Blake Harlan

I Feel Like Wells

2009-03-27T10:41:00.002-06:00

So racing season is officially here. Currently im sitting upstairs in the DIA terminal catching the free wifi, hence the title. Life has been pretty full lately, work school and riding have been consuming my life and finding time for just doing nothing is hard to come by. I'm not feeling too hot on the bike right now, been resting a lot this week in hopes of pulling something off this weekend but really not expecting too much but hey sometimes you have your best races when thats happens...we'll see.
It's funny, I booked this ticket without talking with anyone and I ended up flying to Fontucky with Bryan on the same flight and Kiel on the same flight back since he's coming back from Redlands, crazee. Bryan realized that his bike would cost $175 each way on United but he mastered the disguised frame box and said it was a picture frame, nice work. Thank god I dont have to fly with a bike, this new team has its ducks in a row which is nice. Despite not feeling too hot race wise im really excited to go to Fontana and see all the people I haven't seen since last race season in addition to my new team, and dont forget the new gear, alright. I found a mini, mini bible here at DIA on the table, its about and inch by and inch and inside said courtesy of: _____________. I filled it in with GOD in sharpie.
In other news I was scared I wasn't going to make my flight because Boulder got slammed with a spring snowstorm, we got over 16 inches in Boulder, insane. The Bus driver today was driving the bus like it was a go cart, we had to be going at least the speed limit passing cars like they were standing still. Got to DIA and everything was a breeze, hardly any lines.

Oh yea, I cut my mullet, it was a sad day but needed to happen. Oh yea, im not really sure I informed anyone other than those in Boulder, who obviously saw it. In any case it was pretty awesome, but was getting annoying and hot. I'll try to post some pictures soon. I brought my camera so hopefully I can take some pics and update my blog here and there. Now that I actually have stuff to talk about, we'll see how it goes.

Thats all I got.

First Post of 2009

2009-02-08T18:30:00.004-07:00

Well It's been quite the void in between posts but thats how the off season is supposed to be. Sorry to my readers who have sent me hate mail about my lack of updates.

To start things off I have a story for you. So one of the common roads often traveled by the cyclists of boulder, Four Mile Canyon, is an awesome road, great pavement, nice views, and a pretty good shoulder.

However, there is a shooting range along the side of the road for a small section. You can never miss it, lined with F350 super duties, stickerd up with "Get Some" and "These Colors Don't Run" bumper stickers. If you don't see the usual suspects along the side, chances are you'll get a glare, victory salute or a buzz along your way up or down the canyon. Now the other day I was on my way to Four Mile with Peter when an unexpected voice came form behind us. I turned around and there was a guy with a custom painted painted cannondale, riding showes, helmet, baggies, knee warmers, and.....a huge backpack. He was lost an wanted directions to Four Mile Canyon. We told him to follow us to 36 and we'd show him where to go. Well as we were going down the road I asked him what he was carrying in that backpack and why he was going all the way to Four Mile. I was thinking he was a geologist, or just Boulder weirdo. Well turns out he was packin.... literally. Thats right, this guy was commuting by bike to the shooting range.

Now my question is whats worse, riding a bike with 40lbs of gear and ammo all the way to the shooting range or meeting your F350 friends in a chamois? I laughed, and wished him happy shooting.

Besides the daily grind of school, I've been logging in the miles pretty consistently. I just finished my 5th or 6th week of pretty good base so hopefully that will get me through the year. I just got done making my race calendar and boy o boy its packed. Between collegiate, MSC, the national races and stage races I'm going to cherish my off weekends this summer. The miles thus far have been pretty fun, and Boulder has been pretty tame in terms of winter (knock on wood).

A few pictures form the rides.

Occasionally you run into friends in the gold hill general store.

Im going to go ahead and give Gold Hill General Store the best bike stop of 2008 award and it's well on its way to winning the same award for 09.

The Year is shaping up really nicely. For 2009 I'm racing for the Jamis Factory Team! That makes me teammates with Seamus McGrath and Chris Shepherd, and of course Jason. The guys and gals at Jamis are the coolest! All of our sponsors this year are more than I could have asked for and this year will be a great learning experience, especially with the new teammates. I'll update more on this in a few days.

Kiel is out in Cali getting ready to throw down against the tour winners of the past decade. Go out and giv'er little buddy!

More later.

FFWRD>>>> Sun, Nov 23rd.

