Courage Day 1.

Ah, what a spectacular day.

It began with some serious fog, but opened up to be just spectacular weather wise. The expected rains never came, the temps ranged from 58 degrees at the start to 95 on Vail Pass, but shade and cloud cover came in to finish the ride at a cool 75. Almost Paradise.

The second pic was typical for today's scenery. This is why I come here to ride. This is my 4th year, and according to the stats I keep, my best first day by 5 minutes. Promised my fearlesd team leader Rob that of I had a great day, I'd do a cartwheel. He has suggested that maybe I should wait for the end of the tour on Monday lest I break something important. So I will defer.

There are a few notables (at least in my book): new max speed of 42.5 mph; no stopping on the brutal upper section of Vail Pass; and the highest average Day One mph for the 59 miles (14.1). I'm smiling.

My Sister came up to have dinner with me tonight. She met some of my team members and had a great time. The temp was right tonight, and I think she liked the visit. I know I did; thanks, Dave.

As I type, I'm finding things that are a bit sore. Neck, legs, other pieces parts too. I think that a massage is in order for tomorrow. I might actually stretch some, too. A novel concept after riding up mountain passes for four hours, don't you think?

Tomorrow includes an off route ride to the thriving metropolis of Montezuma, Colorado. Look it up. I like to think its a five mile steep pedal to the end of pavement and the blue house, so if its longer, don't tell me. I'll have a full report.

I have once again been shown that the human body can ensure more than you think it can. Today I pushed mine farther than I thought it could go. It performed. A little sore, yes, but there ain't no Vail Pass in Texas.

So until tomorrow...that is all. Sleep well, Ags; this one will for sure.

Ready to ride!

Greetings from Copper! The ride is on! Hopefully we can best the rain, but if not, I'm happy to ride when its not 100 degrees outside. Tonite it will get down to 48, and tomorrow startiing out at 7am, I'm guessing around 60. Very pleasant.
The first pic is the view for the next three nights; the second from the drive into Copper today. I look forward to this ride every year. This is my 4th go...and I truly love it.

The third pic is tomorrows profile. You ride geeks will appreciate it. Note: Vail pass. Hope you can read the text.

Anyway, I'm getting flack for being on my phone too much. So until tomorrow...

Time to find some Copper.

Ah, friends!  It's time for some bike riding, tent sleepin, mountian pass conquerin' epic times.  Otherwise known as the Courage Classic.  Starts tomorrow, and includes Vail Pass.  Forecast calling for 50% showers, so I'll try to ride down the mountain once I get to the top rather than slide down.   I've got some promises to keep, and staying alive and in once piece I think I can handle.

So yesterday I went for another test ride on my 'flat producer' bicycle.  Or at least, that's what I have dubbed it now.  Cant' seem to get a break, even after changing out the rim tape yesterday before the ride.  I have now experienced this:

For you avid bike riders, you'll notice that it appears that the tube has come thru the tire.  Nope.  This is actually in the tire itself, independent of the tube.  And I had to puncture it to get it resolved.  I decided to ride on, and didn't have another issue.  I did, however, patronize the local bike shop for a new tire, new tube, and a new pump.  I seem to have a knack for losing pump parts on rides that make my bike pumps useless.  Yesterday was another example.  So I have purchased yet another pump, hopefully this time I will not lose any parts. 

I did see this while I was having tire issues:

 It was a good day to ride all in all, and the brief sprinkle of rain after this pic on the way down was wonderful.  Another pic of my Thursday ride:

My next post will be from the thriving metropolis of Copper Mountain, Colorado.  Most likely it will be after the first day of riding (Saturday) but you might get lucky.

Time with the Fam.

So I'm sitting here in Evergreen, listening to Strike Three playing Rockstar by the lake. It's turned out to be a wonderful evening with my sister Renee, husband Dave, and two kids, 2 and 4 years who won't stop running with huge smiles on their faces. Just awesome.

Today was an altitude acclimation day, in which I slept about 12 hours of today. Yesterday I rode a 10 mile stretch around evergreen, including up and over Stage Coach Pass just down the road. I wouldn't say it was huge, just realistically the local high point.

Tomorrow I will ride the pass in the opposite direction, hopefully with some good views. And no flats. Hopefully the front tire repair I have yet to make. New rim tape. Draw your own conclusion.

Anyway, here's a few photos from yesterday and today. Enjoy.

I'm going back to finishing my chocolate Teddy Grahams.

Road Trip 2010: The first leg.

Honestly, I haven't been to church in awhile.  A few months ago (probably more than a few now) some things happened, some attitudes that existed showed me that it was time for a break.  I decided to tak e a hiatus from a committee that I had participated on for years.   It was time for a change.

I bring this up because God definitely reminded me of what life is all about.  On the way out of Houston, I stopped in The Woodlands for some lunch.  A great time with some friends, some old, some new.  I had made a decision to delay a bit for lunch, and I'm glad that I did.  Good food and good friends.

