Gooney Riders

Snapshots from Ireland

Touring across Ireland

 
The Cliffs of Insanity!

 
More later... now Budapest with Eszter's family. 

Cheers,

Chris

 

Coast to Coast

Short update- we have made it across Ireland with a pitstop at ss worlds. Worlds was nuts... More on that later. Great tour and hopefully we ll catch the train back to Dublin!

Mt. Princeton Circumnavigation

After squandering my Thursday riding some most excellent trails with ScottM, I was a little concerned with my Ireland packing.  Working all day Friday, and then I had to go on the Last Day of Camp staff ride and the subsequent dinner.  I thought about bailing to plan, but then I saw a FB update of 'Why worry about the future when life is happening now.'  So we got home at 9 pm with plans of meeting people from three different town in BV at ten the next morning.

 

So we shoved everything we could possibly need for Ireland into the car and figured that we had all of Sunday to organize and pack for a Monday departure.  Nothing like the last minute.

While we were late by normal people's standards on Saturday morning, we made it with plenty of time using SCBT (Standard CeeBee Time) and five of my favorite people took off up Cottonwood pass.  I was so excited!  This was going to be a way-fun ride with way-fun people.  Kep, Scott, Jj, Ed, and Chris.  I couldn't have asked for a better group.

We started up Poplar where I hesitated to tell Scott and Jj that there was a good bit of Hike-a-bike.  Those two can clear anything and watching them leapfrog up all sorts of stuff that I had pushed my bike up during our bikepacking adventure a month ago led to some inspired climbing from me.  Thanks guys!  Turns out, it's a lot easier to clear stuff when you're not hauling bikepacking gear.  Go figure.

The down is a lot more fun too.

We backtracked on the Vapor Trail 125 course for a while before climbing back up to pay a visit to my Night 2 sleeping spot from the CTR.  Everyone was very impressed with my delux accomodations.  The cardboard box was still on the ground but they'd taken the chairs out. 

Climbing back up to the Colorado Trail, I tried to remember the section from the race.  Smooth and flowy and fun...which translates to uphill on the way back.  More uphill than I would have thought, but the beauty of finishing the CTR is that 6-10 hour rides seem really short.  Once Kep stepped on the gas, we knew we were close to the final descent down to BV.  Then Scott flatted and Chris tied his chain in a knot.  3 miles from town, two mechanicals.  Wouldn't be an adventure without some.  Out of water, out of food.  Given both, I would have been happy to ride all night.

Riding back on the road, I was ecstatic.  So lucky to have these friends.  So lucky my friends bring Mike-N-Ikes and Gummi Bears on rides.  So lucky that my friends will share in my crazy adventures.

I even got them all to agree not to tell Lynda that I maybe wasn't being the best recovery patient.  Easy 1-hour rides...or big 8 hours ones.  Same thing, right?

(We rode around that big ol' mountain)

We got to Boulder a little before midnight after a burger at the Eddyline.  We had all of Sunday to pack.  Plenty of time.

Bike-riding Distraction

I had my summer all planned out.  July was for CTR planning and when we got back, I'd have two whole weeks to pull our life together and get to Ireland.  Plenty of time.  Except that the first week after CTR can be written off as useless and that a whole lot of life piles up when you're gone for a week.  So I revised my plan last week.  I had Tuesday off of work, so I used it to catch up on Life.  Bills, emails, blogging.  I also had Thursday off from my normal job so I could do some recruiting down at Western for the mountain bike team, so I figured that Thursday afternoon was going to be my 'Get ready for Ireland' time.

 

The ScottM emailed.  Riding in the Butte?

 

Sure!  Why not.  Home from Gunni by 10:30, riding by 11, home by 3 or 4, I'd have all evening the plan.  It's funny how often I forget the cardinal rule of CeeBee: Everything is 3x as steep, 3x as long, and takes 3x as long as you think it will.

