Merry 'Crossmas!

The 'cross loving denizens of the Colorado Front Range got an early Christmas present last weekend... racing conditions that vaguely resembled genuinely nasty fall weather, providing for a somewhat authentic experience for those brave enough to endure the sub-freezing temperatures and snowy course. Usually these chatched-out Westerners are blessed with 40-60 degree temps, sunny weather and dry courses, but this weekend gave everyone a chance to break out their fancy-shmancy tubulars and finally put them to good use.
I, meanwhile, got a stocking full of coal, thanks to Strep Throat, so I couldn't race the only 'cross race that I wanted to do. Foiled again. Nevertheless, I made a strong showing on behalf of the Chamois Army Fort as I superfanned the women's race with Anna. We nearly froze to death, but it was well worth it.
Oh, P.S. I also got on velonews.com. Ah the glory!!


Let Freedom Ring, I say.


Kate, a few laps before massively eating shit and getting a concussion.

Helpful cycling (and life) tips gleaned by observing the homeless

From the BikeSpeak cycling forum:

"Homeless people use old newspapers to insulate themselves against the cold. My usual cycling footwear loses heat and my toes are often chilly by the end of my daily ride. I made booties from old newspaper to cover my shoes, and my toes were still warm at the end of my ride. On my test ride, I was out for an hour and fifteen minutes. The temperature was 23 deg. F. with a wind chill of 12 deg. F.

I placed a section of newspaper 12.5" x 22.5" on the floor. It was six sheets in thickness. I put my foot onto the newspaper a bit off center to rear of the fold. I pulled the front edge up over the toe of my shoe. I folded the front corners in and over the toe of the shoe. I taped them in place with a few inches of masking tape. I folded the back corners up and around my heel and taped them in place. I put my foot into a plastic grocery bag and wrapped it loosely around my ankle. Another piece of tape held it in place. Then I repeated the process for the other foot.

My pedals are metal rat traps with toe clips. I rode outside the clips with the clips hanging down. My feet never slipped on the pedals. If you want to clip-in, you could cut an opening on the bottom of the newspaper booties, but that could also increase the air exchange and make your feet cooler.

I was concerned that the plastic bags might get caught in my chain or on some sharp corner, but that was not a problem. The paper booties were moist at the end of the ride from perspiration, but still intact enough to use a few more times. For colder weather more sheets of newspaper could be used to make thicker booties."



So the next time you're stuck in a jumble, just ask yourself: "What would the homeless do?"

Mike Janelle

As many of you may know, Colorado cycling legend, Mike Janelle, passed away last Thursday. I had the pleasure to meet Mike at 24 Hours of Moab this past October, and I've got to say that he was a class act. I didn't know him well, but everyone who did had only great things to say about him. The Colorado cycling community, as well as the broader US cycling community, has lost a fantastic ambassador for the sport. He will be remembered fondly by all. Just another reminder to live every day to its fullest. I'm pretty sure Mike did, and there's no reason why you shouldn't too. Just like Ferris Bueller says, "Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Check out VeloNews for more info.

100 Miles of Desert

Everybody likes birthdays. Everybody likes friends. Everybody likes biking. Everybody likes 100 mile vision quests in the Utah desert.

Well, okay, that last one is a little bogus. Nevertheless, for me, and a few other friends, it seemed like a good idea to celebrate my birthday last weekend by riding the White Rim Trail in Moab, UT. Trail is a loose approximation of the experience. In truth, most of this “trail” could be negotiated with one of the IMBA Subarus. Despite that, it traverses some of the most amazing canyonland that Moab has to offer, and on a mountain bike, it’s one of the best ways to see the scenery. We headed out at dawn and didn’t return to the cars until sunset. All told, it was about nine hours of riding, with a solid two hours of sightseeing, picture-taking and eating mixed in. The route is mostly flat, but it finishes with a massive climb up what at first appears to be a shear canyon wall. After about 90 miles, that last 2,000 feet of elevation gain is quite unwelcome, not to mention the 5 miles of false flat road afterwards to complete the loop. Needless to say, I was a tired boy on Sunday, but it was well worth it.



Livin' on the edge...



Sunsets are purty.

CAF Guitar Hero Hall of Fame Inductee

Freedom!

Freedom!!!!!Scott, our house crosser, ripped it up!
Ryan Trebon, you fought valiantly! We hereby knight you as Sir Ryan of the Chamois Army Fort.

