Blue Screen of Death

On Saturday had the brilliant idea to reformat my hard drive. I mean how hard could it be right? Just back up my data, pop in the windows disk, and let it do it's thing, right... Wrong! Wrong!! After 4 frustrating days and sleepless nights I finally have some semblance of my former computer back, but I paid a hefty price. I religiously backed up my data (or thought I was backing up my data) on my external drive so no prob, right... Wrong!!! I lost every email address in my address book, all my banking info, and worst of all any photo editing capability. F___ Windows. I foresee a Mac in my future, and hang gliding movie that features a diving glider dropping a laptop into a pit of alligators. Flaming alligators that spit wasps. (It's my movie, I can have wasps spitting, flaming alligators if I want!)

Some Blue Screens of Death

and of course.

Not having any photo editing ability is killing me because I have a ton of great pictures from the Halloween party last weekend. We finished the deck just in the nick of time and it didn't collapse under a full load of dancing, costume wearing party goers. It was one of the best Halloween parties I've been to. We had a raging bon fire in the middle of downtown Denver and the cops never showed up! People went all out on their costumes. Jo and I decided on being Ipod commercials. We dressed in black, painted all visible skin black, and did a funky dance while wearing white Ipods and headphones. There were pirates, red-necks, starbucks employees, snake handlers, fire walkers (real ones), a dead wedding couple, a real wedding couple, cereal killers (cereal boxes with knifes in them), rappers, Miss Texas, a giant A, and many others.

Here's a shot of us in costume. How awesome is Jo for going along with my crazy idea - she rocks!! I was going to edit this photo to make us look more 2 dimensional, edit out the back ground, and replace it with a plain pastel background, but that will have to wait for now.

Analysis Paralysis

Analysis paralysis has crippled my ability to decide on a Halloween costume and the party is tomorrow night. I'm torn between Jo and I being Ipod Commercials or Gorilla Man and Banana Woman. You would think for a professional decision maker I wouldn't get stumped on such trival matters, but no joy. I think the determining factor will have to be how bad the gorilla suit smells from years of use and no washing. I lent it out last Halloween and recall it smelling of beer when it was returned. It's been locked up in a plastic bag to ferment for the past 12 months.

On a less olfactory note I'm almost done editing the 24 Hours of Moab photos, look for a post or two soon. I had to dig into my stock images for this pumpkin carving photo from last year. My carving was the Eyes of Buddha (slightly left of center in the foreground).

Halloween Costumes??

Working, recovering from the Moab race, and trying to finish Doug's deck by Saturday have kept me busy the past couple weeks. I've been trying to ignore the nagging thought that I have no clue what to be for Halloween, but it's getting so close that I can't anymore. I want to be something together with my girlfriend Jo, but good ideas and creativity have eluded me thus far. Possible options:

1. Ipod Commercials - painting ourselves black and dancing wildly with Ipods and white head phones.
2. Dog Trainers - sewing small stuffed dogs to our arms and shaking them about with blood and cuts on our faces.
3. Me in the gorilla suit (that's right I own a gorilla suit) and Jo as a banana or an animal trainer.
4. Tom Cruise and Lana from Risky Business - I wear tighty whities, long socks, and slide around on the floor and she dresses up provocatively.

I'm not sure Jo will go for it, but if I can find a hospital gown, some other participants, and a bed with wheels this:

Another Missed Sunset

I missed yet another stunning sunset today while working on Doug's deck. It was supposed the last day of construction, but everything seems to take twice as long as it should (pretty much standard for projects I get involved with).

Sunset from the Prison of Doug's Backyard



The deck has to be finished by Saturday for the big Halloween party. All that's left is some facia, a couple lights, outdoor speakers and sub-woofer, and securing the perimeter of the decking with wood screws. I've made a few costly mistakes (cutting very expensive pieces of wood too short, etc.) which has aggravated Doug's already fragile mental condition.

