Another Day in Paradise

It was another perfect day in paradise. The sun was shining, the temps were mild, and the skiing was perfect!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:










Our last day of skiing is tomorrow. Good thing cause my legs are feeling a little toasted. Its been a good three days of cross training.

This week has been a nice break, but next week I'm back on the bike, regardless of the conditions.

Its All Downhill

I'm on top of the world, literally.

Check out my new Oakley O Frames ski googles. They rock! They have a huge field of vision, and just the right amount of shading.

Today was our first day of skiing. We had a blast.


It sure would be nice if they would move Copper Mountain closer to Ames.


In the afternoon Dan and I hit some of the bowls.



Here I am in the afternoon, still on top of the world.

It got warm enough in the afternoon that I switched out googles for Oakley Half Jackets with polarized lenses. The also rock! The polarized lenses took all of the glare out, and the lenses worked great in both full sun and dark shade.

I took some video with a helmet cam. Maybe I'll post it later. But I didn't mount the cam on my helmet. I just held it, so the vidoe is a little shaky. If you get motion sickness, don't watch!

Almost Skiing

We spent the day driving across Nebraska. Suprisingly, the time went pretty fast. And with four of us sprawled out in a Suburban, it was pretty comfortable.



My bro, prolly checking his e-mail.


The boys watchin a flick. Just like they were home in the living room.


We took a count. It takes two lap tops, an air card, two smart phones, three other cell phones, two DVD players, three Ipods, about 75 DVDs, and about 75 charging devices to get across Nebraska. All that and we we still bore easily. Talk about ADD on wheels!


This is how we spend our nights. Pretty wild stuff, huh?


I hope to post pics with snow and skis tomorrow.

Gone Skiing

All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy, and I guess I've never been accused of being dull, so its off for a little play time in the mountains for me. That's right - I'm going skiing for a few days!

I know that Gravèlo gets a little nervous any time I try a hobby other than cycling, but don't worry. This isn't a new obsession, I'm renewing a long time love.

My brother and I have been skiing since college, and as soon as our boys were able, we started taking them along. None of us is very good because we only get out a few days a year. But we have fun, and its a great way to break up the winter.

I'll post some pics if I get a chance.

Ice Road

I was getting really tired of not riding my bike. This morning I decided I really didn't care how icy the road was, cause I was going to ride. So I hopped on the ice tank and went out for a gravel spin.

I saw lots of this:

and this

and this.

Regardless of the road conditions, it was a great day to be outside. It was sunny, about 15 degrees, and no wind. I really like winter when it's served up like today was.

The ice tank did great!. Not one slip, or even a bobble. But with as much ice as there is on the gravel, when that ice starts to melt, the bottom is gonna fall out. I might have to resort to riding pavement for a while (gasp!).

The ride was also great! I went did some pretty easy spinning going out, and then put it on the big ring coming back, and tried to blow out some of the cobwebs. That really helps.

Note to self - ride your bike more often.

A Milestone

Although there has been lots of talk about the new team, last weekend was the first real team gathering. You never really know if it is going to happen until people actually show up. And what do you know? They did. You can read about it on the MOB Racing blog.

It is a milestone for me, because it means that I really am responsible for a bike racing team. Holy Crap! How did that happen? It was only two years ago that I e-mailed Thad about joining his team.

As is my lot in life, I seem to find myself in charge of things. I don't go looking for it, but things just seem to turn out that way.

Don't get me wrong. I love my life! I'm just amazed that such a group of talented cyclists would follow me into anything. Go figure.

Snow Bike #1

Apparently my race season started last weekend (I know - another late post, but I've been busy. More about that later.)

I got a comment from Bryan, wondering if I was going up to Matt's snowbike race, and could I give him a ride. He said Hansen was racing, and it would be a blast. I'd thought about going up for the race a little, but hadn't given it serious consideration. Afterall, lately my training has consisted of a 2-3 hour bike ride once a week, followed by celebratory beers afterwards. It turns out that was the perfect training for this race!

Bryan and Chris get ready for the race:


John Newell and Jim Logan were there .


The accomodations on the ride out were first class. We had a bus full of bikes:


And a bus full of riders. We kept pulling the "Please Stop now" rope, but it didn't help. Matt just kept driving into oblivion.


This is what oblivion looks like.

