First snowboard movie of the season...

...which also happens to be the same as the last movie from last season.  Throwing this out there in honor of the end of summer and beginning of winter.  This was shot on June 11, 2011 up at Loveland a month or so after the lifts closed.  The first descending shots are from the north facing chutes that drop off of the top of The Ridge.  Without further ado...

Summit County Vacation, 2011

I'm thinking of retitling this blog, "Better Late Than Never": finally finished editing the hours upon hours of footage from our Summit County 2011 vacation.  All shot with the GoPro.  If you weren't one of the seven people featured in this movie, there's a strong chance you won't give a rat's ass about sitting through 14 long minutes of someone else's vacation.  With that said, to the seven people who can claim to have borne witness to shenanigans, hi-jinks and tomfoolery of those six fateful days, my apologies: due to an as of yet undiagnosed software snafu, I was unable to fade out the music--so every song ends really abrubtly.  Makes it look kinda half-assed.  We like to do things whole-assed around here. 

Without further ado, I (not so) proudly present, Summit County 2011 (make sure you crank up those speakers for the super dope soundtrack): Click here!

Pro Cycling Challenge comes to Golden

Anyone that's ever been to Colorado, passed through our great state, or had the good fortune to call this place home, can attest to the fact that cycling is big in these parts.  Colorado is one of the fittest states in the nation (possibly the fittest), due partly in fact to the high rate of bike ownership.  Actually, I just made that up, total supposition on my part.  But c'mon, everyone here rides a bike, that must have something to do with it, right?  Right.

Anyway, when it was announced that the powers that be (read: Lance Armstrong) was resurrecting the thought-to-be-extinct Coors Classic under the revamped name, "Pro Cycling Challenge" there was, needless to say, a bit of excitement here in the Centennial state. As luck would have it, the start of the final stage just so happened to be taking place in our humble little 'burg.  All of the big guns came out for this race: this year's Tour winner Cadel Evans was here, the Schleck brothers (younger brother Andy has been a bridesmaid at the Tour the past two years, losing a heart breaker to Alberto Contador last year), semi-local honch Tom Danielson, and the list goes on.  So this wasn't some half-ass collegiate race, this was the real deal.  Replete with all of the team cars, sponsorship barrage and pomp and circumstance one would expect from an event of this magnitude. 

The seizure-like camera work, courtesy of yours truly, is testament to just how freakin' excited I was.  We had the opportunity to catch the peloton not once, not twice, but thrice on this fine day as they lapped some of Golden's finest cycling locales.   The first part of this video is about a mile from the start (and about a quarter mile from our abode) so the pace has yet to really pick up (my jitters were in full force though).  The second part is deceiving as this is actually the base of a long climb--the climb itself is not all that steep but this bottom part is.  I'm saying they were going 20 m.p.h. plus at this point, the peloton starting to get a bit twitchy, separating the men from the boys.

In light of the heinous camera work, I tee'd up some Allman Brothers to at least make it somewhat bearable.  Photos courtesy of my substantially more talented and camera-savvy wife...

My wife...the golfer?

Despite my best effort to turn my wife into a cyclist, despite all the trips to world class cycling destinations like Fruita and Moab, and despite the fact that my wife displays a sickening ability to kick ass on an MTB, it appears as though I'm actually married to a golfer. 

Second time ever playing and she's got the most natural swing I've ever seen.  And I hold a lot of credibility in this department since I've played a whopping two times in the last 4 years.

Serious though, check out this swing: 

Check out how awesome I am.

Here's a bit of self aggrandizing footage at Horsethief Bench in Fruita.  I like this little clip  for the way that the music matches up with the riding.  Good times.

Review: Ride Insano Focus Boa Boots

The Boa system, feared by many, embraced by many more, is quickly gaining traction as a viable alternative to laces in the snowboard boot world.  The latest iteration, the Focus Boa, follows the precedent laid by Burton’s speed lace system and enables the rider to tighten the top and bottom zones of the boot independently of one another; a great option for those with gorilla feet and pinner calves or vice versa. 

First off, these boots are really freakin’ stiff.  However after 15 plus days on these boots in both resort and backcountry settings, the flex has mellowed out just a touch and is pretty much spot on (in my humble opinion).  Definitely not a boot for park rats or rail jockeys; these things are hard chargin’ and happy when going fast, but they’re also super light and surprisingly comfortable.  

My first few days on these boots were a little rough—the stiffness made my board feel hyper-responsive and twitchy.  But as they began to break in I started to find the sweet spot and have been digging the added response.  I find myself going way faster than I usually would through chunder and tracked up snow, due to the increased stability I’m getting from these boots.  Sure, there’s some sacrifice for board feel, but depending upon your riding preferences, it’s well worth it. 

The Insanos come stock with an Intuition heat moldable liner, allowing for a custom fit right out of the box (more or less—the molding process takes about 30 minutes).  Pretty sweet.  I have pretty messed up feet and these boots have somehow enabled me to ride all but discomfort free every day…with one small exception: a mystery pressure point on both of my inside ankle bones that has been consistent and worsening, despite my best efforts to trim out any material that could potentially be causing this problem.  And it really sucks because these are hands down the most comfortable boots I have ever owned, which speaks volumes given how stiff these suckers are.  After several surgeries on the liner, the inner cuff and some random mystery material that binds the tongue to the shell, I’m still left with aching bones at the end of each session.

This boot is probably best fit to a person with a higher volume foot and calf.  I have neither and find myself tightening both the upper and lower zones for the first few runs of each day.  And despite my complete confidence in the Boa system, there are certain issues that do bug me a bit, such as the aforementioned need to tighten for the first few hours as the Boa settles into place.  Part of me wonders if it’s not the plastic sleeve that the Boa runs through that’s causing my mystery ankle pain too.   

Bottom line, if you’re looking to drop some semi-serious coin on boots this year ($300) and want a hard-charging boot with tons of response, the Insanos are it.  

26 Seconds of Awesome

In light of this cold snap I thought something summer-esque might be in order.  I'm in full winter mode right now but stumbled upon this video that the lady and I shot over the summer and got a little inkling of stoke for the summer months looming on the horizon. 

Shot at Phil's World in Cortez, CO.  Quite possibly the best non-DH trail I've ever ridden.