‘Mr. Strobes’ Mark Woolcott braved the early AM cold and snow to shoot the Interlocken race, including a focus on the Juniors in the wee hours of the AM to give them some due air cover for all their hard efforts!

Moms and dads: Buy some of these keepsakes of your grom railing the snowy off cambers!

Click here to see Mark’s gallery of Colorado Cross Races this season (including Interlocken) or go to his home page here to see some of his other work, including ‘interviews’ with local racers.

You ever wonder how a bike park gets built? Well, in the case of Valmont Bike Park, this is a MAJOR undertaking as nearly 45 acres of land will be meticulously groomed and shaped by earth movers to literally make the elevation gains and losses we want to have the most fun on as off road cyclists. Your donations and the substantial money invested by the city of Boulder make this happen and the VBP committee is dedicated to ensuring this becomes world class. To our knowledge, no bike park in the United States is at the scale or caliber of this multi-million dollar investment. So to demonstrate, here’s what a typical day in the life of a bike park’s development looks like in a brief 45 second snapshot:

Over and over…all day…a parade of monster earth movers and groomers literally take land from one place and deposit it elsewhere to create the contours, hills and valleys we’ve designed into the Park. Once groomed and shaped, the park will have it's courses laid in and natural vegetation carefully replanted to give the park a great taste of Colorado’s finest singletrack.

As previously mentioned, October 17th will be the park’s groundbreaking day and a Cyclocross Race! To give you a bit of a teaser, here’s a preview of the course to whet appetites. HUP HUP!

Ladies and gentlemen! Get your hard hats and shovels out and come and celebrate the groundbreaking of the Valmont Bike Park. The day will be complete with festivities for the family and racing. Oh yes racing....cyclocross racing! An ACA event is scheduled and will include all major categories.

Also, note too that the BMA is looking for volunteers to help establish the race course which will be used to demonstrate the concept of the courses that will be 'officially' manicured into the Bike Park in 2010. We'll be testing all sorts of concepts so be there to help influence! If you can volunteer, that'd be great. Go here for details.

You hear me brag on all the time on the site and via twitter about Boulder and it's cycling scene. But alas, here is the backstory: it's all about hard work. So many passionate people who live for cycling devote so much of their personal time to push for trails and paths, fighting for not every 'mile' of trail but rather every foot of trail. My good friend and incredible video/photographer Mat Barlow assembled this great 15 minute spot on our town's passion for cycling advocacy for Bike's Belong. Have a view. Get stoked. Maybe this could be your town!

Boulder Bike Story from Bikes Belong on Vimeo.

Come join World's Team member and Cycle-Smart coach Ben Turner, 2x National Champion Brandon Dwight and a gaggle of passionate cyclocross experts including the CLIF Bar Cyclocross Team and member’s of Boulder Cyclesport’s cyclocross squad on Sunday August 30th, 8-11AM. Learn all of what you need to get fast and smooth and ensure that each weekend you pin a number on your back you are smiling wider as you see yourself improve. Get started off right this season!

Meet at Boulder Cyclesport in North Boulder at 7:30AM for check in. All the info you need is right below you! register today at BikeReg by clicking on the BikeReg icon!

Boulder. It’s not just a rock. Nor is it just the town where Mork and Mindy hung out and bought suspenders and relished in their rad 80’s styles.  It’s a town of hyper-motivated folks who always have a gaggle of irons in the fire. Never resting; always moving. Probably the highest concentration of Type-A’s anywhere on earth. Amazing place, this Boulder.

Speaking of style, Boulder and its outlying area is and has been known to some of the leading sports-clothing companies on earth: Pearl Izumi and Decente? Yup, both here among a slew of others. There’s a TON of design, fabric and materials intelligencia here due to this outdoor sports and lifestyle concentration. So when an upstart like Panache Cyclewear opens its doors amongst this level of competition, they’ve got to be serious.

I am SO finicky when it comes to my cycling clothing…I’m always fidgeting: un-sticking chamois from my crack, pulling bib straps back into position as they slide off my shoulder and my least favorite: trying to organize my ‘junk’ to ensure comfort. I’ve been on a quest to find the right solution…and after trying Panache’s ‘Eleven’ jersey and bib, I may have found clothing Mecca.

Intrigued, I had to reach out to Panache’s owner and proprietor, Don Powell, and get the G-2 on Panache…and yup, a perfect segue for yet another chapter of ‘5 Questions With’!

