My First Century In Over A Decade!

I spent yesterday doing something I most likely had no business doing; I completed my first century in over a decade!

Going from a six mile commute every day on my single speed to a 110 mile ride is something I wasn't preparing myself for and to be honest, I wasn't planning on doing... Let me walk you through the chain of events a bit.

The century crew was 5 people strong: Chris, Brett, Erik, Jeremy, and myself. We got a late morning start so it could warm up a bit. It was a good idea because when we started it was sunny with clear skies. The air was still a bit chilly, but the polar fleece was more than enough to keep the upper body warm as we rode through the chilly air.

Although I was riding with the century crew I had it in my mind that I would be only hanging on approximately 25 miles before breaking from the pack and heading home. As we approached Golden I was feeling really good, which is when I was really second guessing my plan to ride only 25 miles. I was thinking maybe I could make the century at this pace and this rolling terrain. When we reached Golden I heard Chris and Jeremy talking and then decision was made to tackle Lookout Mountain as part of the century. My first reaction, which I verbalized, was "Oh, Shit!" I haven't climbed a mountain all season and again my thought of completing the century was gone. I conceded to the notion of climbing the hill with the group and then heading back home from the top.

I was certainly the slow man up the mountain, but the cool thing is that Chris, who can ascend Lookout in sub 20 min, hung back and chatted. Taking my mind off the climb and helping me climb. When we got to the top we took our first break and it was there I made the decision to ride the full century.

My decision seemed sold since the next 10 miles were all down hill and I felt great! Feeling like I made the right decision I rode with the crew towards Morrison, more downhill. Here we got on the c-470 bike path, which is up and down. As we continued to go up and down and up and down I felt my legs getting pretty tired. At this point we were at the 55 mile point and I was having serious doubts if I could finish the century.

The group stopped at a gas station and we filled up on water and I munched on a couple snickers bars. Even with the refuel, the next ten miles were miserable. I felt like a tank and my legs were made of lead. This is where the group really pulled through for me.

Most groups I ride with just let the weakest link fall off the back, never to be seen again. Not this crew. We rode as a group the entire way and the group only moved as fast as the slowest rider. That impressed me! Chris, once again pulled through for me and rode along side and talked to me. Offered me food and in general kept me turning the pedals.

Once we got to the 70 mile mark the snickers bars started kicking in and started feeling a lot better. The terrain leveled off and I no longer felt like a tank. I did however, know my limit and I assumed a position of draft and seldom took a lead position. Again, the crew was great at allowing me to just hang on and didn't expect (or judge) me based on my inability to take point.

At mile 82 we got our only flat tire of the day and we took a nice break. At this point I knew I was going to ride the century. Once we got back on the bike I loved watching the odometer as the miles ticked away. With each tick I would do the math in my head on how much more I had to get to the 100 mile mark.

As we passed the REI on the bike path in Denver the odometer read 92 miles and according to estimates the distance from REI to home was about 15 miles. I compartmentalized the extra 8 miles we would need to do beyond the 100 mile mark and decided to deal with it after I reached 100 miles.

When I reached the 100 mark on the odometer a feeling of pride and contentment filled me. At this point I knew where I was on the bike path and just knowing exactly where I was and how far I still had to go in order to get home made the last 10 miles of the ride obtainable.

All in all it was a great ride an and I couldn't have asked for a better crew of riders to join me in accomplishing this major riding milestone.

Changes in the season

Today I enjoyed the local trails and the last day of nice weather before the season resumes its regularly scheduled programming of cold and snowy.

Frustration

I has been a really busy week and I have really been looking forward to a break and some personal time doing the stuff I like to do such as; riding my bike. I made plans to ride this morning. The only thing between me and my bike ride was switching out some tires. My road riding these days is done on a mountain bike because my road frame I have is broken. A problem I intend on fixing later this season with a purchase of a new road frame. However, in the interim I was planning on just riding my slicks on the DEAN, which are currently on my Surly for commuting to work.

