Song/MySpace

I'm really diggin the song I've posted to my MySpace page. Check it out. It's a Dr. Dog Cover of Architecture In Helisinki.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=82448786

Why do I do the things I do?

It seems as if life leads me down an awkward path. I don't know what to make of the decisions I have made. If I could back in time and make the opposite decisions, I wonder if this life I created would be entirely different and better.

I do like my life, but I also wonder, "what if?"

Should I Post?

I guess the blogging thing has gotten boring for me. With no racing to report, it just seems like boring ho hum stuff. I guess I could go beer-centric. 3rd batch is ready to be bottled by the way. The first is almost completely gone. Second is tasting really good right now. It actually tastes like real beer. Don't be afraid of homebrew!

Well, I'm in desperate need for a new car. So someone needs to buy my Yeti ASR.
http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/507488886.html

Michelle, I know you'll be one of the first ones to read my post. I owe you a call! Sorry!

I guess I have to go to work now.

"I have no idea how this happens
All of my maps have been overthrown
Happenstance has changed my plans
So many times my heart has been outgrown"

Soon All Will Bow to Him

FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/11/16/flying.spaghettimonster.ap/index.html

GABF Today!

Over the last week, I've been to so many parties and tapings that it is hard to believe that I haven't been to the Great American Beer Festival yet. Well, that's all about to change in 2 hours.

On another note, last night I had a reunion of sorts with my cousin. It was well overdue, and good times were had.

Strange Brewings

Can't see much there, but that's it. The first batch of what is hopefully many more to come. Charles and Diane were my co-brewers. Thanks guys!

Speaking of strange brewings. The Rockies actually look like they are genuinely good, and the Broncos are giving every indication that they truly suck.

This week is the Great American Beer Festival. I'm actually going to the Saturday day session, but there are a slew of unofficial events starting tonight. I've gone ahead and called in drunk Monday through Wednesday, and I have Thursday and Friday off officially. Should be a good time. I see a pint of Stone's 10th Anniversary in my future.

Colorado Trail

And i still believe that

And i still believe that i cannot be saved

Alive

I made it back from Tunica alive. That link makes it look a lot better than it really is, but it was still a really good time. Getting together with old friends is hard to beat.

I have tomorrow off. Sounds like a good day for a good ride and good beer.

No Kenosha

Winter Park instead. 4 hours. Ouch. I haven't done a ride nearly that long since April or May. The 575 was rockin the Pinball.

I'm due for a post

I've had lots of things to post about, but just haven't sat down and done it.

Saturday should be a good day. I'm doing the Kenosha Pass to Georgia Pass ride early and then it's off to see Wilco later that night.

My Wit Is Gone

I don't fancy myself a super funny person, but I've got some pretty good wisecracks. But shit, my posts have been dull dull lately. I may have to start hitting the Dead Man's Reach again.

Decision Made

I was having a hard time deciding between the Keystone Bluegrass and Beer festival and the Avery Fourteenth Anniversary Party because I thought they were both this Saturday. It turns out, Keystone is on Saturday and Avery is on Sunday. Now I get to do both!

The 575 is built. I just have to figure out when to squeeze in some riding.

There are times when I really wonder why I try.

Great Divide Hades

Had Great Divide's Hades on cask at the Tap Room tonight. Tasty stuff. The cask conditioning does wonders for this beer.

I may be hitting up Crusty Butt, Frasier Valley, or Steamboat for some riding this weekend. Anyone want to vote on where I should go?

Tour de What?

Rasmussen, Vino, and others. Is this the bottom, or we going to have a year where each stage report is recap of the doping with a sidebar on the race? What's next?

Dopers Suck

For Sale - Yeti ASR 2006

Yeti ASR - carbon chain stays - pro kit
http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/377864286.html

Salvation

"Salvation is discovering your passion, purpose, meaning in life."

Yeah yeah. Long time no post. It's basically the same old story. Lots of mountain biking and lots of beer. The single track has been super narrow, and the beer has been primo.

In fact, last night I had a 2002 Avery Czar. I don't like this beer so much when it's fresh, but it ages beautifully. I'm not sure how different the recipe is because the ABV was a percentage point higher than what is listed in the link above. Buy one, and stick it in your fridge for a year or two.

Man, I need to get a digital camera. This blog would be a lot less dull with some pictures.

"Lost in fog and love and faithless fear, I've had kisses that made Judas seem sincere."

Gotta weekend full of stuff

to blog about, but I'm going to go read.

Hard Work

So this not racing thing is harder than I thought it would be. Sure, I have more time for doing things I don't normally do. Reading more books, drinking more beer, and sitting my ass on the couch more, but this past weekend was pretty rough.

After work on Friday, I headed down to the Great Divide Tap Room to give their special Belgian Barley Wine a try. MMMMMMMM tasty. It's their Old Ruffian brewed with a Belgian yeast strain. When it comes to beer, barley wines and beers brewed with Belgian yeast are two of my favorite things. After that we headed over to Wynkoop for dinner and a cask conditioned ESB.

Saturday involved a little mountain biking and some more beer tasting at Golden City Brewery. They don't have a website, but it is Golden, Colorado's second largest brewery. They had a nice Belgian Strong Pale Ale on tap. Think Duvel.

Sunday was a first for me. I got some SEVERE peer(beer?) pressure to got to a Widespread Panic show at Red Rocks. If you have kept up with this blog in the past (all 5 of you), you know I'm not a big jam band fan. I wasn't sure how I was going to react to this show, so I was going for the scene as much as anything.

The folks I went with wanted to head out pretty early. We rolled up to the gates at around 12:00 only to be told they weren't letting people up to the parking lots until 2:00. Our eyes darted to the only trees and shade in a 5 mile radius. We unpacked our shit, and started drinking beers of all things. Imagine that. Thanks to my friend Jess, I had a nice Subway sandwich to gnaw on with my refreshing Blue Paddle Pilsener.

The park people ended up opening the gates a little. I'm guessing it was due to the pressure from all the hippies yelling at them. We were in one of the first cars in, so we got a primo spot at the very top lot. The car was unpacked again, and more beer was drank.

Eventually we got into the venue, and the music started shortly thereafter. I must admit. I was pretty impressed. Those guys put on a good show, and the followers really like the music. It was a good time. Lots of smoke floating around. I think I may have gotten a little second hand buzz.

My goal was to remain somewhat tame due to an impending busy Monday, and I have to say, the mission was accomplished. Until, that is, I was beer pressured again. It was off to the Candle Light for a night cap. So a possible 10 PM bed time turned into a 12:30 AM bed time. All and all, I felt pretty good the next day. Just a touch tired.

So the lesson learned is: Retirement can be tougher than work. It took me through the end of today to get back to normal. My legs are a little sore from dancing like a hippy, but I managed to get on the bike for a little while today.

All and all good times. Tomorrow is Espresso Wednesday!! I'm off to do some reading since I'm not exhausted.

PS I've got a 2006 Yeti ASR slc for sale. I thought I had a picture on the ol' blog, but I can't find it. If you have any interest, leave a comment or e-mail me mtbingfool@aol.com

The Office Quote of the Week

"Wow, you look very exotic. Was your dad a GI or something?"

