over the hump

How did it get to be Thursday already?  We are through the proverbial hump of the week and the weekend is quickly approaching once again.  Time flies when the weather is nice and there is lots to do and try to squeeze in before that cold stuff settles in.

I managed to get in a night ride on Tues - the trails of choice were through Thompson Park up to Herman Gulch, back down to Thompson and over through the Archery range to Blacktail trailhead.  It was a shorter ride of about 13 miles but had a couple of steep punchy climbs that added up to 2,500 ft of climbing.

We saw some eyes peering at us in the dark a couple of times and also heard some noises of scurrying critters as we rode by...I am not sure I would ride the trails alone in the dark considering all the recent sightings of wildlife but for some reason there appears to be a strength in numbers mentality, or perhaps it should be strength in a false sense of security mentality!

The finishing touches are done on the Pioneer Road ride vid...boring and not much editing but a nice long downhill with good views which of course don't show up all that well on the footage.  C'est la vie...

East Pioneers Trail 2758

The weather was so stellar all weekend that I got motivated to head back down to the Pioneers to explore trails on the mountain bike.  I called the Forest Service and figured out exactly where bikes were allowed, and what had recently been closed to us.  Armed with this knowledge and some good beta from Mike B I headed down into the Pioneers towards the O'Dell trailhead.

There was no one else in the parking lot when I drove to the trailhead so it was going to be a nice peaceful ride with perfect temps to boot.  Mike warned me that it was going to be a bit of a rough ride and suggested going with the full squish and gears...I have not been on the single speed since my knee episode (not quite 100% and there is no need to tempt fate with regressing).  It ended up being about a 14 mile ride with roughly 3,000 ft of elevation gain.

At times, the trail reminded me of some East Coast stylin' ridin' with lots of rocks and roots - get that tech game on and pick a good line while pedaling.  The gameplan was to do an out and back or perhaps even a loop if time allowed or a spur looked interesting enough.

The trail takes you by three lakes.  The first lake you come to is O'Dell Lake which would be the largest lake I would pass that day.  Most of the riding to the lake was uphill but fairly mellow on rideable trail with some sections that you had to get out of the saddle to navigate through.

The trail then got steeper, rockier, and more technical and you had a short section of hike a bike until it leveled back out and took you by Lake of the Woods:

After Lake of the Woods, the trail went downhill, got pretty steep and more technical.  Riding downhill was not much of a problem but I remember thinking there was going to be some hike a bike on the way back.  About a mile later the trail opened up to yet another lake...this time it was Schwinger (no Austin Powers reference intended....)

I decided to venture onwards and see if I could find the next lake.  As I got a couple of miles beyond the lake, the terrain turned ROUGH!  The trail got very steep and it consisted of nothing but soccer size and bigger boulders that made it tough going.  At that point the skies started to get a little dark and I figured it would be a good idea to head back.  Looking at the map indicated I was close to the next lake but it will just have to wait until the next time out...

The ride back was straight forward and once I got back to O'Dell Lake the view opened up big time:

All in all it was a great ride with beautimous weather and a sneaking suspicion that our window of opportunity to ride in these conditions might be closing.

A couple of random encounters along the adventure included an old abandoned rig:

A grouse in full plumage getting is mojo going with the 2 females in the same tree (maybe he is a mormon grouse?):

passing through a cool funky gate:

with an even niftier gate latch:

All in all it was a great weekend filled with enough random things that made me appreciate the quirkiness of the spirit of adventure and how it fills the soul...

Sat Road Ride-Pioneer Scenic Byway

What an incredible weekend!  We had amazing weather and were completely spoiled by summer-like temps.  It definitely feels like Fall is in the air with the nice crisp mornings but the days have been warming up and it reached into the low 80's on Saturday.

I ran some errands on Saturday morning and wanted to get those out of the way so I could get out and play.  I took a load of stuff that had been sitting on the trailer out to the dump - for some strange reason it is always a good feeling to get rid of stuff.

With the errands completed it was time to map out the day.  The best course of action in my mind was to load up the car with the road bike and try to do something different.  I have gotten tired of doing the same rides as of late and remembered as I was driving the Pioneer Scenic Byway last weekend that it would be a great road ride.  I drove down to Wise and the plan was to pull into either a trailhead parking area or a campground and then start the ride from there, ride up the pass and then back.  I ended up parking at the Sheep Creek trailhead and started my ride from there.  It was amazing how little traffic was on the road (which is a good thing since there really are no shoulders to speak of).

It ended up being a 40 mile ride:

The tentative plan was to ride up the pass and then turn around and head back down.  The beginning of the ride looks flat while riding it but based on the speed and power output, I could tell it was climbing gently.  The road then took it up a few notches and got steep!  It was steeper than I remembered as I rode up...probably something to do with being in a car and not really paying a ton of attention the week prior.  At one point I remember thinking that I must be losing fitness because it felt sort of hard but just kept the legs moving and spinning.  It was nice to get to the upper meadows and take in the amazing views. 

