So you may or may not want to watch some video at work today. But yesterday, yours truly was in the Steamboat Springs Newspaper. Well, actually I was in a video on the Steamboat Springs Pilot's website. There are a series of videos about the Leadville 100 that sort of tells the story, and somewhere in there, they interview me for a short time.

Follow this link.

I'm leaving today.

This morning, after I tore down my camp, I climbed up the crevice beside the petroglyphs at the mouth of Moonflower Canyon. It's a tough climb and I'm almost too fat to get through some of the openings. But it leads to a rock ledge, a small plateau about 150 feet up. I made coffee and carried it up there in the nearly-leak-proof DoubleShot Carbon Credit Travel Cup. Then I laid my bag out on the rock to dry.

I sat up there on this ledge, overlooking the Colorado River, drinking my coffee and writing in my journal. Thinking about the Indians that inhabited this are for so many centuries. They probably climbed up here to look for game to hunt. To keep watch on the river so they'd know when anyone was floating downstream. Maybe as a meeting-place for a large community, so the leader could climb up and speak and be heard. Maybe just to sit and drink coffee. Or whatever they drank in the morning to wake them up (Mormon Tea?).

It's been a nice trip. I'm thoroughly exhausted after a 5-hour bike ride in the heat of the day with not enough water. My body is beat up, so I guess that means it's time to go home.

Moab felt good again. I didn't get much time out in the wilderness this time, but it still feels right. The people here are ok. It's not a place where the average tourist comes to ride a bike. They come, and I guess they probably go to Arches National Park or wherever else they can pull their SUV up and look over (much to Edward Abbey's dismay).
Crested Butte felt a little lonely for some reason, but Moab really doesn't. But there's a common thread through both of these communities. Something I miss when I'm in Tulsa. Something I never really thought about until this trip. People who spend time off-road are different than those who just road-ride or road-run. We're not just about fitness or speed or looking good. We're out to see and experience and feel and take a risk. And I noticed that when I'm headed out past Gothic, outside Crested Butte, or headed out in the desert, people wave and I wave at them. But it's not really just a wave hello. It's a wave that seems to say, "If you need anything, let me know." We take care of each other in the wilderness. Because it's not just about ME.

Anyway, I'm headed back over the next couple days. Back to the long, grinding hours of work, trying not to lose my mind. Or my motivation.

I hope all went well at the DoubleShot while I was away. Thank your barista because I'd just as soon shut her down while I was away. Thanks Isaiah!

Last time I was in Moab I blogged about just about every coffee place in town. When I got home, I got an email from the owner of Moab's Daily Grind asking that next time I'm here, I come try their coffee and blog about their place.

Well, last night when I was at the Brewery, I met some people (some locals, some not) and one girl, Rachel, was asking where to get good coffee in town. I chuckled. The guy next to me, Will, who seemed like a great guy, informed us that if you wanted really HOT coffee, you should go to Wicked Brew. If you want something less hot, you should go to the Daily Grind. Interesting. He also asked (in reference to the Daily Grind), "Do you like chocolate and orange?" I'm not sure what that means.

So I went there this morning. It's a drive-through. The girl working was cute and informative. I ordered an americano. She said they use Colorado Legacy coffee from Grand Junction and pull it through a Rancilio 2-group, using what looked like a Mazzer-type grinder. I watched the pour.

Not too long ago, Joe brought a couple coffees to me to try. One was a week-old espresso blend from Espresso Vivace (owned by David Schomer, who is one of the people who influenced me in my learning) and the other was a year-old bag of the same. An experiment. The fresh stuff was good. Spicy, nutty, a little acidic, a little punchy, but totally drinkable. The old stuff poured out of the machine like water out of a hydrant. There was no controlling this stuff. I tightened the grind down to slow the pour, but there just was no oil or crema or anything to impede the force of the water through the grouphead. And it tasted terrible.

The pour at the Daily Grind also poured like water and it had about 2mm of crema on top. It clearly wasn't a year old, but it was old. Stale. Rancid. It didn't taste nearly as bad as Schomer's year-old espresso, but it just tastes flat, boring, sour, weak, Folger-ish.

So that's that. They did have a cute little monkey sticker over the hole, like the very popular DoubleShot icon stickers that keep coffee from sloshing all over your console. So that was a bonus. And did I mention the girl barista was cute?

