Colorado Springs BOMB

The Zeitgeist "Challenge" Part 1

2008-11-16T20:14:00.004-07:00

What's this about?

I am interacting with some people on-line (a Mountain Biking forum on the MTBR.com website). I was given an honest "challenge" of sorts...

"I see that you are definitely one of the faithful but please just watch Part 1 (The Zeitgeist Movie) and please let me know if you can disprove anything they are saying. There might be some discrepancies but I just don't like to see people eating up everything their "religion" tells them"

Part 1 of the Zeitgeist Movie is two hours long, so this may take a while...I don't know how many "parts" of my article there may be by the end, but I've only viewed through the 15 minute intro and decided to break this into digestible "chunks". Thank you for the "challenge"...for making my brain work!

Intro - The Zeitgeist Movie/Movement

The Zeitgeist Movie

Zeitgeist Movie Transcript

Part of the "Statement" from the Zeitgeist Website:

"'Zeitgeist, The Movie' and 'Zeitgeist: Addendum' were created as Not-for-Profit expressions to communicate what the author felt were highly important social understandings which most humans are generally not aware of. The first film focuses on suppressed historical & modern information about currently dominant social institutions, while also exploring what could be in store for humanity if the power structures at large continue their patterns of self-interest, corruption, and consolidation."

It certainly sounds like an honest and noble cause motivated by a desire to reveal truth. I like it. Isn't that why I speak to people about what I believe the "truth" is?

I move on over to The Zeitgeist Movement link...to a stand alone website " The Zeitgeist Movement" where I find a lengthy statement about the Goal of the Zeitgeist movement.

"We intend to restore the fundamental necessities and environmental awareness of the species through the avocation of the most current understandings of who and what we truly are, coupled with how science, nature and technology (rather than religion, politics and money) hold the keys to our personal growth, not only as individual human beings, but as a civilization, both structurally and spiritually. "

"...where negative social consequences, such as social stratification, war, biases, elitism and criminal activity will be constantly reduced and, idealistically, eventually become nonexistent within the spectrum of human behavior itself.

This possibility is, of course, very difficult for most humans to consider, for we have been conditioned by society to think that crime, corruption and dishonesty is "the way it is" and that there will always be people who want to abuse, hurt and take advantage of others. Religion is the largest promoter of this propaganda, for the "us and them" or "good and evil" mentality promotes this false assumption."

"In turn, once we realize that it is science, technology and hence human creativity which creates progress in our lives, we are then able to recognize what our true priorities are for social and personal growth and progress. These points denoted, we can then see that Religion, Politics and the Money/Competition based Labor system are outdated modes of social operation, which must now be addressed and outgrown. Our avocation is to achieve a social system which operates without money or politics, while allowing superstition to work itself out as education flourishes. It isn't the right of any person to tell another what to believe, for no human has a full understanding of anything."

Sidenote: Within the "Goals" statement...I read "It isn't the right of any person to tell another what to believe, for no human has a full understanding of anything." The statement seems self-disqualifying. How can the Zeitgeist Movement claim "It isn't the right of any person to tell another what to believe, for no human has a full understanding of anything."...yet the rest of the Goal Statement states so clearly that the Zeitgeist Movement is the only way to cure all the ills of society?

What stands out to me? OK...the Zeitgeist Movement proposes that "religion" is one of a few key factors that has contributed to many (if not all) ills of society. Well...here's a cool thing, I agree with this on many levels.

The Zeitgeist Movie

So...the movie starts with a three minute philosophical/spiritual statement by Chögyam Trungpa, a "Buddhist meditation master, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and a Trungpa tülku." (quoted from Wikipedia )

Here is a little background I dug up on Chögyam Trungpa:

"His controversial career is characterized by his style of "crazy wisdom" by his Western followers. Physically weakened by years of heavy alcohol use, he died in terminal stages of heart failure at the age of 48." (Wikipedia )

