Back to Regular Scheduled Programming

The big glutton fest that is Thanksgiving is behind us and it is time to get back to the grind and all the usual stuff like work, errands, etc.  I have to admit that I might have taken the easy week (exercise wise) a little too easy as I made it onto the indoor trainer all of two times last week.

Sometimes a break is good not only for the body, but for the mind too - all those nagging little aches and pains have a chance to heal a little - until the next round.

Today is cyber Monday and perhaps there are people scouring the internet for deals - not this kid...Fortunately the wifer's holiday list is fairly concrete in my mind and there is no rush one way or another to have to jump on a sale because the media says I should - so there!

not much to report...more to come later - perhaps a stroke of genius will strike, until then...hmmm, that might be a while...until then, it will be time to think of unfinished business:

Facebook Obit

Belated Happy Turkey Day to all.  It was pretty uneventful on this end which perhaps is not such a bad thing at all.  It has been a pretty mellow week ride schedule wise (recovery week) so the rides have been somewhat short and easy.  I will probably do another light spin today but will maintain the easy week concept.

This week should help in letting the legs recover and get some snap back - although it is difficult to ascertain that on a spin bike.

On another note, I decided to cancel my profile on Facebook.  I had been thinking about it for a while and can't help but think that it might at some point be used to gather yet additional data on us.  It might just be a paranoia but Big Brother (which has now extended to Big Business) is constantly watching and vigilant and they don't need to know everything about us.  

Another reason I killed the FB thing is because I can't help but think that despite technology 'connecting' us to each other, it is actually having the reverse impact of making us less connected to us (unless of course you are one of those people that don't have a filter and post everything on Facebook - which no one really wants to read).  It is easier to drop someone a 1 line update as opposed to picking up the phone or sending them an email (partial beef with that too...when was the last time you got a real letter snail mail route from someone?).  In a way it has turned us more 'impersonal' and it can't be a good thing in the long term for society.  It also has a way of making people more 'self-absorbed' as in the look at me and what I am doing scenario.   Generally at surface level, it is all good but there is a subversive tone it has having which seems to create more separation between us all.  It also has a way of connecting you to people you might not really want to be connected to - not enough degrees of separation!   I have not yet had any withdrawal symptoms from FB and it feels pretty liberating.  Bear in mind I was not a frequent poster but none the less it is one less thing to think about...and who knows maybe at some point it might make sense to rejoin the FB tribe but for now it feels awesome to be disconnected from the connection hub.

Winter Playground Options Around Butte

As per the reports, we hit a minus 22 last night and all I know is it is COLD.  I did some shoveling of snow yesterday and fortunately it was relatively easy to shovel because it did not have much moisture (probably because it was so cold).  Unfortunately, when it comes to shoveling, we have a corner lot...so  not only is the more shovel action, but it is amplified by the slabbed concrete parking area in front of the garage.  This is usually the biggest time consumer of shoveling.  The parking area is about 40 ft wide by about 20 ft deep.

It is a little too cold to go out and play right now but when it warms up above zero there will be some options to explore and leverage.

Our local resort is Discovery.  It is a great local mountain because it has great terrain and the best part is it is very seldomly busy.  I have never had to wait in line for a chair!  It is about 45 minutes away from Butte and the prices are very very reasonable relative to what we saw in Colorado.  Suffice it to say that for the price of skiing two days in Colorado, you can get a full season pass at Discovery!

There is more resort action relatively close by (over an hour drive wise) .  A little further way towards Bozeman, we have Big Sky & the Bridger Bowl.  Both those options are over an hour away but add to the palette of choices.  Big Sky is much larger and on par price wise with many of the Colorado resorts.  Bridger is more local and has good side country access for those who want to explore the 'out of bound' options.

The golden nugget of local backcountry is the Tobacco Roots.  They have put in a yurt the last couple of seasons in the Bell Lake area and we have yet to explore this area.  It is about a 6 mile approach to the yurt and it looks like it has killer access to a good variety of slopes.  The Bell Lake Yurt is only about an hour away (not including the skin/approach to the yurt).  I look forward to taking the splitboard up there and checking it all out.
Depending on conditions, there are also some backcountry options around the Highlands (roughly 10-15 minutes south of Butte).

There are also some options for cross country and skate skiing.  The closest is Homestake Lodge that is about 20 minutes away.  Mt Haggin is about 45 minutes away and provides additional terrain.  There are some other lesser known areas that depend largely on snow and how frequently or infrequently areas are groomed.

