Day 11!

What a wonderful day!

Nice, late sleep in.
Nice, late breakfast with Mom in Boulder.
A matineeeee at the big theater.
Cookies and Tea and a 15-minute nap.
And then... a little VELODROME action!!!!!!


pic courtesy of CYN!


Thank you mom and cyn for a wonderful day!

jj

Day 10!

Today...

Today was a Nap Day!

Below you will find random pix of the weekend in Aspen with our gracious and wonderful hosts, Eben, Jean, SkyBunny Captain of the Universe and Milo.

Thank you Jean and Eben!



jj

Days 8 and 9!!

Yesterday, day 8 ----- I think we went for a walllllkkkkk with the puppies.... We Went up to Ashcroft for a little recon.... We ate and drank and smiled a LOT.

Today, day 9 ----- Up in the morning ... a little indecision as to the what/when/where for the day, then OUT THE DOOR, blazing back up to Ashcroft. Jean and Eb were on the super-speedy nordic gear. Ed and I took our time on our full back-country gear ... and up we went.



However ... as we all know (and if 'we' don't, 'we' should), Avalanche conditions are high. Ed and I turned around early, and decided to work on a little transceiver practice in the basin. Jean and Eb continued up the skin path, dug a snow pit ... and confirmed the questionable nature of those early, deep layers (can we say S U G A R?).


ahhhh.... feeling right at home ;-)



2 of at least 10 slide paths from the last 2 days.


jj

days 5, 6 and 7!!

Slacker Poster, Jeny!

Day 5: spent the day casually breezing around Boulder with my mama... and enjoyed a LOVELY Christmas Eve present-session with my darling partner, Ed, in front of the Christmas tree. Dreamy.

Day 6, Christmas Day: We awoke to not-so-stellar snow reports. So, we stayed home and indulged in succulent coffee, breakfast, and more present sessions ;-) We then loaded the buggy and hauled our spoiled little selves to Aspen to visit Jean and Eben, and hopefully align ourselves with another 17+ inches of the BigWhiteFluffyStuff ;-). We spent a lovely night in a snow-pounded Glenwood Springs. We enjoyed a delightful and romantic Christmas dinner at a sweet little French restaurant in Glenwood.

From 12.26.2008

Day 7, today: Aspen Highlands reported 17 inches. By the time we got there (after meeting Jean and Eb at their place, and eating brekki, and bouncing off the walls), I think all those 17 inches were tracked out and gone by the time we got there.... Such a bummer.... BUT, we had a BLAST!

Photo credit to Ed, of course:-)

Now: Wine. Fire. Dogs. Jean. Eben. Sweetness and love all around.

Tomorrow: some pre-day skinning. Then, some major hiking in the Highlands bowl. One goal: complete and utter exhaustion. Period.

;-)


Jj

vacation day #4!!

Oh Holy WinterBliss!

Never, never in my life have I experienced this much SnowBliss, in quite this way:


Glory Be to the Snow Angles spreading blankets of WhiteFluffy all over our playground.

In this current moment, after all that WhiteWinterBliss, it is far easier to get into a tele-turn than it is to walk down even 2 steps in a stair case.

All is well in Vacation land. WhiteBliss has turned into ComaBliss. Thank you EdE and thank you PAPA for a wonderful day out playing like MAD in our crazy-little universe.

PS: Ed will post more pix soon

Jj
(frank, how's "killy" treatin' ya!?!?! ;-)

day #3!

OUUUCCHHHH.... I cannot walk. Tele-love (tele-skiing) is too much fun, and I am paying dearly for not primping (training) properly for it. One would think that MTB fitness would translate. But it really, truly doesn't. It's too bad ;-)

And, today is Ed's BIRTHDAY! Tonka loves Eds birthday because he gets to crawl into EVERY gift box to see which one fits the best. And which one fits my enormous kitty the best? The smallest box, of course!

And, we are prepping for what we hope to be a really, really, BigSoft day on the slopes tomorrow! Yea!!!

Jj

2nd day!

Ohmygoodness.

I'm so flippin' tired it's really not even funny!

Wonderful day in Vail. Juuuuussstttt spectacular.

jj

day #1!

Day One, and what did I do today?

So I completely woke up today with all the right energy, and the completely right attitude and motivation towards my 16 days of vacation. So, straight out of the luscious, sleepy basket, I completely prepped and made Beef Bourguignonne (made = prepped and in the pot for the next 9 hours). And, in the process, I whipped up some killer Portabello and Parmesan omelets. Gotta start vacation off right, right? Riiiiiigggghhht.

