Go Break a Leg...no Really...DON'T!!!!!

Greetings from the BCC carnage hospital. I couldn't let all the East Coast cool kidz BCC'ers have all the fun. 7 weeks ago right now at this very moment in time, I thought it would be a great idea to head out for a quick after work ride (remember sunshine after 5pm?!?!)on the way home to Denver from Super Bike Land (Boulder, CO). I figured a quick 1.5 hour mountain bike singletrack tempo riding around Flat Iron Vista would provide some nice preparation for upcoming cyclocross endeavors.

Well, it was going great until about 45 minutes in....when I escaped a slow, twisty rocky section of trail for a wide open descending, flow inducing meadow section. Powering, accelerating my 29er Specialized Epic up to full speed.....I look long down the trail, ensuring a clear path.....then POW!!!! and Oh dear.......under full power a perfect storm of devastation erupted. As I was looking down the trail, my right toe clipped a rock........the following chain of events was odd. The power, mixed with the violence of the impact jammed my heel into the crank.....binding my foot and forcing my forefoot to rotate 90+ degrees laterally (in case you are wondering....this isn't normal) and my tibia (big bone in lower leg) and fibula (small bone in lower leg) both snapped. Amazingly, due to the high speed I was going (Garmin indicated a bit over 20mph on the singletrack) and the physics of everything.....I didn't crash. My momentum kept me going and I eventually coasted to a stop......and wilted off my bike. Laying flat on my back on the singletrack looking at the sky......I pushed my trusty steed to the side and knew what I was about to see. I tilted my head up......and yep.....my right foot was facing the wrong way. AHHHHHH!! A moment of panic.....a yell for help......a grab for the cell phone.

911......"hello.......I've just broken my leg badly mountain biking and I'm alone on the trail"

Interlude of facts:
Its October 14th, 2011
This is a my celebratory 35th birthday ride (birthday was a few days earlier)
Its 5pm and warm
I'm alone
I'm near town on a moderately tame trail system
I've ridden this system a lot
My cell call to 911 is dropped (thanks AT&T)
It's going to be getting dark soon
The sun is dropping below the Flat Irons
The temperature is dropping
I can't move.

This is where things get fuzzy. I panicked a bit, because I was alone......but my second call to 911 went through and the respond with "we are on the way". I respond....."hey.....i'm out in the woods.....3+ miles from the trailhead." They claim to know how to get to me. I unloaded in furious fashion as many details of my location on the first call.....in case I passed out or went into shock.

About this time, two high school mountain bike racer kids came on site. They were great. These kids stayed cool and just talked with me. I asked them if they would stay until someone else showed up.....and show up they did. Over the next 45 minutes or so, about 15+ mountain bikers stopped to help and check on things. I was in no shape to move and going into shock....shaking and chilled. It had been a hot day, but in Colorado in October....once the sun goes down......the temps can drop quickly!! We have zero humidity usually. A wonder lady named Cathy stopped and helped hold my foot in place. I was shaking and causing my leg to flop a bit....which was driving pain. She held it in place and just talked to me. I passed my iPhone to the high school kids and said...."hey....snap some photos!"

In the distance I could hear sirens. It felt like an eternity, but help was on the way. I had called my wife April and left her a message......the Boulder Sheriff's office called her too. Freaked out....once again my new friend Cathy talked to April on the phone from the trail. Basically what I am saying is that while we are all quick to say how horrible things are in the world today with society and all.......there is still greatness and kindness in so many. The help and attention I received on the trail that day was amazing.

After about 45 minutes of laying in the trail......the search-rescue team arrived with paramedics, a ranger, a sheriff and assorted other folks. All in all I'd say my phone call, deployed at least 15 experts to come to my aid. I felt guilty and constantly was apologizing and thanking all of them over and over again. They splinted my leg, IV'd me, wrapped me in blankets and loaded me in a gurney with mountain bike wheels and hand brakes. They used 4 people at a time to roll my 4x4 stretcher up the trail to a nearby access point. While I was far from any and all trailheads, I was close to a fire access road that flanked the rear of the open space park. Loaded in the ambulance, I watched through the rear window as the park ranger handed my Epic 29er off to my friend Jay, who Angel Cathy had also called for me from the trail.