There is nothing under the kilts

Grandpa C$ wants to express his gratitude to members of the chamois army fort for totally killing the cheering section! Brandon gave the entire "they can never take our freedom" speech from Braveheart to all the 'cross racers. That was one of the best things I have ever seen. I hope they get some serious press from this. You know, as grandpa gets older, each memory becomes even more precious. So to Andy, Spencer, and Brandon, hats off lads.

Actually, just getting to ride the first lap of that course was an amazing experience in itself. It was awesome to hammer through the barriers with everyone screaming. I can't even imagine what something like the world championships must be like.

peace out,
gc$

ROCK!

This past Monday, I headed down to the lovely Five Points area of the Dirrty D to meet up with good friend and CAF alum Kevin for a concert. What illustrious band brought us to a dive like the Larimer Lounge? Why, Electric Six of course! Only one of the finest rock & roll outfits on tour today. If you have a taste for quirky eclecticism as I most surely do, then I'm sure you'll love these rockers from Detroit. Check out some of my cameraphone pics from the show... so gritty, so raw. You can just feel the pulsing energy imbued in the music.


The White Wolf. An amazing lead guitarist.

24 Hours of Moab

Ah, I can finally breathe. The telltale signs of silicosis are gradually fading as my lungs purge the Moab desert from their sensitive alveoli. The race was fun and very hard. The course was a lovely combination of nasty, ledgy rocks and deep sand pits. I just pretended that I was in the Baja 1000 and rallied as hard as possible. Overall everything went very smooth. I bent my chain on my second lap at twilight and almost got caught out in the dark without a light, but I made it back in time and fixed the bike with my bare hands. My team of four did 15 laps (225 miles) and overall, all of the "Team IMBA" teams raised over $15,000 for IMBA. Not bad! I'd say the best part of the weekend was when I broke out my glorious CAF skinsuit for the first lap. Feast your eyes upon its beauty...

Watch It!

This is one of my heroes. His dandy voice makes even the most anti-choice Granny's panties moist.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Writer's Table

Friends of the Fort! And fans whom we may not yet know! This Friday evening marks our first ever Writer's Table! If you've got a research paper you're stuck on, a short story that needs tweaking, a new concept for a blog that you want to put into production, or a love letter that has to be beyond perfect so she'll dump him, then this is the place for you! We'll share ideas and help each other break through the difficulties we may be experiencing, and maybe we'll even write something as a group!

As it's taking place Friday, this will be an informal gathering with wine and maybe some cookies, please dress accordingly. Also, please RSVP in the comments section so we know how many to plan for. Shall we say 8:00? Yay!

my new gangster hat from the state fair

The Journey is Over

I am so glad to be back in Boulder right now. For the past 10 days I've been traveling all over the Southwest. It started two Sundays ago. I drove down to Vegas with one of my coworkers for Interbike. And we're not just talking about a quick, pop-in for one day type of Interbike trip. Oh no, I was there for all five days. It was quite exhausting. Vegas isn't really that great either, unless you're a fan of price gouging, claustrophobia, artificial light, gambling and readily available hookers. After what seemed like an endless five days, I took off and drove up to Tahoe for Xterra Nationals. Needless to say, the legs weren't 100% after a week of Vegas, but I was doing okay, especially since the Venetian (our hotel) had a decent pool to swim in.
Once I'd grabbed an In-N-Out burger (one of Vegas' few redeeming qualities) I set off on a high-speed burn up to the lovely mountains. It was a long, grim drive through the desert. There were only a few scattered towns along the way and several houses of ill repute... great places to get a VD.
Tahoe was a lovely counterpoint to Vegas' tacky artificiality. It was quite cold (snow was on the ground my first morning there!) and very scenic. The race went relatively well. I was a little disappointed with my bike leg, but my swim was quite good. All in all it was good learning experience. Next year, I'll be throwing down pretty hard at that race. Once the post race celebrations were over and I'd slept off most of my severe hangover, I drove straight back to Boulder, all 1,000 miles, yesterday. It's good to be back in the Fort. Check out some of the photos shot by my fancy new phone...



Now I've seen the Eiffel Tower in both Paris and Vegas... not too hard to say which is nicer.



Looks like you're outside, right? Nope. You're inside the Venetian Hotel, on their "Canal."



Rock Racing had a Lamborghini on display. Nice work guys, way to waste your money on some pointless shit.


