Over 400 costumed, crazy, riders hit the streets of Denver on Sunday to take part in an crazy adventure involving water slides, bike obstacles, beer, tasty food, and lots of prizes for random things like having a 36" waist, or doing a monkey walk. It was a killer party. Check out some of the action.... Costumed up and ready to grab the bikes... Just love those banana seat bikes. Reliving the days of your old paper delivery route. Slip n sliding...with some extra style points. Jesse's had some practice on the big wheels over the years. Monkey walk = free stuff. And the winners are....Jesse and Tate of Team BikeParts.com Congrats fellas! Enjoy those New Belgium commuter bikes.
This weekend is the New Belgium Urban Assault Ride in Denver. It's shaping up to the be another great day of two wheeled shenanigans. We're getting these productions down to a science, so there's been some time to ride this week - which is always a plus.
So...here are some things we've enjoyed so far: Jackie went on a big ride on her own this week. She took on some hills (which are not her favorite thing), she fixed a rear flat, and she rocked out on the iPod - all 1sts for her...and I'm proud of her for these things. Here's Long's Peak (sticking it's head up in the background). It's a 14er that I see everyday...and this will be the summer that we climb it. It's a 12+ hour hike that will start in the wee-hours of the am. And it's going to be really cool to point the compass in the direction of our house and look at it from 14,000+ ft. Here's a really sweet ride. We saw this one at the RIO - it belongs to one of their bartenders. I just love how people are fully customizing their bikes these days - and I would say that the fixie trend is why it's happening. This bike is all pinked-out...check the cool top tube pad, pink chain/chain ring/cranks, and even a pink seat with a cooch-pooch(that's a technical term). Very nice! Tatonka kicking it by the side of the road. I was on a MTB ride this week and drafted a tractor for about 5 miles. FYI - they drive about 20-25 and make for a great slipstream.
We also had to take one of our kitties in to the vet this week. She didn't like it and was doing her best "Oh Long Johnson" impersonation. If only I could teach her to talk with an indian accent like this kitty.
Here's what we did... We drove to Ft Collins with our 'bearded lady' We met some new friends... with some cool helmets... ...and other accessories (like these eyelash curlers) Then we put on a bike race. Everybody got lined up... ...then we squirted them with guns. Some limbo'd with such skills.... ...others - not so much. And we finished it off with a Sweet Leaf Tea chugging contest.
It was a great day at the races! Thank you Ft Collins! The results for the Rio Grande Urban Assault Ride will be posted shortly.
Jack and I went to see WEEN at the Fillmore last night. It's at least my 3rd time seeing WEEN and they always put on a good show. Ever since witnessing the legendary show they played at Liberty Lunch (in Austin in 1996), I've been a HUGE fan. At that show, they toured with a full country band so they could play songs from '12 Golden Country Greats' (which only had 10 songs on it ;) So this is Jackie's favorite WEEN album and she said her night would be complete if they played "Mr. Richard Smoker"....and they did:
One of my favorites was the classic "voodoo lady" which I was happy to hear them play.
I was talking to one of the video guys and he told me that they played a private show in Ft. Collins the night before for 200 people. Man - I would have loved to see that! I wonder how we can book Ween for a private show....maybe when we're big and famous.
Squid in NYC, a friend of the UAR, has put together a demo video for a Bike Messenger Reality Show. Squid's a cool fellow who came out and won the Urban Assault Ride in LA in 2006. He runs a messenger agency in NYC called Cycle Hawk. He's won Monster Track, he's a big fan of MotorHead, and he's pretty darn famous. One of these days, we'll put on a UAR in NYC and my money's on Squid to take home the win. Check out the video....
Boulder, CO. For the most part Boulderites are super fit, hard core into their sports, and, relatively straight-laced. We had a UAR in Boulder for a couple years, then we had to can it because most folks are just too serious to 'get' the Urban Assault. And then you have get-togethers like the Big Wheel Rally (last night) and the Boulder Cruiser Ride (every Thursday) and it makes you wonder. Maybe the UAR is just not crazy ENOUGH for Boulderites. Last night, it was clear that everybody was ready to let their hair down. Something about dressing up, hoot'n and holler'n, and riding crazy wheeled creations that really gets Boulderites all riled up. Kinda reminds me of this site. And of course the UAR crew was out in full force. Here's some of the action: The big wheel 'race' started in the early evening and we had tons of bewildered tourists gawking at the spectacle. It was like they felt safe behind their little fence as the watched us make loud noises and exert ourselves. Kinda like they were watching zoo animals. Later in the night, we hit the Pearl St pedestrian mall (illegally of course). The monstrous sound of the big wheel skids had to compete with the on-looker's cries of pain when the big wheels were rolling over their toes. No fence to protect you now. Hee Hee. Jackie and I brought down a truck load of rides for our friends. Seems there are not too many good options for big wheels these days, so we were happy to loan some out. Others got creative and built their own. Check out this guys: 26" front wheel with a Surly large marge rim and tire, Chris King headset, crank bros pedals, and one burly looking freewheel hub. I'm not ashame to sat that I was drooling over this man's big wheel for sure.