"Shortly after his move to Scotland, a variety of experiences, including a car accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body, led Trungpa to the decision to give up his monastic vows and work as a lay teacher. This decision was principally motivated by the intention to undercut the temptation of students becoming distracted by exotic cultures and dress, and by their preconceptions of how a guru should behave. He drank, smoked, slept with students, and often kept students waiting for hours before giving teachings. Much of his behavior has been asserted as deliberately provocative and sparked controversies that continue to this day" ( Wikipedia )

"In general, I think that nearly all of what passes for “crazy wisdom” and is justified as “crazy wisdom” by both master and enraptured disciple is really cruelty and exploitation, not enlightened wisdom at all. In the name of “crazy wisdom” appalling crimes have been rationalized by master and disciple alike, and many lives have been partly or completely devastated. ( Andrew Harvey)

"His wife Diana Mukpo summarizes: 'Although he (Chögyam Trungpa) had many of the classic health problems that develop from heavy drinking, it was in fact more likely the diabetes and high blood pressure that led to abnormal blood sugar levels and then the cardiac arrest'. One of his nursing attendants reports that in his last months, he suffered from incontinence, distended belly, discolored skin, hallucinations, varicose veins, gastritis, and esophageal varices -- classic symptoms of terminal alcoholism and cirrhosis -- and yet he was still drinking heavily." (Wikipedia )

Why would I point out some of these things about Chögyam Trungpa? Two reasons.

First; one of the stated goals of the Zeitgeist Movement is to tear down "Religion" as one of the oppressive strata of humanity, yet it uses the statement of a Buddhist Monk (a religious man...right?) to open the movie.

Second; imagine if I created a movie to support what I believe. Why my faith if accepted and followed by everyone on the planet would move to eventually eliminate "negative social consequences, such as social stratification, war, biases, elitism and criminal activity", yet I opened the movie with a statement by Tedd Haggard (a big money, meth smoking, gay prostitue using "Christian" preacher). Wouldn't you balk from the get-go at the hypocrisy?

Here is the opening statement by Chögyam Trungpa:

"Spirituality is a particular term which actually means dealing with intuition. In the theistic tradition there is a notion of clinging into a word. A certain act is regarded as displeasing to a divine principles. A certain act is regarded as pleasing for the divine … whatever. In the tradition of non-theism, however, it is very direct — that the case history are not particularly important. What is actually important is here and now. Now is definitely now. We try to experience what is available there, on the spot. There is no point in thinking that a past did exist that we could have now. This is now. This very moment. Nothing mystical, just now, very simple, straight forward. And from that nowness, however, arises a sense of intelligence always that you are constantly interacting with reality one by one. Spot by spot. Constantly. We actually experience fantastic precision, always. But we are threatened by the now so we jump to the past or the future. Paying attention to the materials that exist in our life — such rich life that we lead — all these choices takes place all the time, but none of them regarded as bad or good per say — everything we experience are unconditional experience. They don’t come along with a label saying ‘this is regarded as bad’, ‘this is good’. But we experience them but we don’t actually pay heed to them properly. We don’t actually regard that we are going somewhere. We regard that as a hassle. Waiting to be dead. That is a problem. That is not trusting the nowness properly that what is the actual experience now possesses a lot of powerful things. It is so powerful that we can’t face it. Therefore, we have to borrow from the past and invite the future all the time. Maybe that’s why we seek religion. Maybe that’s why we march in the street. Maybe that’s why we complain to society. Maybe that’s why we vote for the presidents. It is quite ironic. Very funny indeed."

Spirituality: "the quality or fact of being spiritual. predominantly spiritual character as shown in thought, life, etc.; spiritual tendency or tone."
Intuition: "direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension. pure, untaught, noninferential knowledge."

Would you agree that it does not matter what I believe, it does not matter what Chögyam Trungpa believes...it does not really matter what anyone believes for that matter unless it is based on fact, not intuition. We can't all be right can we? The only thing that matters is the truth. Say Chögyam and I stood atop a 2,000ft cliff and we both had to jump to jagged the rocks below - if Chögyam's intuition told him that he would float down and would land gently...and I said...the laws of physics tell me that we'll both be smashed to bits...what matters? intuition or plain fact?

