BC Bike Race - Bike Choice

After some due diligence on the course over seven days and a couple of inquiries I had to relent and accept that the best bike choice was to take the full squishie.  The singlespeed was left behind mostly because of it being rigid and having no cush which would start to catch up with the body after a few days.

I think going the full squish route will also up the fun factor on the descents too.  I am still dialing in the stiffness on the fork and the shock and trying to figure out what the right mix is without giving up too much for the climbs.  The plan is to do a more thorough bike review of the Blur XC after the race and compare it to the TallBoy and the LT.  My first thoughts are that the TallBoy is an awesome bike but not nearly as fast or playful as the Blur XC.  They are both great bikes but the XC excels where you expect it to with super fast reaction time and very precise handling.  The TallBoy just does not let you throw it around on tekkie sections like the XC....more to detailed review to come...

BC Taper

I have been on a pseudo taper for the last week.  Last Monday night was a hard 2 hr effort, then a day off, then another 2 hour session on Wed, then 2 days off and a mellow 2 hr effort on Saturday, then Sunday off.  I might or might not ride this week to rest the legs and get them ready for the BC Bike Race that starts this upcoming weekend.  It is hard to know how the legs are going to feel until a couple of days into the race.

It is good to be on the road, but at the same time being on the road definitely creates some extra work/planning, etc...not sleeping in your own bed does not make for the most sound sleep but it will be better than the upcoming week in tents after spending the day riding.  It is all good considering the upcoming fun of riding every day for seven days!!! yeehaaa

MTB: Homestake CDT TT

Yesterday was all the things good about Montana....temps were in the high 60's, blue sky, snow on the upper peaks, the trails were nice and tacky, and it once again felt like I had the trail all to myself....mmmmmm, daddy likes!

I did my time trial up Homestake Pass from the CDT trailhead over to Pipestone Pass and back.  It was a good barometer of how the legs felt.  Considering that this is my 4 week on (rest week had to be forsaken given the BC Bike week and trying to taper for it), it was better than I expected.  The legs felt heavy but my time was surprisingly (within seconds) close to my fastest time last year.  The Garmin read 1 hr 55 mins for the out & back back to the trailhead.  I had to stop a couple of times to walk through a couple of muddy sections so all in all the legs took a good beat down for two hours and they held up OK.  Stats : 20 miles, 3,100 ft of elevation gain, and one BIG SMILE!

The views were pretty sweet (from trailhead looking at the Highlands):

The wifer and I car-pooled to the trailhead where she ended up going up the East Ridge CDT and I went the opposite direction to hammer (for me) for a couple of hours.

I got back to the car and she had not yet returned so I hooked into the East Ridge CDT and figured I would ride until I met her (figuring she was doing an out and back and was on her return).  I made it about a mile up the climb when sure enough we crossed paths and we turned around and rode back to the car together.  She had a big ear to ear grin on her face too.  It was a good day to be out on the bike.  

Old is New...New is Old

I noticed this super cool old cruiser bike while driving by an antique store on Saturday.  It immediately caught my eye and of course I heard its little voice calling out to me.  After closer investigation, this bike was going to require a lot of work but for the fine price of $40, it was worth the risk!

It is a Coast King and I have not been able to figure out the model or the timeframe because everything was painted over (including the rims).  I stripped the frame down to raw metal and am thinking of just clear coating it so it maintains a 'raw' look.  It took about 8 hours of chemical stripping and drill sanding to get it down to metal, but some things just can't be rushed....

The front wheel is toast  - not salvageable, and I am hoping to salvage the rear wheel...it has one of those cool coaster brake hubs where you can spin freely but then you can step backwards and it brakes.  I have ordered a couple of cheapie whitewall tires and the building up will have to wait until I get back from the BC bike race in a few weeks...It should come together relatively quickly though - the only thing left to procure is a saddle because it is time to put a fork in it and call it 'done'...put butter on it, it be toast!

