MOVIE NIGHT

MOVIE NIGHT at Salvagetti!

7pm - Salvagetti closes.
7:05pm - People start trickling in.
7:10pm - Grill fired up
7:18pm - Food trickles in
7:22pm - Food goes on grill
7:26pm - Movie screen up and looking good
7:28pm - Projector working, but not really
7:38pm - Projector working, new computer here to make movies happen.
7:38pm - Nope. That didn't work either.
7:38pm - Nope. That also will not work.
7:41pm - YES! Movies will play
5 minutes earlier - food is going into stomachs. Beverages, too.
7:43pm - 1st movie is on... a cyclocross documentary. Fun!
8:00pm - The contest begins...

Teams are formed based on what movie you wish to see. 3 movies to choose from, hence 3 teams.

4 events, 1 winner:
10 pushups
Speed walk to the
12oz yummy water beverage
Speed walk to the
8 line poem that rhymes (persuading us to want to watch your movie)
Speed walk to
Your team and instruct them to sit down

Triplets of Belleville won.
8:25pm - Movie is on.

Thank you to everyone who came out. We hope to have the magic happen repeatedly. Perhaps, monthly.

Moonlight Classic Moonlight Classique

I am finally recovered this morning from the Moonlight Classic. It was absolutely the most fun I've had in a while. We had Brother's BBQ and O Water sponsor us... or more over, sponsor those who would stop to say hello to us. Thanks to them, everyone (who eats meat) was full, hydrated and happy for that last gruelling mile.

We had fun whistling and cheering and smiling and laughing. And we think that we weren't alone. I never heard the official total of people coming through on bikes, but it had to be a record from what I could tell. And almost everyone was happy about it.

Anyone who wants to come out next year to help out/ feed the riders/ yell should contact us so we can be ready. I would like to bring in bleachers and perhaps a live band. OoooOOOooo...maybe a marching band. We'll do it ticker tape style.

Lastly, don't forget that we are doing a bike in movie this Saturday. "What movie?" I'm not telling. "Is it Breaking Away?" Not even on the radar.

Bye.

Cracked Elbow Blues

I've got the cracked elbow blues,
I have not been diagnosed,
I've got the sore arm blues,
No, I know something ain't right.

From the crash of about a month ago, I still have soreness and tenderness in the elbow. You can also, if you push in the right places (please don't touch me), find some bone chips to move around. And I can't pay a doctor to tell me what I already know. Next time I fall perhaps I shouldn't put all my weight into only one tiny sharp end of a bone.

Moving on... My plans for a personal bike this next season have me all confused. I am tempted to look at getting a new Jamis Composite Road bike for myself and pull a George Costanza by doing the opposite of what Scott would do. I've never owned a bike with full composite everything. Maybe it is time I move to the dark (composite grey) side.

But, then I see the Maverick ML8 everyday and it makes my stomach hurt to not ride it!

And then Giant goes and puts out a new bike called the Trance X0 that is going to be the *Perfect* front range bike. They didn't pull any bait and switch on this bike. It is pure evil. For those of you who have ridden a Trance, you know that the 4.2" of travel feels way bigger, probably closer to 5.5". So, I'm thinking that the X0 is going to feel like a downhill bike that can climb all day. Only riding will tell.

And then there is the other thing in the back of my mind that no one wants me to do... the ultimate bike from Black Sheep: Ti frame built up with 14 speed internal speed wheels. Sex. Dripping. Oozing. Sex.

I gotta go. Something just came up.

Buzzing pack of Carbon

A sound like no other... Carbon fibre bikes whizzing by at the highest speed the rider is capable of pushing it. The sound, and the sight, even if you don't like bikes (God help you) is mesmerizing. About an hour into the Bannock Street Crit I was convincing myself that I needed a Composite bike and that I needed to train to race. For those of you who know me, that should conjure up a grin. I'm not a racer. But that buzz made me salivate. It made me excited. It made me look again at race bikes. If any of you get a chance to visit a Criterium race, please do it. It is way more fun than any other road cycling event that I have experienced.

