Raible Designs

Riding to Red Rocks

A few years ago, Bruce and I rode our bikes from my house in Denver to Red Rocks to see a Big Head Todd concert. Little did we know it'd turn into an annual tradition.

That first ride was the most memorable. I used to live a few miles from Red Rocks, so I knew of a nice route (Platte River to Bear Creek) to get us there. That first trip out there took 2-3 hours and was pretty exhausting. On the way home, we left Red Rocks around 11pm and quickly realized we were ill-prepared.

We had no lights.

Since I knew the trail well, having ridden it many times, I didn't realize how dangerous it was. 15 minutes into the ride, I had to grab my brakes and come to a screeching halt so I didn't hit a big metal gate (goes across the road near the entrance of Bear Lake Park; 12" diameter metal tube about 3 1/2 feet off the ground). There was a couple making out on the back of a motorcycle a couple feet from me when it happened. Their reaction? "Whoa, that was close dude."

I rode around the gate and up a couple hundred yards until I reached a lit area. I sat there and waited for Bruce. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crash, followed by a 2nd one a few seconds later. I figured it couldn't be Bruce because there were two crashes. 30 seconds later, here comes Bruce, cussing up a storm and looking like he was in pretty bad shape. I couldn't help but laugh as I thought of the expressions on the faces of the couple on the motorcycle. Bruce turned out to be OK, but we both were pretty skittish as we navigated the way home in the pitch black. We've purchased bike lights since that trip and use them every year.

I'm not a huge fan of BHTM, but I am a fan of their concerts. It's especially cool for me because I went to college with the keyboardist, Jeremy Lawton (guy on the left above). We were fraternity brothers and enjoyed many frosty beverages together back in the day. We don't keep in touch now, but it's still fun to see him and how much success he's had in his career.

Should be an awfully fun night tonight.

2008: The Year of Beer

In a few weeks, I'm heading to the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston. In July, I'll be attending the Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland (followed by a night at McMenamins Kennedy School). A friend and I just booked flights for Oktoberfest in Munich. A couple weeks after Oktoberfest, I'll be attending the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

Homer would be proud.

Deer Creek Canyon Trail

This evening I enjoyed an awesome ride up Deer Creek Canyon Trail in the foothills. Click on the image below for proof.

Up next: White Ranch on Wednesday.

Fun Weekend with The Munchkins

This weekend was action-packed and a lot of fun. On Friday night, Abbie, Jack and I watched The Empire Strikes Back. We watched "the first one" a couple weeks ago; their first "grown up" movie to-date. They're loving the series, especially because they recognize people from the previous movie. They're really looking forward to the next one because Wicket is in it. Believe it or not, I still have a stuffed Wicket from when I was a kid.

On Saturday, we started the day off right at Andrew Swanson's 5th birthday party. Following that, we hit up Pirates Cove and its adjacent petting zoo and train ride.

Today, we woke up, had some blueberry pancakes, drove to the bait shop and then headed to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The weather was beautiful and Kriley Pond was a nice fishing spot. We didn't catch anything, but both kids are getting a lot better at casting. The highlight was the live worms we bought at the bait shop. Both Abbie and Jack were convinced they were the biting kind.

Next fun trip: An overnight camping trip on Father's Day. Location TBD.

Which one do you believe Daddy?

Abbie: Which one of these do you believe Daddy?

Abbie: Mommy and I believe the 2nd one is right.
Me: I agree.

It's a beautiful night in Denver

It's a pleasant 68°F in Denver tonight. Rather than working in the house, I thought I'd step out into the backyard. It's quite nice out here - I might have to do this more often.

An afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park

Today was one of those days I hope I do more often as a single parent. Ever since ski season ended, I've had a hard time entertaining the kids on weekends. I don't have them every weekend - Julie and I each get them a week at a time. However, for the past couple times I've had them, our weekends have been rather lame. We've still done stuff, but it's usually only a couple hours at a time. The last time I had them we went to Bass Pro Shops, got them some fishing gear and headed out to a local lake. However, once their lines got tangled and they started frolicking in the mud (while I tried to untangle them), I felt like my mission failed.

I don't know what was so special about today, but I think it was simply getting out of the city and into the hills. This morning we had breakfast with Julie, headed to REI for a new tent and then drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park to look at some animals and take a hike. We stopped in Estes Park for some ice cream and playground action and then headed into the park to gaze at some Elk and hike along a small creek. Evidence is contained in the pictures below and in a set on Flickr.

We bought the tent this morning because we were planning on camping with the Colorado Bus Club before Volkswagens On The Green (VWOTG) tomorrow. However, Abbie's cold started to get pretty bad this afternoon, so we decided to camp in the backyard instead.

Tomorrow should be a lot of fun. The forecast is 86°F and the VWOTG show is always inspiring.

Happy Cinco de Linko!

Today is packed full of celebrations and traveling for me. First of all, it's Cinco de Mayo, which is always a good excuse for a margarita. Secondly, I'm heading to Mountain View to assist my co-workers in celebrating Cinco de Linko. After that, I'm pitching in a LinkedIn softball game trying to beat the #1 team in our league. Then I'll be heading up to the festivities of JavaOne. It's likely I won't be "networking" until late night. I'll be twittering all week if want to know where the good parties are.

Update: I just learned how to find out when you first joined LinkedIn. Click on "Account & Settings" at the top of any LinkedIn page. On that page, in the upper-right corner in grey text, you should see "User since: " and the date you joined. Interestingly enough, I joined May 27, 2003 - just 22 days after the launch.

Denver Weather

Yesterday it was 82°F in Denver, today it's snowing. Here's the view from our office in downtown Denver. Drab and dreary - perfect for the Avs Playoff Game tonight.

The 2007/8 Ski Season comes to an end

Yesterday, I woke up early and drove to Winter Park/Mary Jane for an 8" Powder Day. I arrived in the Challenger Lift parking lot at 7:30, took a nap until just after 8, then hopped on one of the first chairs up Mary Jane. Knee-deep powder at the top of Mary Jane Trail, fresh tracks the rest of the way down. Next run was Derailed into Short Haul. Then I hit the chutes off Challenger and called friends to see when they were showing up. It was 9:30 and everyone was still on their way. One friend recommended I head over to Vasquez Cirque and Eagle Wind lift. 3 runs of knee-deep, fresh-track face shots and I was spent. I skied to the bottom of Mary Jane for some lunch and a beer.

As I was entering the bar, everyone showed up and I changed my plans to join them on their first run. 2 more hours of powder on Eagle Wind and it was (finally) time for lunch at 1:30. After lunch, Outhouse, a tree run near Challenger Lift and Bluebell to Corona Way back to Snow White. It was 4:00 and quite possibly the longest ski day of my life.

I was sad to hear that today marks the last day of skiing at Winter Park and Mary Jane. Thankfully, I got to end my ski season on an epic powder day. What a great year: 21 days, including Steamboat, Tahoe and Whistler. Next year, I'm shooting for 30.

Bring on Mountain Bike Season. I plan on riding a few races in the Winter Park Mountain Bike Racing Series as well as the Fat Tire Classic.