There are a couple of places for kite-boarders but I don't have any beta considering it is a sport I have not yet picked up (somewhat reluctant considering the potential for big falls!).

the 'B' Word

Old Man Winter is grumpy right about now!  Our temps are supposed to drop into minus 20's for lows over the next couple of days.  They are also throwing around the 'B'lizzard word in the weather forecasts the last 24 hours.  This probably means we won't see anything but it is enough to cause some commotion and mess up traffic for the Thanksgiving travelers.  If nothing else, it definitely means that riding of the two wheel kind is out of the question given the weather (and the fact I don't have a functioning mountain bike).

As one door closes, the next one opens and the one that appears to be slightly ajar at the moment is the snow sports...It is time to dig out the snowboards and start thinking of the possibilities.  Our local mountain (Discovery) saw somewhat of a lame season last year.  We had cold temps, but no precip.  They (not sure who comprises this collective 'they') say it should be a good year for snow because it is an El Nina year which means it is wetter than usual.  I am hoping for better conditions this year (heck, if it is cold, it might as well snow so we can play).

We do have some options for playing locally...we have backcountry access, resort access, and even cross country/skate ski access.  More on that tomorrow, but for now it is time to get the stoke on:

Stubborn Blur Bushings

As I worked on the old Blur frame yesterday, I started to come to the conclusion that it might be beyond repair...not such a bad thing considering it has lasted a good 10 yrs at this point.  My original plan was to build up the Lynskey and then band aid my Blur until some point later in time.

The reason it might be beyond repair is that the bushings seemed to be stubborn and unwilling to come out:

In the above picture, you can see the bearings, and in the middle, you can see the bushings that are not playing nice.  I tried the recommended approach of threading the bolt partially and then tapping out the bushing, but all that did was start to mess up the threads.  I tried using a socket to fit into the inside of the bushing to hammer it out...no go...The alternative is to really put a little UMMFF into the hammering but then I might compromise the integrity of the frame by hammering sideways on the bushings/bearings.

It might just be time to salvage what I can for parts and move on - say it ain't so!

I realized that I am currently in the precarious situation of not having a mountain bike to ride...the old singlespeed is being parted for the new....the Lynskey is not yet built...and the Blur is a goner.  The quiver/stable took a big hit this week!  Ouchie MaMa!

Parts is parts...

We went up to Great Divide Cyclery in Helena yesterday to start building out the Lynskey.  I am going to use the hubs from my old singlespeed and have a new wheelset built for the 29'r Lynskey.  The wheelset will be made up of the Stan's Crest rims with black spokes and a little nipple bling.  I opted for red nipples on the wheelset, as well as a red headset from Chris King.  There are still several unknowns at this point - namely fork and BB/crankset.  Considering out current weather, there is no rush:

We got about 3-4 inches of snow over the last 24 hours and it looks like the arctic freeze is heading our way.  They are forecasting low temps of  minus 20F in the next few days.  We are supposed to warm up to a high of 19F today so hopefully it is warm enough to get out and play a little.

In the interim, there is plenty of bike maintenance to be done.  I started to tear apart my Blur yesterday (in order to fix the broken upper link assembly).  The parts are here and now it is just a matter of completed dismantling everything in order to remove all the bearings and links.  Below is a picture of the old and the new assembly link:

In order to get to all the bearings, it has been a little bit of a puzzle.  First, everything has to come off....I was hoping to be able to remove the lower link assembly and bearings without having to remove the crankset and bottom bracket but no dice...It is just cold enough that once I got to this point, I raised the white flag because it meant having to go into the garage to get the wrench to remove the cups/bottom bracket/crankset.  It was just enough of a deterrent to stop me for the evening.
The big thing I had to figure out was how to remove the bearings.  The bearings are held in place with loctite and are difficult to remove.  I had to rig a little system up where I threaded a bolt through a couple of washers, then used a butterfly nut to tighten onto the bolt until enough pressure was built up to break the bearing loose.  I removed a couple of bearings and then got stopped by the next two which are smaller and required smaller washers...What first appeared to be an afternoon rendezvous with the bike has turned into a multi-day affair - mostly due to my learning curve.

As I work on the geared bike, I can hear my singlespeed snickering in the background reminding me of how many fewer moving parts there are on it, and that this is what I get for riding a geared, full squish.

Nirvana Elevator Music?