2008-11-23T17:32:00.004-07:00

Geez I havent updated in forever. well since I last updated this is basically what you've missed:

School, cross, school, racing, House, racing, coffee, last cross race in boulder, hang up bike, crazy warm weather in boulder, beer, beer, beer, school, more House, beer, coffee.

Now it's finally a break, thanksgiving break more specifically and it couldn't have come at a better time, my brain hurts. Yesterday Kiel, Eric and I went out on an epic hike. NCAR, up and over the Flatirons, across private land and finally ending up at Walker Ranch.

Eric and Kiel getting ready.

Did I mention we didn't use the Boulder Open Space provided trails?

The view at the top top was well worth it.

5hrs later, mission accomplished.

Did I mention we went 1 for 1, 100%, A+ on hitchhiking back to Boulder.

Now I'm so sore I can barely walk. Kiel is also pretty sore and we've been spending the day lounging around the house and punching each other in the legs, pretty sure I wont be able to get out of bed tomorrow. But that can't happen because Caitlin and I fly to Austin tomorrow to spend the holidays with the parents, I sure do miss home and can't wait to hang out in Austin. Until my next adventure.

2008-11-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Collegiate Nationals

2008-10-24T14:43:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack up updates, just busy pure and simple. Im in Banner Elk, NC for the 2008 Collegiate MTB Nationals. I had some terrible luck last year riding in around 12th place when bad luck struck, forcing me to run with my 50lb mud covered bike to the finish, finishing 28th or so. This year I wanted revenge and I got it. Today I battled in between 5th and 9th all day and crossed the line 7th. I couldn't be more happy to finish that high up with as stacked of a field as what shows up to natz. I rode, perfect race and finished with nothing left in the tank. Da German won again, and while it's kind of annoying racing for first american both in conference races and nationals, I have to say Ben is one of the nicest guys on the circuit and deserves to win. CU had some bad luck today and we're probably sitting in 3rd right now after both men's and women's XC in the books. We'll see what happens. The rain has once again come to nationals for the second year. being a big important race, you spend most of the time sitting around trying to not spend energy or do anything stupid in prep for your races, but with the rain coming down in sheets, cabin fever has struck us all pretty hard. We are staying by a golf course. Rain, Boredom and Golf Course=

I caught him napping.

2008-10-14T10:34:00.000-06:00

The Unfairness of Life

2008-10-07T20:17:00.003-06:00

Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair. Yesterday, our dear friend Muneeb passed away in a fatal car accident. When word of what happened came, it was like getting hit in the chest by a bus. Muneeb was one of the most upbeat, happy, selfless people I have ever met. Whether is was cracking jokes about him being from Pakistan and how he had ridden his camel to my house or whether it was him cooking us amazingly spicy but delicious food, you couldn't help but laugh or smile while around him. Muneeb never brought a negative or dull moment to any of our lives and to no longer have him with us is a feeling that makes us all sick to our stomach. We all handle death in our own ways, and I'll be the first to say that I don't do to well with it. Muneeb was my best friend, Eric's best friend and to see someone that special taken away from someone who you care about just as much is just as hard to see. It could be anyone of us. Muneeb died doing a selfless act. Someone said he probably wouldn't have died if he wasn't so selfless. It's times like these that make life seem unfair and at the same time makes everything seem so miniscule in the grand scheme of life. Minuscule and precious at the same time. Muneebs death comes as a wave of sadness, loss and a check to reality. If we could all lead lives like Muneeb did, the world would be a wonderful place. Even if you knew Muneeb for five minutes, the chances that he at least made you smile are pretty great. We will all miss you Muneeb.

Here is the funeral information. If you knew Muneeb, and want to attend, you are more than welcome to come tomorrow.
FUNERAL INFO:

Wednesday, Oct 8. 1 pm.

There will be a prayer service tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Masjid Abu Bakr (Colorado Muslim Society) at 2071 Parker Road in Denver,
(See: http://islamicvalley.com/prod/entityView.php/t/09L/i/09L6IF ). The prayer service will be followed by the funeral which is within walking distance of the mosque.

Everyone is welcome to come.
We are carpooling tomorrow at 11.45am from the front door UMC. Let us know if you need a ride or you are going with the car and have room for people.

PS
Traditionally people wear WHITE clothes during funerals in his culture, so it will be appreciated. Woman should bring head scarfs to wear in the mosque.

Busy

2008-09-29T20:54:00.001-06:00

A lots been going on, I haven't abandoned this site, i'll be back with an update soon, most likely in the form of a book. peace!

meanwhile, check out tristan's pic.

