Busing, Bike Racing, Backpacks, Bear, Burgers and Beer... A Very Good Day to be a Boulderite

Today was Boulder's day to play host for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, a 7-day stage race that makes its way through a good swath of Colorado. There's been a lot of excitement and anticipation in this town for a while (especially since the town wasn't part of the race last year), and with the finish line atop the locally famous Flagstaff Mountain, the buzz was growing as this weekend approached.

So this morning, we packed up a couple backpacks with gear necessary to make it through the day...  water, camp chairs, sunscreen, sidewalk chalk, homemade posters, bubbles, snacks, a cowbell, etc.  You know... bike-race-watching stuff.  With said backpacks on backs, we walked down to the nearest bus stop and caught the public bus that goes downtown and made our way to our first viewing point for the race.  It wasn't terribly crowded where we were -- people were just one-deep along the side of the road -- but it offered good viewing and was a quite convenient starting point to get to viewing point #2. 

Once the race cleared viewing point #1, we, accompanied by some similarly minded friends, began our quest to get up on Flagstaff and find a place well up on the hill to see the suffer-fest that was due in about 3 hours time.  The first part of this quest involved taking a hiking trail to get to the road itself.  What the trail lacked in length (0.9 miles) it made up for in elevation gain (about 560 feet, or an average grade of around 11%.)  Those figures notwithstanding, the atmosphere on the trail was jovial.  Once we reached the road, we took a break to eat some lunch and take in the mass of fellow spectators making their way up the road on bike or foot.  (The road was closed to auto traffic the previous night sometime.)  We joined them in short order, and began our own ascent of Flagstaff Road. 

We were only about 0.5 mile from the bottom of the climb (via road) at this point, and about 3.5 miles worth of pavement sat between us and the finish.  We knew we had a too late of a start to get ourselves a spot along the finishing section, but if we could find a place in the upper half of the climb, we'd be happy.  Amidst bikes, cyclists, and all manner of pedestrians in all manner of costumes, we followed the road to a switchback about 1.5 miles from the finish, and "made camp" there.  Unlike our first viewing point, we could easily tell this wasn't going to be a "one deep" stretch of road... there was still about 90 minutes until the first racers arrived, and there were plenty of people already on the shoulder of the road, and plenty still making their way up.

In the meantime, we unpacked our backpacks and began utilizing some of the implements we brought along... Chloe and I chalked the road a little bit (it wasn't easy to do with people constantly streaming by), Chloe and her friends Evan, Olivia and Mandy blew bubbles and handed out extra bottles to other kids who passed by, and warmed-up the cow bell by ringing it for those who chose to ascend by bike.

It was amazing how quickly time flew, for it seemed in no time we began hearing the helicopter (it provides the aerial coverage of the front of the race) and seeing the very first race-related vehicles that are up the road a bit from the racers making sure the course is clear and providing updates on the race situation via a PA system.  More cars and motorcycles -- some race officials, some state law enforcement -- continued to build the crescendo. 

And then, all fun and craziness broke loose as we saw the first cyclist approaching, trying to protect his breakaway status. He was swarmed by the crowd, and given near-deafening encouragement and support.  The same held true for the next few short minutes, as those who were chasing him down for the stage win, and those contending to win the overall race, made their way through the gauntlet of spectators screaming, blowing their horns and ringing their cow bells. Racers trickled up the mountain for the next 15 minutes or so, each one getting a fine "Welcome to Flagstaff" salute. We began our descent after the "Broom Wagon" came by, and enjoyed the still-festival-like atmosphere all the way back to the trail we used to reach the road on our ascent. 