There was yet another hint of age creeping up yesterday as I found myself in a store looking for some hardware items and what do I hear???  I heard Nirvana playing in the background.  This in itself would not have been a big deal as I would have considered it a one off in the sense of "Wow, pretty progressive K-Mart".  Earlier in the day I had to go up to take a drug test (for a pre-screening for employment - my current employer is having me change contracting companies).  There was a minor nuisance when they informed me that they did not have my paperwork ready and subsequently I would not be able to take the test, etc...so I had to come back at yet another lunch day on yet another day.  Urgg.. While waiting for them to try to find my paperwork, I heard the Smashing Pumpkins on the sound system at the office!

As it turns out, it started to dawn on me that my generation's music is becoming 'elevator music'.  Who would have thought that something so cutting edge and alternative back in the day would make its way into large shopping marts and doctor's offices?  Not me!  Just another sign of father time catching up and dating us - a sad reminder of what we used to think as fringe is just elevator noise.

as a tribute...here is my favorite Pumpkins song that was part of a movie play list from one of my favorite directors of all time:  David Lynch's Lost Highway:

and some Nirvana elevator action:

Friday whacky linky

Last night was another night on the trainer as the weather is changing and trying to make up her mind.  It started off in the 40's during the morning and then we watched the temps drop throughout the day and saw the storm rolling in.

It was a relatively light spin, keeping the heart rate at around 130 or below for most of the ride.  Summary of the ride:

Since it is Friday and we are all looking for some comedy....here it be...I am not sure what makes me laugh harder...the performance, or the guy in the background cracking up!


and since we are on men impersonating women...and Beyonce....this is just classic:


Beyonce and Justin Timberlake - Single Ladies from Josh Wolrich on Vimeo.


Thanks JT, SNL and Beyonce...funny every time I watch it

2010 MTB Redux Video

Yesterday was a day off from riding, but a busy day none-the-less.  It was one of those bizarre days where just about everything I touched seemed to take a step backwards.  I did make it to the Y to get in the pool for a very short swim.  The water temps were actually decent for a change!  They usually crank up the heat in the lap pool, to the point where it is uncomfortable to swim - unless you like swimming in a spa...not my cup of tea.

I signed up for a Vimeo account yesterday thinking that it was worth checking out as an alternative to YouTube. The upload process seemed a little easier and I like how they have groups set up to be able to include your video.  There is still a lot more for me to figure out, but it will be fun to try something new....

Here is the latest incarnation of my video skillllzzzzz:


2010 MTB - SW Montanny Redux from Tiago on Vimeo.

Lynskey Pro 29'r frame

It was an early Christmas yesterday as the new eBay purchase arrived yesterday.  The source of my distraction yesterday was waiting for UPS to arrive so I could sign for the package.  It finally arrived at around three in the afternoon and it did not disappoint!

It is a Lynskey 29'r titanium frame.  The frames are hand made in Tennessee (lineage is the Litespeed...the former owner sold Litespeed and start Lynskey).  The welds are absolutely amazing and the bike frame is sick light.  The frame weights in at around 3.3 lbs:

The frame can be built up as either a geared bike or as a singlespeed bike.  My intent is to build this up as a rigid singlespeed and try to make it as light as is affordable and reasonable...no need to spend a ton more money to shave a few grams. - especially considering I have a few kilo's to drop on the beer belly!
Back to the bike:

I will be retiring my old 26 inch singlespeed and will use many of the parts from that bike to build this bike up. The gaps will be building a new wheelset using the hubs from the old singlespeed....a new drive train.....a new fork (will look at rigid carbon frames), stem & headset...I should be able to use the parts from my old bike for just about everything else.  It will be a great winter project and I am looking forward to building this up as we plug through the winter months.

The beauty is that there is no rush to get this built up right now considering the weather has turned and we are getting into winter.  There will be no hemorrhaging of $ and I can slow the bleeding of spending $ over the next few months.

I love the sliders for adjusting chain tension.  It will be much-O fun to build this bad boy up and even mo' FUN to get out and ride.  It will be interesting to ride the 29'r geometry although this should 'ride' a little smaller because the top tube and geometry should make it somewhat more responsive.  There will be a little flex in the frame but not enough to notice compared to my aluminum frame.

It is a good motivator to ride the trainer until spring arrives...last night was another hour session of indoor spinning:'

Big Arrival

We received another trace of snow last night but we still don't have real accumulation in town.  The hills are getting more and more snow and hopefully this will keep up so the winter play areas start to open up to snow sports!