Sickness....

2008-09-18T16:37:00.002-06:00

It couldn't have happened at a worse time but i guess life is full of curve balls. I have been sick since last thursday and I'm still not better. I'm still blowing snot out my nose roughly 500 times a day and have this little annoying cough to go with it. No doubt the worst is over but having to cancel my plans to Rad Racing, Starcrossed and a trip to portland is not my idea of fun. Instead i'll be going to a wedding and a collegiate mountain bike race in Wyoming. Other than being sick not much else to report.. pretty boring but hey, its not like i've been having too much fun either.

Be Back Soon.....when i feel better and have something fun to report.
blake

Life's Highs and Lows

2008-09-08T20:19:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that life has its highs and its lows. Currently I would describe myself as being thoroughly engulfed in one of life's highs. Yea it sounds cheesy but it's true, I couldn't be happier. To catch up since last post, I had a killer (for me) race at Brian Head on the last stage. I finished 10th on the stage and went from 19th to 11th in GC. I rode the whole stage well and it was a personal breakthrough in terms of racing hard for that long. Peter also rode well winning his category despite multiple mechanicals on multiple days.

Since then I've been settling into the new place which pretty much rocks my world. We now have a full HD entertainment system with surround sound and a projector... and an xbox360, so at times being productive can be a struggle. In more good news, best friend and roommate Kiel signed his 2yr contract with Jelly Belly this weekend as he races the Tour of Missouri this week, good job buddy, you deserved it!

The wed morning worlds started up last week, always a good time, although a little early.

Last week was a blast and I can't wait till this wednesday. I'm doing ok at the racing and dismount, the run ups and barriers but clipping back in is giving me some trouble. Something about the new Shimano Shoes and their carbon soles combined with the egg beaters make it a little slippery to clip back in, ill have to work on that.

Last week I did a Full Cycle shop ride up in Ned. We rode some cool trails.

Unfortunately I bent the hell out of my front chainring, making it unridable for this weekends first collegiate race. So instead I raced my singlespeed. The course was pretty hard and technical but I rode pretty strong and finished 5th in the XC, not too shabby.

This next week will be the race up in Sol Vista and the following thursday I'll fly out to do Starcrossed, YAAAAAA!!!!

Anyway, that's all I have to report. Sorry for not updating in two weeks. I just got caught up in everything.

Brian Head Stage 2

2008-08-23T17:57:00.002-06:00

oh good lord today hurt. I found out on the start line that we were doing the old marathon loop plus some extra stuff, including a run up to the peak. Today was good and bad. I had some personal accomplishments, but for most of the day I paid for them. The race started with the road and dirt climb up to the top of the alpine single track. Knowing that the marathon loop consisted 85% of jeep roads I knew if I could make it to the top with the leaders I could probably get myself into a good train to spend the day with. So I did, well kinda. I made it with the leaders to the top of the road climb, then we turned onto the dirt. I made it about 1/2 way up the dirt climb and the trailer came unhitched. I chased to the top keeping the gap to a minimum. After descending fast enough to scare myself several times I made it to the beginning of the jeep roads. The dust was still settling and I chased for a good 25 minutes as hard as I could. I knew I was close to at least a group but I never made contact. Somewhat blown I tried to recover. Several trains came bye me but I couldn't hang. I rode 95% of the race by myself which was not good. I can't remember a race where I rode this hard to go this slow. I made up some time on the 1 track but it was a rough day in the saddle. Collin Cares got 3rd today which is pretty effing sweet, considering he's as old as I am. Neat. Tomorrows stage is going to be a true test. I'm looking forward to it. I know the course and I think it suits me relatively well but two laps of the xc course is gonna be rough. Poor peter has gotten a flat on each stage, we got him a new tire though so he's set. Well thats about it, 3rd ice bath is already in the books and I think it's time to walk across the street and get some ice cream. Hopefully tomorrow goes better.

Brian Head Prologue and Stage 1

2008-08-22T19:17:00.002-06:00

So the mass start prologue (dumb) was pointless and fun. Besides having $500 to the winner and the leaders jersey, nothing else counted for your overall. So with that said, we all started fast and when we decided to slow down we did. The start was fun though. It was my first start with "da big dawgs" which was pretty cool.

