miXXedBliss

ski day One for the 2007-2008 season.

the pony is at rest, hiding amongst the stallions keeping warm against the wall in the living room. she is at rest. waiting.

meanwhile, the seasons cross. it's like cross dressing... the back 1/2 of my subaru: mtbShoes, teleboots, trail/running shoes, work shoes. ski helmet. camel back. ski skins and pack. and believe it or not, front MtbWheel in there as well. Note, also, the stack of mtbSocks, the chain brush and greasy rags. its a mixxed up chaotic mess. and it's freaking lovely.

day one at a-basin. crowded, white-ribbon-of-death, boys slamming beers in the lift line (terrifying). but it was a blissful day. the sun was high and hot. i was out at altitude today in a fleece jersey, spring gloves and sunglasses. who would have guessed after awaking to a foggy, wet mess in Evergreen.

tele skiing is my other ... bliss. TeleBliss. i've been on my skis since the age of 5, and on the tele boards since my 21st birthday (14 years ago, oh-my-gawd). today was like meditation in action... making turns habitual style; feeling the pulse and groove of solo-turns, soft early-season snow, breathing love and trust in every motion ... waiting calm in the lift line.

i must admit that tele skiing came before mtbAddiction for me. i know skiing in my bones and in my blood and in my spirit. it's always a safe haven of zen. i've always said that i was lucky that my two passions in life didn't share the same seasons! and likely for good reason....

the body is broken. my energy is spent and i'm on the hunt for solid healing. i'm hoping that by skiing, uphill and down, i can re-gain the expected and usual energy levels ... the power and pitch that usually accompanies my madness.... what better place than to re-find the innate mojo than the place i've been finding it since ... forever ago.

i am 32 flavors and then some

20 miles
2 hours
2000' v
2 ani cd's

all that fall-ridin' while (and i do mean every last second of those two hours), i had the "little boxes" song rolling and rolling, round and round, pointedly making it's way through my head. (little boxes, little boxes, little boxes made of ticky tacky.......) argh. you really do need to listen to the song to get the full insanity of 2 solid hours of it....

i've been reading everyones posts about their respective season finale -- the closing of a big year of big races, big rides, and big, satisfying exhaustion. what a year it's been for everyone!!!! i think i find adam's poetic, deep re-caps, and dave harris' well explored ruminations ... not to mention dave c's mind-blowingly succinct and wide stories to be ... just so damn enlightened... and lucky.

i definitely feel like this 'mountain biking season' is coming to a 'close.' but by 'close' i mean that it's about to start all over again. knowing ed, we'll be on the trail all winter long....... exploring the deeply wooded roads via snow pack and and warm gloves ;-)

but i have to say ... i'm tired. i'm wrong tired. i'm tired like i've never been tired before ... and while this sounds like the typical 'end of the season' tiredness...... it so completely isn't. i wish i was in the midst of that big, satisfying exhaustion of a mtb season well spent and hammered on (not that i didn't ride like a crazy-woman this spring-summer-fall). this tiredness has hung with me for months (like a year and a half -- since the middle of xc race season last summer) ... too many months. i have no tangible explanation (food? fatigue? me? head? body? whatwhatwhat??!!?), and everything i've tried seems to make it worse. i can't tell if it's rest time (like go grab the tele skis and running shoes and just hide the bike from myself for a good two/three months... or rest like do nothing), or if there is something else wrong. perhaps another visit to the dr. i just don't know.

so outside of feeling slower than i ever have in my entire life, todays ride was insanely gorgeous: AirBliss. LightBliss. ColorBliss. SunBliss. I even added a little PonyBliss by changing out the stem ... the new bike position: i love. ticky-tacky/little houses insanity song aside, it was truly a roll through the beauty of our world in this universe. the light was spectacular.

so, ed and i had started/stopped at the same point again... only this time i cut my ride a good 2 hours short. i'm that tired. and i hung out in the shade and breeze .... listening to music.

i worked my way through 2 ani difranco cd's, and burned that freaking little ticky-tacky song out of my head. now i have her 32 flavors lyrics finding their way through my everything. i wish there was a way to post the actual music....