I finally arrived in Moab last night. Just in time to set up my camp (pictured) next to the petroglyphs pictured on my Flickr page, ride my bike into town, and sit at the Moab Brewery with my book, a hamburger, and a couple brews.

I'm currently at Red Rock Bakery eating a breakfast sandwich and drinking a cup of "Colombian" coffee. It's palatable. If I'm not mistaken, it's coffee that is roasted here in town, in the back of the Arches Book Company. Last time I was in town, I got a tour in back to see their roaster. Small machine- 7 kilo. The breakfast bagel is good. Yum!

I should be on my bike. It's almost 10 o'clock and it's going to get really hot today in the desert. But I'm on vacation and didn't feel like gettting up and riding straight away. Besides, I'm sort of a glutton for punishment. And I can't decide what trail to ride- I only have today and tomorrow!

I can't believe it's Friday already. I've been a little lonesome on this trip, but it's still gone by fast. I've blogged about all the coffee in this town before and I seriously doubt much has changed. Maybe the DoubleShot freight train needs to roll into town and do something about that.

And get out of the woods.

I'm leaving today for the desert. I got up this morning, made coffee, bathed one last time in the stream, and tore down my camp.

Kind of makes me sick to leave here. But I'm hoping Moab will feel perfectly at home.

I uploaded a few pictures to Flickr of yesterday's hike up TR403. Incredible.

So I've given up on the crap they pass off for coffee here in town and I'm sticking solely to DoubleShot Camp Coffee. It's delicious.

Since I couldn't figure out how to post all the pictures I took this morning while making my coffee, you can click on the one picture and it will take you to my Flickr page, where you can follow along with the other pictures.

First, I got all my gear together- stove, lighter, watch, cook pot, hand grinder, presspot, DoubleShot Carbon Credit Travel Cup, and Fresh-Roasted DoubleShot Coffee Beans. Then I walked over to the stream by my tent and filled up my cup with streamwater. I know, I know. You're going to tell me about giardia. People always warn me about that, but I find it really difficult to believe that this crystal-clear mountain stream water is contaminated with poop. I drink it every time I'm here and have yet to get sick. And besides, I stopped to fill up my water jugs last night in town and later realized if the streamwater tasted like the town water, I probably would think it wasn't safe to drink. The streamwater tastes way better, and that's important for making tasty coffee beverages.
So I put my water in the cook pot and light up the stove, bringing it to a boil. I brought a 4-cup Frieling stainless steel presspot, so I measure out a 1/4 cup of coffee beans and put them in the JavaGrind. It takes about the same amount of time to grind them up as it does for the water to boil. I let the water come off-boil for a minute (or add a splash of cold water) and pour the water into the presspot with the coffee grounds.
Now, look at your watch (with a second-hand) because in 4 minutes you need to press down the plunger. I usually push the plunger up and down a few times during brewing to stir up the coffee grounds and get a more consistent extraction. At the 4 minute mark, plunge.
Pour hot coffee into your cup, sit back in your camp chair, and enjoy.

I brought with me the new Sumatra Retro Mandheling. It's really good. A good bit different than the Iskandar. It's got a lot more earthiness of the type that people refer to when they're talking about something tasting like dirt. That's a very common component of Sumatran coffees. But it's pleasant and part of the reason probably is because the overtone is sweet. I think it's the taste of a coffee cherry. Sweet yet a little tart. Anyway, it's an easy drinking coffee and I'm really enjoying it in the mornings. You can read a little about it in the blog of my broker, Royal Coffee.
I'll try to get it up on the website as soon as I get back.

Today, I decided to rest my weary bones and hike up TR 403. It's really a biking trail that starts on the other side of the mountain (in Washington Gulch) and ends next to my camp. I hiked up it and then retraced my steps back to camp. It's around 2800 feet of climbing to a high-point around 11,300 feet. The views from the top are outstanding.

Tomorrow, I think I'm off to Moab. I think.

I'm still in Crested Butte. Thought I might leave today, but now I'm not even sure I'll leave tomorrow. Plans indefinite.

