We interrupt this gripping, earth shattering tale for other recent happening.

Life is good when you can barely keep up with yourself–moments so intense they would usually be burned deep into conciousness begin to blur together. Overwhelming. Looking forward to lying in bed, letting fresh memories flow; analysing, re-living, wondering. Yet, every night I’m asleep instantly (rare for me).

Yep, it’s been a good summer.

Besides the yet-to-be-fully-told Colorado Trip, a few other recent goods.

Awake 5:15a, follow Paula’s 10k by bike. She ran faster than her winning time last year, yet she took 6th!

8:00a, at Bear Creek Park to change, stow the bike and get ready to throw some tools. I was curious to see what the guys are up to with these new trails, and it’s been too long since I built trail. I burned plenty of energy chopping roots that no one else seemed to be willing to tackle. Half the fun swinging a pulaski as hard as you possibly can, right?

(thanks to Ultra Rob for the pic)

Awake 6:00a, off to Buffalo Creek to meet Mr. Ahlgren. Locally (within my brain) known as one of the best technical riders on the planet, yet there’s nothing here to flex said muscles. Theme of the ride: “coasting and smiling.” We both agreed it seemed like there was more down than up, and Paula declared the Colorado Trail was “downhill both ways” after a 2.5 hour run (the day after her race). Four hours riding, including 15 minutes to pick handfuls of raspberries along Buffalo Creek.

Awake 6:00a, ride into town to meet the crew for shuttling to Elk Park (on the Pikes Peak toll road). I can count the number of shuttle rides I’ve done on one hand, but they sure have their place. For a host of reasons, this was a good shuttle ride to join.

Stunning stuff. 3000 ft of climbing, 8000 ft of descending, all on the Behemoth. It’s a different sport on that bike.

Over cooked corners, counter-steering, bottoming the fork out repeatedly, desperate ‘hucks’ with questionable landings, pinch flatting, et cetera…

An absolute treat. Wouldn’t want to ride like this all the time, but occassionally, it sure hits the spot.

On MTBR: many were accusing me of assuming the worst about self-supported racers and in the same breath assuming the absolute worst about me and my intentions. Seems fair to me.