two images (and a map) for today

from the ride. didn't see a car the whole time- not one. and that is not a complaint.

sunny, but not warm

 just turn around to see this:

Pinnacle peak, south Routt, Colorado.

which is right about in the middle of this map:


View Larger Map

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how to avoid cabin fever

winter can be nasty and brutish up here in the mountains of northwest Colorado. seldom is it short.
some days, the snow is piled so high outside the ol' shack that it's impossible to go anywhere until conditions moderate significantly, and the sun finally, and almost magically, appears from behind the clouds.
today wasn't exactly one of those days, high temp was about 10 degrees farenheit and the snow insisted on continuing to precipitate earthward.

no, this isn't actually our cozy cabin in the mountains. it does, however, represent an excellent example of the shacks that Oak Creek coal miners lived in back in the day.

here's some local "mountain men" playing some music and singing about how they assess the current weather conditions outside. enjoy:





this is what it really looked like outside my back door when i was making a decision about what sort of ride i was going to do today:

hmmm... too much shovelling required to make an escape- go to "training plan B" was the only realistic option. hit the rollers.

after it's all over, we pull on the boots, the packs, the lead-filled snowshoes, avalanche probes & shovels, and slog it up over the pass and into town to stock up on plenty of bacon, flour, salt and hardtack before we get slammed by the next big storm coming our way.

ya have to get outside... one way or another. that's how it's done.

the voice of Le Tour de France

i spotted this exciting blorb over at bikerumour.com a while back and thought it was worth another mention here as it is now well time to be planning out the upcoming season... if one hasn't done so already.

at any rate, it is now official that none other than cycling's finest commentator, Phil Liggett, will be making the call for the "multi-year" HD broadcast of the Amgen Tour of California in May.
and such a beautiful, thoughtful idea to bring another great Gran Fondo event to the U.S. by offering cyclosportifs the opportunity to ride a brutal stage as the pros do in the L'etape du California.
we here in Colorado still have a bit of catching up to do with California (as our local ProTour race does not offer a corresponding Gran Fondo event), but what's new? anyway, we're still in our inaugural year of the race.

that is, without a doubt, some of the best cycling-related news i have heard in quite some time. hopefully, Phil will be on board for the Tour of Colorado Quizno's Pro Challenge  August 22 - 28 as well.

Phil and Dave (sporting a slightly deranged, too-much-bike-schwag-viewing-look) chillaxin' large at the great annual Gathering of the Tribes a couple of years back.

readers can get further infos over at bikerumour by following this link. we'll be out for at least a couple of days worth of roadside picnics when the riders roll on through south Routt this summer.

see you there!