tomorrow i get to venture to summit to see veronica and her darling little baby, wyatt!!! a year ago veronica and i were riding our bikes through cb (where she lives) laughing at ourselves and our lives, wondering if a.) either of us would ever get married, and b.) if we would ever have children. one year later: wyatt. GO VERONICA! she manifested her dreams. and i'm very excited for her.

i'm bringing the skis so i can make turns at the basin on the way home. it will be the silly white-ribbon-of-death sort of experience (early season conditions = one run), but it will be very worth while.... i can't wait to wear a hat!

perhaps i'll put on more ani for the trip up and down the mtn....

tired,
jj

feSSt

even though i no longer ride a singlespeed, i ventured out to join the beanfeSSt nutcases for a day of solidly dirty, wet fun.

these are the crazy people:

they were kind enough to let me ride with them ... with all my gears. and it's a good thing that i have all those gears, because today found me about as ridiculously tired and fatigued as i have been all summer... and fall. oh-well. it was fun to be outside and playing in the S N O W!!!!

i think we logged around 16 miles and about 2350' climbing. doesn't really matter: it was cold ... wet cold! my legs were so cold going up the last hill that they sincerely weren't working. like ... not at ALL. they were numb and un-responsive. i was wondering if they were even really there at all.

here is a picture snapped (thanks again, ed) just before i so elegantly ran into a tree:

the funny thing about this shot, is that i had no idea ed was hiding in the trees (again), and i had many, many things to say (out loud and vehemently) to myself about running into the very beautiful tree.

one thing is absolutely clear to me: our friends are hilarious, and i enjoy their wit and humor to no end.

thanks paul for the excellent get together!! let's do it again next year, and let's make sure it snows again... for the 5th year in a row.

Jj

unforseen

if you are unaware,
accidental bliss ...
can happen like this:

ran errands and made decisions all morning
lounged decadently with a cuppa chai
chatted, deeply, with a good friend
faint nap, and many hours of random chores, laundry.

all morning, the clouds looming low, saturating the air with promises; even the light: moist; chills tickling the skin; motivation to venture into the nip hiding behind the desire to cozy-up in fleece.......

until that moment, in an instant: the thunder!

in that moment, helpless against the rambunctious inspiration: the decision to don the knee warmers, the wool; intending only a brief spin through the crisp afternoon.

winding the long way around town
sitting for 7 minutes with the bull
finding 10 miles to be the sweet spot
finally contacting that first sweet dirt
heavy clouds, rolling deeply and cracking: sonorous
rain, spitting tiny hail, chill
the shadowy path illuminated:
golden treasures leading the way
through the forest
fast and furious
and absolutely On



Jj

friday night

friday afternoon! ohgoodness, so much for work ;-)


18 miles of a friday night date ride! only this time, we had company, and we latched onto ice's friday afternoon ride. four of us showed up in the early afternoon to delight in what remained of the warmer fall weather and sunlight. the parks were sweetly empty and we had our way with the single track! ed and ben chased and raced while dave and i enjoyed a solidly pleasant conversation up the hills (thanks dave).... dave has magic powers going down hill, so i never saw him after cresting any of the hills.

thank you, dave, for the quick post-ride recovery drink ;-)

(i'll do all that work... over the weekend)

in other news: i've decided to move. yes, i'm leaving the castle that is my current home down town and have chosen to land in Golden, with my dear friend Hillary.

i'm so excited i'm having a difficult time sitting still!

everyone: get out and enjoy the snow storm. we're hoping to have a frolicking-ly good time in the snow at the beanfeSSt on Sunday! see you there?!?!?!?

jeny jo

speeding

Sometimes...

I get so excited about life, my friends, the things we love to do, and the magical moments created there within...

that I start to move just a little fast. Speeding ticket on the way home from our Santa Fe excursion was the physical manifestation of my internal state: pedal to the floor, flying.

I wish I could say as much for my riding! But alas, I'm tired, beyond any experience of tired I've had before. But that didn't stop us from riding our brains out and having some of the best 3 days ever.