I arrived at the hospital around 6:30 pm (only 1.5 hours after my incident). Normal hospital ER stuff followed......with the exception of the horrendous swelling in my leg. I was a ripe candidate for compartment syndrome, which is scary!! If the swelling did not stop....they were going to have to filet my leg open to release the pressure. Ugh. Oh and I need surgery. But not until the swelling stopped and went down..........so upstairs to sleep in the hospital for the night (somewhere in there around midnight......my poor wife went to find us food......Taco Bell). The Next day (Saturday) I was sent home to rest for a WEEK with a broken leg to allow the swelling to go down. My surgery would follow the next Friday October 21st.

Surgery was successful, but actually a bit painful. I was knocked out of course, but the surgery ended up being nearly 3 hours, instead of the 1.5 hours they told me. Off to recovery and another night in the hospital. Yay. That was a long night. My body rejected almost all of the narcotics they gave me.....well I should say it didn't respond to any of them......morphine, percocet, dilaudid, or vicodin.....but oxycontin worked!

More Facts:
I've never broken any bones before (just 2 fractured fingers)
I've never had surgery before
I've never spent the night in the hospital (now I've spent 2!!)

I left the hospital with some new hardware....a titanium tibial rod INSIDE my tibia and 6 titanium screws.

And if anyone is wonder.....that is $9500 worth of titanium in my leg.....so your custom built titanium Dura Ace road bike with carbon wheels is a GREAT DEAL!!!! Enjoy it.

Now in closing the next chapter. Six weeks post surgery....and still on crutches. Doctor told me today I have 6 more weeks of crutches at least. I can start standing lightly on my right leg as of today. I've been back on the bike for a few weeks now (stationary trainer, flat pedals and no resistance). The doctor has also given me the green light to add resistance now. Total recovery for my bones is 3-4 months.

It was a freak incident....not even an accident. Everything is different now.....everything.....well except for I registered for a 100 mile mountain bike race today! 2012 Bailey Hundo in Bailey Colorado....June 16th, 2012. I'll be there riding hard one way or another. Doctor said it was a great idea.....and I think he wants to race it too!! Now I just have to beat him.....gotta love Colorado.

BBEEFF 2011 now Benefiting Trips for Kids!!!

***UPDATE***The Breck Epic is an "epic" 6 day mountain bike stage race in Breckenridge, Colorado. The race starts August 14th and concludes August 19th. Stage Racing?? Think Tour de France....but on mountain bikes.

Why am I doing this? Because of the challenge....because of the adventure....because of the fellowship with the mountain biking community. I'm just a regular mountain biker that can't quite afford the entry fee for this on my own......and a few friends suggested I do this!! So here we are. The entry fee is $990 (which is my goal).....and it has been decided to also try to raise more money than the entry fee and donate that to Trips For Kids (a nonprofit that introduces at risk children to the outdoors through the wonderful world of mountain biking.

If you know me....you know that mountain biking has been my life for over 20 years now. 1988 I ventured out on the trails of Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, Alabama on my brand new green Murry ATB MTB something or other. Thanks Mom and Dad.......best Christmas present ever. See what you started...

Anyways.....If you'd like to help and like to see me achieve one of the most grueling things ever......I'd appreciate any and all donations!!

Mr. Davey Boy Norris is also planning on joining me in this endevour....so hopefully together with the support of Wheat Ridge Cyclery we can raise lots of money for Trips for Kids!!!

If you wish to donate you may do so by clicking here.

And remember.....Donate early and Donate Often!!

Thanks!
Holla-wood

2010 Crooked Roubaix Race - Inaugural Year!!

Info from the race website.

