Javolt. The crew in the Bay Area hooked UP the beers and laughs for our family's homecoming. We haven't been back as a family unit since we left in 04 and it was just awesome. Robbie and Joanie hooked up a mad 'que for us to say whatup to all our friends. Thanks R & J!! We rented this awesome little place in the hills around Fairfax (a.k.a. Boulder-West) It was great to see everyone. Miguel came all the way from the 408 to see us. He brought the 29'er frame in tow and it was capital S sick. It is in the process of getting painted (black with some new graphics). Gonna have to pool together some fundage to get this thing together. Looking forward to riding it and giving Mike some feedback.

Mike DID bring me a special surprise though. The single most awesome invention for all mankind:The WiseCracker. Buy one, here or through QBP.

Like butta. "Because Beer can't open itself."

Local cycling legend and even more prolific photog Steve Z has done a fairly good side by side shoot out of two single speeds...similar in appointments but one on 26" and the other on 9'ers. It's Curtlo versus On One (anyone know the URL for them?) folks.

Read the entire shoot out here by visiting Steve's blog. I give the review props even though he caught me here at the USGP's last year whimpering like a worked over dog with my cracked wrist bone.

I will get to scope out my Revolver 29'er next week! Mike is going to bring it up to San Anselmo for me to scope out. Stoked. Going to dismantle the YBB and migrate the parts.

Mad style points:

• Rare 26" Dugast and Custom Ritchey Carbon Rims: Check.
• White Radars, Helmet, Gloves and White Sex: Check

A mini-Frischi protege' indeed.

Some very very good photography from the Boulder Short Track Series and other cycling events in the area can be found here at Lori Photography.

Tuba Brown and I warming up in the dust bowl.

Tuba Brown told me I have to scope out Ride with Nick Martin. It's awesome. Local Boulder MTB Pro with a lot of good thoughts, pics and things to say. Not sure if I met this guy before but I think I saw him hit the deck at our Short Track the other night. We also share nice MTB-inspired bloody mess knee wounds. Nick, just what precisely is this body part you snapped a photo of? If it's what I think it is, you should really wipe better. (kidding). Mine was not unlike this mess after Ned took a piece out of me one day.
Anyhoo, Nick's got a rad blog for Class-A time wasting.

Just a couple of random shots from our home girl Cynthia to show people what the course was like. For out-of-towners having a look-see, you can see our beautiful Flat Iron mountains in the back ground.

The WB Ripping it to a Top 10 Placing last PM

So, the RM squadra had a good showing out there at the Short Track tonight. All categories represented from beginner to pro. Me, Longman, Bobby Mounts and The WB rocked the pro mens race at 7 bells. It had cooled off considerably by then. The course was rad and is used for 'cross as well. It's total jungle 'cross but fun. Fast and technical but SUPER DUSTY. As I type this, I am hacking. The whole course was a huge dusty haze.

There was a super big field tonight. Probably lined up 5 rows deep. Not sure how many though. I had a great start from the 2nd row and made it into the top 5 or 6 for 1 to 1.5 laps. The WB came by with Colby P on lap 2 and Colby punched it and I just could not cover that. Lap 2 or 3 Jon Baker on his cross bike (of course!) had a wash outright in front of me and I got jumped by a few more dudes in the mele. I put together all I have at this stage of my training and can feel the progress. I held my own and all said and done probably finished in top 20. I faded at the end but I am satisfied given the competition. I am making progress. The WB had a strong top 10 ride and he's primed for the MSC in Crested Butte this weekend. Good luck The WB!!

Some post race pics.

Longman, WB, me, Bobby, Freeride Zach and Boups.

Boups and moi.

The WB and Freeride.

Holy shnikees! What a weekend! This was the full-up Father's Day Hall Pass and it was utilized in grand fashion with great buds, insane scenery and great racing/riding.

Tuba Brown, The WP and I hooked up the Winter Park Circuit Race this weekend. We hooked up with Bevans and lots of other good bros once there. The course and racing organization were both S-I-C-K!

Day one had me in charge of scooping up the boys here in Boulder in the grocery getter in the wee AM hours, loading up 4 bikes on top and trucking up to WP. We got there, reg'd and warmed up together by pre-riding a bit. $45 bucks race day....but if you saw the race org, courses and the scene and amenities you get afterwards, etc, the race entry fee was a non factor. Probably the best race and most use of technology to track riders I'd seen in a while! They had the results up by mid afternoon. Sick.