Stage 1 was today. The race here is uh budget ..... They ran out of maps, we got 1 bottle with our registration, and breakfast today was poor, at least the trails were rock'n . The number of participants at this race is pretty low but the pro mens field seems to be stacked. Todays stage was roughly 53 miles with about 5800ft of elevation gain. My race was going awesome until I missed a turn (my fault...for the most part), taking me for a 1.5 mile roundtrip down a bombing fire road. That really sucked since it was about 5 miles to go. Losing some spots I rode pretty hard and about a mile later ate shit on a loose turn. I hit my knee pretty hard and knocked the wind out of myself but other than that i was fine. I crossed the line 20th, out of 30 i think. I'm a little bummed that I made those stupid mistakes which cost me probably around 7 to 10 minutes, oh well. The trails were pretty cool, well some were super awesome and others were, well...they sucked. I'm looking forward to tomorrow because my legs feel quasi good after today, but I'm sure I'll be biting those words tomorrow. Meanwhile it's just killing time, browsing the web, watching the olympics and eatings pints of ice cream.

Brian Head

2008-08-20T20:59:00.002-06:00

Today Peter and I finished our 8hr drive from Boulder to Brian Head, UT. We're here for the American Mountain Bike Classic stage race. 3 stages, 1 prologue, 170 miles with 14,000+ft of climbing......all at or around, or above 10,000ft. I could smoke Jason here, heck, I'd give him a 2hr head start and yes that's a challenge, OOOOOoooooo! We did a little ride when we got here, preriding the Prologue course. It's pretty fun and I don't even feel too bad up here, I guess the week up in Ned did me some good. The legs are coming around but I'm still pretty tired from lack of sleep and moving so much. I kinda feel like I'm getting sick but hopefully some sleep can cure all that. Sry, I took pictures but don't have my download cable with me. Check the Team Site for daily updates and VIDEO.

JFMAMJJSOND

2008-08-12T17:18:00.004-06:00

When was somebody going to tell me that August started? Ever Since I got back from Europe, things have just continued to happen in FFwrd. VT, Canada, and I believe thats where i left off. Canada was a great experience. Having just received the final punch on the racing license I was pretty nervous about being the weak link in the 4 person team we had at 24 hrs of Adrenalin. The racing there was a blast and I far surpassed any expectations I and I think others had for my performance. We won and that was neat. The team was awesome, the support was phenomenal and the experience was one that will stay with me for awhile. Having a new type of motivation to improve, I hit up the double XC racing weekend up in the high mountains near Winter Park. Saturdays race was the Crankworks XC followed on Sunday by the MSC at Sol Vista which was also the Colorado State Championships. Saturdays race was intense. All the local big names showed up in pursuit of the big cash money which Crankworks always puts up for grabs. Being my first Pro race I was simply happy to be there, but at the same time didn't want to get snuffed. It started with a 2000ft climb up to 11,000+ft and having not got ina warmup I struggled up it. Shot out near the back of the pack I knew I still had significant time to bring things together, which I did. After the climb I had a great rest of the race and finished around midpack. The point to point race was way fun and I plan on doing the race again next year for sure. Sundays adventure was exactly just that, an adventure. As I warmed up chatting it up with various other competitors, I couldn't help but not get motivated. It seemed like nobody wanted to race and it was contagious. As our start got delayed it seemed like every racer hit up the maffia tent to escape the heat and sun that had reached an uncomfortable intensity.There I watched Ross Schnell hobble under the tent and ask for a red bull 5 minutes before the start. As we were called to the line I wasn't expecting much, except pain. The gun went off and I politely assumed my position toward the back of the pack. As I saw Ross rocket off the front I too realized i didn't feel bad. I turned it up and turned it up again and started to pass some people. Lap one came to a close and I was still near the back but not losing huge amounts of time to the rest of the field. I started lap two strong and continued to climb well. Then a typical Colorado monsoon moved in and pelted us with hail, freezing rain and lightning every fifteen seconds. I quickly went from sweating profusely to shivering as the mud started to bunch up on my non mud tires. A few time the lightning was so close I knew it was coming before it hit. This sensation was followed by the smell of what I just assumed was a racer burnt to a crisp. It didn't occur to me that this would be the last lap until some guy I had passed first lap came flying by me. Oh, he's got a good point. I followed him to the line and finished my race near the back but was still happy with my ride considering I could have done better had it been 4 laps, so i think. The double weekend was a blast as we stayed in Caitlin's cabin up in Winter Park, thanks to her lodging was both close by and free, not to mention we had a blast entertaining ourselves with "costumes", aka ski outfits from circa 1960.

