What is a good day?

Yesterday was a great work out day, with the day encompassing 3 activities with decent time spent on each. The day started out chilly but with no wind so the bike was in order. Head up to Ward only to have that wind show up once I was in the canyon. Lately (sadly today included) here in Boulder, we have had crazy winds that hasn't really allowed for much riding outside. So when there is no wind, the temperatures shouldn't prevent you from taking advantage of an opportunity to get outside. Besides, the trainer looks so unappealing!
The ride up to Ward was uneventful other than having no problem with the climb. Which was a nice surprise at this time of year. All of the skate skiing seems to be paying off? The weather was chilly but I was well bundled up for the temperatures. When riding in temperatures in the lower range, you realize how important good winter gear is. Once I started nearing Ward, I had some encounters with the snow/ice but nothing you couldn't get out of with moving into the road a bit. At this time of year, there aren't too many cars going up the canyon, so you tend to be alone with nothing but the wind and the occasional wildlife sighting.
One down, it was onto the next activity, skate skiing up at Eldora. My wife picked me up on in Ward so we could head over to Eldora for a little 'lung puking'. Of course the wind was howling up there, and the 'Helldora' name held true on this day. Snow was nice but the wind was obnoxious. This was one day I was pleased to be on the Nordic trails and not sitting on a swinging lift. Skating is a mixture of gracefulness and hurling. As you get some respite from the overwhelming cardio workout, you can look in the snow covered trees and realize how precious the wilderness is. But quickly you are back to the next hill and your urge to puke your lungs out again. After getting some miles in on the skis and it was time to head down the canyon for #3.
Hall Ranch in Lyons was the culprit and 10 miles on the trails. The wind showed its head again and Noel and Steve pushed the pace. We were going out for a new trail at the top of the loop. We had the place to ourselves. The new trail was perfect. Quiet and some big buck sightings. Steve made the remark that, "you only get 1 first time on a new trail, so enjoy it". Couldnt have put it any better. As we ran through the woods, I made sure to get a good look around. That trail is just spectacular. A lot like running in the La Sals in Utah. A must do for both of them.
At this point I was starting to feel the previous 2 activities but it was a good feeling. There is no better feeling of accomplishment then getting home on a weekend evening exhausted. 1 day of your life well lived.
So in the end there was 3000+ feet of climbing on the bike, 10 miles on the skis, and 10 miles on the running trails. Not bad for a Saturday. Just another day here Boulder and it surrounding mountains. Love it!

Boulder running at its best

Last weekend was a great weather weekend. Sunday came with highs in the 60's (remember it is only January!) and after a nice team ride, I got out to run some in South Boulder. The running in South Boulder is some of the est around I feel. You have trails, open spaces, and very few people once you leave the main trails.
I went out to the Big Blue path and headed towards Eldorado again with a detour up skunk Canyon. I saw very few people once I had left Big Blue trail so it was very quiet. Just me and my breathing.
Here is a MapMyRun display. This is a 4 star run for sure.

Winter running is the best

Nice winter Boulder run this weekend. It was cold but it didnt stop getting out there to see what mother nature had in store. Check it out on the www.mapmyrun.com site:

OK Europe is one up on us

Seems that the Europeans are always trying to break the rules. How many times have I have been over in Europe and seen a car pass right down the center of the road while another car passes through going the other way. Too many to think about, having been in a few of these cars. So having descended a lot of mountain passes on my bike trips, when I saw this video it made me realize, I was going way too slow coming down the passes. Watch, enjoy and dont replicate (kids).

Between the bike and the Porsche

I am a huge Porsche fan. Have been since I was pretty small. Once my father got one it was a sealed deal. Ever since then, I have become more of a Porsche fanatic and try and learn as much about them as I can whenever I get the chance.
The RUF Turbo R is a very special car and not a Porsche, despite having the exact body of a Porsche. The RUF is it's own manufacturer. This video embodies the RUF Turbo R.

Community on the web and the people who are in it

I spent the last couple of days in a meeting discussing the community on the web and how the new site I am going to be in charge of putting together helps bring a better world to the people both in the community and outside of the immediate web community. I really got a sense from the people that are currently running their online communities how much they truly feel like family with the people that are current community members.
I had a lot of interaction with the Zaadz and Lime community people over the past two days. It was great to hear everyone talk about the people and the content that is available on the specific community and try and think about how we can put together into a stronger community for current and new members. With the large amount of community 'hoopla' going on right now, the need to have focus on the specific reason to spend time on community initiatives is important to understand. Put your mind and heart into something you believe in and you can add a lot of value and change to the world.

Manual labor and the working stiff

So over the past week or so I have been tearing out the old deck to replace it with the recyclable 'trek' material that we have on the front deck. Let me tell you, doing computer work does nothing to prepare you for the hardship of manual labor. I used to do a lot of construction work in the summer to earn money but that was obviously a very long time ago. My hands are pretty sore from tearing out the old deck and carrying the crazy heavy trek deck material over the back deck.

Now the back deck is 32 x 32 so it is a very large deck and that is only about 1/4 of the whole deck on the house. I mean, back in the 70's I think it was a huge deal to have as much deck as possible but no one seems to have thought about what a pain in the ass it is to maintain and shovel when it snows like it does here in Colorado. So to all you people that think 'bigger is better', you are welcome to stop by and grab a bag of screws and start working over at my house.

One thing I am very happy about is putting the recyclable material down on the deck. I am all about the green and environment when it is possible. Getting rid of the stain that needs to go down on the deck for the preparation for each winter sucks and is super bad for the earth. So out goes the crappy oil deck and in comes the new recyclable materials deck. I hope in about a week or so I will be sipping margaritas out on the back '40', otherwise known as the over size back deck.