Something to think about.

Jordo and Jonah
Originally uploaded by coreycrlsn.

Most of you probably recognize the girl on the left of this picture as Jordan Arters. Who you probably don't recognize is Jonah on the right. Jonah actually isn't his real name, he really doesn't have a name. For this reason Jordan took it upon herself to name him. The reason Jonah isn't really named is because he doesn't have any parents. Jonah is one of 18 million AIDS orphans currently living worldwide. Here are some interesting FACTS to look at.

-By 2010 there will be 25 million AIDS orphans

-Every 14 seconds a baby is orphaned due to the AIDS epidemic

-AIDS claimed 540,000 lives in Asia 2004, 2.3 million in Sub-Saharan Africa.

-Generic AIDS medicine costs just $140 per patient per year.

-The U.S. is currently spending $500 million over 3 years in Africa.

-Currently 25.4 million people in Africa are infected with HIV or AIDS.

-The U.S. has spent somewhere between 2.6-2.9 billion dollars on AIDS and AIDS research per year in recent years.

-The war in Iraq is currently costing the U.S. 5 billion dollars a month. Thats $5,000,000,000.

It seems strange to me that we're focusing so hard. and spending so much to free the people of Iraq, yet in comparison not doing much at all to fight an epidemic that is currently killing worldwide. Not only is HIV/AIDS being spread and taking lives throughout the world, but is also spreading and killing here in the U.S. Think about this:

-The monetary cost of one month of the Iraq war could provide medicine for almost 600,000 people... for the rest of their lives.

-540,000 lives in Asia in 2004... thats almost 200 9-11's, 100's of Katrina's, almost three Indian Ocean Tsunami's... and remember that is one year in one country.

Jonah is over a year old now, he's learned to walk, and has been found not to have HIV. Although this disease isn't going to take his life, it already took his parents from him just like countless other kids in Cambodia and worldwide. Aids is only one problem the U.S. and the world faces, what would 5 billion dollars a month do for cancer, MS, poverty, hunger, etc.... It just makes me wonder why the conflict in Iraq is so much more important than other bigger problems that the U.S. and the world are facing.

Cross photo shoot

I went for a little cross ride and Scott managed to come along and get some photos and videos. It was pretty funny and we even got made fun of by some passing students. Oh well, I guess that's what you get for riding bikes in spandex and running up and down hills on a community college campus. Tonight Scott took me to the Rio, then we watched Nuggets cheerleader tryouts and Laguna Beach. That's the excitement in my life for now. Oh yeah, that calling card only lasted 36 minutes. 27 cents per minute, still beats the ones from the store I guess?

Thanks for reading, sorry this is lame but I warned you, it does say Boring at the top.

-Corey

Man, I need to get a life.

This morning I started talking to Scott online and we agreed to meet up for a ride. I took my time getting ready, plenty of coffee, shower, and a shave. Scott picked me up and after about a block or two of riding we returned to my apartment and I hopped in my cross bike. We were going to do a little photo and movie shoot at the cross course at Aims so I could actually see what I look like getting off and on my bike. We rode out O Road on our way and I had Scott anti-motorpace me since I wasn't racing this weekend, but still wanted a good hard workout. My lack of fitness and 40mm tires allowed Scott to set a pretty intense pace for me. It didn't last quite as long as a real motorpacing session might have, but for not supplying the horsepower himself, Scott did a great job and managed to make my eyes cross a few times. By the time we got back into town we decided a coffee break was a better idea than the photo opportunity. During our Charbucks stop we were discussing the effects of the "curse of the world champion." For those of you who don't know, Worlds was today and Tom Boonen won. I like Boonen a lot so I hope this curse doesn't plague him as it did Cipo, Roland Green, and many others. We were thinking that possibly these people suffer from a lack of motivation, after all when you are the best in the world, where else is there to go? That's when Scott came up with the astounding idea of the "Intergalactic Games." Martians running around on bikes that glow in the dark and make cool beeping and swooshing sounds could be pretty entertaining to watch. I went to the trouble to design the champions jersey in advance just to strike a little motivation into Boonen for next year. We'll have to see where it goes from here.

That's all for now. Tomorrow is class then I might go practice some mounts and dismounts.

P.S. that jersey took just as long to create as it appears to have taken, and yes, those are UFO's on the riders left shoulder.

What's next for Boonen?

Intergalactic Champions Jersey
Originally uploaded by coreycrlsn.

Things I've learned this week.

I figured I'd share a little wisdom with you all that I learned this past week, maybe this will become a Saturday tradition.

#1 If you unclip one foot from your bicycle, and try to run with the bike still clipped to the other foot, you will fall.