I could just ride the UST tires I have on my DEAN, but they are practically new and they are not a cheap tire to replace. I could have ridden my Surly, but the group was doing a road ride and the single speed was not appropriate. So, I opted to take the slicks off my Surly and put them on my DEAN. The swap was going as planned until I noticed the tire bead of my slicks was not sitting properly on my UST rim.

Ten minutes of fighting the bead and I could feel the frustration growing. At that point I walked away for a couple minutes. I came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth stressing about and I would just order some new slicks that will fit on my UST rim, which meant I wasn't going to ride with the group today. A hard pill to swallow as I was looking forward to the ride.

I walked back to the tires and wheels I had pulled apart and started putting things back together as they were. The Surly got the slicks back and the UST tires fit very nicely on my UST rims, once again. However, after an hour of mucking around I was officially right back where I started an hour ago. Very frustrating!

Did I at least learn a lesson? Sure, I did the right thing in walking away when the frustration started to well rather than trying to force the situation to work. And I'm going to start planning a bit better for my riding needs and getting the equipment I need to avoid these situations and the frustration that follows.

Finished

I spent some time this weekend building up a set of wheels for my teammate, Chris. This was my first time lacing WTB hubs to ZTR rims. I was very pleased at how quickly and accurately I was able to dial in the wheels. I'm certain they will ride even better than they look.

Update: I checked in with Chris yesterday and the wheels are treating him well. He has some even better photos of the wheels on his steed (here).

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The world needs ditch diggers too.

Due to the recent wind storms we've had along the Front Range a 20 foot section of fence fell down. I spent the morning and most of the afternoon digging... And digging... And digging some more. While I dug I kept thinking of a line from Caddy Shack when a caddy is speaking to a judge who is playing golf. The caddy explains to the judge about how expensive college is and how he won't be able to afford to attend. The judge looks the caddy in the eyes and says, "The world needs ditch diggers, too."

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Where Christmas Trees Go To Die

I dropped off the Christmas tree at the christmas tree graveyard. This particular drop off is mulched and used by the city.

I use to let it bother me that I would spend 70 bucks on a tree that is pretty for less than a month and then ends up in a place like this. Then I realized I spend that much on a tank of gas and it only get me to work a few times. Or I spend that much on food and we all know where that goes... Flush.

So after putting it in perspective, I consider my tree an annual donation to the city. Plus, from its death it nurtures new life. That is more than I can say about the gas I use every day.

BTW - Happy New Year!

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I'm back in the saddle.

My first day back in the saddle since my botched 24 hours of Moab attempt. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. It felt good to be back on the bike.

Well, three months of over indulgence and twenty pounds heavier, but I'm still weighing in less than this time last year. A couple months of riding and i'll be right back where I was.

I've been keeping busy, but I'm purposely keeping this post short since I'm writing it on my phone. The BlackBerry storm is awesome!

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My latest Project...

My latest project had me building a set of WTB wheels. I've been building on Mavic rims for the most part and I wanted the experience of different rims. WTB laserdisc rims have gotten pretty good reviews so I decided it was time to build a set. I opted to build the lightest front wheel I could make using a
WTB Laserdisc Lite hub in front. I also decided to make it a versatile wheel set which can get some use during the winter by building to a WTB Laserdisc Single Duty rear hub.

Here's the catch, These is a disc specific set of wheels for a single speed. I however, do not have the set up to ride them. As I said, I was looking only for the experience of building a set of WTB wheels.

The lowdown on this wheel set is that the price is right, the weight is pretty good, and the reputations seems to be good. From a builders perspective, this wasn't the easiest set of wheels to build.

