Summit County Lake Loop

As the summer winds down, I find myself trying to squeeze in all of the things I have not yet completed. One of my favorite things in the whole world is mountain biking in Summit County, Colorado. As a former resident, I was spoiled by the fantastic riding and the beautiful surroundings. While I don't miss the long winters at 9,500' above sea level, I do miss the riding.

When my friend Mark posted a Summit County ride invitation on the Colorado front range forum at MTBR.com a couple of weeks ago, I started planning. Yesterday was the day and we ended up with just the two of us, and another rider from Denver that we met through the forums at MTBR. I met Mark this way, and have met many other great riders whom I consider friends through MTBR.com.

An early start from Fort Collins had us to the meeting point at the Gold Hill trail head a little after 9:00, and we were rolling by 9:30. Because of timber removal due to the pine beetle infestation, the climb up the Gold Hill trail looked a lot different than the last time I rode it several years ago. It was still a grunt, but warmed the legs nicely.

The ride down the back side to the Peaks trail was fast and flowy as always, dropping us into Frisco at 7th Street, after a quick run past Rainbow Lake. For the 2+ years Michele and I lived in Frisco, the area around Rainbow Lake, Miner's Creek, and the lower end of the Peaks trail was our after work playground, so this brought back memories.

A straight shot through town on Hwy 9 and a short ride down the Dillon Dam Road were more pavement than we wanted, but we needed it to connect with the power line trail and the Old Dillon Reservoir trail. It was sad to see that they are draining the lake up top, but I understand there are safety concerns about the earthen dam. A short break on the descent, compliments of my flat rear tire, gave us a chance to take in the scenery before heading across the dam into Dillon.


A short climb on pavement through Dillon and across Hwy6, and we were on the Oro Grande Ditch trail that skirts the foot of tenderfoot Mountain between Dillon and Keystone. This is where I usually took my Tuesday night rides when I had my shop in Dillon. Not too difficult and great views are a good combination when leading group rides. We followed this all the way past the shooting range and up Frey Gulch to the Conference Center trail before dropping into Keystone.

A quick ride through the lakeside village and we were at the bottom of Keystone Gulch. The next 6 or 7 miles consisted of a long uphill grind. Because I had not been drinking or fueling sufficiently this day, and apparently not riding enough since the Laramie Enduro, I began to bonk about 3/4 of the way up this climb. As I neared the top, my left thigh was cramping enough that I had to walk some sections. I ate Clif Bloks, a PB&J sandwich, and Hammer Gel, and a mini Bagel, but it was a little too late. I probably should have eaten some of the jerky I had to get some salt into the system, but had forgotten it was in my pack.

A bit more walking brought me to my favorite piece of single track in the state of Colorado, the Colorado Trail atop West Ridge. My riding partners were waiting for me, and after a short break, we set off. Despite being worn out, I enjoyed this as much as always. There is an element of fear as you travel a smooth single track at nearly 30 miles an hour with a precipitous drop off less than a foot to your side, but the mountain continues to pull you faster and faster.

This was the second time riding this section on my Moots YBB SL, and the first time with the Fox RL100 on it. I was also running stiffer wheels this time, and I think the combination of the stiffer wheels and longer travel, stiffer fork made me feel more stable and made the ride more fun.

At the Horseshoe Gulch crossing, I decided my legs were not going to handle the final climb, so I urged Mark and Brian to continue, while I exited the Colorado Trail here, via the Dredge Boat trail head, and rode down Tiger Road to the car. The paved ride should have been easy, but I pushed a head wind all the way back to the car, arriving only 15 minutes before the others.

According to my Garmin Forerunner 305, our stats showed nearly 38 miles, nearly 3,100 calories burned, over 6700 feet in elevation climbed, and all over 9,000 feet above sea level.

Time is running out for first time home buyer tax credit.

The first time home buyer tax credit program is ending soon. In order to qualify, one of the conditions is that the purchase of the home is closed by November 30, 2009. At a closing yesterday, the title closer reminded me that Thanksgiving falls in the last week of November this year. This means that closings will need to take place in the third week of the month, or on Monday, the 30th of November. Given the number of transactions that will likely be taking place, and the likelihodd of funds not arriving or some other closing issue arising, it would be a good idea to schedule a November closing earlier in the month.

Mike Weber

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This weekend found me in the Snowy Range of Wyoming visiting family at the Brooklyn Lodge.

This beautiful log building sits at 10,200 feet above sea level and looks across a meadow to the Wyoming plains off to the east. Friday night was spent with my parents, kids, wife and aunt and uncle around the campfire, eating dinner and watching the deer in the meadow. The stars that came out after dark were stunning, with the Milky Way very visible, Antares twinkling in the southern sky, and Jupiter glowing brightly off to the south-east.

Saturday morning my uncle and I got on the ATV and headed out on the Brooklyn Lake and Towner Lake roads, in search of some of the many moose they had been seeing the past couple of months. We saw a small bull near Towner Lake, and a cow running across the Brooklyn Lake road.

