Breckenridge CO Elevation 9,600 ft

First stop on the way to Breckenridge is stopping at Apple Jack's Liquor. It is one of the last Denver metro exits on I-70, the Youngfield exit. This is a picture of their beer aisle. I bought some 90 Shilling made in Ft Collins and some Single Track Ale made in Boulder.

View of the 10 Mile Range. The South end of Breckenridge is barely visible in the middle of the photo. This picture is currently my wallpaper. It is a great photo when viewed on your monitor full size! Feel free to copy it. I took this photo from a lookout on Boreas Pass Rd.

Google Earth of Breck and Peak 8. The lake you see can only be visible if you climb Peak 8 to a certain elevation, which Diane and I did 12 years ago. My goal is to pedal as close as I can to it sometime. I got closer this year then ever before. Maybe next year I can do it. It will probably take about 3-4 hours to get there. I think I was within an hour this year, but I just wasn't prepared to push it further then I already had. Maybe if Bob had been with me...

Peaks trail:

The Peaks trail runs from Breckenridge to Frisco. It is a beautiful trail, except for the first third. It's pretty much like the 2 photos above; roots and rocks. I do a lot of walking and it's frustrating to try and ride it. The photos do not do it justice. Riding downhill on rocks is tough and very demanding mentally because you really have to pay attention or you will go down hard. Climbing is tougher yet, because I cannot get the momentum going to get over the big rocks. If you "stall" or if your front tire gets jammed, you go down. The rocks are not soft. The Peaks trail is the trail that Jody likes to bring up from time to time in her spin class. Her story is how a couple people that were going to ride didn't even make it to the trail head, and went back and ate bagels instead! I can vouch for the fact that just getting to the trailhead involves a lot of effort.

This is about 6 miles into the 10 mile long Peaks trail. There is a break and you get a nice view. What I'm trying to show though, is the effect of the pine bark beetle on the pine trees. All the rust colored trees are dead from this insect. There are whole mountain sides of trees that are dead in the higher elevations. The rust colored bike is the Santa Cruz Super Light that I rented. Jack's Cruel Joke, Moonstone, and Baker's Tank trails.

The above photos are of Jack's Cruel Joke. The trailhead is in a neighborhood. You enter it and it is all switchbacks up the side of a mountain. Not overly long, less then a mile. As you can see the trail is quite narrow and it angles to the downside. One mistake and you are off the trail and, well, you are fucked if you don't pay attention. It makes me nervous.

You can see the Beaver Run resort in the upper left background, which is where we stay.

Abandonded mine.

Nice to know there is a biffy at 11,000 ft if you need one.

A couple scenes from Baker's Tank trail. I think Bill took the first photo above.

I ran into a guy coming down Baker's Tank and asked him to take my picture. Yes, it's posed. Turns out he used to work at Vail as a photographer!

Next to me is John. He is co-owner of Avalanche Sports, where I've been renting bikes for the past 5-6 years. John is a great guy. Reminds me a lot of Larry Saylor. This is the bike he had for me to rent this year! Actually, I rented a Santa Cruz Superlight, same as I ride here. The reason I bought the Superlight that I have now is because I was so impressed with the bike after first renting one from John several years ago.

This is a Kenny and Kenny photo. Kenny works at Avalanche sports. Great guy-gave me lots of tips on where to ride. See you and John next year!


Burro trail: My favorite trail and the first one I ride every year is called the Burro trail. The trailhead is right behind the complex we stay at. It is moderately technical, mostly due to roots and rocks, and of course, the elevation. The path is well worn as it is used heavily by bikers and hikers. There is a creek that goes by some of it and a beaver pond part way up. What I like best about it is that there are jeep roads that go all the way up and over the 10 Mile Range to Copper mountain. It's still my goal to do that, as I mentioned earlier. I need Bob to push me over the damn mountain. It's a blast coming down.

This is Crystal Creek, elev 11,400 ft. I wasn't sure if I should pedal across this as the rocks looked slippery. I made it across with no problem, it was 4"-6" deep.Another shot of Crystal Creek. There is a small dam that I was standing on regulating the flow of water.

This is Francie's Cabin. This part of a network of CX ski lodges. It wasn't open, but I looked into the windows. There were a few bedrooms with either bunk beds or 2 single beds. I assume people share the kitchen and bathroom. I ran into a few hikers, one guy told me the story and to check out this website: http://www.summithuts.org/

Night life in Breck:





We found a newly opened (less then a year) bar and restaurant this year. It's called The Mother Loaded Tavern. Nate the bartender is pictured above with us. Great guy, you made us feel right at home!