I'm guessing it was more difficult to dial in because of the ibeam the WTB rim has down the center of the rim. This makes it a super stiff rim, but doesn't make it easy to make super sensitive adjustments when dialing in the wheels. It took me significantly longer and several more passes through the truing process to dial it in the way I wanted to. I won't hold that against the wheels though. As I said, the price is right on these wheels and now that they are dialed in I'm wishing I was set up to give 'em a test ride. These wheels will be able to take some punishment as every good single speed wheel set should!

Bottom line: These wheels are inexpensive enough to use as training wheels while being durable and light enough to race on.

If you are interested in a set, these are for sale. I'm asking $310 for the set.

Night Tour of Green Mountain

I met up with my teammates on Feedback Sports tonight to do a night ride at Green Mountain. The ride was fast as should be expected given that some of the fastest guys in the state are riding for the team. For me, this was the first real tempo ride I've had in months. My riding style is long and slow, baby. That's how I roll...

Post ride I'm glad to be able to say - with 24 Hours of Moab only a couple weeks away - my form is coming around real good. I was able to keep a good pace on the climbs and was even able to push the pace a bit on the flats and descents.

The best part of tonight's ride is that I pushed the limit a couple times and I felt pretty used up when I got to the finish of the ride, but after only a couple minutes my mind quickly started to say, "Please Sir, may I have some more." Oh yeah, that is a good sign!!!

Executive Summary of tonight's ride follows:

Aerial View:

Track Distance: 15.47 miles
Ascent: 5.84 miles
Descent: 5.82 miles
Flat: 3.80 miles

Elevation Graph

Total Elevation Gain/Loss: +2,380' / -2,405'
Max Elevation: 6,843'
Min Elevation: 5,039'

Epic Ride in Larimer County

Only a week after the epic ride called the Tour de Front Range I again set my sights on another epic day in the saddle. I'd heard of the Blue Sky Trail and how it connects the Devil's Backbone to Lory State Park, but in all the time it has been open I've never made the effort to ride it.

Well, yesterday I decided to make the car trip north and ride it and boy am I glad I did. Not only did I manage to get over 30 miles of dirt riding in, but also nearly five thousand vertical feet of climbing. What a day it was!

I was so excited about yesterday's ride and so tired from it today I took the day off the bike and spent time on the computer documenting it as the October 2008 Trail of the Month on TrailCentral.com. If you want to learn more about the trails I rode I encourage you to read my write-up.

No worries if you don't want to read the details. If you are an executive summary kind of reader then here is the short of what I rode yesterday.

Aerial View:

Trails: Devil's Backbone - Blue Sky Trail - Inlet Bay Trail - Lory State Park - Saw Mill Trail - Mill Creek Trail - Spring Creek Trail - Soderberg Trail - Inlet Bay Trail - Blue Sky Trail - Devil's Backbone.

Track Distance: 30.14 miles
Ascent: 13.28 miles
Descent: 14.00 miles
Flat: 2.86 miles

Elevation Graph

Total Elevation Gain/Loss: +4,766' / -4,691'
Max Elevation: 6,887'
Min Elevation: 5,039'

Matthews/Winters and Green Mountain Combo

Met my buddy Dwight at the C470 parking area at Green Mountain for a little night riding. It was a hell of a night: 1 rattle snake, 1 bat that dive bombed us, 2 spiders the size of my head, 3 birds scaring us by sleeping on the trail and flying away the moment we got close, and countless deer.

Total ride time was 2 hours 10 min.
Trails: Zorro, Red Rocks, Hog Back, Green Mountain (counter-clockwise) x 2 Loops
Track Distance: 18.37 miles
Ascent: 8.72 miles
Descent: 8.34 miles
Flat: 1.31 miles

Total Elevation Gain/Loss: +3,067' / -3,217'
Max Elevation: 6,827'
Min Elevation: 5,963'

Lance Armstrong, You're invited to 24 Hours of Moab!

I know this is a shot in the dark, but do to Lance Armstrong's recent mountain bike racing in Colorado, I felt compelled to ask him to race with me and hundreds of other mountain bikers at the 24 Hours of Moab in October, 2008.

