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Happy place. Badia.

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I think the most dramatic event I've ever shot was for sure that hail storm at the end of Stage 2 at this year's Dauphine. I had just finished up for the day with some entirely forgettable shots from about a kilometer from the finish. I was definitely a little disappointed, but kind of over it. The clouds started gathering in earnest, thunder rolled, lightning streaked across the sky, and then from one moment to the next - the world exploded in hail. Fortunately, I had this tiny little umbrella in my bag - the kind that is generally only good for approximately three uses before falling to pieces. This thing couldn't even stay upright in the hail. I had to hold the umbrella open as the hail came crashing down. About thirty seconds after it started, I couldn't figure out why my feet were so wet - I looked down, and I was standing in this river of water and hail. Fans were running, looking for some kind of shelter, and then the last riders started to emerge into the open spot where I stood - their mouths wide in a terrifying rictus. I've barely seen Edvald Boasson Hagen wince before - but there he was - his mouth wide open in a full silent scream. To be perfectly frank, seeing Edvald like that was when it hit me just how insane this moment was. He's kind of a beacon of calm, so if Edvald is suffering - it has to be bad. I did my best to just shoot as much as possible in that storm of storms. I had no idea if anything was working - that's always the trick with storm shots - there's gold there, but you just have to shoot and pray. I will never, ever forget that storm though. 

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Out of the forest, back to the views. Tomorrow is the big day. :-) #yolomites5000 (at Ustaria Posta)

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The #yolomites5000 isn't all about steep roads and dirt - though it happens to have plenty of that. It's really about riding the best roads around with the least amount of traffic - they feel like hard fought secrets - roads that take your breath away from sheer steepness, and then make you go ahhh when you roll through that little farm - always onward, generally upward. Can't wait for tomorrow. :-) (at Ustaria Posta)

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I've been through this turn a dozen times, but today, I walked back a dozen steps, and it turned into something different - and better. The real beauty of the #yolomites5000 isn't in the first look (which is amazing) - it's in the following times - when the little roads and sunlight and clouds put on a slightly different show each time - and I find myself more and more in love with it every day. (at Ustaria Posta)

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Portugal surprised us at every turn last year. We knew nothing about it heading in, but were amazed to find out that it was so good - so different in all the best ways. It felt like @ingambatours let us in on a secret. And this fall, we hope to see even more. We are happy for the chance to revisit those roads, the landscapes, the hotels, and the food again in a little over a month with @worldbicyclerelief and inGamba. If you're interested in joining - they still have two spots left. Link in my profile! ------ I hope that wasn't too sell-y or anything, but I do want to support things that we feel strongly about - we love WBR and Portugal and our family at inGamba...so please bear with me, if you don't like this kind of post. I promise not to do it too often. :-)

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19 years ago, I spent a summer on a small Alm above the village of Faschina, in Vorarlberg, Austria. There was no electricity, but they did have running water - ice cold, straight from the creek. They also had cheese - huge wheels of Bergkäse from the cows, as well as cheese from the sheep and goats - and butter and the best milk ever. It was a hard summer though - the language barrier between a fledgling German speaker and people who spoke full on Vorarlberg dialect was close to insurmountable, then there were the forty straight days of rain, and the homesickness, which struck out of the blue and turned me into a crying idiot. I mean - I was already 14 - so I was a mess anyway, but those people up there had to have been saints not to punt me off the side of the mountain and throw my backpack after me. I haven't been back to the Bartholomäusalpe since I was in high school - Wilfried works the place now. He's an affable retiree trying to make some kind of money in a business that's barely a business anymore. Cheese prices are half what they were back when I worked there - and he's doing it all alone. It won't be 19 more years until I visit there again. I think @ashleygruber and I might go back next year and spend a few days helping out around the farm. I like that idea. (at Faschina - Österreich)

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On the way back to Europe for the next chunk of 2016 - excited to get started on the mostly race-less, lots more adventure-y part of our year, but sad to leave Colorado behind. :-) I think I finally got a small idea of how great it is.

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I love mountain biking! I love mountain biking! I love mountain biking! Can't believe this might become @howlingfauna and @pocojenja's backyard soon. Oh well, guess we will have to go back. :-) | huge thanks to @craftsportswear for letting us outside of our little road cycling box. :-) (at 18 Road Trails)

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Sometimes, every once in a while, it's not all hype when people say a place is amazing. Fruita, Colorado is spectacular. It's also a good place to scare the hell out of yourself if you're a fledgling mountain biker - while gawking at beautiful everywhere you look. | big thanks to @craftsportswear for giving us the chance to shoot some mountain biking. We are HOOKED. (at 18 Road Trails)

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Colorado National Monument. No cars, all the views, and the kind of road that turns me into a blubbering idiot. Pretty much perfect! Thanks for bringing us out here, @howlingfauna and @knappoleon.dynamite. :-)

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Not really knowing what to expect, we headed west to check out Grand Junction, Fruita, and Moab for a couple days with @howlingfauna, @knappoleon.dynamite, and @pocojenja. After our first little ride through the Colorado National Monument, I think it's safe to say this area is stunning. (at Fruita, Colorado)

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It can be dicey with the late afternoon storms, but if you ever get the chance to ride the Gavia around day's end - do it. It's magical.

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Morning view down Powerline. #lt100

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It's funny what you can goad @jeredgruber into doing. As he bobbed into view, I told him that no one had made it to the first steep turn on Powerline since I had been there. Immediately, he smiled and focused his efforts - no way he was not going to ride at least that far. But then, just around the corner, his dad was waiting near the top of the evil pitch - so of course he kept going. You can't put a foot down with your dad cheering you on! And in that way - with many extra watts in cheers from us, fans, and riders alike - he rode Donkey up Powerline's wall of madness. What a fantastic, positive place to spend some time on a warm Saturday in the big mountains. Thinking about riding next year. Thinking. Maybe. I wonder... #lt100

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Columbine. Way up high on top of the mountain - after a never-ending climb through the aspens, the trees disappeared and the road tilted upward like a helicopter taking off out of a canyon - that's where souls were searched. And then the second half of the day began. #lt100

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Race across the sky. #lt100 (at Leadville, Colorado)