I've been lame with the posts lately. No thought to this one. Maybe more posts soon.

Hairy Legs

My how times change. I have ridden once since Memorial Day. That was this past weekend with some friends in Golden. It didn't go to well. I was rusty as hell, but I still managed to have a touch of fun. We all headed to Golden City afterwards for some tasty beer.

I don't see myself racing anymore. It's time to focus on other things. I'm sure I'll miss it, but I'm just too competitive to not try to get as fast (less slow) as possible. I'm thinking of changing the ASR-slc order to a 575 order. It's time to get back in touch with riding for the sake of riding.

I never thought this decision would come in correlation with the events of the last few weeks. In fact, I thought it would come about for reasons quite the opposite of these events. I was thinking it would be at the end of this season.

Things change. Often times without a good explanation. One piece of advice, don't ever hesitate to be honest with others. Honesty can save a lot of grief, and you may find out that things aren't quite the way they appeared.

What am I on?

Well, it's not my bike. I haven't ridden all week. Too much shit to work through.

The Office Quote of the Week

"'Hug it out, bitch.' That is what men say to each other after a fight. They hug it out, in doing so they just let it go, and walk away, and they're done. Not a good idea to say that to a woman, however, I've found. Doesn't translate."

This one is from a rerun. I needed a good laugh.

Ever wondered? Ever noticed?

Have you ever wondered why the same things keep happening repeatedly? These things seem to be outside your control, but are they really?

Have you ever noticed that when times are tough, that you pay more attention to the lyrics in songs? I know I do.

I finally bought the new Wilco album on Friday. Honestly, it's a little ho hum. I wasn't horribly impressed. I'm not sure that I ever will be that impressed, but I'm getting the feeling that it will become an important album to me.

Things Fall Apart

A good book. Google it.

It looks like LeMond is right about one thing. The whole house of cards is starting to crumble. Just check the headlines of the two major cycling outlets.

www.velonews.com
www.cyclingnews.com

The Office Quote of the Week

"Pam, your advice was good, but Jan's was bigger."

I love that show.

Title?

Not sure what to call this one.

I'm feeling much better today. A lot of my semi-slow friends are off racing the Battle the Bear. With highs in the 80s here in Denver (the race is just down the road), and no shade on the course whatsoever, I'm skipping. Well, I'm skipping because of the way I've felt this week. I've got a grand total of 3.5 hours on the bike as of Tuesday. Usually by Saturday morning I'll have 6-9 hours under the belt.

Anyway, I'm sitting here on the couch drinking my French Pressed Pablo's French Roast coffee. Good stuff! They roast on Tuesday's. You also save $2 per pound if you buy on Tuesdays, so a pound is only $10. I went in a few Tuesdays ago, and the beans had been roasted only 3 hours prior to my purchase. Man does that make a difference. Even with some other roasters in the area that I like, sometimes the coffee has a slight bitterness to it from being a touch stale. This stuff didn't have that until about 2.5 weeks after I bought it.

Several years ago, I actually went skiing with the guy that owns this place. At that point, the shop was on 14th St. in downtown Denver. Now he has moved out to 6th and Washington. If you're ever in the area, check it out.


Well, I guess I'll get out and test the legs a little today. I'm starting to wonder if this past weeks condition has been more from fighting a sickness. I had a sinus infection kick up about a month ago. I haven't had one of those since I moved to Denver 8 years ago. Down in the Dirty South, I used to get them every spring and fall. I've been trying to avoid the antibiotics since the infection cropped up in the middle of an important training block. After Angel Fire (Chili Challenge), I may have to give in and get some.

One more thing to note. Apparently if you mention Floyd Landis in your blog, you will get a ton of hits. My blog was on fire (well, on fire for my blog) after posting that little article about Greg LeMond. Most of you know what has happened since. I don't know what to make of this whole three ring circus. At a minimum, I'm greatly disappointed. I may post on that later.

uh oh

Well, I've pushed my luck. I'm deep in the valley of fatigue and have felt like crap all week. It reminds me of years past, but not last year. Things clicked last year.

It's partially my fault. I had some lack of discipline in some areas. My training schedule seemed a little funky this year. I think I kicked my self over the edge with my semi-bonk in the race on Saturday and my choice of ride Sunday.

There hasn't been much riding for me this week. I also rested quite a bit, but today I felt worse than I have all week. I guess I'll rest up this weekend and hopefully get things rolling by Tuesday to get myself ready for next weekend.

Greg LeMond

I'm really not decided on the Floyd Landis fiasco. Both sides seem to have a lot to explain. I want to know what the hell Greg LeMond knows or could say about it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2872955&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

Chalk Creek Stampede - First Semi-slow race

Well, the first semi-pro race is in the bag. Again, everyone has already blogged about it, but I'm usually just too tired to think when I've actually got time to blog.

The race was near Buena Vista, Colorado. Nathrop to be exact. It has a post office. That's about it. My race wasn't until 2:15, so I slept at home as I usually do for this race. I got to the venue at about 12:30, and rode the 2 miles to register out in the middle of a field. It wasn't that bad, but I felt sorry for the people that had to walk that.

This venue is kind of unique in the fact that it's all on private land. The owners are nice enough to let us race on it every year. It's not the best singletrack in the world, but it's definitely a good race venue. Well, it's good for some. I usually flat out suck at this race.

We'll skip forward to the race. My group was delayed just a bit. We ended up starting 2 minutes after the pros who started at 2:30 instead of 2:15. The start was a flat dusty road. I spent my time hanging out in the back of a front pack of about 20 guys. Somehow I managed to get behind this guy that was extremely afraid of rocks and zig zagged back and forth across the road. I guess no one told him that sometimes there are rocks in mountain bike races. Not to worry though, my mediocrity allowed him to pull away after the first lap.

So anyway. We start up the first climb, and I'm still in the front group. In fact, I was behind a reigning Elite National Champion. HER name is Georgia Gould. After that first steep pitch, I never saw the stars and stripes jersey again.

There were a few of us riding together for the first lap, and let me tell you we were hammering it. It was me, Brian, and his teammate Derrick. There was orange everywhere! That's their team color.

After the only descent, there is a windy (not the stuff that blows, the stuff that goes around and back and forth, but they have the stuff that blows too) section. I managed to eat a little dirt. No harm. I just hopped back on the bike. Brian passed me, and I think I held Derrick up.

Like I mentioned, the first lap was blazing fast. I meant to set my Garmin to auto laps, but I forgot, so I don't know my lap times. My goal going in was for a finishing time of around 2:06, so 30-32 minute laps were in order.

Halfway through the 2nd lap, Brian and Derrick must have thought I stunk, so they rode off without me. Bastards! I decided to settle into my own groove. I had about 9 not so easy training hours going into this race, so I was expecting my legs to be wasted. Funny thing was, they really weren't. I felt pretty good. However, this is Chalk Creek. We both hate each other equally. Toward the end of the 2nd lap, I started to get my hunger thing. Not sure what causes this, but it happened a few times last year. On the last couple of laps, it wasn't my legs that were keeping me from pushing it, it was feeling like I would bonk if I took it up a notch.

