Springtime in Aspen

I’m loving being home in Aspen this spring. It’s so beautiful here now. After a brutal extension of winter through May, the weather has turned spectacular the past weeks, perfect for getting outdoors and also making for a big run off in the local rivers. I’m having fun training and racing on my bikes and focusing on my real estate business. I raced in the local Aspen Cycling Club Snowmass circuit road race last night. I had some bad luck when I broke a spoke taking a pee just a minute before the start of the race. Fortunately Jan Korn loaned me his rear wheel so I could start, but it was a ten rear cassette instead of a nine, so it skipped the whole race. Oh well, I was happy I could still race. I hung in the lead group until the final climb and then got spanked the last few hundred yards. I was a little bummed, but stoked to be racing and excited about the challenge of more races ahead. It is so much fun to race something different. I was a little nervous.

I launched my new Klug Properties website a few weeks ago and my local ad campaign. Let me know if you need any help with real estate in the Roaring Fork Valley. I’m really excited to build my business and help my friends and visitors to our community with their real estate needs. Check out my new site and let me know what you think.

Monday I went down to Glenwood with my friends Pete and Matt to surf the standing wave on the Colorado River. It was a party down there. The river was absolutely raging. My friend Charley Macarthur informed me that it was an all-time high for the wave. With eighty degree temps the past week all of the rives are swollen and flooding. It made for some fun surfing conditions. I drove over Independence Pass on the way home from doing the Elephant Rock 100 Mile Ride on Sunday in Castle Rock, CO. Independence Pass was inundated with water; it looked like Water World. The Grottos were out of control. I’ve never seen that much water flowing through there like that. The surfing was classic. I had some funny wipeouts and some good swims, but survived. I took a few big gulps of the Colorado, but fortunately didn’t get the runs as a result. There were full size trees floating down the river – it was kind of deadly. When a huge log approached everyone was yelling and directing you to avoid the log. I still saw a few boards lose their fins. It was such a fun scene down there. I saw lots of friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. It’s a really cool set-up. I’m hoping to get another surf session next week.

I’m in LA this weekend for the Donate Life Hollywood “Inspiring Person Awards.” I was honored to be nominated. I’m hoping to get a surf session in Saturday at County Line to practice for getting back on the river next week. My timing was a little off on Monday. Enjoy your springtime now that it’s finally here. Thanks for checking in. Hope to see you out on the trails.

CK

Surfing the Colorado

Going Down

Finding the Sweet Spot

CK & Jon Climbing Blue Peak

CK Atop Blue Peak Above Independence Pass

B.H.S. Commencement Address 2010