I have a tendency to get a little excited. Seems there is a clock ticking away somewhere in my head and there is still so much left to get done. So when the opportunity arrises to get out there and live it up, I struggle to say no.

bike happy

Many months ago I signed up for a single speed solo spot at the 24 Hours in Old Pueblo. After being down there last year I knew I wanted to come back to the Sonoran desert and suffer through as many circles as possible. Even with this big monster on the horizon I wanted more, now, sooner, more more more!

photo by Xavier Fane

Well luckily for the insatiable bike racer there are fat bike races everywhere, one only has to chose which ones and where. I was set to race the local race, the Alley Loop, Friday night. I couldn’t miss this one, only 30 minutes away, local turf, 3rd year in a row. Easy choice. The thing is there was this little 10 hour race going on in Silverton, Colorado the very next day, that caught my eye and pulled my excited mind. I wanted to do both. The household sat down and discussed the idea. The dogs did not like the idea one bit, if they weren’t going so it was dumb. When Rachel realized I was serious about attempting this, I think she began to see how crazy I really am, but in the end supported and participated as well.

The Alley Loop was a hoot, it is Crested Butte after all. Warm, sunny, great snow, fun people, costumes, Dave Ochs and some fast bike racing. Great Times. After the award and raffle we packed up the Westie and drove home, ate, walked the dogs, set the alarm and went to bed. Of course neither of us could sleep before that 3:15AM alarm. Up, Dogs, Breakfast and on the road before 5:AM.

photo by Criss Furman

Silverton is gorgeous little town tucked into the San Juans. This Saturday it was packed with fat bikes, families and fun peeps. The Silverton Whiteout was a total blast. Cool course threading through town, out along the Animas River, up a steep hill and down a steeper hill and back through town. My tummy was a mess the whole day and I never felt all that good and mostly felt like I was gonna hurl. None the less the wonderful people, the incredible views and the need for more miles kept my head down and rolling till the 6:pm cut off.

We both finished well and stuck around for dinner and the awards. So much fun hanging out in the Grand Imperial with a bunch of happy, buzzed, sun burnt folks. Saw people haven’t seen in years, met some new friends and soaked up the communal feeling of joy that everybody seemed to exude. Then we packed wet clothes, our dirty bikes and our weary souls back into the Westie and drove on home back to Gunny. Finally home after a long 20+ hour day. We did it! What a fantastically weekend!

photo by Criss Furman

Don’t wait to see what is out there, don’t wait to live your dreams, gO Ride, gO Run, gO Ski, gO Live!