"In the lore of cycling, one of the most difficult and demanding of all races is the Paris-Roubaix, an arduous 160-mile journey from Paris, France north to Roubaix. The course features twenty-eight fearsome sections of cobblestoned pathways, the bane of many a professional cyclist. An awesome sporting spectacle, the “Hell of The North” is the one day outside the Tour de France that the whole world watches cycling.

On September 11, 2010, Wheat Ridge Cyclery presents an altogether Colorado version of this legendary event: The Colorado Crooked Roubaix. Beginning and ending in Winter Park, the 90-mile route promises riders a truly challenging tour through some of the most majestic scenery in the state. Featuring massive stands of aspen that will likely be autumn-tinged, rushing streams, mountain lakes, alpine vistas and 10,000-feet elevations, all enjoyed from a challenging and technically demanding course, this mostly dirt road route is sure to produce smiles.

Road bikes on dirt? Yes! For a century, the grand tours of Europe have been raced on sections of dirt roads. Many of the famed passes in the Tour de France weren’t paved until well after World War II, and this year’s edition of the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) featured dirt roads.

Wheat Ridge Cyclery’s President, Ron Kiefel, raced Paris-Roubaix three times in addition to his seven Tour de France appearances. He has logged many thousands of miles with skinny tires on dirt roads, and is regarded as one cycling’s greatest bike handlers. “During my many years of training, our 7-Eleven team would venture onto the dirt roads above Boulder for the adventure of it. It was fun to be off the beaten path and improve our bicycle handling skills along the way.”

Technical Director of the Colorado Crooked Roubaix is Paul Balaguer who brings his 22 years of experience in planning Ride the Rockies to designing a unique route that promises riders a mix of 65 percent unpaved surface and 35 percent paved county roads.

“This is going to be a great ride,” said Balaguer. “There’s really something for everyone – great climbs and descents, as well as stunning scenery. I have a hunch that a lot of our riders will be seeing most of this terrain for the first time.”

Colorado Crooked Roubaix sponsors include Winter Park & Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce, Specialized Bicycles and Winter Park Resort.

“Winter Park and the Fraser Valley welcomes this unique opportunity for cyclists to experience our valley and all of Grand County,” said Catherine Ross, executive director of the Winter Park-Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The Crooked Roubaix is a perfect challenge to showcase the various terrain in the area. Our community plans to make this an unforgettable experience for all.”

Specialized, whose Roubaix model of bicycle was designed specifically for racing on the cobbles of northern France, will provide a limited number of 2011 Roubaix model bicycles for selected riders to ride in this event."


Crooked Roubaix 2010

Crested Butte the Movie Part 2: Reno, Flag, Bear, Deadman's A.K.A. Loch Ness A.K.A. Nessie

Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's Gulch Mountain Bike Ride Preview from Juicy Fruita on Vimeo.

Hollywood Does Crested Butte

Doctor Park - Crested Butte, CO from Juicy Fruita on Vimeo.

Baby Dave Sighting!

Pirate, Wicked Mike and I picked Baby Dave up yesterday just east of Gunnison in Sargents, CO. He is doing great and having a grand experience. We loaded him up in the truck and drove him to Crested Butte for the night. We met up with former Chapel Hillian Derrick Nehrenberg and family for dinner. Of course we filled him with food and cerveza. I dropped him off this morning back in Sargents and he is progressing along as you can see here.

800 mile or so to go. 1600+ in the bag.

Go Dave Go!

Baby Dave Ride the Divide Update

Just talked to Baby Dave. He is in Steamboat Springs. He is riding strong and says he is gonna crush everyone when he gets back to NC. He's rolling a fully loaded Surley Cross Check with 45c tires and Mary Bars. Fully loaded his bike is about 70+ pounds. He is basically at the half way point. Hopefully, Pirate, Wicked and myself will catch up with him Monday in Breckenridge or Friday in Salida. So far so good. His tent was attacked one night by two wild horses. Nothing bad...they were just poking at it with there noses. He claims to have photos.