Lately I have been riding a ton and really enjoying it. Last week Peter and I rode a solid 20hrs or more. Everything in life seems to be clicking and I'm just along for the ride. A few weeks ago the idea of racing Brian Head Stage Race came up. Well it's a go and I have been trying to get up to the higher elevations for my rides. It's definitely helping and I'm getting pretty excited. I'm also trying to get my cross season worked out and I'm also pretty excited about doing a full cross season, should be fun this time around considering I'm always burnt out by this time of year. I move into my new apartment this weekend and the parents are coming up for the first time in 2 years, pretty awesome. Other than all that its just been hanging with friends and taking beer feeds at wed night worlds oh yea. Sorry for the rant, it was just time to catch up. Here are some pictures, although my camera has been acting up, something with the memory card.

The Beer Feed in all of its glory.

When it's hot and your race is 3 hrs out.

Wed Night worlds on the cross bike

Been doing a lot of this.

24 Hr Worlds, the team.

Canmore/Banf...this place sucks.

I was bummed to have to go home right after the race.

I got to meet Jonah!

Colorado State Champs at Sol Vista.

I have uploaded some new tunes from Justice, MGMT and Beirut, hope you enjoy.

Oh Boy

2008-07-25T21:13:00.002-06:00

This is gonna hurt........ a lot. The course is uh......hard. lots of open jeep rode and slow climbing. All power, all the time. I'll be turning myself inside out to keep competitive lap times consistent. Keep up with Tinker and the team here.

Ah, to be humbled.

2008-07-17T20:07:00.002-06:00

I got my shit rocked today. The race was long, hot, and brutal. Being on vacation for 5 weeks and not racing for at least seven didn't help matters. I seem to be really fit, i mean I put in multiple 20+hour weeks while in Europe, but without racing you lose that top end racing fitness, the type I needed today. I raced relatively smart with this in mind but fatigue, cramping, crashing and some slight bike issues kept me from really doing anything but finishing.

The Pain Cave

Oh yea, I was the alternate for USADA.

Congrats to teammate for Mitch Peterson for getting second today, we were all routing for him to win.

My Team Rocks!

2008-07-14T14:11:00.003-06:00

Get bike stolen 3 days before I come home. Call Matt....."Matt, my shit got jacked". Come home, go out to run some errands, get a call from roommate....."Blake, there's a bike at the house for you"....thats right, 4 days later I have a bike! Just in time for VT!

Welcome Home Shenanigans

2008-07-10T18:37:00.002-06:00

My Roommates and the rest of Boulder had a little bit of fun with crayons, and my room.

I love you guys too.

Karma

2008-07-07T02:32:00.002-06:00

The guy that took our shit has some mean karma coming his way. Valencia is a beautiful city with amazing architecture everywhere.

However, I can't help but have a slightly bitter taste in my mouth from this place. This whole ordeal of getting our bikes stolen and car broken into has really been a pain. Dealing with insurance companies, leasing companies, police departments and car repair shops has been somewhat of a pain. Thank god we have sebastian, the manager here who has gone far beyond his duties to help us out. Everything from drawing maps, talking on the phone with various peoples and giving me his personal phone in case we got lost in this jungle, he's really streamlined our efforts to get this taken care of. But despite how hard we try we still need to do the dirty work, which sometimes means spending some time chilling in the local gas station to escape from the heat while our car got worked on.

The guys at Car Glass were pretty nice and easy to work with, despite the language barriers. But 30 Euros for this half ass job was pretty ridiculous.

Yea, thats pretty much plexy glass and duct tape. They didn't even vacuum everything.

However after working all morning and into the afternoon, we finally made it to the beach, 25 hours after we got to Valencia.

Today we leave for Madrid, tomorrow we leave for home, I'm ready.

Barcelona, Valencia, oh and our bikes got stolen.

2008-07-05T11:02:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was our last real day in Barcelona, it was also the 4th of July. I pondered what I should do to celebrate this worldwide holiday. Several ideas popped into mind. Hit up every Starbucks, Dunk’n Donuts, McDonalds, Burger King and every other AMERICAN establishment. Or, maybe light some fireworks off on the beach, with an ice cold Budweiser in my hand, slightly more entertaining. Well, after pounding our heads together Scott and I settled on drinking wine and eating local cuisine. The seafood Paella was pretty amazing. The rest of the night was spent wondering the street of downtown Barcelona, hitting up a few tapa and wine bars. The wine bar had some pretty cool music, the guy let me copy the names off his ipod, we’ll see if I can find a few. The street performers on La Rambala are pretty amazing.