What would matter? Truth would prevail - we'd both me stains on the rocks below.

The faith I claim...is based on evidential truth. So, I disagree at the outset that "Spirituality means dealing with intuition"...at least in my world view. The framework of truth that I rely on is built upon historical, archaeological, prophetic, even eye witness accounts of fact (or at least that's what I believe thus far).

Let's continue the movie...and see if the claims in the movie can shred...or at least tear at the fabric of the truth I believe.

-- To be continued --

Palmer Park! Saturday Morning the 4th

2008-09-29T07:40:00.002-06:00

Palmer Park with Denver BOMB

Where? Palmer Park - Yucca Flats Parking
When? 2008-10-04 @ 9am
Duration? 2-3 hours, maybe ten miles.
Difficulty? Moderate to Difficult Technical trails.
Meet Where?

Yucca Flats Parking

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RSVP: Keith

A Roadie saved my life

2008-09-23T16:33:00.015-06:00

I live in a very rural area, about six miles from town (Penrose...if you can even call a city with no stop lights a "town"). The main stretch of road between our house and Penrose...and to Colorado Springs (30 miles to the north) is highway 115...known to some as "the ribbon of death" - a name it has earned because of the frequent deadly car wrecks on the highway.

I have seen numerous roadies riding between Colorado Springs, Penrose and on to Canon City on Highway 115. I constantly scratch my head in wonder when I see roadies on the Ribbon of Death. There is a large Portland Cement plant in Penrose and there are 100's of these huge Portland Cement haulers constantly shuttling loads between the 'Springs and Penrose!

Just a week ago...we were headed to church in "town" (Penrose), just after turning south onto the Ribbon of Death and heading south down Beaver Creek Hill, I noticed a roadie working on a flat tire on the north bound side of the road. There was so little shoulder on the north bound side that the bike was actually protruding part way into the traffic lane.

Today, I had a lunch appointment in town with a good friend and decided to ride my heavy duty commuter rig to his house for lunch and fellowship (about 9 miles one way). If you know me at all...you know the utter dread with which I take to riding on the road. I avoid it at all cost...but I didn't have any other way to get to this lunch appointment. Turning off our rural road and onto the Ribbon of Death...heading south at least there is a very large shoulder - it's a good 12 feet. The opposite side of the road is where I had seen that roadie...the opposite side of the road was where there was as little as 6" of shoulder.

I watched on the way down the hill to see where the wide shoulder disappeared on the north bound side...and I thought I'd make a mental note..."do I risk my life and ride that tiny ribbon of shoulder...or break the law on the way back up the hill and ride against traffic, but on the side with the very generous shoulder?"

I had a fantastic lunch with my friend Don Haberman...and started cranking home. When I hit the uphill slope of Beaver Creek Hill on that Ribbon of Death, I remembered where the shoulder disappeared almost to nothing and made the decision.

I would ride up the hill...against traffic...and stay as far to the left as possible on that very generous 12 feet of shoulder.

I had to wait a minute or two to get a clear road...then I crossed.

There's no other way to put it...this hill pretty much sucks. I had been cranking for a while when I could finally just see my turn...about 1/4 mile away. I hear one of those cement trucks pass off to my right as it makes its way up the hill...on the side where there's 6" of shoulder.

As the truck passes...I notice...CRAP...he's ON the stinking SHOULDER...no wait...WHAT? He drifts off the asphalt shoulder...his right wheels dig into the grass...he tries to correct...next thing I know there's a CONCRETE truck sliding sideways and then ROLLING down the embankment where I should have been riding my bike!

I pull out my cell phone...call 911. A bunch of other traffic is already stopping...

I get to the wreckage just as a bunch of guys are arriving and trying to figure out how to get the driver out. The driver is ok, but banged up and he manages to get out.

I stood there for a few minutes...in awe...and wonder that I should have been on that shoulder if I'd have been "obeying the law of the road"...I'd have been squooshed like a grape...nothing more than a stain on the side of the road.

Thank you Lord for saving my life today. Thank you for the visual of that roadie's bike laying part way into the traffic lane...pretty much exactly where the wreck occurred and exactly where I should have been riding my bike.