Today I went for another ride. It was another beautiful day and I got slightly sunburnt. I rode a trail called Deer Creek TR568. It starts out near my camp (close to Gothic, CO) and traverses some big mountains to the other side of Crested Butte. Once I got out on the trail, I remembered that most people don't ride this trail this time of year because of all the cattle grazing- they make the dirt loose and the creek crossings messy, making it more difficult than usual. Not to mention steering around the cow pies. The trail seems to go up forever. I climbed and climbed and my legs were trashed and there was so much more climbing to do. The trail is like heaven and hell for an XC rider like myself. Some sections are incredibly beautiful and fun, and other sections are still beautiful, but so steep and long that I wanted to turn around. Then I remembered something else: this trail is a lot more fun from the other direction. The way I was going, I had to climb on probably 10-inch wide singletrack and most of the descent was on jeep road. If I had gone the other way, I could've climbed on jeep road and had the fun of descending on singletrack. Oh well, I need the training anyway.
By the time I finished with the trail, my legs and body were so tired that I wondered if I'd be able to make the massive climb back out of Crested Butte up to my camp.

I stopped in town for a coffee before riding back out to camp. Buckaroo Beanery again. I know the espresso is terrible at both the Buckaroo Beanery and Camp4Coffee, but at least I can get drip coffee at Buckaroo. I got the Costa Rica. I asked the guy working there what type of Costa Rican it was. He didn't know what I was talking about. I told him there are different regions in Costa Rica and they all have different flavor characteristics. He told me he doesn't really drink coffee, just tea.
If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably from Tarrazu or Dota, but who knows- it was roasted improperly. Didn't taste good, though roastey chocolate notes could be gathered. How disappointing. It doesn't even seem like these two coffee places are even attempting to make good coffee. I don't understand that.

I'm back in CB, after gathering firewood for tonight and bathing in the stream next to my camp. About to go get a beer and a bite to eat from the Brick Oven Pizzeria. They have a great selection of beers on tap, mostly regional brews.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but it seems like the only coffee I have left to blog about is my camp coffee (which is quite tasty). Tomorrow. I'll give you a teaser- I'm brewing the new Sumatra Retro Mandheling from DSCC.

Blogging from the Buckaroo Beanery in Crested Butte. Yesterday I had a cup of "Guatemala" coffee that was pretty good. Today, my choices were French Roast or some blend. So I chose to get an americano. It tastes a little like tea. If it were tea, I'd say it's not very good tea. That reminds me of something Abraham Lincoln once said...

Anyway, I ran in the Leadville 100 again this past weekend. It's a 100 mile run through the mountains, starting at 10,000 feet and going up and down and up and down and up and down, over and over and over again. This year felt a little different for me than the last two years. The first year I had no idea what to expect. Last year I had a lot of pressure on myself to finish, since I only did 50 the first year. This year, I didn't really think I could finish the race. I thought there was a long-shot that something could happen and I could somehow pull it out. But I didn't feel any real pressure to finish, just to run as far as I could (or they would let me). That feeling didn't last.

As I toed the starting line, I felt a little nervous and a little sick. Anticipating the pain that was to come. I have been saying since I signed up for it that this would be my last 100 mile run. So in some sense I felt pressure to finish, knowing this was the last. And I wanted that belt buckle.

The race went along as usual. The first 13.5 miles of rolling terrain got me into a bit of a rhythm. The next 10 miles went up and back down Sugarloaf Pass. I felt pretty good going up (not as fast as usual, but that's probably because I'm out of shape) and took the downhill pretty fast. Felt good coming into the second aid station. The next 7 miles were a slight uphill grade, half on the pavement and half on dirt road. Ran most of that and probably made up a little time. Uphill again out of the third aid station, and up and flat and down a little and up some more and flat and up and up and up. This is the point where some people start looking bad. I was still feeling really good. The downhill into the fourth aid station is steep and again I got my legs under me and took it like a pro. Coming out of the fourth aid station, we run through some standing water and then through a stream that was almost waist deep. And cold. And then up the hardest section of the race- Hope Pass. It goes from 9,300 feet to 12,600 feet in 4 miles. And it is brutal. Steep, mudddy, never-ending. And then back down the other side of the pass to the far aid station (at 50 miles), where we turn around and run back on the same trail. I usually say I'm not a good downhiller, but I think I've finally turned into one. The run down Hope Pass was really fast. My footwork is really good from running at Turkey Mountain, so it was all about letting it roll and picking good foot placements. I made the descent about 30 minutes faster than I was supposed to.

