Non bike related

Fair warning, no bike stuff in this post. Future posts will return to some bike theme, but for now: the woods!

 

On the way to Levenworth we passed by this next to a gas station. Sadly we didn't get to visit this amazing shop or sample their products.

We did get to go to the woods. Which looked like this.

And follow a bunch of other people out on the trail.

View from the trail.

And again.

There was a rock in the parking lot that had a natural occurring cup holder. I took full advantage.

Colton used our post hike time to split wood.

and to set up a lean-to in case of rain.

Which, in case you can't tell, was awesome.

Then all that was left was to sit back and enjoy the fire.

Memorial Day started as it should. While I had always thought the Aeropress would be a good camping coffee device I hadn't tried it out. Lisa and I were very pleased with the results.

Then we walked up a hill. You can kind of tell how steep it is from the picture, it was much steeper and harder to walk up in real life.

Eventually we got to the top for some rock climbing. Lisa and I happen to own the same backpack in the same color. We used this weekend to showcase that point.

We also discovered this terrible artifact at the top (belonging to one of the other climbers). I know that if I owned the world's most terrible shoes I would keep them safe in a mesh bag.

Rock climbing happened. Colt and Lisa at the anchors of one of the climbs.

I used some of the rock climbing time take a quick nap.

Downhill we got some time to stop and smell the flowers.

Which were awesome.

I've had to say goodbye to the woods for now but don't worry, I'll be back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Voyage Home

Not exactly a time traveling to the 80's thrill ride, but pretty close. With Gila behind me, now all I had to do is get the van from Silver City to Seattle. This should be interesting.

On the way to Albuquerque (the city, not the word I most desire to play in Scrabble) we drove by this coal train. Full of coal. I was glad to see that this is still happening, polar bears are assholes anyway. Plus this means that my Seattle rooftop vineyard is fast becoming a feasable reality.

If you are in need of fossil fuel, I recommend using any other pump in the known universe. I spent about 20 minutes waiting for this one to despense my fuel so I could continue on. It's somewhere in Northern New Mexico. You have been warned.

After driving all the live long day on Monday I arrived in Boulder once again. This time I took in some different sites, including the city run mountain bike park. Very cool, with lots of different lines for different skill levels.

I was not the only houseguest at Dave's house this week. I'm pretty sure Cassie's towels are also monogramed.

I also got to dine with my friend Heather who was declared a winner by her coaster. While this may seem trivial, it can have a profound effect on one's life.

Just look at what happened to these guys because of coasters.

On the way out of town I got to stop by Feedback Sports. Makers of fine bike workstands and home storage among other things. They also happen to be my favorite sponsor.

As well as fellow sprinter van enthusiasts.

Other stops included Road 34 bike shop and biker bar in Ft. Collins. I didn't ask what was included in a $34 tune up. Hopefully I've got that covered.

A sign letting me know all aboout Wyoming's wildlife.

Similar idea, much cooler execution. This arch is made of Elk antlers that they shed every spring.

Apparently the Boy Scouts collect them. A lot of them.

Since I didn't get any pictures of actual wildlife, here is an approximation of a Wyoming ecosystem as drawn on the back of a bathroom door.

A lot of the rest of the drive looked more or less like this. The level of bugs varied.

 

Now I'm back in Seattle for a little while. More pictures to come, whenever action happens.

 

 

 

So it's been a year...

Long time followers may recognize some of the scene I am going to write about since we just finished the first race (Gila) that I blogged about last year. Different things happened this year, but in a similar setting.

Flying into El Paso I noticed that the engine is not a mens room.

We stopped at a gas station to grab some beverages. No one pulled the trigger for the samurai sword.

Winger did find a great hat though.

This year the staff (Alan and I) stayed in a little cabin down the trail from the main house in Pinos Altos. It was very romantic.

And cozy.

Dune buggy! Silver City hobbies may vary.

Clean water bottles getting dry and ready for beverage. This represents a small fraction of what we used over the course of the week.

Our house. No garage but a nice sized yard to hold bikes.

And oh how many bikes we had.

I had to foil an attempted hitch hiker on one of our bikes before stage one.

At Gila we were joined by Utah Chris. I was glad to discover that his strength on the bike can only be rivaled by his strength in shoe choice.

Cars lined up for Stage 1.

A rider dropping grabbing a bottle from the car in front of us.

Day one was reasonably successful. Jon managed to fight back to a top 20 finish despite the fact he did to his front wheel.

Alan and I meanwhile spent some time figuring out what was wrong with the brakes on our van.

TT day was windy. (Flag in center as evidence.)

Also cold. I got the wheels ready in the back of the van to stay out of the wind.

Alan was in the car.

Rider, director, and photographer just ahead of our last TT starter.

Post TT taco truck!!

Featuring a sticker I also have on my toolbox. Great minds....

I have mentioned before that a lot of racers are also fans of the sport as a whole. With the start of the Giro and limited internet access, I walked into the house Saturday morning to find this scene huddled around Steve's phone.

Our return to the taco truck on Saturday was just as wonderful as the first. We got a little better idea of relative van vs truck size.

Basically if the bike racing thing fails, we may start serving Tacos out of the van.

Crit start. There is a new trend going around of bringing a chair to the pits. I may have to start doing that. People just look so comfortable.

The last day finished right by our hose in Pinos Altos. I've included this map I found on my coffee cup. If you're curious about Pinos Altos it's a lot like this. The Buckhorn is basically the only thing in town.

 

More to come on the journey home.