What drew me to the frame was that the top tube is made of two smaller tubes - cool lines...it weighs as much as a sherman tank though:

Bourbon Bouldering

Since Saturday was a rest day on the bike, I figured it would be good to get the mutts out and do a little outside bouldering up at Homestake Pass.  There are a handful of fun problems up there and it is always good to pull on stone as opposed to plastic.  In some ways, the fingers definitely felt stronger relative to the last years of very sporadic climbing.  It is always such a humbling sport - especially when you have been away from it for a while!

The dogs found a couple of bunny rabbits to chase and they seemed to have a grand time.  Moby was his usual adventurous self and scaled to the top of boulders while Otis has not yet grown as bold or confident as Moby yet...

Moby on top of my project - wondering why I could not get to the top as easily as he did:

Moby with a look of confusion as to why I can't send...

Otis looking up at the pedestal that Moby is on and thinking....one day....

We did some exploring to see if we could find any other over-hanging rock that was featured enough to climb....we came across lots of cool formations and got me to thinking we should build a bike trail that goes through the portal:

We managed to finish up before the rains rolled in so all in all, it was a worthwhile excursion with unfinished business to come back to...

MTB: ThomTollEaverTail

It was an interesting day weather wise here but fortunately the looming dark clouds were scattered enough that they stayed off in the distance.  You could see the storm clouds in a few spots and even see the rain coming down but for once, the little cloud was not hovering over our local trails!

It ended up being a great ride - a little over 3 hrs, 25 miles and 4,200 ft of elevation gain.  I started in Thompson Park, did the upper loop, then up to Pipestone Pass where I hooked into Toll Canyon and rode the CDT over to Lime Kiln and back, then hooked into the CDT over to Beaver Ponds and caught the new trail into Blacktail and then back down to the car.  I did not run into a single person out there, it was like having my own little trail system....mmmm.mmmmm good

I did run into a deer with two very young fawns who were suckling their momma'.  It was a bambi moment if there ever was one.  The two fawns were no taller than 15 inches and they had all the coloring and markings of the Disney bambi.  Based on their size, they could not have been very old.  It was a pretty cool moment...I did have the camera but as soon as I turned it on, it turned itself off again with a low battery indicator...go figure...

The legs actually felt pretty good compared to Wednesday's ride, and just maybe they will hold up for the upcoming BC Bike Race in 2 weeks.

Stan's Tubeless Review

I was originally skeptical of the concept of running a tubeless setup until I started to research it and talk to people who had been running tubeless.  I have been running tubeless for about 5 years now and am totally sold on the benefits!

For those who are wondering what a tubeless setup is, it is a bike wheel set up where you eliminate the tube altogether...so all you have is a rim, and a tire - much like today's car tires that mount directly onto a rim.  There are essentially 3 components in a tubeless set up:  tubeless specific rim, tubeless tire, and sealant

Tubeless Rim:
Ideally, you want to have a specific tubeless rim and a specific tubeless (aka UST) tire to mount on that rim.  You can run non-tubeless tire on a tubeless rim but the results are not as consistent.   What makes a tubeless rim or tire different than a regular tire?  The rim has a little C-channel on the edges so that the tire bead can fit into that little channel and seal (pic below is from Stan's No Tubes site).  The diagram is what you would be looking at if you cut a rim and were looking at it head on...so you can tell that there is a little lip at the top that helps keep the tired seated and sealed:

Tire;
A tubeless tire is also different than a regular tire in two ways.  The bead that fits into that little channel has to be specific so that it fits and seals.  The other difference is that the sidewalls of a tubeless tire are a little thicker and sturdier than a regular tire that would have a tube in it.  The thicker sidewalls also mean that there is usually a weight penalty associated with a UST tire.  This is why people try to run non UST tires on a UST setup...they try to shave a couple hundred grams by using non UST tires on a tubeless rim and some people also choose to not run the sealant inside the tires.

Sealant:
The sealant is what seals the tire to the rim.  It essentially finds anywhere air is escaping and seals it up.  You usually want about an ounce in each tire and it will actually seal any punctures as you ride such that you don't even notice that something might have punctured your tire because it seals up right away.