I'm no detective, but what better training than the Leadville 100 and 12 hours of Snowmass to prime the legs for 24 hours of Moab?

Please, if you have connections to Lance, send him my invitation. I'm guessing he isn't one of the handful of people who subscribe to my blog so it is imperative that the few readers who do subscribe use their Facebook network to get this invitation to him.

Invitation follows:

Dear Lance,

It is great you are back on the bike and even greater that it is a mountain bike! I'm loving the attention you are giving to Colorado and would love to extend an offer to race with me and hundreds of other mountain bikers at 24 Hours of Moab.

24 hours of racing should be an item on every riders "to do" list. Even a 7 time Tour de France Champion's.

I know money probably isn't a factor for you, but if the entry fee is holding you back, I'll pay your entry fee. Or better yet, I'll give a check for the equivalent to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. All I ask is that I'm able to give you the check in person at the event. I need at least a photo to share with my mom, who is a cancer survivor and one of your biggest fans...

Hope to see you there, Lance!

*Photo: Lance Armstrong at 12 Hours of Snowmass
Photo Credit: pilfered from my feedback sports teammate

2008 TdFR - Leg Two

Recently I wrote about the first leg of the epic Tour de Front Rage (TdFR), which covers three major trail networks, 21 miles of trail, and 4,375 vertical feet of elevation gain. As I look back at the write up for leg one I can't help but loose my breath just thinking of the challenge.

I wish I could tell you the second leg is easier than the second leg, but that is not the case. In fact, you can expect more of the same and I do emphesize "more of."

After lunch at Matthews/Winters riders once again take to the trail. From here riders will ride through four more major trail networks on their way to the finish, including: Matthews/Winters, Green Mountain, Bear Creek, and Mount Falcon/Lair o' the Bear.

During this leg riders will pedal 34.73 miles. From this total, 14.75 miles are uphill, 17.67 downhill, and only 2.29 miles of flat riding. The good news is there is more downhill than uphill. The bad news is that the uphill will take riders another 4,958 vertical feet into the thin Colorado air. Maybe now you can see why I emphasized "more of" when talking about leg two? Without a doubt there will be more miles and more elevation gain than leg one. Ouch!

For those up to the challenge, the group will swing their leg around their bikes and make their way on Village Walk Trail at Matthews Winters. This section of trail offers a nice warm up after lunch with rolling, smooth single track. Riders then connect to Red Rocks Trail, where they dip into the valley before starting the 3rd major ascent of the TdFR. While ascending, riders take a right onto Morrison Slide Trail. The trail continues upward to the top of the mesa before descending the most technical dowhill of TdFR. Once past the technical descent of Morrison Slide, riders are once again connected to Red Rocks Trail where smooth downhill riding guides them to Highway 26. The highway is crossed and a tough single track ascent up the hogback is required.

From the top of the hogback riders connect with paved road and descend towards Green Mountain. From the western trail head at Green Mountain riders cross over C-470 via the overpass and ride towards a three way intersection. Either the center or right branch can be taken (Don't take the left branch) and the southwest corner of Green Mountain is ridden to the newly constructed water tower. Here is where it gets a bit tricky.

From here we have to weave our way through neighborhood roads on our way to Bear Creek. I leave it to your own descretion on how to get there. Follow any route you like in Bear Creek Lake Park towards the west entrance. From the entrance you are able to pick up the Bear Creek bike path towards Morrison. Follow the bike path to Highway 8 in Morrison and turn left. Follow the paved road up Highway 8, turn right on Forest Avenue, and another right on Vine to the Mount Falcon Trail head.

Once at the Mount Falcon trail head, climb the final major ascent of the TdFR by riding up Castle Trail to the upper parking lot. Having ridden this in the past, I can warn you that this is by far the hardest climb in the TdFR. By this point you will be tired, hungry, and you will likely be climbing it during the hottest part of the day. Be prepared. Castle Trail is a wide ascent that can normally be ridden with an average effort. However, given the circumstances, you will need to dig deep to get over the waterbars, and keep traction on the rocky dirt trail.

