0 comment Sunday, May 18, 2014 | admin
This may be the last weekend I spend in Denver (high school reunion and a funeral to go to next weekend), so I was pretty stoked when Nick called yesterday about another round of mountain biking. Rather than experiment with my Trek 520 for this one, I took out my Cannondale, and it was a good choice. At Deer Creek Park, some of the ascents were only rideable if you are Dave Wiens, and the descents would have probably been the end of the 520. Josh powered through admirably on his Bike Friday, even with the solid fork. It looked like he was holding onto a jackhammer on some of the technical sections; good on you, mate!
LaTonya, Josh, Nick & Will at the top of the Red Mesa Loop
The first loop wasn't too long, so we decided on exploring some Jeffco open space down Deer Creek Road where we saw a parking lot on the way in. I believe it was the South end of the Ken Caryl valley, it turned out to be short and rad, all packed redrock dirt with straight sight lines, and big waterbars with clean landings. All told, that out and back was 3 miles, but it was the perfect ending.
Enjoying the Ken Caryl valley
To get back onto the topic of commuting, I did ride over to Josh's in the morning to get a lift. Thus, a return to my house was in order. I left with Nick and LaTonya, and about a block from Josh's house I say to Nick, "Watchout, I'm going to jump this curb". Jump it I did, and as I rolled out of the landing, I heard the cyclical hiss that can only be a snakebite puncture. Within 20 feet the tire was flat. Nick offered up his patch kit, but since I was only a mile from my house, I demured, and instead walked it home to my supply of patched tubes.
On the way, two other people slowed to offer me tubes, which was very kind, and lead me to reflect on the community of bicyclists. That's when I saw the dildo on the bike path.
From a few meters out, I thought it was dog crap, and as I became outraged that some dog owner would fail to clean up after their pooch took care of business, my anger turned to levity as I realized it was not dog waste, but a black dildo absent any testes. I kicked it to the side, lest it shock someone of modest character, and then of course took a picture.
It's moments like these when you realize the downer of blowing your tube up can lead to something hilarious. Time to go change a tube.
LaTonya, Josh, Nick & Will at the top of the Red Mesa Loop
The first loop wasn't too long, so we decided on exploring some Jeffco open space down Deer Creek Road where we saw a parking lot on the way in. I believe it was the South end of the Ken Caryl valley, it turned out to be short and rad, all packed redrock dirt with straight sight lines, and big waterbars with clean landings. All told, that out and back was 3 miles, but it was the perfect ending.
Enjoying the Ken Caryl valley
To get back onto the topic of commuting, I did ride over to Josh's in the morning to get a lift. Thus, a return to my house was in order. I left with Nick and LaTonya, and about a block from Josh's house I say to Nick, "Watchout, I'm going to jump this curb". Jump it I did, and as I rolled out of the landing, I heard the cyclical hiss that can only be a snakebite puncture. Within 20 feet the tire was flat. Nick offered up his patch kit, but since I was only a mile from my house, I demured, and instead walked it home to my supply of patched tubes.
On the way, two other people slowed to offer me tubes, which was very kind, and lead me to reflect on the community of bicyclists. That's when I saw the dildo on the bike path.
From a few meters out, I thought it was dog crap, and as I became outraged that some dog owner would fail to clean up after their pooch took care of business, my anger turned to levity as I realized it was not dog waste, but a black dildo absent any testes. I kicked it to the side, lest it shock someone of modest character, and then of course took a picture.
It's moments like these when you realize the downer of blowing your tube up can lead to something hilarious. Time to go change a tube.
Labels: Dildo, Ken Caryl, Mountain Bikes
0 comment Wednesday, April 23, 2014 | admin
Fall wasted no time in showing up here in Colorado. A week ago, it was unthinkable that we�d have a day where the high did not break 60 degrees, but apparently that�s what will happen today. All week I�ve been in denial, but as I pulled on my smartwool ski socks this morning, I accepted the truth. What a downer.