You can see why people want to "Keep Tahoe Blue."

What is he doing down there?

What is Uncle Mysterio up to, you wonder? What is going on in that room of his? Is he concocting some secret potion to win over a girl? Is he casting a spell on some poor bug that happened to scuttle across the cold green floor? Are there other Mysterios in there, attending a nightly gathering of enigmas? Maybe he disappears through a portal to some ancient place and walks among maidens and sorcerers. That tale about the spring nymph, otter, and golden clam wasn't fiction at all. Or was it?

You'll never know.

Holler!

This is some gangsta-ass shit!

A Look Into the Future via Flight of the Conchords

Moto Tag - C. Springs

A bit of subliminal advertising for those who find the pain-cave behind the motor.

Female Beefeater to guard Tower

This is self-explanatory, and that goes without saying.

from BBC.com:

The Tower of London has appointed a female Beefeater for the first time in its history.

The Yeoman Warder, who has not been named, will join the 35-strong guard in September after undergoing training.

She fought off competition from five other candidates, all male, and will replace a retiring Beefeater.

A successful candidate must have served a minimum of 22 years in the forces as well as boast a long service and good conduct medal.

Spokeswoman Natasha Wollard said: "There were six candidates for the vacancy, and she was the only female. She was awarded the job on merit.

"Because woman have been carving out careers in the forces... they are starting to come up. More women have got the criteria that they need."

The new Beefeater's scarlet livery uniform will be the same as her male colleagues' although it will be altered to fit her figure.

Her role will involve acting as a guide for tourists visiting the Tower, which is more than 900 years old.

Beefeaters have been guarding the Tower since 1485 - for 522 years.

The Beefeater nickname of the Tower of London's Yeoman Warders is thought to derive from the daily ration of meat they received.

Their full title is Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary.

For state occasions they wear the well-known ceremonial dress of red and gold with red stockings, a white ruff and black patent shoes.

For everyday duties they wear dark blue trimmed with red.

Hot Chicks with Douche Bags

If this picture makes you want to vomit, then check out this great website!

It's Business Time

If you're looking to get it on with your lady friend (or vice-versa...) I highly recommend this saucy tune. I'm not sure who it is, but it is so fine, SO FINE!

Police to conduct DUI checkpoint

FYI:
"The Boulder Police Department will be conducting a DUI checkpoint beginning at approximately 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, in the 1400 block of Canyon Boulevard. The department will use grant funds as part of the "Heat is On" campaign through the Colorado Department of Transportation. The stationary checkpoint will be staffed by as many as 14 officers and is scheduled to run until 4 a.m. The Boulder Police Department reminds everyone to drink responsibly and always have a designated driver."

new house, new job, new underwear?

Howdy y'all, Brandon here. So I've been thinking about life changes recently. Last month I was living on my own in a one bedroom apartment, and now I am living with four crazy awesome dudes! This change hasn't been hard at all because it's just too darn fun here at the Chamois Army Fort. Whereas last month I would come home from work and just sit around, now I come home from work and join in on whatever's going on, whether it be watching a movie, making dinner, or practicing parcour by jumping off the roof. To sum it up, it rules!

The next big change I'm making is in the work department. I've been full time at Performance Bike Shop for the last year, but I'm leaving at the end of next week to start a job with a company called SmartEtailing. The company makes web platforms for bike retailers, and my job will be writing descriptions of bikes and cycling accessories for the sites. Bikes and writing are two things that I love, and I feel really lucky to have found and landed this job. I'll definitely miss the people at Performance, but I think it will be a good change as I'll be making more money, improving my writing skills, and having more of a schedule. Working in retail with an ever-changing schedule, time just kind of oozes by. It's nice working different shifts and doing something different every day, but I'm looking forward to the structure of a schedule, and being able to enjoy a full weekend. I think I'll take more advantage of my free time when it comes regularly, and I plan to make some fun trips up to the mountains this fall.

The last thing I want to discuss is switching from boxers to boxer-briefs. Now this might sound like small potatoes compared to the other two topics, but believe me, this is by far the most daunting and nerve-wracking change of them all, and I have no idea what will result. Last week, my ratio of boxers to boxer-briefs was 13-1, and the latter were a pair purchased specifically for hiking. I only wore them when I was slacking on laundry and had nothing else left, and though I was not unhappy on the days they were worn, I never moved them closer to the front of the drawer.