#2 Grass is a nice medium to fall on.

#3 It's really hard to get back onto a bike after finishing a ride and drinking a cup of coffee.

#4 Rides home are nice.

#5 Some people will always have an excuse for absolutely everything, all the time.

#6 Stories can vary from 1 shot to 4 beers, depending on the storyteller.

#7 iBike has gone way downhill in the past two weeks.

#8 The Cactus Canyon and mountain biking don't get along.

#10 Michelin tires don't hold up well in the rocks.

#11 It would suck to live on the coast during hurricane season.

#12 Justin will never update his site.

#13 Business school is incredibly dull.

#14 Waitresses look at you strange when you order the exact same thing as the guy you are with, everywhere, no matter how you try to hide the fact you're ordering identical orders.

#15 It's a long way to the top (if you wanna rock and roll).

That's all for this week, I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting but I'll write them down and save them for next week. Hope you all learned as much this week as I did.

-Corey

I missed a day.

This is the sight every mountain biker dreams to see when pulling into a trailhead parking lot. That's right I had the place to myself. Thursday morning I went to class, then instead of falling asleep when I got home at 9:00am I packed into my car, swung by the Breadboard for a little coffee and nourishment, then headed west. I automatically drove straight to the Backbone since that is pretty much habit, although I did have a bit of a desire to ride Coyote Ridge. When I saw the lot was empty I decided the boner it was, so I rode out and did an entire lap in the opposite direction of normal (for you insiders, I went left around the backside of that knob instead of the usual right switchback, then counterclockwise back loop). When I got back to the bottom of the climb I was having so much fun I decided to flip it, climb back up and do a regular loop. It had rained the night before so what had been a little loose a few days before was now firm and fast. The rocks were dry, but the dirt was just moist enough to be solid. I couldn't have asked for better conditions so you can imagine that even after that loop, I still wasn't ready to hang it up for the day. I decided I'd ride Coyote's after all. I kept the chamois on and headed north a few miles. I actually ran into Jen and Luna on my way there which was a bit ironic because I was going to stop to see if she'd be interested in riding with me. She couldn't but it was nice to at least say hi, then I went to Coyote's and was one of about 3 cars in the lot, so as you can imagine, the place was empty. I rode one lap and decided I'd better head back to make it to class on time. Here is a photo from the top of Coyote Ridge looking down between the hogbacks towards the Devils Backbone, if the picture was better you would probably be able to see it off the the right.

Class was alright, then with a little arm twisting, Scott got me to take him to the Canyon for the Thursday night chaos that seems to be most of the school's weekly ritual. It didn't take me long to realize why I haven't really adopted this tradition myself, although we ended up having a pretty good time. Matt Koch was there too with some of his friends that I kind've knew/know. We survived the evening although things were looking pretty grim when some high speed country/swing/spin/throw your partner around, dancing got a little too close for comfort, luckily the dancers took the responsibility to utilize a resin ball as to prevent the potentially deadly consequence of a slipped grip.

This afternoon I rode Horsetooth Mountain Park with Nick "I'll punch you in the threwwt" Lobejko, and his friend Bryce/Brice who works at UNC and shops at the Roubaix. I'd never ridden Horsetooth, but I was soon to realize that at least the route that we rode took us straight to a bunch of trails I'd ridden under the guise of Lowry State Park. We had a really good time though, it was fun, and now I'm exhausted.

I just bought a calling card online that advertised 12.2 cents per minute to Cambodia, but once I got it and tried it, it was 45 minutes for 10 bucks, you do the math, I come up with 22.2 cents per minute. Explain to me how that works? Oh well it still beats the 65 cents per minute I paid last week at that big blue corporate america store down in Mexico.

Tomorrow is the cross ride so I guess I better get to the shop and do some thorn proofing. I'm thinking liners, TR, and Goo. If that doesn't work I'm just going to sell all my bikes and buy some rollerblades and ski poles. I figure I've got all the spandex I'll need to start this new hobby.


Should I feel strange for not having the desire to take someone's life?

Something to chew on.

Check this out.

http://www.hk-icycling.net/movie/erl4men.mpg

I'm on my way out the door to go MTB. I'm sure you're all jealous.

-Corey

Amazing.

So I just spent the last hour and half glued to my TV watching a jetBlue airliner circle LAX before it made an emergency landing. I'm sure most of you have heard about it before you read this, but the front landing gear was turned at 90 degrees and evidently was stuck that way. Anyway, the pilot finally landed it at about 7:15. It was pretty crazy to see as the tires burned off and the wheel, which is about as tall as I am, was ground down to half its original size. Congrats to the pilot and the people on board, that must be a pretty freaky feeling circling an airport for two hours burning fuel knowing that you just might die if something goes wrong. Anyway, thats all for now, I was going to go mountain bike again today, but I fell asleep instead. Tonight I've got some house cleaning to do, and if I'm really feeling energetic I might go buy some laundry detergent and do some wash.

