Rodeo Team Ride 2014/02/23: 110k Cold, Unbelievably Warm, Colder

Well, I had an early fail as the ride leader today. I’ve never led a group ride before (always suck wheel on that job) I should have known that my son might come down with Streptococcal pharyngitis and need a trip to urgent care for a tonsil swab (poor guy) and antibiotic prescription. I should have also known that waltzing into the mobile phone store to buy a new phone an hour before needing to be on the bike to meet the team was a bad idea. Who knew that took so long? And, I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch yet. Fortunately, these guys are forgiving gentlemen. However, cycling with teammates is like date night with your wife or fishing with your brother or best friend – you simply cannot show up late.

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Rodeo Denver. The first ride.

Forecasts called for temperatures in the 50s for the first ever Rodeo Denver team ride. As we get started we are a small and humble crew, and we’re okay with that. We haven’t done any races together, we haven’t proven anything, we are simply passing the miles. Such is the nature of fresh starts.

Fresh starts are exciting for that reason as well. How we start out sets the tone for what is to come. We met at the Confluence REI, snapped a pic, and headed for the hills.

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Salida RR – State Road Championships

This is a repost from the 2013 season. We are selecting a few member’s blog posts to show here in order to fill out the Rodeo vibe while we get 2014 up and running.

“&^*#$^!!!! NEVER WORK ON YOUR BIKE ON RACE DAY!”

These are the words I muttered to myself on my back patio at 11:07 this last Sunday morning. I had just threaded a new rear shifter cable into it’s housing only to find out that it was about six inches too short to do the job. Turns out it was a front shifter cable! More $@%@! No matter, I had a complete bike in the basement that I could rob another cable from. I promptly removed and installed that cable only to find that it was about 1/4″ too short as well.

“WHAT AM I DOING HERE RIGHT NOW, I’M SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY WAY TO SALIDA”

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Wanderlust

This is a repost from 2013 while we get 2014 up and running.

By my own measuring stick I’ve been training a lot this year. It is funny because each year I can look back at whatever I accomplished on the bike and hopefully feel pretty good about it, but then I think about the next upcoming season and think “how can I top or even match that?”. I ride for fun, and training isn’t always fun, so when one season ends and the next one starts I’m left looking for ways to keep the pursuit of speed on two wheels enjoyable.

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Pro Challenge Road Trip 2/2

The road trip is over. The Black Pearl is back in the garage. All is well. 1200 miles covered. 35mpg averaged. The Mrs. and I had a blast and are exhausted. The racing was incredible to watch. The vistas were unforgettable. The towns were wonderful to discover. Colorado is an amazing state to drive through and play in!

We were joined mid-trip by my friend Peder and his wife Holly in their ’73 BMW 2002. Our vintage caravan was a blast to be a part of and people seemed genuinely delighted to see some fairly old cars out on the road in good working order. The bike rack was a big hit. Pedro did an amazing job.

Enough words! Here are some pictures.

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Pro Challenge Road Trip 1/2

The wife and I are off on a road trip adventure to catch the largest professional bike race to hit US shores: The USA Pro Cycling Challenge. We’re road trippin’ in the Pearl, camping along the way, and enjoying the sights that Colorado has to offer.

I work with one of the teams in the race, Team Exergy, so I have managed to score some press credentials, which are wonderful for accessing the action and squeaking through road blocks and police barricades. The sailing in the Pearl has been smooth so far!

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