To The Plains
The mountains are, by default, the place that I go to for inspiration and replenishment on a bike. The challenge, variety, and beauty of rolling hills and jagged peaks can’t really be matched by anything else.
Or can they?
A rather lovely custom Traildonkey 2.0 build
Fact: Every Traildonkey that we build can be specced exactly to the rider’s preferences. Many people are happy to go with our standard builds which are well thought out, but sometimes someone comes along and wants to put together something extra special.
This build is one such Donkey and we’re excited to send it out to it’s new home!
Colorado: Rodeo Team Night Nov 10th
RSVP HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rodeo-labs-2016-colorado-team-hangout-night-tickets-29023844099
2016 is drawing to an end and we haven’t yet had a proper team party and get together. We need to fix that! If you are Rodeo or if you might be Rodeo but aren’t sure then come on out and meet your team mates and friends in the real world. Rodeo does a lot online but one thing we want to do is get better at getting the crew together in the real world. We’ve got people flying the colors all over the world so it’ll be difficult to get everyone together, but if we could get a solid crew of Colorado people under one roof that will be a great place to start!
Dinner and some drinks will be provided. Currently we are leaning towards some sort of taco setup from a local food truck but that isn’t quite locked down yet. If you have a favorite drink or brew bring a six pack to share.
YOU REALLY NEED TO RSVP if you are coming so we know what to plan for. You CAN bring friends, etc but you need to RSVP them. Kids are allowed but it might not be the best idea to bring them because there is finite space and they tend to get a bit bored at bike hangout events.
On the agenda:
1. Hang out and meet more of the team in real life. Connect names and faces.
2. Talk about what it means to be on the Rodeo team.
3. Talk about what we’re getting right and what we should be doing better such as:
– Group rides
– Rallys
– Communication
– Including more people
– Drawing out lurkers
– Road trips (2017)
– Races? (2017)
– Etc
– Ideas from EVERYONE are welcome.
4. Discuss the possibility of a team board of some sort to help break leadership into bite sized chunks.
5. Talk about leadership incentives.
6. Talk about how Rodeo the bike company relates to the team.
7. Eat food
8. Drink things
Rodeo Belgium, 2016. Day 1
The beauty of being a fan of bike racing is that if you have the time and will power you can stand mere inches from the legends of the sport. Or, if you’re slightly over-excited you can grab them by the butt and push them up hills as they sail by.
Rodeo visited Belgium in 2015 and had a blast, so we went back this year with an even bigger group and had an even bigger blast.
Writing up a 10 day trip to cycling’s holy land is a tall order. It could take days to compose. I don’t have days to write words, but I do have photos. Lots of photos.
It’s time to share some photos.
Mid Season Cyclocross Musings
Words by Nik Van der W00ts, Photos by Brett Stakelin (@das_guy)
Cyclocross is a niche within a niche, but there is something I love about this high energy, gritty sport. I got started grinding my gears on the grass, sand, mud and barriers on the east coast. Some would cite this as the unofficial heart and home of American cyclocross. The days spent racing and volunteering in Gloucester and Providence were cold, muddy and certainly epic affairs. Those memories have stuck with me and often are the first that come to mind when I think of cyclocross.
After a hiatus from cyclocross (prompted by grad-school and a 2,000 mile relocation to Colorado) I re-tested the waters. I was in for a shock. The climate and terrain were unfamiliar compared with my first dirt-covered memories. Gone were the days of racing in parks with pristine grass that turned to rutted muddy lines. In Colorado if a race is on grass, it is spiky unfriendly blades. All the moisture is evaporated, leaving dusty loose conditions. Many a time I have come home from racing and felt like a miner, hacking up dust for the next few days. Some of the rugged courses tested my nerves on cantilever brakes and left my hands sore from trying to modulate my speed.
“At least we’re here”
In August a group of Rodeoers in Colorado struck out on a ride through roads not-yet-ridden-by-us. The ingredients that make these sorts of rides are always dynamic. Peder had been brewing on a Mosquito Pass expedition for years, Jered was in town and wanted to do big high mountain rides, and I tossed out the invite to the team. Eight of us jumped in on the adventure.
The word “Adventure” is rapidly transitioning from an awe-filled catalyst to a very tired marketing word these days. Flip through any cycling magazine and you can’t go very many pages without seeing a tidal wave of products advertised as the very keys you need in order to unlock this mythic “new” genre of our sport.
And yet, true adventure is unimpressed by the collective marketing departments of our industry. True adventure has been happening for centuries and will continue to happen long after humanity has achieved singularity with holo-lenses and virtual experiences. Adventure just means pointing your willing self into the unknown and having the naivete, courage, or even audacity to proceed directly into it. No fancy gear required.
The Road Not Taken
A poem by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Photos by Stephen Fitzgerald and Galen Stiglebauer / Colorado Cycling Adventures:
Fall In The Rockies
Once a year, just as the aspen leaves are changing, C Lazy U Ranch opens up their network of trails to a small group of mountain bikers, or as it were in this case, a Traildonkey.
www.clazyu.com
Touring Colorado on a Donkey
Phil: Brian and I have been riding bikes together for the last 10 years. Our escapades have included week long stage races in banana republics with more stray dogs and chickens on the road than actual pavement, big mountain rides in the pacific northwest, and week long training camps among the towering redwood trees and wineries of Santa Rosa, CA. Ever since moving to the front range area, I was excited about the opportunity to show him some of the roads in my new found backyard. Loose plans formulated early this summer for him to come out and suffer through the thin air, which Brian has historically not done very well with, in order to do some touring. With the promise of the unknown and adventure, Nik was also very interested in joining us for what was sure to be a great three-day trip in the high country.
Nik: Little did I know what was in store for me, it was a day full of emotions, the one that occupied most of my attention was how I felt like I bonked when the ride just begun; definitely not the best way to start a three-day tour.
Nightstalking
