Finally Happened

I'm not sure how I feel about the white stuff...

Does shoveling provide the same benefits as riding?

Rocks and Monsters

Part 1: Rocks

A little history: Four trips to Temecula, only one without mechanical difficulties. I had to run half of lap after lacerating a tire. I had to borrow a wheel from the Holley's after bending a rim pre-race. The last time, our championship race, I had another bent rim! Now, I'm not sure if this happened on Bear Claw-Poppy, the pre-ride or the week before riding the norm at the mouth of the canyon. I know you're thinking, pump up your tires. I do have a pump, which I use before each ride. But I'm really starting to wonder if I need to start compromising traction for pressure. In my defense, for my weight, 30 psi 'should' be fine, but two rims in less than a year! Fortunately, this bend held and the race went off without too many problems. I'd say 'fine' but anyone that has done this type of race knows that would be a lie.

Part 2: Monsters

The last couple of years I've been converting the SuperFly into a SingleFly after the season. This year took a few extra weeks but I made it. Why, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure this one out.

This is what I found in my tire after a season of stand by.

The creature is about the size of a tennis ball. I don't know how it fit in the tire. I brought the thing into a stable ecosystem to see if I can get it to continue to grow (my closet has to be better that a dormant wheel). If I've truly created a monster I'll let you know.

Series Champs

Just got back from the California. Karl and I went down for the last race in the 12 Hours of Temecula series. We couldn't have had better race conditions, except for the drive down: average speed 60 mph at ~6 miles per gallon. Pulling a trailer in the wind is a trip...

The race organizer does an amazing job with the race and sponsors. Not to mention a pretty sweet post race raffle (bikes, lights, wheels, etc). Needless to say in four attempts I've yet to win anything in said raffle. Throughout the race along the more challenging sections the organizers hand out tickets for cash based on individual performance. I got $5 bucks for cleaning a rocky section. I'm going to count this as winning something.

Thanks Karl the quality time in the truck and racing with me. Thank you Jamie for dealing with life while I'm gone for days at time riding my bike.

Snow, Flu and Parts

First of all, anyone know who left the deer parts above the race track? What kind of sicko leaves puts dead animal parts on a trail? I really wish they wouldn't open the gate. Enough complaining.

Moab was great! Good times with good friends. And yes, I do realize that was a couple of weeks ago... Karl and I are planning on another trip to CA for the 12 Hours of Temecula. It's a fun race, well organized and generally a good time. Aside from the drive. We usually stop in Vegas or St. George on the way home for a little ride to stretch the legs and break up the drive. Anyone else interested?

Woke up this morning after a couple days of being sick to snow in the back yard. I'm guessing that means no more Diamond Fork trips this year. Too bad, I really like that area. Great trails with plenty ups and one of the best descents around (personal opinion). Back to the flu. It's one thing when I'm sick, but it really sucks watching helplessly as Brennen suffers. He even got a flu shot. Me being sick put an extra load on Jamie, she had to pretty much take of Bren herself for two days while I laid in bed and slept. She's the best!

I hope things dry out for trick or treat...

Fall Riding

What a difference a day makes. On my Tuesday ride I had sweet rolling down my glasses and my jersey was crusted in white. Sorry, kind of gross. Wednesday it rained and rained, then when I tried to sneak in a ride it rained some more. The weather man was predicting big winds, I believe blow your trampoline away is what he said. That didn't happen and this morning the sun was out. Go figure. I decided on the road bike assuming the trails would be muddy and off I went. I haven't ridden the road bike for a couple of weeks and still can't figure out why my legs start to feel it within a couple of miles. I made my way up South Fork. Quite a variety of colors, unfortunately the town folk had the same idea (damn cars). I was really surprised when I reached the top of the road and found this...

Yes it is ice and it's 1 in the afternoon.

Changing Leaves

After a long week without riding I got in a good one Sunday morning. I reluctantly got out of the car to a brisk 55 degrees, sharp contrast to previous posts, and started up the road to the trail head. Diamond Fork again, there are still some trails I need to explore. I couldn't believe it the lower trail was covered with fallen leaves, I almost missed them changing. The farther up the canyon I went the better the views. I stopped at the Strawberry Ridge Road and was truly impressed, just high enough above the trees to see back on a mountain of color. The views alone made the ride worth it, but it was nice to ride again.

I noticed some new signage at the top. One, or all, of these trails is part of the Great Western. Too bad I didn't see any other signs along the way. I guess the GW comes from the Hobble Creek area? Which is where I'd like to end up one of these days. On purpose that is, I'd hate to park at DF and end up in Springville.

Hopefully we have a long fall. I'm not ready for snow and cold.