As if the day wasn't "Boulder" enough, during our way down the dirt trail, we saw a rather large bear on an adjacent hillside (about 75 yards away) and then once in town, met up with some more friends for a post-race burger and beer at one of our favorite watering holes.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

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For a video clip of some of the action on Flagstaff, follow this link.
 - The clip is in 2 sections:  the first is us shortly after we reached Flagstaff Road from the dirt trail, and walking towards Viewing Point #2; the second section is of the first racers coming by.
 - On the topic of the racers, the first one you see is of eventual stage winner Rory Sutherland; the third racer is Jens Voigt.  Later you'll see Andreas Kloden, and a little after him is Levi Leipheimer breaking away from Tejay van Garderen (in yellow jersey) and Christian Vande Velde (shortly after they go by, you'll hear Chloe correctly state she saw Tejay, and I incorrectly dismissing her.)

We didn't take a lot of photos today, but here are some.

And So, a New Chapter Begins...

Chloe's 1st Day of Being a 4th Grader

Omega. 3.

Well, Chloe wraps up 3rd Grade today.  And while the report card is not in hand as of this write-up, we suspect she had a pretty good year (if the other reporting periods are any indication) and will be joining the upper ranks of elementary school next year.

Below is a picture of her as we went to the bus this morning.

A soon-to-be ex-3rd-grader.

Going GaGa

It took several weeks for me to get around to this one, but here's a video clip of Chloe's recent performance at her school's talent show.

9 Years Already?

 

This little gem entered our world and changed our lives 9 years ago today.

Here she is fully enjoying cake at her first birthday party.

Boo!

Chloe, The Skeleton Bride

LOTS of Good Deeds

Chloe and her classmates were rewarded with a "Crazy Hair Day" for filling up their "Good Deed Bead" jar.  (The teacher lets them put a bead or two in a jar for doing something nice, and once that jar fills up, they get a reward of some kind... crazy hair day, pajama day, etc.) 

Anywho, yours truly was responsible for helping put some craziness in Chloe's hair this morning.  I had her lay on the bed on her back with her head hanging over the edge, and tried to hairspray the dickens out of her hair.  Below is a picture of her with an admittedly unhealthy amount of hairspray applied, and below that is a picture of "the look" I was going for.

A Quick Recap, and a Funny Incident Involving a "C"

Yes, I know there's been another gap of substantive posts from me (not that I consider our wedding anniversary "unsubstantial") but when things get busy, the blog takes a seat on the back burner.  But, because of a funny little incident this morning, I thought I'd bang out some words to give a quick update on things, and finish up with this morning's incident.

Finishing up the
TT in Steamboat

 - I'm still biking and racing, though my racing season comes to an end this month.  I was in a stage race in Steamboat Springs over labor day weekend.  It started out well (5th out of 43 in the TT) but the wheels came off on the following days... I had to avoid 2 crashes in the crit, and flatted going over some RR tracks in the road race.  It clearly wasn't my weekend to complete the race, so I DNF-ed.  Despite that disappointment, I'm very happy with my TT performance and place.  I'm currently taking part in a 4-week TT race series, the first was last Thursday.  Continuing the "luck" from Steamboat, I dropped a chain at the start and lost about 40"... I finished 12th out 23, but would have come in around 5th or 6th had I had a smooth start.

Chloe before her 1st
soccer match

 - Chloe's been in school about a month already and really enjoys her teacher.  Her fall soccer season started as well, and has played 2 games already.  She's playing well (though still has some "picking daisies" lapses), and seems more comfortable in the "defense" positions.
 - Peggy's work is going well, and, as anticipated during these first couple of months with her new company, has her traveling a lot lately. (I'm estimating that between July24th and today, we've been together as a family for 3 weeks.... some of it is her travel, some of that is my time in France.)  But, we knew this would be the case so it's not a complete shock.  She really enjoys her new colleagues and role, so that makes it a lot easier for her (and us) to deal with the separation.