Benefits of a tubeless setup:

• Weight savings - despite the heavier tires, you can usually save weight running a tubeless setup
• Lower pressure on the tires - instead of running between 40-60 psi on your tires, you can run sub 30 and have a much smoother ride
• Better rolling resistance - with a lower pressure, you have a better rolling resistance - instead of a firm tire (like 40-60 psi), the lower psi allows you to roll and absorb some of the impact...where a higher psi tire would bounce off some of that
• little to no flatting - in the 5 yrs I have run tubeless, I have never flatted (knock on wood) with this setup.  You don't ever get pinch flats like you would with tube.  Once you do your initial work to get the tire sealed properly, the tire should remain that way.

Possible downsides:

• Tubeless tires are more $
• You have to find the right PSI based on your style of riding - if you run too low a PSI, the tire will burp and lose air.
• If you do flat, you should carry a tube just in case you can't get everything sealed back up.
• Initial setup is cumbersome the first time - follow the instructions and all is well though

The issues that people tend to have with tubeless setups is when they try to run non UST tires on UST rims or try to run the setup without the sealant.  I highly recommend sticking with UST rims, tires, and sealant which should eliminate virtually all issues.

There is another option if you don't want to fork out the $$ for a tubeless wheelset...you can retro-fit your current wheels to be tubeless.  At this point you are giving up the bennies of weight savings but you can still enjoy running a lower psi, etc.

my current tubeless setup on the singlespeed - I am running the Stan's Crest rim, with a DT hub, a 2Bliss tire, and sealant:

my geared bike is also running a tubeless setup with a Stan's ZTR Flow rim, Hope II hubs, UST tires, and sealnt....

At the end of the day I am a big believer in the tubeless setup - lots of bennies that far out-weigh any possible downsides.

MTB: ThomToll

Yesterday was a brief reminder of just how spectacular spring can be here in Montanny.   It was in the mid 60's and not a cloud in the sky.  Come to think of it, this might have been our first 'spring like' day that we have had so far this year.  We had a couple of days where it snuck into the upper 70's and 80's, but those felt more like summer considering we had been in the 40's.

It was a great day to take advantage of the weather and conditions of the trails.  I decided to head out to 9 mile, and head up to Thompson where I did the lower loop and then the upper loop and connected back into the railroad bed to head up to Pipestone Pass and catch the Toll Canyon CDT.

It ended up being a great ride and the Toll Canyon CDT was in spectacular shape and the best part of all was that I had it all to myself!!!  mmm mmm sweet nectar!  It was a 23 mile ride with around 3,000 ft of vertical gain.  I always forget just how steep Toll Canyon is - it just does not look that steep until you are riding it and you feel the relentless grind.  It is a great barometer of where the legs are in the season - especially on the singlespeed where all things remain constant year to year (except for the fitness).  I also forget just how much fun and fast this is on the descent....definitely one of my favorite local rides!

The views of the Highlands were amazing:

not a bad day to be out!  The irony is that I ran into the missus on the way down Toll...she was taking the pups out for a walk so it was fun to run into the family on the trail.  

M&M Bar

The M & M bar recently re-opened in Butte with a brand new sign that had been restored to its former splendor.  The M & M bar has a lot of history in this town and so we paid it a visit last week to see what the hub-bub was all about.

Some of the M &M legacy includes a visit by none other than the beat poet/lit or beatnik poster-boy Jack Kerouac who gave it a glowing endorsement by saying his quest for finding the ideal bar had ended once he found this establishment (he also expanded on this by mentioning how the bar was open all night and it included a cast of colorful characters such as prospectors, cowboys, Indians (and I am pretty sure he did not mean the IT tekkie crowd - excuse the feeble attempt at humor), whores, gamblers, etc) .  Back in the day (circa early 1900's), the legend contends that the bar was open all the time and the keys were thrown away as a symbol of this open all day/all night mantra.

The inside has been kept to maintain its history with the bar and cabinets looking like they have been well worn in all whilst maintaining their character.