At mile 20, it was time to turn the bike around and head back.  On the way back I quickly realized why it felt steep on the way back...my bike was hauling going downhill - even the spots of the road that looked flat were steep as the bike just picked up speed.  When I got to the steeper sections I got out of the saddle and put the hammer down to see the MPH's go up up up.  Top speed heading downhill was 47 mph!  No wonder it felt hard on the way up. 

I took the GO PRO cam on the ride and need to do some editing and will post a quickie vid over the next few days of parts of the ride.

All in all, it was a really great ride.  There was very little traffic on the road (less than 10 cars passed me while in the saddle) which always makes it much less stressful.  The ride and scenery were truly amazing and it will be great to add this into the quiver of local ride options.

I got home and the dogs and I went for a nice walk up at Homestake Pass on the CDT.  It was weird to have to wait until the end of the day to take them out (because it was hot and they have already started their winter coats) but it ended up a being a good long walk.  The intention was to try and wear them out a little so they would be tired and sleep most of the day Sunday so I could get out and ride again.  Sunday's activities forthcoming....

Friday Linkage

As per the weather forecasters, this weekend is shaping up to be a really nice one.  The gears are still in motion in my head trying to figure out what to do...it will definitely involve riding...just a matter of where and how long....yabba dabba!


Here are some great links in case you have time to waste:.

There is a project (Northern Divide Bear Project) that is being run via the USGS.  They set up cameras that are triggered to turn on by motion and have subsequently gotten some really great footage.

The one below is amazing - whuddathunk??

Here is a great link with more bear footage.  There are several vids that show bears rubbing trees.  It is really funny - sorta' reminds me of the Jungle Book:

Real Life Jungle Book

and  a little something that makes me laugh...:

 

and yet another:

Warming Trend, X-Terra, Bear?

The rather pleasant and unexpected surprise of a window of warmer weather has my brain working full time to figure out what to do...It will most likely be the last weekend of good weather so the pressure and anticipation is on to take full advantage before the white stuff starts to hammer us.  I am torn between trying to get out on the fat tire both days, or a skinny tire on one of those days.  Regardless, it will be great to get out and play while mother nature gives us a couple of bonus days of nice weather (although I suppose we are long overdue considering our weather this year....knock on wood).

The wifer has been prepping for the X-Terra Tri in Utah this weekend.  She will be taking the day off on Friday to get down and register, etc.  It looks like this window of good fortune relative to the weather will stay open in Utah for her event on Saturday.

The pups and I will be staying in Montana and seeing what kind of trouble we can get into while the wifer is in Mormon-land doing her Tri...

On another note...and of course it has to be a bear note given our summer of 'bear'....Some friends went on a mountain bike ride here in Butte this past weekend and encountered a bear on one of the trails that I often ride.  The bear was actually really close to Hwy 2, just sunbathing on a rock.  Based on the pics, it looks like he was fairly young and very ready for hibernation given his portly figure (video of the ride with da' bear)- he was not aggressive but was also not all that concerned about seeing people which must mean he is used to seeing them.  It sure makes me wonder how many times I have missed seeing wildlife in the woods just because they are well hidden and our senses are just not acute enough to pick up on that stuff.  It makes me think that there is something to it when you are riding backcountry somewhere and you start to feel the hair on the back of your neck start to stand up because you sense 'something'. 

Given the options it seems like a much better option to run into a bear than a mountain lion...unless of course the bear is a grizz then all bets are off....or it is a mama bear with her cubs...for the most part black bears seem somewhat afraid of people.  Mountain lions are definitely around but they don't want to be seen and will sneak up on you from behind.  It is a good thing we have plenty of elk locally to keep them from getting hungry!  I read a post somewhere that a guy was riding in mountain lion country and he pasted a couple of stickers on the back of his helmet that look like eyes so that the mountain lion would not think you had your back to it...might be time to read up on them or make something up to sticker on the back of the helmet.

Bastards Took Our Omelettes

So for some reason, I woke up this morning thinking about our first few months after we moved to Butte.  Things have calmed down significantly (how could they not?) since then but every once in a while we reflect on those first few months and just how whacky they were...

for starters:

The 2nd weekend in Butte, the wifer and I woke up to a loud crashing sound at about 2:00 a.m.  I went out to investigate what the source of the mayhem was and saw that there was a big truck parked where Erin's car was parked....hmmmmmm.  My first thought was that her car had been stolen.  As I got closer, I realized the truck lights were on, door was open and Erin's car was in the garage!

They did not steal her car but had hit it so hard that it sent her car flying all the way through our garage door!

