At least she could offer to help out and pedal. 

Practicing for the honeymoon... 

"Is there something on my back?" 

Cheese-O shows off the only battle wound of the weekend. Get a Purple Heart for this guy. 

Winter Park was fortunate to welcome SCORPIONS lead singer Klaus Meine to THE Pub. 

Look mom, it's a bird... it's a plane....  

It all comes down to this!

NBBBC Cup finale tomorrow night! Brad has already missed a race and Highroller will be out next week so it's winner take all! Also entertainment sure to arise watching Furious clobber himself in the As...be there!

"The Evil Parrot made me do it!" This will become a familiar refrain should I be confronted with any activities that may or may not have taken place in WP over the weekend. Notice no corresponding "good influence" on the other shoulder...that's how we ride Cyclonauts! Many thanks to all the Footsoldiers who risked life, limb and dignity to join me and celebrate my last few days of singledumb. You guys are the best and I get all choked up just thin...hey is that a Led Zeppelin cover? Rock on!!

Frolicking 2

P7220262
Originally uploaded by shZo.

And you thought Harlequin bugs mating was hot!

Frolicking 1

P7220263
Originally uploaded by shZo.

What to do on a hot Friday morning in July? Why, have a squirrel 3-way on the roof, of course. Unfortunately, the neighbors were watching...

New Maillot wearer!

I won't even try to recreate the magic of my last (lost) missive but suffice it to say that a Pulitzer was briefly and tantalizingly within my grasp. The facts: Thumper has won (in dominating fashion) the last two rounds of the NBBBC Cup challenge and donned the coveted Maillot Monsieur Pomme de Terre with only two races left in the series! Highroller remains within spitting distance though and with each racer dropping one event it all comes down to next Wednesday the 27th of July...no holds barred winner takes all! Sean will dangle with the As like raw meat in an Amazonian basin rife with piranha and Dash is sure to blow a gasket sewing machin-ing his 38 x 26 gearing around so do join us! Should be somewhat cooler, due to the fact that it could not get any hotter without lighting something on fire... With all competitors imbibing in the Bachelor Party to Hell this weekend the final victory may just come down to who remains in custody vs the crippled but free. Be there!

Somebody's carbo-loading! For the cognoscenti out there closely following the NBBBC Cup series, you already know that Thumper's thrilling victory over Highroller last week puts him within striking distance of the coveted Maillot Monsieur Pomme, this very Wednesday, for he nows trails 1 victory to 2, and if he can pull another win out of the hat he could don the jersey and take a large step closer to the NBBBC Cup Plaque! Highroller is of course loathe to give up the Maillot so prepare for a battle royale (with cheese!) tomorrow night!!

The first sunflower bloom of the season.

This one is for you Alford! Harlequin bugs mating and eating the Kale.

Garden update, the sunflowers are now almost 7 feet tall.

Birthday boy, Pete "Tres" Kielishiewski, leads a foray into parts unknown in Gilpin County and uncovers a gem of a loop full of good stuff, technical boulder slaloms, aspen stands, some tough loose climbing and great vistas. All aquitted themselves in high style except for Highroller who biffed hard twice, fortunately taking the brunt on the relatively impervious to pain shin bones...Doh!

Chainsaw gets airborne on the full sauce tracking down the Elk Trail.

Pete leads a tour on some new terrain, sweet singletrack, nasty climbs (including a good hike-a-bike) and wildflowers galore!

Wachtel charging after Chainsaw.

Couldn't stop for long due to killer-flies...let's go!

The Golden Gate. Apparently we went up/around this peak...

Ter dah! The shack looking practically new...

The Chalet beautifying project was in full swing over the last few weekends, at least what we could squeeze in between rides that is. Beautiful mountain weather led to some long days but the transformation was worth it!

In the presence of greatness!

A shadowy subterranean hallway. Two men (wearing each other's shirts, but that's a different story) stand gazing in reverence at a spotlit plaque, hung in a place of honor, wear resides, none other than the NBBBC Cup trophy itself, engraved with it's holder and nigh-unbeatable three-time winner, Matty "The Dead Albatross" Armbrustmacher's, name. An electric tingle is in the air, and though lacking the proper white cotton gloves to actually touch the sacred relic, each man's hands raise subconciously, clenched in greedy anticipation...for tonight battle is joined! The Maillot Monsieur Pomme (de terre) is up for grabs, a mere symbol of the glory that awaits the vainquer, for the Maillot goes to the leader, and as Sean has learned to his chagrin, the leader for most of the race does not equal the WINNER, and the winner walks away with the NBBBC Cup trophy! Only Lord Stanley himself could resist it's magnetic draw, and only later in life at that, when he'd been reduced to a mere syphilictic shadow of his former self... 5:50pm to-night! Prepare for rumbling! -M

Last night I took Lizziebird, fresh from Hoboken for her first mtn bike ride up at Betasso. The elbow was a gusher, luckily her husband is an orthopedic surgeon! She rocked though, rode up things she didnt think she could, down things she thought were impossible, and hit the deck a few times too! She will be joing us soon for our rides for sure. She is a natural.

