A day in the life of a Looney: Mountain Bicycling Practice

I have had a pretty spectacular weekend, so although I'm sad to see Monday inevitably arrive, I feel like I've had my fun. I worked my butt off, but I started off too hard and then I ended up detonating, just like in a bike race. I got burnt on school, so Thursday night I went to see the new bike racing movie- 24hoursolo. It's awesome. these guys make a movie a few years ago about the dramatic point chase to get to the olympics called Off Road to Athens. Check out the details at offroadtoathens.com. Bri and I borrowed it from a friend and watched it this weekend to get psyched.

Friday I worked in the lab, then went to pick up my bike at mob cyclery. mobcyclery.com. They are a really cool bike shop in north denver. So cool, that I will drive 35 minutes to have them work on my bike. It has the feeling of a small, local bike shop without the elite snobby attitude. It is also not a huge shop (in the showroom anyway), so it has a nice feeling to it. Then, I went and rode Chimney Gulch/Enchanted Forest/Apex in Golden. I love it! I haven't been able to find the cable to tranfer pics to my computer, so I didn't take any here. I have a tiny memory card that hold 8 pics (yeah, i spend all my money on bikes). I've been having issues with my brakes and it broke AGAIN. Mob fixed it right up me though. It is no fun going downhill without a front brake. You really just can't stop. Bri and I got some really good Italian food in North Denver at this almost totally outdoor cafe. I felt like I was actually in Italy from the outdoor seating and the best italian food I have ever had!! I did get a lot of work done this weekend too. I finished one o fmy final projects. :) yaaay. Now I just have to write a 20 page research paper, study for my exam on Thursday, and finish my paper/study for a final in CA. I leave on FRIDAY!!

I did find my camera cable this morning, so after doing a load of work, I headed out to Green Mountain with Brian to rip some singletrack. It was really beautiful today. I haven't really ridden any of these trails before. They are all in Jeffco (Jefferson County) which is the Golden/Lakewood area. Unlike Boulder County, most of the trails are open to mountain bikes. I am STILL trying to find a good position on my bike. My wrists hurt the worst when I reach for the brake levers. I got a handlebar with a 17 degree sweep. It was weird to ride because it's about as wide as my top tube. It seemed to fix my wrist angle (although I need to chop it down), but the brake reach has to be fixed still. I am actually pretty certain that it has to be carpal tunnel syndrome. My roommate has an ergo keyboard for me to use, thank you thank you. I"m going to physical therapy this week. I need to do everything possible to alleviate this before SUNDAY next week. :) So depressing. Hpefully it's not so severe that I can't handle it during the racing. :( nooooo. Right before 1/3 of the national series. Perfect. I'm hoping maybe I can get shots of cortizone? I don't want to wreck and crack my head again.

I'm going to cut the blogging down even more to reduce typing, so you will probably hear from me again next week after the first CA race. I promise to bring my camera, but it's really hard to get pics during the race.

Fuentes Design is open 24 hour a day, even on rides. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know that downhill in the distance doesn't look like much, but this was the scariest downhill I have ever done! It was so steep that I couldn't stop if I wanted to. I actaully was not very happy about it.