Happy Halloween!

Trick or treat

Snow White getting primped up

Halloween warm-up

Alina and her good friend Wyndam going to the Halloween carnival at
the rec center.

Snow White is wearing a modern North Face down jacket!

How can you not love this picture??!!

Montana

Was doing OK with the passing of Montana, until I went to the vet to
get her ashes today. We'll put those somewhere special for sure.

Sent from my iPhone

Boulder CX#3, the dreaded Boulder Rez course

Well, the monkey's still on my back. Having some pretty good results, some new wheels and drivetrain, a new team kit, etc, etc...I had fairly high expectations for this year's race out at Boulder Rez. And as Greg Keller of Mudandcowbells fame puts it, the East and West coasts have mud, we have Colorado mud, which is snow! Our race started out with intermittent rain and snow flurries, but for the most part was dry. I was in 3rd place overall in the points (now I'm at 4th), so again I had a call-up and front row starting position, sweet! Whistle blows and I'm sitting pretty in about 4th place. After about 1/2mi of being cool and collected, not burning too many matches, my front tire washed out in a slick grassy corner as we headed into the woods by the beach and dock section. I went from about 4th place to 16th place in the blink of an eye. I managed to claw back a few spots, then finally bridge back up to the front group. But by then, I had burnt most of the matches in my book, so the damage was done...and I had little left in the tank when a few fast dudes up front hit the accelerator again to shed posers like myself. I was then in a classic Jeff Cospolich area, no man's land. Behind the first group, ahead of the second large group, kinda riding by myself. Felt okay in the dreaded sand areas, but little juice left to bridge back up. Bummer!! Better luck this weekend as the biggest race wknd for Coloradoans is on tap, with the Bluesky VeloCup on Satruday, and Grealish's Boulder Cup on Sunday at Harlow Platts Park. Might be interesting if the Front Range really gets the 6-12" they are forecasted to receive.

the best thing, ever

is, of course, Alina. She turned 4 this past Saturday the 24th. Just have to say the obvious, she is the most incredible thing in my life. Despite weekly meltdowns, she provides so much joy and worth in my life. Thank you sweetie! I love you!!

Alina at the Milwaukee Airport

Alina's 4th birthday parties

Just wrapped up a fun weekend celebrating Alina's 4th bday. Helen, Alina & Mary are going out of town next wknd, on Alina's real birth date of Oct 24th, so we decided to celebrate a wknd earlier. Plus, my parents were in town for a visit. Saturday we drove down to Boulder in the morning to check out the Valmont Bike Park's Groundbreaking Cross race. Was really fun to race in front of my parents, and I ended up doing well and getting 5th place.


Afterwards, we drove up to Bill & Mary's house up on Sugarloaf for some grilling and enjoying the company of both sets of Alina's grandparents, G3 (Great Grandma Grace), and Josh & Diana. Of course, being a Saturday, we were also able to enjoy some college football and beer. The weather was beautiful, so were fortunate enough to enjoy their beautiful deck and some nice afternoon sun.


Alina really enjoyed the company and of course the great presents she received from everyone. She was excited to play with her new baby doll babyjogger. She was really happy to be at grandma's house. Here are the 3 generations:


On the way home, she of course slept soundly. The next morning couldn't have come soon enough, and we were quickly prepping the house to have over about 20 kids, most of whom would be in princess costumes, for her n'hood party. Everything worked out well, incl the weather. A few brave boys were invited and they braved the many princesses all cruising around the house and in the bouncy castle.


Alina really had a blast, and so did we! Wondering if she'll be cranky tomorrow morning, she had a BIG weekend.


Click here for a complete Flickr set of some good pictures of the birthday weekend.

thanks for reading, and thanks to my parents & the Hills for helping with everything.

Alina's ready for Hardrock

vid from Saturday's Frisco Cross

another vid from Riley, this time the start of Sunday's race:

Frisco CX #2 - 35+ open start from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

short vid from Sunday's FriscoCross race

nice vid courtesy of Dale Riley. I'm the guy with the black & white kit, and the UGLY orange bike.

Frisco CX #2 - 35+ open Lap 2 barriers from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Frisco Cross day 2 pics

a few snaps from Sunday's race, courtesy of 6DegreesToSlush

Frisco Cross recap

This past wknd was the 2 days of cross racing known as Frisco Cross. Was a lot of fun. we had some crisp autumn weather, some overnight snow dusting on the high peaks, but the courses were dry both days. First day saw me with another strong start in 3rd or 4th wheel. Was riding smart and stayed in spots 6-10 most of the race as I saw Tim Faia ride away, not surprisingly. The one moment I should have put in a little dig (attack?) to move up a few spots, I hesitated, grabbed some brakes, and sat back in the slipstream of Robson as we rode up the pavement climb to the top of the course. I need to remember that I can recover quickly, and also ride strong even while anaerobic. That mid-race hesitation combined with a super techy pass by Ward Baker on the last loose corner combined to have me finish in 8th place. Before the beginning of the season, I'd be very happy with 8th place, as last cx season I was routinely in 10-15th positions. Well this year I am riding better, and now I know I belong in the top 10. And if the day is right (and maybe the field?!), I think a podium is not out of the question. Sunday's race seemed to have a more difficult course, though the absence of the long paved climb and the addition of more singletrack was certainly in my favor. Again I found myself with a nice start (call-ups certainly help!), this time though I did not want to light matches I couldn't sustain so early in the race. So I settled into 3rd wheel, right behind Robson and Faia. I wasn't going too hard, just happy to be riding where I was. Then as we exited the sweeping, downhill, wood-chip turn on the upper part of the course, I saw Keller standing next to his bike, off course. Not sure how he missed the turn that he pre-rode, but this quickly saw the front 8 or so guys with a nice gap on the rest of the field. Soon as we hit the big run-up, Tim turned it up a notch and was gone. I walked/stuttered up the hill like a fish out of water, re-mounted quickly only to see Phenicie get in front of me as he started his chase of Tim. I wasn't going there, so did some damage control and quickly re-established my own pace. Hartman and Farrell rode by me and I could not hold their wheels, but I did put in a nice effort on the last lap to pass Robson and hold on for 6th place. My best result ever in 35+ Open, at least in a stacked field. I will take it! More importantly, my confidence is building. Looking fwd to building on that for the next few weeks, and hopefully a good ride for the Boulder Cup weekend.

Silly Lini

Alina's cyclocross!

Alina preparing for her race!

Frisco cyclocross