Maybe I just need to move back East

Lets face it folks....I just don't know how to ride a mountain bike when the trails aren't saturated.



I also managed to clip the tip of my thumb off, clipped my chin, ate some gravel and managed to put a little damage into that lump of cartilage on my face that passes for a nose.

Just another bad ass ride at Buffalo Creek last night. 29 miles and a little over 3,000 ft of climbing at an almost intolerable pace. Good thing there was some stops or this Goat would've been cooked for dinner over the campfire. An old buddy, Bob Lamberson...aka The Great White Goat, from Tennessee is in town. Seems his son, Wesly has become a little hot rod on the bike and gotten himself sponsored. His team is in town for the Nationals at Sol Vista next week and even though Wes couldn't join us since his coach has him on such a regimented training schedule his Dad sure taught us even the boys from low elevation can hammer.



I remember taking Wes, The Great White Goat and Duckman on a 50 miler mountain bike ride back around Kitsuma, and the Curtis Creek Heartbreak loop. Wes was 13 at the time, did it on a singlespeed, hung with me most of the ride, leaving his Dad and Duckman in the dust and later went on to finish the ORAMM that year. Another fact about Wes is he has a full scholarship to a college in Kentucky to race for their mountain bike team.



Spike, Little E and PBR were on fire tonight to make sure The Great White Goat had his share of fast boys and I think I even threw down once or twice. Buffalo Creek was throwing out its share of Blood Letting too. I think only PBR walked away with nary a crash to his name.



No riding this weekend. Mrs. Goat took off for some cleansing and such at a Yoga Retreat up near Nederland. I'll be hanging with the little ladies, taking em to a Bar-b-que over at Lube's place, going swimming, maybe a hike, and just chilling.

Next weekend though, Ol Northstar will be in town with some buddies who are doing the nationals as well so I offered to take him on a sweet above treeline ride. I told em to have some cash on him for the bottled O2. I don't think he was thinking I was serious on this but we all saw what the Breck did to the Dicky.



Funny thing is 1st time I've ever seen a bottle of this stuff it was during the 55 miler Lubes, PBR and myself did a few weeks ago. Wonder if Dicky stocked up?

Carnage on the Big Green Hill

Yesterday morning I got in a quick 20 miles on Green Mountain before work. Just another average morning on the Big Green Hill until I came around a corner on the Summit Trail pushing close to 18 mph when my front tire broke free and sent me sliding down the trail...on my right arm...gravel and dirt grinding away my flesh while all I could do was scream in pain until I finally slide to a stop. Its funny how its always the easy trails that do this to you, maybe its the fact the technical ones get all the respect.



On a side note: I'm going back to a singlespeed for the next week....Ah, you thought I blew up the Alfine. Its holding up fine. Since I've 1st had the wheel, the spokes have loosened up after every single ride and I've had to retrue the wheel every single time. The orginal builder used linseed oil for the spoke to nipple matting and I've finally grown to trust a shop, Green Mountain Sports, who's mechanical talent and no BS attitudes, have won me over. They'll be using new nipples and spoke prep on each spoke and tensioning the wheel for an aggresive riding style that'll hopefully hold the wheel true and Jeremy Proof.

CT Section One & Indian Creek

Sunday I went down to Waterton Canyon and hit an out and back on the Colorado Trail to the South Platte River and then hit up the Indian Creek Loop with an ending on the Unmarked Stephen's Gulch. 44 miles, almost 6,000 ft of climbing in the lush jungle.



Not even 1/4 mile onto the Colorado Trail I came upon a doe and a fawn nursing right in the middle of the trail. I was to slow with the camera to catch it as they both bolted when they saw me but the doe ran upslope of the trail and the fawn stayed right on the trail. As I passed the doe I told her to go get her baby but she stayed put. 50 yards later I had new traveling companions for about 1/2 mile. The fawn leading the way, bolting around the next corner every time he saw me and the doe following behind me...staying about 20 yards back. Finally the fawn ran down slope on the last switchback up to Lenny's Rest and the doe followed suit.