Considering the weather, it was another trainer day...I decided to do two sets of reverse intervals where you warm up for about 15 minutes, then start the first set which consists of alternating equal times with a hard effort then recovery so it was something like:
2 mins
1:30
1:15
1:00
45 secs
45 secs
45 secs
So it started with a 2 minute hard effort, then 2 mins rest, then 1:30 hard and 1:30 rest, etc
It is always a tough work-out if you go as hard as you can for the 'on' times.  The workout looked something like:

The second set is the tough one, especially when you get to the tail end and your recovery periods are getting shorter and shorter.

The big arrival is a frame that I purchased that should arrive today.  I am anxious to see it get here and will post some pics tomorrow (assuming it arrives today).  It is a Lynskey Titanium 29'r frame that can be built up as either a single speed or a geared bike.  The idea is to try and build it up as a single speed (mostly likely set up as a rigid frame).  More to come....

Tinkering & Indoor Riding

Of things Globetrotter:

The weekend ended up being a somewhat productive one in terms of getting things done.  I spent a big part of Saturday working on the Globetrotter.  We even managed a quick trip to Bozeman on Sunday to get supplies at the big box stores.   I replaced most of the lights so we don't have the horrible worn out, yellowed plastic lights throughout.  Instead, they have been updated with newer, contemporary lights that fit in stylistically much better with the updates.  I swapped out two reading lights towards the front with the following:

The bathroom towards the rear got this light update (yet to be attached):

speaking of bathroom, the counter top now has a stainless top (still need to find and replace faucet):

I swapped out a couple of light switches (wall plates are on order since they need to be wider than standard - will be stainless too):

I re-installed the cabinet doors and put on some hardware:

In terms of riding, it was bound to the trainer...a 1 hr spin on the trainer on Saturday that was more about trying to keep a high cadence:

Sunday was the proverbial day off for the legs and it was followed up with a quickie 30 min light spin this a.m. - to be followed by a longer spin at some point this evening:

Tweener Weekend

What to do?  What to do?  The weather is just barely cold enough to make most activities a little bit of an annoyance.  There are a few things I can do on the Airstream but it would entail sitting in a cold un-insulated garage to get things done.  There might be some hope to salvage an outdoor ride a little later out towards Pipestone where it is about 1,000 ft lower and the terrain generally faces south so it gets more exposure to the sun.  This will largely depend on the motivational factor though.

I did sit on the trainer for an hour last night and unfortunately the file did not import correctly into the SW I use so no graph today...it is somewhat of a convoluted process to pull the data in and graph it...the workout data gets pulled into the Powertap SW (called PowerAgent) and then in turn I take that data and export it into the 'Sportracks' SW that we use fort he Garmin info.  This allows me to graph it all and pull it into a picture format to upload to the blog.  The data loaded correctly intot he PowerAgent but then exporting into the Sportracks data today seemed to be an issue.  Hopefully this is a one off and it will be back to no snafu's going forward....tiz' verboten!

I was able to push around 210 watts for an hour yesterday with constant pressure on the pedals.  At some point I will need to change the workout up a little and suffer by integrating some intervals, speed work, etc.

off to plan the day -

Night Ride Bail & Tenacious D

It might have been the 23 degrees (and dropping) on the thermometer, it might have been the gin and juice, it might have been the lack of motivation...you get the picture...The net of it is I bailed on the night ride last night and I can't help but think it was a good idea considering the temps.  Instead, I set up the Wii downstairs and watched a few episodes of The Office while I sucked down some gin/tonics.  There were some good belly laughs had, although there was just a touch of guilt for sitting in a nice warm, comfy room as the other knuckleheads were out slip sliding around in the cold temps.

The weekend is quickly approaching and there is not current agenda for what is in store.  Unfortunately, the options are somewhat limited this time of year so it might be a home-bound weekend.

Since it is Friday and since I don't have much to blab about...it is time for some funnies....if you are easily offended, then I urge you to click away from this blog entry!!

Trainer Time

A hard man I am not...a hard man would have gone out and ridden in the cold this week.  I weenied out and chose the indoor trainer.  It is more of a mental struggle than a physical struggle to get through a training session indoors.  It might be a little more difficult physically than being outside due to constant pressure on the pedals.  When you ride outside, the terrain usually dictates your exertion (to a certain extent).  It seems like riding outside provides you with brief windows to let the legs stop for a moment while the bike keeps rolling downhill, etc..

On a trainer, once you dial in the resistance...it is fairly constant (until you change it).  The last 2 days of rides have looked like:
Tues a.m. light spin:

Tues p.m.

Wed p.m.

I keep thinking it would be a good idea to let the legs rest for a month but in the back of my mind I keep thinking maintaining some fitness is a good thing and will allow for a faster ramp up on the base once spring rolls around.  At some point in the near future, it will be time to dial the bike time down and start to pick up some other things...

