Rolla Hade...

was my Father in-law. He was a cowboy and spent much of his younger days traveling the rodeo scene as a talented roper. I always thought being on a farm and having all kinds of animals would be a neat way to live life even though I'm sure it takes more hard work than I am aware of but I liked the idea of driving a pickup through the property or putting in a hard days work and then watching the sun go down while sitting back on the porch. In 2008 he was battling colon cancer. He managed to rope that steer too and was soon given a clean slate. After all that, he dropped about 80 pounds and had a new lease on life. Most of the time when Heather and I called him he would be out doing stuff again. Swimming, going back to rodeos, or spending the night out with the boys shooting pool, smoking cigars and maybe even having a cold brew. He even talked about coming back out here to visit us again to see if he could tolerate the altitude now that he was feeling so much better (he wasn't able to stay for our wedding because of altitude related issues).

For the last month or so, Rolla started feeling poorly again. He complained of stomach aches and pains and loss of appetite. He had a test earlier this week that showed an area of concern on his liver and another on a lung. He was scheduled for some further testing tomorrow to see if the cancer had come back again. We suspected it had. We spoke to him last night and he sounded genuinely worried.

Rolla passed away in his sleep last night.

I remember talking with him shortly after marrying his lovely daughter. I asked him if I could call him "dad". Those that know me understand that I haven't used that word in a long time but I've wanted to for quite a while. I was so thrilled when I would call him and say, "Hey Dad".

This puts something as trivial as annoying brakes into perspective rather quickly. I'm so glad he didn't suffer.

I will miss you more than you know. May you rest in peace...Dad.

Night Rider

No not the show, although, that show was pretty sweet. I would soooo rock the Hoff's hair. My wife says she likes me with a shaved head but....what else are you gonna say to the person that you're stuck with for life who has no seeds sprouting? For a while we talked about a deal that would put us back in St. Louis and put me at the Hair Club for Men but I think we both know that I simply couldn't handle the heat. Not the heat from all the play I'd be gettin' from the ladies with my luscious locks (Oh I'll handle that like a trucker handles his rig on an icy mountain pass). I'm talking about the heat that can only be experienced in the midwest

Oh bullocks...I've veered substantially off course. Back to night ridin'. Last night I waited until about 9 before heading out for about 1.5 hours on the mean trails of Woodland Park. Past the Sonic where all the high school kids were kickin' it. I slowly climbed all the way up to a power line cut up above town and was greeted with a pretty neat view of the surrounding area's lights before dropping back down on a different trail. I'm hoping to do more night riding this year and, as the race gets closer, I'll start putting in more time in the dark. Nothing crazy to report from the ride other than the fact that my front BB7 continues to squeal loudly. What is it with this thing? I actually took it in to my local shop three times now and paid someone that works on bikes all day long to fiddle with it and he can't quiet it down. I know some (TK) will say that I am a bit of a perfectionist with things but this sound creates decibels so high that leaves on nearby tree's quiver. I'm at a loss.

In other news...the roofers are nailing down the new shingles as I type. They seem like good guys so I decided to get them a 12 pack and had it iced down for them when they arrived this morning. I wanted to show them that we appreciate their hard work on our home. After much debating though, I opted for 3.2% ABV because, like I said, I want them to feel appreciated but...I don't want them to fall off the roof and have this turn in to a Jerky Boys skit.

I wonder when Honey Stinger is going to get those bibs in that I keep hearing are, "Expected any day now."

Day 3

Today I finished up Section 14 of the CT and then hit highway 50 back into Salida. There is A LOT of hiking in this section but there are a few spots where the trail is pavement smooth as it winds it's way through the Aspens.

This is just as the trail starts to drop down to the Mount Shavano trailhead.

I had about 18 hours of moving time over the 3 days and covered just under 140 miles. I consumed 27.3 gallons of water (not including the liquids I purchased along the way).

Day 2

On Saturday I put in an hour and a half before making my way back to Buena Vista and the best cup of coffee in the world (Bongo Billy's). Then I started the 9 mile climb up Cottonwood Pass to jump on to the Colorado Trail. The trail was in good shape but it sure was dusty.

The rivers and creeks were all blown out as that snow up high looks to be melting pretty quickly. Fast moving water means no shortage for me to drink. And drink I did. I have never put down as much water as I was doing on Saturday. I was taking in more than a full bottle every hour.