Then. Then I was required, by Universal Law, to listen to my inner yearnings (screamings), and go get a Christmas Tree. Yes. I did this. And you know what, Ed was a complete sweetheart about it. He placated my every Christmas Tree Whim, and we ended up with a beautiful, beautiful (if not slightly lop-sided) Christmas Tree. I didn't even know how badly I wanted one until I found myself literally BOUNDING off the ground with the energy of the whole ordeal. Goodness ... yes, lots and lots of goodness!!! Poor Ed. He maintained calm and stability the entire time. I am so impressed.

Behold, Christmas Tree #1 for Ed and Jeny (for Christmas #2;-):

This is the top 10th of our tree. Click the picture for more complete, and more detail photos ;-)

Then. Then it was nap time. Tonka did not disagree. Ed has, apparently, post pix of that.

THEN........ I was required, by Universal Law, to listen to my inner yearnings (flat-out-beltings), and HAD to go ride in my bike in the bitter-sweet cold.


While it was likely a balmy 20 degrees F outside (freezing windchill not included), I was still reluctant to leave the house without bundling up to an almost in-movable state;-) And, I was required, by Universal Law, to NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT MY CHRISTMAS BELL ON THE PONY! Yes, that was so, so sweet.

I must say that I did not ride a very long distance, and I did complete some christmas shopping along the way, but sheesh, all of the billions of hills I had to climb to get home had me in my little ring, spinning away in some desperately slow and depleted day. I really felt pathetic. But, more-so, I fell SO damn glad that I got out on the pony today.

And, I must admit this: the apex of my ride found me at the BAKERY (duuuhhh). And what did I find at the bakery today? I found UNICORN COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!! (ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmygod.)



Uhm... what happened after the bakery? I'm trying to remember...

OHYEAH!! I rode home. Uphill the whole way. S L O W L Y. I find this totally amusing.

Then home to my beautiful man, my beautiful Christmas Tree, our slightly-freaky Kitty... and FOOD. I think I made the best Mashers I've ever made! Yehaw!!!


The view from home sweet home.

And now, over many glasses of wine, I am prepped and stoked for tomorrows big adventure to Vail to ski some of the super-sweet white stuff.

That's it for day one ;-) As far as I know.

Jj

bbbrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Nice early-ish start today!!!

-1 to start, made it to 11,750'!

It was only warm enough going up hill. Going downhill ... I froze.

BURRR! I'm really, truly trying to get 'winterized'.

(click for more pix)


jj

BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG DAY!

FIRST BIG!!
Ed has been PUBLISHED, in Mountain Flyer Magazine (you have to go buy it) page 52/53 he has a 2 page image spread, and page 54 has a huge pic of one of his best pix ever ... and, he's made it into the Editors Notes on page 10!!! YEAH FOR ED!!! This is HUGE!!! I'm so proud of you!



SECOND and THIRD BIG!!!
MICHELLE WWWWWOOONNNNN!!! (JeffCo vs. mountain bikers in court in regard to tickets issued earlier this year!!!) So this is A.) Huge for her, B.) Huge for AJ and their riding crew and C.) HUGE FOR THE MTB COMMUNITY here in the Front Range. This one counts for at least 2 BIGS!

FOURTH BIG!!!!
I survived a rather traumatic and deep 2nd round of cuts at the work place today. Holy cow, I've never been through anything quite like that before. My heart goes out to my colleagues ... the ones who didn't make it through the day... I sincerely don't know what or how we're going to do with out you. I'm absolutely spinning -- and rather dumbfounded.

FIFTH BIG!!!!!
GotDirt is now advertising in Mountain Flyer --that is Big (CottonQuips.com) ... and guess what HOT model he's got in the ad... Michelle.. yup, uuuuu-hhuh! Weeee!!! Go see page 12!

Let's see..... other things happened today, too... Tonka attacked me with venom; we had VISITORS -- can you believe that?! That was fun. Oh -- drove home in a raging snow storm ... roll-overs and all.

Big day. BigBig day.

Jj

hiking bliss (pony-break!!!)

hiking, in my favorite place today -- back to the car after sunset -- again.

i'm lovin' this life. really.


more twirlies
walking around and within
the intimate close ups, and the wide-open horizion
our familiar and vast back yard
thank you, darling
for every step

jj

tag-oh-ramma!

OK, GooneyBliss -- you tagged me, and so here we go:

6 random things you likely don't know about me:

1.) When I was pretty young, I wanted to be a fashion designer (HA!). When I was very, very young, I wanted to be a race-car driver.