Pretty Boring Weekend

Pretty boring weekend. No major plans. No races. Nothing. I wish there were more like it. Brennen and I decided to go on an adventure. He loves to go for bike rides. Which is cool, so do I. Only he likes to be pulled behind my bike. Which I don't like. I pretty much have to disconnect the rear brake. Over fifty pounds of kid and trailer doesn't stop well with only a front brake. Just a little on the scary side of life. Not to mention I have to readjust the brakes when the trailer comes off. I can't deal with squeaking brakes. Back to the adventure. I talked Brennen into riding his big wheel instead of being pulled. We were just going to go around the block, but he decided the park would be more fun. Believe it or not he made it. We had the park to ourselves. After a few minutes he decided to go to the fishy slide (the elementary school), maybe there would be some kids there. Off we went, the school is quite a ways from the park, especially for little plastic wheels. Same story at the school, no kids. We played for awhile and decided to go home. Again, he road the whole way.

I'm pretty proud of my little guy. It took us a couple of hours to complete the trip with a few play stops on the way. But he made it and I didn't have to carry the big wheel.

Another Year

Another year has come and gone. I got to spend my day doing one of my favorite things, riding around in circles. Karl and I attempted the 12 Hours of Sundance as duo team. There were a few other fast teams in the category but we still managed 4th, not bad for a couple of dads. I felt pretty good during the race and feel like I rode each lap consistently. We'll see when the results get posted.

I owe it all to my prerace dinner...

Good Ride

Last week Karl took me on a new trail up Payson canyon, Sheepherder Hill. It starts up the road on the left about a half mile from the cattle guard at the Winward turn out. The trail splits toward the top with the left branch heading toward Lizard Lake. I turned this into a funky lollipop, going past Lizard Lake to Jones Ranch, then back up the road to the Mt.Loafer Trail head and on to Blackhawk. Blackhawk is pretty beat up, cows! But Jones Ranch and Sheepherder Hill are in great condition.

I ran into a couple of hunters trying to fix their motorcycle. After some strange looks and uncomfortable pauses (on their part), I found out that a big cat had scared the one rider and he crashed. Apparently the cat didn't run away, it came down from the tree and started toward the lead hunter. Both of these guys were considerably bigger than me and on bigger bikes. I wonder if I had come up the trail first if you would be looking for me instead of reading about it?

The ride took me about three and a half hours, lots of ups and downs and fun single track. Besides the two hunters and the folks at Blackhawk campground I had the trails to myself.

Bad Ride

We went to the basin again this last weekend. Grandma and grandpa got a new computer and our services were needed again. Lucky for me the she geek of the family was responsible this time. Of course I couldn't pass up the chance to try some new trails. After talking with the guys at Altitude and buying a map I headed to the Red Fleet area to ride Jazz/Chrome Molly, Three Amigos and Cabin Boy. Red Fleet is beautify, lots of slick rock, rolling terrain and, of course, the lake. Well the trails offered no slick rock, didn't really have any breath taking views or were all that fun. That's not completely the true, in some sections Jazz was fun. The guys at the shop said another entity was responsible for the trails in this area and they didn't want any outside help creating or maintaining the trails. "Sometimes the trail is a little obscure" is what I was told. After an hour of backtracking and searching for trail on Three Amigos I said the Hell with it and started taking dirt roads back toward the lake. Did I mention it was 100 degrees again. I had planned for a two hour ride, when finally saw the lake I was shocked. The trail head is a couple miles North and West of the lake. I was at the North East corner of the lake! Almost an hour of grinding up and down the road finally got me back to where the trail split from Chrome Molly to Three Amigos. I sucked down the last of my hot water and hopped back on the trail hoping to finish the ride with some fun single track. It wasn't fun, it was mostly a cow trail with a few ups and downs.

Because I couldn't find the trail or was pissed because my planned ride didn't work out doesn't make the other trails in the area bad, unless you compare them to those at McCoy Flats. There is a pretty cool down hill trail, Jumps and Ladders. If I wasn't completely dehydrated and had a few inches for travel I might have attempted this one. I can't decide if the it's worth giving this another shot. Linking the three together is the only way to make it a decent ride time and distance wise. The same group that built up the McCoy Flats area trails is responsible for some toward Lapoint. Maybe I'll try there next time.

Not Much

It's been awhile but not much has been going on. My buddies have been training for Leadville, so I've been left to ride alone. Which isn't a big deal, my bike has been out of commission since the last race. It was the last one in the ICU series. I didn't do too bad, second behind Tim, despite crashing going up hill. Yes, up hill and not just tipping over but flat on the ground, twisted bars, broken shifter and shortness of breath. During the post race cleanup I decided it was time to replace some worn out parts. Red Shield kicked in and took care of a new chain, cassette and chain rings. To top things off, I finally put tires on my Stan's wheel set.




Hopefully I can remember how to ride in the dirt and the grass has stopped growing. I really miss the trails above the race track. Or maybe I'm just sick of South Fork and Squaw Peak. Any way, I've missed riding my mountain bike and look forward to tomorrow.

