While the start of winter is defined as a date on the calendar, specifically the winter solstice on Dec 21st, around here winter comes more in layers than by date.
Continue readingSeasons – A Manual Override
Cycling
Float
One of the things I’ve been most interested in trying now that we’re in CO is fat biking, specifically fat biking on snow.
Continue readingNot Terrain Appropriate
If I have one little gripe about our new hometown — and granted, I feel so lucky to be here it seems ridiculously whiny to even mention it at all — it’s that the road riding opportunities are limited.
Continue readingI ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
Besides being the year of the global pandemic, 2020 marked two momentous and significantly more positive events in my life. I retired, twice. I checked out of the corporate meat grinder after 35 years and I retired from bike racing after 24 years.
Continue readingEpic, as usual
When you’re new in town it’s important to talk to the locals to get the low down on how things, you know, work. Where are the good restaurants? Who’s your vet? Know a good car mechanic? And when a local asks you to participate in something, no matter what it is, you do it. Hey, want to go for a ride? Sure! We’re hiking tomorrow, you interested? Would love to! Goat yoga? In!
Continue readingSomewhere over the burning Rainbow
Our house is on Methodist mountain, the northern most peak in the Sangre de Cristo range. Methodist is more of a big green lump than something spectacular like the Sawatch range across the valley or the Sangres further south. Most of the peaks around here are named after Native American chiefs or ivy league colleges so I was curious how Methodist got its name. I did some research (ok, I Googled for 30 minutes) but didn’t turn up anything definitive on the name origin. I like to think that it had something to do with Methodist pioneers who lived in the area performing long-forgotten rituals in the woods, druid pot luck dinners, bingo games and such. But I digress.
Continue readingRolling on the Arkansas Hills
Just north of downtown Salida, at the end of F street is Tenderfoot hill, also known as S mountain because of the big Salida S on it. The Arkansas hills are the rugged hills behind Tenderfoot. Not that impressive to look at but oh lordy, perfect for mountain biking.
Continue readingRelative Badassedness
In riding, hiking, and skiing around Colorado one of the things that strikes me about the people here is the all-around level of fitness you see on any given day. No matter how strong you think you are, I guarantee you there’s someone in Colorado who can go faster or longer. I’ve met trail runners who can knock off a 10-mile 14er in under three hours. I’ve talked to unicyclists at the top of the Monarch Crest trail. I’ve chatted up hikers on month-long treks on the Colorado Trail. Colorado, the land of the FKT (Fastest Known Time). It’s very motivating and very humbling at the same time.
New Stomping Ground
I’ve frequently said that to be a cyclist in Houston, you have to REALLY like cycling. Pretty much everything is stacked against you.