Thank you Lord for saving the life of that driver.

I finished riding to the house (another 2 miles)...hopped on the ATV and rode back down to snap some pics:

Dare I add...that just yesterday I was chatting with a friend in California on IM about "...hey...would you speak at my funeral?"

CMSP x2 in one week

2008-09-20T08:41:00.005-06:00

I rode CMSP again yesterday, it is a fun trail network with great views and very twisty lines.

Jeff and Jeff rode it with me...of course they are probably to two best climbers I know...poor guys had to wait for me after every climb.

I snapped some pics this time...

I GPS'd it, I'll post an update when I have it downloaded.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park (CMSP)

2008-09-18T08:17:00.003-06:00

Cheyenne Mountain State Park (CMSP)

See the trail write up from Tuesday the 16th here.

Where? Cheyenne Mountain State Park
When? 2008-09-19 @ 11:30am
Duration? 2 to 3 hours...about 16 miles
Difficulty? Smooth, flowy trails with about 2,000ft of climbing.

Meet Where?

Option #1 Meet at Fellowship Bible Church at 11am (six bucks per car-load to enter CMSP...meet here to save a little $$$)

Option #2 Main trailhead ("Day Use Trailhead" on the Map) in CMSP at 11:30.

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RSVP: Keith (719) 964-3595

South Boundary Trail Plot

2008-09-17T10:38:00.006-06:00

Here is the South Boundary Trail Plot from last Saturday , if you want the full GPS and/or Google Earth file...send me an email. For some reason my GPS cut out for about 4 miles (you can see a dead straight line)...and it was right through the "Heaven On Earth" section...darn, I'll have to go back to re-capture it!

CMSP Ride Report

2008-09-16T18:38:00.002-06:00

CMSP or Cheyenne Mountain State Park...

I met my old boss Jeff over at the Safeway near Cheyenne Mountain at 9am this morning. We loaded up into his SUV...and headed over. It is a state park and he has a state park pass ($60 a year to cover entry fees for any Colorado State Park), otherwise it is $6 per vehicle per day to visit the park...and ride the trails.

CMSP Trails Map

We did three different loops, covering over 16 miles and nearly 2,000ft of climbing...saw a Bobcat, and a huge pile of bear scat so fresh it was still steaming! We hit Blackmer, Zook Loop, Sundance, Talon, North Talon, South Talon, Boulder Run, Soaring Kestrel, Bobcat Way, Acorn Alley...probably more that I can't remember. The network of trails over there is HUGE.

The views are stunning. The trails are wide and fairly smooth, but very fun. These trails were designed to reduce trail conflict. Very short straight sections that constantly flow into turns to keep the speed down as well. Most of the trail is off camber to enhance erosion control as well.

The turns never end...it is a heck of a lot of fun. Heavy forest, some meadows and a few rocks here and there. A few trails have some light technical sections that would be ideal to build up some bike handling skills.

The trail network makes for a great cardio and mile building bonanza...I was amazed how fast 16 miles seemed to fly by (I think it was about 2.5 hours).

Good stuff, highly recommended and we'll be returning soon for a group ride.

...no pics this time...doh.

South Boundary Trail Wrap Up

2008-09-15T10:53:00.018-06:00

Tony, Jeff, Don and I headed south for Taos at about 2:30 on Friday.

For all the pics...click here.

The drive went quick...the secenery is amazing on that route toward Taos (once you head west that is...Pueblo...well Pueblo is just Pueblo). We arrived in Taos...found the Super 8, grabbed dinner (served with a Divine Appointment)...hit the grocery store for some ride provisions and then hit the sack.

We headed over to meet the shuttle in town and met with two of the riders from Albuquerque BOMB. Tim and Darren were there and ready to roll! Chris was to meet us at the trailhead with another Albuquerque BOMBer. We loaded up and headed for the hills.