Also, somewhere on the 2nd or 3rd lap, I could hear my front brake rotor dragging a touch on the brake pad. It didn't seem to be slowing me down, so I just had to keep on going. Besides, when I came through the start/finish area for the 4th and final lap, my time was at 1:32. Well on my goal pace. I was really surprised by that, until I was given a moment to catch my breath. Once the oxygen reached my brain, I realized that there was a lack of the normal gale force headwinds on the false flat at the very back of the course.

I ended up finishing with a 2:04:xx. Well past my goal, but without the typical race conditions. For instance, 2:06 won my expert group last year. This year it was around 1:55. Chalk Creek strikes again.

All and all, I wasn't surprised by the result. I kind of expected it because of my training going into the race and the fact that it's a raw power course. I'm definitely more of a climber and descender. Funny thing is, back in my early days of racing, the raw power courses were the courses where I excelled. Of course my race weight then was 170-175. Last year it was about 164-165. Now it's a solid 160. Less weight does not usually equal more power.

Sunday was a big snafu at the race. I'll keep it short and say that I originally thought I would be racing at 2:00 PM. I was driving back to Buena Vista and got to Fairplay when I was told that it would be closer to 5:00 or 6:00. The the prospect of driving 2+ hours home after that, I pulled a Uey in the middle of Highway 285 and headed home. I got a nice, hard 3 hour ride in instead of a 30 minute short track race.

Here is the Motion Based file of the race:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2715478

Hammer Time!

I saw this in a forum this morning. I almost spit out my coffee.

The Office Quote of the Week

"Nobody told me there would be hot dogs."

Had to see it to get it. Good stuff.

I wasn't gonna!

A funny little picture of Basso.



http://velonews.com/news/fea/12221.0.html

Huh?

Ok, I had a training ride today. It wasn't cold, it wasn't raining or snowing, and it wasn't windy. I was very confused. It was a beautiful night with a nice sunset.

My numbers looked good again. I was rested, but not fresh. Just last week I was beginning to think I was on the verge of overtraining, but things seem back to normal. I guess that's a good thing.

Behind

So now that I've updated to the new blogger finally, I can see that I'm way behind on posts as compared to last year. So here is a junk post.

Actually I was just thinking about my first mountain bike race, which is next weekend. It's the Chalk Creek Stampede. There is a 28 mile standard cross county race on Saturday and a 25 to 30 minute Short Track Cross Country race on Sunday.

It's my first race as a semi-pro, so that alone will make it hurt. The kicker is 1) I have heavy training week this week and 2) I've only been on the mountain bike 8.5 hours since about November. I was going to try to get out today, but laziness got the best of me.

I hope my new Yeti will be here soon. Even if it comes in this week, I won't race it this weekend. Now I have to decide if I'm going to get one of these bad boys.


I have to decide by the 15th. I'm guessing my answer will be yes. I also need a new road bike. Rough life.

A little late/Deer Trail RR

Everyone and their respective brothers has blogged about this race. At 77 advertised miles (ended up being 75), it would equal my longest ride of the year. That was during my base phase, so that one was a lot slower.

Not much to say about this one. It was fun. Close to 90 guys started. We were on narrow road, and we only had half the road the whole time because the centerline rule was in effect. I really didn't make much of an effort to be at the front of the pack at the start because I thought I would have plenty of time to work my way up. Well, that didn't happen. Each time I made some progress, a group of guys would come up the opposite side. I guess I still have a thing or two to learn about moving up in the group, but I'm making progress. I'm sure it will all be lost once the dirt season starts.

Anyway, I sat in the whole time because of this lack of ability to get up. Found my self in the main group in the last few miles of steep rollers. Legs still felt good, and I hoped to wind up in a sprint. Three guys got off the front with about a mile to go. I guess that prevented the group I was in from picking up the pace, and it never really strung out at all. As we were coming into the last few hundred meters to the finish, there were guys all across the half road we had, so even though the legs felt good, there wasn't much I could do with them. So I finished in the main group. The back of the main group. I guess it doesn't matter if I was 29th or 8th in that group. Oh well. Good times nonetheless.

Here is the motionbased file:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2590220

I've been struggling a bit of late. Questionable scheduling for my training, and a little over-enjoyment on the beer scene have worn me out a bit. I'm not quite as disciplined with that this year. Last year I would have a beer or two on Saturday nights. There have been a couple of times this year were I've probably had one too many. Especially last weekend with the Braves in town. Of course, the game I made it to the fockers lost. I went to the Falling Rock and had a Rochefort 10. Heaven in a bottle. Is it a coincidence that it's brewed by monks?

So as I said, I've been struggling a bit this week. I've had a vague training schedule, so I've been pushing the envelope a bit too much maybe. I felt better today, but the legs were a little fatigued. I tried to make the Chatfield hammerfest, but I got down there and realized I left my water bottles at home. Not sure if anyone would have been there with races going on this weekend. I drove home and rode from home. I ended up at the same place climbing Deer Creek Canyon. I went it to the climb kind of mellow, but but the number looked good, so I decided to get a Functional Threshold average. I ended up climbing longer than the 20 minutes required for that, and my pace was a little bit lower in the beginning. My average ended up being pretty good. My weight is down from last year so my power/weight ratio is looking pretty good. The only thing I'm concerned about was that I was pretty worked after that effort.

I'm almost through with the first week of a big 2 week training block. My first mountain bike races are next weekend. I'm sure those will hurt considering the volume and intensity I will have in me going into them. It should be fun. It's all part of the master plan.

Time to finish my Collaboration Not Litigation Ale. Cheers!

Oh yeah, I have some pictures from the Moab trip. I'll get those up later.

First Race

Will I finally sucked it up and did a race. It was the Golden Spring Crit out in an industrial area of Golden.

I don't have much to report. It was a pretty ho hum crit. The group mostly stayed together except for a few short-lived "breaks" that got off the front. I was surprised by my fitness to be honest. Usually during the first race of the year, I feel it more than I did yesterday. I was able to stay in the front 20 guys (there were about 70 total) for most of the race. The only time I really fell back out of the front 20 was when I was in the middle of the pack and the guys in front would slow down big team. Then the whole field would come around me/us in about 10 seconds.

I did make a few attempts to get off the front and get with a few of those breaks. Those were pretty short lived and I ended up helping the group get back to the break aways. My last attempt to bridge up to a break was ill advised. It was with 5 laps to go. After the failed attempt, I got back in the group to recover. Just as I was feeling a touch fresh again, I saw the lap counter read 1 to go. I some how was not in the top 1/3 of the field this time. I tried to make my way back to the front, but that put me in a bad position going into the last turn. I was tight on the inside and made the turn with a good line, but a guy came back across me and pinched me out. At that point, I didn't see any point to sprint it out, so I gave a half-assed effort to the finish.

I was definitely on the bottom end of the results. Even if I hadn't been shut down, I doubt my result would have been anything to write home about. I got what I needed which was a good workout with a lot of accelerations. Oh yeah, and I was racing the 3s. I was happy with how things went. I felt good and was able to stay in the front with some guys that probably have a few races under their belts.

After the ride, I headed over to Lookout Mountain for some climbing with some fellow mountain bike racers. I still felt good and was climbing pretty well. It was a good day for riding.

