Colorado National Monument

Hey:

Maria and I took a trip to the Colorado National Monument this past weekend--simply spectacular! Since we had to carry all our water in, we set up a base camp only about three miles down the Monument Valley Trail. Each of us had three gallons of water in our pack (that's a gallon a day, and we used just about all of it), plus a tent, cooking gear, and a sleeping bag a piece. We used a GoLite shelter to conserve on the weight. We would have gone without a shelter, but there was rain in the forecast, and we had been warned that there would be stinging gnats out in droves. I'm glad we brought the tent--it did rain the first day and night, and the gnats were just awful the second night. Completely un-deterred by DEET! We did sleep both nights (well, most of the first night and all of the second) without the fly on, so we could see the stars and the valley by moonlight.

We took some pics which you can see here:



Once we'd eaten all our food and drunk all our water, we headed back to the truck with super light packs, and spent the afternoon and following morning mountain biking in the greater Fruita area. Both Maria and I had an awesome time.

RL

A good long time...

Well, it's been a good long time since I've posted to the blog.  A lot has happened in the interim.  I've been cross-training on the road and mountain bikes, and working hard at building my base for long-distance running.  I'm up to ten miles, and plan to make a 12 mile run in the desert of Colorado National Monument this weekend.  That's right, It's Memorial Day weekend, and I plan to remember those who gave their lives for our great nation by sleeping in a tent and running really far in the hot sun for a couple of days.  Then, when we get back to town, I'll be sure to grill some hot dogs.  

No really, it's going to be an awesome weekend.  Pilar and I will be backpacking, camping, and running in the monument, and then spending a couple days riding in Fruita.  What more could a guy ask for!

Yesterday, Hideo, Seth, and I tackled Walker Ranch on the mountain bikes.  Not a speck of snow on the trail.  Hideo made sure to check that gravity was still working... it is.  

Meanwhile, I'm training for the ascent of Mount Evans.  It's a 14 mile running race, on the "soft shoulder" of the road from Echo Lake to the peak of Mt. Evans, which is just over 14,000 feet.

Wish me luck.  

RL

Ride Report: Marshall Mesa/Dowdy Draw

Well, yesterday afternoon four of us met up at the new Marshall Mesa trailhead for a tour of the recently-opened-to-mountain-bikes Dowdy Draw/Flatirons Vista trail.  It was an excellent ride!  The sun was going down behind the flatirons, so we rode in and out of the shadows a couple of times.  The downhill section on the west side of Flatirons Vista was in good shape for the spring, and the trail was almost completely dry.  Hideo took a flying leap off his bike, right before the first creek crossing, but all in all, the ride was thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm off to Colombia this week--I'll try to post pictures if I get the chance, but I'm not counting on having computer access.

Best,

Rob

Post-Community support ride

Hey all you feverish folk:

With all this support talk about blogging as a means of fostering community, I thought I'd post right from the peanut gallery at Wolff Law, where the IT Community Support Event is going on right now.

Saw Dave U. this morning, and we've decided to go for a ride over lunch. If you care to join us, meet at HUMN at 12:35!

RL

Ah, Colorado!

This weekend was a perfect example of why I love living in Colorado.  Saturday Maria and I headed up to Keystone, to ski a bit.  Unfortunately, Maria didn't realize that Saturday was a blackout day for her four-pass (curse you, Vail corporation!), so she read for a bit while I grabbed a couple of runs through the trees.  Not wanting her to wait for me, I headed back to the lodge at 10:45 and we were back to Boulder by 1:00.  

Since it was beautiful, sunny, and almost warm (for March standards) we got out the road bikes for a quick ride up NCAR hill.  Though a bit chilly coming down, it was nice to get out on the road bikes in the afternoon.

Then, on Sunday, we packed up the mountain bikes and headed to Lyons' Hall Ranch, where we enjoyed a quick tour of the trails there.  They were muddy in spots, but overall the trail conditions were terrific, and we had a great time!

Today, Sir Kent and I are meeting on the north side of Humanities to run up to the Mesa trail via NCAR--join us if you care to!

Ah, Colorado!

Sunny, beautiful--run?

Hi all:

Yesterday had me working through lunch, so today I need to get out and run!  Anyone interested in joining me?  I was thinking of heading to Anemone, but am open to other suggestions!

RL

Hamstring stretch

Just got back from the morning yoga class.... I spent a lot of time focused on my hamstrings.  There's nothing like a good hamstring stretch!   They have gotten quite tight this year, and nothing seems to get them to really release.  So, I guess I'll keep going to yoga :)

No run today for me.  It's a rest day!

RL