2.) I spent my first year of college out at Mesa State in Grand Junction, CO. My passions at that time were skiing and trail running (exclusively). One day a good friend somehow convinced me to take my TREKsomethinghundred out for "a mountain bike ride". I thought this was absolutely ridiculous -- who would want to haul an extra 25+ lbs of anything along those super sweet trails (now the 'lunch loop' trails). We got out there and started riding. Within 10 minutes I ditched the bike on the side of the trail (literally) and ran instead. It would be 1 year before I ever bothered trying to "go mountain biking" again. That was 15 years ago.

3.) I used to spend my winters ice-climbing ... until I realized that A.) I truly am deeply afraid of heights and B.) I truly do hate standing around belaying when it's flippin' cold outside. I remember being at the base of a lovely little fall up on Longs Peak thinking, "It would be much warmer and far more fun if I were generating some BODY HEAT ... like when I am tele-skiing .... yeah, tele-skiing". That was my last ice-climbing adventure. I gave my axes, helmet and crampons to my little sister.

4.) I had no hair on my head until I was 3 years old. My mother used to tape bows on my head so people would know I was a girl.

5.) I've been to Burning Man 3x: once for fun, once by accident, and once to officiate my dear friends' wedding (I am 'a Reverend').

6.) I think I might be the laziest person I know ;-)

I'm now tagging: CynnyBun, MyssM, RockStarKim, and CalGone ;-DJj

starling!

thank you for every moment of our lovely long weekend of riding, hiking, hiking, skiing, and culinary creativity and magnificence!



jj

Tick-Off Lists (or: More Pix of ROCKS)

The deeper, more complicated side of my day today would include discussions and ramblings on what it feels like to have a TechnicalMtbGoal, and to tick it off 'your list', (and there meaning therein) (the Deeper Meaning Part) (if there is such a thing))). The not-so-deep side of that experience of today only really includes pictures, and fleeting descriptions of what it feels like to have adrenaline pulsing like MAD in every single cell of the body.

I don't really know which one to indulge in here and now ;-) Truly, either conveyance of the experience only really includes a lot of manic-body-shaking ... which I don't feel currently capable of explaining.

So, what you're going to get is more pix of riding rocks -- more pix of my MyssM riding rocks ... because I can't take pix of myself winning-over my goals, and I don't have Ede's pix yet to show what it looks like from the outside.

I have a lot to say about today!!! Just not sure what it is yet --- but the pix excite me, so I feel like sharing before the words and internal expressions come to me full swing....

Is that Normal, or OK? Does it matter?

Clicky the picky for a full-meal-deal of a few Jj shots, and a lot of M shots:

pic courtesy of ede -- whom i had to seduce and charm to get the 2 pix i have in this collection.

just a few MORE PIX (from EDE), click HERE!!

I can say this: I'm VERY excited for MyssM today -- she not only ticked some major things off her list, but she added new ones and then ticked those off immediately thereafter. How is THAT for a Pre-Turkey-Burn!!!

jj

More pix from the weekend!

The real story behind going to Moab this weekend is that it was/is Megan's 30th b-day extravaganza. She had rock-stars from the Front Range (Boulder, Denver, Evergreen, Golden), Durango, Salt Lake, and Other Places. Megan is one of those deeply GOOD spirits, and as such, has a rich following of friends. I showed up mid-extravaganza on Friday evening (pix in my previous post). There had to be at least 15 people at dinner on Friday night. All I can say about that is that we ALL owe Skylere a huge thanks ;-)

Saturdays ride (pix also display in my previous post) found us just playing and hootin' on the rocks of Amassa back. Fun day on all accounts. Saturday night, the party increased to at least 25, and man, what a dinner it was ;-)

Sunday's ride (clix for pix below) found us basking in pure joy on Sovereign. (Theme for the weekend had to have been ROCKS, whether anyone admitted it or not). What a great ride!!! It was truly spectacular to have such a huge crew (at least 15?) move so well together! What a treat! I didn't get too many pix, because, well, it just didn't fit the day. Sorry! But alas, we all had fun, and truly, that is all that counts.

Sunday:


The goal for the weekend was complete and utter celebration of Megan and all her glory -- manifesting in the time, manner and place of so, so, SO many awesome individuals, such incredible light and space and synchronicity!

Thanks, Megan, for YOU!

Happy Birthday!

Jj

feelin' groovy

Feeling lucky-lucky-lucky, and ever so grateful.

Clix for pix:

From 11.22.08

So much for the winter/ski focus plan....

;-)

JJ

conflicted and determined

I'm trying. I really am. I know it's in me, somewhere ... my Winter Spirit, my Tele Spirit, my Snow Spirit. HHHhhheeelllllllooooooo?????? It's kinda echo-y in my universe when I call to it.