We did get a little generosity from Mother Nature, she gave us labor day as a final reminder of summer. A few of us bloggers got together for some mountain biking up at Buffalo Creek. It turned out to be a pretty fantastic day with a respectable vegetarian Labor Day BBQ as a reward (I brought the artichokes).
From Mountain Biking Buffalo CreekJosh with a bag of corn husks
But since this is a blog about commuting, I have to tie it in somehow, and that�s with my bike. I re-tired my Trek 520, all around fantastic commuter / touring bike with Continental Twister cross tires, and rode the single track in Buffalo Creek. Nick Nunns was also riding one of his commuting bikes, his Kona 29er, now rigged as a 9 speed.
From Mountain Biking Buffalo CreekNick, Josh, Brendan, Nick, Will
Pretty much everyone was on a bike they use for some type of commuting, except for Josh, who brought his college bike, a steel frame / fork iron horse mountain bike. Josh is kind of tall and uses a lot of seatpost, and even on this large frame, Josh "looked like he was riding a Bike Friday" according to Nick.
From Mountain Biking Buffalo CreekJosh assembling his Bike Friday. Look at that Seatpost!
I�m happy to report that the 520 was a riot as a cross racer. I could have used a little bit wider tread for the uphill. Buff Creek is pretty full of ruts and pea gravel, and on the longer grinds, it felt like I was sending more gravel downhill than bike uphill. Aside from that, I�m pretty happy with my "does anything" bike.
One cheerful thing about fall, cyclocross season starts now. I�m a big fan, mainly because unlike the collegiate crits and road races I�ve done over the past two years, cross races often have a beer garden somewhere on premises (usually in the bed of somebody�s pickup), and beer drinking is a much more important aspect to the sport. I�m planning on dusting the wheels off at Brecktoberfest next weekend if anyone wants to tag along. I can take three with bikes, and will be racing 4�s. If you don't have a cross bike, who cares, put some knobby tires on whatever you have, that's the beauty of cyclocross. Happy fall.
We did get a little generosity from Mother Nature, she gave us labor day as a final reminder of summer. A few of us bloggers got together for some mountain biking up at Buffalo Creek. It turned out to be a pretty fantastic day with a respectable vegetarian Labor Day BBQ as a reward (I brought the artichokes).
From Mountain Biking Buffalo CreekJosh with a bag of corn husksBut since this is a blog about commuting, I have to tie it in somehow, and that�s with my bike. I re-tired my Trek 520, all around fantastic commuter / touring bike with Continental Twister cross tires, and rode the single track in Buffalo Creek. Nick Nunns was also riding one of his commuting bikes, his Kona 29er, now rigged as a 9 speed.
From Mountain Biking Buffalo CreekNick, Josh, Brendan, Nick, WillPretty much everyone was on a bike they use for some type of commuting, except for Josh, who brought his college bike, a steel frame / fork iron horse mountain bike. Josh is kind of tall and uses a lot of seatpost, and even on this large frame, Josh "looked like he was riding a Bike Friday" according to Nick.
From Mountain Biking Buffalo CreekJosh assembling his Bike Friday. Look at that Seatpost!I�m happy to report that the 520 was a riot as a cross racer. I could have used a little bit wider tread for the uphill. Buff Creek is pretty full of ruts and pea gravel, and on the longer grinds, it felt like I was sending more gravel downhill than bike uphill. Aside from that, I�m pretty happy with my "does anything" bike.
One cheerful thing about fall, cyclocross season starts now. I�m a big fan, mainly because unlike the collegiate crits and road races I�ve done over the past two years, cross races often have a beer garden somewhere on premises (usually in the bed of somebody�s pickup), and beer drinking is a much more important aspect to the sport. I�m planning on dusting the wheels off at Brecktoberfest next weekend if anyone wants to tag along. I can take three with bikes, and will be racing 4�s. If you don't have a cross bike, who cares, put some knobby tires on whatever you have, that's the beauty of cyclocross. Happy fall.
Labels: Cyclocross, Falls, Mountain Bikes