Follow up: I rode my mountain bike today for the first time since the race. I missed it! It really makes me wonder why I ride my road bike, why I put up with cars?

Pioneer Day

Went to Vernal for Pioneer Day to try to burn down grandma's house again. It's still there. Brennen liked the small scale production much more than the sky rockets on the 4th. I only burned myself a few times during the show so I can't complain. Brennen did try to set grandma and Jamie on fire with a sparkler. It was my job to keep the sparks flying, not to watch the boy...

I couldn't resist the opportunity to ride my mountain bike and explore the McCoy Flat area more. It's been hard to find trails that aren't overgrown around here, so the desert single track was a nice change. I decided on Retail Sale and Fire Sale. Retail Sale is fast winding up and down ride. There are no major climbs or overly technical sections. Fire Sale on the other hand is a super techy riot! This branches off of Retail Sale and twists, drops and climbs its way back onto Retail Sale. I did a lap on each and would have gone back for another but was cooked. Literally cooked. It was 103 when I left with a consistant breeze. I took my camel back, 70 ounce bladder gone in an hour and a half. I've ridden for almost five hours from the corral trail head and yet to ride all of the trails in this area.




Stop by Altitude Cycles for a map of area trails and the latest trail conditions.

Retail Sale at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Geotagging Community

Happy Birthday

Last weekend was the big birthday bash for Brennen. Three years old! All of his little friends came over for a pirate party fully equipped with a treasure chest piñata, pin the eye patch on the pirate, dig for buried treasure and a treasure hunt. Of course there was pirate cake and ice cream too. The best part of the party, a bunch of kids having a really good time in the backyard.












Happy Birthday Brennen and Jamie!

Parade

We went to Vernal for the 4th for the ususal parade and fireworks. It's fun for Brennen because he has lots of cousins to play with. It's fun for mom and dad because there aren't nearly as many people! We get a chance to relax a little and let Brennen play.







It's even more fun for me when there are new trails to ride... The McCoy Flat area west of Vernal has some seriously fun desert single track. There a number of trails heading off in all directions from the 'corral', stop by Altitude Cycles in Vernal for a map. This will at least give you an idea of which trails to ride and where to start. There are a few other areas I have yet to ride that might be a better choice given the time. That said, time to ride! I choose the more adventurous approach and just started riding from the corral with the idea of taking all of the right forks.



The first trail, to the right of my car, was Cookies. Up and down, winding packed single track. This is the theme for the area.



The first fork lead my up Jackalope. This trail bounced back and forth between ridges climbing to someplace unknown. It eventually turned into Jacks, according to the sign, climbed some more and descended back to Cookies.



Continuing on Cookies the trails became Combo which crossed over the pavement (not the highway) and headed into the red hills.




I ran into Hoes and Milk from the other direction. Hoes looked more interesting and was right so off I went. To this point I was thinking these were perfect single speed trails... Hoes has some pretty good climbs, not pukers, but long enough I ended up in granny gear. The views from the top of trail were awesome! Hoes climbed up and followed the plateaus before dropping back into valley. Don't forget to stop and sign the register, it's in the ammo can.





I finally ended up back at the corral. Not because I'd ran of trails to explore, just water. Desert single track, it was warm.



Up highway 40 is another set of trails, Can You Moo and Upper Moo. This is where I've ridden in the past, Upper Moo is great. No one has ridden these trails since me last fall! I couldn't stay on lower trail it was so over grown and washed out. Didn't make it to the upper trail, so disappointed.



Don't bother with Moo, spend the day at McCoy Flats. Then try some of the other areas. If you bring the family, the Field Museum is pretty cool. At least Brennen thinks it is!

Not Racing

So I have yet to finish a small part of my yard. I'll be doing this instead of racing for the next few weeks. The problem is I can't decide what to do. I want flowers, bushes and grass to match the other side of the house, but what happens when I need to get something 'big' in the back yard? Cement? It cracks and looks like hell. I don't really want any more than what I already have. Grass, curbing, mulch? I don't have a truck and don't want to burden my friends (thanks for all of the offers). What to do, what to do? Brennen thinks I should leave it the way it is.

Father's Day

Typical Father's Day weekend, I guess... I spent the magic day driving back from Big Bear, CA with Karl, KC and Chris. Karl and I talked them into joining us for race #2 in the 12 Hours of Temecula race series. The race was a lot of fun and we actually did pretty good.


Notice anything in the picture? California, grapes and sunshine, freezing cold! It was nice during the day. When I finally made it home my family was sleeping and I was too tired to do much more than crash on the couch. I woke up to cards and coffee. Jamie ordered my favorite Kona. I'll be happily caffeinated for the next month. Brennen came home from preschool with this for me.


Father's Day might be fun again.