I tend to forget names after we've been partying for a few hours... I think the guys name is Matt. And I think the woman is one of the owners of The Mother Loaded. Anyway, if you're in Breck, be sure to stop in! We only ate there once, but what we had was good.

http://www.motherloadedtavern.com/Site/Welcome.html

Sunset, Peak 8. Till next year....

Rocky Mountain Biking

The child bride and I are headed to Breckenridge, CO on Tuesday. We didn't make it there last year. These pictures are from 2 & 3 years ago. Bob, I wish you were there with me.

The picture above is the Peaks trail, which goes from Breckenridge to Frisco. It's a very diverse trail, and this is only a part of it. It's my favorite stretch of the trail, which is 18 miles round trip.

A view partway up Peak 8. The complex in the center of the picture is where we stay.

This shot is from much further up the same peak. You can see how much farther the town of Breckenridge is in the photo. Plus, I'm well above the tree line now. It took me about 3 hours to get to the top, and 30 minutes to get down! The only sound you hear when climbing at over 10,000 feet is your heart pounding between your ears.

My take on the Olympics....

Who the fuck invented tandem diving?

Good friends, good food, and a late good night!

Last night, for the first time in over a year, we had a small dinner party at our house. Due to the remodeling, we haven't entertained like we have in the past. On Friday, Ron left a message about getting together, a couple hours later John left one too. Diane and I decided, carpet or no carpet, we're going to have some company Sat night. Unfortunately, both Diane and I had to work Saturday. It made the afternoon kind of a mad scramble to get the cooking set up and the house cleaned, but we got 'er done just before 7:00. Both couples are very dear friends of ours. John and I grew up together in Perham. Our parents were friends before either of us were born, so we go back as far as 2 people can. John and Jen met at med school. Ron and Sue used to live directly behind us. Both Ron and I love to cook and have had dozens of great meals together at each other's homes over the years.

I made BBQ dry rub ribs and sweet corn with the seasoned butter mentioned on my last blog.
Everyone else brought salads, dessert, and appetizers.

FWK enjoyed himself. Heineken, Fat Tire, Blue Paddle, and a margarita got things going pretty well. Then, Cycles Gladiator Syrah. To finish out the night, John and I cleaned out the Belgium beers I had been saving for a special occasion of some sort. They're gone now!

I had planned a 50 mi bike ride around 8 AM. I managed a 20 mi ride at noon!

Sue, Diane, and Jen
Ron, FWK, and John

Gone, but not forgotten!

Sweet Corn!

Every August, I tell people about this great sweet corn topping I found in the Star-Trib several years ago. Now, I realize that butter, salt, and pepper are hard to beat, but I guarantee you that this topping is unbelievable!

Combine:
6 TB butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Just stir it all up in a bowl. Let it set for an hour or two, then put on top of fresh cooked sweet corn. Speaking of which, a lot of people do not know how to boil sweet corn. Sweet corn only needs to be put in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. If you place several ears of corn in the pot at the same time, you may have to go 5 minutes. I learned this from "The Joy of Cooking", I do not cook any corn over 4 minutes. The longer it is cooked, the tougher it gets.

Also, I do put some Kosher salt on top of my corn along with the seasoned butter. Because I like salt!

Tale of a bike: the Schwinn CrissCross

Back in the spring of 1991, Consumer Reports had an article on bikes and their "best buy" was a Schwinn CrissCross hybrid bike, which was featured on the cover. At this time I was 35 years old, pretty much past my "serious" partying years, and ready to re-new my acquaintance with bicycling. I always had a cycling jones as a kid. My older brother and sister each had one bike in their younger years. I'm not sure, but they were probably 2nd hand. The great thing about growing up in a small town in the 60's was how we stored our bikes in the summer: in the front yard! Either lying down in the grass or leaning up against a tree, that's where they were kept until winter, when dad would put them up in the single car garage. Anyhow, I was the youngest and yes, I would be the spoiled one. My first bike was a 20" red model from Coast-to-Coast Hardware, it may have been a Huffy. Next, was a 3 speed "English Racer" Columbia with a twist shift rear hub, made by some company called Shimano. It had problems after a few years, and wouldn't shift. I still remember my dad writing a letter to Columbia bicycles, explaining how his son had convinced him to buy a bicycle that no body could repair! He received all the parts and this tiny diagram of how to repair it. I barely remember, but there were little ball bearings and some springs, but, he got it fixed. Henry was pretty handy, far more then his son would ever be.