Being that close to such great trails, I could not pass up the opportunity for a great ride. I had my MOOTS with me, just in case. While everyone else was relaxing and playing cards, I jumped on my bike for a ride. Headed up the highway to the Towner Lake Road and followed it past the site of the earlier Moose sighting to the Brooklyn Lake Road. My initial plan was to follow the North Fork trail from here down to the Sand Creek Road and then return to the lodge via the highway, but I decided against finishing the ride on a long paved climb. Therefore, I went up to explore the Sheep Lake trail for the first time.





The trails in this area see more horse traffic than bike traffic, and the rough, rocky trails show it. I enjoyed the ride, but think that a bike with some more rear travel than that offered by my YBB would have been beneficial. I ran across a huge snowfield melting in the August sun. There were numerous lakes, and the views above timberline stretched all the was south to Longs Peak in Colorado. Traffic was very light for a warm Saturday in the middle of August. I encountered only one other mountain biker, and a group of 4 hikers.



Finished the day with a great picnic with the family and then returned to Fort Collins to show property to a buyer looking for his first home.

Tales from the showing front.

I am always running into something strange while showing homes to potential buyers. Last week, we were looking at a home that had been vacated by the tenants the previous weekend. As we stepped out onto the back porch, however, we found that the tenants had not yet moved their large pitbull. He came around the corner at full speed, creating all sorts of excitement among my buyers and myself. We were able to retreat into the home, and get the sliding door closed enough to stop him at his shoulders. His tail was wagging, and he appeared friendly, so I'm sure he just wanted to play. However, our heart rates had already been elevated to near the level of our morning workouts. Who says selling real-estate is not exciting?

Mike Weber
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Live Music in Northern Colorado this evening

This time of year, we have many options for enjoying live music. Pack a picnic, grab your friends and family and head out to one of these venues this evening:

Fort Collins Civic Center Park (6-8 pm)

Euforquestra (Afro Caribbean Barnyard Funk)

Loveland Foote Lagoon (7-9 pm)

Brad & Kathy Fitch an the TropiCowboy Band (Western)

Windsor Lake (6:30-8:30 pm)

Clint Clymer & The Outlaws

Get out and enjoy!

Mike Weber

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Northern Colorado Real Estate update for July 2009

As many know, the Northern Colorado real estate market is brighter than those in many areas of the country. For that, we are thankful, even though it is sometimes seems difficult to work in the business. The July numbers show some bright spots from which we can draw energy. Based upon numbers from IRES, our local MLS, here is the updated data for our area.

Fort Collins

In Fort Collins, we saw fewer single family homes sell within the city(252), and in the area as a whole (278), than the same period last year (274/291 respectively), but the number of homes sold under $250,ooo actually increased by 4% in town and 8.5% in the area. It appears that many are taking advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit to purchase their first homes. The median price of single family homes sold in Fort Collins and surrounding areas was down and the longer average days on market shows it took longer for a home to sell than druing the same period last year. In the under $250k category, the average days on market increased considerably (14% city / 23% area), possibly due to appraisal and or lending delays.

Attached dwellings showed a bit of improvement over last year, with the number of units sold increasing over last year by 7%. It also took 6% less time to sell a condo or townhome in Fort Collins than it did last year. However, the median price was nearly 5% lower than last year.

Year to date sales data in both categories shows we have sold fewer properties than we had by this time last year, but activity is currently strong.

There are 14% more single family homes on the market in Fort Collins than there were at this time last year, giving us a roughly a 6.5 month inventory. The number of attached dwellings listed is down by 27% from last year, to an inventory level of 6.5 months.

Loveland

In the Loveland area, there were slightly fewer (138) single family transactions than last year (149), but when you toss out Berthoud and outlying areas, the number of homes sold in town (144) went up 8% from last year (115). The median price stayed virtually the same, as did the time to sell a home.

There were 10 fewer attached dwellings sold in Loveland than last year, but the median price increased by 17%. It did, however, take 17% longer to sell them.

Year to date numbers show fewer sales in both categories than last year. Inventory levels are sitting at 6.5 months for in-town properties, and 9.5 months for all area. THe inventory of homes under $250k is sitting at just 4 months. Attached dwellings are plentiful, with 10 months of inventory available.

For questions contact me:

Mike Weber

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I raced the Laramie Enduro mountain bike race over the weekend, and really enjoyed the event. As no more than a recreational mountain biker for the past 20+ years, I was unsure what to expect, beginning when my friend Matt signed me up back in the spring.

In talking to Matt, and one other friend, Andrew, who had both participated last year, I began to feel a bit more at ease. Matt encouraged me to try to start near the front to avoid an early bottle neck area. Andrew encouraged me to ride a less aggressive tire at a higher pressure, not to wear a hydration pack, and to spend little time at the aid stations.


The day before the race, we drove part of the course, giving a good idea of what to expect for the first 20 miles. A delicious Calzone for dinner in downtown Laramie at the Grand Avenue Bistro was followed by a 5 1/2 hour rainstorm the night before the race, making packing for morning a little more difficult. We even discussed whether or not to start if it was still raining in the morning.