The Colorado Trail getting thick and lush






Looking west from the high point of section one of the Colorado Trail at 7532 ft



South Platte Trailhead



Back up the Colorado Trail



and on to Lenny's Rest



The Indian Creek Equestrian Center...funny enough I saw didn't see a single horse but 2 herds of mountain bikers at least 30 head strong each. The 1st group was friendly enough...The second acted like deer frozen scared in a set of headlights and I had to shove my way through them. I almost expected these folks to Moo at me since they were acting so much like grazing cattle.



My first Columbine...Indian Creek was full of them



The final descent back to Waterton Canyon...Stephen's Gulch...just a wee bit overgrown but so much fun.

Chasing storms at Buffalo Creek

Yesterday afternoon the news and weather services were going crazy with warnings for Colorado specifically Buffalo Creek getting hit by heavy rain bands that were dumping 2-3 inches of rain in the day. Threats of mud slides, roads being washed away, and overflowing creek beds were flowing as fast as the sky was falling.



Not to be deterred though 9 of us made our way to Buffalo Creek and that golden halo that seems to hang above the granite pebbled trails. These trails drain so well that not even 3 inches of rain in one day can dampen the trails flow but become faster with compaction.



We threw down a killer route of 28 miles of PBR’s design with just an added trail of my choosing that being Lower Gashouse Gulch to the bottom of Baldy since PBR had never been down it. Funny enough all the roads in the area rode as though they were thick oatmeal sucking at our wheels but the trails were oh so fast and fun!



Just as the sun disappeared behind the peaks to the west the rain started to fall. 1st a few silvery drops here and there and as we made our way across the Colorado Trail it became a deluge. Our group got spread out and left me, Spike, and PBR shivering at the intersections waiting for the others to catch up.



Finally we made it to Shinglemill and as though a shower was being turned off the rain let us go down and enjoy the descent. I quickly made a huge gap on the others and about a mile from the end I felt my rear wheel getting squishy. I kept at it until finally the feeling of the rim on the trail made me give it up. I found my pump’s head cracked cleanly off and good ol PBR came to the rescue with his.



I saw that I had a leak that wouldn’t seal so I rushed down the road only to be stopped a mile or so later with another flat and Spike to the rescue. Another mile or so and Mr. Colorado Springs to the rescue….finally just 1/8th of mile from the car I gave up on my final flat…and walked the bike back to the car. Still an awesome night, 28 miles, almost 3,000 ft of climbing with a couple of cool folks.

Spikefest 2009: 3 Passes and some old Flumes

This past weekend Ol Spike set up a one of a kind route along with some camping to celebrate camaraderie and riding bikes for the 1st Annual Spikefest. Spike and his crew were throwing down 85 miles adding an additional 35 miles I didn't think my legs were ready for. So I met up with Lubes and PBR at 4:30am for approx 53 miles from Kenosha Pass to Breckenridge to Como

We got a car dropped in Como and were on the Colorado Trail by 6:20



PBR being chased by the morning sun



Me on the Colorado Trail, photo by PBR



Lubes full of smiles



PBR taking a serious approach to the views



Still a few small snow drifts on the east side of Georgia Pass at treeline



Me, photo by PBR



Lubes cranking up to Georgia Pass



PBR almost to Georgia Pass



On over to the Breck side of Georgia Pass





Where probably two dozen snow drifts awaited our tracks



Watch your step, photo by PBR



A good ol death march isn't quite right without a little drinkin involved



A few marshes were to be hiked



and lots of route finding



Sometimes we even hung our bikes out to dry



and rode tons of old flume like this



and this



Might be getting familiar now for those of you who have been training on the Fire Cracker Course



We started running into all sorts of folks at this point including Kerkove, Sonya, DJ Birtch, Rebecca Toma wiki wiki, and several others who I didn't recognize.



PBR at Little French Gulch



Sally Barber Mine



Shot of Sally Barber Mine by PBR



going down



down



down into Breckenridge for some refreshments from the local convenient mart



Then a climb back up Boreas Pass, course we took all the singletrack options to go up



Baker's Tank



A rest stop at the top of the pass



We finished the day on an awesome singletrack descent off the pass.



GPS died on the last miles of the ride..show 7,800 ft of climbing with 97% of the route being over 10,000 ft and our high point for the day being 11,870. PBR's cpu shows around 55.5 miles. Sweet!

I plan on coming back for some retribution though. Somehow I only drank 2 liters of fluids and and one liter of that was in the last 20 miles. What was I thinking? No wonder I started bonking out on Boreas!