Epic Race Mountain 05 – Keystone Night Skiing


Rhinehart had to work again today (the day before Thanksgiving?!) but we all had decided ahead of time that in order for him to maximize his hours at work and also maximize getting days knocked out on the epic race, we would utilize night skiing at Keystone on their opening night of skiing.

Rhinehart put in his time at work while Hydle and I did some more final chores and errands around town. The Touareg got a new “rack” – a sweet Thule setup, and then we went to Christy Sports to meet up with Mo and get mine and MOM’s new VJJ’s mounted up with new bindings. Hydle and I also were able to grab a quick lunch at Machetes in Cherry Creek with some friends – Maggie & Clayton – who were in town for Thanksgiving.

Rhinehart showed up in a full suit straight from work around 4, and we got on the road to head toward Keystone.

The sunset through Loveland pass on the drive up was breathtaking enough that we had to pull over and take some glamour shots of it. Driving into town seeing the full Keystone Mountain lit up with the village holiday lights twinkling was pretty spectacular, I had never seen a mountain that pretty at night time!

Since it was of course, “Wear a Bow Tie Wednesday” for Rhinehart, Hydle and I had to step up and participate in “Onesie Wednesday.” This was a great decision because I actually have not ever skied Keystone NOT in a onesie, so good thing I was able to keep the streak alive!

We got on the mountain and I was reminded again how fun Keystone is to ski all the way from the top all the way to the bottom – it’s huge!

We had some fun taking pics and videos around the mountain, got some much deserved compliments on the amazing onesies (Thanks D-Roge!) and suit, and basically just played around all the way up until closing time at 8 pm!

I realized tonight that Rhinehart and Hydle are perfect teammates for each other in this race. Hydle needs someone who can play and interact with him in front of the camera on the spot, and Rhinehart is really good at reading Hydles mind and playing back. They’re also a great match because Rhinehart is learning alot from Hydle in terms of new techniques in editing, and it seems that Hydle enjoys showing his “apprentice” some new tricks. It’s fun to watch from the background :) On the flip side, it’s fun to see Hydle learning what the “real” world looks like through the eyes of Rhinehart – and managing this trip through a “Paid Time Off” schedule, something Hydle has no comprehension of whatsoever.

We closed off the night by making some friends around the fire pit in the village for a bit, and then headed straight back to Rhineharts family cabin (Thank you again Rhineharts!) for some mac n cheese, editing, and laughs.

Moral of the story from today is for those of you who thought pulling off the Epic Race with a corporate job wasn’t possible, the proof is in Rhinehart’s pudding, sending it straight to the mountains in a full suit just to get in some epic turns!

All in all it was quite the relaxing, enjoyable evening full of fun skiing. Beaver Creek and Thanksgiving tomorrow! Epic!


Ted Archuleta – Courage Classic

Here’s the wrap up of the ride….

After 21 years, this ride is a well oiled machine. Great support, great people, great scenery.

I checked in on Friday with plenty of time to relax, listen to some music and drink a couple “soda pops”…hey, I had to carb up. ;)

Day 1: Saturday the ride started in Loveland, but since Eli and I carpooled and he needed it to get to Loveland on Monday, I didn’t really have a ride to the starting line…so I rode my bike. It was 30 degrees at the top of Freemont pass and the fog was so thick I could only see about a bike length in front of me. I made it to Loveland and basically turned around and rode back up over Tennessee pass, Battle Mountain and Vail Pass (King of the Mountain). This ride is commonly known as the “Copper Triangle”…a GREAT way to start a 3 day ride.

Day 2: I knew it was gonna rain around 2pm so I got out there early for the Century option. 100 miles that takes you from Copper to Silverthorne, North on Hwy 9 to Ute Pass (pass line picture, myself and 3 other strong riders average about 27 mph to Ute Pass. It’s awesome when you ride past a car radar and it flashes SLOW DOWN), then back South on Hwy 9 through Silverthorne to Keystone, up over Swan Mountain into Frisco. Frisco to Breckenridge (for lunch, my “power lunch” consisted of ½ a can of Coke and a cherry pie Lara bar), then Breckenridge back to Copper. I demo’d about ~$5000 bike (Full Carbon Specialized) from Wheat Ridge Cycling and CRUSHED the ride. I spent 5:25 in the saddle and only got caught in the rain for the last 5 miles.

Day 3 came early, and another ride up Freemont pass, this time with some wonderful company. Finished up with a short ride around Turquoise Lake (I highly recommend, it’s straight out of an MC Escher book, the road seems to continually go up). At the finish line I received a gold medal from a Children’s Hospital patient in a wheel chair.

Over the 3 days, I rode 230 miles, climbed over 15,000 feet of elevation, spent ~14 hours in the saddle, and raised $334 dollars ☺

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Cheers,
Ted