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Beer Festival? No, not really. more like a beer garden, which is fine. I love a good beer garden. It was a good crowd and the weather was a little rainy, but all in all it great time.

All of the usal suspects showed up and that was nice to see. Avery, Twisted Pine, Pump House, Boulder Brewery, BJ’s, Walnut Brewery, and Left Hand Brewery. The Red Fish was not there which I thought was interesting and unfortunate. The Tree Hugger IPA would have went over real well. The first thing that really threw me for a loop was the fact that Avery ran out of beer by 1:30. That is just unacceptable

This is how it worked; You stand in line to get ID’d and pay your $13 and then you went to the next check point to get a wrist band and a 4oz. cup with six tickets. That is not near enough tickets for the number of beers there were to try. I think it’s funny that this event was called a festival when it was more of a great little garden party. The blues band they had on hand was awesome. Personally I think a good Hippy Jam Band would have been better. The layout of the event could have been a little better, hopefully they work out the kinks for the next event. No matter where you stood you could have easily been standing in a line for another beer. Once the crowd thinned out, it was a little easier to to find a beer to try. I love the Julien’s food and the staff has always been great. Even when they told Philip his great Dane was not allowed in the hotel patio area. I am not sure I could have run it better myself, but there are definately things in the system I would change. I would not want it run like GABF, because that place is nuts.

I hope the St Julien does another Boulder Beer Fest. It was a well spent $13!

Ok, perhaps there was no true rise, but the fall was a doozy.

I was witness to one of the most riveting sports in American culture… FlipCup!

I followed Colorado’s favorite FlipCup team, The Old Geezers. A team of grit, drinking ability and unparalleled nuttiness.The captain of this team is a true a son of Québécois, a leader worthy of a sandwich and strength that can only be measured in kilograms, Beeptone Belanger. His first mate known in some circles as Mr. Velcheck, A.K.A. Chester McGee, A.K.A. Mookie Wilson, A.K.A. Gupta Rameesh is a real drinking phenom. Bringing up the third position is Erin, flipping cups with gusto and bravery. This year however there was a new player added to the already international roster. Jituš, hailing from the mean streets of Prague, Czech Republic. This contender is a real cup flipping, beer drinking spitfire. Don’t be fooled by the 158cm frame, this girl will out drink any frat boy in the country. Together they are a formidable team. Each team member bringing different skills to the FlipCup table.

This year the Denver FlipCup Regional Championship was held in Washington Park. The Old Geezers faced some stiff competition with the likes of Hot Bitch, and The Corndogs… These teams have dozens of rabid fans, there was a lot of pressure on the O.G.

The games went on for hours and it was not always pretty, the tournament was difficult to watch at times, but the action was fast paced and mayhem often ensued. The Cholos were the first team eliminated and they seemed to be devistated and physically battered by the onslaught of cups flipping through the air. Thankfully there was only one injury, that was a bruising of the number two distal phalanges on the right hand. The Cholo’s trainers say she could be out action from anywhere between three to seven days.

I wish I could say The O.G. took home the tournament trophy, but I would be a damn liar. Instead they were knocked out in the fourth round. It was tragic loss for team, especially for Le Beeptone, he trained many days and with a hand pick team of athletes he was certain he had a real winner. Jituš told me this may be her last FlipCup tourney in the U.S. for sometime to come. She just came off a big win in Seattle last week and was really hoping to take home the trophy this year before heading to the European FlipCup Championship (EFCC) in Stockholm, Sweden. Erin is expected to retire this year. She had been playing two sports and she tells me that she has decided to devote the rest of her athletic career to bob-sledding. Mr. Velcheck, A.K.A. Chester McGee, A.K.A. Mookie Wilson, A.K.A. Gupta Rameesh will continue training with Beeptone in hopes of taking the International Championship next year then the World FlipCup Series in Eu Claire, Wisconsin in two years.

This story is not over, in fact it has only just begun.

Randy owned a beautiful orange Bontrager, actually built by Kieth Bontrager himself.. A simply beautiful bicycle. He sold the bike to an old friend that gave it back to him. What a wonderful gesture by a friend.

Randy decided he wanted to build the bike up as a single speed commuter. I think he’ll be riding trails on this bad boy..

Parts lineup:

• Rear wheel is a single speed ENO hub with an Eno Freewheel
• Front wheel is a CrossMax
• Crank is a compact square taper Race Face crank riding on a UN-72 Bottom bracket
• Handmade Cromoly Fork
• Ritchey Seat Post and handlebars
• XTR Levers and V-Brakes

A beautiful bicycle. If I had to guess this thing weighs in at about 21 pounds.

Thanks for the FWD Steg!

I walk into Conor’s on a Thursday night and guess who I ran into. That’s right, Edie. It was her bachlorette party.. Weird.

Daniela and I roadtripped from Colorado to Northern California and back.

Daniela and I go to Grand Tetons. here

Here we are at Yellowstone National Park. here

Daniela and I stumbled upon Craters of the Moon National Monument in the middle of Idaho. here

The drive through Idaho from Craters was really pretty, see pictures here.

We went into Hell’s Canyon in Oregon, but most of the road was still snowed out. Even the campground we wanted to was unexpectedly closed. here

After Hell’s Canyon we hit the road, jumped across the river north to Washington and through Portland and down the Oregon coast. here

While in Eugene. I miraculously did not take many pictures there. But there are some up here.

After Daniela and I leave Eugene we head south on the 101. here

Redwoods was fantatastic. We drove on Coastal Drive and hiked the Tall Tree Trail and the Fern Canyon Trail. It was awesome. here

The trip back to Colorado was great.. A trip to Lassen Volcanic NP, then down the Lonliest road in America. A funny Petroglyph view spot with no recognizable petrolyphs, and on down the road to Goblin Valley in Utah… Fun stuff. here

Before Daniela headed back to Czech Republic, we went to New York and did the tourist thing..

Gallery here

This week I got to hang out with Philip, Beth and Chris while they paddled on the Boulder Creek. I was able to get some pretty good shots.

Check them out here: http://tcphotographic.com/go/media/paddle/index.html