The South Boundary Trailhead is actually just outside the town of Angelfire New Mexico and it's a good 40 minute shuttle ride to the trailhead from Taos. We turned off the highway onto a dirt service road and headed further up the hill. We see a white pickup heading our way...as they got closer they started flagging us down. It's Chris and Carl...Carl forgot his hydration pack and were headed to their hotel in Angelfire to grab it.

We continue up the road...it got progressively more and more 4x4 like, the old shuttle van did an amazing job of getting us through to the trailhead. Rey...the shuttle drive and owner of the bike shop in Taos (Gearing Up Bicycle Shop) told us that good old van has even made fresh tracks on that road in a few inches of snow. Rey was fantastic, giving us a lot of pointers, the lay of the land and suggestions for other trails to hit in the area.

...on to the South Boundary Trail...

We get to the trailhead. Just a few minutes after unloading Chris and Carl arrive. We're all getting our gear together.

Tim takes a minute to check/adjust his rear shock (an air shock)...he removes the pump and PPPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT! All the air in his shock is gone in about a tenth of a second. Try again...same thing. We all start monkeying with it, the pump, the valve...Tim is not having fun now. We finally manage to pull the valve stem, clean it, get it back in and it holds air this time! Poor Tim did the panic dance for about 15 minutes.

Tim...just before the PFFFFT.
Everyone McGuyvering it.
Fixed it...Tim is happy again

You know the old saying "When something sounds too good to be true...it probably is too good to be true?"

Well...I had heard from my old boss, and from Chris (Albuquerque BOMB) that there was a brutally steep and loose initial climb that was only a little over a mile long...and after that it was about 23 miles of just amazing, tight, buff and flowing DOWNHILL singletrack.

My boss...rides a road bike about 5,000 miles a year...and Chris is a 6'1" 150lb Cross Country monster that rides a 29" hard tail and races throughout the season. I should have known better.

The initial climb didn't seem that bad (above)...I pushed the bike a lot. It was steep. It was loose - but it was short. I think the GPS registered about 1.25 miles to the top. We started to head down a bit and stopped in a meadow to re-group. Chris said "OK...fast folks up front, we have about four miles of fast descending..."

My camera batteries died...and the spares were dead (note to self...replace the rechargeable batteries)...so most of the remaining are courtesy of Jeff! Thanks bro.

The next four miles or so were some of the sweetest, in the forest, loamy dirt, tight singletrack, over roots...BOMBING downhill I can ever remember. Chris said the section was called "Heaven On Earth". That was no hyperbole....wow, no kidding "Heaven On Earth". I would have shuttled that section all day if possible. Man...it was like butter. No pedaling...all gravity and all gravy baby!

The trail dumped right next to a hunter camp...we didn't see any other ridres all day, but we saw a few hunter camps and a few hunters...that was a bit concerning - but it is bow season, so we didn't have to worry too much.

The next section of trail went on for a LONG time...it was just slightly downhill - it would have been perfect...and just like the pervious section if it had been but maybe 2% more DOWN. It was JUST flat enough to require constant pedaling - wasn't as fast as "Heaven On Earth", but it was more of the same type of trail. Tight, sweet singletrack through the forest.

...and then...what? Uphill? Where was this on the trail description. It wasn't steep...it wasn't even loose, but it went on for what seemed like a long, long time.

Chris...apologies bro. I think we really started giving you a hard time about it. It was all good...we just didn't anticipate all the Up, Up, UpHill. Something over 2,000ft of it...ugh.

We stopped at a big clearing, rested a bit, ate some trail grub and prayed for the lady from the night before.

Finally...we started to angle down some more. I was in front and we were picking up speed again. Chris reports..."Ok for real...it's all downhill now!" I was having a blast dodging trees, plowing through root gardens and railing turns.

I came blasting down the trail and saw a log across the trail. Not big...and someone had stacked a small ramp up before it. I hit the log, lifting the front end cleanly over it...and carrying way too much speed into it with the rear wheel.

I'm pretty sure I broke the Olympic Record for the "Over the Bar Pole Vault"...man I was up there and slammed HARD onto my left shoulder. I'm pretty sure the wind was knocked out of my left lung and a searing pain in my chest. I jumped right up...walked over to a log and sat down to collect my thoughts. Holding my left arm...I first feared something was busted. But as I breathed in and moved my arm around...yup...collar bone is still intact, no death pain when I breath in...ribs not busted...but dang it hurt!