We called the Po Po and they arrived and we tried to explain what we could piece together.  What was a mind blower to me was that they hit her car so hard that it went flying 30 ft forward.  Fortunately it was parked right in front of one of the garage doors or else it would have done some structural damage to the garage.  As it was, her car ended up with significant damage (front and back) as it was hit from behind and then kareening through the garage door...of course we had to cough up deductibles out of our pockets for both the car AND the garage (homeowners) to fix everything since the driver was long gone by the time we got out there to investigate.  It turns out the car was stolen (of course) and the Po Po was about as motivated as a slug on Valium to try and investigate or apprehend anyone...their fine investigative work was highlighted by 2 Po Po's looking around the car and each claiming 'I don't see any keys'...when the owner showed up to collect his car, he looked down on the front seat and said 'at least they left me my keys'

Apparently the owner went to Perkins at 2 in the a.m. to pick up a couple of omelettes for he and his wife.  Upon leaving the restaurant with said omelettes he got assaulted and the punks stole his car.  It turns out the guy lives about 2 blocks away from us - you could see his face starting to swell up from the punch(es) he took...but the line of the night was when he said "The little bastards even took our omelettes!"  Insult had been added to injury for him, but for us. those punks had not yet started....

Bear in mind that we had all of our belongings in the garage because we had just moved in and were painting the inside of the house...so I had to dig through the garage and fortunately found some plywood to at least board up the big void where the garage door used to be.

I won't digress too much into the past but we can at least laugh (ok, not quite laugh yet, but at least giggle or smirk) about that whacky time...needless to say we were a little rattled at the time and wondered what exactly had we gotten ourselves into?  and was this a sign of things to come?

Coolidge Ghost Town

Part of the Pioneer Mtns intrigue for me was that there is a ghost town along the way.  The ghost town of Coolidge is the old site of the Elk Horn mine which was discovered in the late 19th century.  I figured it would be interesting to learn a little more about the local history.  Silver was the primary resource that was mined here.

 Most of the old cabins are falling apart but it still provides a unique experience.  What was amazing to me is how small the cabins were/are.  The upside is there would not be much space to heat up but I just can't imagine living in such a small confined space with other people!

The town's milestone achievements seem to be that it had electricity and telephone wired to the area at significant expense.  It established a school district around 1918 and a post office around 1922...then the school was shut down circa 1927 and the post office ran the same fate around 1932.  They must have spent a few winters there and wizened up to just how cold and hard the living must have been.  The altitude up here is probably somewhere around 7,500 ft and you are in a valley so I imagine the days must be really short in the winter since you don't probably see the sun until somewhat late in the day due to the surrounding mountains.

The town's demise is probably linked to the Wise River Dam breaking and subsequently demolishing sections of the railroad that had been built to move the ore.  Apparently once they got everything rebuilt around 1930, the metal prices had dropped sufficiently to not warrant starting the operation back up.

Most of the structures all had separated out-houses.  I just can't imagine bundling up in the middle of winter in -30 degree temps to go to the bathroom!  These people must have lived a hard life.  It makes me realize just how soft we have become with our cushy homes, big screen TV's, etc....not too long ago these people worked their aces off while also enduring some serious hardships!

It was definitely a worthwhile diversion to check out.  The off-shoot spur is not too far off the main road and it is a flat walk to the ghost town.

All in all it was a great weekend with a lot of new territory explored and a new experience in checking out the ghost town of Coolidge.  It was fun to get out of the usual routine and go off the beaten path a little.

Pioneering

So I decided to step outside the bubble for a moment and do something a little different on Sunday.  I decided to drive the the Pioneer Scenic Hwy from Wise south and then back over to Dillon.  The idea was to take a casual drive and scope out the possibilities for recreating.

Unfortunately for bikers there are very limited choices to get out and play in the amazing area.  The Pioneer range includes some big scenery!  The recent passages or proposed passages of bills have changed access for bikers to most of the area and we as bicyclists no longer have access to some amazing country.  The irony is that horses still have access and they really really trash trails (noticed that yet again on Sunday as the trail I was scoping out was just totally wrecked from horses).  Somehow bicyclists have gotten lumped in with motorized vehicles, although they have recently created a new category to single us out because someone realized we were out using the trails for their intended use and having fun...ohh boy, we certainly don't want people to be outside enjoying our outdoors and trying to be healthy!  Before it used to be 'motorized vehicles' which meant we as bicyclists could still enjoy these spectacular areas.  Now they have decided to refine that to include bicyclists to say no 'mechanized' vehicles.  If we wanted to be picky, you could argue that horse bits, saddles or even hiking shoes are 'mechanical'.

Once again our elected officials fail to try to understand different user groups and have decided to take the easy way out.  There is enough open space everywhere around here that all it would take would be to take a pro-active approach and manage trails for certain user groups.  Instead they have singled out certain user groups and decided to just close down areas to them.  What a bunch of putzes!