This lovely young lady had a battery-powered ride. All she had to do was kick her feet up on the pegs and pull a trigger to jet around town at 20mph. It also had two sets of wheels: one for sliding and one for speed (like racing down parking garages;)
This fellow made some clever mods: a comfy office chair (with arm rests) and triple-clamp stem/bar combo. It was choice. I had to take it for a spin. Plenty of big wheelers reside in Boulder - as you can see here.
At the races, it was no holds barred. I scraped up both my elbows from hitting the deck multiple times. This guy's trying to get the hole shot.
When we arrived at one stop, for security purposes, we got a big wheel pile going. It was over 10 ft tall. Absolutely the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Here's Tim and me sporting our protective head gear. Jackie prepares for a spin through Old Chicago bar. It's not everyday that you get to ride a big wheel through a bar. Check out Jackie's flower modifications. Here's Ben rocking the 'boulder plumber' look. Man o man... good times.
Here's our new pal Steve Z doing a no-hander wall drop. It's not so easy on the tail bone to land a jump on a big wheel. Steve has it down to a science. He can also bust out sick 360slides.
What else can I say....it was a great night. I call this photo "Jackie and Josh at Mt. Big Wheel". Next year, we'll see you there.
One of my favorite drunken big wheel bar hops of the year...well, the only one really and I love it. The Boulder Big Wheel Rally is coming up this Saturday 7/12 in Boulder Colorado. Last year, Kurtie and I tore it up. We were neck and neck in the Colorado State Championship Big Wheel Race, when he got bumped and slid out in the gravel. I pulled through for the win - and I'm still awaiting the trophy. In between bars, you get to do a little big wheel riding. We hit courtyards, hotels, parking lots. There were tons of folks bewildered with the spectacle. You'd ask if they wanted to try one out and they'd look at you like a circus animal. Well...I guess we did look a little funny. This is Matt - he's the carnival barker at this little shin dig. We've been in touch over the years due to our big wheel love. He's done some cool custom work...but I've got some fun up my sleeve for the weekend. More coming soon. It's going to be sweet. Also the Urban Assault Ride is a sponsor and we've donated team entries to the Ft Collins and Denver events. if you haven't already signed up for one of the CO UARs, then come out for sure since you could win an entry. Until next time....
We took advantage of the weekend off from our race production to go an experience somebody else's race production. It's nice to see the world from in front vs. behind the lens some times. So where to go...the Fire Cracker 50 in Breckenridge was the place to be. The '50' is a 50-mile mountain bike race, with two, 25 miles loops, each with 5400' of climbing. It's not a day for the timid and my hat goes off to everybody that lined up for the experience. The Domingue's were the travel companion this weekend. Ben's from Austin (currently a Boulder transplant) and he was sporting the new Ozone jersey. Here he is bringing special attention to Vytis's soldier crab on the bottom left pocket. Good ol' Vytis. The race starts off Breck's 4th of July parade. It's an awesome experience to see the streets lined deep with smiles, flags, and high 5ing kids. I lined up next to Travis Brown, a legendary MTBer and now one of Trek's R&D guys. We talked 29ers and the Trek UAR in Madison(he's thinking about coming out;), then the clock struck 11 and we were off. The Fire Cracker was the national championships for the marathon - so the talent was out for sure. The course was incredible. Hard - yes - but worth it. There are 4 major climbs/lap. 2 are on singletrack and most everybody was loving their granny gear. The views were awesome, the air was clean, and the race was a great chance for me to check in with myself. It's a big accomplishment to finish this event in less than 5 hours - which leaves plenty of time to think and unplug. For me, events like this are what life is about. It's why I started Adventure Fit. It's a great feeling to push yourself, doing what you love, then kick back with your friends with a great sense of accomplishment . Looking down at a mountain lake. I envy to mountain goats that get to experience these trails every day. And here's the pain. It's not every day that you see elite riders walking their bikes. As the VeloNews article stated, this was a race of attrition. Many of the top riders flatted, crashed, or just plain DNF'd due to exhaustion. This is why. The climbs were steep (it's hard to see in this photo) and LONG. Unless you train on terrain like this, it's pretty darn painful. But it's true that - Pain is Temporary (thank goodness). I guess that's why people keep signing up for endurance events like this. And this makes the effort worthwhile. A nice spot in the warm sun, a beer in hand, a chill band playing, and good friends. On the way home, we found this fellow, happy to express himself on this lovely 4th of July. The only thing he's missing is a pair of yellow Crocs.We made it back in time for fireworks above Long's Peak. And Jackie even made some pies to come home to. 4th of July - quite possibly my favorite day of the year. And on a side note..I'm watching the TdF as I write this. Will somebody PLEASE tell Phil Ligget how to pronounce "Chipotle" Geez!
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Costumed up and ready to grab the bikes...
Just love those banana seat bikes.
Reliving the days of your old paper delivery route.
Slip n sliding...with some extra style points.
