The Rodeo Journal – Page 31 – Rodeo Adventure Labs, LLC

Back in the Ring

With my stomach growling from hunger I nursed the dregs of my nearly empty Camelbak and scanned the trail ahead. Rocks. Endless rocks. The slight uphill of the trail told me I had yet to reach the top but just how much further before the final descent, I couldn’t recall. Twelve hours on the bike had taken its toll both physically and mentally. My mind was clouded, buzzing with that blurry feeling that happens right before it all starts shutting down. And with the exhaustion and pain, the doubt started to creep in. What the heck was I thinking? Didn’t I swear I’d never do this again? Once was enough. It’s too long. Too hard. It had been nearly a year since I’d ridden this stretch of Short Mountain and all I could focus on was getting to the long descent down to the trailhead. Just a bit further and it’s all downhill. All downhill to dinner and a break from the rocks. And with the thought of food and water on my mind, I pushed ahead. Just a bit further.

Riding into The Nothing.

Source: Riding into The Nothing – from @stephenfitz on Ello.

Colorado Lookout Mountain Storm

Rodeo Rally: Stoney Pass

It has been three months since we rallied at Stoney Pass. Despite being one of those all time days not much has been written about it. Documenting our adventures is at the core of what we do around here, but documenting takes time. Time is always against us as cyclists. Time is in short supply. We all have real lives. We all have work, friends, families, significant others, other passions, and the like.

Buffalo Creek Cyclocross Hayman Burn MTB Rodeo Adventure Labs Rodeo Rally Stoney Pass Thunder Snow traildonkey Wellington Lake Winter

February Rally: Ghost Rally

The Rodeo Rally is notorious for epic adventure and a good time. Most of that, however, includes some epic climbs and leaving some comfort zones some would rather not leave. This February Rally is an attempt to make a ride that is more inclusive and more social while still providing some adventure and fun. As a plus, is has a chance to draw in a lot of people who may have been put off by previous rallies. 70+ miles, a little over 1k elevation, and a few turn off points along the way. The goal is to hit a few abandoned towns out east of the front range and explore some less-traveled dirt while admiring the mountains from afar.

Date: February 20th

Distance: 77 Miles with turn around/shortcut options

Meeting Place: Gray’s Cafe in Ault, CO @ 8 A.M., caravan out to the start at 8:30 to roll out by 9/9:30. Parking is open ended at the moment, but we may need to figure it out day of.

Est. Ride Time: 5-7 Hours

February Rally Ghost Rally Gravel Grinder Rodeo Rally

Evening climbing vibes

I’ve been putting in some great miles on the Traildonkey 2.0 prototype so far this year. I’ve only done three actual rides but they have all been big and up high. Treating the Donkey like a road bike is a good series of tests. Does it feel stable, stiff, and planted on climbs and descents? Yes, yes it does.

It isn’t a race road bike, but it has done really well on tarmac, gravel, ice, and snow alike.

Bonus: When road racing season arrives I’ll probably be that much stronger from pushing around a bike that has a few more pounds on it than the average road racing thoroughbred. When I race a lighter bike it’ll feel like lightning.

Climbing Colorado Road Bike traildonkey Training Winter

2015 in review // Dirty Kanza 200

We are only days from the end of 2015 and there are a bunch of highlights from the year that I haven’t had the time to share. I doubt I’ll get to everything on my list and I won’t be able to cover them in much depth, but I’d love to leave them on the journal for the sake of posterity.

The first of these highlights is the Dirty Kanza 200, the two hundred mile gravel (and in our case mud) race through the roads and hills surrounding Emporia, Kansas. There is no way for me to write up this particular event quickly, so if you continue reading please remember to eat often and stay hydrated.

200 Dirty Kanza Emporia Gravel Grinder kansas Race Report Rodeo Labs trialdonkey Writeup

30 miles of white… knuckles

Yesterday was sketchy. Not “this is fun!” sketchy, more like shaking-when-I-got home sketchy. There was something unusual about the snow that fell in Denver this week. I think the combination of quantity and the consistently frigid temperatures combined to make it more treacherous than I’ve ever seen. It was extremely dry snow but simultaneously as slick as snot. After a hand full tense slides and maneuvers of I probably should have turned around at mile 10 and cut my losses, but the allure of Cherry Creek State Park when it is covered in a layer of white perfection baited me on.

Castelli Cherry Creek State Park CO Cycling Cyclocross Denver ice Photography Ride Rodeospork Snow traildonkey

The Rodeotejas Experience – TDC

Somewhere near New Ulm Texas – 45min drive from Houston.

Last week Joey P and I took a day off work to explore Texas Dirt Country. You’ve heard of Texas Hill Country? That’s the well-known region southwest of Austin, North and West of San Antonio and East of the Edward’s Plateau in the middle of the state. TDC is lesser known and contained partially in the triangle formed by I-10 west of Houston to it’s south, Rt290 between Houston and Austin to the north and the eastern border of Austin City Limits. I’d recently been exploring it, but Joey P needed to see this….

December Rodeo Rally.

Rodeo Rally. Last minute invite. December 20th. 8:30am. Buffalo Creek lower lot. 55ish miles of single track, Tarmac, and gravel. CX bike and MTB will work. CX bike encouraged for radness points (bring spare tubes!). High gearing encouraged. Bring lots of water and food. IMPORTANT: This is an advanced level rally on technical trails in the winter. This is NOT a no drop ride. We expect everyone to be on pace or self sufficient as we have limited daylight so we can’t wait around. There are plenty of bail out points earlier in the ride if you only want to make it a 20 ish mile round trip. Just remember: You must be self sufficient.

Route Here:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3711593

Cowboy Cross

Cowboy Cross at the Western Stockyard Complex. The smiles won’t soon fade.

In my opinion it is the best CX race and best atmosphere of any race in the Front Range. The labyrinth course in, through, under, and around the stockyards is SO. MUCH. FUN.

Colorado Cowboy Cross Cyclocross Denver MUCCY Racing Speedvagen traildonkey Western Complex