Here are the motionbased files for the race and the ride afterwards. The numbers on the race are skewed a bit since I didn't stop the GPS for the recovery lap. I also had to stop it about 4 laps in due to a firetruck sneaking on the course. It missed the first race lap after the re-start.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2539744
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2539749

Moab Teaser

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2497505
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2497506

F a bunch of snow

I like snow, but if this system keeps me from getting to Moab, I'm going to be an unhappy mofo.

Coolio

I might have to hit both of these. No big air for me.

Crankworx Colorado
Whistler Resort, home of the Crankworx Freeride Festival, has partnered with Colorado's Winter Park Resort to produce Crankworx Colorado. The event will be held at Winter Park, Colorado July 5-7, 2007.

Like the Canadian event, the Colorado Crankworx will feature a cross-country race, a downhill event modeled after Whistler's notorious Air Downhill, a Super D and a Big Air competition. The Colorado event will also feature a Slopestyle competition, which combines dirt jumping and on-bike aerobatics. The Winter Park Slopestyle course will be designed by famous course designer John Cowan, known best for having built San Diego's Hell Track.

Winter Park Resort is located approximately 50 miles west of Denver. Whistler's 2007 Crankworx festival runs July 21-29 and is sponsored by Kokanee beer.

"Every year Whistler's Crankworx outdoes itself," said Rob McSkimming, VP of Business Development at Whistler Blackcomb. "We are committed to providing the ultimate forum for the evolution of freeride mountain biking and we are stoked to work with Winter Park's crew to bring Crankworx to Colorado. The freeride mountain bike terrain at Winter Park is gaining more and more recognition in the mountain bike community and Crankworx Colorado will introduce their epic single-track to even more riders."

For more information see www.crankworxcolorado.com.

Firecracker 50 to Host U.S. Marathon National Championships
Breckenridge, Colorado's Firecracker 50 mountain-bike race has been designated as the 2007 and 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships, the national governing body announced.

The July 4 event will host national championship races for men and women in numerous categories: Pro/Open; 19+, 19-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-49 and 50+ for men and 19+, 19-29, 30-39 and 40+ for women. Each category winner will take home a stars and stripes jersey. The event will be held independently of the USA Cycling Mountain-Bike National Championships, held July 17-22 at Mount Snow, Vermont. That venue could not hold the Marathon national championships due to land availability.

Athletes will complete two 25-mile laps around the event's rocky course. The event will once again begin with a neutral start through downtown Breckenridge, and will be part of the town's annual Fourth of July parade on Main Street.

In its seventh year, the Firecracker 50 will also host non-national championship bike races for juniors, beginners, sport racers and expert teams. A complete schedule of the event is available at www.mavsports.com.

What the?

So I was driving home from Bike Source last night, and I was listening to KBCO. Within a 20 minute span I heard Spoon, Son Volt, and Silversun Pickups. KBCO is a decent station, but it's hardly independent. It's one of the many local Clear Channel owned stations. You may hear songs from bands like that once or twice a week, but three of them within 20 minutes was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Dopers Suck

For Immediate Release:

DOPERSSUCK.COM AND SOCKGUY DONATE FUNDS TO JUNIOR CYCLISTS

Boulder, CO –March 23, 2007– Dopers Suck and SockGuy are proud to announce the first donation to two deserving Junior Teams from the sale of the Dopers Suck socks in 2006.

The ACA Mudskippers Junior program in Boulder, Colorado and Team Swift Junior Development team based in Fulton, CA., are the two winning junior development teams this year.

ACA Mudskippers Beth Wrenn-Estes, Executive Director of ACA said “ACA is most excited to have Doperssuck.com and Sockguy on board with our ACA Junior CX Team – The Mudskippers. Our philosophy in the ACA is to start all of our juniors out on the right foot and practice fun, fair, and fast. Our mission and that of our sponsors is critical to our success.”

Team Swift Director, Laura Charameda said, “On behalf of the entire Team Swift organization, I would like to express how appreciative and proud we are to have been selected for an award of support from SockGuy and the Dopers Suck Organization. A high standard of honesty and ethics is expected of Team Swift athletes, and more senior riders develop a strong sense of obligation to setting a positive example for the younger Team Swift riders behind them. This award is completely consistent with Team Swift's philosophy that racing must be fair and honest, and moreover, that cycling should always be a
healthy component of every rider's lifestyle.”

Each team will receive $500.00 to help ease the cost of running a high quality junior team in today’s competitive race market. This donation was made possible by the support and sales success of the Dopers Suck socks around the world for the last 6 six months of 2006.

“We hope to write am even bigger check at the end of this year to more deserving Junior Teams as the Dopers Suck message and movement continues to grow every day.” stated SockGuy President, Michael Foley.

Dopers Suck founder and Boulder Cycle Sport owner, Brandon Dwight added, “I want kids to have the opportunity to learn about bicycle racing, and to know they can have fun, stay healthy and be competitive with out taking performance-enhancing drugs.”

Dopers Suck and SockGuy will continue to donate a portion of the proceeds of the socks featuring the Dopers Suck logo each year to junior cycling development programs across the country.

Dopers Suck socks will be available through the Dopers Suck website (www.doperssuck.com), the SockGuy website (www.sockguy.com) and at select SockGuy dealers nationwide. Interested dealers should contact SockGuy at 888.232.5376.

About Team Swift

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Drizzle Drizzle

The rains coming down. Will there be a race tomorrow with wet dirt roads? Well, I guess today at this point.

The motivation to get out and race is kind of low these days . Maybe that is a good thing. It will come.

CATEYE ROAD RACE

March 24th

Pre-register!

Read more | View/Print Flyer |

Race Status: Scheduled

THE CATEYE RACE IS ON! COME RAIN OR SHINE. DON'T LET THOSE GREAT BELGIAN CONDITIONS STOP YOU FROM AN EPIC DAY OF RACING IN BOULDER! THIS IS THE RACE TO RACE ON SATURDAY.

Moving On

The time has changed, so now we have more daylight. It's been nice and warm. It's time to pick up the intensity. I'm moving forward and forgetting the snow.

Here are a couple of rides from the last couple of weeks. The first one was a group ride some Rocky Mountain Racing (powered by Hammer Nutrition). BC emailed me and said the ride would consist of mild to moderate climbing. I should have known better. It was a hammer fest. Everyone was marking their territory. It was a good wake up call for the legs.

The second one is from the the weekend morning Chatfield group ride. That one is also a hammer fest that spit me out the back a couple of times. I found out I need to do more speed work (or just any), but in my jaunt up High Grade afterwards, I discovered my climbing legs are doing well.

RMR Group Ride
Chatfield GrouRide/High Grade

I'm still waiting for March to rear it's ugly head, but so far, so good. Supposedly the Farmer's Almanac is calling for the Mother of all storms this spring.

Anonymous said...

Freddie,
Your words speak for your ability.
No one ever said all groomers and centers were created equal.
By the way, does anyone ever question the quality of service you provide as a corporate bitch?
Also, the Eastern corridor of trails at Devils Thumb is more like 10K, which means there would still be about 90 other K of trail for you to ski. Not enough?

9:48 AM
Delete
ALAN said...

Your anonymity and your lack of contributing anything worthwhile to this disagreement has reached it's end. You have no credibility with your statements and posting anonymously.