I hung with the main group for a while, then we split up into two groups, then it was just me.

I could see Hansen just ahead, spinning like mad man, but I couldn't catch him. BTW, Bryan was long gone, and WON THE RACE!

After the race, things got a little goofy.


Seems someone got a deal on fake mustaches.



The fun continued on the way home


What tastes best after a hard day in the cold? Homemade Chicago deep-dish pizza!


Oh, and my excuse for this post being so late? I finally got the MOB Racing kit order finalized. It Rocks! Check it out.

Hike Around Seven Oaks

Last weekend several of us decided to take a hike around Seven Oaks in Boone (sorry for the late post on the hike - I got busy and it got away from me).

It was a lovely day for a hike:




Five of us didn't have enough sense to stay home on a day like today. Troy Kyle, Taylor, me, and Ron.


The opening climb isn't much easier on foot.

This is as close as I've ever been to Kyle on that climb.

After climbing a few hills, the slight twinges of cold that we had felt out in the open gave way to open jackets and sweat. Down in the valley it actually felt warm.

After a while we were all covered with frozen condensation.

After the hike, Troy convinced Joel to let us take a few runs on the tubing hill. What a blast!

We looked like a bunch of kinds out there.


Clothing note from the trip. Although I have quite a bit of experience riding is these type of conditions, I'm not as experienced hiking in them. I overdressed. For next time, A base layer and my ski jacket was plenty warm. Fleece tights and ski pants were also enough. Unfortunately I also had jeans and a sweatshirt. That was too much and it held too much moisture. I also wore my down mittens. I spent half of the time with them off, because they were too warm! Ski gloves would have been enough. It's amazing how little clothing you can get away with at nine below zero if you are staying active. I'll get this all figured out someday.

No Sense

A few of us dim-witted folks are going to hike around the Boone MTB course tomorrow morning at 9:00 for the fun of it. Apparently we have no sense about these things. All are welcome. Let me know if you also have no sense.

Leading from the Back

Today several of us went out on a gravel grinder. It was our little way of wishing Andrew Carney our best as he goes out to seek his fortune in the real world, in this case Colorado. As if that wasn't enough, it turned into a double farewell (I've got to stop losing friends to other states), but more about that later.

I'm not sure that I have any business leading a ride, seeing as how I'm usually the slowest guy on any ride I'm involved in. Some how I would figure it out. I had a route planned out that would end at my place, but I wasn't sure how I would lead the ride from the back.

Participants on the ride today:

Andrew -Reformed Triathlete and Endurance Freak. The guest of honor sporting a nice beard today. He's probably started it yesterday.




The next to appear was Alex. Alex is our resident engineer and bike geek (OK, we're all bike geeks). If you can imagine a bike part, he could make it.




Next was Greg - Bike Recycler Extraordinaire. He never met a bike that he didn't want to take home and give some TLC.




Bryan was next with a special guest. Byran is an up and coming road racer. He's also young enough to be my son (OK, most of these guys are).




Bryan was with Chris! WTF? I thought he had moved to Arizona or something. Chris is one of the fastest guys I have ever had the pleasure of riding with. He became the second guest of honor on this ride.



Shortly after that came OP, TransIowa and Dirty Kanza veteran. He is one of the more committed people that I know (or perhaps he should be committed).


The skies were clear, the winds were light, and the temps were tolerable. What am I doing at the front of this pack of talented cyclists? Tiz a puzzlement.


It wouldn't last.


Somewhere between these picture the second guest of honor (Chris), fell in an icy corner and took out the guest of honor (Andrew). Both got up laughing, as Andrew got knocked into the deep ditch snow, which doesn't hurt as much. I missed getting a picture - which is the difference between goodness and greatness.


The group broke up a couple of times, but then seemed to magically re-form every time they had to slow down and ask me for directions. Leading from the back, and controlling the pace. Hmm. It seemed to work.





Finally we got back to my place where there were there were the muched promised stories and beers.

Here Andrew tells us about riding across the country on his bike, or sleeping in a Jeep at -25 at Crested Butte, I can't remember which.


After a while we move inside, cause the stories got longer and the garage got colder.

It was a great day to hang out with great friends. Some friends I will probably see in the next week or two, and some that I won't see for a while. That is life as an old man in a college town.