 - And finally, Chamberlain, the seldom-mentioned member of the family... he's doing well, and is the subject of this morning's "incident."  I took him with me as I walked Chloe to the bus stop.  Once she boarded and departed, I continued to walk with him around the neighborhood for a bit.  We were walking on a sidewalk, when up ahead of us, I, and he, noticed a rabbit sitting along a fence.  He kept an eye on it as we got closer, and when we got to about 15 feet of it, it took off in front of us and across the street. 
     I fully expected to have a tug-o-war on my hands.  But instead, I watched Chamberlain watch the rabbit run, and then watched him walk over to the fence to where the rabbit was sitting and take a leak!

1st Day... Again.

Chloe stepped into the world of 3rd Grade this morning, wearing some new duds that she and Peggy picked out over the weekend.

Latest Goings On

Despite my intentions of keeping this thing more up to date, June was a bad month to have that happen. Bad only because we had (and have) such a fun-n-busy month that my little blurbs here had to take a back seat. But it's currently a little before 7:00 this morning and I have some time to jot down some details about what's been going on over the last couple of weeks.

- Birthday & camping: On the first weekend of the month, friends (some as far away as IL) joined us for a little camping outing in Rocky Mountain National Park to celebrate my 40th birthday. It was such a wonderful, relaxing and fun time just sitting around with snow covered peaks in the background, elk walking through the campsite and family and friends nearby... not a bad way to close out one's fourth decade. (Picture to the right: Sprague Lake and environs.)

- Railroads, running and rafting: A couple days after the camping, my parents came out to visit for several days. They've seen Boulder already, so we spent most of the time with them out in the mountains: we took a mine tour in Breckenridge, a scenic train ride out of Leadville, and the highlight (at least for me)... a whitewater rafting trip. If was the first time doing rafting for my parents (mid-70s) and Chloe (8) and it was a pretty good introduction to the activity. For one, the river we rode had some pretty good Class III rapids on it... nothing too nutsy, but definitely plenty enough bouncing around to get some walls of water splashing into the raft at times. As for the water, it was moving pretty good and was frigid... due to the high snowpack and therefore prolonged melt-off, the river water had a good pace going and was only about 34° F. Accordingly, wetsuits were donned by all. It was about a 70 minute float, and we all had a great time... my parents would consider doing it again (which is awesome!), though would want to try a longer trip on Class IIIs and in warmer water before considering some Class IVs.

Another reason we spent some time out in the mountains is that Peggy was signed up for a running race. For the months leading up to it, she had been training for the half-marathon option. During the last 2 weeks, though, she came down with some kind of cold or virus infection that left her really congested and she wasn't able to keep up with her training. All wasn't lost as the race organizers had a 10K option as well. Given she was still not 100% and not breathing the best, and over 4,000 feet higher in elevation that what she's used to, she opted to run that and was able to beat the time she set for herself (another "awesome!") (Pictures in this section, top to bottom: My Dad taking in the views during the train ride; KnPnC 900 feet underground in the Country Boy Mine; Peggy in the final steps of her 10K; and my Mom and Chloe prepping for some rafting.)

- Bike Racing and Fathers Day: And just this last weekend, we again found ourselves traveling to another part of the state so that I could take part in 3 days of bike racing. During this trip, we called Carbondale, CO home for a couple of nights so I could do a 12-mile time trial on Friday evening, a 45-minute criterium on Saturday, and 54-mile road race on Sunday. I won't go into details for each race; rather I finished near mid-pack for the TT and road race, and near last in the criterium (the reason being I had to avoid a crash on the closing laps and lost contact with the lead pack.) During our stay out there, we also visited the hot springs pool in Glenwood Springs and had a great time. The main pool is quite impressive: it's 405 feet long and 100 feet wide, contains 1,071,000 gallons of water, and is kept at about 90° F.

With Peggy still in "Summer of Peggy" mode and Chloe not having anything going on the following day, we decided to spend an extra night out there, but switched hotels, staying in Snowmass Village so we could relax from a busy weekend and have a Fathers Day dinner in nearby Aspen. The relaxing was great... we spend some time pool- and hottub-side by ourselves and enjoyed the quiet. Then we headed into Aspen for dinner at a restaurant that Peggy read about (and what she read about it was that Lance Armstrong frequents it, and has so recently.) As coincidence would have it, guess who was walking out as we were walking in? That brush with celebrity aside, it was a great night... the food was awesome, the service fantastic, and we spent a couple of hours together just laughing and having a great time. (Pictures in this section, top to bottom: Me before the start of the crit; Chloe and I at a wonderful Fathers Day dinner.)