Once at the upper parking lot at Mount Falcon, riders will Once at the upper parking lot at Mount Falcon, riders will once again ride paved road down and ride Parmalee Gulch Road to Pence Park/Lair o' the Bear. From here riders will start the final descent of the TdFR.

Known as one of the best parts of the TdFR, Lair o' the Bear (LOB) will treat riders to a much deserved descent, but remember, it isn't all downhill. This twisty-turny single track does have a couple small ascents so save some gas for them. Other than a few slightly technical spots, sit back and let the tires roll, while still being respectful of the other trail users. Chances are you will be pretty whipped by this point so treat the descent with respect and ride within your impaired limit all the way to the creek. Once at the creak, ride the final flat section of trail to the LOB trail head where you connect with Highway 74. Ride Highway 74 to your shuttle in Morrison.

For those who make it this far, Congratulations! You will have accomplished the most difficult route ever ridden as the TdFR and you should be proud!

2008 TdFR - Leg One

Welcome to the first of three reports regarding the 2008 TdFR course. The 2008 TdFR course was announced earlier in the month and I took it upon myself to head out to the course with my GPS so riders could have as much knowledge as possible before the big day arrives on September 20th, 2008.

While looking at the course list there isn't a doubt in my head that this will be the hardest course in the six year history of the event. That being said, I think the trails being used will make you work on the uphill, but will reward each of the riders handsomely on the descents.


Leg one is what I will be focusing on today. It includes White Ranch trails, Chimney Gulch, Lookout, and Apex trails. In all, leg one is 21.27 miles in length with 9.5 miles of ascending, 1.1 miles of flat riding, and 10.67 miles of descent. At the end of this leg riders can expect to have climbed 4,375 ft and descended 4,229 ft.

In years past White Ranch has been a bit of a disappointment for me. It has always been a long arduous climb up Belcher Trail before hitting some nice single track and then descending again on Belcher Trail. That will not be the case this year. After riding this years trails at White Ranch, I can actually say I'm excited for the White Ranch portion of this ride.

From the parking lot riders will slowly make their way through the sandpit and up Belcher, but instead of climbing the wide dirt road, riders will take the first trail split onto Whipple Tree Trail. Whipple Tree Trail treats riders to a nice single track ride as it winds its way into the valley before intersecting with Longhorn Trail. Riders will take a left onto Longhorn, which is where the real climbing starts. Climb your way up Longhorn, take a right onto Shorthorn, then take a left again on Longhorn. Longhorn will provide one more difficult ascent before intersecting with Maverick Trail. Maverick will let the riders regroup a bit as it has a couple small ascents, but for the most part winds it's way parallel to the hillside slope before connecting with Belcher Trail. As you may have gathered earlier, I'm not a fan of Belcher Trail, but the best way in my opinion to ride this trail is to ride it downhill, which is exactly what will be done all the way back to the White Ranch parking lot.

From the White Ranch parking lot, riders will get on paved roads and head towards Chimney Gulch.

At the base of Chimney Gulch you have to get back into climbing mode because this trail takes you all the way to the top of Lookout Mountain. The most difficult portion of the climb is the initial climb out of the valley, which is only about a mile in length. Once past the switchbacks the slope of the trail decreases and you are able to spin with realative ease towards the top. Midway up the climb riders need to cross the road and pass through a parking lot before reconnecting with the trail. If the climb has started to wear on you a bit, feel free to take a breather on benches near the parking lot before tackling the second half of the climb. Although the trail is not overly technical, the long climb can make the last effort needed to summit Lookout Mountain a bit difficult.

Once at the top of Lookout there is a visitors center. Bathrooms and water is available for those who need it. Once rested and watered, riders will hop onto Lookout Trail, which will terminate at the top of the Apex Trail.