 

I blame the start of the lateness on Scott and his flat tire.  Home by 11:30, riding by 12:30.  The lateness would have nothing to do with wanting to showcase my favorite trails which happened to include riding trails out to Hunter Hill, climbing Hunter Hill (again), descending 400 (again) and taking the Canal Trails back to Brush Creek.  Just a little afternoon spinny-spin.  Or something like that.

I probably would have taken a similar approach to getting up Hunter without Scott.  I've never seen anyone work so hard to clear steep climbs, and I've never seen anyone clear so much of the Wall and Hunter.  It was inspiring and apparently my matchbook of power is increasing in numbers as I was able to pedal large sections of trail which I had looked hopelessly at on Saturday, just five days prior.  I love recovery. 

 

I blew my sidewall about 50 yards down the trail.  Lesson: Retire your CTR race tires after the CTR, not after the CTR + a bunch of riding.  We tried to plug it (first time using a tireplug) to no avail and after several miles of trying to nurse a slowly deflating tire down a rocky and rooty trail, I gave up and put a tube in.  Should have probably done that at the top.  Lesson learned. 

We still made it to town soon enough (only 6 hours after we left) to meet up with Chris at Teo Tamale.  Forget bike sponsorship, if I could get a Teo Tamale sponsorship, I'd be set.  I'd eat three crispy corn tacos with chicken, guac, and three different types of salsa every night.

 

We got home after 8 after a lovely spin down 135.  I did not get any Ireland planning done.

Teo Ridge, Teo Tacos

Last summer, I had a lot of 'standard' rides that I'd do, mostly out of Cement Creek.  I rode next to none in town or Brush Creek because I worked in Almont, so by the time I got home to CeeBee South, the last thing I'd want to do is pedal another 7 miles to CeeBee Proper to ride the trails around there.  So I rode Caves a lot.   

 

This year, I've been trying to diversity.  With the help of camp and the intermediate boys group, I've been ticking of the classics one by one.  I got to thinking that I should try to do all the 'classic' CeeBee rides this summer and while I'm rapidly running out of time, it's a fun little project.

For Day 2 of the Jj and Ez adventure, we pondered a couple options.  Deer Creek?  Texas Ridge again (it really was that magical)?  Teo Ridge?  Deer Creek just lacked inspiration, Texas Ridge involved a significant drive, but Teo?  Teo sounded delightful as long as the weather held.  It looked sub-promising as we hurried along for a nice alpine start of 10:15, which to our credit, was a full 30 minutes earlier than the previous days ride.

We drove to Brush Creek.  We parked.  We climbed, and climbed, and climbed some more.  Jj had a vision of the ride being huge but somehow I was convinced that it couldn't be.  It was the first part of the first lap of the CeeBee Classic two years ago and Chris and I had done the entire lap, from town, in three hours.  How long could Teo Ridge really take?

Depends on how long you lounge at the top. 

During bike-racing season (I guess technically it's still bike racing season, but I did what I set out to do regarding bike racing this summer, so the rest is just...well, sub-serious in my mind) I have a go-go-go attitude about rides.  Dawdling too much will irritate me.  I don't really spend a whole lot of time sitting in the grass smelling flowers and watching chipmunks.  But that's exactly what we did at the top of Teo.  We sat.  And we ate.  And we talked about all sorts of things.  I think we were up there for well over an hour taking in the views, soaking up the beauty.  In the end, the only motivator to leave the top was to get tacos at Teocalli Tamale in town, which in my book is a pretty good motivator for just about anything.

 

One more classic in the books.  We saw no one all day.  We didn't get rained on.  And while I was still suffering from 'My adrenal gland is sputtering so I really have no desire to go downhill fast if I can't get a good adrenaline buzz from it', it was a delightful day.  A full weekend of 'recovery' rides.  Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Post-CTR Recovery

After the CTR last year, I was crushed.  Physically, mentally, just wrecked.  I could muster riding to and from work, but that was pretty much the extent of it.  Jj came up to visit the weekend post-CTR and somehow we'd decided to ride Hunter Hill to 400.  I remember just suffering.  Everything hurt, every hill, regardless of how steep, seemed like a monsterous chore. 