Everyone arrived on scene...I straightened my bars and walked back up the trail muttering "freaking log"...rode over it again and cleaned it like butter. On the way again! We hit some sections with unbelievable views, but not something you'd want to gander at unless you were stopped. I've seen freaky exposure before...but this was wierd because it was covered in trees and just dropped away to what seemed like forever.

We crossed another road...and hit what we'd been told was the final "very technical" section. It was fairly steep and loose - but not "technical" in the big ledges and rock gardens way. Just loose primarily. Still it was a hoot. Getting ever closer to town now as well...you could see the elevation dropping...

The trail eventually drops onto the same highway you take to get to Ange Fire and the trail head...a few miles of pedaling and on to Eskes Brew Pub for some fine dining and some good suds. A great trip...can't wait to head down there again and bring a bigger contingent from Coloraod Springs - maybe even some of the Denver BOMB crew!

Ride Report: The Peak DH...and more...

2008-08-30T11:06:00.025-06:00

For all my pics from this day go here.

Up to 9pm Thursday evening, we had NINETEEN riders signed up for the Peak DH '08!

I woke up Friday morning at 5am, excited and ready to roll. We pulled out at 5:30 heading for Colorado Springs. I dropped off my wife at work, then my daughter at her friend's house.

First phone call of the morning comes in at 6:36am..."Hey...this is () calling from Denver...my friend overslept. We'll get down there as quickly as we can...and meet you at the trail head, hopefully someone would be willing to drive back up and help us pick up our car."

I arrived at Challenge Unlimited at 7am sharp...Eric was already there. People trickled in, turns out there was a miscount of the riders coming down from Denver ICCC. We ended up with one on the shuttle, plus the two that were beeting feet to meet us at the trail head, plus one other CSBOMB rider that bagged...and we picked up a "random chance" local named Dakota.

Roll Call!
Tony - CSBOMB
Eric - CSBOMB
Tim - CSBOMB
Kevin - Denver ICCC
Eric - Denver BOMB
Tom - San Diego, CA
Don - CSBOMB
Dave - Dust2DustMTB
Dakota
John SR - CSBOMB
John JR - CSBOMB
Bill - CSBOMB
Jeff - CSBOMB (and our tour guide de jour)
Yours Truly - CSBOMB
The two girls running late from Denver

Sixteen total...not a bad showing.

+ Darth Vader

We arrived at the trail head...it was pretty cool and breezy...the view was simply spectacular, with clear blue skies, great visibility all around and a beautiful blanket of clouds hanging at the base of the front range as far as the eye could see out to the east.

And the ever present Vader showing the way...

The girls from ICCC Denver showed up after about 20 minutes. Jeff gave us a little heads up trail talk...warned of some gnarly wash outs and to keep "heads up" for hikers coming up the mountain. Tom lead us off with a prayer and we were on our way.

Elk Park to Barr Trail:
Outstanding tight singletrack! The trail works it way to the southeast toward the east face of the peak. It is similar to the east face, but it starts lower and descends in to the forest much quicker. Plenty of that loose Pikes Peak granite and some exposed sections keeps the adrenaline factor up. It's so tempting to look at the view instead of the trail, a glance to the east could cause you some major issues in some spots.

I pinch flatted out my rear tire not long after descending below treeline. I was on the outside of a switchback working on the tire when one of the ICCC girls endo'd...almost face first into my rear dérailleur!

Dave (Top)...Tom (Bottom)

Got the train rolling again...and contrary to Jeff's estimate of only a "150 yards of climbing" I think he was off by large margin. There is a fair amount of climbing on Elk Park...but it's a great trail, very tight singletrack with some roots, rocks and a few short drops. I forgot to turn my GPS on...maybe someone else had one that can tell the climbing total.

We stopped to bunch up again in this meadow.

The biggest wreck, best injury and most bacon award goes to...

