The mountains call, and I must go.

A new season begins

35°, clear and calm. I'm going to try to write on this thing more (October was one of my weakest blogging months ever), as I like to write and even have something to say once in a while. I have not ridden my bike since IGSSC, instead focusing more on ski training. The nordic ski team started yesterday, and we kicked things off with a run through the woods and leg busting lunges. Since a lot of them were playing hooky today with Halloween I figured making 'em a little sore wouldn't be such a bad thing. Today, a nice roller ski up to Happy Valley - 10 km round trip - more strength work and a long stretch session. And so it starts. We're going to try to summit South Arapahoe on Saturday early AM, but I'm suspecting things might be a little gnarly up there.

A wintery mix of clouds and flurries today, but it needs to start snowing here in earnest! Eldora is doing their part, as you can hear the echoing snow guns across the valley.

Five picture = 5,000 words?

55°, clear and breezy. It's balmy up here, but the tentacles of the storm whipping up the mountain sure look ominous. A lot going on lately, but not a lot of time to write. An ebb in that regard. Some photos of the past weeks adventures will have to suffice.

IGSSC teaser

19°, clear and breezy. Short entry as the Red Sox ALCS win has limited planning time and I have to kick some butt this morning! Anyhow, there are shots of the IGSSC up already, and good shots they are! Check it! A small and spirited crew this year which gave us a little bit more freedom. Missed Meriwether for sure though. A proper write-up awaits.

Priorities

26°, flurries, calm. Yes the IGSSC happened and yes it was sweet. A full report soon. For now though, three words...

GO RED SOX!

Kurt Perham rules

30°, clear, blowing like a banshee. Winter has arrived in Happy Valley. Snow all week...nothing heavy, but it's definitely more like Tuk Tuk out there than crisp autumnal weather. Rode the McTrails today and got second tracks. A winding trail in front of me through the two inches of snow covering the singletrack. Blowing like all get up, but smooth sailing in the woods. Left the camera in the car, and I simply don't want to go out there in the blizzard, so photos will have to wait till tomorrow.

It's setting up to be a solid IGSSC. Speaking of which, I'd like to encourage folks to follow the Kurt Perham singlespeed mantra. You see, back in 1999 when we were young and this whole thing was just getting started, it wasn't about the lightest, gucci ride around. It was about cobbling something together, preferably the night before, that sort of worked. In 1999 there was a bike called the Fleet Streak. The Fleet Streak had a ton of soul and was a total P.O.S. Young pilot Kurt Perham rode that damned bike through a foot of snow, without grips, completing the IGSSC in fine fashion. It was hilarious, and helped establish the event. I think the spirit of these type things has been hurt in recent years by uptight people on $3,000 bikes. Look, a lot of us own nice custom singlespeeds (me included) but I urge you to try and cobble something together for this event that is jalopy, and kind of functional and can ride 40 miles of singletrack through snow (but don't spend money or stress it either...that kind of defeats the purpose). Preferably, the build happens the night before the event with a cold beverage (a coke you youngsters!) and hammer in hand.

First ski of the year!

32°, snow flurries and calm. The first real snow of the year today celebrated with a nordic session over at the local football field. Despite the limited terrain, pretty damned fun...giddy excitement basically. Classic skied for an hour or so round and round, making new loops here and there, working on balance a bit, but mostly just having fun. All the cars passing by slowed down to watch and wonder what we freaks were doing skiing around in mid-October. First real nordic ski since April...a nice teaser for the season to come and good reminder of why I'm doing all those lunges this fall.

Getting stoked for the Intergalactic Singlespeed Championships next weekend. Probably because I have been off the bike for awhile. Bummed a key member won't be there due to the damned clogs, but we'll ride in his honor and slay the evil beast!

29" Snow Cats for sale

A few of you asked for a post when I would sell these, so here you go. Seemed like a a good time - it's dumping snow out and the Intergalactic Single Speed Championships are slated for next Sunday. Check out the Pilot Workshop Sale in the upper left hand corner for more info and a link to the auction.

2007 Intergalactic Single Speed Championships

ATTENTION SINGLE SPEED FREAKS, JEDIS, WACKY ONES, THEIR BRETHREN AND SISTREN.

A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...

EPISODE IX

A RETURN OF THE PILOT

IT IS A DARK TIME FOR THE SINGLE SPEED REBELLION. IMPERIAL MAVERICK GEARED TROOPS HAVE DRIVEN REBEL FORCES FROM THEIR HIDDEN BASE AND SCATTERED THEM ACROSS THE GALAXY.

THE EVIL LORD DARTH WORRAB, OBSESSED WITH FINDING THE REBEL TROOPS, HAS DISPATCHED THOUSANDS OF REMOTE PROBE SIGNS INTO THE FAR REACHES OF SPACE. THESE PROBE SIGNS, WITH EVIL CODE WORDS LIKE "SUGAR MAG," AND "HOBBIT TRAIL" (THIS IS STAR WARS NOT LORD OF THE RINGS DAMMIT) HAVE CORRUPTED THE WOODS AND THREATEN TO STRIP THE VERY SOUL OF THE GALAXY.