In years past, Apex Trail has been a straight shot down the mountain to the Heritage Square parking lot. That is not the case this year. In fact, Apex Trail proper will only be ridden a short distance with additional spurs from the trail adding distance and difficulty to this once easy section of the route.

From the top of Apex Trail, riders will ride to the intersection of Apex and Enchanted Forest. Riders will take a right onto Enchanted forest where they can enjoy this challenging section of trail before reconnecting with Apex. A right onto Apex trail again will lead riders downhill until they reach Sluicebox Trail. Riders will need to take a left onto Sluicebox and prepare themselves for the final climb before the lunch break at Matthews/Winters. Sluicebox Trail winds its way up the mountain before connecting with Grubstake Loop Trail. Once on Grubstake Loop, riders will be treated to a non-technical, but extremely gratifying descent towards Apex Trail. Riders will follow Grubstake Loop until reaching the Pick 'n Sledge intersection where they will take a left. Pick 'n Sledge then reconnects with Apex Trail and riders will continue to the Herritage Square Parking lot.

From Herritage Square it back onto the road as riders head towards Matthews/Winters. There riders will have a chance to refuel, before hitting the trail once again to finish the ride.

So... What do you have to look forward to once you are at Matthews/Winters? That is easy, Two more beyond category climbs, and one incredible descent. I'll post more about that in the weeks to come.

Longs Rides In My Future...

I have two (possibly three) big endurance rides coming up in the next couple months, which I badly need to prepare for. First on the list is the 2008 Tour de Front Range, which if you squint slightly while looking at the elevation graph above, you should be able to see the first two major climbs of the TdFR in there. I've been riding the single speed exclusively this summer and I'm pretty excited to say I'll be riding it for the TdFR. If I finish, I'll be the second person in TdFR history to finish it on a single speed. The first and only single speed finisher to date is Chris.

The second is 24 Hours of Moab. I'll be part of a two man team this year with my good friend, Dwight. I couldn't ask for a better person on a bike to ride a duo with. Since grade school we have always been able to push each other to the limits on our bikes. I think we'll make each other ride to and beyond our limits at Moab.

The third possibility is the 12 Hours of Snowmass. My 24 Hour of Moab teammate from last year sent me an email about the race yesterday. I was stoked to see it and thought it could be a good prep ride for both the TdFR and 24 Hours of Moab. However, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it since it is such short notice. However, the Solo Clydesdale Category is coined as the 12 Hour Solo Clydesdale World Championships!!! I mean, how can I resist that?

2008 TdFR: Date and Route

RIDE DATE:
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008

THE ROUTE:
ESTIMATED DISTANCE -- 59.35 miles

WHITE RANCH -- meet at 8:30 a.m., wheels rolling at 8:45 -- Belcher, R
on Whipple Tree, L on Longhorn (new, challenging climb), R on
Shorthorn, L on Longhorn, L on Maverick, L on Belcher and back down
(8.65 miles).

ROAD -- Ride Highway 93 to Chimney Gulch (4.1 miles)

CHIMNEY GULCH -- usual route up Chimney to Apex (4.6 miles)

APEX -- Enchanted Forest, RIGHT Apex Trail, (NEW ADDITION STARTS HERE)
L Sluicebox, Grubstake Loop, LPick 'n' Sledge, L Apex Trail (5.8)

ROAD -- Colfax Avenue to Matthews Winters Parking Lot (2 miles)

LUNCH @ Matthews Winters Picnic Area

MW -- Village Walk, L Red Rocks Trail, R Morrison Slide Trail, R Red
Rocks Trail, X Highway 26, continue on Red Rocks Trail over hogback to
Alameda Pkwy (4.3)

ROAD -- R Alameda Pkwy, L Rooney Road to Green Mtn Parking Lot (1.5
miles)

GREEN MOUNTAIN -- Take trail over C-470, STRAIGHT at the 3-way
junction and follow usual route until you hit the 4-way trail
intersection near the water tower (do you know which one I mean?), L
on gravel road to Alameda. (NOT SURE ON MILEAGE -- 2.5 - 3 miles?)

