Reports Archive

I realize that in past weeks I have been, perhaps, a little critical of Aspen Cycling Club races. I apologize, not for my criticisms, but for the one-sidedness of my analysis. So before I begin this report, here are a few good things about Aspen Cycling Club racing: Tactical Uncertainty – You never know which…

So I got out of bed on Sunday with a serious pain in my neck and left shoulder. Judging by the rocks I was picking out of my helmet as I packed up for the ride out, my head did do a fair bit of landing on Saturday. Good thing the course marshals didn’t see…

Some of you no doubt said, upon reading my report from Wednesday’s Maroon Bells-Ashcroft, “Oh, Cosmo, you fat little turd, you only didn’t like this race because it’s got lots of climbing and you a loathsome hunk of chubby, unathletic flesh,” Untrue. Climbing does not negate my enjoyment of a race course in the slightest….

Aspen and I run on different wavelengths. They see a 25mph speed limit sign and say “Why not go 20?” I see a 25mph speed limit sign and say “Get the hell out of my way you tie-dyed, Prada-wearing, hemp-smoking SUV Democrat!” But it’s cool, man. I mean, it takes all kinds to make a…

People in Aspen look at me funny. A lot. Like when I don’t know where Highlands is. No matter how many times I tell them: I don’t live here in the winter, and I have no desire to live here in the winter. 30 bucks is too much for a lift ticket. You think I…

Ah, it’s so good to be back racing in The Valley. The unbelievably slow starts, the sketchy riding, the incredibly thin air…truly, la dolche vita. This week’s race went down not on roads, but on the Woody Creek Race track, which was purchased a few years back by the private and exclusive Aspen Auto Racing…

So the weekend’s action started on Wednesday, for some reason, as the organizers saw fit not to schedule any races on the national holiday on Monday. That’s a little less cash in my pockets, but whatever. Sign-in went according to plan, except that my psuedo-teammates, Rudy Awerbuch and Steve Weller were planning to use disk…

So after Sunday’s debacle, I was ready for a little revenge on the various bike shop teams of Aspen [BTW, the “Telco” guys are really “Jelco” guys; they’re from Ajax Bikes, I believe]. Today’s course was a short circuit that basically went up moderately, and then down less moderately. I think the loop was 3-5…

After Saturday’s hill climb, I was a little more prepared for the “Aspenness” of this morning’s crit. Like when I noticed they ran the A Women (these aren’t USCF races, after all) simultaneously with the Veteren Men (35+) Sure, it worked out well for the one chick who could keep pace, but sure wasn’t fair…

If I had to sum up this entire weekend in a single acronym, it would be “WSM” (Western Slacker Mentality). Let’s start with the Ride for the Pass, an alleged hillclimb race from Aspen to the top of Independence Pass. I declined to actually race this, electing instead to ride with my friend Sam who…