The market in Barcelona is also amazing, full of wonderful goodness, I blew some serious Euros in here tasting everything.

We spent three days in Barcelona and every day I went to the beach for a few hours. The beach is pretty crowded but everyone is there to have a good time. The one thing that kept us entertained on the beach was the never ending bombardment of people trying to sell us things. It’s pretty funny how it works too. It seems that every ethnic group has full rights to sell certain things to the intermixed crowds of Tourist and locals. The middle eastern people are the go to guys for, and I quote “bier, cold beer, coke, fanta agua”. However this is how it comes out. “Biercoldbeer,cokefantaagua”. Now if you happen to be sore for one reason or another, don’t you worry, the Asian populous has you covered. Along with the consistent sounds of the ocean waves crashing, seagulls crackling and the biercoldbeercokefantaagua, the repetitive sounds of “massageee” can be heard just as often. All over, sun leathered asian ladies walk around massaging people. The whole massage on the beach doesn’t sound that bad. The thing that gives me the willies is that these ladies go around massaging everyone, everywhere and don’t wash their hands afterwards. Oh yea, those hands that you might think feel so good on your neck were just getting the toe wax out of the 500lb’ers toes down the beach…..uuuhhhgg. needless to say, I didn’t get one. Those are the most prominent sellers, however the large bohemian women sell clothes, more middle eastern folks will be happy to sell you beach tattoos and or sunglasses, or coconuts if you so desire. So to sum up the beach, the sand is nice, the ocean is the perfect temperature, the women are gorgeous and you can thoroughly enjoy yourself as long as you can tune out the sounds of what seems to be coming from a broken record on repeat.

Another little story was the other night, walking down a quasi quite street off La Rambala, I saw a girl get mugged. It happened so fast I didn’t really know what to do. The episode was pretty violent. The girl, after realizing what had happened broke down and started to cry on her friends shoulder. Scott and I made sure she was ok and offered to walk with them but the language barrier was a challenge. Several minutes after a few police showed up. Being one of the only ones to witness the incident and knowing exactly what the man looked like, I tried to offer my knowledge. The police officer claimed his English was no good, but it was obvious what I knew, yet he still blew me off. I understand that it happens often but I was a little disappointed that no effort was made on their part.

In that light, we made it to Valencia today. We are staying at a pretty swank hotel, in a pretty nice area. With parking at the hotel costing 17 Euro a day we decided to park a less than a block away for free. Not having enough hands to take our bags, food and bikes, we grabbed everything but our bikes and headed to our hotel room. Fifteen minutes later I was back at the car only to discover some SOB motha ......you get the idea, broke into the car and stole our bikes, wheels and extra bike parts. Seriously?

With all the nice beaches around, spending the afternoon filing police reports was not my idea of fun.

I'm pretty bummed about the bikes. I mean I had that old XTR seatpost on there, my new white SLR, my 700cc wheels, my extra spare parts, including an x.0 rear der. and x.0 shifters. Also spare Cannondale hangers and bearings, you know, stuff that takes time to accumulate. I'm suppressing my anger right now as it will only affect both those around me as well as myself. Getting mad won't do much so i guess the best thing i can do is move on and try to enjoy myself. We have to fix the car tomorrow, hopefully it doesn't take too much time. Only 3 more days left on this adventure, hopefully they go well.

Wednesday Night Worlds

2008-07-02T14:23:00.002-06:00

In leu of Scott's Birthday yesterday, We (Scott) decided to do a local race. This wasn't any normal race. The course was pretty sweet, having a little bit of climbing and some sweet descents through the woods with some flat as well.

Attacking early, Scott and I were surprised to find ourselves off the front. We didn't know the course too well but nevertheless, Scott put the hammer down.

30k down the road, the hammer was still down and Scott was watts away from dropping me. Scott and I finished 1,2 respectively and brought in a nice paycheck, which we spent on dinner and booze that night. This guy was third, and I beat him on a MTB with 700c wheels, HA!

It all went down in Girona, which is a beautiful city. Here are some pics.

I forgot to mention. When we were in Andorra, Spain won the Euro Championship. I was in tears afterwards, not because I was so happy, but because i couldn't stop laughing at the amount of car horns and cheering going on, it was really something else.

"Did you see that shit?!!!"

Did i mention, I've been routing for them the whole time....oh yea.....

Also in Andorra the cigarette boxes crack me up.

Now we're in Barcelona doing a little of this.

This city is huge and full of stuff to do.