Jesse's had some practice on the big wheels over the years.
Monkey walk = free stuff.
And the winners are....Jesse and Tate of Team BikeParts.com
Jackie went on a big ride on her own this week. She took on some hills (which are not her favorite thing), she fixed a rear flat, and she rocked out on the iPod - all 1sts for her...and I'm proud of her for these things.
Here's Long's Peak (sticking it's head up in the background). It's a 14er that I see everyday...and this will be the summer that we climb it. It's a 12+ hour hike that will start in the wee-hours of the am. And it's going to be really cool to point the compass in the direction of our house and look at it from 14,000+ ft.
Here's a really sweet ride. We saw this one at the RIO - it belongs to one of their bartenders. I just love how people are fully customizing their bikes these days - and I would say that the fixie trend is why it's happening. This bike is all pinked-out...check the cool top tube pad, pink chain/chain ring/cranks, and even a pink seat with a cooch-pooch(that's a technical term). Very nice!
I was on a MTB ride this week and drafted a tractor for about 5 miles. FYI - they drive about 20-25 and make for a great slipstream.
The new Mini Bike Limbo World Champion.
..and they're off!
They make it look easy.
How about some "picking-up-bottle-caps-with-oven-mits-while-being-squirted-with-waterguns"?
We drove to Ft Collins with our 'bearded lady'
We met some new friends...
with some cool helmets...
...and other accessories (like these eyelash curlers)
Then we put on a bike race.
Everybody got lined up...
...then we squirted them with guns.
Some limbo'd with such skills....
...others - not so much.
And we finished it off with a Sweet Leaf Tea chugging contest.
Jack and I went to see WEEN at the Fillmore last night. It's at least my 3rd time seeing WEEN and they always put on a good show. Ever since witnessing the legendary show they played at Liberty Lunch (in Austin in 1996), I've been a HUGE fan. At that show, they toured with a full country band so they could play songs from '12 Golden Country Greats' (which only had 10 songs on it ;)
The big wheel 'race' started in the early evening and we had tons of bewildered tourists gawking at the spectacle. It was like they felt safe behind their little fence as the watched us make loud noises and exert ourselves. Kinda like they were watching zoo animals. Later in the night, we hit the Pearl St pedestrian mall (illegally of course). The monstrous sound of the big wheel skids had to compete with the on-looker's cries of pain when the big wheels were rolling over their toes. No fence to protect you now. Hee Hee.
This lovely young lady had a battery-powered ride. All she had to do was kick her feet up on the pegs and pull a trigger to jet around town at 20mph. It also had two sets of wheels: one for sliding and one for speed (like racing down parking garages;)
This fellow made some clever mods: a comfy office chair (with arm rests) and triple-clamp stem/bar combo. It was choice. I had to take it for a spin.
Plenty of big wheelers reside in Boulder - as you can see here.
At the races, it was no holds barred. I scraped up both my elbows from hitting the deck multiple times. This guy's trying to get the hole shot.
When we arrived at one stop, for security purposes, we got a big wheel pile going. It was over 10 ft tall. Absolutely the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.
Here's Tim and me sporting our protective head gear.
Jackie prepares for a spin through Old Chicago bar. It's not everyday that you get to ride a big wheel through a bar. Check out Jackie's flower modifications.
Here's Ben rocking the 'boulder plumber' look. Man o man... good times.
Here's our new pal Steve Z doing a no-hander wall drop. It's not so easy on the tail bone to land a jump on a big wheel. Steve has it down to a science. He can also bust out sick 360slides.
What else can I say....it was a great night. I call this photo "Jackie and Josh at Mt. Big Wheel".
In between bars, you get to do a little big wheel riding. We hit courtyards, hotels, parking lots. There were tons of folks bewildered with the spectacle. You'd ask if they wanted to try one out and they'd look at you like a circus animal.
Well...I guess we did look a little funny. This is Matt - he's the carnival barker at this little shin dig. We've been in touch over the years due to our big wheel love. He's done some cool custom work...but I've got some fun up my sleeve for the weekend. More coming soon.
It's going to be sweet. Also the Urban Assault Ride is a sponsor and we've donated team entries to the Ft Collins and Denver events. if you haven't already signed up for one of the CO UARs, then come out for sure since you could win an entry.
The Domingue's were the travel companion this weekend. Ben's from Austin (currently a Boulder transplant) and he was sporting the new Ozone jersey. Here he is bringing special attention to Vytis's soldier crab on the bottom left pocket. Good ol' Vytis.
I lined up next to Travis Brown, a legendary MTBer and now one of Trek's R&D guys. We talked 29ers and the Trek UAR in Madison(he's thinking about coming out;), then the clock struck 11 and we were off. The Fire Cracker was the national championships for the marathon - so the talent was out for sure.
We made it back in time for fireworks above Long's Peak.
And Jackie even made some pies to come home to. 4th of July - quite possibly my favorite day of the year. And on a side note..I'm watching the TdF as I write this. Will somebody PLEASE tell Phil Ligget how to pronounce "Chipotle" Geez!