1) GK: Whatup, Don! OK, let’s get down to some history first. Tell me about the genesis of Panache. What inspired you to build out the company?

DP: To make cool shit!  To up the style quotient in cycling apparel – and to create cool technical clothing that  I…and likely any other racer…could wear while training other than our team kits.  Cycling is the only sport in the world that trains and races in the same exact kit. Look at any soccer field and they’re decked out in training kits. We need other options like that – and we weren’t happy with the cartoon / bumper sticker options available in the stores.  At the same time, I felt that the level of quality was slipping in the cycling clothing and we wanted to create fast, comfortable clothing without compromise.  Thus was born Panache.

2) Got it. I am a TOTALLY finicky freak about the fit of my clothes as after 4, 5 or 6 hours, the littlest things drive me insane and totally distract me from having a good time on the ride. Tell me a little about advantages you have in your products as well as for teams looking for good quality kits.

DP: Time to delivery, quality and price are all variables as is fit and materials in this game.  For teams we make customizable clothing (e.g. we can put individual rider names/nicknames on their kits) on a chassis that is made for performance cyclists.  We use the latest in digital printing technology which allows us to hit any pantone (color) in vibrant color.  It also allows us to cross seams with design (so that the design matches up).  Our fabrics are top notch and most noticeably the jersey fabric is extremely pliable and wicking.  Our all-way stretch Pro-Stock chamois is what separates Panache from everyone else.  We don’t compromise and give racers a cheap ride, we give them the best.  Best means comfort AND it means performance.  The high density foam provides a bridge for blood flow and allows the rider to concentrate on going fast AND on going fast because blood doesn’t get hung up down there.

 
3) Bless you. My ‘nads are smiling already in anticipation of the next long ride in my Panache kit! So, let’s get down to the ‘real’ sport: What are you working on that can help outfitting cyclo-crossers for our needs? 

DP: Again the chamois is part of the equation.  Riding hard, bouncing, jumping on and off the bike… Panache smooths out the ride.  Another way we help out CX riders is in our vests and jackets.  We use a membrane technology that blocks the wind completely keeping the rider warm and dry.  We will be working closely with some of the local (Boulder) racers to improve and address some of the challenges specific to cyclo cross – and I plan on riding cross this Fall after my first immersion last season. I like the mud; I like “taking” corners; and you can’t beat the vibe at the races.  Although I haven’t raced much cross, I was actually teammates with two CX World Champions back in 1994: Radomir Simunek and Paul Herijgers, two hard working riders that taught me a bunch about training hard and paying attention to detail.

4) Classic! Herijgers is a legend! Speaking of legends, we have a boat load of them here in town as Boulder and Colorado in general seems to be the epi-center for cycling training, media and general ecosystem. Why Boulder for you and Panache? 

DP: I’m in Boulder because I love the riding, love the people, and love the weather.  Boulder is a great place for cyclists and has a heritage in cycling: the Coors Classic, the home of Davis Phinney, Andy Hampsten, and one of the epi-centers for cross.  Boulder is also a place that is evolving and growing.  There is a strong design scene here – folks like Joy Engine and Cypher13.  At the same time, the tech industry (techstars / me.dium / lijit) is growing, bringing in a more urbanite crowd.  For Panache, this is important because we are a cycling clothing company rooted in style and design that makes cool stuff - not just fast, technical clothing.  We like the convergence of sport and lifestyle.

5) My thoughts exactly about Boulder. That and my family THRIVES here. OK, the single most important question. Ready Don? Wellens or Nijs?

DP: The duels they have are insane, but if I had to pick, I’d go with Nijs – fluid style with a LOT of power.

Extra Points Tell us a little interesting tid-bit about your cycling past and if you can, weave in something about BEER:

DP: Good one! OK, heregoes: I rode professionally for Saxon in Belgium and we were sponsored by Brigand, a beer with a slight cidery taste; a big golden ale beer; a beer perfect for cold weather, mud, SCREAMING fans, and Cross.  How’s that for extra credit?

Yet another reason why I live in Boulder. I got together with a phenomenal group of volunteers at Boulder Cycle Sport Monday night to assemble a fleet of Redline cyclocross bikes for the Boulder Valley School District. I was able to communicate with Mike Eubank, one of the principal organizers of this fantastic efforts. I asked him to describe the program in the hope that others may be able to spur similar events in your ‘hoods.