From there, I headed to see someone that entered this world on Monday.  Just 5 days old.  I forget how small babies are when then enter the world, and how fragile they are.  I hope I didn't stare too much. 

Then I saw this:

 Just an absolutely wonderful day for a drive.  The weather could not have been better.

I arrived at Dad's house before sunset Saturday.  I switched cars and have my Dad's sedan, which, among other things, gets twice the gas mileage of my truck.  It had more room than I figured, and was able to easily fit all my stuffs including bike inside the car.

Sunday I left about 9:30 and drove twelve and a half hours from Sanger to Evergreen, Colorado.  Aside from one idiot in the middle of nowhere, it was absolutely beautiful;  There's really not too much other than scenery to look at for awhile, and a discussion with a friend on the way helped break up the drive.  I learned last year that stopping about every 16 ounces is a great place to take a short break and stretch.  Minimal traffic all day long.  Here's a few tidbits:

This was around Mt. Capulin. It rained through the 'safety corridor' last time I drove through this stretch of New Mexico on US 87.  The rain continued over Raton Pass. 

 As the sun set between Colorado Springs and Denver, the light show was wonderful.  Amazing again.

About this time, I decided to go windows down.  I could feel the chill of the cool on the back of my neck and as I made the turn off Highway 6 to I70 west, the smell of the forest hit my nose.  Immediately I knew I had made it; 17 hours of drive from Houston since 1 pm yesterday, and it was totally worth it. A gorgeous day of the best paintings on the planet; every day on a sky near you. 

Now I wait for Friday; there's a few routes I'll take in the Evergreen area, and get myself ready for the Courage Classic starting Saturday. I can't wait.

Road trip blog

Here's a test of the emergency broadcast system.

Not really, just a shot of what the blog will look like for the next 5 weeks. Some text, and a pic or two:

Yeah.

The Road Trip--- Tentative schedule.

If you have any interest in my road trip, please see the below.  It's not a guarantee, but if you want to try to follow me, we're mostly there with this list.  Enjoy!

On the right, the comm #, you can see some of the major events.  From Thurs, August 5th thru Fri, August 20 is all baseball, less one travel night.  There are other major parks and things that aren't listed, so you'll just have to keep yourself posted. 
 
I'm gonna try to blog this trip, but it's looking like I can only get one pic with each post; we will see how that goes.  I'm looking into other options, so stay tuned.
 
The Courage Classic is the bike ride that I do.  Details:  http://www.couragetours.com/
 
You'll notice that I'm planning on a full week in Los Angeles.  Had to wait for Oakland to get back into town.  That will be a different wrinkle than last year, as I was in a different town every night.  This should give plenty of time to see some great things.  I'm sure LA has lots of things to see and do.
 
The brewery tour on August 22nd is in Creston, BC, Canada.  Kokanee beer.  Well, it's a great excuse to drive across the border, anyway.
 
Goal now is to post once a day.  We will see how that goes, right?  It all starts on Saturday. :)

It's almost time to hit the road.

Well then.  I see it's been a few since I posted anything. 

I've been traveling.  I've been training.  I've been just having a great time.  But most importantly, I've been scheming, planning and have come to a consensus... baseball is cool.

Last year, I took a month and went on a road trip.  I enjoyed it so much, that I have planned to do it again.  I never forsaw it to go about double the distance, but it is what it is. 

I always wanted to drive the 101.  TPH.  West Coast Highway. 
And, since I was gonna be over there, well, er, uh,  let's see some baseball.  After all, everyone needs an excuse to have a road trip every once in awhile, and well, this should take care of it for me for awhile, and maybe everyone else that says they are living vicariously through me.

I accept the challenge:

Ok, so it looks loile a lot.  It is.  And, I won't go into how limited Google Maps is for a month long road trip, but the major cities are depicted correctly.  X marks the spot of the whole reason why I did this trip, the three day long, 160 something bike ride to benefit the Children's Hospital of Denver.  http://www.couragetours.com/ if you're interested in making a donation for me this year.

Ok, back to the trip.  The route actually follows the 101 all the way thru Oregon, and all the way around Olympic National Park in Washington.  It goes thru Electric City, Washington as well, and makes a jaunt to Creston, BC, Canada for a brewery tour. 

Then, come down through Kaispell, Wyoming, and thru Grand Teton and Yellowstone.  Should be a great trip.  8200 plus miles. 

I do have to show you probably the most beautiful map I've seen in awhile.  It helped me spend an entire week in the LA/ San Diego area to wait for Oakland to get their butt back in town.  Thanks, MILB:

Yes, It's a map of all the minor league teams in the US by geography.  Sweet.  I'm hitting 5 of the green ones in California.  Makes 15 baseball games in 16 days.

I'm gonna try and blog my trip this year.  Right now I'm looking into how to do that efficiently; will keep you folks posted.  Hope all is well in your world.