Chris and I did the same ride when we got back from Australia last year.  Again, I was crushed.  Every hill hurt.  I started to greatly dislike Hunter hill, but I loved being up there.  There are not many places more special near the Butte than the top of Hunter. 

Jj came to visit again last weekend.  To ride, to eat, to be.  We threw around some ideas, but finally settled on the standard post-bike-event ride on Saturday.  Why?  Because it's beautiful up there. 

 

While I'd love to say that I posess Ethan-like recovery skills and I can bounce back from the CTR within a week, I'd be lying.  Sometimes I feel like the recovery from these things is harder than racing the actual event.  Knowing that the CeeBee summer is coming to a rapid close, yet knowing that a little rest now will go a long way in the future...it's a hard dilemma. Play or rest, rest or play?  Can I will my body to recover faster?

But I'm learning.  I know I can get myself up Hunter Hill if I push my bike nice and slow.  If I dont' feel bad about looking at a steep section and saying, 'Nah, maybe next time'.  If I'm willing to take naps in the flowers half way up. Naps at the top are also ideal. 

I've learned that getting to a happy place is more important to recovery than sitting at home watching bad TV.  Maybe my playing this week (as I am writing this a week after the fact) is going to cause a massive implosion later on this fall, but I don't care.  The beauty that I saw, the rides I went on, the people I spent time with, made it worth it.  Besides, I can recover on the plane tomorrow and get ready for 4 days of bike touring around Ireland that will hopefully get us to Single Speed World Championships by Friday afternoon. 

 

I have a bunch of pictures from my rides this week that need to be posted, so they'll go up over the course of the week while we're gone.  Big rides, big views.  I know I'm doing good when I get a solid week behind in my little life-documentation that I call this blog.  But that's what lazy Sundays are for.

Back at It.

Got at nice quickie with Eszter the other night, and a sunset descent with Scott Morris last night.  Knees are free of pain after a week of not riding, and the ability to focus on a technical descent is coming back.  Been wanting to hit this at sunset for a while, made great time on the ascent with Scott's enthusiasm for all things at high altitude.   He pretty much cleaned the whole 3k climb, impressive. 

Literally just put the freeride bike back together, so I was a little bit nervous at first.  I have a pass to the resort, but have not gone downhilling yet this summer.  Played it conservative and walked some 'No Fall' sections, but rode the sections I felt comfortable with.  Once in the trees we put our lights on, and descended some of my favorite singletrack.  With every bit of elevation dropped, the bike seemed to feel better and better.  My 'big bike' has 5 inches of travel which is small by today's standards, but the slack geometry and low center of gravity invites me jump/manual/carve.  I love that bike.  Such a different feeling than an XC bike.  By the bottom of the 3000 foot descent I was really feeling corners and feeling the flow.   It's good to be back!

Cheers,

Chris

You live here!

Today was one of those days at work.  One set of kids is a set of matches, another a giant tank of gasoline, and while I feel like I spent the day trying to put the fire out, by the end, all I could do was watch the house burn to the ground.  I feel lucky, these days don't happen very often.

 

Still, it was draining and when all was said and done, all I wanted to do was coast home on the highway, the wind at my back.  But I had ridden my mountain bike in with the plan of riding some trails on the way home.  If all I was going to do was ride to and from work on the highway, I should have taken my stinkin' road bike.  I feel a guilt for taking my mountain bike out and only riding it on pavement.

 

The two sides argued in my head.  Go home.  You're going to ride tomorrow, and Friday for work and after work, and Saturday is going to be big and awesome.  You're still in 'recovery' mode.  But the other side fought back.  You're not actually tired, you're just annoyed.  You'll feel better if you ride some trail, even just for a little bit.  You live in Crested Butte.  This may or may not last forever.  Make the most of it.

We compromised.  I'd start up Ferris Road, and if I still wasn't stoked, I could take Strand Bonus and Canal Trail back and then coast home on the highway.  No harm, no foul.  But, how often do I actually get on trail and then turn around because I'm not having fun?  I think I can count the times on one hand (and most of them involve bad weather).