I'll answer one more question:
"By the way, does anyone ever question the quality of service you provide as a corporate bitch?"

Yes, they do. I work in a very customer service oriented industry. The customer service is, in reality, the biggest product we provide.

10:01 AM
Delete
Anonymous said...

No credibility?
You don't even want to know.
Actually, you have insulted myself and many other skiers and professionals who carry the passion for this sport.
But acutally this isn't worth my,
or anyone else's time.
I agree that customer service is important, however, you should know that complaining isn't the descent road to resolving your issues.
You are not going to aquire an army of similar complainer's to prove a point, because there are far many more appreciative people that will laugh at you.

1:41 PM
Delete
ALAN said...

I've given you several opportunities to enlighten me. You have yet to do that. All you do is personally attack me. Tell me where I'm off base. Seriously. Tell me your background so I know how credible you are. Tell me what you know about my ability.

How has this offended you? Are you an employee at Devils Thumb? What route should I have taken? Should I have just kept it to myself? My method seemed to have some effect. My issues were noted by the owners.

All you've done is call me a Fred. I'll admit I'm no expert when it comes to skiing, but I do know a fair bit. Please tell me where I'm wrong.

I've always appreciated Devil's Thumb. Until this year, I've skied there almost exclusively. I've encouraged people to go there. I've given them a lot of my money over the last 6 or 7 years.

I've noticed a decline in overall quality in Devil's Thumb this year. Actually, it started last year, but this year was substantial. I got the experiences I had come to expect from Devil's Thumb at other venues this year. Frisco and Snow Mountain Ranch included.

I'm not really sure how my observations are wrong, but since you know I don't carry the torch, I guess they are.

2:08 PM
Delete

Yet another great comment. Insightful. I didn't realize what I chose to wear skiing affected my ability. I'm assuming you dug up one of my old posts. Maybe you should do a little more digging to see the Craft jacket I wear currently.

You don't know me, so how can you comment on my ability? You also are in California, so how do you know about this year's conditions at Devil's Thumb.

I don't expect packed trail every time I ski. I've been skiing long enough to know that, however this year, I didn't have one of those days at Devil's Thumb. I had several of those days at other centers.

I didn't realize that all groomers and centers were created equal. Forgive me for questioning the quality of service for which I pay and comparison shopping.

Freddie, why don't you tell me more about yourself. What is your background?

PS, I've already embraced the sport and life-style.


Alan (Freddie)
If you spent as much time complaining about grooming as you did on developing your skiing skills, you actually might come to embrace a wonderful sport and life-style called Nordic skiing.
Groomers work very hard for skiers to enjoy their sport. People like you should be ashamed of yourself for acting like a bitch. If you want hard ski trails all the time why don't you take up roller-skiing.
take off the bike jersey when you "skate ski" and take a lesson.
sounds like you are the one with the defensive elitist mentality.

yours truly,
a different anonymous person visiting your blog to tell you that your opinion is not valid.

1:43 PM

I'm Bringing This to the Front

See my post about Devil's Thumb Ranch in the link below. It took me a while to reply, but today's comment spurred me along. I'm copy and pasting all the comments below.
http://stabbedandstoned.blogspot.com/2007/02/devils-thumb-ranch.html

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband and I purchased Devils Thumb Ranch six years ago. We appreciate the feedback that you conveyed on your blog, as we are always looking for ways to improve the Ranch as a whole, and, in particular, the cross country skiing experience for our day and overnight visitors.

When we purchased DTR six years ago, it was starting to show the years of challenging times faced by the Ranch during the late 1980's and 1990s. Though developers had planned to purchase DTR's 400 acres and turn it into a condominium resort, we purchased DTR and the adjacent 3400 acres where most of the trails sat and with the goal of preserving one of the last few mountain based experiences that had not been crowded out by growth or development.

Over the past six years we have done our best to improve the cross country skiing experience for our day and overnight guests. We have invested in expanding and diversifying our trail system, invested in new grooming equipment, built a new cross country ski shop as well as built a day lodge to ensure there was space for day guests to rest and eat. In addition, we built a yurt mid-trail system so skiers would have a scenic spot to warm themselves or take a break.

While our trail quality has been praised by most over the past six years, (we have been rated as one of the top 10 nordic ski centers in North America by a variety of skiing sources over the past five seasons (2003-2007)), over the past two years we have had our challenges primarily due to managing the pine beetle problem facing all of Grand County.

In order to stop the beetles from completely devestating our 4,000 acres of forest as well as mitigate the chance of forest fires, we have been practicing sound land management principles involving the thinning and logging of our forests. We have actually purchased our own logging equipment and have hired two full time loggers to manage the pine beetle kill and stay one step ahead of the problem wherever possible.

In some areas of our 100 +km of trails, this thinning can create a different path of wind in an area which may have been historically sheltered by tree coverage. In addition, the equipment needed to continue this forest management can impact the trails in some areas.

Our skiing staff has ongoing information as to where the most recent areas of forest management are taking place and can steer our guests to the less impacted trails. With 100+ km of trails compared to the smaller trail systems in all other Colorado nordic centers (other than Snow Mountain Ranch), even with our beetle kill maintenance program, we have plenty of great skiing at the Ranch.

Again, we thank you for your feedback. We are doing what we can to ensure that DTR maintains its great cross country skiing reputation as well as ensure that our guest experience remains intimate, recreation based and environmentally friendly.

If you have any other comments or suggestions, you can e mail me directly at scfanch@yahoo.com. With much appreciation----

3:21 PM

Anonymous said...

I forgot to mention that I disagree that our prices have increased dramatically and that Snow Mountain Ranch is much cheaper than our experience. In fact, we are $5 less expensive than Snow Mountain Ranch for weekday skiing ($10 vs $15) and are only $2 higher on the weekends ($15 vs $13). Also, our season pass rates are only $15 higher than Snow Mountain Ranch ($200 vs $185).

In addition, we are not looking for a Vail experience----we feel that most of the mountain properties around Colorado have already used that formula and we do not find it a unique, interesting or intimate experience.

Lastly, I'd love for you to contact me directly so we can hear about the experiences you decided not to include in your blog. We are always looking for ways to improve our property. Again, my e mail address is scfanch@yahoo.com

3:34 PM

Anonymous said...

Alan,
To accuse Devils Thumb Ranch of having sub-par grooming is far from the truth.
To say that their attention to the trail system has seriously degraded is ridiculous.
If anything, the commitment coinciding with the new ownership has greatly improved.
The purchase of new snowmobiles, snowcat, and state of the art facilities speaks for itself. Not to mention hosting the International Spring Series for two consecutive years.