Next up was a "banana bike." This came from Sears mail order. It had a 20", 2" wide "cheater" rear slick tire and a 12" front wheel with extended fork. The front had a spring suspension, and the saddle also had spring suspension. This would be my first full suspension bike. Plus, it had a 12'' sissy bar! The bike was purple with a purple and silver glitter saddle. This would have been 1969, the summer of love, I was 13. Sears was rockin' back then. Of course, so was FWK.

Next up was my first road bike. I must have been 15. Another Sears bike. I think it cost $119 and I got it for my birthday. It had this grreat dual braking system, with levers you could squeeze from the top of the handlebars.... Of course, it was 10 speed, quite the bike in its day. I rode the hell out of that bike, all over town. Funny thing, I don't think I ever rode further then 5 miles at one time.

I truly regret not having any pictures of these bikes. I searched the web to try and find some on the collector sites, but nothing that matched.

All the bikes I had represented one thing for me: personal freedom. I could get on them and get wherever I wanted to go. I still get that rush when I get on a bike at the beginning of a ride. It's the best feeling in the world. ( well, you know, maybe not the best but pretty damn close)



Anyway, back to where I began. My wife and I decided to buy 2 of the Schwinn Criss Cross bikes. I looked in the yellow pages and found the closest dealer was in Plymouth (we lived in Robbinsdale at the time). We had money from our tax return and this was what we were going to spend it on. We went into the bike shop and met a guy named Larry. He was very professional and helpful. This was the beginning of my relationship with Larry Saylor. Those of you that know him agree that he is one of the finest people you'll ever meet. Of course, I didn't know then that some day Larry would own his own bike shop and that I would work for him part time.

The original receipt for the two Schwinn CrissCross bike purchased from Larry at Plymouth Schwinn.

Diane and I rode our CrissCross bikes together several times. And then it happened. The cycling jones took over! I was riding all over, especially around the lakes in uptown. I kept upping my trips, 8 mi, 10 mi, 12 mi, 15 mi, and even 20 miles in one shot! I put 1000 miles on the bike the first year, and 2000 the next. Diane quit riding with me the 2nd year. She told me I was going too fast and too far. She once told some friends, partly in jest, that "I lost him."

The upgraded gel saddle, 17 years later.

The CrissCross was a good drug, but I needed something stronger. I bought my first true road bike, a Trek 1000 for $449. An unheard of sum, and I didn't tell Diane about the cost for a long time. (my first HH points) After all, I already had one bike. So, now that I had a new love, the CrissCross became the forgotten steed, hanging upside down in our garage in Maple Grove. John, our neighbor across the street, expressed some interest in the bike. Asked me what I wanted for it. I said a case of Newcastle. Shortly thereafter, my garage door opener died. John, being handier then me, helped me on a cool November night install a new one for several cold hours. I then told him I'd reduce the price of the bike to a 12 pack of Newcastle. The deal was struck and the CrissCross went across the street for several years. Two weeks ago, John told me he wanted to upgrade. He came into the shop and rode several bikes. He finally settled on a Bianchi Boardwalk hybrid. I wasn't sure what was going to happen to the CrissCross, but in a couple days I found out. John sold the bike to Norm, my next door neighbor.

Norm got into cycling a few years ago, nothing crazy, but, he was pedaling nontheless. Norm retired last week, and wanted to start riding more. So, now Norm has the CrissCross!

Norm, with the 1991 Schwinn CrissCross.

Wondering what happened to Diane's CrissCross? Here it is, hanging in the garage. It hasn't moved in 3 years. I wonder if I could still get a case of Newcastle for it....

3 Squares @ 3 Squares

Normally we'd all be riding, but due to other circumstances, 3 of us got together at 3 Squares restaurant and had a few Fat Tire Ales. I'm resting my legs, but not my liver for the Firehouse 50 this Sat. Bill is, well, still on vacation and has his own schedule. Madonna looked fabulous in her black top, black pants, and black high heels! Ruff!!! Thank God no non cyclists joined us or they would have been bored to tears. Let's see, we talked about saddles, frames, fittings, handlebars, riding positions, tires, butt butter, clothing fit, saddles (again), racing, mtb, TdF, local riders, Leadville, Breckenridge, Lance, Ricco, Floyd, and other stuff. All cycling related. I'm sure you all understand.