We saw the robot guy from Eurotrip, you know the one, gets kicked in his robot balls....anyway, this guy wasn't exactly like him, but he was damn good. I only had 2Euro coins on me but Scott gave him some change, pretty cool. So cool I forgot to take a picture. Going out tonight, should be fun. Apparently theres a place here thats free to get in until 4am when they start charging a 15Euro cover, WTF, thats insane.

170km, 9hrs, 3 Passes and 3 Countires

2008-06-28T14:58:00.003-06:00

View Larger Map

Today's ride was epic and full of surprises. I left the hotel at 9:30 intending on doing a big ride. I spent some serious time the previous nigth researching google maps and thought i had a pretty good route planned. I followed it today but ended up taking 3 hrs to figure there were some roads that actually didn't exist, oh well, all it was was going up some awesome climbs only to come back down them. I was on my mtb rig with 700c wheels. It's pretty stiff but not as stiff or road worthy as i would have liked for this ride.

At the beginning of the ride i was climbing up some super sweet climbs only minutes from our hotel. Thinking I would go up and over the mountains I hit each climb with a little gusto as i was thoroughly enjoying myself.

The first climb

The second climb.

After figuring out the two climbs didn't go over the mountains I headed back to where i had started and hour and half prior. From there I headed down the valley and into Spain. Once in Spain I continued along my original route. This road was relatively flat, winding around a river.

The entire 105mile ride was exposed and while it was only about 25 or 26c the sun was relentless. As I entered France I started to climb. With most of the area operating under the siesta program, I was shit out of luck when I started to bonk. I drank 10 bottles of water during the whole ride. I didn't feel dehydrated but I was starting to feel the symptoms of heat exhaustion. I took a 15 minute nap under a tree to regain my focus. As I once again began to knock off the Km's I once again started to give into the heat. The sun is so extreme here it really makes it feel 15deg c hotter. Soon enough I found a bar with a grumpy old man who sold me two bags of chips. With my stomach at ease for the moment I was able to actually focus on where i was going. Turns out I bonked right at the wrong time.

Turns out I was climbing a tour climb without the slightest clue. I reluctantly took out my camera and took some pictures because i knew i would want them later, at the time it seemed like way to much energy.

After the climb I descended, Only to do another pass up and over into Andorra. The mountains here are pretty sweet.

As i entered the ski resort town I noticed some commotion. Desperate for my fourth coke I stopped at the supermercado. After refueling I looked around. Turned out the was a renaissance festival, who would have thunk. There was a line of eagles and crazy looking birds there.

There was also some candy, good thing I didn't have much cash on me.

Fueled on short term energy I blasted to the top.

I got back 11hrs after I had left. I figured I sat around eating and resting for about 2hrs during the ride, thats about 9hrs then. Damn, that was way more than I bargained for but hey, its a pretty sweet ride. I met some really cool people along the way too. My Spanish is definitely improving which is really cool. Without anyone to rely on, I have been forced to try and communicate, its amazing how much faster you learn under pressure. I met some people today at the French boarder. They gave me cold water and fresh, cold oranges that were delicious, pretty awesome. I have been eating like a horse since i got back, pretty much the best. I think I'll Chill out tomorrow. Hope everyone did well at DV and hopefully the boys do well at BC.

oh, Also forgot. Andorra has these death traps made to kill cyclists. I almost hit one of these that was hidden in the shade, Pretty sure I shat my pants when it happened.

Also, heres a cool building in the city we're staying in.

Hot Damn!

2008-06-27T14:07:00.002-06:00

Sometimes on trips like this it's easy to get caught up in the moment without having time to step back and look at the big picture. The last few days I have really made an effort to reflect and appreciate this trip and these experiences and all i can say is that I am truly lucky to be able to do this. While some might find their ultimate comfort at home in their living room reading a book or drinking coffee, others couldn't be more happy laying in the park. I seem to have found my own personal enjoyment coming from travel itself. Going from here to there, interacting with all different sorts of people, trying new foods and seeing new places or sometimes just soaking it all in, all while not having a true home. I really do just love traveling.

Our last of two days in France was spent wondering the streets of the beautiful Montpellier.

While Shep might have mastered the installment of the bike rack on the moto's, I have a new task for him... oh yea the shop vac moto.

The train we had to take everyday into town seemed to come straight from Dr. Sues.

Today we made it to Andorra La Vella, Andorra.

