RAD downhill day!!!

Bubba, Chris and I headed out to Sol Vista today for a RAD day of downhilling!!! Working on our skills and having fun riding down the hill instead of the usual UP, led to some epic riding, photos and crashes!

The blue bird day made for some excellent riding, and fun... Bubba and I rode Yeti 7's and Chris rode his 575. We all dropped our saddles as we dropped in for the first run... a mix of tacky soil, rocky straights, and smooth berms. Darner joined us for a couple runs, both coaching us out of the cross country mode, and cheering us on as we further pushed our skills.

After a few warm-up runs, I had my mind set on tackling the 3 'doubles' at the top of the run. I cleared the first double on my first try, and on the next attempt, with Chris taking photos I aimed to go even BIGGER!

I took off with a lot of speed...

I was flyin' high!
Then I realized I was a bit too high... and too fast! I overshot the jump, landing on the flat and catapulting forward!
My front wheel tacoed, separating at the fusion point.

Darner caught up with us, then tried to re-bend the wheel, to no avail... it was done, tacoed, ca put.
I felt a little twinge in my back... not bad, but enough from letting me ride the rest of the day. I took the lift back down.
Before I headed out, Bubba hit up the doubles with some awesome air!
I headed back to the truck for some rudimentary icing on the tailgait, while waiting for the boys to return.

It was such a fun day, I can't wait to do it again. The Yeti 7 is the sweetest bike I've ever ridden... hooked up on the terrain, plush without being too overbearing, and light enough to easily take flight... it may just be my next bike!!!

Muddy Butte

We headed out to Crusty Butt (Crested Butte) this weekend for the 4th MSC race. The COMotion contingent was well-represented again with several podium finishes, and lots of fun hanging out in the remote little mountain town.

Saturday's cross country races began under sunny skies, but the cold, wet weather quickly moved in.

Chris riding strong.
Doug cranking uphill.
Strouse posing for the camera... that tongue is gonna get muddy!
Ryan had a great race, and Autumn provided awesome support!
Marjorie and Evie couldn't be happier to be done!
Colin sporting the Optic Nerve King Spades in his race.
By the time my race rolled around just before 1pm, the rain began tinkling down and soon the powdery dirt trails were a greasy, muddy mess. I had the race won for the first 2 laps, but on the 3rd painful lap, my body disintegrated and I struggled home in near-hypothermia for 4th place.

Out of the gates and on course... it's all uphill from here!
Cruising the singletrack before the deluge hit.
Grinding up hill... 5,600 ft of climbing is painful! I think I'm going in slow motion at this point!
Scott in the zone.
Rob shaking out his wet, muddy sunglasses... this sucks!

Early Sunday morning, the clouds began clearing up, but 16 hours of steady rain made for a mud bath in the Super-D races.

Cary tore up the Super-D course!
Strouse pushing his 40+lb ASX sled up the last incline.
Chris stormin' through the Aspens in his first Super-D race on his new Yeti 575!
Chris grinding up the last incline... it was muddy and slick!
Chris had a great time in his first Super-D race! Full of mud and smiles!
Finally the sun came out, but it was already time to pack up and head out! Maybe we'll get in some more epic CB riding next year.

Chris' b-day!

Today we're taking it easy and celebrating Chris' birthday with a fun, relaxing day!

Chris was excited about his new book... more info for building and maintaining our Yeti 'cross bikes!

A new set of allen wrenches is just what the mechanic ordered!

Guinness and Jameson got in on the birthday action too.

The kitties moved their wrapping paper party to the floor.

Tonight, it's steaks on the grill and more celebration!!

Tradition at Teva

We continued our Teva Mountain Games 4-year streak today with the road bike hill climb. It seems that every year we've been alternating between the XC mountain bike race and the hill climb. We chose to skip the XC yesterday and go whitewater rafting with our friends instead!

We did the hill climb 2 years ago (the day after our wedding), so we were pumped to improve our times today. Of course we wanted to represent COMotion in style on our Yetis, so brought out our 'cross bikes. I threw some road wheels on mine (and it was actually a couple pounds lighter than my road bike!), and Chris rode straight 'cross style, with knobbies!!

My race went off first, and even with a quick, hectic 15-min warm-up, I was rarin' to go. I flew down the TT ramp, and away towards Vail Pass. I ended up winning my division, and finished 3 minutes faster than my time 2 yrs ago!

Chris rocked his race as well, finishing a solid 11th place and improving his time by 1 min, all while sporting the heavier 'cross bike and knobbies! He got lots of looks and a few cheers too!

The Vail weather never disappoints, with a mix of sun, rain, wind, and some snow! It was a great day, and a killer workout for us non-roadies!!!

Jameson is 2!!!

Jameson waited anxiously for his birthday festivities to begin.
Hmm... Jameson looks a bit wary about his German chocolate cake.
Better give it a few taps and make sure it doesn't bite!

Oooh, now onto the presents, a new feather wand and kitty treats!

GIVE ME TREATS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Jameson loves feathers!!
Yummy feathers... better than cake!
Guinness wants another birthday too! Ok, Guinness, only 10 more months to go!

2 Fantastic Years!

Yesterday was our anniversary... I can't believe it's been 2 years already! Chris is the best husband ever!!!