However, on a recent bike commute home from work, I had a falling out with my beloved boxers, and this horrible incident led me to consider the many advantages of boxer-briefs. On Monday, I decided to invest six bucks in the issue and purchased a 3-pack of this hybrid style of drawers. I've been alternating for the last four days, and I must say that I am genuinely impressed with the BB's. I'm definitely going through some anxiety about completely overhauling my underwear drawer, and perhaps this infatuation with boxer-briefs is simply a dirty adulterous affair that will only be a bad memory one day; but it could also be that I've found the love of my life.

I feel like Rachel McAdams towards the end of Wedding Crashers, just completely and utterly confused. I wish Christopher Walken was here to help me through this crisis.

One Bad Mother!

Congratulations to big Taylor Phinney aka( Taylor Wart) for his win in the time trial at jr worlds.

Spy Photo

Since being booted from the Tour, Rasmussen has really let himself go in the last few weeks.

Darn Dogs!

And to think that Sandy Casar still won the stage.

CAF gets financial boost from Pro Tour Sponsors

Yeah that's right, indirectly, CAF will now have a better shot at getting sponsorship dollars, euros, and yen because the sponsors are so pissed at wasting their money on cheaters, dopers, and rasmussen. (yeah that rhymed).

Practice your foos CAF members cause I'll be there in a week.

As if things couldnt get any crazier

So the tour is just crazy every day now. the day after day shit about guys testing positive and then michael "chicken" rasmussen lying about being in italy or mexico and missing drug tests. so today the breakaway of riders was hauling when a dog ran out into the road and sandy casar and another guy bit the dust. i couldnt find a pic or video of this yet but i did stumble on t mobile rider marcus burghardt nailing a dog back on stage 9.



oh and the word here in belgium is "chicken" is roaming around the tour of vlaams brabant looking for his rabobank team.

It's Like a Train Wreck...

...You want to look away, but you just can't. More scheisse hits the fan in le Tour. Remind me again why pro racing is relevant to what hardworking amateurs, like my friends and roommates, do all summer long in domestic races throughout the country. At least last year we knew who most of the cheaters were before the race started.

Cheater.

Well, for those who haven't heard, Alexandre Vinokourov has been caught doping, fired from his team, and his team, Astana, has subsequently left the Tour. After watching him win two huge stages in a very courageous manner, it is such a letdown to learn that he was doping. I'm pretty sure I won't follow the rest of the Tour or pro cycling in general for this year and maybe even longer.
It's really pathetic how persistent these people are in their drive to cheat. Why is it so hard to stop this problem, even with all of the new protocols and rules in place for ProTour teams? Is cycling the only sport aggressive enough in its testing to expose the frauds or is it simply a dirty sport that cannot manage to hold elite-level competitions that are fair?
Either way, it sucks. Pro cycling has a long way to go before it can earn my respect again.

beckham scmeckham, bring me Zidane

The greatest in the world, zinedine zidane, should come back out of retirement une autre fois to play for the MLS.

check out this lil tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYUtKKbBTkw



and go vino.

Better late then never

So I have been over here in Belgium since the 15th of May and finally today i figured out how to log in to the CAF blog since its always in Dutch. So now Im here and ready to get this whole blog phenomenon going.

Thursday I went out on a 160 km adventure with Big Tex and Krughphoto.com. We did a few of the Tour of Flanders climbs around Oudenaarde. We rode some of the nastiest cobble stone sections i have ever done, some of which were 3 km in length. In total we did at least 20km on the pave. The highlight of the day though was getting passed on the canal by a Pro Tour rider from the greatest team in the world. ASTANA!

Cascade Classic

So I just recently got back from a week in Oregon visiting fellow CU rider John Crawford and racing in the Cascade Classic. The 4's race was 4 stages over 3 days in beautiful Bend, Oregon. I rode the time trial of my life and took 3rd, then maintained my position in the overall throughout the rest of the 3 stages. A podium finish was awesome for me because it was my first big stage race, and it got me the rest of the upgrade points I need to become a 3! I guess I'm slowly working my way up... Anyway, the trip was a blast, capped off with a great mountain bike ride the day before I left. Next up is Mt. Evans, which could be a whole different story...



nice view of Mt. Hood from the plane on the way in



exhausted after the road race


on the podium

Great Success!