Reasons Why SmAli Needs to come to Colorado Afterall

1) He already has his plane ticket
2) Life is stressful and mountain biking reduces stress significantly
2a) Look what the last trip did for me! It changed my life!
3) BCC can team up and pack your house for you
4) Moving is a pain and won't be any better by not mountain biking
5) Nothing is better than July in Colorado....nothing.
6) It has been over a year and a half since he has had to hang out with Hollywood.
7) There is too much fun for Pirate, Wicked and myself to be had....we need to spread the fun around
8) And last, but not least......look how happy SmAli was on the last Colorado Trip:

Growl Growlin Growler in Gunnison

Ok....well I survived. It wasn't pretty at times, but how well can an endurance mountain bike race go for someone who has not raced in two seasons, never in Colorado, never against a Colorado filled field of some of the best mountain bikers around, not for some lazy bike shop employee (me) who hasn't logged a mountain bike ride this year that is even half the race distance......excuses. I'm good at them. But, it always takes something like this to get my ass in gear and get going. A front tire wash out and a faceplant to face to usher in my late start to the season. Luckily the only "real" crashing I did Sunday was in the form of caloric crashing......I did take two minor spills, but both were slow and only left me with a small raspberry to the left hip. Check out the beginning of the race below. Video of the rollout of town to the trails from www.singletrack.com. It gets more action packed as the video rolls.



Also I finally made it to the Interwebs in press!! Check this. Half of me made it into the photo. The far right hand side of the photo. Look for the BCC colors!

Inspired by Korps' Garmin post from the other day.....I give you the Growler Data. Second half.....not so pretty. See excuses below. Off to train more.



Finally some things I learned this weekend:
1) Train
2) Don't Bonk
3) Bacon is great around mile 50
4) Don't get food poisoning the day before an endurance race
5) Colorado mtn bikers are crazy strong
6) I hate single speed 29er mountain bikers.....or secretly I wish I was one.
7) 75% of the racers were on 29ers
8) I think I won the 140mm Travel full Squish 26" category
9) racing in the desert is odd. 38 degrees at the start and 80+ at the finish
10) Bacon really tastes good aroud mile 50....ummmmm

and last but not least....the Baily Hundo is 2.5 weeks away!!! AHHHHHHH!!!

The Baily Hundo is a 100 Mile Mountain Bike race organized by 4 Colorado State Senators and benefits Trips for Kids and the Colorado High School Mountain Bike Association. My entry is a donation that goes to these two awesome programs for kids and mountain bikes. If anyone would like to donate and add to my entry donation, please let me know or donate directly through the linked Baily Hundo Site. Thanks!!

Cross Training and Foretaste of the Feast to Come...

Snowshoed up to Monarch Crest/Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail Junction on Marshall Pass yesterday.....lots of snow needs to melt before Pirate, SmAli and Wicked join me on this in July.


View Larger Map



Funny how the trail was the only part that was covered in snow.

Lottery!

Well I've entered.....hopefully they will pick my entry out of the 2010 lottery pool of a bazzillion Lance fans.

Who else is in? $15 to enter lottery. Click here to read and enter.

More Bounce to the Ounce (Part Duex)

Not long ago, Pirate posted a report detailing his experiences on a couple of Trek family mountain bikes....the Remedy and the HiFi Pro 29er. Well, I'm not too big of a 29er rider just yet.....but I am a big fan of the 6" travel bike. While my "current" personal bike is a 4" travel 2009 Specialized Epic, I've come to fall in love with the uber efficient longer travel bikes for Colorado. While Pirate's test was on reported tight and technical trails, a majority of my riding here thus far is on trail systems with long climbs and super fast rolling descents with drops and 65' doubles.....(just kidding on the last part).

Anyways, what I am trying to say is that just wait for 2010 and what is coming on suspension technology! Fox's Boost valve on Treks and Yetis are making 6" bikes climb like 4" bikes and descend like DH bikes. Perfect! Specialized has partnered with Fox and Rock Shox to manufacture key shocks and forks for their Pro and S-Works level mountain bikes. (Stay tuned for detailed 2010 Enduro and Stumpjumper FSR reports).