The only problem was, by this time my legs were trashed, my body was full of drugs (ibuprofen, electrolytes, sugar, caffeine), and my mind was starting to go a little cloudy. I guess pain will do that to you. And I knew I was only half way done.

So I ran back down the road to the base of Hope Pass, trying to get my energy systems to cooperate (I was to the point of going anaerobic at the slightest increase in energy use). And then I turned in and started the big climb on the return trip. And a few steps later, I stopped. Squatted down and thought, "I'm not sure I can make it." This is a point of no return. Once you commit to the pass, you have to keep going. You have to get to the top and you have to have enough legs left to get down. Believe it or not, sometimes your legs can get so trashed that you can't go downhill safely. I was chasing cutoff times again, and I knew I'd either miss the next aid station cutoff or the following one. I just didn't have it in me to run that fast any more. And so I walked back down and withdrew from the race.

It's disappointing, mostly because I feel like I let other people down. A lot of people want me to finish and a couple of my friends came out (much to my surprise) and crewed me at the race. I hate to stop short because of the sacrifice and disappointment that these people face. But for me, I said I'd run as far as I could. I'm disappointed in myself that I can't finish this race, but that's just how it is. This may be the hardest 100 mile run in the country, and I'm just not fast enough to make the cutoffs (without trashing my legs in the process). And so, like I said before, from now on (at least until I have time to start training) I'm going to start running 50 mile races and doing mountain bike races.

Speaking of mountain biking. I'm in Crested Butte- one of my two favorite places to ride. Today, my legs were still sore and my body still tired, but I got out of my tent (pictured) and went for a ride (after I made coffee, of course- but more on that later). I rode a trail called 401. It is one of the most enjoyable trails I've ever ridden. It's a tough climb up a jeep road and then more climbing on singletrack and then fun fun fun on the downhill. The scenery is so incredibly beautiful that it's really hard to stay on the 15-inch singletrack without being distracted (and at the high-speeds I was going, that could be painful). it was the first REAL trail my (relatively) new bike has been on. She took it wonderfully. Yay for disc brakes and smoooooth shifting.

I'm hoping to recover enough to ride a lot more this week. Stay tuned.

Oh, a couple more things. I know I need to get out and train some more so I can achieve the fitness level god intended me to have. So I can be prepared to help if/when a situation arises. It struck me funny that just before this Leadville 100, there was a huge earthquake in Peru and lots of people died. There are a lot of isolated towns and people, and they probably still don't know the toll this natural disaster took. There were 592 people in Leadville who could've grabbed some food and supplies and run in different directions up into the mountains in Peru and probably saved many lives. But we were all somewhat-selfishly running around the rockies trying to prove something to ourselves. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but I feel guilty NOT being in Peru.

Lastly, I received an email from my friend Brad, who is a medic in the Army, currently stationed in Iraq. Every now and then, I ship coffee to Brad's unit, so they can at least have something good to look forward to. His email put some perspective on life and running and the importance of taking time to reflect. What is the definition of success? Survival?
Here's a line from his email:

"Two days ago I was walking to the aid station and rockets started coming in around me I was sprinting for my life, fucking insane, then I had some coffee and it was all good."

Makes the Leadville 100 seem fairly unimportant.

I thought this was funny.

I was at the grocery store the other day, when I saw this can that I've never seen before (not keeping up with my Starbucks PepsiCo product line). Ever curious about things that say coffee on them, I picked it up to see what it was. It wasn't the infamous "Starbucks Doubleshot." It was a can of "Iced Coffee."
I was initially surprised to see that there is no trademark on the term "iced coffee." Guess one of the marketing lawyers for the green giant dropped the ball on that one, eh?
Below the name, it says "Italian Roast," which is marketing lingo for "burnt the nasty-ness out of it."
But this is the best part. On the bottom portion of the can it says, "A PREMIUM COFFEE DRINK WITH A HINT OF LOW-FAT MILK AND SUGAR." Interesting use of language. Rotating the can around, I read the ingredients (wondering really if they actually claim to put any coffee in it). Here is the list of ingredients: BREWED STARBUCKS COFFEE (WATER, COFFEE), LOW-FAT MILK, SUGAR, CREAM, PECTIN, ASCORBIC ACID

Does anyone see anything funny about that list?