OK OK, enough of my political musings and disgust and back to my happy place:

As you turn south going into the Pioneers, the views just start to impress.  With all of the trees and bushes starting to change, it made for some impressive scenery.  As you get driving south on the Hwy the campsites start to come at you fast and furiously...I can't imagine the area would ever fill up with campers just because of the number of sites available everywhere (official, as well as primitive).

What was especially amazing was how green everything was due to all the moisture we got this year.  The combination of bright vivid Fall colors and rich greens from all the moisture provided for some pretty spectacular views.

After doing some initial recon , I decided to go check out the ghost Town of Coolidge.  More on that tomorrow....for now, it is time to see what chaos is unfolding at work.

getting Fleeced

Yesterday's adventure was an exploration into new territory around Fleecer Mountain.  On the Forest Service maps it appears as though there are a fair amount of trails but I had heard that most of them are double track/4 wheeler trails.  None the less, I thought it would be fun to head out and see if that was indeed the case.  Worst case it would be a day of new scenery.

It ended up being a great ride.  Sometimes you just don't know how things will turn out and the spirit of adventure takes you into uncharted territory.  It was a 23 mile out and back ride with a fair amount of elevation gain (close to 4,000 ft).

There was some amazing views along the way and the route that I took pretty much follows a very small segment of the route that the Tour Divide Race racers take (2,745 miles self supported race)...

When I explore a new area there is always a little anxiety added into the mix...the anxiety of getting lost...the anxiety of wildlife (I did see some bear and elk scat but did not see anything live).  It always keeps you on full alert....as I pedaled up-hill, I came across the remnants of an old cabin:

The aspens are starting to change color and it will just continue to get better and better as the foliage gets brighter and brighter.  It was interesting to see the patches of aspens mixed in with all the evergreens.  As the trail meandered up, you had a couple of spots where you had great views of Fleecer:

 
There was still more climbing until a little spur off the main trail took you to an incredible vista that overlooked east/north where you could see for miles and miles....

The 'back' portion of the out and back was mostly downhill and was much faster than the 'out'.  On the way back, you could really appreciate the stellar views of Fleecer and even the Highlands of the last segments of trail back to the trail head.  The whole ride ended being a game of tracking the weather and seeing if the skies were going to unload.  There were some dark looking skies towards my chosen turn around point and it was a race to get back to the car before mother nature unloaded her fury.  I felt a few drops here and there but was able to dodge the big storm.  By the time I got to the car I looked around and it was pretty much raining everywhere 360 around me (Fleecer, Highlands, etc) except for the little pocket that I was in - bizarre but no complaints.

There is a lot more of exploring to be done out that way with many many more miles to ride and somehow try to link up.  As with anywhere, it will take a while to develop the comfort zone in this area.  Unfortunately mother nature is in the process of changing seasons and who knows how much longer that window will be open.

Perspective

As I rode this past week I started to get more appreciation for having a near healthy knee and also had to pinch myself a few times while riding in order to take it all in.

When we lived in Denver, we would just expect to run into lots of people while on the trails.  The Front Range trails are amazing but have gotten so much use that they have gotten somewhat obliterated over the years.  Unfortunately lots of volume on trails is never a good formula for long term trail sustainability.  There were a few areas that were starting to manage their trail use better.  It would get to the point where you would often get to a trailhead and there would be no parking...you would have to wait like vulture for someone to leave in order to claim their spot.

Clear Creek Canyon in Jefferson County had an open space called Centennial that was recently created that they have alternated user groups on.  Some weekends it is open to hikers and closed to bikers, then the following week the switch gets flipped and bikers get the use and hikers get to sit it out for that particular trail.  This is a great concept and really limits the user conflicts while also managing the resources effectively by closing them for part of the year.

While riding around Butte this week I realized that it is the norm that I don't run into people/riders/horses, etc.  Not only do we have amazing trails (and lots of them) but we rarely run into others while riding.  As a result the trails remain in pretty good shape and the riding experience is a more spiritual one as you feel more connected to what is going on around (no need to worry about pulling over to the side of the trail every couple of minutes to let someone by, etc).

speaking of...time to go get connected/grounded...

anudder viddy?

shua enough'


I continue to learn something new on each vid and it has been fun to unlock this baby step by baby step...
So far, the rear mounted view seems to be my favorite and also seems to be the smoothest footage. 

as for the knee and riding....

Rockin' the style points:
Sometimes you just have to pull out all the stops and get on down wit' yo' bad fashion self...and when I say bad...I man poor taste!  Knee high socks ain't just for the ladies...and it ain't just for clubbing...knee highs rock the riding world:

The knee is feeling better every day and I was able to get up out of the saddle and hammer a little on last night's ride.  It felt good to feel the knee getting more and more stable.

Yesterday's ride was a quickie up along the East Ridge...I always forget just how steep the beginning of that ride is...As I spun through the steep sections on my geared bike the thought of having gone up it on the singlespeed kept crossing my mind and how much harder that ride is on the SS...it really is a ride to do as a barometer of how frisky the legs are feeling on the singlespeed.  It made me feel good to know that I can clean that on the singlespeed...not easy but doable.