I did a little two hour get lost on my bike session today. I forget who, I think it was Sam S. I was talking to at Worlds and he said Andorra was super clean. Since I started this trip I thought Europe was clean, but today I understand what he meant. This has to be the cleanest area I have ever seen. I have yet to see a piece of trash on the ground. Andorra is pretty sweet.

Our hotel is pretty sweet as well. It's right over the river that flows through town and is right in the middle of the city. Heres the view from our room.

I'm planning an epic day on the bike tomorrow. There are about 5 Tour climbs around, I wonder how many of them I can do in one day. Time to get some rest.

Gelato and Wine

2008-06-25T12:26:00.002-06:00

Today we made the transition from Italy to France. Italy was a blast. The Cinque Terre area is beautiful, full of mountains and cliffs that drop down into some of the cleanest water I have ever seen.

Here is a picture of where we're staying, La Spezia, Italy.

The place where we stayed was right in the middle of a Pedestrian mall. We didn't even know it when we got there because apparently parts of Italy operate on the siesta program as well. This being the case we drove right up to our hotel at 2pm, no one was out. That quickly changed a few hours later.

Scott and I went on a ride on our first day.

Here is a little town in the Cinque Terre area.

I got a kick out of this

I managed to hit the beach yesterday. It was super nice. Unfortunately i seem to be somewhat of a freak show with the tan lines i have developed. Snickers and laughs alongside staring is becoming the norm. I guess I am paying the price for the amount of riding im putting in, oh well, its worth it.

We made it to Montpellier France today after almost 6hr in the car. I wanted to go for a ride but the local traffic is somewhat a pain. I made it out for about 30 mins and decided to go back to the hotel. Time to eat some food and watch the first semi-final soccer game, Germany vs. Turkey. Tomorrow is going to be spent wondering through the city, eating some delicious food and watching the Spain/Russia game.

Another Jar of Nutella

2008-06-20T12:02:00.003-06:00

Well the European tour is still going strong. Last time I posted I was in Germany. Well, we have traveled a lot since then and have experienced even more. After Germany we headed to Switzerland. First up Zurich.

Zurich, Switzerland.
When we got to Zurich it was raining and we were scared it might rain the whole time, but it eventually cleared up. The next day was spent getting lost (on foot, not Munich style) in the city. Since EuroFest 2008 is being hosted by both Switzerland and Austria Zurich had multiple big screens set up. The one on the water was pretty cool.

We spent the evening watching games against Czech Republic and Germany and Croatia vs someone else i can't recall. The Germany game was huge with both Czech and German fans making a strong presence in the crowd. Football is so much fun to watch, I really don't understand how its not big in the US. I mean it's pretty much nonstop action for 90 minutes, no bullshit with one half time which lasts about 15 minutes, whatever. The next day it was time to head to Spiez, Switzerland.

Spiez, Switzerland.

This is the place where I came to the conclusion that Switzerland just might be the best country ever. We stayed at Hotel Baumgarten, a family owned hotel.

Ten minutes from our hotel in different directions were either two pristine lakes or huge mountains. I did one of the best rides I've ever done here. I went up into the mountains seeing hardly any cars and was riding on what felt like my own personal rode.

Locarno, Switzerland.

In Locarno it rained a lot. Not wanting to walked around the shopping mall or be stuck in my hotel and with the forecast predicting rain for the foreseeable future I decided to head out for a ride.

Time flies when your having fun. I got back to the hotel 3 hrs later, soaked. I went out again with Scott and we ended up climbing to Mont Bre, a local town on the outskirts of Locarno. It was pretty damn sweet, having mtb wheels i was able to rail the wet decent no problem, it was damn fun.

Lugano, Switzerland.

I did an epic mountain bike ride here. I rode the 2003 World Championships course, rode up the the top of Mt Tamaro, took a wrong turn, hiked for an hour, rode some sweet decent, rode back to Lugano just in time to watch the Tour de Suisse. 10hr day, not bad though.

Now we're in Val di Sole, Italy for the world championships. We've been hanging out with the USA team of course. the U23 race was yesterday. Despite my super cheering which included me cheering in a team USA skinsuit for 3hrs we had a lot of bad luck. crashes, mechanicals and overall shitty luck plagued the team.

Team USA Fans

The place were we're staying is having some slight reconstruction. lets just say we get a routine 7:30am wake up call.

I talked to the owner and threatened to leave if he didn't give us a better price. we're paying 40 Euro a night less and we get breakfast now, I'll take the wake up call.

Shitty update but sorry have to run. DH Worlds are in 30 minutes.