To start, it has been a blessing that for the past couple of seasons we have had great snow. In conjunction, the past couple seasons have brought along substantial winds, not to mention the more exposed terrain due to logging.
Nordic skiers understand and enjoy the fact that the trails are different everyday. Skiing takes place outdoors, not in a gymnasium. The full experience involves the body and mind connection and isn't a tread-mile workout. Ski selection, discipline, technique, waxing, etc., are all part of the equation.
For not knowing 'jack' about grooming, maybe you should ask for advice and get your facts straight before “whining.” This is what burden’s the sports image more than enhancing it.
We all know that there is nothing we can do to manage the weather. In Nordic skiing, we do what we can with what we have. Grooming is often a reaction, and we respond accordingly to what the weather gives us. Sometimes this means grooming late, early, or all day.
In comparison to the multitude of other places you may ski at, Devils Thumb has two snowcats in which they groom 100k. with four staff. (f.y.i.the YMCA has one snowcat, as well as most others) DTR grooms every trail at least every other day depending on conditions, and most 'high-use' trails are sometimes groomed 2-3 times a day especially on weekends due to overlapping. Repetition is not being sacrificed.
Ultimately, most dedicated skiers understand that when conditions are soft it lends itself to optimal 'classic' skiing days with perfect tracks and blue kick wax.
This is a basic rule of thumb. Furthermore, soft snow IS your friend. For those that only 'skate ski', maybe you should try it or then again just stick with alpine.
If anything, we should all be grateful for having snow. (Unlike most other centers around the country that don’t have snow!) And appreciate it!
Was it really that bad?

Finally, as compared to your handful of times skiing, I ski almost everyday.
How can you consider your opinion to be valid?
I've been to many other nordic centers and love them all individually for their differences. However, I wouldn't prefer to ski anywhere else even if it is less expensive. Afterall, you get what you pay for.
Speaking for Nordic professionals as a whole, we work within it because we appreciate the sport and lifestyle. It’s not about the money, because we don't get paid enough!
See you on the trails, or maybe not.
Hope this addresses the issues you wrote about.

8:12 PM

ALAN said...

Who are you? You come to my blog and tell me my opinion is not valid, but you don't state your name. Give me a break.

The owners had better class than you in their statements.

I based my opinion on the current state of the trail system by skiing at Devil's Thumb for the last six years. Just because you have skied more than me doesn't make my opinion not valid. After all, I am the customer. I'm not the only one that has noticed the lack of attention to the trails, so maybe this is a bit of a wake up call.

One of the last times I skied there, Black 10 was the "groomer's choice." Well the groomer's choice had about 1k that wasn't groomed. the rest of the k was soft. You're right, I just skate ski, but when you groom trails for skate skiers (it is a growing segment of the sport) those trails should be enjoyable. The soft snow isn't enjoyable every time out. That is what I experienced at Devil's Thumb this year. Even on days where there wasn't a significant snowfall within several days of my visit, the trails would still be soft.

Also, the last time I was there, the entire section of Lactic Grande, South Fork, Double Poll, Disco, Inferno, and Priceless were not groomed at all and there were several inches of snow on the trails. That's what? A solid 15 to 20k? I've done my share of skiing in fresh, ungroomed snow, but that was a bit much considering my previous visits there.

Customer service: My first issue this year was the season pass. I usually make it up the first weekend in December for my first trip of the season. The season pass "early bird" price is usually still available. This year? No. Was this stated on the website? No. In any kind of mailer? No. I, as a previous season pass holder, had no clue that the price was going to jump that much.

Another time, I needed a rivet for my boot. I asked an employee at the ski shop if there were any in stock for purchase. I like this guy, and I've talked with him several times before. His response to my question was, "I don't think so." Did he check? No. Did he offer to check? No. He just looked at me and said again, "I don't think so." I went to Snow Mountain Ranch a couple of weeks later, and they went in the back and looked for a rivet. When they didn't have any, they ordered some.

The waxing facilities are mediocre at best considering the level of nordic center Devil's Thumb is attempting to achieve.

I've skied at several centers. Devil's Thumb, Grand Lake, Frisco, Snow Mountain Ranch, Lone Mountain Ranch, and Bohart Ranch to name some of the top of my head. I have some idea of what I'm talking about. I also did ask someone I know that has worked in the industry about grooming.

From your statements, I could take a guess and say you work at Devil's Thumb. I could definitely be wrong, but for you to work in the industry and tell me as a customer that my opinion is not valid is utterly ridiculous. Why don't you tell me who you are so I can make sure I never ski at your nordic center?

Your comments and attitude are exactly the reason I was hesitant about brining up the topic, and why I would never mention it to those in charge at the ski center. The place reeks of this defensive, elitist mentality.

For what it's worth, I've been alpine skiing no more than 3 times in the last 5 years. Also, I've always been a huge proponent of Devil's Thumb. I've stated those opinions on this blog, and I've encouraged others to go there because I do love the place.

The big question now is: will you identify yourself?

9:29 PM

Busy Busy

Between my big training weeks and long work weeks, I haven't had much time for anything else but eating. Nothing much going on worth reporting. Last Saturday my ride destination was Avery Brewing. It was the first time that the tasting room had ever been open on Saturday.

I got to taste this beer (really the reason I wanted to get up there), which you will see if you click the link is joint effort with Russian River Brewing. Two very well respected breweries come together for a tasty beer. I even bought a couple of bottles to bring home. This is a one time dealio. Once there gone, they're gone for good.


Sorry for the crummy pic.

Devil's Thumb Ranch responded to my post. You can see those here:
https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=12638542&postID=5702569287261128948

I'll reply to them later, but I don't really feel like the responder addressed the issues I wrote about. When there is more time . . .

Disappointing

Please be advised of the cancellation of the following DBC Events:

Cateye Road Race - March 10th
Boulder Roubaix Road Race - March 24th

DBC Events has made the decision to cancel these events due to a recent in-flux of emails that have been hostile in nature. The goal of DBC Events was to host grassroot cycling races that are fun and accessible to as many as possible within reason. Certainly, promoting the races is not for fiscal gain nor is it for recognition, as neither are forthcoming in this business. That is understood by most race promoters. But what is not understood nor accepted is the attack by cyclists and members of the cycling industry because of changes and choices made by the promoter.

In the past few days, DBC Events has received a series of emails regarding the lack of Women's categories in the two road races noted above. Not one of these emails asked why there was a change nor did they ask what could be done to change the situation. Instead, this is the tone:

What are you telling the cycling public by not having a women's race for
either Boulder Roubaix or the Cateye Road Race?

Your 'gender neutral' policy really destroys everything we are working towards.

Hope your races go down the tubes as I sure will spread the word on how unfair DBCevent is to women racers. I will definatly pass your flyer along to all the womens bike clubs in our area so they are sure to see who does NOT supports women riders

By providing a gender neutral start, DBC Events felt that it was providing a great venue for everyone to get out there and essentially, train for the upcoming season. Many female champions, such as Katie Compton have stated that to achieve her goals as a cyclist she raced with the men. This helped her become as strong as she is and achieve the level of success in a competitive environment. As noted in the most recent issue of Velo News:

She finished an amazing eighth place in the elite men's field at the 2006 Colorado State Cyclo-cross championships.

"That was the hardest race I did all year, hands down," Compton says. "Women are more content to be comfortable with their spot in a race, men race you for the 20th spot, in and out of every corner."

Compton says competing with the men gave her the strength to wallop the women's field at the national championships in Providence, Rhode Island. She plans to compete predominantly in elite men's 'cross races for 2007 training.


It is not the responsibility of DBC Events to pave the road for women cyclists. It is the responsiblity of the women and that goal is not going to be achieved by personal attack and threatening emails. The goal is going to be achieved by increasing the number of women racers that participate. DBC Events hopes that they do come out and race at every opportunity presented to them as well as increasing their numbers.