The party was timid until this fella' started passing out the drinks and then all hell broke loose. Look at his face, so innocent, you could trust him to marry you.

Look honey I can see down your shirt. That game is for rocket scientists!

Just trying to cop a feel.

hmmm, not a mans leg, but who's is it... Smells like a foot...

The Gate Keeper!

Finally, after being sent on a wild goose chase the happy couple arrive only to find a 1 yr old gate keeper.

"The faster I pedal, the sooner I can retire" -- my mantra of the day during the Firecracker was something I'd heard Lance say after his second place finish in Stage 2 of the TdF.

I was shooting for top 5, but placed 8th. No yellow jersey in my quiver. But I have scabs that could rival MOA's.

Happy Birthday, America--Firecracker 50 version

Hi all! I thought I would share my Fourth of July report on my epic Firecracker 50 ride.

My goal was simply to finish the grueling 11,000 vertical feet over 50 miles at 10,000+ feet. During the week prior I was fortunate enough (thanks to my lingering unemployment status) to pre-ride one lap a couple of times. This really helped prepare me for each of the long climbs and rough descents. Everything started out well with the chase beginning on the 6 mile climb up Boreas Pass to Baker's Tank. The stretch of rolling, traversing singletrack that followed was a welcome relief and I started catching some of my competitors again when the course continued climbing up the side of Baldy. Then there was more downhill, and some really sketchy loose double track down Humbug Hill and Sallie Barber to the start of the next ugly climb up Little French. I was feeling really good and continued to gain some ground. The first lap up Little French was tough but I knew what to expect and knew that a long singletrack traverse at the top would give me plenty of recovery time. I grinded my way up, jockeyed ahead of a bunch of people and cruised down the singletrack and blasted down the long descent back toward Sallie Barber. By mile 20 or so I knew I was going to make it, as long as I could continue to eat and drink at every Aid Station and pace myself on the second lap. As I cruised down the tight switchbacks back to the start/finish I tried to ignore the massive crowd tempting me with the freshly tapped kegs, I just kept on going and started hammering back up Boreas.

As expected, the second lap was hard. My legs were getting tired, my ribcage was tightening up, and my saddle...ouch! But I kept going and was still managing to hold my position. I was definitely slowing down a lot, but it was a perfect day for a ride so I just thought of it as a fun day out on the trail. After my second lap up Little French I was feeling a little shaky and when I got on the flat singletrack I think I may have dozed off a little and found myself upside down in the sharp rubble along the trail. Dirty, bruised and now bleeding, I pulled myself together and finished off the last 10 miles.

I didn't ride it fast enough to get my share of the free kegs (damn it!) but I did it. And it was actually fun, and definitely my biggest cycling accomplishment to date.

Happy Birthday America - Boulder version

Greetings travelers and welcome back from altitude. I get the impression that CB held some surprised for bIKE cLUB members new to Doctor Park. I seem to recall a little jeep road climb to the top that used to take oh, "ten minutes". At least you got a chance to experience one of the best stretches of singletrack in the area.

This reporter had a less active holiday with a viewing of "War of the Worlds' prologue to the weekend. Tom Cruise manages to avoid proselytizing about Scientology and doesn't save the world. Worth the $9.50(?!) to see on the big screen though.

Saturday dawned with a failed effort to convince 10A how cool it was that Dave Z. was in yellow. "When does Lance get to wear it?"

The highlight of the weekend was a Sunday afternoon spent at Elitch's. This long term Colorado resident hasn't visited this amusement park at the new location. (Extra credit for any reader that can name the original location.) The first hour was spent in the water park to compensate for the extreme heat that an average July day brings. Inner tubes and water slides!

The next hour was spent in line waiting to ride the Minderaser, only to have the standard issue afternoon thunderstorm roll in and close the ride just as we were getting close to our turn. @#$$$! Fortunately, it passed quickly and we managed to get our ride in after only two hours. Was it worth the wait? No.

However, the Tower of Doom is a must do! Everyone looks the same when they get on. When they get off, they look different....they look scared. Absolutely worth the wait in line.

I should point out that Elitch's has the highest percentage of ugly people of any entertainment venue in Colorado. More than a bowling alley, more than a drag race, more than a fishing tournament. Seriously, try not to look at anyone else. Clearly the video game generation is fond of amusement parks as well.

Hmmm, a funky mushroom, should we eat it?

Oh so pretty!

Stuck in the tent in a 2 hour rain, hail, thunder... Got the tent up in the nick of time!

Matty hiking in knee deep greenery on the way up Avalanche trail near Redstone.

"Are you wearing all cotton?"

Happy birthday America!

Hope everyone had an excellent long weekend. Chainsaw and Highroller got out to CB with Dash-n-Bash, Uno, Kim (and a brief cameo by Cheese-O and Loni) for some sweet singletrack on Strand, Reno-Bear-etc, Doctor Park and Snodgrass in between bouts of TdF spectating, drinking, grilling, hot-tubbing and poker so all are thoroughly pummeled about the head and neck this work-day morning. Highroller at least got in about 50 miles and will be raring to go on the swingle tomorrow night so prepare yourselves for the suffering! What's in your wallet?