This is a re-post from the fall of 2011, I watched this game in Dallas with extended family who also happen to be Buffs. With the season mere days away, I wanted to re-visit what was one of the Buffaloes' best wins during "The Lost Years"

 

The End of the Streak

4 years is an exceptionally long period of time.

For some perspective, that’s roughly the length of 20 (!) Kardashian marriages.

The University of Colorado football team went precisely 1,490 days between out-of-state victories. 24 road games, three head coaches, and countless miles came between Friday’s 17-14 triumph over freshly-minted rival Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City and October 27, 2007’s 31-26 victory over Texas Tech in dusty Lubbock, Texas.

That year I was a freshman living in Libby Hall, with a bit more hair, who foolishly believed in the enormous fallacy that was the Dan Hawkins Experience. During my sophomore year I witnessed two of the 24 road losses live and in person. One was a pre-ordained failure in Jacksonville, Florida against the Florida State Seminoles. The other was the heartbreaker that came at the hands, and feet, of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in America’s most scenic concrete methamphetamine dispensary. (Had to, I’m not sorry.)

It takes extraordinary circumstances for a streak like this to grow and the Golden Buffaloes found every possible way to nurture it. Colorado often found itself simply outmatched and outmanned in many of these games. But in contests where they stood a reasonable chance of competing, it was always “the little things” (read: horrendous penalties, poor special teams play, key injuries, missed scoring opportunities) that would begin snowballing at the beginning of each game and before you knew it a full-fledged avalanche was burying any slim chance remaining to the Buffs. They say you make your own luck and CU was conjuring every bad beat imaginable.

All of the familiar demons were in attendance on Friday, and not even the Church of Latter Day Saints could keep them at bay.The Buffs came out firing, scored first, and caught Utah flat-footed. Then, with a chance to begin to really put the pedal down late in the 1^st quarter Toney Clemons dove for the pylon and, in a twist that could only happen to CU, lost the ball which then proceeded to bounce through the end zone for a touchback. Following that, however, the Buffs defense remained stout and took a 10-0 lead into halftime.

After the break, the road demons reared their ugly heads again. CU’s defense started receiving gashing plays from Utah’s offense. The requisite quota of bad penalties at crucial moments was met with numerous false starts and holding calls. Throw in a bad turnover, a no-call on an obvious facemask, and a poor penalty on Parker Orms’ vicious but clean hit and you could faintly hear that same old song and dance drifting over the waters of the Great Salt Lake. Clinging to a 17-14 lead in the dying minutes, CU’s injury-ravaged and much maligned defense finally stood up to The Streak. They held Utah in field goal range and let fate take care of the rest.

To conquer something that becomes so enormous that it takes on a life of its own, a few things need to happen. You need to stare that thing straight in the face, accept it for what it is, and then claw past it by any means necessary. Most importantly, it takes some extraordinary circumstances to break your way. This time, it was the opposing kicker who was missing chip-shot field goals.

Three things took place at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains on Friday. The Colorado Buffaloes ended the darkest streak in school history. The Colorado Buffaloes, and Parker Orms’ resounding hit, began an intermountain rivalry. And the Colorado Buffaloes played with the heart, grit, and determination that used to define University of Colorado football. Never give in.

RTR Training: Back on the Road

The top of Dinosaur Ridge, looking northeast at the backside of Green Mountain.

It had been exactly two months and one day since I had last ridden the familiar roads of west Lakewood, Morrison, and Red Rocks that I spent so much time on last year. Between moving in early March, working, and the snowy weather I hadn't been able to make it back to my go-to route until today.

These roads are where it all started. Being able to ride right out my front door and roll through a challenging and scenic loop was pretty special. There are points around Morrison and Red Rocks where no cars are passing, it's quiet, and you're left with just the sound of your breath, the surrounding views, and the growl of the tires on the asphalt. Glancing east once atop Dino Ridge, you find yourself above the fray of the city, beyond all the cares that exist down there. It's a tremendous experience. Last summer I came to the realization that I couldn't stand taking all of this for granted anymore.

On this edition I spun a quick 22.2 miles and managed to set two PR's on Strava, both were downhill blasts. Any day that includes getting down in the drops and getting upwards of 40 mph effortlessly is a great one in my book.

However, I've still got some work to do on those climbing legs. My latest daytime occupation serves as both a huge boon and a fairly significant detriment. I haul trees, shrubs, and various other flora around a certain big box home improvement store which shall not be named for American Nursery Services. While this is tremendous for building overall strength, it also means I really only have one full day a week to recover and stay off of my feet. This will likely not be an issue going forward but I certainly felt the additional strain today.

One last thing: I saw more cyclists, mountain and road, out today than I have since last August. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I was working weekends last season and thus was riding on weekdays, but I think people really jumped at the chance to get out before this latest over-hyped weather system moves in. This has made me realize that I need to find and join a good weekend group ride in the very near future. If anyone knows of one I'd love to hear about it. I'll bring beer.

It looks like I'll be forced back on the trainer this coming week which is boring so I won't tell any of you who were gracious enough to read this about it. Hopefully next weekend I can make it up to Boulder for some climbing and a half-century loop.