As you all know, I've been very, very present playing with this kind of warm, Fiery Spirit:

Note the shorts and the short sleeves ... the really faintly lingering summer glow ... the lack of snow and therefore lack of bitterness in the air. Note all that. Note, also, the lack of tele-quads ... the lingering SummerSlimm, and all the brown, green and red DIRT. My MtbSpirit has had a long and ultra-satisfying dry, warm season ... not that it's over, by any means.... But I'm just saying: Winter is on it's merry way, and I am spectacularly NOT prepared!

What I need to do, and what I'm trying to do is get my spirit warmed up and Winterized:

What you can't see is that all that summer glow is GONE (i'm as white and blue as snow under all that fluff and puff)' Tele-quads and TelePower primed and On; Spirit absolutely on FIRE and screaming through the universe as I careen through the WinterBliss. Ahhhh.....

Sighhhhh.... If I could just get my body and mental-space primed for the Freeze and Frost so that I can be excited to be happy in this kind of environment again...


...Then I'd feel a little more connected to my Inner Winter.

Without that connection, I think I feel a little nervous ;-)

It's just ODD not being connected with my Winter Spirit. Tele has been the absolute center of life for so long ... and for it to seem so unreachable and so unfamiliar is just somewhat ... disorienting.

I am, however, conjuring a plan. I have to. There is no other way. Somehow I must lure the PlayMagic that I've been flirting so heavily with on the MTB and in the Dirt to show up in the Inner and Outer Winter space ... Somehow I must get the the warmth of my MtbWorld and the frost of my TeleHeaven to merge and co-exist.

I really admire The Tough, The Gooney, The Ryders: http://gooneyriders.typepad.com/.

I like their UpHillBliss, and their WildAdventureBliss.... Thanks for the inspiration you GooneyBlissfulFreaks....

jj

the high life

Oh the things we get ourselves into.

M and AJ offered up a tasty option of some GGSP -- the '4,000+' vert, large loop ending on the best, most technical parts, all trails possible' version. I can always count on them ;-)

Late edit: I woke up this morning realizing I didn't post any of the yummy details from our late fall, bite-off-more-that-you-can-chew adventure ;-).

SO! I think I've posted about this particular ride in GGSP before -- on 7/12/2008. It's a 22 mile loop with 4,000+' of climbing... ending on a wicked climb and a tasty, tasty techy bit of descending. Did I mention that there was a lot of climbing? OWIE! I think our group started with 3 hangovers, one set of completely cooked legs, and one body who didn't really want to be there. What a great way to start, in the cold morning, in the wind, in November ;-)

Regardless, hangovers burned off within the first ffin' climb. My legs never really came around. And Ed decided that he was more up for hiking around in the woods that following our sorry asses all over the park and back. So Steevie, AJ, Michelle and I suffered up the hills and danced down all the rocks. We covered the majority of the park and actually completed our convoluted figure 8 of a ride. We ended on Mtn. Lion, and really had to mentally prepare for that climb up (well, I did, anyway).

A few weeks ago, when I rode this trail with my posse of 6 kick-ass women, I came very close to nailing a tricky switchback with a rather large step/ramp in the middle of it. I didn't think that I would have it in me today to try too many times ... but lo-and-behold: attempt #3 found the right line up and the right push, and waaaa-la!! I DID IT!!!

Here is a pic from a few weeks ago, credit i think to IttyBittyBetty:


After all the noise that ensued (sorry people), we finished the climb and found Ed at the top waiting for us. And then we descended like crazy people and enjoyed yet one more reward for pushing ourselves so far and so hard for the day. What a way to end a long ride! I mean, really.

I think it's safe to say that we all had HUGE successes on the way down -- and along the whole entire ride. I have now cleared every part of the Mtn Lion trail both up and down and all along the valley/riverbed, and that feels good. Michelle is SO completely ON HER GAME she is just flyin' and rippin' right over everything. I'm so proud of her. Ed and Steevie are still nutcases riding their rigid (ss) ponies all over the rocks and making the rest of us look like fools ;-) And AJ --- what, you were out front ALL DAY LONG... you badass you ;-)

Click on any of the pix below for the better, larger version -- and a whole heap more pictures to go along with these. Ed will have more pix up soon, I promise ;-)

Meanwhile ...


aj


M


jj -- moi -- photo credit stevvie



steevie -- photo credit moi


ed, darling, rockin' it

jj

whhhhhhinds of change

M and I rode the wave of the winds of insanity this evening... and into the darkness no less! That darkness is coming awfully early these days.... way too early. We got a bit caught out in the black light ;-)

Then, home to Ede, who masterminded a succulent dinner.

It's finally Friday. And I'm looking forward to every second of this weekend.