Laying Down the Herring Bone on the Upper Deck



Doug has been overwhelmed by the project and is in a constant state of delirium which has seriously impaired his ability to function as a human being. I've noticed a slight twinge in his eye and often hear him mumbling quietly to himself as we work. I'm convinced he has gone mad and keep my distance when he is in possession of power tools. I can only hope that an expeditious end to this project will restore him to some semblance of sanity.

Crazy Doug Working Late into the Night
(Hydration is an important part of deck building)



On a lighter note, we did have good company today. Molly Dog, Skippy, and Nana kept us entertained in a constant battle royal over bones and dog toys. I have to watch Molly like a hawk. She loves to grab pieces of wood out from under me after I finish cutting them. I spent 10 minutes today looking for a trim piece before I realized she had stolen it and chewed it beyond recognition.

Skippy and Nana Playing



And Playing...



And Playing...



And Playing...

Moment of Impact

As requested...

Choppin' em Down

Molly Dog has been on holiday in Nederland all week. My cousin Ashley and her boyfriend, Shawn, help me out by watching her while I'm on the road. They heat their house with a wood burning stove and had a ton of firewood that needed splitting. It just so happens that splitting firewood is one of my favorite activities. My back was still a little sore from the Moab race, but I couldn't pass on the opportunity to split some wood. With 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and a crisp breeze blowing down from the peaks above Nederland it was perfect weather to get my chop on. The logs were wet and stubborn, but Shawn and I split about a 1/4 Cord in an hour. I like to build power in my Chi and then at the right time unleash in an explosive swing through the log. You have to mentally think through the log in order to split it on the first swing. "Alex is crazy" you may be thinking, but it's all about technique. It felt good to sweat a little doing something other than cycling.

Shawn and Ashley on the way back from Moab

Shawn Getting his Chop on



Molly Dog Supervising



Shawn Chop Sequence



Molly Dog Stealing Wood

Caught in the Act

I caught these vandals in my front yard the other night.

I followed them as they reeked havoc on my neighbor's Halloween decorations.

Yummy Flowers

And they thought it was the neighborhood kids!

My Knee Hurts

We got back from the 24 Hours of Moab at 1am this morning. I've been unpacking, de-mudding, and recovering all day. I'll publish a full post soon as I have over 100 photos to edit. It starting raining early Saturday morning and conditions only got worse as the hours progressed. Just after dark Granny Gear stopped the race for safety reasons until morning. My memories of the race are a fog, this picture captures it well.

Off to Moab

We're off to Moab first thing this morning. This year will be way more chill than last year. There will be no duking it out with the pro teams for 4th, but it is still a race. Like an idiot I decided to run on Wednesday to see if it would hurt. It did! I'm in pain, but optimistic my knee (or high misery tolerance) will hold out long enough to get a couple good laps in. I've been trying to ignore the limp I've been sporting all day. The race starts at noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday. If you want to track our progress click on the link below. Look on the home page for "Real Time Scoring" for "24 Hours of Moab 2006." It won't be up until the race starts. Our team is the "Nose Dive Chickens and a Nut" in the "5-person Coed class."

http://www.grannygear.com/index.shtml

Telluride

I got stuck flying a 4 day trip at work this week. I usually avoid 4 day trips like the plague, but that was the only option for October. The only good part about the trip was a long overnight in Montrose, CO on the last night. I couldn't take another afternoon rotting away in a hotel room. Terri, the station manager at Montrose came to the rescue by letting us borrow her truck. Rafael, my first officer, and I headed up to Telluride.

Telluride from Marshall Basin

Last Aspens Turning


It had been snowing all afternoon and we got there with a few hours of daylight to spare. We drove through town and headed East into Marshall Basin enjoying stunning views of the cloud topped San Juan Mountains. The lighting was flat and dim so I decided to shoot in Black and White. It was cold and the shots I was getting weren't worth hypothermia, so we decided to head back into town.

Base of Ajax Peak

Just as I was pulling out of the trail head parking lot in Marshal Basin I saw something amazing in the rear view mirror. It was a massive waterfall seemingly spilling out of the clouds.