I talked to Danny last night and today about buying a mountain bike, so if any of you have the chance, be sure to encourage him to do so. I also mentioned that it would be fun to get all of the Northern Colorado Bloggers Association together for a mountain bike ride sometime soon. We were thinking the Dog Park in Ft. Collins, and then possibly head up A Trail if everyone is up for it. Anyone who reads this is invited so be sure and leave a comment saying what day and time would work best for you. I know there are at least 7 readers that all mountain bike, so I'm hoping we can get some good response. Just because you are out of state, don't feel like you're excluded from this invitation.

-Corey

Lazy day.

I took it pretty easy this morning, I woke up with a headache and still have it a little bit. It feels like a matter of hydration, but I've been chugging water all day and it doesn't seem to get better. Maybe it's all the pressure I'm under lately? Anyway, I still managed to make it to my first cross ride which turned out to be a lot of fun. Things started off badly with my pump falling off my bike on my way across town and the jerk in the car running it over. I mean this guy was a couple hundred yards behind me when it fell, he saw me stop and turn around, yet he didn't feel it necessary to slow down, or even swerve a little to one side or another. No, this guy thought he'd run right over the head of the pump which broke the head off the body. Oh well, I got the pump for free from my good buddy Scooter because it was dirty. It still sucks cause I like having a frame pump, maybe I'll buy a new one since I supposedly have a job at a shop (although lately it really feels like I don't have a job anymore, maybe I'll get called to work more often if I buy some Buckethead CD's and work on being cooler). Anyway, the ride was fun, although the course is full of Greeley Goatheads, so I think I'll be running TR tubes, Goo, and liners next time I ride there.

Wow, I was watching Law and Order when I started writing this and kind've spaced out to what was going on. I just heard some commotion so I looked to see what was happening and there were fireballs, a goblin creature, and a pig with a man's head. I hope Law and Order is over or else McCoy is going to have a very hard time prosecuting this case. I've been watching L & O about non-stop lately. I'm not sure what's so addicting about it, but it is. Cigarettes have a Surgeon General's warning on the label, I wonder how long it will be before things like L & O, or Super Mario Bros. 1 will have a warning written by the "Dean of Students General" warning us about the detrimental affects these products will have on our school work? I know it sounds crazy, but if the first time I watched L & O, there was a clause that said, within a week or two you'll be watching two epidsodes a day at an hour an episode rather than studying like you should be, I probably would have thought twice about watching that first episode. Oh well it'll never happen, but remember, when midterm grades are posted, its not my fault, I wasn't warned of the effects. Maybe I'll sue TNT, they could televise the whole thing because it could be high drama, and we're all aware that "they know drama."

Wow, now there are disapearing people and spells and stuff on the TV. I think it's time to turn it off and write my SWOT report for class tomorrow morning. I'm not so sure this business thing is for me yet, but I guess I still have the rest of the semester to decide if I like it or not.

Remember, as they say on this fine show, "We can't ask the leprechauns and trolls for help anymore. Yeah, but we CAN ask the bats."

Wow.

A devil of a ride.

There is red dirt on the tires and that can only mean one thing. I packed my most precious belongings and headed west to the Devil's Backbone this afternoon. I moped around all afternoon because I couldn't find anyone that had the same desire to go get pounded around on this 8 mile piece of technical rocky trail that I've grown to love in my three years here in Colorado. Finally at 4pm I realized I didn't need anyone to share this one with, I'm fully capable of enjoying the "Boner" as its affectionately called, all by myself. I rode the trail out to the loop at a leisurely pace, but lit the afterburners once I hit the technical climb that starts the back loop. I realized this weekend in Laramie that I wasn't feeling too good on the rough, rocky parts of the course, so I figured there is no better place to hone this skills than the infamous back loop of the Backbone. I rode two laps in the standard clockwise direction, then just as I was getting tired and hungry I switched it up and did a lap in the counter-clockwise direction. It's funny, I can't count how many times I've ridden this trail, but I think this was the 2nd or 3rd time I did the loop counter-clockwise. It's like a whole new trail riding it backwards and it was exactly what I needed. Since I'm not too good about previewing race courses, I'm usually cross eyed with my tongue hanging out when I see everything for the first time in a year (assuming I've raced the course before). I wasn't quite as wiped out as I would have been in a race situation, but I definitely saw my technical skills spiral down the toilet bowl as I hit the first few rocky parts of the trail. I managed to keep the rubber side down all day, although I found myself doing a handstand at one point with my bike behind me upside down, feet clipped in, balancing on my front wheel, bar ends, and hands. I suppose that isn't exactly rubber side down, but I came out of the situation better then my friend and former teamate Danny who I once saw leave a blood spot on the very rock I was doing my handstand on. I rode a few parts that I usually don't make, but I also screwed up a lot of stuff that is usually pretty rideable. Oh well, I'm glad I went, maybe this will be a new Monday afternoon tradition. I managed to take a ton of pictures so I thought I'd share a few with you as well as a quick description of each. Here we go.

