Record Highs in Denver - Time for a bike ride.

Dugan and I skipped out of work a little early today and went for a 40 mile bike ride around Denver. We spent the first part of the day doing 6 minute intervals (with 3 minutes off in between) with heart rates in the 160's, then we made a bonus lap around the Cherry Creek Reservoir for fun. We talked about racing strategies and practiced our victory moves for the finish line....we'll see how it actually works out.
Per usual, we met a few cyclists during the ride. I met up with a Haul'n ass bike rider named Derek Strong who races Category 2 (2 spots better than us. They also race with the pros) here in Colorado. He had a "Power-Tap" rear hub and I got to talk to him a few minutes about the $800+ investment. The power tap tells you how much "Power" in wattage you can deliver to the rear wheel of the bike. To give you an example for the book "Lance Armstrongs War": When Lance is in his top shape at the tour de france he can produce 500 watts for about an hour....that is like lifting two 5 gallon buckets full of water from the floor to waist height every second for an hour. Can you do that? I definitely can't.....

Swift Cycling 4's Ride today

I was at work today, but the rest of my team got in some great riding in the 60+ degree Boulder sun. For the story read here. Look for us to do well in 2006 races.....

Need a new Hunting partner???

Get your T-shirt and show your support for the vice president! Dick Cheney T-Shirts. I don't know about you, but I think he just lost his job as the poster child for the anti-gun control movement and support of the NRA. He can't even tell a quail from a human!?! I know....accidents happen, but is it really worth it to shoot if you don't know what is in your line of fire? Seems like I learned that in my hunter safety class way back in Junior High School!

Protect your noggin'

Wearing helmets when skiing or snowboarding is not only cool, but reduces your risk of head injury by 60% according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. So put on your helmet and join the cool gang....

Work, Work, Work.....

Nothing worth posting has happened, because I have been at work every day since Monday. I found out Friday that I am one of the finalist for an assistant professor position at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, so keep your fingers crossed for me. Hopefully it will work out, it would be nice for Jennifer and I to both have faculty positions and it would also ensure that we stay in Denver for at least 7 more years, which would be great.
I have tomorrow off, so I will try to do something entertaining.....However, it is like a "cold butt naked in Alaska" in Denver. We have set record lows the past two days and the highs have been in the single digits. Yikes!!! To top it off the air pollution is horrible: the temperature inversion has left a pleasant cloud of smog over the Denver area....it is almost thick enough to slice.

A great day for a long road ride....

Sunday Casey, Dan, and I took off from Denver on our road bikes for ~80 miles of solid base training. It was full of adventure, first time trails, and a little mexican lunch. For the full details read here.

Skiing - Breckenridge

I spent a very beautiful, but cold day at Breckenridge Saturday. Early in the morning I headed straight for the Imperial Express Lift and hiked to the top of the Imperial Bowl (12,998 feet). It was -5 degrees at the top with wind gusts of 40+ mph. I hiked to the top with one of the ski patrol guys, and as soon as we crested the summit we immediately put on our skis and headed down. He considered it too cold and dangerous to open any of the adjacent slopes, so I didn't get to do much exploring. It was so cold that I got a minor frostbite on my nose. Sorry it was a little too cold for pictures. Next warm day I'll do it again and post some killer shots from the lake chutes.
Since it was uncomfortable at the top of the mountain I played in the terrain park the rest of the day. I learned how to ride rails and worked on some small aerials....I have a few nice bruises for my efforts. Again, I was by myself so no good pictures.

Back in the saddle - Super Bowl Weekend at Beaver Creek

Steve and I found this great chute in the Royal Elk glade. It narrowed down to about 5 feet wide at one point, but opened back up into a great glade of trees with fresh powder stashes. Just a beautiful double diamond run.
Steve and I headed up to the mountains on Saturday to enjoy some of the fresh powder in Eagle County. We were heading to Vail to catch up with Dugan, but when we got to the Vail exit on I-70 traffic was already backed up farther than I had ever seen it. So to avoid the crowds we headed to Beaver Creek Ski Resort. There was no one there and we skied on and off the lifts the entire day. There was still 8-10 inches of untouched powder in the trees and we spent out day skiing all over the mountain, including the World Cup Downhill race course (Golden Eagle). The run is always a sheet of ice and super fast (although we never approached the 80+ mph speed than Daron Rahlves or Bode Miller obtain) but it definitely gets you psyched about the upcoming winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. We will be heading up to the mountains again next weekend, so look for more info coming soon.