happy new year

I-70 just opened both directions. not bad, only a 24hr closure this time. we seem to get 2 or 3 a year, and they make everything here more complicated. we'll certainly sell more travel insurance. too bad the road closures and the busy time of year overshadow an otherwise great end to the year.

still crushed...Happy New Year

it has started snowing again, I-70 still closed. thought i'd write and say I have a great new year's resolution. just wanted to state that for the record, before I get too busy and it's 2008. I have a fantastic family and I love them all and have plenty to be thankful for. 2007 was a great year, our first winter in the new house is behind us. No major catastrophes to write about. Now if only by end of January 2008 I am lucky enough to ride some dirt, that would be a dream. But it's looking more like February in Moab might be the soonest singletrack bike ride.

crushed

we're getting crushed at work. enforcing check-out times due to pending arrivals in same unit, yet I-70 is closed (for now). at least we're getting some much needed snow. Helen is off now b/c the Breck Rec Center is a Red Cross shelter for those travelers stranded due to the road closures. Serious wind here...

night scenics

big storm today. 6+" and still falling here, but the big story is the huge winds. when i woke up it was 12, so I thought it might not be too rough of a day. took the bus up to the gondola with dave, and soon we met up with Seth also. Super Connect and E chair had some great powder. no crowds again due to the cold temps. 6 and t didn't open at all due to the winds and whiteout. I-70 shut down in both directions at least til tomorrow morning. below are some nice pics Helen snapped out front during some of the snow and wind. pretty tired now, both from constant snow shoveling and a little snowboarding.

 
 
 

xmas pics

 
 
 

some more Alina

these were from a few weeks back. one of Alina and I watching the night time snowboard halfpipe expo over the Grand Prix weekend.

 
 
 

Alina gets it right

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Some good entertainment since it's 7F, snowing hard and 40mph winds. I-70 is closed In both directions. sent via Treo by AT&T

Xc skiing

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Cold as xxx sent via Treo by AT&T

xc

Skiing gold run rd...

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Fun with the Rody

It's only 8F outside, so we're inside now. Maybe ice skating later.

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christmas recap

we had a great holiday. Alina was at first a bit scared to walk down the stairs to see what Santa had brought. But soon she came down and saw all the toys he brought, including her new Rody (thanks Steve & Rose). After lunch the Hills came over, along with Diana and Josh and Dave. we had some great food and wine. Now it's over we can get through the next week or so here at work and decompress from the holidays and all of the food and wine. also got a couple hours on the hill snowboarding yesterday. E chair and Super Connect were in great shape. once again I love the free bus ride from the n'hood straight to the gondola.

Merry Christmas to all cyclists

this is for you. some good crashes from the New World Disorder 8 video. i didn't have the heart to show you any crashes from road racing. too serious. cross racing, well I could have shown the head-on collision treefarm had, but even that was kinda ugly. These crashes don't look bad, though surely some of them were. anyway, eye candy for all you sickos! the thing that separates these guys from most all of us is their kahunas. not only do they have serious crashes, but they also go back for repeated attempts. some aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but most aren't stupid. It's a calculated risk, and they weigh the pros (money, fame, women) against the cons (hospital, bed, no riding).

almost

santa's almost here. alina keeps talking about him. Looking forward to her face when she sees the Rody from Steve. After a few days of now snow last week, we had 7" Friday night, and it's snowing again now. The mountain is in pretty good shape for late December. Dave and I braved a well-below zero wind chill on a hike out to Luge in the Windows off of Peak 9. Tough hike but the snow was unreal and we had a great run down into the gut of the descent. Short but sweet. One thing I do like about the development in town is the free public transit system. Yesterday morning I hopped on the 8:10 bus and was walking onto the gondola at 8:20. After a 12min gondola ride I was boarding the Colorado superchair at 8:35. Easy way up, i just need to remember the bus leaves the transfer station/gondola base on the top and at the half hour. Dave and I got off the gondola at 12:06, so we just missed the other bus. today I skiied up in Pennsylvania Gulch. Lots of snow back there. Skiing with the waxable skis and grip wax is much faster than any scaled skis I've tried. But the trails I ski are still too mellow to give me much of a rush on he descent. I need to hit up Spruce Creek trail and its better pitch. tired.

here it comes...

we are entering the busiest week of the season here in Breckenridge. Plenty of ch-ins and by the 28th or so we will be sold out completely. The next 2 weeks provide almost 20% of our entire ANNUAL revenue here. That's simple math, highest avg nightly rate multipiled by the highest occupancy time of year. Luckily we have found a couple more employees, with another one starting on 1/8.

Alina is excited for Christmas, and she daily asks Santa for a Rody. Luckily Santa will be bringing her Rody, and plenty of other toys.

milestone

Alina is potty trained for the most part. Pretty cool. I am certainly changing less diapers these days, though we put her to bed in one for now.

Yesterday we went out to Beaver Creek for Helen's snowshoe race. She got 3rd place at Beaver Creek. Great job Helen! I was lucky enough to get a couple hours of steep, uncrowded, soft snow riding. I love that place.

sweet, cross in the spring

CultCross is putting on a few 'cross races out in Eagle and Avon in late March and April. Should be fun, probably have some dicey, crossy weather. And it will definitely be better than mixing it up in a 3hr road race when I don't have the endurance yet. 45min of pain is always tolerable.

doping in cycling put in perspective

finally, cycling won't be the only red-headed step child in terms of doping, cheating, lying, scandals, etc. The report coming out today clearly will show most of the public that doping is not just common in fringe endurance sports like cycling, track and field, running, rowing, weightlifting, but it is also becoming common in mainstream American sports like football, baseball and basketball.

winter fun

cycling is pretty far from my mind right now. though it could get back in if Red Rocks was dry and rideable in the next weekend or two. this saturday I want to get up on the mountain for some turns, before the massive crowds ensue. Sunday we're going over to Beaver Creek for Helen's first snowshoe race. Always fun to check out the super rich Euro village over there.

more pics from the ski tour

pat and dave accompanied me on my backyard stock run. too bad I forgot a self portrait.

 
 
 

stock run ski tour

did a summer mtb stock run on the skinny skis. the new snow was beautiful. gold run0mccleary's-side door-minnie mine-bomber/b&b-back home. door-to-door ski.

 
 
 

holiday lights

 
 
 
 

more scenics from this morning

 
 
 
 

snow

and lots of it. reports are showing over 33" in the last week. we took Alina out this morning on her skis again. she loves it.

 
 
 

new look for Photography for Real Estate blog

new look for a great site that has really helped me out. check it out by clicking the hyperlinked title above.

Dealoco

My younger brother Steve and some of his college friends recently launched a new website that is basically a deal aggregator. It scours the web and finds deals on all types of goods from hundreds of reputable retailers.

Check it out - Dealoco

ho ho ho

we're trying hard to look nice and normal. perhaps we're trying too hard.

 

Alina skis in our neighborhood

 
 

Alina's first day on xc skis

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mom's gloves