropped off 15 MPH in wind. It was a good ride of firsts! First ride in shorts for the year! First extended ride on the Univega since its rebuild. Even got to say hello to the Easter Bunny as he was resting up before his big day.

Did not drive myself too hard and felt pretty good for a Spring ride. About 2 1/2 hours on the bike and 34 miles.
Woke up Easter Morning and after some family time cooking up some waffles and eggs, I thought what the heck! A little bike time! As usual a different Spring program up here. Full cycling pants and a couple of layers and full gloves. Not too bad for the temp but a pretty good wind working out of the west. I have Santa Fe in the back of my mind that I have to get some miles in, so, out we go!

Seems that no matter how much time I spend on the indoor spin bike during the winter, the legs always feel it come spring riding!
Here is the consensus of the legs talking to my brain this morning....

Headed for my favorite place with my thinking that I would climb against the wind until it rendered my soul to be crushed.
The arrow on this sign is accurate...it is uphill to the park.

This is the east end of Horseshoe park and just about the end of going west into the wind. There is one more climb to get up to Deer Ridge Junction but you swing around and head south and east so have the soul-sucking wind out of your face!

West end of Horseshoe Park, just have to stop and check out the view of Ypsilon Peak.

Kind-of found my second wind and powered right up to Deer Ridge and got ready for a fast cruise back to town, down hill and down wind. Did not get to far and just had to romp on the brakes to stop for this look. I have lived here for almost all of my adult life yet views like this still make me stop and catch my breath......I love living here.

I had to tap my brakes a couple of times because the downhill/downwind thing got me a little nervous. When I looked back on my computer I hit 40.7 MPH. My bike performed very well, but a little fast for an early season ride! Big difference today to yesterday. I rode for two hours but only got 17 miles. Probably a better riding work-out with the climbing. It is probably because I do a lot of it, but I do enjoy the big climbs. Nothing more rewarding than just getting after it for a couple of hours and then the big reward!
After the weekend my legs are the only thing feeling a little sprung but that is a good feeling and the knowledge that summer will re-appear!
Have fun everybody!
Jim