The Return

Back from the long road trip. When I got back into Ohiopyle, there were 5500 miles on the trip odometer. Going up to Vermont for Single Speed USA wasn't quite as on the way as I thought it would be.

But it was a good excuse to wear my favorite foam banana:

It was a neat trip. I was on my bike riding new single track for about three hours everyday. I did rides in Vermont, the Adirondacks, the Front Range, Winter Park, Salida, the Monarch Crest, Crested Butte, Fruita, and of course, Breckenridge.

Here are the links to my Breck Epic stage reports over on Dirt Rag:

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4,5, and 6

Breck Epic was a great time. Staying in the condo with a dozen or more (I can't remember what the final math was) other dudes was fun, even if it was a little smelly. I almost miss waking up every morning to the sound of Cinder Bloch throwing dishes around and Don Powers hacking up phlegm.

Instead of feeling burnt out after all that riding, I'm more excited to shred the proverbial gnar than ever. Mountain bikes are fun.


Colleen was nice to have along, and she even stayed awake to keep me company for the 36 hour haul from Stowe to Boulder. Most of the time:

And she was almost tall enough to see over the steering wheel. With a booster pillow:

A big trip like that isn't possible without a bunch of friends, so before I get into the meat of the trip I should do a quick thanks list:

Josh the Bushwaka Matta, Sam Pro-Meat Scissors Morrison, and Anna Mudd for harboring us. Don Powers for paying the security deposit on the condo, and everybody else for letting us have a reduced rate for sleeping in the hallway. Mike Mac for letting me race Breck Epic. Kas at Wilderness Voyageurs for letting me take off for the busiest month of the year. It's pretty cool to work at a place where the management understands. And Industry 9, Ergon, Twin Six, Niner, and Cycle Symphony for helping with equipment. Swell stuff, swell people.

I'll get some trip posts up at some point. And yes Meat Scissors Morrison, I know I owe you a worship post.

Sam Morrison, Pro Mountain Biker

Few more races this season. The last race of the Michaux Series is coming up. Since I raced like ass at the Curse right after my staph infection, I'm 20 minutes back from 1st overall in the series. Unless my competition is forced to shower with a garden hose for a few months, I'll have trouble making that time up.

After that, the Month of Mud starts. Registration has entered the digital age and is up on Bike Reg this year.

The last race of the series is the Super-D/ Super-XC/ Race-With-a-Big-Downhill-that-Requires-Occasional-Pedaling-by-XC-Weeny-Standards-but-an-Unbearable-Amount-of-Pedaling-by-Gnar-Huxster-Standards-Race. I'm pretty sure that we're getting a band to play at the Falls City Pub after awards, so it'll be a party. Bring party pants.