We are heading over to Pipestone this evening for another night time ride.  It will be chillier than the prior rides as we have been waking up to temps in the teens.  It is time to dig out the warm layers!

1st Dirty Hundie

So today is the 100th post of this young blog.  It is strange to think I have had that much to say - then again, many might opine that despite posting frequently, I don't really have much to say...the whole quantity vs quality argument.

100....a look back in time takes me to the first dirty century I did which was the Cohutta...
It was early season and it meant putting in a lot of miles during the winter around Denver.  It was really memorable for being the first hundie for me, but more so because I shamed Dan and Abe into also doing it.  The experience was special because we got to share this experience of training & suffering together - there were frequent calls wondering aloud if we had trained enough, brought the right gear, had our nutrition plans together, etc....  We talked about how it would be the first of an annual suffer-fest...subject to change each year based on who was picking the event...it could be riding, climbing, tri-athloning, etc...  Unfortunately we did not follow up on this threat and 3 yrs have gone by without Team Caliente re-grouping for some masochistic ritual:

The race was in the south where mullets are still the haircut of choice, so what else was there to do than to let the boys shame me into getting my hair cut to rock the mullet?

now that is a sight to behold......

We rode in rain and wet conditions for the first part of the race.  Floyd Landis was in the race too, so we can all say we raced against a Tour De France winner...OK, well a stripped Tour winner...I am pretty sure Floyd was not doping that day though because he got crushed by some other hard men who put the hurt on him.

I learned a lot that day...I learned not to dump your bike in a river (to get all the mud off) because it would also wash off a lot of the lube on the chain...fast forward 10 miles and my chain started to seize...it would eventually snap and I would have to remove a link and beg a fellow rider for some lube.  I also learned that 100 miles on a mountain bike is a long way - well DUH!  I learned that suffering with good friends somehow makes it better.  I learned how to dig deep....and I learned that I can ROCK THE MULLET!

Single Speed Bottom Brackets

The snow has arrived...boohooo.  It is just a trace as of right now so there is not enough in the mountains to be able to go play, but there is just enough to mess up the options for riding the bike.  The words 'indoor trainer' are once again entering the training lexicon and it is not necessarily a good thing.  C'est la vie...

It took a little convincing to get the dogs out for a walk yesterday but once they were out, they had a fair amount of energy and spent the rest of the evening recovering.  On our walk at Maude S canyon, I saw something in the distance that was moving.  I think it was a moose but we never got close enough to verify so we will just have to go with the 'potential moose sighting'.  The good thing about having snow on the ground is that you can really see the contrast of animals in the hills.  So the wildlife stands out a little more (especially since the leaves have fallen too).  It made for a nice peaceful walk - somehow the snow always seems to make things quieter...I wonder if it absorbs the sounds waves?  That is my theory and I am sticking to it.

I have been looking at titanium frames lately and have been drooling over some of their craftsmanship.  The idea is to build up a hard tail that will double as a single speed and a geared bike.  I have never liked the EBB's on a lot of the singlespeed designs out there and have always preferred the slider technology for adjusting chain tension.  For those still trying to picture what I am talking about...the EBB looks like:
Niner BBB/EBB
The idea is that when you are on a singlespeed, your chain will 'stretch' a little and once it starts to stretch it will start to skip on you.  If you adjust the chain tension to tighten it back up, then everything becomes copacetic again.  With the BBB/EBB system, you rotate the bottom bracket so the chain tightens up. What I don't like about it is that it will change the position of the bottom bracket/crank so it will change your riding position slightly.

Here is an example of the slider action:

When the chain needs to be tensioned, you loosen the bolts, pull the rear wheel to tension the change, tighten and the you are done.  it does not really change the geometry of the drive train (other than the minor adjust of the wheel sliding a few mm's forward or back.

The slider options just seems simpler, easier to clean, etc...it might be marginally heavier but I think it is a better design.

My latest obsession has been the Lynskey line....mmmm mmmmm GOOD!
Lynskey Frames

Airstream Globetrotter - New Floor & Gaucho Install

Sunday turned out to be anything but a rest day.  It was a day off the bike (legs were a little heavy after 3 days in a row on the singlespeed).

It was a slow start to the day until the weather warmed up enough to get moving and get things done.  The main agenda item for me yesterday was to try to make significant progress on the Airstream considering that the weather was going to turn cold.  The impetus was to get the floor in and start putting things back into the Globetrotter.  The floor went in easily enough although it took some time to cut templates out and cut around closets, rounded sides, etc.  We chose the bamboo vinyl planks.  My theory was they would be easy to install and easy to keep clean.

