We'll always have one arm to hold you with!

The other stays busy taking perfect, perfect I tell you, photos of bIKE cLUB misadventures around the globe.  It was seven years to the day that we launched this little bIKE cLUB blog and over 10 since this group coalesced from dust and gas, much like the birth of  new star, or the dust bunnies that even now lurk under Sean's bed, and now seems as good a time as any to close this chapter and move on to NEW adventures in mysterious lands that time forgot, or perhaps right around the corner.  This site will live on in perpetuity, or until the Blogger mainframe crashes, but I'll be moving on to some other virtual home tbd, or possibly as a player to be named later, to exercise my meagre creative urges.  If there are photos or stories you love it wouldn't hurt to cut n' paste to your own hard drive. Thanks so much for all the miles and all the smiles friends and we'll see you out there, soon we hope!

Murmuration

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Crossapalooza!

Nice form!  Not the vaguely pear shape, the cx technique...of course a photo can't convey the sense of a lack of speed I was displaying in this section

Short sleeves!  Thanks to Sean, Matty, Dub, Beckett, Gust, Miki, Jason, Jen, Trout and others for all the cheering and cowbell wrangling!  Great to see some of the bIKE clUB die hards getting their 'cross on

Highroller, almost looking like he knows what he's doing

Hey, somebody dropped a penny right here.  Ignore Fernando "Crab" Escartin running style and focus instead on perfect, perfect! I tell you, carrying technique.  When you're moving this slowly you can focus on the little things...

Steamboat Springs cyclocrossers are on the prowl!

Great to see Scott, Miki, Amanda and Uncle Sean after the beat down Highroller endured at the Blue Sky CX at Xilinx

Next day Chainsaw came out to play as well, 16th at Monarch CX!

Yay, hardly any barf!

Xilinx, you can suck it.  Actually fun course and Highroller managed to make it all the way around, several times...47th place on the day

Next day though the long deep sand run played to my strengths (not) and I managed to improve to, 47th place. Oh.  Monarch, you can suck it too.

Maybe I should cut back on these tender moments with Trout

For more pounding of the tender bits like this

Busy week for the SSSS Chapter of bIKE cLUB

1st we moved out of the Love Shack via about 8 van trips cross town to our new digs at 2916 West End Ave.  Why?  Because now we have a fire pit in the back yard again!

Then, as is our wont, we immediately took off on a trip without unpacking.  Colorado Monument Canyon Rim Trail on a stellar fall day

Fruita Book Cliffs in the distance

Independence Monument and Los Alfords compete for the grandeur, we win!

Then camping at the River Park in town.  Hot Tomato for dinner and Starvin' Arvin"s for b-fast = easy peasy, lemon-squeezy

Then out to ol' 18 Rd, where we paid the guard-spider to watch the dog while we hit Kessel Run en famile!  Trout has now officially ridden Fruita singletrack and bIKE cLUB 2.0 has been launched...

Trout did 3 laps on Kessel before Chainsaw got out on a Western Zip-Frontside-Joe's classic

Highroller did the same at 18 Rd, including CLEANING the climb on Zippety and then both Alford parentus, riding at the same time, hot-lapped Highline Rez...fun!

In over our heads, as always, and loving it!  That them thar is how we roll

Ouch!

Yikes, at least we don't have to deal with these on our open space...

Famous visitors in the Boat for the Pro Challenge

September = Cyclocross

Hi cLUB,

The Chesaux Cup will make it's debut this year at the Boulder Cyclocross Series...

Check out the write up here, http://www.withoutlimits.co/#!__br-cyclocross---valmont-bike-park/series-points/vstc19=chesaux-cup, and if you feel like rallying, go ahead and race, I dare you :o)

The Cup will be like the 'Stanley Cup' or the 'FARVAS' for that matter, and it will be returned every year. I hope to see you at Valmont Bike Park on September 17th!

Happy Labor Day Guys,

Loni

Not Trout

Rapha Continental Moots Factory tour

rapha.cc/​usa-pro-cycling-challenge-moots-factory-tour

The Leadville experience!

The day started promisingly enough with a full moon hanging overhead and temperatures well out of the "see your breathe" range. Since my little tootsies don't like the cold weather this was a welcome sign! As a first time Leadville racer I got corralled in with all the other first timers at the back so after the gun went off I didn't move a foot for quite a while and had plenty of time to finish off my Honey Stinger waffle. After rolling across the start line several minutes later my huge pack of racers immediately bottled up on the first hill, and the walking started. This went off and on for most of the first totally rideable climb, dismount and hike, remount and ride a bit only to get stopped by the masses on the next steeper bit. Soon enough though I started moving up and getting in better position with riders closer to my own pace and ticking off the early miles around Turquoise Lake. Mile 40 came sooner than I thought and I was glad to see my support crew briefly and reload my pockets with chews before heading out on the infamous Columbine climb. I felt stronger than expected on the long climb and was pleased to pass more than passed me on the ascent. At the top the weather held, clear and sunny and no need for all the various emergency items in my drop bag, thank God. 50 miles down and I was encouraged by my pace and how the legs were holding up, fueling and hydrating sufficiently I was confident dropping back down. The descent ended up being more draining than I planned but I still was riding strong through to the 70 mile aid station. At this point the miles and heat started to take their toll and I could see the last 30 were going to hurt. Next up was the dreaded Powerline climb, and it did not disappoint with 4, count 'em 4 false summits to discourage and delude me and a baking hot sun to drain my energy further. Watching rider after rider in front of me peel off the climb to seek shelter under the sparse trees didn't help but somehow I pressed on and rode most of the top section. After another challenging descent and endless road climb I was excited to hit the last aid station with 10 miles to go. At this point I was still shooting for sub eleven hour finish time so I shoved potato chips more chews in my mouth and took off onto a fun descent. The last 5 miles felt more like 15 though and the heat and exertion was wreaking havoc on my ability to keep hydrated but I felt so close to the finish I put my head down and hammered it home as fast as I could turn the pedals. Fellow riders at this point were barfing while riding, and I felt much the same but soon I rolled into town and the cheering crowds propelled me all the way to the red carpet finish. Yippee! For the next two hours I celebrated my success in the Medical tent, wrapped in two sleeping bags to stop my uncontrolled shivering as they squeezed two IV bags of fluid into my parched system. Fun! Soon after I started regaining my appetite and strength and by the next morning's Award Ceremony I was right as rain and plenty strong enough to receive my HUGE belt buckle for a finishing time of 11:21. Big thanks to Dash for making me do it, to Jen Alford for keeping me doing it all day long!, to Matt and Trout for putting up with my "training" and stressing over it, and to all the volunteers at the aid stations, in town and especially the Medical Tent staff who took such good care of me. Thanks Jimmy! Thanks to Honey Stinger for keeping my strength up the whole day, my legs never ran out of energy.

How to bike

Listen to your elders and (presumably wisers)

Chop wood, carry water

Listen to Thumper railing pump track

Avoid getting run over by Highroller (easier said than done!)

Chop wood, carry water

Rinse, repeat