28 June 2011

Boulder Sunrise Century



A couple weeks ago I rode the Boulder Sunrise Century. This was the second year I rode it and this year was a bit different than last year.

Last year I chose to ride the 100 mile option. This added an extra 25 miles between Ward, CO and Nederland, CO. It's a long downhill which means that the climb back up from Ned to Ward was quite difficult -- I'll be honest, it was GRUELING!. Unfortunately this year my training schedule leading up to this event was not optimal. I was not training consistently because life got in the way. Because of this, I chose to do the 75 mile option instead of the 100 mile option. This was a good choice but even that was not enough latitude because I battled leg cramps for about an hour in the middle of the ride to Ward. Once I hit the aid station in Ward, I downed three bananas, tons of liquid and kept going. From there it's 20 miles of downhill so I had some time to tuck in behind a couple of very strong riders and fly for the entire 20 miles. After downing some food and hitting such a long downhill portion, I felt much better and was able to finish in much better shape. Let's just say the results of this event motivated me ;-).

Since that event, I have gotten into a consistent summer training regimen. Being that my next ride is the famed Triple Bypass, I knew I needed to get my butt in gear. 120 miles over three mountain passes in one day requires it! More on that ride in another post.

08 June 2011

Ben Harper Live in Denver, CO



Last night Matt Good, Matt Raible, Trish and I went to see Ben Harper with Relentless7 in Denver and it was an incredible show!

I haven't seen Ben Harper in a few years and the last time I did his original band, The Innocent Criminals, was playing with him. They were an amazingly talented set of musicians that I had already enjoyed for many years on their records. So I was pleasantly surprised at the caliber of musicians who is Relentless7. This show was so good, and Ben Harper was so outstanding, it was like a religious experience! The crowd and the band enjoyed the show so much that they came out for three or four encoures which is fairly unheard of in the live music scene.

Now I'm looking forward to our next show at Red Rocks in July, Soundgarden.