Colorado State CX Championships

Cold then colder...Mud to Ice equates to hard racing.

Schoolyard CX

Da' mud pit

Boulder Cup CX UCI 1

Fullmoon rising at the Boulder Cup Elite Mens CX race

Bluesky Velocross

A day of top racers & mud.

Boulder Rez CX #3

Here are a few B&W images from the October 25, 2009 cyclocross race. The day was wet, cold and had the feel of east & midwest cyclocross racing.

Mt. Evans HC

It's was a day the mountain goats dominated the landscape, where the thin air got thinner with each pedal stroke, and the reward to the challenge of Mt. Evans was a sense of survival and "The View". Each season, over a thousand cyclists or "mountain goats" as you put it, raced from Idaho Springs to the Summit of Mt. Evans. The race, also known as The Bob Cook Memorial Hill Climb, in honor of a true mountain goat, is held every year and gives every finisher bragging rights and a story of survival. Today, the weather was exceptional...sunny, cool and just perfect.

The first race started with the Citizans race. The first rider of the day came in and rode by like the wind...a tail wind. Then, the next few riders...then, unexpectedly, Tom Danielson. I think after that moment, I had my work cut out as rider after rider began to crank away to the finish a few switchbacks up the road.

DU Criterium @ City Park, Denver

Today was my first race of the season, a fast, gut wrenching test of "who's fit" (who did their homework during the winter). It was cold, cloudy with a threat of snow in the forecast. My schedule was a bit uncertain and I was debating racing the Pro 12 or the Masters 35+. I chose the Masters race. After registering, changing, securing my gear in my Jeep, and a brief warm up...brrrr, we lined up. The race was off! Check out the pics at www.sportifimages.com > DU Crit

Alpina SMR Stampede

The Stampede was held on February 28, 2009, a bit earlier than previous years. Judy, the 2009 family xc-ski racer, did the 21k freestyle. Several days leading up to the race, we were watching the ever changing snow conditions to determine the best race day wax. Friday afternoon, it appeared the overnight lows were going to be around 7 F and race day highs no more than mid-30's. So, an LF7 base and LF6 final was applied to Judy's skis. I still had a old coat of LF6 on my skis, but I was not racing, since I was on duty with Bryce and the camera. We headed up Friday night to Tabernash and there was several inches of fresh powder.

Saturday morning, it was frickin' cold! I mean real cold! I went over to the lodge to pick up Judys race chip and packet. People were saying it was minus 17 degrees F overnight, meaning a MUCH colder snow temp. Later, we found out the wax recommendation changed to LF4!...Ugh!!... meaning a harder wax to resist sharper/colder snow crystal penetration and scrapping off of the race wax.

As the morning marches on, Judy gets ready, we got the hotel packed up and vacated in record time (unusual, since we packed like we were staying for a month), and dropped Judy off approx 1 hr before the start.

After finding a parking spot, it took what seemed forever to get Bryce & the Chariot ready. We missed Judys start, but we skied out and managed to find a great vantage point beyond the finish line. The sun was shining, no wind and temps inching up to 30 degrees, Bryce fell asleep...life is sweet! Shortly after setting up, the Jr's & 10k race started coming through, followed by a couple of classic skiers (21 or 42K, not sure), but I recognized them as one of Colorado's top xc-ski racers...including Brian and Ross. A bit later, Bryce woke up and was greeting skiers as they went by saying "Hi" in the typical Bryce style. Shortly, I picked out Judy in the distance, wearing her red long sleeve top. The finish was s slow 200 meter uphill grind, not making it a pretty picture for skiers suffering. We cheer on Judy and she finishes! We head over to the finish several moments later. She disappeared to change into drier clothes. In the mean time, I was talking to a few racer I knew. All were saying this years course was much tougher, and the conditions were very slow. Everybody appeared wasted. While waiting for Judy, I got Bryce out to stretch his legs and give it a go on his new Karhu Kboom skis. Bryce's first moments on skis went like this...a couple of scoots, left right, left, right...then the dreaded crossover, and fall forward. All done! He wanted out. So, I unbound his feet straps and let him walk around.

