Beautiful after work special

Summer? 60 and shorts

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#4

is in the books. We raced in Eagle, which is about 60mi west of Breckenridge. That meant beautiful lush green landscaping, and warmer weather. Not surprisingly, the course was super dusty, but at least I could see. Left before results were posted, but hopefully in the top 1/3rd of vet expert. The singletrack was very flowy, but presented problems when I was stuck behind a couple of strings of slower riders on the 2nd lap. Then again on the steep climb, the guy in front lost his traction, and I had to get off the bike for a bit. That's where Darren and Steve passed me. I latched back on during the final descent, Darren came around Steve, as did I, but I couldn't close on Darren. Fun race, legs felt good, but HR was only 180max. Not sure yet of the AVG, but it was a good,fast 12mi 57min race for early season fitness. Race Saturday down in Bailey, then Wednesday in Frisco, then the following Saturday in Vail.

neighborhood pics

self-portrait

i don't do these too often, that's for sure.

Lakeshore tr

fun to be on dirt almost whenever I want, even if it's early and on the same trails at the peninsula. Short race tomorrow in Eagle, hopefully I'll feel good.

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am singletrack

Tacky trails...

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feeling old

yeah 6yr wedding anniversary and I am really happy. I thought today after work, provided it's not raining/sleeting/snowing, Helen, Alina & I could all go out for a nice walk around our neighborhood. Then it dawned on me - ONLY OLD PEOPLE GO FOR WALKS AROUND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS! oh well, we enjoy our walks!

Olympic mtb course in Laoshan

all I hear from the riders is that the course is lame and the air is full of pollution. Probably true, but this link shows some cool features.

hours in the saddle, and Filip

Just over 2.5hrs on the mtb on Saturday out at Frisco peninsula. It was awesome to finally be riding dry singletrack out there. Sure it's not the great trails Summit County is known for, but still dry dirt trails just a 15min drive from my house. Bike felt good, and wearing a HR monitor for the first time in a while (thanks Helen and Nike), it was cool to see that on some steeper climbs I could still get my HR up to 188. I prob rode around or above LT for good chunks of time, in the 165-175 range. Sunday I got up early and rode Vail Pass and back to the house to shed some layers.

Then I met up with Filip Meirhaeghe for another couple hours. Filip has been coming to Breck every May or June for several years now. Coincidentally he stayed in a condo my office managed, and ever since we've tried to get him a good deal when here training. His career has been a shooting star, going from overall mountain bike xc World champion to a banned rider due to a failed drug test due to EPO use. In this article, Filip states "I took EPO for the first time in my career seven weeks ago during a training camp in Austria. I absolutely did not want to fail at the Olympics, which was my ultimate goal," he continued. "As soon as I heard the positive result I knew it was the end of my career."

He admitted the pressure was overwhelming for him to be the best in the world. Now after his 2 year ban ended, he was back with a different sponsor racing most of the World Cups, including a few top 10s and a final 10th overall for the 2007 series. Surely there are riders who still hate him for what he's done. But he seems sincere in his approach now, and says he served his ban and is back training. He and his wife Kelly had a baby boy 11 weeks ago. Between his new family, his ongoing work restoring his old house, Filip tells me his motivation is changing. He is fortunately an auto-qualifier for the Belgian Olympic mtb team, so that is his final carrot if you ask me. The world championships in early June (Olympic year), a few World Cups for training, and then the Olympics. After that, who knows for him.

Six Years

Today is Helen and I's 6th wedding anniversary. Wow, 6 fantastic years with the woman I love. And with Alina in the picture for the last 2.5 years, I definitely feel like there is a great balance in my life. Sure I sometimes wish I had more time for this or that, but ultimately I appreciate every ounce of every thing in my life. Now that's balance.

Vail Pass

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another house pic

this time Alina wasn't in the picture, and I think I nailed the lighting this time, though my white balance is a hair on the pink side!

lighting:
SB80 CL bounced into wall/ceiling
SB80 CR bounced into wall/ceiling
SB80 in far room by entry door, bounced into opposite wall
580EX on cam w/ diffuser for fill

Breck singletrack

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Gulf Shores trip

was great. warmth, sunshine and great company. much needed rest from the snow. although our yard is now fully melted and looking nice around, they are calling for up to a few inches by tomorrow night. uggh!

For those interested, here are about 80 pics from Gulf Shores in a WebAlbum-

May 2008 Gulf Shores

Alina at the beach

Click to Play

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IMG00021.jpg

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Finally...on the sunny beach

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multiple strobe interior

Alina was napping and this was the short window of time I had! My new Nikon SB80s are incredible. Manual power adjustment down to 1/128 in 1/3rd stop increments.

on-camera 580ex 1/8
SB80 camera left, bounced up into wall/ceiling joint at 1/4 (should have reduced, a bit hot)
SB80 camera right, handheld up high bounced into wall/ceiling joint at 1/8
SB80 in far entry hallway, bounced back at 1/4 power (this is bit too hot)

keep pedaling kid

I copied this from Greg Keller of Mud and Cowbells fame. He of course is an avid cyclist like myself. How funny is this clip?! ENJOY

well a break is here

leaving for N.O. and Gulf Shores tomorrow. Couldn't come at a better time, as AGAIN it is puking snow outside, and it's mid-May! They're calling for 5-10" by tomorrow evening. Hopefully the roads won't be too bad when we drive down to DIA tomorrow. It isn't too often one has to worry about icy roads in mid-May, but this has been an unusually and consistently brutal winter. And it just won't quit. I wonder how many locals have snapped and are moving? The rollers just aren't the same as riding outside. Ah well...the miles will come thick and fast. For now, I just want to relax with my extended family in a warm place. More from the road, including some crappy pics from my phone.