HAYMEADOW VARSITY LOOP BY THE NUMBERS...AND PICS...

WHEN MERICA WAS MERICA...

Alex Rodriguez had his steroids...and real athletes, like three time MVP Yogi Berra, had camel cigarettes....bless his soul.

HAYMEADOW TRAIL BY THE NUMBERS....

Here are some rough numbers for the Haymeadow Trail in Eagle which was just recently completed by the Hardscrabble Trails Coalition and the Town of Eagle. The course is faster than this for most of you as the ride turned into a bit of a social outing today with many locals and their kids checking out the scene. This will be the course which hosts the 2013 Colorado High School Cycling League State Championship races in October.

HAYMEADOW VIDEO, COLROADO HIGH SCHOOL CYCLING LEAGUE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE, EAGLE, CO0LORADO.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A STABLE WOMAN TO MARRY AND SPEND YOUR LIFE WITH....HERE YOU GO.

FRONT RANGE SUFFERING AND FUN...

 There is a lot of riding on the front range of Colorado that people who live in the mountains know nothing about. Once you get the local mojo knowledge you'll find that the is a reason why so many strong riders with really good bike handling skills are around. The shit is steep, rocky and fun to ride. The descending requires "A" game concentration many times or you will get fucked up badly. Many of the trails are hiking trails turned mountain biking trails, and all though the loops are sometimes short, they are also demanding. White Ranch and Deer Creek Canyon are two such spots, and all though they would never end up in anyone's top ten places to ride all time, they are great options for front rangers and require some skill sets to ride, bring three lungs along as well for some of the climbing....

IN REVIEW OF THE 2013 TOUR DE FRANCE...

I like this guy a lot more than I like Chris Froome...

SAGAN THE SHOWMAN....WHEELIE UP ALP D HUEZ.

Dawg has skillz

HAYMEADOW BRIDGE WORK BEGINS...

 The new Haymeadow trail in Eagle, which is the site of the state High School Cycling League championships this year, is nearly complete. There is a section of about 500 meters which needs to be completed and that section includes two sections of trail which cross an irrigation ditch which spans nearly 20 feet. The Town of Eagle ad the HTC got enough money together to buy the bridge material, and the work will be done by volunteers. That work started today and quite a bit was accomplished. The work should be complete on Sunday and the course is plain and simply FUN. A perfect addition to what the Town already has to ride. This is going to be an instant classic for every level of rider...

THE BIKE THAT COULD HAVE WON IT FOR TEJAY VAN GARDEREN

What? You gotta a problem with that?

DON LAMSON AND D2 SHOES DOES IT AGAIN....

Hot off the shoe press, brand new road shoes from D2 Shoe. Thank you to
Don Lamson and the crew at their Eagle shop site for taking such good care of my feet. I actually won this $1200 custom pair of road shopes naming the new mountain bike shoe the "KONG". D2, simply the finest cycling shoe ever made. It's a month long process getting them built, and worth every buck if you are in that "bracket". Cheers boys....

ONE WORD, MEGAVALANCHE

NOT WILLING TO SUFFER ANYMORE....

It has become so easy since I quit thinking about racing bikes, which actually has nothing to do with riding bikes. Racing bikes had me riding bikes for a lot of the wrong reasons. Now I have a big ol travel trail bike a Trek Rumblefish, that is a dream to play on. I decided to do a big ride yesterday, hump it up and over hardscrabble road which is a sixteen mile climb, with zero break all the way, and over the backside to McKenzie Gulch which is one of my all time favorite "raw" downhills. It was really hot, the heat had me suffering. I climbed the first 3000 feet and was suffering to stay hydrated. There was a day when I would have fought through it all and said fuck it, and really suffered calling it "training". today I say fuck that. I pulled over, chilled for a while, thought about the remaining 1500 feet of climbing and agonizing miles and turned around back down the hill and ripped Pipeline which is rock hard and screaming fast right now, it was fun. I refuse to "train" and suffer like a dog riding anymore, it's the wrong reason be on a bike. I later doubled up with Ted Gould on the local low stuff in the late evening after the temps had cooled 20-30 degrees and it was fun, a lot of fun. Fuck suffering like a dog on the bike. I'm over that shit.

About two miles above the Sawmill Gulch road I said "enough".

Sweating balls off....time to chill, I'd rather go down 3000 feet then climb another 1500 today....

BACK IN COLORADO, BUT STILL IN MEHICO...

 The man pictured above is the legendary Steve Herter, he is married to Bonnie, they were amazing hosts during my stay in Los Barrilles, Baja. I worked for him for a number of years at a fishing and hunting lodge that was at that time known as Seven Lakes Lodge. The lodge was built by Henry Kravis and is now owned by ex pro golfer Greg Norman. Steve has retired to a small town in Baja, Mexico called Los Barriilles. It's a charming place and a gateway to the only spot in the world where you can fly fish from the beach for rooster fish. Steve has been bugging me to come and visit for a few years so I finally dropped in for a few days and the place, where he lives and plays daily, is spectacular. It's an amazing land which meets the Sea of Cortez just a stones throw from his house, and there are large number of gringo ex patriots in the hood. The trip started with Steve picking me up at the airport and then stopping at this quaint little cafe for one of his favortie dishes, the Chocolate, which are giant clams which have just been pulled out of the ocean. These clams are then sliced up and served with fresh lime and when you squeeze the lime juice on the dish, the clams actually contract, they are still alive, and they are so damn good..the rest of the pictures just tell part of the story. Hundreds of miles of white sand beaches that are all accessible by ATV while chasing "roosters". It's a magical land. I can't wait to go back for a longer stay....

ASTA LA VISTA LOS BARRILES

A week spent lost on the shores of the incredible Sea of Cortez comes to an end...but the memories of chasing fly fishing's most elusive fish, the Rooster, will remain for a lifetime.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERICA....

Yesterday was another fantastic show in Breck put on by Captain Westy America at the Firecracker. The amazing Gretchen Reeves wins again and Swiss rider Oliver Zurbruegg absolutely destroyed the course in 3:32. It was a big day. It was a fun day. I'm diggin announcing, a lot.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY FROM ME, AND A2B, AND THE FIRECRACKER 50, AND UNCLE SAM.

DOUBLE DOUCHEBAG STEALS CAR....EATS SHIT AND DIES, REALLY.

He should have rode his bike...