With the Ridgeline Rampage mtb race snowed out, it was up to Sean to represent Team Alchemist this past weekend on the road. He threw down at the Weld County Road Race. Leading the pack for much of the race in his custom Alchemist Team attire. The Pais-Mo kit got a lot of attention. Nice work out there, Sean.
As bad as the weather has been for riding in Boulder, it’s still not as bad as the weather in Minnesota. Steve has been holed up through a long Minnesota winter, but his little girl, Amelia, still finds a way to sport the Alchemist colors. Good thing she gets her looks from her mother.
Amelia getting in some saddle time, and looking mahvelous.
Team Alchemist had a great weekend in Fruita at the Desert R.A.T.S. race. A bunch of top podium spots. Ken defended his Men’s 30-39 title from last year. Ryn won the 30-39 women’s group. Jenn won the 40-49 women’s group. Becky took third in her first mountain bike race ever. Congrats Team Alchemist!
Ken’s race report:
Desert R.A.T.S. Report: Alchemist Train Chugs to Multiple Age Group Wins
The Team Alchemist effort at the Desert R.A.T.S. (Race Across The Sand) on May 12th started with a flat, but ended with multiple podium finishes. The out and back race is contested on the Kokopelli trail starting in Rabbit Valley, CO and turning around near the “Cisco Disco” in Cisco, UT. The course consists of mostly smooth double track with several rocky technical sections.
We got to the pre-race safety meeting 15 minutes before start and I realized my sidewall had a slice in it, and was bubbling out Stan’s. Since it was the only tire I had, I decided I needed to boot / duct tape the slice, and put in a tube. That was when the Alchemist Pit Crew (actually the other Alchemist racers) flung into action. How many people does it take to fix a flat? 6 – Chris Castilian, Stuart Walsworth, Jon Pulley, Becky Anderson, and Ryn Kreidl all took over and put everything back together, and rumor has it, Jenn Dice got a video of the teamwork. Luckily the race starter, delayed the start a few seconds, but once we got it inflated he said, “OK, we’ll start in 8 seconds” and we were off.
Chris Castilian led the Alchemist Train out of the blocks and put us comfortably in the 2nd group of 7 riders, with 5 other riders going off the front, and not seen again until the turnaround. After about 10 minutes, Chris told us his work as the locomotive engineer was done, and he settled in to a more comfortable pace. On the way out to Cisco, Disco Stu, JP, and I took turns pulling the train, but couldn’t drop the 2 stowaways. We made a quick turnaround in Cisco and had about a 10 second gap on the 2 other riders. We got into our 3-person paceline, pressed on the pedals a little extra, and were able to increase the gap to 1 minute quite quickly. We held the gap the rest of the race, and got that extra boost of energy from Deb Pulley (volunteering since she is recovering from surgery) and Tom Dice (out of the race after braking his chain multiple times) at the last aid station. Stuart was feeling frisky and kept the pace high through the last 2 climbs and Jon kept up nicely, while I struggled to keep up. They took a minute to enjoy the nice scenery, and allowed me to gather myself. We crossed the line together, and finished 6th, 7th, and 8th overall. Luckily for me, the 30s category was a little thin, so I won the 30s, while they came in 4th and 5th in the 40s. Chris kept the pedals moving after pulling us along at the start, and finished 22nd overall. They didn’t come home empty handed though, as they all won water bottles in the post-race raffle.
After the race Stuart said, “Jon Pulley has been closet training all year. He was super smooth in the sand. Way to crush JP!!!” Jon drew the stink-eye from Jenn last year after his famous Mountain Flyer quote about the course being well marked http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/desert-rats-classic.html . He noted it was “perhaps not as well signed as last year!” as we all made several small wrong turns this year, including a nasty 2 MPH crash by Disco.
The ladies did not disappoint in their race as well. Jenn pushed the pace early, and Ryn pushed hard to keep up. They worked together and “girled” rider after rider. They quickly found themselves in the top half of the pack, and in 3rd place in the women’s race. Becky was competing in her first mountain bike race, so started at the back, but quickly found her rhythm and left many a slowpoke behind. On the last few climbs, Ryn started acting like a Walsworth and hammered up the hills. They finished together, placing 3rd and 4th in the women’s race, and each won their age category. Becky stayed steady the whole race and finished 3rd in her age group, and was already pointing out areas where she could have gone faster.
Ryn was proud of her effort after the race and mentioned, “the key to winning is picking your races well. Now I am no longer the only one in the Kreidl family without a 1st place finish!” Her sons, Max & Luke, have already engraved a few wins on their race resumes, including the Bolder Boulder, Longmont Kids Triathlon, CU Short Track, and the Pearl Street Mile.
The after party at the Stonehaven Inn was as good as the race with Castilian manning the grill. If you ever have any questions about Peanuts trivia, ask Stuart.