Mike Eubank:

These bikes were purchased using mostly BVSD Safe Routes to School Funds and a few other donations.  This new bike fleet will be used for two critical junior cycling programs…

The first is the “BLAST” program for elementary aged youth. “Bike Lesson And Safety Training” (BLAST)
This program is a basic walk-bike safety class for students to gain an understanding of how to safely operate a bicycle in a variety of situations.  It covers topics such as learning how to perform a bicycle safety check, fixing a flat, rules of the road, and on-bike skills practice.   Riding predictably and being visible are the mains themes towards gaining knowledge of riding safely and legally.

The second is “Middle Cross” Program for 6^th - 8^th graders

Our goal is to expand junior cycling as a sport for fun and fitness with new and existing Bike Club Development at area Middle Schools with the option to participate in Cyclocross races at schools as well as local series.

About 5-7 BVSD middle schools (and possibly a couple private schools) with bike clubs will offer club rides once a week after school.  These programs are casual and encourage all to participate at any skill level.

We will also offer free Cyclocross clinics for each school through Ben Turner and his highly accredited Boulder Based TIAA-Cref/Clif Bar cross team.  After each clinic, we will work on matching up an actual Cyclocross mentor for each club so that they can continue developing skills.  Clubs will also add teacher and parent volunteers to help with weekly rides.

We will also offer a few open scrimmages at some schools, including full race courses set up at on school grounds for fun and skill development.  This ‘Fun’ competition will be open to all skill levels. The new Bike Fleet will be available at the clinics as well as the scrimmages so that anyone can participate, ,regardless if the have a bike or not.   Each of the schools will have a bike shop sponsor and we are trying to provide tee shirts to the club riders to help promote the program at school.  Riders will also wear the tee at the events to show support for their school club.

For young riders interested in trying local racing, we will direct them to a number of local races that are free for Junior categories while also offering onsite support and coaching.

    - Boulder Racing Series

    - Boulder Cup

    - Junior State Championships

Thanks Mike!!!!

Rush. That's right. Canada's finest export. And whenever you envision me riding my little commuter to work, coffee in hand, you just put this little ditty in your head. Working man. That's what they call me. OK, 'they' is me. And maybe my kids. But I digress...

So on that subject I've had a zillion emails saying 'Keller! Whatup!? How's the new gig? What are you doing? What is Lijit? First, MAD props and thanks for all the well wishes and questions. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, but I am finally starting to get those feelings back again...feelings that I had AGES ago when I controlled the destiny of software and turned nothing...or at a minimum, opaque ideas...into real tangible stuff that made real people happy and productive. All with kick ass engineers and coffee.

It's happening again. I can feels it!

OK, exhale.

So what's all this Lijit hubub? Let me kinda break it down this way:

We do search. But search with people and their trusted relationships at the core of the technology. So, taking a step back, and super generally speaking, the interwebs are are basically a 'web' of pipes (TCP/IP) with 'walls' at the end of each pipe (web pages/html/data, etc). Large search engines essentially crawl the web, day and night, cataloguing all those pages...all that content...all the finite changes...and lastly the frequency that those pages are 'hit'. So, when you search for a term, the results you see first are basically there because lots of people (you do not know) may have looked at the page or site for various reasons.

But, are the results contextually relevant to you? Possibly, yes....but very often no. Think about it: so often you need to dig 3, 4, 5 or more pages in of results until 'voila', a relevant answer/result. An example is something like searching for 'Grocery Stores + Boulder'. We're a bunch of hippies here in the Bubble so keep that 'in context' for the moment. The first thing that comes back is some giant food store chain. Not relevant to me. Would never go there. Why? They're not green enough, not organic enough, not....hippy...enough (remember?). But, if I search my graph of friends for the same data, suddenly I can see a trusted array of answers leading me to places relevant to me...like Sunflower Market or Whole Foods, etc. Twitter streams, Flickr photos, FaceBook posts etc...all from my 'trusted graph' of contacts led me to the answer. Not a machine's 'caching' of the page ranks so to speak.