This poor guy (I know it was a guy b/c someone had hacked off the antlers) was NOT drinking enough water. I made it to the Mount Princeton Hot Springs and then ate a big lunch and pounded juices, and soda's. It was heaven. What was not heaven was seeing that guy in the Speedo. You don't see that much. Then I saw a guy ride up with full bikepacking bags. I called him over and introduced myself. Turns out he was a follower of the TD and was hoping to do the CTR this August. Kenny didn't stay long and took off up the road. I had to get more juices but within half an hour, I loaded up and headed out. I caught him right at the top of the nasty hiking section after jumping back on the trail (it really adds insult to injury). We rode together for a few hours and then I was forced to stick with my plan.

I rode a little over 8 hours on Saturday and it felt great.

This is a fire road just before the Hot Springs.

Day 1 of a long weekend

I had a pretty big weekend to get through in terms of training. Once again, I loaded up and headed over to Chaffee County for three days of riding. On the way over, I saw a Tour Divide racer on highway 24 just out of Hartsel and decided to stop and wait for him to get there so I could give him an applause. It turned out to be Jeff Tomasetti. We chatted for a bit as he inhaled ice cream and then I wished him well and got back in the car. My plan was to park at Absolute Bikes in Salida and do a big loop over the next 3 days. Friday night I rode the TD route northbound. I did not realize how much the road kicked up right as it left Salida though. It doesn't look like much but it climbed for a solid 2.5 hours and man was it hot. It was also incredibly dry back there.

Shortly after taking this picture, I would see someone on the side of the road after cresting a small climb. I figured it would be Jeff but the jersey was a different color. As I got closer, we both were smiling and waving. I can't recall his name right now but he was from Belgium and was also a TD racer. As we chatted, Jeff popped over the hill and we all had a good laugh before riding off in opposite directions. It was pretty inspiring seeing those guys. They were both lubed up with Carmex, Burt's products, Chapstick, Coppertone and layer upon layer of dirt. They both had some pretty serious sores on their mouths and ears from the sun. To say that they looked "bad" would be rude considering the miles they had covered up to that point and the fact that these riders are just exposed to the sun ALL DAY LONG and no amount of anything will keep things from cracking. It was really neat to get to talk to both of them and hear some of their stories.

This was about 3 hours in to the ride when I ran out of water. I was supposed to ride for 3-4 hours this evening and then bivy up somewhere but the route was a lot longer than I anticipated. I ended up making it back to the highway after 6 hours and 3 of them spent licking my lips and trying not to think about soda, water, Gatorade, iced mocha this and that. There were some houses along the way and I could have stopped and pleaded my case but I wanted to see what would happen if I climbed into the hurt cave. At hour 5 I got a little emotional. Although it's just a theory, I believe that dehydration is the biggest reason for my quitting in 2009 and even if my hub hadn't had issues in 2008, I would not have made it through the remote areas and may have gotten into serious trouble.

I snapped this picture about 8 miles away from the highway. I pressed on and finally made it to the gas station and stocked up before riding another 10 with a headlamp to find a bivy spot near the Arkansas River.

This is like 11,7XX'. For those that don't know, racers in the Quizno's Pro Race will be coming up from the Taylor Park side of things. The valley on that side of the Divide is one of my favorite places in Colorado. A dirt road climbs up from there and it becomes paved right at the top. Can't wait for that race.

Not sure what was going on in this picture but I think I was just having so much fun. Lot's of snow up there.

That's the summit of Turner Mountain where I had my lunch.

Incredible Ride

Today's ride called for a really long, mostly Zone 2 climb to altitude. I was also supposed to get in some hiking to even higher ground if I could. I had planned on going over to Buena Vista to do this workout. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to it all because of the snow in the high country. My plan on the way over was to ride from town, the 20 miles to the summit of Cottonwood Pass and then descend mostly down to Taylor Park on the other side and then come back up. The further I climbed, the more it looked like I might actually be able to get a hike in. I averaged just under 7 mph on the way up Cottonwood which seemed good for keeping the effort to one where I could have held a conversation the whole way. The ride up was pretty uneventful and once I made the top, I set of on foot and pushed my bike an extra 1100' up to the summit of Turner Mountain. I had lunch up there and took in the views for a while before coming back down.

When will I learn? These pics are all outa whack. These are all from the ride up Cottonwood. As soon as I sat down for lunch at 13,2XX, the batts for my GPS and camera took a dump.

This is the CT where it crosses Cottonwood Pass. We actually don't get to ride the part I'm standing on as we come up the road from BV and then hang a left on the trail but I had to pee so I did it here.