GoPro and Ski Tuning!!

The good snow has finally come, so it is time to change wax. I was lucky enough to get a GoPro HD for Christmas so tonight I thought I would wax the skis and try out the camera. Here is my creation.

Biking Independence Pass

A post with no explanation.

Monsoon season

Summer is in full swing and so are the monsoons. In the last week I've kayaked, road biked, mountain biked, taken a spin class and brewed beer while waiting for it to stop raining. The weather pattern is much like I remember from childhood, sunny morning and rainy afternoons. This has made it harder to train for this months road bike race for a cure. Looking at today's 5 day forecast I guess I'll have to learn to like biking in the rain.

5-Day Forecast for ZIP Code 81615 Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday 74° F | 45° F 76° F | 47° F 76° F | 45° F 76° F | 45° F 77° F | 43° F Chance of T-storms 50% chance of precipitation Chance of T-storms 50% chance of precipitation Chance of T-storms 50% chance of precipitation Chance of T-storms 50% chance of precipitation Chance of T-storms 20% chance of precipitation Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly

Pyramid Peak: Life at 14,025 ft.

 Today I climbed Pyramid Peak a fourteener just outside of Aspen. It was nice to sleep in my own bed the night before the climb but it was an early morning. Up at 3:45am, 4am pick-up and 5am start up the trail. I haven't climbed a fourteener in a while and it was nice to do one so close to home. I went with Bart, Scott and David which worked out because we all hiked about the same speed. With Bart's help we were able to stay on the difficult route with minimal route finding and make good time.  We ascended the northwest face of Pyramid and then descended the northeast face making for a great loop/traverse. The weather couldn't have been better, we made the summit at 9:30am and were back to the car by 1:30pm.  On the way down we even got a close up view of some mountain goats. Enjoy the pics.

Susan G Komen Ride for a Cure Aspen 2010

There comes a point in life when it is time to give back. I'm glad to say that I will be riding 104 miles on August 21st. I'm riding to support the Aspen Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure because I want to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Please help me reach my fund-raising goal by making a tax-deductible donation today. I wouldn't ask you to do anything I wouldn't do first that is why I'm pleased to make the first donation. You may donate online with your credit card by clicking on the link below and then by clicking "Support".

http://events.komenaspen.org/goto/tynewt

 


I took this photo today on a 50 mile training run. I will post more blog posts as my training continues. 

Happy 4th of July & Nico's Independance day!!! She has a new car!

While we were in Europe Nico decided she would buy a car here in the states. As you can tell by the photos she is really excited. The new car is a 2001 Subaru Legacy, which she promptly named  Larry Flynt. She is now one step closer to being a die hard boater. Now that she has her own ride I've told her that I'm not driving my car for at least two years. Now all Larry needs is a rack.  Jokes aside, I'm as excited as Nico about the new whitewater assault vehicle. I know it has can be challenging living without a car in the mountains and how independent you feel when you do have a set of sweet wheels. Hope everyone has a safe Forth of July & happy Independence Day Nico.

DFL & famous and 1st no one cares!!!

I skipped Teva Mountain Games this year to go to the Snowmass Village Chilli-Pepper and Brew Fest. It was well worth it. For entering our local beer my bother Brian and I both got weekend passes to the event!! Friday night was good but Saturday was fantastic. We started home-brewing a little less than a year ago and it was the first public brewing of our brews. We entered our first batch of Dunkelweizen. We needed to call it something so we called it the "Staircase Dunkelweizen" after the staircase at Brian's house where we have been fermenting our brew. The Brew was a partial malt extract beer which in brew-master language means we bought all the beer in a kit like Browne mix.  We had brewed it before I left to go to Europe and Brian bottled it while I was gone. Any way back to the competition. There were some very experienced brewers and some very tasty beers.  Brian and I served our beer ice cold and Nico helped by dressing in her traditional Bavarian dress. We ended up winning the home brew contest, with the prize being a sweet $100 and bragging rights. Unfortunately the local paper didn't mention anything about our great achievement. Here is a photo they could have published.

Nico, Tyler, Chili Pepper 1, Brian, Chili Pepper 2




The last too weeks have been a blur. I don't care what anyone says about real jobs, I'm enjoying the weekend warrior life. Two weeks ago I got off work drove threw apocalyptic rain showers to Fort Collins. Saturday morning I was up at 7am dropped by my old stomping grounds Mugs for some Joe and then headed to Lyons. The Lyon's Outdoor fest next to Fibark is the best homegrown kayak weekend on the Colorado Tour. It was still raining from the night before and boy was I glad to sleep in Leif and Nathalie's warm dry guest bedroom. This years feature was new because the rain and warm weather had created record flows so the event was held at a different hole than in years past. I was a little nervous because it was the first time I had taken the new Super Star out in a hole. I was able to get in for about 25 minutes before the comp began and didn't land a single move in my 8 rides. The rest of the day was spent wet and cold watching the boys and girls heats. The new talent is really amazing with Nico Tonozzi throwing a slow motion McNasty to take third in the Junior Finals.When it came time to compete I did horrible. In my two rides I scored exactly 0 points. The good news was after the comp I was able to dial in the loop and ends, I guess better late than never. On a brighter note after my run I got out of the water to watch the "Not so Pro Finals" and was interviewed by the local paper. Here is the link to the cool article published the next day.

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15286837

A new week and a new boat!

The last week of May the river has been up and I've demoed a number of boats. After a lot of left and right blunts I chose the Jackson Super Star. The new one is red but here is a photo Nico took Sunday while I was demoing and the Colorado was peaking for the season.

Back from Europe

Back from Europe!! After taking visiting five countries in 21 days I've got scores of photos to sort and organize. Will post a few of Nico and my adventures soon, but the wave is running 9000 in Glenwood Springs. Off to boat and will organize and write when it isn't light outside.

Off to Europe

After a long hiatus I am back to blogging. Tomorrow I leave for three weeks in Europe. I'll be writing as the adventure unfolds. First stop Munich.