By the time I topped out the 1,500 ft climb, I'd forgotten all about the disaster that had unfolded all day.  When I finished the subsequent descent and started the coast down Cement Creek, all was right in the world.  I guess it just goes to prove what we all already know: Riding bikes is cheaper than therapy. 

Kudos - Part Two

When I wrote my last blog post, I had a handful of people who I wanted to include, but I couldn't quite place a finger on how they really affected my life and bike racing.  Then there's a couple of people who I flat out forgot...I guess I was a bit space-cadet-y.  Sorry, this recovery business is hard work.  So I'd like to do a Part Two: People who inspire, people who feed, and people who made bike racing this summer possible for me.

 

Kep and his balls - I have to admit, I thought Kep was a little crazy when I first met him.  No, I'd like to amend that statement - I still think Kep is crazy.  But in a good way.  In a way that makes him saw apart a seatstay of his bike because he wants a belt drive, that makes him play with bees without a bee suit, that makes him play around in his kitchen until he creates Keps Balls.  Most of these ideas are good.  I almost hate to admit how many Balls I've eaten this summer, but maybe it's time to fess up to the fact that I eat them racing, I eat them training, and I eat them for breakfast, lunch, and mid-afternoon snack.  I especially like them when the chocolate melts and I get to lick the wrapper.  I think they're wonderful.

 

Dave H - Thank you for organizing the Dixie 200.  Without that race, I wouldn't have broken my hardtail forcing me into a two week courtship with my dually, and thus, I wouldn't have ridden the dually on CTR, which would have been a shame, because now I really wouldn't dream of taking any other bike on it . Also, whenever going got tough, all I had to think was, 'At least this isn't the Grandview trail' and life immediately seemed better.  Thank you for telling me in Tropic that it was nearly impossible to bail from the course past halfway because, as much as I hate to admit, the only reason I finished that thing was because I didn't have a map and didn't know an easier way home.  I'd like to think I would have finished regardless...but I think the fear of ending up in the middle of central Utah with no clue how to get home was the biggest motivator for finishing.  Thank you for the inspiration.

 

Scott M - Thank you for inviting me to race Old Pueblo with you.  Thank you for being a great friend and inspiration since then.  Thank you for creating Trackleaders and helping the ultra-racing scene start to get some recognition.  Maybe someday I'll have some real sponsors thanks to your work.

And finally,  thanks to the good doctors at Alpine Orthopaedics who support not only Team AO, but every athletic event in the valley.  Without their support, I would not be racing my bike this summer.  It's as simple as that.  And I sort of have a sinking feeling that they may be doing a lot more for me if I ever get around to trying to figure out why my shoulders go SnapCracklePop.   Plus, they have really pretty kits.

Yay for bikes! Yay for summer.  And it's not over yet.

 

 

Low Adrenal

Back to work and feeling, well, worked.  

A nap at 12k feet with JJ and Eszter on Saturday.  

Not feeling particularly on it but enjoying that Colorado sun non the less.  

Taking her easy this Sunday.  Feels good.  Gotta refill those adrenal glands. 

Drew has been telling me that I should compile footage that I get over the course of a year, and describe the lifestyle of a dirtbag(I think a little more of myself than Drew) in Crested Butte.  So that was the Sunday project along with trying to get my free -ride bike back in action.  It was hard to compile all of the experiences on bikes and skis in a 4 minute piece.  I left a lot out, but what a year.  They say Gunnison Valley and New York City are some of the hardest places to make it.  Both extreme in their own ways.  This 4 minutes is why it's worth it, for me.  To climb, to ski, to ride, to explore, to push the body.  It's a beautiful thing. I love seasons.  The cold winter and snow makes the summer that much better.  It never gets above 80 while the country is in a heat wave, but the trade off is it can be -40 in the winter.  It's hard to think about winter right now while summer has been so sweet, but I'll get excited when there is the smell of snow in the air.  I chose a Radiohead song for the video that was playing in my head throughout sections of the Colorado Trail Race.   

Follow your dreams,

Chris