Now, take a look to the right of my blog. That's it...right, THERE! Upper right corner in the sidebar. That is essentially the 'portal' you as my reader need in order to tap into me and my 'trusted network'. That is the most well known 'face' of Lijit at the moment. Likely, if you're reading this here blog, we've got stuff in common and you can trust me (hopefully). You can search anonymously, see what my network and I say about your desired topic, etc etc. Sort of like this:

That's you in the suit. Ha! That's me (I'm Elvis...and I'm back in the building) and one of my network connections Micah (among many many others). You've input a search term and poof, you get results back in various forms...all to give you a contextually relevant 'edge' on what my network has to say (or visualize in pictures, etc) about your query. You may search me for bikes and get the typical data back you'd expect from me, but say you searched me for 'pets' or 'dogs'. Then you'd see data from me and Micah and others in my graph on the furry four legged friends. Anything we'd written, taken photos of, tweeted about, etc etc. Again, trusted network and hopefully relevant to you as well. Maybe you'd then be inspired to 'connect' to us, through Lijit or maybe FaceBook or other social means. Works great when geography separates us yet we truly share so much in common.

So the technology is maddeningly interesting to work on. 10's of 1000's now use our technology and we've graphed/cached 100's of millions of page views of info. And I get to work on pushing the platform and products into new places. Exciting frontiers that can help real people relate to other real people. Real brands do a better job of finding their right audience. Always evangelizing the publisher to help readers interact with more...and with more relevance and context to them (you in this case!).

So there it is, mostly. I wake up with the (good) nervous pit in the stomach to push and create and inspire. It's early, but I feel the same way I did in the mid 90's when everything was possible. SO, rhetoric aside, I'm stoked and have LOTS of work to do...thus the blogging absence.

But I'm STILL riding! Ha!

1.5 months until the sport of the changing leaves engulfs us all. I haven't lost focus on that either...

Time to take stock and pan the head rearwards, to see what’s been done, and then pan forwards and plan for what’s ahead. It’s been a couple-of months since my Freedom Face was exposed and lots has been done and experienced during this period: My family and I circled wagons in Mexico to celebrate; Face time with prospective ‘next chapter’ gigs measured in XX numbers of hours invested meeting with boards, staff...building trust and opening channels; Setting up an LLC; Rides that have left me healthy and happy.

I’ve learned to structure my days into distinctive segments:

• Early AM is Social Networking Time. Peer into my graph’s doings and happenings and respond. Blog, think bikes for a bit and write about it.
• Early AM then blends into a ride to stimulate my senses, see our insane surroundings here in Boulder and commune. Recharge. As you all know, the mountain bike has called me and I am listening. The trees are speaking to me loudly these days.
• Mid day is all about technology projects. e.g. the stuff I am scheming over that I’d like to see built, working on projects with friends who need a trusted set of eyes on what they’re building and finally moving towards things that are exciting here in Boulder’s unbelievable technology community.
• Evening….before I know it, my boys are all up in my grill and we go and have some serious play before we need to cram some dinner in our gullets.

I’ll look back on this schedule and these days as something remarkable. The recession is very real. Many of you feel it. But hope and promise…and massive doses of patience…are what I need and my wife is constantly re-enforcing to me when the days seem pretty bleak. The work being put in in this period of massive transition is very real. The connections, the new technology landscapes, the networking on all levels. It’s fun…and the timing of the market correction will intersect with the groundwork I am laying.

Or so I lie in bed and construct scenarios to ensure this is realized.

I don’t know where many of you are at these days, but patience and the prospect of timing are all lessons being learned. That and the faith I’ve put into who I am and the relationships I’ve built. It truly is all that you have. Literally ALL that you have on this earth. Everything else is an accoutrement.

Patience grasshoppah.

Conceptual Plans as Envisioned by Tarras Landscape Innoventions I just wanted to share with you a little sampling of what’s coming with Valmont Bike Park. What people need to understand is that this project is literally at the tip of the spear in many aspects…from the way we organized to push the concept in 2007 with the City of Boulder to the aggregation of the most professional resources possible to ensure this park is world class.

One such example is Tarras Landscape Innovation. This is the team which was selected by the Valmont Park Committee after they submitted their designs  held during an open competition and clearly blew the team away. Their contributions will be to look conceptually at the space we have allotted to us (45 acres) and look specifically at the ‘details’ of the Park itself to balance aesthetics with usability/sustainability all the while keeping the theme of cycling and cyclists at the core of their usable designs.

It’s worth a look at this brief snapshot they’ve provided.

Get excited!