Bridal Veil Falls through the Clouds

Bridal Veil Falls is the highest waterfall in Colorado at over 350 feet and I had no idea it was there. Sitting on top of the falls is the Smuggler-Union hydroelectric power plant built in 1904. Now we were faced with a choice - ignore the highest waterfall in Colorado and head back to town for a warm dinner or hike an unknown distance up to the falls in the snow and cold. I pushed for the latter, but Rafael was sans coat. After we found a blanket in the back seat of the truck it didn't take much convincing.

Cold Hike Up

We made good time up the snow covered trail and reached the bottom of the falls in under an hour. The trail was steep, but the high level of exertion kept us warm. As we got close to the falls my windproof softshell did little to stop the icy mist blasting down on us. Rafael was fairing even worse in his blanket. We got soaked stumbling up the snow covered rocks and shale to the base of the falls.

Bridal Veil Falls and Smugler-Union Hydroelectric Plant

The Falls from Below

Not satisfied, I climbed up to a crack in the cliff about 20 feet up from the base. The rock was cold, wet, slippery, and covered in moss. The crack was only 3 feet tall so I had to crawl out to the falls.

Crack Leading Behind the Falls

Crack Crawling

The view from behind the falls was pretty cool, but I was expecting a cave with a pot of gold or at least a doorway to another dimension. No joy, just wet rock and moss!

Marshall Basin from the Falls

It was getting dark and super cold. Not wanting to get sick before the 24hrs of Moab race this weekend we didn't waist anytime getting back to the truck and cranking the heat the on the way back to Montrose.

Union Station

I was driving in Denver the other night when the neon sign of Union Station caught my eye. This shot was taken from the Highlands area on the West side of I-25. The stone building and neon sign seem more at home in an Edward Hopper painting than in the modern buildings of downtown Denver. The construction of new lofts in LoDo (lower downtown) will soon block this view from the Highlands. Shame...

24 Hours of Moab (prologue)

My last mountain bike race was the 24hrs of Moab on October 14th & 15th, 2005. I raced on a 2 man team in the Duo Pro category. After a grueling 24 hours, 16 laps, 26 GU's, 8 Cliff Bars, 2 tubes, lots of apples, turkey sandwiches and egg burritos, 1 tube of Chamois Butter (ahh), zero sleep, knee pain and bike issues for me and cramps for my teammate we got 4th place! It was a great way to end a very hard season of mountain bike and adventure racing. Plus it was time to face the fact that the nagging pain in my knee that was getting worse.

Racing Solo at the 24hrs in the Sage

A year of X-rays, MRI's, cortisone shots, IT band rolling, physical therapy, stretching, massage, sleepless nights, doctors, specialists, and opinions has not solved my mysterious knee injury. My goal for 2006 was to race in the expert class, moving up to semi pro by 2008. Whether I'll ever be able to race at that level now is in doubt, but knee pain or not I will race again! The 24hrs of Moab is in 7 days.

Le mans Start at 24hrs of Moab 2005

(I'm slightly left of center)

This year will be a little different of course. I'm opting for a 5 person coed team instead of duo pro. My main goal is to have fun and enjoy all the things I missed by racing so seriously in 2005. The 24hrs of Moab is the biggest 24 hour race in the country. It's like the Burning Man Festival with bikes and not as many naked people. I'm stoked to do a couple of "chill" laps, hang with my girlfriend (clean up the coffee you just spit all over your computer screen, you read correctly - she rocks!), and enjoy the scene.

La Sal Mountain Backdrop

Our team is talented and all locals from Boulder. We've got an iron woman, local expert and sport riders, a single speed 29er rider (a 29er is a bike with larger 29 inch wheels), and a busted up former duo pro rider. Our collective goal is to just have fun and maybe whoop some other coed 5 person teams who are just having fun too!

Moon Rise over the La Sals

Deadhead at Dawn

I had to deadhead at work the other morning (with my camera of course).

Sunrise at 25,000 Feet

Pre-Dawn Pike's Peak

Fire in the Sky

Tower

Terminal Bridge

Frontier