Other Goings On...
- The Summer of Peggy now has an end date: July 24th. On the next day, she'll be an employee of Parexel, another pharmaceutical consulting company. She received an offer from them a couple of weeks ago. Not wanting to accept it as is (even though it was more than she expected) she counter-offered on three of the conditions and they were all approved! So, she has a little bit more than a month to work on her summer bucket list.
- Chloe completed a week of soccer camp that was led by the CU women's soccer team. It was fun to hear her talk about all of the skills her camp leaders had and she was SO excited to have the CU players sign her soccer ball.
- I know I've written a lot about the weather out here, but it still impresses us. After our stay in Snowmass Village, we were planning on doing some hiking at the nearby Maroon Bells. But a late-spring storm moved in, along with some fog and precipitation. The temperatures dropped quite a bit and we weren't prepared – or inclined – to walk around in such conditions so we drove home. The route we took took us over Independence Pass (12,095 ft), parts of which received a couple of inches of snow overnight, and some flurries were still coming down as we drove it. (Picture: some new-fallen snow on our way up and over Independence Pass.)

The Month of Fun isn't over.... in a few short days, we head to DisneyLand!

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Even though we've been here a little under 3 years, it's been our experience that there aren't too many weekends in Boulder that are as fun as Memorial Day Weekend: bike racing, road running, street festivals and BBQs were all on the schedule over these last 3 days.

I had bike races on both Saturday and Sunday, a crit on the former and a road race on the latter. I came in 20th in the crit (out of 32 starters) which is a pretty pleasing result for me given that it was only my 1st crit in 2 years and that I was in the main pack up until the 2nd to last lap. As for the road race, I crossed the line in 35th place (out of 74 starters)... a so-so result as I was hoping for better.

We spent several hours on Sunday afternoon strolling through and enjoying both the Boulder Creek Festival and the BolderBoulder Fair, riding rides, checking out various booths, eating ice cream and enjoying the great weather.

Then on Monday morning, Chloe and I found ourselves among 54,000 or so others in the 33rd running of the BolderBoulder, a 10K race (for some) or run/walk (for many.) We were definitely in the second group, as were definitely more interested in the "fun" of the event versus the "fitness." Along the route there are bands (Blues Brothers and Elvis impersonators, for example), belly dancers and – Chloe's favorite – slip-n-slides. (You'll see in the picture below her hair looks wet; well, it isn't from sweat.) As we entered the CU Stadium together, Chloe began her sprint, I reacted and passed her, and she made a remarkable recovery to come back and tie me at the line (wink, wink). We both finished in 1:41:24.


(Pictures, from top to bottom: Chloe getting bungeed at the Boulder Creek Fest; me [red, white and blue kit] racing in the crit; another picture of Chloe on the bungee ride; Chloe at around 7K during the BolderBoulder.)

2nd Grade Alpha and Omega

Today is Chloe's last day of school, and it made me think back to where we were for Chloe's 1st day of school this school year, and what she had to wear for it. So below I've posted pictures from those two points in time. Compare and contrast at your leisure.

Spare Not A Hair

This morning Chloe and I participated in the "Give Hair With Care" fundraiser. I went with the straight razor shave again [insert "balding joke" here], and Chloe was quite adventurous and opted for a "pixie cut," losing about 8 inches of hair off the back.

Like last year, it was a great time spending time with the family, helping this worthwhile cause. This year, though, had the extra benefit of sharing the experience with Chloe in the chair next to me. Peggy and I are SO proud of her, and thankful for those who donated on Chloe's behalf.