ROAD -- I'm not sure if you dump out on Alameda or Bear Creek, but we
want to take Bear Creek Road south to Morrison Road, cross Morrison
Road and enter Bear Creek Lake Park. (1.7 miles)

BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK -- Follow any trail you like west toward
Morrison, eventually picking up the bike path near Bear Creek Lake
entrance station. (2 miles???)

ROAD/BIKE PATH -- Follow the Bear Creek bike path to Highway 8 in
Morrsion, turn Left. Turn Right on Forest Ave, Right on Vine to Mount
Falcon Trail Head. (2.5 miles)

MOUNT FALCON -- Climb Castle Trail to upper parking lot (3.8 miles)

ROAD -- Ride Mt. Falcon Road to Parmalee Gulch Road, turn RIGHT and
ride to Pence Park/beginning of LOB trail (3 miles)

Pence Park/LOB -- Standard route (8 miles)

ROAD -- Descend Hwy 74 to Morrison (4.4 miles)

END -- Dirt Parking lot at Morrison Road and Rooney Road

BIG ASS DISCLAIMER:
This is not an official event, and you can choose to do all of it or
parts of it. The course is not marked, there are no course marshals,
and there is zero, nada, zip support. You are on your own and will be
riding AT YOUR OWN RISK. The only thing we do is decide the route and
pick a start time. The rest is up to you and requires your own
planning.

AND FOR THE RECORD:
1) The Tour de Front Range is scheduled for September 20th at 8:45 AM
and will be starting from the lower White Ranch parking lot.

2) This will be a point-to-point ride so arrange a shuttle with a
friend or expect an additional 5+ miles to be added to your ride since
you will need to ride from Morrison back to your car at White Ranch.

3) All trail rules and etiquette are to be strictly followed during
this ride. If you are looking to ride it as a race and not as a
social ride, then stay home! Please be embassadors for our riding
community during this ride and prove that mountain bikers respect and
belong on the trail.

Crocs-Hating Closet: I'm Coming Out!

If you have spent any time with me talking about fashion, and lets face it, non of my guy friends have, you would know my deep hatred for the eyesore of a shoe called Crocs. Up to this point the only person who knew of my hatred for the shoe is my wife. Today she sent me a link to an article titled "Make. It. Stop." written by Steve Tuttle at Newsweek.

Reading Steve's rant about Crocs was pure joy. It rang so true to my soul that I was willing to come out of my Crocs-hating closet and tell the world,"Although I have little to no fashion sense, I still have enough sense to never wear Crocs!"

In the article Steve Tuttle sums it up wonderfully with the following quote:
"If you think about it, the Crocs company should really be admired. P. T. Barnum would be proud. They've managed to separate money from the wallets of millions and millions of seemingly sane people who wake up, look in the closet, and actually decide: 'Today I'll leave the house wearing these neon-green Dutch bubble shoes with Swiss-cheese holes in them. Maybe I'll even buy some little plastic strawberries or bananas and jam them in the sweat holes, just to jazz things up and make the bacteria incubate faster.' That's fine. I say do whatever you want in the privacy of your own home. Let your Crocs freak flag fly. But don't make the rest of us watch."

So having read the article my advice to you is:

1) If you hate Crocs as much as I do, read the article. It is like Steve read your mind and wrote it down for you.

2) If you love Crocs, but owned stock and now have a reason to hate Crocs since their stock value tanked, you should read the article. It won't help, but it will make you laugh at yourself.

3) If you love Crocs, didn't own stock, and have been lucky enough to not yet get your Croc shoe stuck in an escalator, you should read this article. You'll come around eventually...

You can read the article at Newsweek.com
http://www.newsweek.com/id/150240/&GT1=43002

How many local pros can you name?