IN SEVEN DAYS, THE REBEL FORCES WILL STRIKE BACK AT THE 9TH ANNUAL INTERGALACTIC SINGLESPEED CHAMPIONSHIPS (IGSSC 2007) AND RIGHT THESE WRONGS! YES, IT'S TRUE, THE INTERGALACTIC SINGLE SPEED CHAMPIONSHIPS WILL BE HELD IN THE NEDERLAND, COLORADO GALAXY ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2007.

THIS EVENT IS STILL DARKER, LONGER AND MORE UN-CUT THAN ANY OTHER IN THE GALAXY. FORGET THE STUPID "WORLD SINGLE SPEED CHAMPIONSHIPS" AND SUCH, THEY PALE IN COMPARISON. DO THEY HAVE TEETER TOTTERS, BRIGES AND RAMPS? NO, AND NEITHER DO WE, SINCE SOMEBODY DESTROYED THEM ALL AND REPLACED THEM WITH SOME SWEET ASS SIGNAGE! NO MATTER...WE WILL VISIT ALL THE FORMER BRATT SITES AND POUND A COLD ONE IN THEIR HONOR!

EVADING THE DREADED IMPERIAL GEARED STARFLEET, A GROUP OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS HAS ESTABLISHED A NEW SECRET BASE IN THE REMOTE FORESTED WORLD OF YBMIN. WE CANNOT PUBLISH THE LOCALE OF THE NEW SECRET BASE AT THIS TIME, AS THE EVIL GEARED FORCES WILL SURELY DESTROY IT AND ERADICATE KEY PILOT MEMBERS.

WE WILL TELL YOU THIS. TAKE THE 8:10 AM RTD SPACE TRANSPORT DEVICE TO THE NEDERLAND GALAXY ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21. IMMEDIATELY HEAD TO THE NEDERLAND CO-OP, GRAB A WARM MUFFIN, AND START PEDALING. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR X-WING SINGLE SPEED SPACE CRAFT, LIBATIONS, AND FULL INTERGALACTIC SPACE SUITS. YOU'D ALSO BE WISE TO PROCURE THE USE OF ONE OF THOSE HIGH-FANGLED GPS DEVICES, OR FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS ONE AND BE THEIR CO-PILOT. PROCEED BY BIKE, FOOT AND LIGHT SPEED TO THE FOLLOWING POINT:

N 39° 56.930
W 105° 30.937

AT THIS LOCATION, INSTRUCTIONS TO THE OFFICIAL TOP SECRET MEETING PLACE WILL BE LOCATED IN A RED CIGAR TUBE WITH A BLACK LID, 3/4 INCH DIAMETER. NO NEED - AND MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE - TO PULL THE CONTAINER FROM ITS HIDY HOLE. ONE MORE CLUE: KNEE HIGH TO A BLACK BEAR

INSIDE YOU WILL FIND DIRECTIONS TO THE OFFICIAL MEETING PLACE FOR THE IGSSC 2007 (THERE IS NOTHING THERE NOW AND WON'T BE UNTIL THE MORNING OF THE IGSSC). IT WILL TAKE ABOUT AN HOUR TO GET FROM THE NEDERLAND SPACE METROPOLIS TO THE OFFICIAL MEETING PLACE, SO PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

FOR MORE INFO ON THE HISTORY OF THE GALACTIC WARS, VISIT HERE.

DON'T MISS IT. WE'RE TALKING GALACTIC WAR AND SHIT! MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

Get Snow Stoked!

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
452 AM MDT SAT OCT 13 2007

...STORM SYSTEM HEADED FOR COLORADO...

.A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS COLORADO LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY AND MAY PRODUCE HEAVY SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS OF NORTHERN COLORADO AS UPSLOPE FLOW DEVELOPS. OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS PRECIPITATION SHOULD FALL AS RAIN ALTHOUGH RAIN MAY CHANGE TO SNOW OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON BEFORE ENDING SUNDAY NIGHT.

SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET- SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/ GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET- INCLUDING...CAMERON PASS...LARAMIE AND MEDICINE BOW MOUNTAINS...RABBIT EARS RANGE...ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK...WILLOW CREEK PASS...BERTHOUD PASS...BRECKENRIDGE...EAST SLOPES MOSQUITO RANGE...EAST SLOPES SOUTHERN GORE RANGE...EISENHOWER TUNNEL...INDIAN PEAKS...KENOSHA MOUNTAINS...MOUNT EVANS...WILLIAMS FORK MOUNTAINS...WINTER PARK...ESTES PARK...GLENDEVEY...NEDERLAND...RED FEATHER LAKES
452 AM MDT SAT OCT 13 2007

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

SNOW WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE BY TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY AND MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 18 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BY LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY ON EAST FACING SLOPES ABOVE 7500 FEET.

REMEMBER...A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR A HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER EVENT IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS MAY OCCUR THAT COULD IMPACT TRAVEL. STAY TUNED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OR YOUR LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNING CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL WINTER STORM.

