Interlocken

Let's just say it was about 8:45 in the morning and it was a good 60 degrees out. Perfect race weather. The course was mostly all grass, had a mud bog section and a sand pit surrounded with two barriers. The perfect 'cross course. I was all bundled up in my under shirt and my long-sleeve skinsuit. I had already pre-ridden the course various amounts of times and was ready to race.

"READY, SET, GO!", the official starting man said. I shot off the line and was in first position. Then a pretty fast 15 year old came by me. I clung on to his wheel like a magnet. It was us two for a while when another kid joined our group, but not for long. We got to the mud bog on the second lap and me and the other younger kid crashed. During the crash an amazing creature found its way on to my seatpost, a worm! Although, I didn't realize this until after the race. Anyway, the 15 year old got away so I was in second overall. It stayed that way throughout the rest of the race. I finished 2nd overall and first in my age group. And I managed to find a worm along the way! HA HA HA!

The rest of the day went really well. A lot of people were composting and recycling.

Yannick Eckmann took 2nd in Cat 4 to another German!
Andrew Barker won Cat 3!
And Robin and Cody did really well too along with Brady who is a bunny hopping beast.

High fives all around!

The pictures of the worm is Coming Soon!

Classroom Visit

I did my first school visit today. I talked to the kindergartners about the team, did a cross demonstration and talked to them about sustainable cycling/local food. Where I live there are several small local farms. We eat seasonal foods from these farms for school lunch. The kids were responsive to biking as a means of transportation instead of driving.


They were enthusiastic about cross when they saw me jump over the barriers and remount the bike. The teacher said, “Kids, you shouldn’t try this at home, he’s a trained athlete.”

From Bjorn Fox

Summer vs. Winter

Well let’s just say that the Western Slope Cyclocross series was very interesting and fun. They put on a lot of cool venues which included; Aspen, Gunnison, and Eagle. In Eagle just last weekend it went from summer to winter over night. Saturday’s race almost felt as if it was summer out. It was a good course with some single track and some good natural barriers such as logs, ditches and some mud pits. Kevin and I started off strong but let Tom Hopper (who built our bikes) make a big gap on us. About half way through the race he had a good 30second lead on us. We worked together to pull him back which didn’t seem to be working until the end. Last lap to go Kevin and I pulled him back to only a 3second gap which was just enough for him to get the win. Kevin took 2nd and I took 3rd. Though Sunday’s race was a whole different story.

vs

We woke up and outside was about 6inches of snow on the ground. At the start of our race it was only 28degrees out and snowing. The field took off strong all trying to get down to the S-turns first so that you dint have a chance of getting behind someone who fell because of the slick snow. I was the first one to them but just a couple turns later I was the first one to slide out along with Kevin. The field past us and had a good enough gap to keep it off the rest of the race. It was very interesting racing with no brakes, no shifting and no grip due to the freezing conditions. All together it was a great race and an awesome series. Kevin won the overall series and I took 2nd right behind him. Western Slope Series
Kevin and I stayed in BeaverCreek over night and when we were roaming around we found this sign which we found really cool. (BeaverCreek 100% powered by wind)

Cow Power

In our world today, the most common energy sources are derived from consumable resources. As powerful as they maybe, they usually are extremely “dirty.” Oil, coal and nuclear power are extremely effective in powering a city, but dump billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year. It is clear that these types of energy sources are becoming quickly dated and newer technology that could be more powerful and 100% green is paving the way for a cleaner world. Wind power is one of the cleanest and most effective ways to create energy. The power from the sun also is an enormous source of energy. But a source that few know about is “Cow Power”. My family in Vermont lives in a quaint town on several acres of land with no cows. What we try to do there is make the home as efficient as possible. We also have a garden of organic veggies. But our latest addition to helping “green” the world is an investment in energy credits from cow power. You may wonder how electricity is generated from cow manure. The answer is very simple. Manure is collected from the cows into a large concrete tank on various dairy farms. There it will sit for around three weeks. Bacteria “digest” the manure; much like the cows stomach digests feed. Methane gas is produced by the bacteria and it builds up in the tank, where a pipe then delivers it to a modified natural gas engine. The gas is then burned to generate electricity which is fed into the electrical grid where it goes into our home. The benefits from this are many. With anaerobic treatment, the waste significantly reduces odor and water-quality impacts of cow manure, killing pathogens and weed seeds. It also contributes largely to the economic steam of small organic farms. The methane is otherwise released into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat into the atmosphere. In all, it is a smart way to be moving forward.
I also wanted to provide a visual of what the team has going on currently at the local races in Boulder; a small glimpse of what we’re doing and what we will be doing at the big USGP races throughout the year. Andrew, Yannick and Robin, nice race too! You guys ripped it up! 