The race for us was three laps totaling about 23 miles. I did Expert Men 35+ and those guys did the pro/semi race. They sent us off in waves. As this was what I am considering my first real race this year, I had T in my head like Obi Wan to Luke saying "...just be sensible, don't go too hard in the beginning and have fun...".

The course was delicious as is ALL the riding in WP (now I know how it got the name: The Mountain Bike Capital of the World). The course started with a one time pass up a fire road climb leading into a flat fast double track and then into the single track where we stayed for the WHOLE race. I let some dudes pull me up that fire road and drafted them on the flat section and just put in an ever-so-tiny little attack to ensure I got in the woods first (I'm glad I pre-road this during warm up). Mission accomplished. I got into the trees first and I basically set my own tempo on the first major climb which I led, never in discomfort. I actually did not want to be there but just rode my own tempo and honestly I was thinking some dudes woudl want to pass but there was some sufferin' going on behind. Apparently it caused a 10 or 15 person selection so we started playing from within that group pretty much for the next 2 hours. The climb cantilevered up the mountain face, mini Alpe d'Huez style, until it crested and you begin a mad traversing speed section twisting through single track then bomber down hill for ages where every lap I would pass tons of dudes trying to gingerly get themselves down alive. Roadies...

I had a strong 1st half of the race faded just a bit racing totally within myself. Probably too relaxed! I was seriously saying to myself "should I push this?". I seriously did not want to blow my wad as I think the last cross country race I did was like 5 years ago! It's been all 'cross for the most part for like 10 years but I stopped doing MTB's around the time I had my first kid. I recovered well and then starting flying until I wrapped myself around a tree at almost full speed on lap 2. Dude, years of BMX and DS and it was an insanely rookie front wheel wash out that got the best of me. I got back on my horse after collecting myself shocked I did not crush my collar bone but it all stayed in tact! I got me some good bones (but huge blue green halo bruise on my whole shoulder). I finished up 10th on the day. 2 hours and change and 3000' of climbing between 8500 to 9500 feet. I consider this a good result of testing where I am at vis-a-vis za plan. It made me happy to know that all that suffering is helping.

The WB continued his assault here in the Rockies. 3rd place for him in an impressive sub 2 hours. He'll be strong this year racing with me in 35 Open 'cross. It'll be great to have a team mate. The most impressive thing in his class was Walt from Walt Works (a frame builder here) take 2nd on his single 29'er! Tim Faia-esque. There were a MAD amount of 29'ers there racing. it's really here folks. Tuba had a strong race until the single most bizarre mechanical I'd ever seen. A ring on his ti-cassette actually sheared off! (Picture below). He finished up with limited gears in an impressive time.

Day 2 was all about the flow. I was dying to ride my single speed so WB took Tuba and I on a traversing all single track ride that was just perfect. I was in awe. I mean, we were FINDING single track that was absolutely perfect. Unmarked, technical. Jumps. Log crossings and obstacles. Tuba and WB had to let me go first even on the 1 x 1 'cause I was bombing it....railing that stuff completely zone like and could not help myself with the shit eating grin frolics down that juicy hidden single track. It ended up being another big day in the saddle at about 3 hours, 3K of climbing but all on the 1 x 1 to get a nice huge work out in to start the week right. Insane single track up there.

Most fun of all was the chilling. WB has this totally awesome little cabin he bought years ago up near Winter Park. Perfect. We chucked horse shoes, worked on bikes, had a couple of beverages. Insane fun. Thanks WB.

No racing or riding pics, but some stuff at the cabin.

Every time I say the name of that city, I get the image of ice skaters, luges and ski jumps. Tomorrow and Sunday will be all about the single track and the epics. It's Daddy's Day weekend (there's still time to get your pop a gift!) and my lady is inspiring me to get with the boys this weekend. She rules. Me and The WB are going to do the WP race and hook some of the single stuff on Sunday with Bobby Mounts and Longman.

Have a look at the WP Series web site. Awesome. You can preview trails and get all kinds of good stuff on the site.

Hopefully some pics over the weekend.

3:15 and 4,600 feet of climbing on the MTB early this AM. All that before work. Love life. The WB, Bobby Mounts, Longman and Fryda essentially did this MTB Epic again...only this time with beau coup single track of the silent secret kind. We chopped off all that Gold Hill/ Sunshine dirt road slog nonsense as the WB had the keys to the secret Gnome forest of tight singletrack at 9,300 feet. Yum.

Za Plan is helping me out considerably as week by week the climbing (and power/weight) is become so clear and demonstrably better. Smiles. rest up, then go again.

No pics today. Sorry. No time to stop and click this AM. We were rolling.