How about this one? The blue can is the "Iced Coffee Light." On the front of the can it says, "A PREMIUM COFFEE DRINK WITH A HINT OF NON-FAT MILK AND SWEETNESS." Actual ingredients: BREWED STARBUCKS COFFEE (WATER, COFFEE), NONFAT MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, PECTIN, SUCRALOSE, ASCORBIC ACID, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM
I wonder if the people who write these things are responsible for all the misdirection plays Boise State used against OU in the Fiesta Bowl this year.

So this is how Starbucks treats their customers. And you can see how they justify it in their lawyer-like pea-brains. As long as we PUT non-fat milk and artificial sweetner in it, it doesn't matter that we ALSO put cream and sugar. That part isn't important.
It's the same old bullshit from Starbucks. When will people finally turn the can around and get tired of the lies and deceit? When will they finally understand that they're not just being deceitful when it comes to cans of "iced coffee," but about everything they do. They're "coffee" is terrible. If I had to guess, I'd even say they're lying about where it comes from. But for the most part, they don't have to because they sell "roasts" and "blends" with stupid marketing names that the general public enjoys saying. Yukon Blend, Gazebo Blend, Rift Valley Blend, Caffe Verona, Espresso Roast, French Roast, Italian Roast, Gold Coast Blend... Komodo Dragon Blend?
Where do these coffees come from? Doesn't really matter, they all taste the same. Burnt. It's the only way to achieve consistency in coffee- to burn all the flavor out of it (and it's also benficial to do so if you're buying inferior coffees that don't taste good).

Anyway...
PEOPLE, could we please STOP with the Starbucks thing? Can you see that they don't care about you? They don't care about coffee. They don't care about anything except they're bottom line.
I just thought that was funny. And telling.

Look at the date today.
What is it?
I'm writing this blog on Monday night, the 6th of August (8/6/07)

On August 16th (8/16/07) I'm leaving town.
Let me tell you why you should care.
I'm not going to be around to roast coffee for 10 days. I'm not coming back until August 26th. That's 8/16 through 8/26.

The DoubleShot will still be open. My trusty assistant Isaiah will be running the show. Store hours will be shortened as follows:
Open at the regular time every day (SHUT on Sundays), but SHUT at noon until I get back.
Hours of coffee
Th (16) 7a-noon
F (17) 7a-noon
Sa (18) 9a-noon
Su (19) SHUT
M (20) 7a-noon
Tu (21) 7a-noon
W (22) 7a-noon
Th (23) 7a-noon
F (24) 7a-noon
Sa (25) 9a-noon
Su (26) SHUT
M (27) Resume regular hours

Get it?
This is fair warning. The DoubleShot will be SHUT half days for the ten days I am out of town.

IF YOU ORDER COFFEE ONLINE, you need to place your order by the 13th if you want me to roast it before I leave. Any orders placed between the 16th and the 26th will definitely not get roasted and shipped until I return.

Plan ahead. Buy coffee beans.

So where am I going? I'm not really flying, that was a fantasy. I'm driving the Land Rover to Leadville Colorado for one more run at the Leadville 100 ultramarathon. I can already hear your questions.

Yes, it's 100 miles non-stop.
No, I haven't really been training.
Yes, it's going to hurt like hell.
Yes, I actually do eat hamburgers and cookies on the trail while I'm running. NOW you're jealous, aren't you?

After Leadville, I'll head to my favorite place on the planet (so far), Moab Utah. There I'll be recovering, riding my bike, reading, drinking beer at the Moab Brewery, and blogging about it all.

This is your official notice.
Check back early and often for more details.

Roastmaster Brian

Hank Doody is Howdy's travelin' name. He began what will be known hereafter as the Great DoubleShot "Hank" Doody Voyage. Yesterday he lay down in his final resting place and closed his little eyes as I shut the lid on his time here at DoubleShot.

The map to the right shows Hank's route to his new home in New Jersey. We'll miss you Howdy Doody.

But let's move on with our lives.

Today I'll be posting another GREAT item on ebay. One of Vanna McAllister's illustrations! Do an ebay search for DoubleShot or Vanna McAllister and you're sure to find a great deal ($5 minimum) on a beautiful piece of art. Bonus-- it comes with a free half-pound of fresh-roasted DoubleShot Coffee! Don't hesitate. Bid.

And if you're interested in purchasing one of Vanna's prints from the walls of DoubleShot, you should tell me soon.

She was elated to see who he really was.