There were these amazing views in all directions depending on where you were on the trail and as the sun was starting to set it made for some incredible scenery like this shot looking towards west towards Butte:

It definitely helps describe the phrase 'Big Sky'.

It was a relatively shortie ride...I rode for about an 1:15 hrs and then decided it would be prudent to turn around before it got too dark and what took 1.25 hrs to climb up, took about 20 minutes to descend.  On the way down I stopped along the way down and found an amazing view of the Tobacco Roots.  The sun was setting and you could see the top of the range still basked in sunlight.

and the usual great view of the Highlands:

What is a little scary is all the dead brown tress from the beetle...one mis-placed lightning strike and we could be in a world of hurt!

Night Ride

So as the days get shorter, the after work rides get shorter too....or do they?  I loaded up the night light system for the bike, met Sean at their place and then headed out to ride with the intention of riding until it got dark and then turning on the lights and finishing up.

We rode up Hwy 2 to Thompson Park then took the railroad bed to Pipestone Pass and caught the CDT and took it all the way to Homestake Pass.  As we reached the peak going towards Homestake we had to turn on the lights...I realized that my lighting system looked a little on the dim side...enough to ride though so onwards!  It was fun to ride that trail at night - even though I am super familiar with the trail, it is always a 'new trail' and full of surprises when riding at night...The field of vision is always narrower and you can never really see very far ahead so you end up reacting to the more immediate - it is definitely a good training mechanism to test the technical skills as you have to man-handle your bike and throw it around a little more.

It still ended up being a solid ride:  18 miles and a little over 2K of elevation gain. 

I took the GoPro camera out again and got some footage that I hope to edit over the next day or so...The camera is not effective at all at night but I was able to capture some footage prior to getting dark.

It was good to be riding with someone at night.  It was  re-assuring in the sense that we hit spots where there are critters and I could have sworn I heard some critters rustling as we pedaled by them (could have been the mind playing tricks on me too though). 

The descent from Homestake to Blacktail Canyon was a little exciting.  The descent is usually sketch in day-light hours because there are some super rutted sections and some very sandy, washed sections too...as we started down my night light showed a rutted section so I slowed down to navigate through it.  What I quickly realized was that the section immediately following was not rideable at all - the ruts were about 2 ft deep (about 4-6 inches wide)!  They are definitely the deepest ruts I have seen and am very psyched I did not bomb into that section as it would have been UGLY!

Viddy & Knee

So I finally wrapped up putting the video of Monday's ride together and came up with the following:



The knee is a little grumpy today and am curious as to whether it will cooperate enough to let me go ride on it later today (weather needs to cooperate too....which is asking a lot as of late, especially in the afternoon).

off to pop some Vitamin-I.....

Fishy Toll Beaver

Yesterday ended up being a good & productive day.  I managed to get a fair amount done work-wise while also taking advantage of the lunch hour to mow the lawn, pull some weeds and then even cut it close on the daylight hours after work to get a ride in. 

The choice of trail for Monday's fatty tire ride was a collage of trails and link-ups around the Toll Canyon and Beaver Ponds area.  I parked at the Beaver Ponds parking lot and then rode the road up to the pass to catch the Toll Canyon section of the CDT.  I took Toll up to Lime Kiln Road, and then ascended to the top of the road and caught the Fish Creek spur which eventually links back up into Toll Canyon. 

As I pedaled up Toll, I could see mother nature brewing up a storm...I could see dark clouds and rain falling about 3-5 miles south of me in the Highlands.  At this point it was a crap-shoot as to whether or not the storm was going to envelope me or somehow skirt around me.  Somehow (not sure how), mother nature took it easy on me and spared me any significant rain-fall.

At the bottom of the Fish Creek trail, I linked back into Toll Canyon and climbed back out of the gulch and rode Toll Canyon CDT back to the road where I would barely have enough time to take the Beaver Pond trail back to the car.  I noticed that there were a couple of spots on the Toll Canyon trail that were fairly wet so somehow the rain missed me!  By the end of the ride when I got to the car, it was dark...it was a race against time and fortunately there were just enough daylight minutes to make it back.  It was one of those days where it felt like I was able to use up every available minute of good weather and daylight...mmmm.mmmmm.goooooood

I pushed a little harder on the bike as I was curious to see how the knee would hold up.  This was the 3rd relatively hard day on and it was definitely barking at me a few times.  17 miles and over 3,000 ft of elevation gain probably has something to do with the knee talking back to me...I got home and could tell that it was a little sore...popped some Vitamin I in order to try and be proactive.