We have consistently demonstrated our devotion to the cycling community. And our support has been "gender neutral" - we have provided opportunities that did not exist to cyclists - regardless of sex, race, religion or age. We advocated for everyone.

So, now, we have decided that instead of putting our energies into venues to get others on bikes, we are going to focus on riding our own bikes. We wish you the best of luck in the 2007 season.

Chris Grealish and DBC Events

Devil's Thumb Ranch

I've been skiing at Devil's Thumb for the last 6 year. The two years previous to this one, I had a season pass, and I skied there almost exclusively. The place has amazing trails and tons of them. It's hard to get bored there due to extensive trail system, and a lot of those trails are extremely challenging.

Begin Rant:

I've been having an internal debate of whether or not I should post my recent feelings of this place on my blog. I couldn't decide if I was just being a whiny little bitch or if I had a legitimate complaint. Honestly, it's a little bit of both.

This year (and some of last year) the grooming there has been sub-par. Even when you hit the freshly groomed trails, they are extremely soft and you sink quite a bit in the snow. If you know anything about skate skiing, fresh and soft snow isn't necessarily your friend like it is with alpine skiing.

From my six years of skiing there, I can tell you that this is not the norm. When I first started skiing at Devil's Thumb, the lodge was a little shack, and they also had a small building with some lodging. It was really quaint. Two or so years ago, someone bought the place, and now this person or persons is turning it into a high end destination resort. I don't have a problem with what they are now trying to accomplish. In fact, it has made some of the facilities much nicer. I guess a good way to describe it is that they are going for the Vail for cross country ski areas. I'm not sure it's the best business model, but they probably know something I don't.

So back to my complaint. Their attention to the trail system has seriously degraded over the last two years. I often go skate skiing in a multitude of places and the conditions are great. If you do any kind of skiing (or even cycling), you have those days were everything clicks. The conditions and the way you feel just get magically intertwined and the endorphins rush through your body. This is not and should not be a rare event. It hasn't happened once in my six trips this year to Devil's Thumb. This is exclusively the results of poor grooming.

I'll be the first to acknowledge that I don't know jack about grooming, however due to my growing frustration with Devil's Thumb, I've been skiing at Snow Mountain Ranch more. Snow Mountain Ranch is 10 minutes down the road, and the three times I've been there this year, their trails have been pristine. They were freshly groomed and nicely packed. I do understand that you can over-groom trails. I also understand that Devil's Thumb has a large amount of trail to cover, but I would be happy if a third of their system got the treatment that Snow Mountain Ranch gives their trails If Devil's Thumb is trying to achieve the status of THE premiere nordic destination and if their prices are starting to reflect that, I would think that their trail conditions should also measure up to that status. Quite simply they don't. The conditions where better when they were a tiny operation.

I'm really not sure what these people are trying to accomplish. If they are shifting their focus away from the skiing and toward their other amenities, I can't really fault them for that. I'm sure they have a vision of what they are trying to create, but it is starting show in more than just the trail conditions. Their customer service is on the decline too. I went to the Frisco Nordic Center last weekend, and I almost thought I was some top ranked Euro skiing superstar. The folks there were bending over backwards for me.

These aren't my only complaints. I have had a number of issues with them this year. I won't get into all of that. I'll just say yesterday's conditions where the straw that broke the camel's back. I can get a multi-day punch card for Snow Mountain Ranch at a much lower per day price than what Devil's Thumb currently offers. Next year, that's where I'll be spending most of my days.

Here are the sites of the nordic centers I mentioned:
www.devilsthumbranch.com
http://www.ymcarockies.org/page.php?code=74
http://www.breckenridgenordic.com/frisco_center.html

PS Snow Mountain Ranch updates their conditions on their site daily. Devil's Thumb does it sporadically.

Off to Ski

Maybe a post later tonight. Does anyone really care?

Oh well. I've got a moment right now, and I have a nice coffee buzz kickin.

Let's see. I'm listening to the Old 97s right now. Wreck Your Life. An oldie but goodie.

My weight is down into the 165 range. That was my racing weight last year. My goal this year is to keep going lower.

Bought a bottle of this from Stone Brewing the other night at the local liquor store.


I got one to drink now. I may pick up another for aging.

I guess that's enough rambling. Thanks for tuning in.

Finally

It's been over a month, but I finally made it outside for a ride on Sunday. I attended a little get-together on Saturday night which caused me to get to bed late. That, in turn, caused me to get up late, which eliminated skate skiing for the day.

I couldn't handle the prospect of 3 hours on the trainer, so I busted out the cyclocross bike for a ride. I thought maybe the roads and paths would be clear enough for the road bike. They weren't, and I was glad I opted for the CX bike. The route I rode took me an hour longer than it normally would have due to all the hard pack ice. At times, it was sort of like mountain biking. Good times, but no pictures. I need to look into getting a new camera.



I picked up this jacket at EMS' online store for a total of $45. Pretty nice jacket for skiing, and if I were still running, it would be nice for that too. It's got an MP3 player pocket on the sleeve and a chest pocket where I put my Garmin and/or food. There are two downfalls to the jacket. It's made for skinny folk in the sleeves and shoulders but feels like it is made for less fit folk in the stomach area. It's also not windproof, but I didn't really notice that when I was skiing on Saturday. There were some decent gusts that day.

Here are the two motionbased.com files for the weekend.
Skate Ski
Ride

40k Today

Ouch. Felt a little vomitous at the end. Haven't felt that way in a while.

Clarification: On skis.

The Road

I just finished up The Road by Cormack McCarthy. I had read his book Suttree when I was in college, and heard some good things about this book.

It's about a father and son that have survived an end of days type event. Actually, the son is born after the event. The author never states exactly what happened, but you get the idea that it was nuclear holocaust. They spend their time traveling a road to get to a warmer place, or perhaps just to keep moving.

It's a dark, sad, desperate and at times disturbing book, but I have to say, it's one of the more enjoyable books I've read. The book is definitely a quick read, which is the exact opposite of Suttree. It's open ended, but as much as I would like McCarthy to write a conclusion, I don't think it will happen.

I wish I could describe it better, but I'm in a end of day, post-exercise haze. I'm feeling kind of stupid at the moment.

Here is a good review from the New York Times. Warning: the review is definitely a spoiler, so don't read it all if you think you want to read the book.

Oh yeah, and I've dug up my Suttree book and started reading it again.

I need a BEER

Have you ever had one of those days, or in my case couple of weeks, where you constantly say to yourself, "man, I need a beer (or your drink of choice)." Well, I've been saying that for a couple of weeks like I alluded to before. I've been resisting, except for my obligatory Saturday night beers, for the sake of training. How lame. Anyone else do this?

Dalton Boy Takes Another Step

Raisin rides again at Crédit Agricole training camp
By Andrew Hood
VeloNews European correspondent
This report filed January 17, 2007

Saul Raisin - the 25-year-old American climber who nearly died from a brain hemorrhage after a high-speed crash last April - continues to defy expectations.

This week, Raisin joined his Crédit Agricole teammates for the team's preseason camp along France's Cote d'Azur and is laying plans for a comeback to racing this season.