Ride The Rockies 2013

 
 
I've never been particularly excited to write about myself. I don't know many people who are, it's a tough process. I will labor for days over a single cover letter, trying to hone it down to express just the right tone. (And a lot of good that's done me over the past year and a half.) Maybe it has something to do with my preference for standing behind the camera instead of in front of it.

Reports and essays, pieces constructed with research, observations, and experiences are things I've always felt more comfortable and adept at producing. So, naturally, as I embark on one of the most physically challenging undertakings of my life I want to document it.

But I've come to realize that one of the main reasons I first swung my leg over my Raleigh last June, and proceeded to make it all of 5 miles up a Lakewood hill at max effort before I felt sick, was to try and somehow find myself, to find out where my next step should be. There's never really an end point for something like that, you're always evolving, but I have a feeling that Ride the Rockies will tell me as much or more about myself than I've so far been able to deduce from my post-collegiate drift experience.

As I throw myself at the southern passes of the Rocky Mountains I plan on writing about it. Of course I'll be making pictures of the scenes and the people I meet along the way and telling a story about all of that, but I'm going to challenge myself to really get down to what the experience means to me.

I doubt the person that rolls into Colorado Springs on June 15 will be the same as the one that rolled out from Telluride on June 8, and I'm excited about that.

After a week off I've begun putting on the crucial miles. Riding on the trainer has already reached the point of tedium but, you know, springtime in Colorado. I really can't complain too much about my set-up. (Speakers not pictured)

CU vs. CSU 2012

Last Saturday the Colorado State University Rams handed the Golden Buffaloes of the University of Colorado a disheartening and disappointing (understatement)  22-17 loss at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

First year head coach Jim McElwain out-coached Jon Embree and Eric Bienemy in the second half and the Rams were able to shut down CU's offense, particularly the running game, en route to their 5 point victory. CSU also benefited from a few very ill-timed Colorado turnovers to steal momentum just before the half and carry it through to the final whistle.

There weren't many highlights for the Buffs beyond Ralphie's traditional 100 yard dash. Freshmen Nelson Spruce and Kenneth Crawley were bright spots on an otherwise dismal day.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge-Stage 7

It's been an incredible week following the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge across the state of Colorado. My Dad and I rented an RV van and set off south last Friday. There will be plenty more to come from me about our travels over the past week but I had to post this frame tonight.

The final stage of the USA Pro was a time trial through the streets of Denver. Towards the middle part of the time trial Freddy Piamonte, a Colombian rider who races for the EPM-UNE cycling team, took a nasty crash on the final turn of the course, spilling himself into the orange barricade fencing and sending his bike flying across the road into the lane where the riders were starting out from. Following that, he was given a new tire and gamely got back on the bike and finished the race.

Towards the end of the stage as the leaders were coming home, one of the EPM-UNE managers came strolling up the course with either another spare tire or the bent tire that Piamonte replaced. I'm not entirely sure which tire it was because the second I saw him lift up the tire as Tejay van Garderen took his final turn and dashed towards the finish line I snapped off 3 frames. The tire may appear to be bent, but again I can't tell for sure.

We were positioned right at the intersection of Colfax and Broadway, so we were able to see riders just taking off, riders coming by about 8 minutes in, and riders coming home down the final stretch. It was a pretty solid position for a photog who didn't have an official credential, and I came away happy with what I got. 

There's more to come, stay tuned.

The Maroon Bells

The Maroon Bells. A quick hit of the Maroon Bells from my time in Aspen last summer.

Colorado vs. California basketball

Sophomore forward Andre Roberson blocks the shot of Cal's David Kravish during the first half of the Buffaloes' 70-57 victory over the Bears on Senior Day at the Coors Events Center. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Former CU greats and current NBA players Alec Burks, Cory Higgins, and Chauncey Billups take in the action during the second half of the Buffaloes' 70-57 victory over the California Bears on Sunday, February 26, 2012. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Senior Carlon Brown rises and fires over Cal's Allen Crabbe during the second half of the Buffaloes' 70-57 victory over the Bears on Senior Day at the Coors Events Center. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Tad Boyle embraces senior Nate Tomlinson as Tomlinson and fellow senior Austin Dufault (33) check out for the final time at the Coors Events Center in the final seconds of the Buffaloes' 70-57 victory over the California Bears on Sunday, February 26, 2012. (Photo/Patrick Ghidossi)

Senior Day is always an emotional occasion. For Nate Tomlinson and Austin Dufault, it was particularly poignant. These two have gone from seeing the Coors Events and Conference Center almost filled to capacity with empty seats, to being instrumental pieces in filling that same keg to capacity with raucous, cheering fans.

Following the whipping at the hands of the Stanford Cardinal, the Buffs rebounded spectacularly and shut down the Pac-12 conference leaders on both ends of the floor. CU held Lincoln High School product and NBA prospect Jorge Gutierrez to zero points and only two assists on the night. 

Heading to Oregon the Buffs have a chance to lock down a first round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament and clinch their second straight 20-win season.