I took the Go Pro HD viddy cam with me and hope to get something together today....I tried a few different camera angles...tried the Helmet cam, the Seat Post cam, the Fork Mount Cam...I think I like the Seat Post and Fork Mount best, although the seat mount was quickly obscured by a drop of mud that hit it square in the middle of the camera (no damage to the camera at all but talk about perfect aim!)

Back in the Saddle

not to steal the Aerosmith song title but it was awesome to get back in the saddle and get the fat tires back on dirt!  woohoo!

The knee is healing and still feels a little unstable at times but I have been forcing myself to get on the trainer in order to loosen things up and get some blood flowing into the area...of course the resistance knobby on the trainer goes up and I can't help but try to ride hard and see how the knee holds up. 

The mental barrier was Saturday.  Erin and I decided to ride the CDT from Burton Park to Basin Creek and then link that up to Herman Gulch and back down to the new singletrack that joins back up to Janney Road in the Thompson Park area...It is great riding and you drop about 2,000 ft throughout the duration of the ride:

There is still some healthy climbing through the ride as you end up gaining around 2,500 ft throughout the 20 miles but it is just big fun!

I wrapped the knee up in order to try and stabilize it a little and thought it prudent to take the geared bike out so I could gear down and spin easily through some of the steeper sections.  It was a little stiff and tender but generally held up pretty well throughout the ride.

You could see snow (a fair amount of it too) in the Highlands and all the bigger peaks were snow capped.  It was interesting to see how much snow had dropped lately but the reality was that it was going to pretty much all melt away over the weekend.  There is always something really special about riding on a blue-bird day with snow-capped peaks. 
The CDT was in great shape - there were some new trees down but the trail was in good shape given all the recent moisture...nice and tacky!

and the beat goes on.....

The wifer was happy to have new tires on and between the tacky surfaces, new rubber, and new to her singletrack, it looked like she was having fun.
I took the new didgie cam and tested out the optical zoom:

Our old didgie cam passed on to greener pastures during our vacation in/around the Tetons.  Fortunately it waited until the last day to go belly up but we took the opportunity to buy another cheapie didgie with a little better optical zoom.  I refuse to spend a lot of $ on a camera that is going to be used for riding and sitting in a jersey pocket getting all foggy from the moisture.  It is amazing how much these little cameras have improved in the last couple of years...the better optical zoom and image stabilization being the 2 big improvements on lower priced units...pretty cool for the consumer!

Sunday was another banner day weather wise and I took full advantage of it by staying indoors and watching some NFL...I was a little paranoid about getting back on the bike and doing too much too soon on the knee...so I stayed indoors and spun on the trainer for about 1 hr 15 mins...I did not push too hard (other than a few times to see what the knee would do) and all in all it was a good mental barrier to bust through.  The knee does not feel 100% and still feels a little unstable but as long as it does not regress then all is good in the hoodie hood hood!
There don't appear to be any lingering effects from this weekend's rides so in my mind it means I should be able to get back out today after work and ride...captain.....ride....on that mystery ship...

Winterizing?

Is it a false alarm on this cold weather...some premature winter-aculation?  I hope so...My mind is not ready to be in winter mode yet...it is not yet time to winterize the sprinkler system...it is not time to put away the bikes yet....denial denial denial....say it ain't so!

We are once again under a deluge of wet weather.  Who knew that Montana was turning into the Northwest where mushrooms are commonplace?  It will either be a brutal winter with a ton of snow (if this spring/summer weather is any indication we might just be in for a dooooozie), or the moisture will just grace us with its presence during the non-winter months. 

The upside is that the local trails should stay relatively well packed down and not get too sandy...soon enough it might be time to think about riding out towards the Pipestone area again...Pipestone sits about 1,000 ft lower and generally gets more exposure to the sun so the riding season is longer. 

me thinks (hopes) that we will get some warmer weather soon so we can get in a last Hurrah before having to put on too many layers to ride.

what ohh what will mother nature have in store for us?

Endurance Racing...Things I Think I Know

So the last few days off the bike have given me plenty of time to masochistically miss the suffering of grinding away hour after hour.  I started to think about the different events I have done and tried to take stock of what I have learned along the way...It seems like it has been a while since that first event and it looking back...it has been a while.

I originally signed up for the Cohutta 100 in 2008 with the intention of using it is a learning experience for Leadville.  The fear of failing at Leadville motivated me to train (and subsequently over-train) for the race.  Looking back, I probably would have done things a little differently so that the legs were not so tired on race day at Leadville...

at the finish of Leadville

My 2008 race schedule included the Cohutta 100, the 24 Hours of E-Rock (as a duo), the Silver Rush, Laramie Enduro, and Leadville.  It also included a day ride from Denver up to Mt Evans and back (110+ miles and climbing to the peak of Mt Evans at a little over 14,000 ft).  Along the way my weekend training rides often went over 7 hours and I did not believe in taking a recovery week which only added to the tired legs when toeing in for Leadville.