Pulling into the parking lot you are greeted with a view of the Backbone itself shadowed by the majestic Rocky Mountains.

The Backbone disapears behind a hill as you start the trail, but quickly comes into view as you round this corner.

The trail winds along beside the rock formation and through this meadow. I really like this part of the trail, especially on the way back because its slightly downhill with some cool little ups and downs.

After the traversing the length of the Backbone (which is a very unique and interesting feature geologically, I'd be glad to explain it's formation if anyone is interested, but I'm not counting on much interest from the readers of this site), the trail crosses the meadow and heads up this hill with a few steep loose switchbacks.

The view from the top of the first section of climb.

This section used to freak me out because it seems like if you fall to the left you'll just keep picking up speed until the barbed wire a hundred feet down or so.

The view from the actual top.

Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there is still time to ride the loop one direction then flip it and ride it the other way.
One of the first really fun rocky parts.

The view from the urinal.




More rocky fun.

Man, that was a lot of pictures. Sorry, some of them towards the end got a little blurry because my camera was flying unwrapped in my jersey and got a little sweaty. Oh well, this is one of my favorite trails and the pictures don't do it justice. I had one of those rides today that reminded me of the reasons I started mountain biking back in grade school. I remember the feeling of flying down Smudy Bear with some of my closest friends back in the early days, and it's those feelings that make me get out on my bike and ride until I can't see straight. Mountain biking is one of the most physically demanding things I've ever done, but it's not the competition that gets me out on my bike, I really can't explain why I do it, I guess you have to ride a trail you really love to fully understand why simply pedaling around on a bunch of rocks and dirt gets my blood flowing the way it does. I leave you with a parting shot, and ride the boner if you ever get the chance, you'll probably hate it, but oh well I like it.


P.S. I wasn't even tired after the ride so I went and big ringed Towers Road like 8 times.

Just for Stever

I don't think it's Pikes Peak, looks like Bill owens made a pretty easy 25k. I wish I was a governor so someone would mail me thousands of dollars for no real reason at all.

"Your life must suck"

Alright, you all knew I was a dork, so this shouldn't really come as a surprise. I got the new Oregon quarter today! Yeah, that's right, I've got all of the Statehood Quarters that have been released yet. I'm not sure if Kansas is out yet or not, but I haven't see one. Anyway, I'd be happy to show you the collection if you are interested.

Well, that's about the extent of the excitement of my day. I got 5th in ST today after not finishing yesterday due to a little pedal crankshaft interface problem (I hit my pedal on a rock really hard and it came off). Today was fun though and now I don't race for two weeks, but I will be able to do the Aims Cyclocross rides so I'm pretty fired up about that. I've never raced cross before, or even done an official cross ride so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm gonna try to fit one in Tuesday, but the ride is at 4:00 and I have class at 5:15 so it could be hard to squeeze in. I won't bore you anymore with the bike stuff for today.

Thanks to the incredible lack of response to Friday's update, I won't be handing out any CD's since Scott is the only one who responded and he's already informed me that he already had both the Hanson, and 'N Sync CD's.

*News Flash* This just in, I found out that the Kansas quarter was revealed in Lawrence, Kansas at the Kansas State Fair on Friday, September 9th. It will be hitting the banks soon. If anyone sees one or has one drop me a line, I'll give you 20 cents for it.

Thats all for now, thanks for suffering through this. I'll leave you with a parting shot of the newest member of my collection.

Gearing up for tomorrow

I'm busy getting my stuff ready for the race tomorrow, wanna see what one day of racing requires?

First off is survival gear, we're talking fall in Wyoming, could be cold so coffee and the faux Carhartt are a must.


Next we have the bike which is possibly the most important piece of equipment. P.S. I hate Avid BB5 brakes.


Now we'll hit the items I need to make sure my bike runs all the way to the finish.


And now the stuff to make sure I make it all the way to the finish.