Below are some before, during and after pictures.

Author! Author!

Peggy and I had the pleasure of attending Chloe's class's "Author Party" this afternoon. It was the culmination – and celebration – of several weeks of work for Chloe, in which she researched, wrote about and drew pictures of walking sticks, and compiled it all together in a low-tech bound book. The class was broken into small groups, allowing each student to read their book in turn to their small group of student and parent listeners.

Chloe did a great job reporting on the focus areas of the research... life cycle, appearance, needs, adaptations and "wow facts." And, looking at the book after her turn, Peggy and I noticed Chloe's spelling is progressing nicely as well.

The tour to promote and support the book begins next month, and includes a stop on Oprah.

A Fun Saturday

Part I - Chloe and her Fire Pickle sisters had another go at it again on the soccer pitch this morning, and lo and behold, had another good outing. Chloe's games-with-a-goal streak skyrocketed to 2, and she's already talking about taking it to 3 next weekend. (We'll have to see if there is a game, of course, as this is Colorado and it is April... snow and/or rain could impact things.)

Part II - I kicked off another racing season today by lining up for a local time trial (TT). It was my first time racing on my new TT bike, and only my 6th time actually riding it. As the course is basically a rectangle, the west-to-east winds made things interesting... going north or south involved some leaning, heading east (with the wind and slightly downhill) produced speeds in the 40-45 mph range, meaning heading west (into the wind and slightly uphill) was an absolute slog.

Going into it I had no idea what to expect in terms of placing... I knew I just didn't want to finish last. About halfway into the 16.5 mile course, I passed the guy who started 20 seconds before me, so I knew I would not suffer that fate. It took me just under 41 minutes to finish the course (averaged about 24 mph), which was good enough for 18th place out of 38 contestants.

A Post of Posts

I know it's been a while since I put anything up here, so rather than go back and create separate posts for events in the past, I'm using this post to highlight some of the recent goings on.

- I know writing about money is not the best way to lead off, but I wanted to make sure if one thing got read on this post, this item would. Next month, Chloe and I are participating in a fundraising event to benefit a local charity that provides services to families in medical crisis. (You may recall I did this last year, too, whereby I had my head shaved.) Chloe obviously won't be getting her head shaved (I will, though), but is looking to get it cut pretty short (for her) and, remembering this event from last year, wanted to tie her haircut to fundraising for this nonprofit. So, if you are so inclined to help her fundraising efforts, please visit https://shop.therewithcare.org/donate.asp to begin the donation process.

NOTE: On the final "check out" page (where billing information is entered), there's a section to personalize the transaction. To make sure your donation is attributed to Chloe, choose "On Behalf of" for the "Dedication" field, and enter "Chloe Schrammel - Give Hair with Care" for the "Name of person being honored" field.

And on behalf of Chloe, thanks your consideration and support.

- Chloe's Spring Soccer season kicked off a couple of weeks ago, and to date she and her teammates have played 3 games. The most notable change this season -- other than Chloe's marked improvement in skills due to her European training [hah!] -- is the renaming of the team. The now-former moniker of "Banana Bees" was in use for several seasons and there was a groundswell of support in the ranks to change it. So, after a round or two of voting, the girls voted to call themselves the "Fire Pickles."
Name change aside, Chloe's been playing well thus far and, to borrow an ice hockey phrase, put the biscuit in the basket at last week's game. She and her teammates have been lucky this spring season as all games thus far have been played in decent weather. In previous years, it was common for games to be either postponed due to snow or played in pretty cold conditions. With April upon us, everyone is hoping we've dodged that bullet and play the remainder of the season in decent weather. But, with Colorado weather being what it is, one can never fully tell.

- Chamberlain recently celebrated the completion of his 12th year on this earth. And by celebrated, I mean ate a huge chew stick and dined on a fair amount of cooked ground beef. And then proceeded to have an upset stomach for the next 36 hours. That short period of nastiness aside, he's in good health and trotting along just fine.