Well, I headed up to lovely Spearfish, South Dakota last weekend for my first Xterra (off-road triathlon) of the season, and to quote a famous Kazakh, it was a great success! After a kind of rough swim (Spencer - wetsuit = sinking like a rock) I fought my way through the pack on the mountain bike and extended my advantage on the run to win the overall. It's fun to win a race once in a while; that sort of thing doesn't seem to happen that often for me out here in Ballerado. You can read all about the race in the Rapid City Journal, as fine a news source as I've ever seen.
Also, props are due to our comrade, Kiel for pulling down a top-10 in the National Championship crit last weekend. Next week he's racing the Tour de Toona – allez Kiel!

Obama Video

Who says politics are boring? This video has reinvigorated my enthusiasm for our country's democratic process.

This shit is priceless!

From the Facebook Group "Bicycles or Women?"

Epic Winter Park Trek

On the Sunday after Crankworx last weekend, Kevin, myself and Abby decided to go on a hike, starting on Berthoud Pass, finishing in Winter Park — a super knar shuttle run. It was a pretty nice day, but the clouds were moving in fast and we were all glad to be in a car by the time the rain came around 2 or so. It was so gorgeous up above treeline in the Vasquez Wilderness. The only bummer, from my perspective, is that this beautiful place can never be enjoyed on a mountain bike. While mountain bikers are low-impact trail users, scientifically shown to have a similar environmental impact as hikers, they are unfairly excluded from all Wilderness areas. It's really important to protect our land for future generations, but there are other ways to do it besides Wilderness designation.
Anyways... the hike was wicked sweet. We saw some ptarmigans, a guy skiing one of the snowfields (I was jealous), found some sweet stuff on the ski hill and totally blew out the legs hiking down Mary Jane to get back. An awesome day in the mountains, capped off by some sweet, sweet ice cream at the Dairy King in Empire.


Still a bit snowy up around 10,000 feet.

For all the photos visit the links below:
Album 1
Album 2

Mt Evans Throwdown

What better way to celebrate our illustrious nation's birth than to climb a mighty peak on our bicycles? Our crew set out in the wee hours of the morning on July 4th with heavy hearts because one of our comrades just had all of his bikes stolen... so lame! If you see any sketchy dudes trying to sell Blake's bikes on the street, take them out at all costs — shoot first, ask questions later.
Nonetheless, we soldiered on and tackled the 14,264 ft peak in the cool morning mountain air. As we passed numerous recreational riders, Kiel and Rolf broke away from the pack, heading off to do battle alone in the wasteland above treeline. I hung back and kept a steady tempo in the grupetto, knowing that they weren't a threat to my GC aspirations. After 2:40 (So close to Tommy D's record!) and 7,540 ft of climbing, we reached the summit, where we took some pictures, ate a little food and then got the hell off the peak after watching some nasty clouds roll in and developing mild cases of altitude sickness.
The ride down was fast and furious and was only made better by gorging on Rolf's cookies once we had returned to the car and dismounted from our trusty steeds.



It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll...

a classic CAF I pic

With all the rain, the lake is sure to be a blast. A blast you say on the eve of the eve of the eve of the eve of the eve of the fourth of July. So we'll celebrate some Independence, and maybe we'll do it with some roman candle wars or by playing toss the gasoline soaked tennis ball or by throwing twenty bottle rockets straight into the firepit. Ah the entropy. I just heard Bill Cosby say, when denouncing youth violence, something like there's too much entropy today. So funny. The lines at the apple stores for the iphones are absurd. I'm still using 2 cent stamps to make all my old stamps proper. Bruce Willis is a badass. ok bye.

Kiel is Back!

Holler!!

Alexandre Vinokourov is your daddy.

That's right, Vinokourov will win this year's tour de france bien sur.

-the lion

ps- where is the kiel monster?

Tubing

Today I took advantage of a day off work to go conquer the mighty Boulder Creek, tubing style. However, the creek gods were apparently out to get me and dragged me into what seemed like every rock in Boulder Creek, giving me some nice scrapes and bruises to remember the experience by.



To add insult to injury, the creek also snagged my car keys that were tied to my bathing suit, and Spencer had to come to the rescue. Thanks Spencer.

CAF Throwdown in VT

Oh, snap. You know it's going down when the Chamois Army Fort spreads to the East Coast. Need any further proof of our nationwide dominance? I think these photos are adequate evidence...



Represent!




Getting my croquet on.



Congratulations, Meredith!