M


M, nailed it!


Love this spot


JJ -- photo credit M



M setting herself up ...



UP UP UP!



M, more up!



JJ -- lookin' funny ;-)

thanks for the ride, M!!!

jj

scratching the surface

It's been a good weekend. Solid. Deep. Full of light and with a panoramic view of both the insides and the outsides ;-)

Saturday found Ed and I (and Steevie and Johnny) out in the buff creek woods, goofing OFF and riding like absolute crazy people. Literally. We rode and rode and and rolled, we laughed our asses off and basked in the warmth and light of the first-of-November warmth (WTF!?!?). Steevie filled the entire valley with his laughter and his thoughts and warnings of hunting season. Someday, Ed will put up pix from the brilliant day and one Jj who crashed and burned and bled from ear to knee. Don't ask. The only pix worth noting that I took (and that Steevie took) are these:


Ed, pre-ride pampering for the pony


Ed, taking pictures of me sessioning the only technical spot in buff creek. Photo credit steevie

I am going to admit to complete and utter laziness for the rest of the weekend (for me). Sunday found me tired and really in need of sitting still. So that is what I've done.

Sunday, for Tonka, looked a lot like this:

Tonka, wasted on cat-nip, or bird juju, or god knows what (photo courtesy Ed)

And, I've finally created and settled into my studio space. It's about time. There is a LOT that has been left undone. I have been negligent.


my space

The end of daylight savings (the end of naturally-lit rides after work) brings with it the need to occupy internal and external time in more creative (and yet still healthy) ways. I am hoping I can find the motivation and the gumption to ride at night, and to ride in the cold. I am hoping to find the focus to cross-train ... because I really, really it. I am also hoping for the fire of an old and now unfamiliar spirit to burn bright and steady. I'll let you know how that goes ;-)
jj

f.u.n.

So. Fall is a little bit strange this year. Usually, the name of the game for Fall MTBliss is 'time off' ... period, no questions asked.

Moi, gettin; the AH. AHHH. AHHHHHH.....

I have a whole universe of pictures from today. Lots of sequences, and lots of just good shots. I highly recommend that you look at them in the slide show -- there are some good ones; there are a LOT of pictures that belong in the sequence of the best shots displaying below ;-) ....

The pictures scattered throughout the wordy part of my post are my favorites from the day. Some taken by me, some by MyssM. (Lucky for me, MyssM doesn't have a camera of her own ... so she only gets the opportunity when I give her my camera;-))


MyssM droppin' and flyin' before the fun shot-up.


This year, something different presents itself in an entirely new, energetic way. I credit this partially to New Bike Syndrome, partially to Fantiastic Riding Partner Syndrome, partially to Indian Summer Syndrome, partially to Pure Ffin' Luck, and mostly to MtbMagic.


Moi, rounding a fun corner.

I have very limited verbal explanation for the experience, really. Ed, my Riding Partner in crime, has taken a rather smart break from our usual MtbAddiction (he is the smart one, after all). Me, and in an effort to honor Ed's solid retreat and meditation, I've gone out and started MtbFires all over the damn place. I feel guilty, really... having this much fun is supposed to be a crime, right?


M is really somethin', eh? We actually held an entire conversation through this line ;-)


Lucky for the word 'FUN', it's only a 3-letter word (as disappointing as that is). F.U.N. Bah! Boisterous, Impitous, Rambunctious, Riotous, Rollicking, Exuberant, Frisky, Joyous ... are words that come to mind, to start. I mean, really: 'FUN' is not quite enough word, and still all the other words seem to fail, too.


M chargin' the beginning of Nemisis One.

OK. I'm going overboard? I'm serious!!! How do you describe and relate to others the amount of deeply felt and experienced FUN one experiences on particular rides (and other experiences)? Quite frankly, my pictures only do 1/4 of the justice. My words hardly scratch another 1/4 of it.... how do I relate it all to you!!?!?

;-)

heheheh...


M experiencing a new line ;-)

Yeah, we had a freakn' riot of a good time today, out in the late-late-late fall sun, out in the late-late-late fall splash. We rode completely and utterly WORKED trails (loose, chaotic, messy, season-worked); we sessioned and sessioned and sessioned ourselves into every second of every moment of every rock-pile and not only did we absolutely NAIL 98% of it, we literally giggled the ENTIRE time. (yes, we talked the whole time too).


M realizing that really, she had it in her all along, and then some.

My new theory: Fall is for getting out and getting technical; getting out and working the hard lines with the right timing and the right Presence.


Moi, hittin' a pitch a little too fast ;-) WOAH!


Yeah, Presence. That is what Fall is For.



;-)

Jj