I also re-installed the frames/screens on the window (after painting the frames the dark brown color).  The rest of the painting/staining/sealing is also completed:

It is all coming together pretty nicely and the big chunks of work are done although I suspect that the last list of to-do's will take a while as there is still a pretty long list.
After the floor went in, I started to re-install the gauchos.  The pre-work (which I did earlier in the summer) on the gauchos included a couple coats of the dark brown on the front, and some serious scrubbing on the metal components to get rid of the anodized copper color and get it down to the stainless color.  I learned a trick on our fireplace grate last year where if you apply oven cleaner and let is sit for a while, you can scrub down the metal to the nickel/stainless look.  It takes about 3 rounds of serious scrubbing with steel wool / scrub pads, etc...but the results are pretty good (you can see the original color on the metal on top of the gaucho and the scrubbed down steel look after).

Notice the pile of stuff that was ripped out of the Globetrotter above...it was certainly a little daunting at first but it was all worth it....The picture above also shows the screens before they were painted.  A lot of things just took time to get through...lots and lots of paints...tons of nooks and crannies in the Airstream which does not exactly provide you with easy angles or spaces so you end up contorting yourself to try to reach into places that need paint (while not getting paint on other things that you are not looking to paint).

After putting in some serious elbow grease it was time to paint the non-metal part of the gauchos:

After re-installing the gauchos in the Globetrotter, things start to take shape a little bit:

All of the trim work now matches with a dark brown color.

The big things left to do are to get fabric and maybe even new foam for the beds/couches...as well as re-build the table so that it matches the counter top.  Things are definitely coming together though and it certainly feels much closer than it did a few months ago.  I need to spend a little time taking more photos to make some before/after comparisons.  It really feel totally different.  The nice thing is that most of the work now is stuff that is 'visual' so the work makes an immediate visual difference - it is good to feel that gratification of all those months of work....slowly but surely...

Bo-Zone Overflow

Saturday treated us to yet another surprisingly warm day in southwest Montana.  The mercury climbed to around the mid 60's and we took full advantage by taking the dogs for a long walk up around Blacktail trails and then hitting the CDT trail for a couple hrs of singletrack riding.

We went up to Homestake Pass and got on the CDT and rode over to the next pass over (Pipestone Pass) and back.  It is about a 17 mile loop with ridiculously good riding.  We pulled into the parking lot and we wifer and I both commented about the number of cars in the parking area.  There were probably around 15 cars parked there and the vast majority of them were from Bozeman.  I have never seen that many cars or bikes on that trail. It was great to see people riding (it is usually an anomaly to run into people, let alone multiple groups), but it also made me a little protective of the trails hoping they don't get 'too discovered'.  In some ways, it felt like spring fever in reverse where everyone was trying to get in a ride before the weather turns (which it is supposed to do on Monday).

The recent snow and rains had packed the trails down really well and all the areas that were loose a month ago, were packed down again.  Most of the trails here are decomposed granite so they have a tendency to get a little sandy as the season progresses and they see more traffic.  Fortunately, mother nature gets back to work in the winter and packs everything back down again for spring/summer riding.

There is about 2,600 ft of elevation gain over the 17 miles of out and back trail.  Here be the profile:

It was a big bonus to get a great ride in on one of my favorite local trails this late in the season.  Big thumbs up and smiley face!

Thompson Park - New Goods

Friday turned out to be a mellow day work wise and I was able to get out by 3 and enjoy an abby-normal (Young Frankenstein reference for you Mel Brooks fans) warm day for this time of year.  We pedaled up to Thompson Park and decided to check if they had completed the new trail building up there.

It was great to do a little exploring and figure out where these new trails linked up.  It was the missing link for the area that now links up to the 9 mile junction.  What is nice about this new link up is that it gives you access to new trail without having to ride on Hwy 2 at all.  You can pretty much avoid the road and the grade going up hill is very reasonable.  It was a quick ride but a really good ride to piece together.  There are multiple loops up there and you could easily put in a couple hour ride without doubling back on trails.  This will be a great place for taking the dogs in the summer too.  It is nice and shaded and has some great little aspen groves (also have been some bear sightings in that area).  The ride profile looked like:

There was about 1600 ft of climbing and it was almost an 11 mile ride.  It was nice to be able to get out and finish the week off on the dirt...There is something very therapeutic about it.
During our ride, Sean's chain-ring snapped like a frosted flake under a car tire.  It broke in two different places.  He has been having drive train issues all year on his singlespeed and this was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back to get a new bike...It was good to get out on the singlespeed again and the knee seems to be holding up so all in all thumbs up, unless of course you were Sean and had to coast back home.  There were a few times when the trail leveled off and I grabbed a branch and pulled him along.  It all felt a little awkward - almost as if we were holding hands while riding.  We just kept hoping no one would see these two lycra clad fellers holding a branch as we rode.  The big picture was that it could have been worse...this could have all happened last week on our Halloween night ride when we were all costumed up and I was wearing a tutu and Sean was wearing his mullet - imagine what people might have thought if they had seen us in that situation then!

and for you Mel Brooks fans...here you be:

Zelda's Night Ride

We were fortunate enough to be able to get on our bikes again last evening and get a good ride in.  I dusted off the singlespeed and was anxious to see how it would feel to get back on SS.  It really reminded me how much I enjoy the singlespeed experience!  There is something so simple, so beautiful...and of course painful.

We went up along Hwy 2....our band of bouncing lights heading down the 2 lane Hwy until we hit the second Thompson Park entrance where we took the trail up to the railroad bed.  I figured this would be the test of how strong the legs felt because that first push up Thompson has some steep punchy sections where I was out of the saddle and doing the singlespeed side to side dance.  I cleared all the switchties with the exception of the last one which was just too steep and too sharp to clean.

Once we got to the railroad bed, we headed through the tunnel, over the truss and up to Pipestone Pass where we connected onto the CDT and took the CDT over to Beaver Ponds.  Once we got to the Beaver Ponds, we took Zelda's trail back down to our starting point.  It was a good ride....around 14 miles and 1,800 ft of vertical gain:

The light system held up well and I continue to be impressed with their overall performance and quality.  They are made in China so it is all good as long as I don't lick or try to eat the lights (made a point of making a mental note after seeing all the issues with the 'made in China' drywall, toys, and just about everything else).  I suspect you are going to say something like 'well, why in the world would you lick your lights?'....good question and I don't have an answer - then again, who was the first person to think it was a good idea to pull a carrot out of the ground and eat it?  I will however leave the lamp licking to someone else...

Vuja De

At this time last week I remember spewing the same bewilderment at our longer than usual ride season...well this week it is more of the same...nice weather, wondering if it mark our last night ride of the season, etc...I plan to take the viddy cam out again this evening and see if there is any interesting footage to capture with new camera angles, etc...more vuja de...wash cycle, spin cycle, rinse cycle, spin cycle...and throw into dryer.  So instead of regurgitating the same cud over and over in different stomachs, I will chew some new tin can cud.:

The Globetrotter got some loving last night.  I started to put things back into it and it is starting to look like a trailer (as opposed to an empty tin can shell on wheels).  The floor is about 2/3 of the way complete now...the screens that have been painted are all back on now too.  There was a fair amount of prep required in order to get to this point but we are slowly making progress and pictures to be posted a little later once we have enough light to do the photos justice.  It was a little bit like piecing a puzzle together as things went back in but so far, so good....there is still more to piece together but for the moment, it will have to wait until the floor is in all the way.

Parts (curtain rods & lights) are on the way from a vintage trailer supply place and soon enough all the aesthetic changes will start to take shape.  Up until recently it has been a lot of work, with little to show visually...now is when those dividends start to pay.  I hope to have the floor completed at some point this evening.  

There is still a ton to do, but considering we are in winter mode, there is no rush.  The big items once everything goes back in will be the upholstery and re-doing the table.  Those will both be new items so will take some time to get right.

speaking of getting it right...here be a funny clip ...Ohh My God....Magnum!  Higgy Baby and Magnum are just like an old married couple...

Cool Hand Luke

Here is a classic classic scene from Cool Hand Luke...later borrowed by GnR for the start to their Civil War song.  I am not really sure why this crept from by sub-conscious to my conscious but sometimes you just have to go with the flow...It probably has something to do with the recent elections and perhaps how neither side seem to work in the best interest of those who elected them - or that neither side wants to seem to communicate with the other.



well heck, since we are on the Cool Hand Luke theme...we have to include this too:


It was another banner day weather wise in Big Sky yesterday.  I managed to get out for a nice walk with the pups and am hopeful that I can sneak out for a quick ride at some point today...that was the plan yesterday, but the plan got derailed by that work thing.  If we are to believe the weather forecasters, they are predicting upper 50's and low 60's over the next few days...me likey!  We are currently planning the weekly Thurs night ride and it should be the usual suspects and perhaps some new unsuspecting victims being lured into the dark-side.....keeping it shortie today, not much to say (for a change).

