The Rad

This might have been a perfect race. Year three of doing The Rad in Trinidad was probably my best one of the year, and the most memorable.

A few weeks ago I got a flat tire in Canon City, so I finally ditched the trusty rusty slicks for some real gravel tires. They definitely paid off. I felt great all race and I couldn't have written the script better for my strengths. In summary, three or four us immediately found ourselves at the front of the race after the crazy steep hills out of town right after the start. Quickly that became three of us and we were all interested in working together to keep our lead out front.

The three of us rode together through the double track and up to the top of the hill where we turned around. Ty started getting cramps on the way back up the hill to the double track, and Arnie and I dropped him on that hill. I think we both knew that the double track and hills back into town were going to be hard, so we just stuck together without any attacks.

Arnie, in from Bend Oregon, showed off his mountain bike background on the steep downhills of the roller coaster finish back into town. I knew that all I needed to do was follow him close and out-sprint him on the long straightaway to the finish. We were flying down the last hill before the last left turn about as fast as we could take the corners. Arnie was in front and started his sprint first, but I quickly passed him in the final sprint. My power meter said 1,150 max watts, which is probably one of my best efforts ever. I even took a brief second at the end to post up for the victory. I was really happy all around with how the day went.

Homecoming 2025

Dad's 75th Birthday

Glad we could all come together and celebrate Dad/Grandpa's 75th birthday today. Bailey was especially happy to join!

Senior Parking Spot

This senior tradition was a fun project that Julia and I got to do together. I estimated that it took us about 12 hours total time and a few hundred dollars over the course of two days.

We had to space it out over two different days due to the weather. It was really hot and then also rainy for many days in between. Julia and Miles bought parking spaces next to each other and coordinated matching paint schemes from the movie Cars.

A valuable trick that Julia discovered when researching this online was to dilute the paint with water. This allowed it to flow into all the cracks and rocks on the asphalt. The first day we painted the base coat and on the second day the details were painted. Miles' Dad showed up also to help him finish his spot.

We worked for a while until Julia had to leave for work and Cold Stone. I finished up some small details and cleaned things up after she left. The designs turned out really well!

Senior Sunrise

Tarryall Reservoir Road

I decided to head up to the cabin for a quick overnight and ride. Tarryall Reservoir is a nice, quiet stretch of road that I try and do every year. It's probably best in the fall when the leaves are changing colors, but I knew that I would be pretty busy with racing in September and didn't want to miss out on this ride on a beautiful late summer day.

First Day of School

First day of senior year for Julia...and first day of high school for Jonathan!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Today we drove into RMNP. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever been all the way around the park on Trail Ridge Road. Or even spent much time at all in the park itself.

Several weeks ago we all had to log in to their website right at 8 a.m. to get limited car passes to drive up Bear Lake Road and to the trailhead. This was the main attraction, and although it was a decent drive all the way around to the other side of the park, it was definitely worth it.

Not much else happened on the drive there and back. There were a few stops, but being locals, it was just another pretty view and one similar to what you can see on any number of 14er hikes. However, the trail to Emerald Lake and back was exceptional. We had lunch out of the back of our cars before catching the shuttle to the trailhead.

Grandma stayed behind with Huey while the rest of us hiked past Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake. Dream Lake was my favorite of all of them. It had crystal clear waters and the best backdrop. We all found a good spot for a family picture down by the water. I would definitely recommend doing this hike.

KowTown Gravel

KowTown was a fun event. Matt, Justin and I did the short course, which took me about and hour and a half to complete. That's pretty much the perfect length to have fun, go hard, and not wreck yourself for the rest of day or weekend. I ended up winning the overall on the short course.

The race went well despite my bike computer wanting to send me off on various random turns. Somehow the reroute feature was turned on and it had trouble finding where I was at. That's not a great combination with never seeing the route before and not knowing where you're supposed to go. 

I took a wrong turn at one point up the first hill (per my computer), but other riders yelled at me to turn around. Later on I found myself at the front of the race alone, but had to pull over and wait for second place since my computer was telling me to go left and I didn't think it was right. Always fun to be out in the lead alone and chased by other people to the finish line!

4th of July in Granby

This year the entire family planned a short vacation over the holiday weekend. There were lots of festivities for the 4th, a gravel race for me, and Rocky Mountain National Park all within a short drive of the Air BnB we rented for the long weekend. Michelle and Huey even joined from California.

The first event on the calendar was s traditional small town 4th of July Parade. There were lots of horses, big vehicles, and even a few Denver Nuggets Cheerleaders were involved. Near the end we were treated to an unexpected flyover by two F-16s. In the end, the dogs were even involved.

Stacey also took a nice picture of the kids in front of Grand Lake, which was closer to where we were staying. This area on the backside of Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places in Colorado. It's harder to get to, so quieter, but it has some of the best water and scenery around. I'd like to go back again and do some exploring on my bike.