Ditch!

I've been very blessed over the past several years to have put roots down in a wonderful part of the country, the Colorado Rockies. I bought a house up at 10k feet in August and have fallen in love with all things West. Did I say all things?

I've driven into a drift of snow and/or a ditch twice in the past three days, the pipes at my house froze this week and took a day, or so, to thaw and then there is the crazy amounts of snow, the howling wind and the bone-chilling cold to contend with. What's not to like?

Like one of my neighbors told me recently, "we crazies need to stick together." Yep.

I hope the holidays have been everything you and your family could ever wish for. My holidays have been great so far, having been adopted by a co-worker and his family over the Christmas holiday. Firefighting takes no holiday and so I found myself at work yesterday, on Christmas, watching the Simpson's Movie and trying to cram down another traditional holiday burrito. Caught a cold overnight and now I'm up at my chalet warming up and thawing out, just like the pipes.

Bring each other close this holiday season, now and forever. It's warmer when there's more than one...

Tim

Holidaze

Just sitting here at home debating when and how to ride indoors on the rollers today. I snowboard and have alot of fun every time I'm out in the dry Colorado powder, but the bike keeps calling my name. I've had kind of an odd schedule recently with business in and out of work. Consistency hasn't been my strong suit but I think we (the non-winter athletes) give ourselves a "free pass" this time of year, what with the weather and the holidays and the you name it. I have a real hard time accepting down time. Yep, I have to accept down time and don't readily take it. A bit of a secret is that I have the Race Across America, and my Boulder team, on my mind every single day. The RAAM creeps into your bones and I find myself feeling very insecure every now and then with respect to the RAAM. I'm going to race (not ride) my bike across the country next June. Looking out my window June seems a long way away. Looking on my calendar is an entirely different story. I'm wondering what the Jure Robic's and Rob Kish's of the world are doing right now as I sip my coffee and type on the big glowing box.

Better get riding...

TC

P.S. - I like this song by the Old 97's. It reminds me of the asthmatic, hard puffing, weak little kid who grew up to become a firefighter and bike racer.


Friends Forever

I was a debater
Was not a stoner nor an inline skater
Was not a player nor a player hater
I was just a bookworm on a respirator
Who’s to say that’s wrong

I was in the chess club
Didn’t have a swimming pool much less a true love
Didn’t have a dalliance much less a hot tub
I was just a brain whose brain would never let up
Who’s to say that’s wrong

The twelve years after five
Are years we’re lucky to survive
Hang in there friends forever
In memory far away
Hang in there friends forever
In memory far away

Went out for the football team
Found out the hard way you can’t live your Dad’s dream
Had pretty thin skin to be in the machine
Then I found a guitar and the rest’s a fanzine
Who’s to say what’s wrong

The moral of the song
Is that the high school kids are wrong
You know they have been all along
Come graduation you’ll be gone
Hang in there friends forever
In memory far away

Inchoate, etc.

I love the word inchoate and met the embodiment of that word recently. Everybody's always getting somewhere better...why don't we smell the roses or the stinky person next to us?

For something entirely different, the weather out here has taken a turn for the, well, wintry. So, indoors we go! I've been at the gym alot and bought some Spinnerval dvd's to pass the time. Sore butt anyone?

Not much new to report. I'm headed to Cali in February with some teammates from Horizon Organic. Looking forward to the trip and now I have the first target to strike...need to be ready to train and ride and drink. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Off to bed...

Tim

Come and Gone

A co-worker of mine at Boulder Fire told me recently about the sudden and unexpected passing of ultra endurance bike racer, Mike Janelle. Some of you may know Mike from his exploits as one of the members of the Catlin/Beaver Creek 4-person Race Across America team. Yep, the team to beat for the past several years.

By all accounts, Mike was a rider and human full of life and vitality. This was cut short the day after Thanksgiving as his pregnant wife found him dead of an apparent heart attack, at 40 years old.

Mike's death reminds all of us, myself included that we have but one life to live and must take this into account every single second of every single day.

Keep the rubber side down.

Tim

Don't Be Like This Guy

Turkey, stuffing, beer, CU football, more beer. Enough said.

Get On It

Getting back on the bike after a prolonged absence is a bit like breaking the seal on a can of spaghetti sauce. You have to force that sucker open with all your might and feel ridiculous that that can of sauce is kicking your butt. But it does and yes, you are weak.

I've started riding again after about a 2 month absence from riding, spending most of my time in the gym doing strenght training and the like. Went to Copper Mountain last week for the first day of snowboarding this season. I know that's not exactly a cardio workout, but my quads were pretty toasty after a couple of runs on the packed, man-made early season groomers. Looking forward to the "pow pow" as they say out here, but heck, no snow on the ground means an "opportunity" to get some early season bike riding in.

My Boulder team, Horizon Organics presented by Al's Barber Shop, is starting to get out and go for organized group rides on the weekend. The e-mails are starting to ferociously hit, with taunts of "I'm faster than you and it's November" coming at a rapid pace. I had to skip out last weekend due to a nasty little cold I picked up while working an overtime shift at work. At least I was getting paid to be sick.

So, here it is mid-November and I'm already stressing about putting miles on my bike. When I hesitate to ride, all I have to think about is the 2008 Race Across America, and I just jump right back on like a good soldier.

I'm headed out for a ride today out by Golden, nothing fancy, but it is miles and those count this time of year. Into December and January my Cat III team will be picking up with the devils who ride Cat I and II for our team, so I need to ride early and ride often and turn those pedals over.

Keep the rubber side down.

TC

Re-Up

Hi there,

Just got back late last night from a quick vacation down to Florida to visit Grandma Case. Was greeted with super high winds, geriatric drivers and a bunch-o-rain.

Spent a few days resting and recovering from a CRAZY couple of tours at work, which culminated in a rather large apartment fire where my comrades and I rescued 4 people from the third floor of the building that was on fire. Check this out...

Decided to go for a run and remembered, quite immediately, just how much I love cycling and just how much I hate running. I just don't get it. Okay, I was running on the beach and all, but my Chariots of Fire delusions just didn't cut it after a while.

Well, the e-mail flurries from my Boulder based cycling team are falling into my inbox just as readily as the white fluffy flurries dropping out of the sky up at my mountain chalet, I mean, house. Planning for 2008 is already underway, the biggest local announcement being that my Wild Oats Cycling Team will be sponsored by Horizon Organic for 2008. No Wild Oats (vis. Whole Foods buying them out) means no sponsorship. No worries! Horizon Organic is a solid company and my team will be going strong through next season. For heaven's sake, our first group ride of the year is already this weekend! So much for the "off season."

Team Strong Heart and yours truly have a whole bunch of work coming up with sponsorships, donations, budgeting, etc., but we are all extraordinarily excited about the upcoming year. There isn't a day that goes buy without thoughts of the 2008 Race Across America.

Bring it!

Tim