"I've just been surprising everyone, including myself on how well I am doing," Raisin told VeloNews. "The doctors can't believe it. Statistically, I should be dead or in a wheelchair. At first I just wanted to be able to live a normal life again. Now I think I can race my bike again. It's been like a miracle."

Considering how much progress Raisin has made in the past several months, his presence at the demanding pre-season camp and the seven-hour rides that go with it remind many of a similar comeback by a certain rider from Texas about a decade ago.

"To get back to the training camp is like walking on the moon. That's how far out of reach riding a bike seemed for me after my accident," he continued. "To think I could be at the team camp right now would be just like saying I'm going to go for a walk on the moon."

Last April, Raisin underwent emergency brain surgery in a French hospital after he crashed headfirst with about three kilometers to go in the first stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Raisin's best guess is that he slipped on gravel as the peloton ramped up for the final sprint, meaning the speeds could have been as high as 60kph when he fell. There were other crashes in the same stage, including one that left Tyler Farrar (Cofidis) with a broken collarbone.

"I hit the ground so hard, that the force of the crash went right through my helmet into my skull. I had 50 staples holding together my head after the crash," he said. "The doctors said if I didn't have my helmet on, my head would have cracked open like an egg."

Luckily for the affable Georgian, the nearby hospital in Angers happened to be France's leading head trauma facility. Had the accident happened anywhere in France, Raisin likely would have died because he wouldn't have received the proper medical attention.

Raisin suffered a life-threatening hemorrhage overnight in the hospital and doctors said he was within minutes of dying. So much so, they even suggested to Raisin's parents when they arrived from the United States that his organs be donated if the emergency surgery was unsuccessful.

Defying the odds, Raisin not only came out of the medicine-induced coma, he removed the breathing tube from the respirator himself. Since then, he's been making tremendous strides both in his physical and mental rehabilitation.

Working with the Shepherd Center - a leading catastrophic care hospital in Atlanta - he's regaining both his mental edge as well as the physical engine that made one of the most promising young American prospects. A battery of cognitive tests conducted in late November revealed he hasn't suffered any permanent brain and physical injuries.

If fact, doctors told him if he wasn't a professional cyclist he would have the green light to return to normal activities. Doctors cautioned, however, he cannot afford a serious fall on his head for at least one year following his injury and have urged a patient return to competition.

Bolstered by such good news, Raisin is seriously plotting a return to the peloton perhaps in time for the U.S. national championships in September.

"I was joking with (Crédit Agricole manager) Roger Legeay that I want to race at the Tour of California," Raisin said. "My comeback is only a matter of when. I don't want to comeback too soon and I want to wait until I am close to 100 percent strength. Right now I feel like I'm about 65 percent physically. I want to race before the end of the year. I don't see why not."

Unlike Cofidis, who dumped Lance Armstrong when he was stricken with cancer in 1996, Crédit Agricole has honored Raisin's contract and has continued to pay him throughout his long recovery. Raisin said the support from team staff and riders has been fundamental during the uncertain road back to full health.

"The team is just awesome. They've stuck with me and they've done the right thing," he said. "They're showing everyone just how much class they have."

Raisin will stay in Europe for another week and might return to Angers to meet the French doctor who conducted the surgery and saved his life.

Then he will host the "Saul Raisin - Raisin' Hope Ride" on March 31 in Dalton, Ga. He's also working on a book with cycling author Dave Shields that's expected to hit bookshelves in September.

From there, he'll travel back to his European home base in southern France later this spring where he'll begin earnest preparations for a return to racing.

A Little Pick-Me-Up

I first had this stuff on my trip to a race in Vermont 2 years ago. Man is it potent. I had some this morning. Yeeehaw! Click on the image for more info.

This is a good one too.

A Love/Hate Relationship

Actually it's more hate than love. Come to think of it, there is no love at all. All cyclists see it as a necessary evil. I guess I love to go fast when it is time, and if you want to do that, you gotta use one of these.

I spent 7 hours on mine last week, and have 3 on it so far this week. The heavy trainer season is just starting. It's time to suck it up and start working those squares into circles.

The one pictured above is a fancier looking model than mine. It's a Volare fluid trainer. This will be my 6th season deepening the rut in the resistance wheel. That's a bazillion hours. That rut is deep, but it still gives me the resistance I need.

I Agree With Erik

http://velonews.com/race/int/articles/11436.0.html

It's time for the authorities to put-up or shut-up. If you know me or even read this blog once in a while, you know I think Dopers Suck (I want a mug, but damn they're spendy), but this is getting ridiculous. This situation now has the potential to ruin two seasons, and their is still no direct link. The Spanish authorities just seem to not-so-randomly pluck the top riders for their investigation.
http://velonews.com/race/int/articles/11431.0.html
It seem like everyone has their heads up their asses.

Latest Listenings

Snowden - Anti Anti - Pretty good stuff from an ATL band.

Wilco/Tweedy new stuff - Some of this should be on the new album

Jose Gonzales - Veneer - Good voice and lyrics

Califone - Roots & Crowns - This is one for studying.

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife - Pretty good, but so far not as good as their past efforts. Is it due to the big label signing or will it grow on me?

Want to get:
What Made Milwaukee Famous - Trying to Never Catch Up
TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

Unfortunately none of those wants are on eMusic.

Adult Sippy Cup

Picked up one of these today. I tend to spill water on myself with the Nalgene bottles. Especially when I'm driving. I thought I would give one of these a try. So far it's pretty cool. I've been drinking more water. Not sure if it's because it's something new or because of the straw effect. I wonder if my buck teeth will come back.

I'm never

going to be able to ride outside again. Oh yeah, and my camera stopped working so don't expect any pictures. Maybe I'll get back to my long, caffeine fueled diatribes of the olden days.

SNOW CONTINUES TO FALL OVER AND EAST OF THE FRONT RANGE OF
COLORADO THIS MORNING. MANY LOCATIONS ON THE PLAINS UP AGAINST THE
FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS HAVE REPORTED SNOW ACCUMULATIONS RANGING
FROM 3 TO 8 INCHES SINCE MIDNIGHT. IN THE FRONT RANGE
FOOTHILLS...REPRESENTATIVE SNOW AMOUNTS INCLUDE 11 INCHES NEAR
EVERGREEN AND A FOOT 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BOULDER.

THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION REPORTS ICY AND SNOW
PACKED ROAD CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND ACROSS MUCH OF
NORTHEAST COLORADO. AS OF 9 AM...ADEQUATE SNOW TIRES OR TIRE
CHAINS WERE REQUIRED OVER MOST MOUNTAIN PASSES AND IN THE FRONT
RANGE FOOTHILLS WEST OF THE DENVER-BOULDER METROPOLITAN AREA.

LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH THIS MORNING
IN THE MOUNTAINS GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL
DIVIDE...IN THE SOUTHERN FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS...THE I-25 URBAN
CORRIDOR...AND THE PALMER DIVIDE. SNOWFALL SHOULD THEN STEADILY
TAPER OFF FROM NORTH TO SOUTH IN THE AFTERNOON...WITH SNOWFALL
ENDING IN ALL EXCEPT THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON.
WHEREAS...GUSTY NORTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL CONTINUE TO
PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING ON THE NORTHEAST PLAINS
THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.