- Peg's work situation is about to change. It's been a struggle for a long time for her to come to some understanding with some powers-that-be about what precisely her role is, how much autonomy she has over the practice area she was hired to lead, and how much trust and respect she has from some supervisors. Long story short, some in organization treated her as if she had little autonomy, leaving her feeling disrespected and not trusted. It became a pretty big quality of life issue and as we're prone to say "Life's too short..." and she gave notice.
Not surprisingly, though -- especially to yours truly -- she's been approached by 2 companies already about possible senior management positions with them. And the kicker is she hasn't begun in earnest a search for a new job... these were unsolicited inquiries.

- As for me, well, I'm about to kick off yet another bike racing season this weekend with a time trial, so I get to use my new "horse." I'm also still dealing with some post-UK-bike-accident residuals. I unfortunately had to enlist the help of a lawyer to file a claim for damages resulting from my bike crash last September. Plus, the chap who knocked me over is being charged with "driving without due care" and I've been given notice that I might be asked to appear in court. Ugh. As much as I am a fan of justice, I must admit I am doing my best to not have to go... I have a feeling I'd spend more time waiting in line at airport security than I would in the witness stand.

That's it for now... I hope you enjoyed this quick recap.

A Weekend in the Mountains

Ahhh.... a weekend in the mountains. That's what we just got back from, spending 4 days/3 nights in and around Frisco, CO with 4 other families.

After going out for breakfast, we left Friday morning and headed to Arapahoe Basin, a ski area near Frisco known for both being for one of the first ski areas to open up the ski season (usually in October) and being one of the last ski resorts to close (it's not uncommon for people to ski "A-Basin" in June.) It was our first time there, and despite some bad light conditions and only 1 high speed lift, we liked it a lot... it's a no frills place where people go to ski and not necessarily "be seen." A good portion of it is above treeline -- the base sits at 10,780 feet -- so there's a lot of open skiing to be had.

On Saturday, it was a mixture of activities for us. I gave skate skiing a try (follow the link for info. if needed), Peggy and Chloe did some sledding, and Peggy and a friend snuck in an afternoon of skiing at Breckenridge.

On Sunday, it was a day of family skiing at Breckenridge, enjoying some long runs, short lift lines and about 4 inches of new snow.

Monday was checkout, which was a total bummer for 12" of new snow had fallen overnight and we were itching to get to a ski area, but we needed to head back to Boulder to unpack, do laundry and allow Peggy get ready to leave tomorrow for a conference in Arizona.

Below are some pictures from the weekend.

The first 4 pictures are views of and from the sledding hill that Chloe and Peggy were on.

About this last picture... it was taken by our good friend Carole. Pretty spectacular, yes? Well, not only is the "air" that Chloe got spectacular, apparently, the crash that happened immediately afterward was similarly so. Just out of frame is another incline for a jump, and unfortunately for Chloe, she landed right on it. After regaining her "wind" and composure, Chloe ambled back up the hill and continued sledding.

Pix from Day Skiing at Keystone

View of Breckenridge from Keystone

Self photo

Chloe and Peggy on the connector gondola

Chloe with peaks and pines

High Marks

Chloe brought her 2nd trimester report card home today, and Peggy and I are quite proud of what was on it.

In the key academic areas (Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies) she is showing good progress and either proficient or advanced achievement. In the "Specials" classes (Music, Art and PE) her progress and achievement are the same.

Keep up the good work, kiddo!

A Fundraising Plea

Hello KnPnCnCinCo Blog Readers~

Chloe is participating in the American Heart Association's "Jump Rope for Heart" event at her school in a couple of weeks, and has asked me to help spread the word that she is collecting donations. If you are interested in donating, you can do so online by visiting this link: http://honor.americanheart.org/site/TR/JumpforHeart/NAT-JumpNational?px=2687137&pg=personal&fr_id=1443

Thanks!
~ K