The New Guy

Hey everyone. In case you're surprised to see a new member to the CAF blog, let me introduce myself. I'm Andy and I'm taking Kevin's spot in the house for the summer. I'm originally from Richmond, VA and I'm out here in Colorado for school. I just finished my first year at CU, and spent the spring semester racing for CU's road team and had a blast. For the summer, I'm just chillin at the fort, working at Performance Bike Shop, and training/racing. Work sucks, but riding has been great. I've done two races so far: the North Boulder Crit and the City Park Crit in Denver. The North Boulder Crit was pretty much my first race outside of collegiate cycling, and I ended up doing alright, placing 12th in the 4's race. This past weekend in Denver, I raced the City Park Crit. This time, the combination of riding for my new team (AE Sport) and being pissed at the registration people for charging me a late fee AND a fee for not being registered under a team made me ride a lot harder. I stayed at the front pretty much the entire race, taking 2 primes and sprinting for 4th at the end. I made back my race entry fee and more, so needless to say I was much happier. Now I'm looking ahead to this weekend, when I'll be in Fort Collins doing the Rist Canyon road race on Saturday and the Fort Collins Crit on Sunday before I leave to go back to Richmond for a week. This weekend's race has a LOT of climbing in it, so hopefully it will suit me a little better. I'll let you know how it all goes.

Teva Games

Well, I just got back from my little adventure at the Teva Games, and I'm pretty blown out. I did the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, which was a downriver paddle, a mountain bike race, a 10k trail run and a hill climb TT on the road bike. The overall was points based, and unfortunately the paddle was pretty heavily weighted... 25 minutes in a boat is apparently twice as important as 2+ hours on the mountain bike. Lame! Oh well.


This, I like.


This, I do not like.

my blister, move and willys, beer urinal, and the lake

IMBA Shenanigans

This is why I love my job so much. I get to do lots of fun stuff for work, but also, foolishness like this is permitted, if not encouraged.

Lou Dobbs is my hero of the day

Let's play a little game called "just the tip of what Lou Dobbs recently said:"

I couldn't help but wonder as I watched monitors bringing images of the marches and demonstrations from all across the country, who should really be protesting on May Day. What about the millions of legal residents who followed the long, drawn-out process to secure a visa to enter the United States lawfully? Maybe they should be protesting. What about the seven-figure backlog at the Citizenship and Immigration Services agency of people who are following the rules. Should they demonstrate?

What about all of our fellow Americans who are being marginalized by the massive importation of illegal, low-cost and mostly uneducated labor into this country? Perhaps those citizens should take to the streets. And what about the more than 250 million Americans who make up our middle class and those who aspire to it whose wages have stagnated and who are paying for the social, medical and economic costs of illegal immigration? That's a big march.

If yesterday's demonstrators and their supporters in Congress and corporate America are serious about their deep desire for American citizenship, why don't we hear any of them clearly say they're willing to give up dual citizenship? Or that they're willing to learn English and surrender demands of bilingual education? Or declare they embrace English as our official national language? Or demand that illegal employers of illegal aliens pay for the social, educational and medical costs now borne by the taxpayers?

Trip to Grand Jct

Well, Kevin, Kiel and I had a rather busy weekend. We headed down to Grand Junction for some riding and some racing. I was there mostly for the RMCCC Finals, but I got a nice long MTB ride in on Friday with Kevin. He has pretty impressive riding skills for a track dork, if you ask me. We camped out, I got up early and did the conference director thing at the race on Saturday. I also hopped into the USCF race, but that was unremarkable. Sunday was the crit, which was pretty fun to watch. Kiel just barely got nipped at the line in the sprint. Oh well, that'll motivate him even more for Nationals. I would have gone riding afterwards with Kevin and some of our other friends, but my body was telling me, "Noooo nooo, please just take me home to the TV!" So I did. Too bad. Maybe Kevin has some photos, but for now, I don't have any to post. Cheers.

New Shoes

Is there anything finer than a pair of new shoes? ... I didn't think so. Sounds like young Kiel has been up to his old tricks again, getting a win in the collegiate crit in Durango last night. Unfortunately, he got tangled up in a crash today and banged up his elbow. It doesn't sound like anything major, so he should be fine. Tietzel was sitting pretty at 8th place in the overall for his stage race in Nebraska, so hopefully he'll keep on keepin' on and bring home some more hardware for the CAF. Kevin is very tired from his trip to Mexico and currently sleeping. He was 8th overall, no thanks to his wanker partner.