Mmmmm... Enchilada.....

I hear there was some kind of big-time national tour kind of Cyclocross race-thing last weekend up in Ft. Collins.  Also hear that for at least some of the groups,  the tradition of snotty weather for the USGP here continued.  The old guy fields looked stacked to the gills with fast guys,  and as usual,  KFC and J-Pow did their usual thing up there,  generally beating everyone up.

Me?  Just heard about it.   I was "otherwise occupied" a bit further west.  Did a quick trip to Moab and Fruita,  catching much of the same rain that got the USGP all "Cross-ey" on Saturday.  I think we may well have managed to catch THE last day you could do all of "Burro-Down" (AKA the whole Enchilada..) in Moab for the year.  Managed to eke out a few short rides on Friday & Saturday between the rain on the Kokopelli system in Fruita,  and topped off the trip with a less than 12 parsec time on the Kessel Run,   er,  well really just a few shuttles runs on Kessel,  with lights,  in the dark,  with Knob Creek shots at the start of each.   Good,  clean fun.

Highlight was still the Whole Enchilada.  Pretty damn cool riding up to treeline,

Getting a good Aspen dose,





Then getting to ride ALL of Porcupine rim,

ALL the way to the river.

In general It was a trail one can approve of,  even in election season.

I Approve....... from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

I guess if you are going to miss Cross season and be broken,  got to make the best of it.  While a lot of fun,  the Enchilada just about killed me.  Even riding mostly downhill for 4 hours was enough to leave me drooling and in bed asleep at 8:30 that night.  Party on,  Dude.


Guessing there is not a lot of partying around the Lance Armstrong home right now.  Got to watch that (predictable) debacle unfold on my little vacation.  Lots of hate (and even some support... at least for his non-bike/cancer work..) out there in the cyber-sphere.  Do have to say LA has some BALLS for all these years,  playing the martyr.   I had not really ever been a "fan" and had lost a lot of interest in pro road cycling for years,   partly because I thought the domination of the Lance teams made the races somewhat boring.   But still it is just plain SAD to see that competitive cycling will just be seen by the "normal" masses as a bunch of skinny dopers for years to come.  Already,   the non-cyclist people I know ask about it all the time.   SAD.  <<begin sarcasm mode>> We can only hope he can at least he can hang on to the G-IV after all the sponsors dropped him like an Italian sprinter on a mountain stage.  I mean,  what would life be without that? <<end sarcasm mode>>

I have joked about doping.  Lately,  I really wish I COULD get some EPO,  just so I can ride "normally".  Ride for more than 2 hours without coming apart at the seams.  Be able to go on a ride without having to think "how long is the climb"?  Thinking maybe that would let me be able to ride more than one lap at the Wednesday "Not-Boulder Worlds" right now.     But really,  are you going to cheat yourself and everyone around you?   Cheat as a local master,  or for that matter a pro?  Motives of "making it" and pro contracts enough?  Getting that bit of gas to make the top 10 in the beer-drinking-dads-league for once?

Nope.  not really.  at least for me.  Apparently there were plenty it was OK for.  Sad for the sport we love.   Just Plain SAD