The main preparation on the day before consisted of drinking lots and lots of water and getting the under the seat tool bag ready. I had gone through the bike earlier in the week and was confident in the condition and performance of my MOOTS YBB SL, despite it's 12 years of age.


Based on the reviews I had read of this course, I rode my Moots YBB SL soft tail, as opposed to my full suspension bike. The lack of significant technical riding allowed me to run Continental Explorers with about 50% tread wear both front and rear, and run them just over 40psi. The vintage Scott AT-2 LFx handlebars were very comfortable for the nearly 7 hour duration because of the multiple hand positions provided by their built-in bar ends. I used a Jandd Mini Mountain Wedge under the seat pack to carry 2 tubes, and patch kit, multi-tool, chain repair links, zip ties, etc. On my bike, I ran 2 bottle cages with 30 ounce bottles, one each of water and Gatorade. This left my jersey pockets free for nutrition. I was able to ride without a pack, giving me freedom of movement and keeping me cool. The ride quality was much improved over early spring riding, since swapping my old Manitou Skareb fork for my FOX RL100 fork. Much less flex.


The 4:30 wake up call came and we loaded the car and headed to the free breakfast, which the Quality Inn had started a half hour earlier than their normal 5:30am, due to the race. Raisin Bran, yogurt, waffles, bananas, bagels and juice were to be my fuel to start. On the way out, I grabbed another banana and slapped some peanut butter and jelly on a bagel to put into my jersey pocket for later.


At the start line, we found a near record low temperature of 39 degrees, and clear skies. Despite the chilly, shaded start area, I began the race in only a short sleeve jersey and shorts, so I would not have to sorry about removing a jacket or knee warmers later. Matt and I edged our way up to the back of the Open/Pro and SS class to insure a good start position for our second wave start 5 minutes after the fast riders.


The flat start turned quickly uphill on a wide dirt road, but narrowed to single track in less than a mile. Therefore, the object was to get to the singletrack before the the crowd, in order to avoid delays caused by the bottleneck. I let the faster riders go ahead of me and settled into a nice pace, hitting the singletrack without delay. In the singletrack, the wet tree roots kept my attention, but having ridden some of these trails before, I was comfortable enough to be able to make up several places. After the singletrack section, much of the next 20 miles was forest service access road, and was big-ring fast. Some wind made working together in a pace line necessary.


I was feeling good and decided to pass the first aid station. So far I was thinking this is easy, averaging 13.6 mph thus far. Back into the singletrack section, we kept a pretty good pace, but there was little room for passing leading to the second aid station. The trails up to this point were still familiar, so went by quickly. The second aid station brough a stop just long enough to fill both bottles, one with water, and one with Heed, and grab a couple of bagel halves. The volunteers were cheerful and friendly here, and at all the aid stations.

Entering unfamiliar territory, I was still having fun. The scenery and weather were great, and I was really enjoying myself. There were some sloppy stream crossings and some fast riding to keep us entertained. I tried to eat and drink as much as I could on the fire road sections, to keep me going. Still feeling good, I passed aid station #3 and made for number 4. Along with a couple of other riders, we missed a turn on a long climb, but were stopped and pointed in the correct direction by a father and son combo that were pleasure riding and watching the race. Thankfully they caught us very soon after the missed turn, and we lost very little time. A thigh deep water crossing in this section was quite refreshing.

By aid station #4, I was beginning to tire, so took about 5 minutes and got off the bike, snacked, and filled my Gatorade bottle. The next section would end up being the biggest challenge, with more single track, climbing and technical riding thant the rest of the race. Because of having to concentrate on controlling the bike, I found I was not eating and hydrating enough, leading to a bit of fatigue. My average speed dropped significantly between aid station 4 and 5. By aid station 5, however, I knew the end was near. At mile 63, one encounters Headquarters Hill, a reasonably technical, lengthy climb, that is not too bad when you are fresh. With this many miles under your belt, however, it is a bit of a attitude adjustment. After a short break, I climbed the beast, sometime on, and sometimes off the bike. At least I was on the bike when I encountered the race photographer!

The last few miles went by fairly quickly. Because of the number of rocks and the technical nature of the end of the race, I was riding a bit conservatively to avoid a pinch flat. I was in no mood for a repair at this late stage of the game. I was able to finish reasonably strong.

My total time on course was 6:51:30, which was good enough for 33rd overall in the Sport Class (230 racers), and 19th in the 40-49 year old sprot class (out of 100 racers). For my first endurance race, I was pleased with the results. Preparation and planning seemed to make a difference, along with lots of regular riding. I didn't necessarily train, but just took more rides with friends.

For nutrition, I found that the Hammer Gels worked better for me than the Power Gel, as the Power Gel was a little too thick. However, the deal I scored from Lee's Cyclery on Power Gel the day before the race made it OK (2 for $1 announced on Facebook). I started the day with Gatorade in my second bottle and it was fine. I then used Heed for part of the race and ended with Gatorade again. No problems. The bagels and bananas worked well, too.

Would I do it again? Yeah, I plan to be ready when the registration opens next spring. Since this race sold out in 9 days last summer, I want to be ready.

Mike Weber
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