Yours truly.

There was a bridge over a small stream...the bridge was at the most 15 feet long. It was made of logs, laid down next to each other. It was wet, there were some spaces between the logs. Tom...who's an amazing rider by the way...blasted across the bridge, so I hit the bridge right after him. My front wheel slipped off one log and inbetween the one next to it. My wheel buried itself all the way to the axle as it jammed between the logs...causing me to go from about 15mph to zero in no time flat.

I semi-side slip/endo'd onto my knee and elbow, opening up an ugly deep skin flapping gash on my knee and some great scrapes on my elbow. I remember doing a POST (Power On Self Test) and I lay there on the bridge hearing people say "Are you alright? Are you ok?" I was still running the through the power on self test routine to see if anything was broken...I couldn't talk due to the sudden shooting pain in my elbow and me knee so I just raised my right hand in the air as if to say "Yeah...I'm an idiot...but I'm ok..."

I've had a few good wrecks lately...tells me something 'profound'...I'm not spending enough time on the trails working on my SKILLS!

Barr Trail:
We made it to Barr Trail/Barr Camp...John and John had to scoot so they headed on down. We headed on down en mass after a short break. I could do the section right below Barr Camp on down to the top of the switchbacks over, and over, and over, and over. The trail just begs for you to scream through the trees, over roots and through corners...it's lightly peppered with a few small rock drops...just short "floaters", nothing big.

I was following right behind Dave and Dakota when Dakota realize he had missed a turn, hit the kids and before we knew it all three of us were piled up. Note to self...don't follow so close!

Finally down at the base...I missed it, but I heard that Tony had ridden almost the whole way clean...then endo'd literally ten feet from the parking lot. Sweet.

We pedaled to the cars...most had to bail to work or family stuff. Six of us grabbed some lunch. Jeff had to bail to do some work...the remaining five of us headed over to Palmer Park to show Tom the lay of the land.

Palmer Park:
Not a whole lot to say...and I didn't even snap a pic in Palmer. Tom did...and when he sends them my way I'll post some of his. Tom ate up Palmer...even on his beastly ASX...I have to say it again, Tom is an outstanding rider.

Highlight of the day...and a bit of redemption for me was the switchback above the horse stables...yeah I know...where are the pics? Tom took pics...as soon as he sends them I'll post. I nailed the switchback twice.

And finally about eight hours after the bridge stupidity I got to shower...I scrubbed all my wounds open to clean them out...did you hear the screams?

Pikes Peak DH - Friday August 29th.

2008-08-11T07:44:00.002-06:00

Pikes Peak DH, Date is set for Friday August 29th.

Where? Pikes Peak DH, starting at Elk Park
When? TBD (RSVP to stay informed)
Duration? 3-4 hours, 14 miles max.
Difficulty? Moderate to Difficult Technical trails.
Meet Where? TBD (RSVP to say informed)

We will be using one of the "Pikes Peak" shuttle services, details to be release via email. If you want to reserve a spot and stay informed...please RSVP (see below).

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RSVP: Keith

South Boundary Trail - New Mexico

2008-08-05T09:27:00.002-06:00

South Boundary Trail, New Mexico

Where? Just outside Taos, NM
When? Saturday - 30th of August, 6th of September, or the 13th of September - ALL DAY. Please RSVP (see below) with your preference.
Duration? Hours and hours, smiles and smiles.
Difficulty? Moderate three mile dirt road climb, followed by a Difficult two mile singletrack climb... Followed by TWENTY THREE MILES of "legendary, super tight singletrack DOWNHILL."
Meet Where? To Be Announced

Google Map/Directions from Colorado Springs to Taos.

MTBR.com Reviews of the South Boundary Trail.

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RSVP: Keith

Pikes Peak DH (from Elk Park)

2008-08-04T11:16:00.003-06:00

It is time again!

We've done Barr trail all the way from the summit a few times, this time we'll take it from Elk Park. Not quite as much descending in vertical feet, but Elk Park is reportedly much more rideable than the upper few miles of Barr Trail (most is hike-a-bike).