Dawn Patrol

34°, overcast and calm. They say snow is in the forecast for the weekend. We shall see, as false alarms seem to be the mantra this year. Debating heading over tomorrow to the Bean Singlespeed Festival up in Buffalo Creek. I have not done a singlespeed rally in eons, and you can never go wrong with the trails in this locale (and good Mexican food).

Got a nice morning commute in yesterday. It's a shorter distance to work then when I worked at IMBA, which allows for more exploration/linking trails up and getting creative. Any day now riding on singletrack becomes impossible because of deep snow , so I'm trying to grasp as much of it as I can.

It doesn't get light very early now...7 am really. The good news about that is that you really don't see how long the road climbs to get to trails are, and you can catch some rad sunrises over lakes if you are in the right place at the right time.

On the 7th day, the pilots rode...

An Intergalactic announcement coming soon...

October Blur

45°, clear and calm. I have not been writing much lately, simply because things have been go-go-go and time has been of the essence - a combination of the loss of light and work. Such a difference from those lazy long ride days of summer. To ride now requires organization with other elements of life, and even those rides are just a couple hour jaunts. They are valuable. And in truth, because I've been doing lots of lifting and hiking, riding has been a bit on the back burner.

I think this is a good. In the weeks leading up to the Alaska race, I was fairly bored with riding, and my body was beat up. Now, after a month respite, I feel very excited to ride. Even better, the lifting is starting to have a positive impact. Hard to explain the sensation, other than a strong, balanced feeling that I really did not have all summer.

The last few days have been nice. Exploring the woods on the mountain bike, purposely trying to go place I have not been in a while (or ever). This is the best way to ride, to single speed, even if it does lead to hour long hike-a-bikes up unrideable trails. The woods are naked now, almost stark, as most of the leaves have dropped and the ground lies bare, waiting for snow. It's especially odd when temperatures are unnaturally warm like today. The feel is not in synch with how the mind registers the sights and smells of the woods.

A treat tonight. While doing post-ride/lifting lunges on the football field (up to 250 yards now) in the rapidly darkening evening, I was serenaded by the shrill, haunting bugle of elk across the valley at the foot of the blue mountain. The sound of the Rocky Mountains in early October. All we need now is a wolf howl to go along with it.

Judd's Trail

41°, clear and calm. A nice afternoon riding mountain bicycles. The leg is healed, and today I was not even thinking about it. After a little time trial with the kids up to the little ski resort, decided to do a little exploration in the remaining hour or so before darkness set in. Ventured to the land of Judd's Trail, somewhere I have not been since 2001 or so. Nice woods, but good God this route is fall line, a fact made all the more apparent as I was heading up it. It did bring back a few memories from the past - the first IGSSC and times of innocent ignorance when all that really mattered was trails and riding.

Fearless MLB predictions from the Continental Divide

45°, clear and calm. My apology to all my non-baseball friends out there...this post is indeed about baseball, the only spectator sport worth watching. What a playoffs we have coming up! Not only is my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, in with the best record in the entire league, but the local nine, the normally bumbling Colorado Rockies, recently went on a tear and qualified tonight for the National League Wild Card slot in a crazy, 13-inning game. So of course, I'm rooting hard for a Red Sox vs. Rockies World Series. And yes, I will be cheering for Boston should such an event happen! Two weeks ago I noticed on the Rockies website that playoff tickets were on sale. They were far from sold out, since the team was still 4-5 games out of first and the chances of making the playoffs slim. That said, I'd never been to a playoff game, and if they didn't qualify the penalty on refund was only $2. So, I took a minor chance and bought tickets for games three and four of the National League Division Series, which will now take place in Denver next Saturday and Sunday night! A pretty good gamble I'd say!

Without further ado, here is offcamber.com's first ever MLB playoff predictions. Eat your heart out Peter Gammons:

American League:

Yankees versus Indians: As much as I hate to admit it, the Yankees are on a tear and the have owned the Indians this year. Too much offense, and Joba is the real deal. Yankees win this series 3-1. Yankees still suck though.

Red Sox versus Angels: These will be close games for the most part, but Boston's pitching is superior to the Angels, and the offense is well rested. Beckett, Matsuzaka and Schilling, plus a rejuvenated offense spells a collision course with the damned Yankees, again. Red Sox 3-1.

National League:

Rockies versus Phillies: What the heck. I'll jump on the bandwagon. The Phillies have better hitting and pitching, but the Rockies have won 14 of 15 games. In a short series, that can make the difference. Besides, the Phillies are cursed. Rockies win 3-2.

Cubs versus Diamondbacks: Honestly, I have not followed either team too closely, so your guess is as good as mine. But who the hell can cheer for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a phony team from a phony city that shouldn't even exist. Plus, if the Rockies do play the Cubs in the NLCS, or the Red Sox in the World Series, you can be assured some bizarre phenomenon will occur to guarantee a Cubbies loss. Cubs take it, 3-1.

Coming up next week...our fearless championship series predictions, unless the Sox and Rockies get eliminated, in which case I'll simply lose interest in such silliness.

OK, now in more traditional O.C. style...a hike up to a freshly coated with snow divide Sunday evening with Suz, Zuma and Tiki. Good fun, stellar light, COLD! While we're at it...please keep your pups on leashes folks :)!