Friday I snuk out of work (completely), and went for a quickie solo ride out of Evergreen. A quick 11 mile, sub-one hour ride, and I felt satisfied at not being at my desk, and out in the larger world of experience.

We jumped in the car and left Evergreen by 1230pm, and casually made our way down to Santa Fe, by way of the Hub of Salida (Absolute Bikes), of course. Had to see Tom, pick up Ed's shoes, and soak in even a brief moment of our friends. I have to say that Ed was bouncing off the walls in a manner I had not yet known. I expected it to last maybe a few hours..... but no: it lasted all weekend, and together we generated more UP energy than I could have ever imagined. Thanks darling.

We arrived in Santa Fe, after chasing storms all the way down hwy 285. To the left of the highway it was black, to the right of the highway -- off towards Del Norte way over beyond the vast and golden prairie land, along the ridge of pine and aspen -- the sun was piercing through the thick, chaotic clouds, blasting down onto the honey colored grass, illuminating the patches of aspens amid the dark pine hills.

The road veered left, tho ... into the darkness and we made our way through the storm.

If you ever get the chance to drive down hwy 285 past Alamosa, past Antonito, past Tres Piedras, and down the caynon into the Espanola area... I highly recommend taking that opportunity. It's gorgeous down there -- especially in the setting sun, after a solid storm. There looks to be a ton of magnificent riding back in them hills!!!

Arriving at Jen and Aarons house found us wasted tired and still bouncing off the walls. I was so deeply excited for Ed to meet Jen and Aaron, and I was flying at a thousand miles an hour in giddiness.... Jen made an absolutely outstandingly delicious dinner and we drank wine and martinis and laughed our asses off late into the night!

Jen and Aaron had a plan for Saturday: back up to Taos, hit the Elliot Barker trail, hook up w/ the South Boundary trail and some other new variation................. it started off brilliantly, and we spent hours and hours and hours in the aspens and cool, fall air... mostly lost! But damn it was fun. We still managed a solid 30 miles and 4000K vert of saddle time. Well, saddle time and hiking time.

Saturday night, back in Santa Fe, I had the awesome opportunity to make another connection: introducing Glen and Jen and Aaron.... Glen has lived in SF for over 8 years now, and has recently become a father!! Jen and Aaron have been in SF for just around 2 years. Glen ended up riding with us on Sunday, showing Jen and Aaron new trails and generally orienting them to yet another degree to the outrageously awesome place they live.

We spent Sunday morning relaxing in grand style over the best omelets ever. It was The Breakfast of Unmeasured Delight. What a great way to start a day!!!

Breakfast was this good:

Jen and Aarons extremely beautiful home:

Sunday Glen took us on a tour from Jen and Aarons house .... all over the place!! We logged 30+/- miles, 5000K. I believe that Aaron snuk in more climbing. The first trails out of the house were playful and twisty, teasing us up the hill! I was chasing 3 men. That hurt. I was tired, and felt, of course, like keeping up. But alas......... I let them all go. We hit another trail head, climbed up some wickedly fun single track, and topped out on a beautiful ridge, littered with choices!

Glen and Jeny climbing:

We spent the entire day in a state of MtbBbliss. All of us. In my head, it was as if we'd all been the closest of friends since the beginning of time; all of us out there, chasing one another, chasing ourselves, laughing and riding and careening through a most magnificent explosion of Fall. THANK YOU, Ed - Jen - Aaron - Glen!!!!

And thank you, Jen and Aaron for being my best pals, and for hosting such a magical weekend.

And thank you, Glen, for being you, showing up, and telling us all exactly wassUP!

And Ed, thank you for everything, and then some;-)

The end of the ride led Ed and I straight into the car and blasting off back towards Denver and Evergreen.... The heightened state of bliss and exhaustion led us straight into the speeding ticket... well, I got the ticket.

I've spent the rest of the week recovering!!!

(I tried to keep it short and concise... I know....)

(Jen, your portfolio turned out so beautiful!)

(All beautiful pictures here are courtsey of Ed, of course!)

(Aaron, I need a link to the awesome work you do!)

(You can find Glen on mtbr.com... glenzx)

Jj