Now the big question for 2010 is which bike is next? The Epic needs a big brother. The video below shows some recent "playing" with one of the contenders.

A little bird settled on Brian's shoulder...

And she gave him this piece of advice:

Go West young man and get a big bike:

Make it long of leg and plush in the rough

So you can see what the Rockies are like.

Don't skimp on the gears and make the wheels tough

Cause the hills are tall and the climbs are long.

Throw in some carbon to make it all stiff

And a little dual crown won't do you wrong

For when you throw your big bike on the lift.

Slap on an S and jump in the saddle

Point it down hill and head into battle.

So Brian got himself a bright new bike,

Tightened up his shoes and pulled on his gloves

Headed out west and scaled every height

And never came back, for he was in love.

Colorado Photo of the Day

Yes it is snow.
Yes it is summer.
Yes that is a Trek.
No it is not my Trek.
Please come ride with me.

Gettin' High or How I learned to Chase Goats

Greetings Flatlanders. A few days ago I headed out on quite an adventurous day of road cycling with a couple of my co-workers from Wheat Ridge Cyclery. Adam de la Pena (former Durham Cycle Center Employee), Kit Recca (17 year old future Pro Tour racer) and I headed out for what would soon become one of the most memorable and momentous days I have ever had on a bike. We departed from the outskirts of Denver around 8am, with temps already soaring at 7,400 feet.


Halfway up Evans at Summit Lake (before the switchbacks)

Now a few stats:

1) Our starting point of the day was higher than the summit of Mount Ventoux by over 1,000 feet!!!
2) L'Alpe-d'Huez ranges between 6,100 and 10,900 feet.
3) Mount Mitchell tops out at 6,684 feet
4) Mount Sinai in Durham is about 100 feet tall.
5) Mount Evans tops out at 14,240 feet.


The three of us at the summit. 40 degrees in June....fun. Take note of the kid with the $9,000 S-Works....you will hear much more of him in the future from Europe.

Below is our route (out and back) and elevation profile of the day.

Test Bike

yum yum......more coming soon.

Altitude Training

Off season training has reached new altitudes out here in Rocky Mountain Land. I am now convinced that snowboarding can hurt you severely for doing nothing and spectacular high speed spills yield no harm or injury. Hmm.

Trade Rumors, Preseason Training and Such

Just wanted to answer some hard questions that have been blowing up the Bull City Rocky Mountain switchboard lately.

1) The Rock Racing Road deal seems to totally be off the table now.......but an invite from the Rock Racing/Quiksilver Snowboard team is hopefully in the works.
2) Winter training here at the Denver Camp has recently centered on Wedding Planning. Sadly negotiations with Dr. 77's wedding planning service firm seem to have fallen through.......leaving little on the bike training time.
3) Hollywood and the future Mrs. Hollywood are set to get married April 11, 2009 (in Denver).
4) Plans for Bull City's Colorado Summer MTB Escapade (not in an Escalade) are ready to begin. Come one....come all.

Details to follow

Arrival Part Two.....From the Father

Yes it is true. There was a lull in the Brian house renovation/clean out process last night and with the help of Linus, my new Carbon S-Works hardtail is alive.

It is light and very sexy. Bling-tackular. Hopefully my back will survive with a few less aches and pains next season. The bike is light. Loaded with everything (pedals and 2 cages) it is right on 23 pounds. That is even with my heavy rear wheel on it. Not that I am going for super light......but I am personally in the superlight category, so this helps me. Plus with my move to Colorado coming up, I need every advantage I can get to hang with those boyz out there (like Dave Wiens, etc etc). Haha

Props again to Linus for the help! And thanks to Dr. Seven for the motivation. It will have to wait until next week to get dirty.

And as a bonus, my old Stumpjumper (previous race bike) is now a lightweight single speed and I have a Santa Cruz Chameleon frame for sale (size medium). Huck bike anyone??