Claire, Nicole, and Patton went down to the Fruita Fat Tire Festival this past weekend. They demoed some Salsa 29ers and set up shop in downtown Fruita. Here are some pics from the weekend.
Mr. Fish found the perfect jersey
Borat loves Alchemist! This fan hung an Alchemist cowbell around his neck and strutted his stuff all over downtown Fruita. We couldn't be more proud.
Ryan with the newest hot-off-the-press Alchemist recycled T-shirt
Claire and Nicole with the Green Guru boys demoing Salsa Bikes
Alchemist Wool making the rounds
The Alchemist Ladies cut loose in downtown Fruita.
Saw a young lady who gagged on her medication which had gotten stuck in her throat. As she gagged, partially dissolved pill particles filled her nostrils. The medication she’s on is apparently quite acidic, and it caused her a great deal of distress, physical and emotional. Her watering eyes grew puffier and puffier as she belted out profanity-laced screams for help. The solution, of course, was simple. I sprung into action and called for a massive dose of pharmaceutical-grade Neti Pot. Neti-Pot, baby. Okay, so we don’t actually have a Neti Pot in the ER. But a 60cc syringe and a Sodium Bicrabonate solution is the next best thing. It worked, sort of. She felt better while neti-potting, but was back to burning when she finished. So I did what any good doctor would do. I ignored the root cause of her problem and tried to mask it with nebulized Lidocaine. It worked, sort of . Her tongue was completely numb anyway. But it was all still better than seeing another young lady with abdominal pain without a cause.
Thomas and Mike with the Justin’s Nutbutter Team have been battling heat, exhaustion, and other competitors down in South Africa in the Cape Epic. 95 degree temps and more dust than West Texas. Sounds fun. These guys are silly strong. It’s March, and they are in peak condition. It’s early enough in the season that I still think that a hour on the trainer is a big effort. Check out the video.
In the spirit of proliferating more semi-inappropriate propaganda about the netheregions, here is the Alchemist sticker as promised. Available for purchase? Maybe.
At what point in a marriage does all that lusty exuberance lose it’s luster? Fella came to the ER in the middle of the night for belly pain. The pain is in the left upper part of his belly, which is like a wasteland for definable diagnoses. Nothing really surgically bad happens up there, unless you rupture your spleen, which doesn’t usually happen spontaneously. In the end, I usually throw a delicious beverage known as a GI Cocktail at these folks, and sometimes run some labs for show. As I was pressing on his rotundness, his wife and 1 year old came trudging in, foggy-eyed and bloodshot. Dude, really? You couldn’t have come in on your own? In all your valiant maleness, you drug in the wife and baby? He wasn’t here to impress, clearly.
Of course, this all coming from the the romantic, who for the most part, forgot what holiday came to pass a couple days ago. Let he who hath not lost all chivalry cast the first stone.
The weather outside is frightful, but inside, the ER is delightful, which may explain why everyone seems to want to come to the ER when it’s sh*t outside. Crap weather usually dissuades the lazier, less motivated un-sick to brave the elements just to see yours truly. But yesterday’s crowd was apparently bred from a heartier stock of patients. Aside from the usual colds and nosebleeds, saw a lady with belly pain who had teeth in her ovaries. Whether this may have been the cause of her pain was beside the point. The presence of dentition in her reproductive organs prompted the obligatory debate amongst the ER staff of whether those pearly whites represented her reabsorbed twin. This, of course, would mandate that she have TWICE the powers of an ordinary human.
Saw another couple because they were innocently enjoying a beverage at the local bar when the next thing they knew, he was being arrested, and she was getting a ride home from a friend. In a Hangover-esque type script, they had somehow ended up 40 miles away from the bar, him in cuffs, and her, bewildered about how they ended up there. Neither of them remembered a thing between the last drink and the Big House. They were looking to get tested for GHB or some kind of date-rape type drug. To my amazement, we actually have a date-rape drug panel. GHB, Rohypnol, Ketamine, among others. With 30cc of urine and a sizable chunk of coin, you can find out if that Roofie really was the culprit for last night’s amnestic shenanigans. Or maybe you were just really drunk. Again.
Mount Kilimanjaro downhill course
Jen and Stuart are currently in the early stages of their adventure up to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. This is no ordinary trip though. They will taking bicycles up with them (well the porters will be taking them). They will then descend on two wheels back to base camp. Jenn is bringing an Alchemist softshell jacket with her to sport on the summit. We are rooting for you!
Last year we got beat out by Med/Surg. The year before by Pharmacy. We’ve been the bridesmaid two years in a row. After winning the top podium spot 3 years ago, we haven’t been able to recapture the magic that brought home the gold since then.