At Twin Lakes in Leadville...gearing up for the big climb to 12,600 ft

2009 was pretty tame...the only longer race I did was the Butte 50.  2010 has been a busy year once again.  The schedule included the Boise 9-5, The Cream Puff, and Pierre's Hole 50.  The 'A' race was the Cream Puff and it was a whole new ball game trying to do it on a singlespeed...in looking back at all these events these are the things I think I have learned along the way:

• Don't over-train!  Take every 4th week as a light week (maybe make it every 3rd week if your legs tell you so), but
• Take your training seriously - create a plan and stick to it.  It will require several months of riding and training including getting out on days that are cold, or suffering through long days on an indoor trainer.  Be prepared to make those sacrifices.
• Signing up for an endurance event makes you train (getting something on the radar definitely is good incentive to get out and ride).  The fear of pain during the event is a great motivator.
• Don't compare yourself to others who are racing these events.  This is more or less a solo journey unless you are an elite athlete who can race for 100 miles, etc.  Keep in mind that people who show up to these races are in incredible shape...in some cases they are the elite of the elite - weekend warriors can do these events but they need to train diligently for several months!
• Don't think you can do it off the couch...unless you are a freak of nature
• Plan on suffering...regardless of how in shape you are, you will suffer
• Be ready for adversity - You cannot control all variables and at some point something will happen that you have to push through (could be weather, mechanical issues, nutrition issues, dehydration, etc)
• Do your homework...fail to plan and plan to fail...It pays to do some course profile investigation...Looking at a course profile often helps me in training and mentally prepping for what is ahead.  It also pays to talk to people who have done the event, pick their brain, get beta for what to expect...dress accordingly...give yourself options as the temps will change significantly throughout the day (considering you will be on your bike from early a.m. to at least the heat of the day and beyond).
• Don't be afraid to use the aid stations!
• Don't make changes to your bike before the event...use what got you there
• Nutrition - Figure out what works for you and follow the same regimen you used during training.  Plan on eating between 250-300 calories an hour in order to keep your body fueled
• Hydrate - Make sure to drink as soon as you start riding.  Once you get dehydrated in one of these events it is really difficult to overcome it
• Race Start - Don't get caught up in trying to get pole position...it is going to be a longgg day...race your own race,at your own pace.
• Mental Fortitude - You will suffer - no getting around it...be ready to dig deep and push through whatever is thrown at you.  You will want to quit several times but you will have to find ways to persevere.  You will kick yourself in the arse later if you feel you did not do everything to finish.
• You can do more thank you think you can.  The human body is amazing and you can achieve more and push your body more than you think you can. 
• Finishing is ALWAYS a huge accomplishment and sense of achievement.  Due to all the variables that you are confronted with, it is always a success to finish.



Cream Puff - finished on the single-speed...Otis thinks I am salty!

• Singlespeeding these bad boys hurts....what seems cake at mile 10 on a singlespeed will seem like sheer agony and unrideable at mile 90.  The same angle hill at mile 10 will crush you at mile 90. 
• Tubeless setup rocks!  Being able to run a lower pressure with better rolling resistance is awesome.
• Constant motivation - Find things to think about to motivate you when you need. 
• Breaking the race down into smaller segments - I will break the race up into segments and mentally plan to get to reference point 'X' and then plan accordingly from there once I get there...your body will hurt and it helps to take it one step at a time and break the race down into more manageable segements...baby steps!
• Spectator support - hearing words of encouragement is always awesome!
• Aid Station volunteers - I always thank the support at aid stations since they are always at the read to help.
• Be flexible - When adversity strikes, be ready to adapt and confront it.  It is great to plan but there will be monkey wrenches thrown in your plans so don't freak out and be ready to deal...
• Stretch a ton weeks before the race- yes yes - you should always be stretching but I am not as discsiplined as I should be....Being flexible helps to mitigate all the little aches and pains along the way
• Finish Area - It is always inspiring to be at the finish and see others who are going through the same sense of accomplishment...not to sound too corny but it can be emotional...some people sign up for these events as a life long accomplishments.  The joy at the finish usually over-shadows (at least temporarily) just how much your whole body hurts.
• Appreciate the support of loved ones.  It is a big sacrifice if your significant other comes along for support.  It usually means sitting around doing nothing all day...or in our case, it means managing two big Ridgeback pups for the entire day...sometimes I wonder if I have the easier day?
• Enjoy it - As much doom and gloom of pain & suffering, try to enjoy the journey!
• Beer - the victory brew seems to taste better after these events
• It can be addicting...even though you finish these and say 'There is no way I am doing that again', it will just be a matter of time until the nagging starts to grow into full on screaming...the body will hurt right after these and once the pain subsides you start to forget about how much it hurt and start to plan for the next one....High Cascades anyone??