Please respond to Keith if you are interested.

Let me know what dates are best for you, in order to use the shuttle service a week day would be best. Any week day the last week of August (25th through 29th).

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RSVP: Keith

Palmer Park Ride Report

2008-07-30T21:15:00.002-06:00

I got my butt kicked today.

By the heat, by the rocks and by some good riders!

Forecast is for low 90's...and I only jam down two glasses of water an hour before the ride. Can you say "Duh!". I haven't been spending enough time on technical trails either apparently. I came away with more bacon today than I've had in years. It's pretty awesome.

A couple of good riders from Dust2Dust showed up, Chris and Chris. One of them from Montana, loved Templeton. Jeff the hammer showed up...then disappeared...then called to say "Hey...where are you guys?" Funny stick boy uber fit riders!

We rode part of Templeton (Templeton had my number. One nice rock scrape to the shin...one side flop onto sandstone with forearm) then dropped down to Greencrest, rode back around by the stables, up Cheyenne to the Overlook and headed to the Improv. I had to bail...I was lightheaded and dehydrated. Dork.

Trestle Bike Park - Saturday August 16th

2008-07-29T15:25:00.006-06:00

Trestle Bike Park - Winter Park

Where? Trestle Bike Park - Winter Park
When? 2008-08-16 One day trip up to Winter Park and back.
Duration? All day.
Difficulty? Moderate to Difficult Technical trails.
Meet Where? See here for contact details and riding arrangements.

Or...take the 16th and come down to the Gay Pride Festival in Pueblo Colorado!
Contact Keith for more info on Pueblo Pride.

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Keith

Ride: Palmer Park Wed 7/30

2008-07-29T09:15:00.004-06:00

Palmer Park

Where? Palmer Park - Yucca Flats Parking
When? 2008-07-30 @ 4pm
How long? 2 hours?
Meet Here (Click Here)

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Keith

Ride: Ute Valley Park Friday 8/1

2008-07-29T09:04:00.004-06:00

Meeting up with Dust2Dust for this Friday ride.

Where? Ute Valley Park
When? 4pm
How long? Until heat exhaustion takes us out.
Trailhead Map (click here)

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Keith

Group Ride - Friday July 25th

2008-07-24T15:48:00.003-06:00

Palmer Park - Wahoo!

Yucca Flats area in Palmer Park (click for a map) at 3pm. Look for the Dust2DustMTB crew. I might be there, Rollo definitely won't be there.

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Keith

Motivation

2008-07-24T15:42:00.002-06:00

I ran down to do some computer work for a non-profit during lunch today (about 5.5 miles one way on the ghetto commuter pig). It was blazing hot on the way down...spent about 45 minutes installing WiFi cards...hit the trail to come back and hmmm....those clouds are very DARK and it looks like rain.

I get about half way back to work and found a new motivation to pedal VERY hard.

Lightning.

Mileage

2008-07-23T11:12:00.002-06:00

I've been riding a LOT (for me).

Problem is most of it is on bike paths (Santa Fe Trail, Sinton Trail, etc). I started parking at the Park-N-Ride at Tejon and I-25 and bike commuting to and from work from there. All in all it's a good thing. Save gas, save money, get fit and lose weight (if I can eat right!). Oh...I supposed that I'm even reducing my contribution to "greenhouse pollution" too (whatever).

That's 8.5 miles each way...for a minimum of 17 miles a day and 85 miles a week if I stick with it 5 days a week. So far I've been able to do at least 4 days a week for the last 5 weeks. Haven't dropped any weight to speak of...but that is another issue, my metabolism has adjusted so now I need to crank down on my intake.

Rollo and I will be pushing out ride invites as often as possible through the Yahoo Group. We have a regular weekly trail ride every Friday and look for more weekend rides as the summer goes along.

Pikes Peak DH anyone? Send comments or an email if you're interested.

Keith

It's a fresh face!

2008-07-23T10:25:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the fresh face of Colorado Springs BOMB.

Stale old site - gone.
Stale old links - gone.
Stale old pics - gone.

Stale old fart riders...sorry, they're still here!