Now for what I'll be wearing. Red is the name of the game when it comes to race attire. Start with the red Six Six One Raji gloves, red Defeet knee and arm warmers, as well as red Defeet shoe covers (not a chance I'll wear them), the red, white, blue, and yellow Cofidis colored Giro Atmos helmet, as well as yellow Specialized shoes, UNC bibs and jersey, blue Oakley Half-Jackets (with the ever so important clear lenses) and finally the tall black wool socks which I haven't raced without in over a year, and just to silence all you critics, it has nothing to do with Lance, I actually first saw and liked the tall black when I saw it on Geoff Kabush so I unveiled them at the New Belgium Criterium last June.


The final touch to my suitcase is the paperwork stuff involved in running a team, ok, there isn't that much.


So, hopefully I can fit this all into my Mountainsmith bag that I was informed today, really isn't that cool. Oh well, since I started writing this I've remembered two things that I left out. I'm thinking this would be a good chance to have a Wenzelesque contest. The person who can name one or both of the items I've forgotten will be given a burned copy of 'N Sync - No Strings Attached, or Hanson - This Time Around, winners choice. Like I said, there are two items so you have a chance to win both CD's. I guess that's all for now.

One more interesting note...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/09/15/zellweger.chesney.reut/index.html

"fraud" we all knew he was gay, I don't think that's fraudulent?

I'm out.

Pinky to the Rescue

Off to Double You Why oming this weekend, Laramie to be exact. I'm a little disapointed in the lack of a team we have this year. It looks like it's going to be my and one other kid. That photo is of the XC race in Wyoming two years ago. I had managed to flat, and strip a pedal out of my crank within a lap and a half of the Short Track the day before, and had to have a spare bike rushed to me in time for the XC the next day. I made due with Pinky and our relationship has never looked back. She's hanging in my bike room just waiting for a sealed headset, but the way I see it, unless I need her to rescue me again, I have until June to get that headset in. With that being said I'll probably get bored and put it in next week, as well as a new cable set and drive train clean. She deserves some TLC and since I usually find a bike to work on rather than read or do something I need to do like laundry. Tonight I rebuilt the rear hub and freehub on my road wheels. Not that they needed it, I just wanted to mess with it more then anything. Anyway, I'm gonna go read for a minute or two before I go to bed. Thanks to all 5 of you who read this yesterday. Who knows, by next week there could be 6-7 people reading this, it's amazing what is capable with the World Wide Web at your fingertips. I promise there will be something interesting in my next update, if nothing happens to be between then and now, I'll make something up.

Beaver

Alright, I'm back. After much pleading from the 3 people that actually check this site, I decided it was time to get back on the horse. This weekend kicked off the collegiate mountain bike season after 10 months of hiatus. The Beaver Meadows short track (and the infamous rock jump) have become one of the many signs of fall for a select few of us here at UNC. I headed up to Red Feather Lakes Saturday morning with my good buddy Justin knowing the race was going to hurt... bad... and probably be a pretty embarassing event overall. I also knew that getting completely worked was the only way to dive into the racing season. I'd made a plan with Scott (who also made the trip to see my puke face) that I'd get the whole shot, and be the first to jump the rock on the right of the traditional mud puddle. The whole shot when as planned, well lets just say I'd moved into first by the rock. I tried to get some air over it, but since my eyes were already crossed and the black spots were starting to appear I don't think I actually got that much. I slowly drifted back during the next 2 or 3 laps and watched Ft. Lewis rider after Ft. Lewis rider pass me before I finally settled into 6th or 7th. I finished right there after holding off another late surging pair from Ft. Lewis. Overall I can't complain, although I'd rather not be tasting blood on the second lap, and it would be nice to be competitive like I've been there in the past. Oh well, thats what a summer of laziness and gluttony will do for you. Nicky was there to congratulate me at the finish which was awesome since she's one of my biggest role models in the cycling world.

After the race Justin and I rode one of my favorite rides around the Ft. Collins area, "A" trail up to Shoreline, and down Micheod, I think I spelled that wrong, but it doesn't matter since I totally missed the trail and we ended up coming down some new ultra knarly, steep, rocky, switchback descent that dropped us down behind some water plant. It was a really fun ride, truly Coloradorific as Justin said. It did get a little hot, but Justin was sure to show me proper "cool off" technique.

Well, I should try and keep this short so maybe I'll end up hitting this two days in a row. If anyone actually reads this leave a comment and let me know who you are and what you're up to. Thanks for coming down this weekend Justin, I had a lot of fun, and thanks to Scott and Nicky for making the trip up to watch me get throttled.

I wonder if my new tire came in yet, and if it did, I wonder if Scott wants to MTB today?