Boredom part DUH

So my knee is still reminding me that I should not be out on trails and roads quite yet.  I did force myself to get on the trainer and at least spin to see how the knee would hold up...it was boring and it is a reminder of what is in store for the winter  - UGG
Surprisingly, the knee held up OK...I lasted 50 minutes and held a high cadence so that there would not be a lot of force on the joint.  The average cadence was 87 which is pretty high for me and probably a good training exercise to spin a little faster than normal.

Yesterday ended up being a rather productive day.  While at Home Depot on Saturday, I picked up a fixture for the bathroom off our master bedroom.  The price was right and it made sense for a quickie upgrade.  The old oak look veneer on the cabinets also were begging for some attention...I swapped out the fixture and then decided to give the cabinets a new look by painting them a dark rich brown called 'Turkish Coffee'.  After a quick sanding to rough up the surface, it took a couple of coats and voila....a new looking cabinet

The only thing left to do at this point is repaint the entire bathroom, but that will have to wait as it will be a good winter project..

.....of things Airstream....

We decided on a countertop laminate called Seagrass.  I think it is the right mix of retro/modern/funkiness that should compliment the color choices of the floor, cabinets, and back splash...the boys over at Mintage are getting ready to start on it and we are keeping our fingers crossed for the end of September...

All this time off the bike(s) has given me plenty of time to daydream of riding and I started to think of some of the lessons I have learned throughout all the endurance events...will pontificate mo' tomorrow...

Silver Lining

It is amazing to me how much a knee injury can put many things on hold...no riding, no climbing, little house work...the list goes on.  After sitting around for a few days and hobbling from room to room I looked at the guitar and realized I had not touched it in quite a while.  It was time wipe the dust off it and pick it back up.  I went out and got new strings and promptly replaced the strings that must have been on it for at least 3 years.

The knee is healing and the swelling is slowly going down...in the interim, the guitar is getting some luvin'
I spent part of yesterday pulling up guitar tab for one of my favorite songs of all time....Heroes....It was originally done by Bowie and has been covered by many including the Wallflowers.  It was fun to string together a song (or chords since my 'singing' would probably induce goose bumps...and not of the good kind, more like the kind of screeching nails down a chalkboard).  Going old school made me dig through some additional old playlists too which was fun but a little too telling about how old some of the songs are.

In the back of my mind I have the yearn to learn some blues on the guitar...I started on some blues scales a while ago but as with anything that I can't seem to excel at immediately, I lost interest...so time to take the long road and start to learn from the beginning.  Now all that is needed is some discipline....or some quick healing of the knee so I can get back to the bikes that are calling to me, and the rocks that are teasing me...

Tendinitis Theory & Lonely Bikes

So I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how I might have brought on this whole knee pain...the obvious reaction thoughts are along the lines of:

• Well DUH, you singlespeed don't you?
• ummm, you just hit the big 4-OHHH...things don't work as well as they used to..
• Trauma to the area
• Change in seat position/height, etc...

It essentially boils down to 1 of 4 options....Option #1, Overuse...Option #2 Sudden Impact...Option #3: Perfect Storm...Option #4: Spousal retribution

Option 1:  Common sense would point to overuse but the intense pain and the nature of just how tender the patella tendon was just did not add up for me (note that common sense does not always prevail in my mind so it might all be a moot point).

Option 2:  Sudden impact theory...I don't remember hitting anything and if I did, it would probably have started to hurt immediately

Option 3:  Perfect Storm (most likely)...It did occur to me that I rode 50 miles on a singlespeed and then followed it up with 3 days of riding and lots of climbing...This by itself might have caused some tenderness but not to the point where it would not bear weight, etc...While on vacation, I remember packing our roof box and balancing on the wheel while doing it.  At some point I lost my traction on the tire and I slipped straight legged right on to ground.  At the time my lower back told me it was a little unhappy but nothing too major...while camping that night, I recall collecting firewood and breaking it in order to fit in the pit.  I used some raw leg power to break branches...the usual macho method of jumping on branches.  It did not cross my mind that the combination of riding, abrupt straight legged fall, and the leg stomping firewood collection method all added up to create the perfect combination of unfortunate events that would take a few days to catch up with me.  The dimmer light switch in the brain suddenly went bright when I tried putting on my shoe and the exact motion of trying to stick my foot in the shoe sent a sharp pain through the knee.  The push forward motion (not down, but forward) is what sent the knee into ouchie land. 

Option #4:  Spousal payback....maybe the spouse took to some crazy chinese torture treatment while in my sleep in order to pay me back for being old and ornery!  It is somewhat unlikely considering I am a light sleeper but being that she is a doc I suppose she could have conceivably slipped a little something in my drinkie-poo the night before...

While my knee gently weeps (OK, not so gently), my bikes sit alone in the garage and are not getting much love.  I might have to go into the garage and story tell....remind them of the good times we had until my knee heals enough to take them out again...ahhh I remember the time (no, it was not band camp)....