Can you name 5 racers who have raced in the semi-pro/pro pack in 2008? You can!? Well, then can you name 102? I can... Of course, I don't know all these people, but using the mashup I created for the VCC I've been able to learn all sorts of neat information.

For instance:

Bob Kiva is currently the oldest known competitor in the pack at 45 years of age?

-and-

Bruce Patten is the youngest known competitor at 17 years of age?

-and-

The median age of all semi-pro/pro competitors who have raced in the WP series is 32 years of age.

Are you interested in learning more about our local pros? I've created a web page listing all the pros who have raced in Colorado during the 2008 series.

VCC Start List (click here)

The Power of Nice

"The Power of Nice" by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval was the first in my recent spree of business topic books. I originally picked it up because I had been reading some pretty heavy books and I needed a light (quick) book to read - to cleans the pallet - before diving into other heavier books on my "I want to read" list. This book was sitting on my wife's nightstand and the cover alone - a bright yellow cover with a big smile on it resembling a happy face - made me think this would be the the quick, light read I needed.

While reading this book I found it to be in tune with the current culture of business. Coined as a book about "How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness.", it goes against the grain of thinking that business is a heartless cut-throat environment where decisions are based purely on the bottom line. Merit and integrity are now, more than ever, getting their fair shake in the business world. This book outlines the values of kindness and dives into case studies that supported the idea that kindness will get you further in the business world.

That being said, I feel many of the values of kindness shouldn't need to be written in a book. Personally, a book that tells you how to be nice is much like a book that tells you, "The sky is blue" and "fire is hot" it goes without saying. The reason it goes without saying is because it is a fundamental of life (a.k.a common sense).

When I finished reading I told her exactly that, I felt the book was about common sense. She looked at me as if I should know better and sarcastically said, "Yes, but how often do common sense and business work together?" She was being sarcastic, but it is a legitimate argument.

The principles outlined in the "Power of Nice" are not new, nor ground breaking; they are fundamentals. As a child, how often did your parents tell you to be nice, play fair, be gentle with the family pet? I don't know about you, but it was at least a hundred times... per day. Thanks to my parents I've been learning how to be nice since I was learning how to walk. Being nice is a cornerstone of my foundation because my parents realized that it is a fundamental of life.

As an adult how much experience do you have at your career? 5, 10, 20 years? Now, how long have you been being nice to people? I'm guessing at least 18 years longer than your career experience. That is a lot of experience at being nice! Wouldn't that be an incredible skill set to bring into your current job?

For those who are willing to embrace this way of thinking about business it is empowering. Empowering not only in the business world, but in all areas of life because if you practice being nice at work, you are in essence practicing a fundamental of life for at least eight hours a day. This does have it's rewards.

As Randy Pausch wrote in The Last Lecture, "You've got to get the fundamentals down, because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work."

In the case of work, the "fancy stuff" could be the innovation, engineering, or promotions waiting to happen. In the case of personal life, the "fancy stuff" could be a thriving relationship, quality time with your kids, or whatever you want to accomplish. In any case, this book helped remind me of my own definitions of the "Power of Nice" and by relying on my fundamental value of kindness, I'm able to succeed at both work and life.

What I've Been Reading... (Catch Up Post)

I've been on a bit of a reading spree lately and I haven't taken the time to catalog what I've been reading in my blog. The latest topic of interest has been business. Like it or not I've reached a point in my career where I need these books to open my mind to new ways of thinking. What I'm trying to say is that I'm reading books that will teach me new tricks before this dog is too old (or stubborn) to learn new tricks.

Rather than trying to create a big blog post that encompasses all the books I've read; I'll have a post for each of them. That way, if I get bored or tired, I can stop and pick it up later and not have any unfinished projects left on my plate.

In my following posts I'll be writing about:
The Power of Nice
The One Minute Manager
The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey
The Leadership Pipeline