Sorry/Not Sorry

Holy Smoke, it is hot out.

I had a good wreck the other day on Lookout Mtn. The good kind of wreck is where you push yourself to try something you shouldn't and you make it. Then you try something else you shouldn't and you clear that. Then you get lazy because you think you are on top of your game and you EAT IT. I was in a zone of confidence when I decided to go between 2 trees on the trail. I'm not sure what happened, but I bashed my elbow, my knee and crushed my helmet on the base of one of the trees. I ended up laughing and saying "Oh Fudge*" on the way down. It really hurt a tremendous amount.

That little confidence button on my brain got lightly smacked back to reset. I timidly finished out the ride, wrecking several more times because of that little lamb coming forth.

When I was little, I wasn't taught that pushing the boundaries was the way to grow and learn new stuff. My comfort zone made me lazy. I'm paying the price now. When I get nervous, I think it is a good sign that I need to try it. If I get sick, I should probably look for a way to bump my knee again so that my head gets back on straight.


*Only I didn't say Fudge

The shoe was on the other foot. And it tasted bad.

So, I was in a car yesterday. We were leaving the shop in the alley going to 13th Ave. As we pulled up to the sidewalk, I leaned over to my friends steering wheel and honked the horn lightly. As I did this, the driver instinctively stopped as if I knew something he didn't know. We missed a cyclist by about 12 inches. He was on the sidewalk, riding very fast. We honked as a warning to ANYONE, but he thought we honked at him because we are not nice. We are nice. Well, some of us. Anyways, he gave us the middle finger all the way down the sidewalk. It kind of hurt, and kind of made me laugh. As I watched, he almost got hit by the UPS truck at the next street, which had just left our building. The word of the day is dismount. I have been looking for a single word to yell at cyclists on sidewalks and this is it. Dismount please. Dismount.

I should also say that there are situations where sidewalk riding is appropriate. The trick is that it becomes the responsibility of the lawbreaker (the cyclist riding on the sidewalk) to not get hurt. As you approach streets and alleys, it is your responsibility to not die.

I'm glad we didn't kill the lawbreaker, but I also hope he reads this.

Kevin on the Ridge

We sold a Giant Trance to Kevin and then took him on his first real mountain ride in quite a while. Of course, we had to go to one of the most technical (rocky and steep) trails in Colorado: The one and only Dakota Ridge to Mathews Winters. Dakota Ridge will chew you up with its mighty incisor rocks and spit you out into the muddy field between it and Red Rocks. It is a hard trail, indeed.

The trail starts off with a large amount of vertical gain in less than 500 yards. At the top you begin to think the worst is behind you. You begin to feel adequate and warm. But, the trail has a different plan for you!

We encouraged Kevin to walk sections that he felt he couldn't clear, cause wrecking at slow speeds when you are trying to get used to a bike is for suckers. We are all for pushing the limits a bit, but walking back to the car with a broken you-name-it really sucks more than walking a little section so you can keep on riding.

We all were having slightly off days, so Greg and Andres both flipped over the handle bars once a piece. Scott couldn't clean anything without dabbing a little foot here and there. And Kevin was still getting used to a bike that actually has travel (his old bike was a Trek Fuel). We watched him get faster and smoother through the hour long loop. His smile also got more intense as you could see his confidence increase.

We finished up through the front of Mathews Winters and found ourselves flying through the air. Kevin did an amazing job getting better acquainted with his Trance. And the Trance did an amazing job letting him in to the wonderful world of letting go of the brakes and FLYING!

The weather was perfect. The trail was truly perfect. And we all had coffee and donuts afterward to make it a calorie neutral morning.

Greg - Jamis Exile 29
Andres - Mountain Cycle Hardtail
Kevin - Giant Trance
Scott - Maverick ML8
Myra - Paws