The hospital food drive is a cutthroat exercise in gamesmanship and cunning strategy. We won’t be beat this year. The docs all pooled our collective stingy-ass cash contributions. Plans for a last minute shopping spree by Melissa and Kandy at Save-A-Lot should seal the deal for the ER this year. We hope. It’s no longer the season of caring, or of giving. Tis the season of winning. Told Rachel in Pharmacy it’s on like Donkey Kong, so bring it on!
Check out the Denver Post. More Cowbell made the gift guide in the fitness section. Big thanks to Kristen at the Post for including us.
Alchemist would once again like to thank Dan Maes for inspiring the two year old in all of us. It’s something we’ve all been brainwashed to accept. Sharing. But no longer, right Danno? We cyclists are all behind you on this one (laughing). Sharing SUCKS!
“Bike Share” is now available for pre-order on the Alchemist site. 100% organic, ring-spun cotton. Itch-Free, tagless label. Phthalate-Free ink. Plantable, seeded hang-tag. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Available in men’s and women’s. Expected arrival date of Sept 21, 2010. For the folks who can’t squint hard enough to read the type, it goes like this: Bike Share is the Gateway to Sinister World Domination. “This is bigger than it looks on the surface . . .”-Dan “McCarthy” Maes.
This is a limited edition design. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
One more follow-up from the previous post “Cheating Death“. I received a very nice card from his wife today. On the front is a picture of him in a lake with his dog. His wife tells me that he is nearly 100% back to normal, and he is back to enjoying regular life again. Incredible. When I first met him, he was ghost white, his pupils were fixed, and he didn’t have a pulse. He was dead. That is one tough hombre. His wife is pretty darned tough too.
Check out the Alchemist Review in Boulder.me. Written by Jennifer Roberts, who has a pretty sweet blog herself, www.rideboulderco.com. It’s filled with effervescent prose about biking in Boulder. She has nice style.
So I’m sure you all stayed up late last night, holding your breath, waiting for the outcome of the republican gubernatorial primary election results. I’m please to announce that our good friend and bike advocate, Dan “McCarthy” Maes, won! We’ll be rolling out the commemorative “Bike Share” T in a few weeks. It will be a limited edition run, so tell all your friends to hop on the bandwagon cus it’s about to be all hitched up and gone. Here is the final edit.
Read it, “Like it”, comment on it (but please be nice).
Big props to Jussi, who purchased a “T.V Sucks, Ride your Bike” t-shirt. I had to adjust the shipping settings in the checkout because Jussi resides in FINLAND! He heard about us through the Waltworks blog. Thanks, Jussi, for bearing with us as we figured out how to set-up shipping. Jussi also inquired about More Cowbell. That is slated to come out in late summer, in time for CX season. Thanks also to Walt for the “referral”.
Speaking of Walt . . . He stripped a 32 tooth cog from an old steel cassette and welded it to a 16 tooth cog for the bike-mower to make it easier to turn the cranks. The 32 tooth cog was kinda flimsy without the cassette, so he welded a 28 tooth cog to it to give it extra support. That Walt. Heesa-kinda-crazy. I’ll get a pic of it in a future post. He’s going to give the fork a little extra rake too. Walt also installed a starnut, and he let me steal a couple old 29er tires out of his trash. I swear. I may not be allowed in his shop anymore because I seem to always leave with my pockets full of his stuff. The bike-mower should be fully operational soon. Pics of that to come too.
Tomorrow is another night shift, so if the patients give me a break, you can expect another post. Hopefully, something interesting will come in.
At what point in a marriage does all that lusty exuberance lose it’s luster? Fella came to the ER in the middle of the night for belly pain. The pain is in the left upper part of his belly, which is like a wasteland for definable diagnoses. Nothing really surgically bad happens up there, unless you rupture your spleen, which doesn’t usually happen spontaneously. In the end, I usually throw a delicious beverage known as a GI Cocktail at these folks, and sometimes run some labs for show. As I was pressing on his rotundness, his wife and 1 year old came trudging in, foggy-eyed and bloodshot. Dude, really? You couldn’t have come in on your own? In all your valiant maleness, you drug in the wife and baby? He wasn’t here to impress, clearly.
Speaking of Walt . . . He stripped a 32 tooth cog from an old steel cassette and welded it to a 16 tooth cog for the bike-mower to make it easier to turn the cranks. The 32 tooth cog was kinda flimsy without the cassette, so he welded a 28 tooth cog to it to give it extra support. That Walt. Heesa-kinda-crazy. I’ll get a pic of it in a future post. He’s going to give the fork a little extra rake too. Walt also installed a starnut, and he let me steal a couple old 29er tires out of his trash. I swear. I may not be allowed in his shop anymore because I seem to always leave with my pockets full of his stuff. The bike-mower should be fully operational soon. Pics of that to come too.
Team Alchemist Blog 