Get Out and VOTE

Today is the day everyone should get out and VOTE already!  I don't usually ramble into political territory on this blog but we owe it to everyone who has lost their lives fighting for our freedoms to get out and vote.  We owe it to ourselves to make our voices heard.  If you don't vote then you lose all credibility if you complain about the current state of affairs.....

'nuff said on politico action....

We woke up to some warm weather this morning.  Yesterday the temps were in the high teens in the morning, this morning they are tickling the mercury in the mid 40's!  If you are to believe the hype, then we are currently in an El Nino year and about to head into an El Nina year...El Nina is supposed to be good for snow so we shall see how it all plays out.

I sat on the trainer for an hour last night as I toggled between 3 sports games...the Blazers, the World Series, and MNF.  The games were non-eventful, unless of course you are a Giants fan and got to celebrate in their victory.  It was a somewhat easy session on the trainer and the name of the game was trying to keep a high cadence without pushing too many watts (power).  It looked a little something like:

With these kind of temps, we might just be able to scrounge another ride on Thurs night (this time sans the outfits and costumes though).

As I was walking the dogs on Saturday, we ran into a dude who was dressed in full 'padre' gear.  The priest was with a lady friend and 3 kids so it is hard to know whether he was really a man of the cloth or a halloween impostor.  As we walked by, one of the girls just started screaming at the top of her lungs...needless to say it freaked all of us out, but especially Moby (our 5 1/2 old ridgeback) who had this look of shock on his face.  We motored a long after I said hello and they did a masterful job of ignoring any kind of salutation.  If he indeed was a man of the cloth, then I don't want to go to his congregation of non-friendliness...it was one of those Seinfeld moments where you think of a million things to say after the moment has already passed.. Who knows what kind of mission he was on, but I do know what kind of mission these boys were on (they play both kinds of music....Country & Western - for those you taken in by the country hip hop video (like I was), you can practice with the following):

October wrap-up

It was a fairly low key weekend with amazing weather on Saturday and overcast and drizzly weather on Sunday.  Saturday ended up being an errand day where I was able to get caught up on several things that needed to be finished.  I even managed to do a little Globetrotter work that involved painting, staining, cleaning, and prep for the floor.  Things are slowly starting to go back into the Airstream which is a good thing!

The boy from Missoula came down to fix the Airstream leaks.  The problem is that in fixing one problem, they created another...they put a lip above one of the vents to help deflect water away from the vent.  The issue is that in so doing, that lip now prevents the door from opening all the way.  It should be a quick fix that I will address myself as at some point you just say 'uncle' so that they don't continue to create more issues.  It should be a quick fix though so onwards...

The dogs and I went for a good hike on Saturday up by Maude S Canyon.  I had been eyeballing some really nice looking steep rocks from afar and figured it would be a great time to go do some recon action.  It is good to check things out at this time of year because you can actually see more rocks as most of the leaves have dropped from the Fall season.  It was some steep hiking to get to the rocks and both Moby and Otis were panting hard from the hard work.  Once we got up to the rocks, they were much bigger than I anticipated and were for the most part not the best for bouldering as the landings were on a steep slope and the boulders were pretty high off the ground.  I took a few pictures on the phone but have come to realize that Verizon does not provide drivers for you to upload from phone to computer, unless of course you want to pay for it...as with everything else these days, there seem to be hidden costs if you want anything beyond basic functionality.

Even though the weather was really nice on Saturday, I ran out of time and was not able to get a ride in.  It was more of the same on Sunday although I sat on the indoor trainer for an hour while watching a NFL game.  It was constant pressure on the pedals for about an hr and the power graph looked a little something like:

Last night was spent answering the door and handing out candy.  I did the Wally World trip in the a.m. to load up on candy and as always, faced the dilemma of just how much candy to get...it would be embarrassing to run out or too tempting to have too much and be left with it teasing you to eat it.  Fortunately we got cleaned out on the penultimate group at 9:30 p.m. when a bunch of older trick or treaters showed no restraint and grabbed handfuls when the bowl was extended.  Fortunately we only had one more knock on the door and I turned a deaf ear to the knock...not to mention it was already 9:45 so lights out for tricksters!  Fortunately we suffered no eggs to the house...the neighborhood kids usually save their eggs for non-Halloween evenings.