A link to my photo gallery containing pics of the Alpina SMR Stampede can be found by going to the following link: http://dejansmaic.smugmug.com/gallery/7482158_2eQ7y/1/483134203_eQpyN

Frisco TT #4 - February 19, 2009

...but, it's really a race. We headed up to Frisco to get Judy's race legs back before the Alpina SMR Stampede in late February. The Frisco race is the last of a series of 4 races. Each lap is approximately 10k. Racers can do 10, 20 or 30k and were timed accordingly. Judy decided to do 20k, as the elevation being over 9000 ft amsl, would take a toll on here recovery in time for late Feb. My job was to ski with Bryce and photo racers. I got tons of photos and posted them to my website: http://dejansmaic.smugmug.com/gallery/7362448_abxAA/1/475021237_kDW6i
Bryce napped, skied and eventually played in the white stuff. Judy finished 20k, and said it was tough considering it's her first race of the season combined with the length & steepness of the course at over 9000'.

Boulder at 150 yrs

February 11, 2009 - There was a snowfall the night before, leaving slick & icy roads, but a very scenic drive for the morning commute. I was on my way in to work, slipping and a sliding, and decided to take a few hours of my vacation time to catch this rare opportunity of "snow along the front range" on my Nikon. Several inches of "fluff" coupled with low angle sunlight & cold morning temps was just too tempting. So, I decided to head up to Chautauqua Park in Boulder to get a few shots of the Flatirons with fresh powder before the days rays does the melt off. Later that afternoon, I did a trail run at Chautauqua and noticed the fresh snow could not win against the suns warming rays. As a tribute to Boulder, which recently celebrated its 150th yr anniversary, I post processed in CS3 and Efex Pro to give this shot a sepia effect. I am not sure if Mork and Mindy have been to Boulder recently, but I think they'd still find it a great place to live...if they can afford the hyper inflated property values.

This image, as well as others, can be viewed at the following link: http://dejansmaic.smugmug.com/gallery/7159722_yR2s4/1/473360982_UsFox

No More Leaves

While heading home from a work related project, I decided to take the long way back in search of photo opportunities. As the sun was setting, I saw this "big old tree" from I-25. I only had a second or two to decide whether or not to "give it a shot" before I pass the exit where this tree and its counterparts had set its roots. I peeled off the highway, shot over to the location and saw the foundation of an old homestead...storm cellar and all. This tree and its fallen counterparts probably provided shade to several generations of tired ranchers, families and their Black Labs & Golden Retrievers, as well as weathering severe storms. The tree probably died after it no longer served as a family shade tree after the homestead was abandoned. But, it came back to life the day I took this shot and several other images. The tree still serves the purpose as a reminder to Colorado's past.

Wildfire Aftermath

January 8, 2009 - The wildfire, referred to as the Old Stage Road Wildfire, scarred approximately 3,000 acres of open space, ranch land and private property. I took a short series of photos of the aftermath of the fire the following morning. This image was taken in Boulder County Open Space just south of Lee Hill Road near Broadway & Rt 36. The landscape appeared like a moonscape. Very little vegetation escaped the fast moving, wind drive flames. Images of the Old Stage Road Wildfire and its aftermath can be found at the following link:

http://dejansmaic.smugmug.com/gallery/7076764_tHjaN/1/453637516_kndJp

Boulder County Wildfire

January 7, 2009 - Images from the Boulder County wildfire. I was heading out for a run at Boulder Res. and saw the smoke. With camera in hand, I began to take images of the fire from areas not closed off by the Boulder County Sheriffs Dept. More images can be accessed at the following link:

http://dejansmaic.smugmug.com/gallery/7076764_tHjaN/1/453524643_VyN5Z