We went up to the farmers' market on Saturday morning, and sure enough we noticed the M&M was open and a couple of guys were heading in...we were wondering whether they served breakfast (considering it was 8:30 a.m.) but given its history, just maybe they were going in for a liquid brekkie?

Oliver Half Iron

Blog Entry by the wifer:

Okay, so I admit that my husband is a much better blogger than I am.  However I promised a race report from the Oliver Half Iron last Sunday.  Hard to believe it was 84 degrees Fahrenheit as I look outside at the rain coming down today.  So this race was my second half-iron distance ever, the first being Boise last year.  I was disappointed with my bike last year (and the 2pm start and headwinds) so decided I would head to Canadian wine country for my next one.  That way even if I had a bad race I could drown my sorrows in some vino.  Coming across the border, the views did not disappoint.

The Okanagan valley is gorgeous- miles upon miles of fruit trees and wineries nestled next to some beautiful lakes with some of the warmest open water swimming I have ever done.  (which granted, is not saying much).  I checked into the Adobe Rose B&B and was met by Dwight and Amy.  They were a true delight and I pretty much had the downstairs to myself, meaning plenty of peace and quiet before the race.  I went off to Best of India to recover from the long drive, where I had a fantastic dish of Dal Tharka (spelling?), then back to get some sleep before the pre-race activities in the morning.

Saturday I awoke to a homemade Mexican omelet with organic vegetables, homemade bread and jam, and the most incredibly fresh fruit I have had in a town that wasn't on an ocean.  Packed up my things and headed out for an early morning swim, bike, and run- nothing hard, just enough to try out each event and make sure the muscle memory was still working.  It also helped to calm the pre-race jitters being able to ride and run part of the course, and helped me decide on the sleeveless wetsuit since the water was perfect temperature- luckily I have a two piece wetsuit that allows me to change my top to full sleeves or sleeveless depending on the weather.  I finished my workout just as the heat of the day was starting, and filled up my Nalgene to start hydrating while I went to pick up my race packet.  Along the way I ran into several people, mostly Canadians, all of whom were exceedingly nice.  The vibe was very different than the tri scene in the U.S., where it tends to be more of a muscle-flexing, gearhead gathering where intimidation is part of the racing plan.  (The exception being the off-road tris, the XTerras, my personal faves)

So I picked up my packet, scored a pre-race massage, dropped off my bike in transition, and headed out to the wineries.  As they asked if I wanted to taste I hesitated-- spend the afternoon tasting phenomenal wine, or race well in the morning?  -- but I had only a  few sips and bought some bottles of quality reds to take home as a souvenir.  Another stop at the Indian restaurant (yes, it borderlines on addiction- because Naan counts as carb loading, right?)  Then a netflix movie, some yoga to stretch and an early bedtime.

Race morning was sunny and warm already when I woke up at 5am.  As I was getting ready in transition, plenty early, I figured, since I got there when it opened, I made one last stop to get in line for the port-a-john.  45 minutes later it was finally my turn, and as I grabbed my wetsuit to head down to the beach they were announcing 4 minutes left until transition closed.  Luckily I was able to put my wetsuit on quickly (again, gotta love the two-piece) and swim a little to get the face used to being in the water.  Now as our group started it was the usual kicking and elbows, trying to breathe and fight for your life at the same time.  My goal is always to survive, and as I had a few close calls with being drowned, I had to hold back a little and let everyone pass before I could start again and find my rhythm.  Unfortunately it always takes me a while (usually the first 1000 meters!) so the swim is usually ending just as I feel I am finding my groove.  Not a very impressive swim time-  45 minutes, but as long as I survive without too much energy lost I am not concerned.

After a leisurely transition, (because realistically, like a few minutes are really going to matter for someone like me?) I am on the bike and feeling good- the course is mostly flat with one good size hill about 30 minutes in- perfect to get warmed up.  And warm up I did- after training in Montana temps with the few outside rides I was able to muster being in 50 degree weather and often raining, I was sweating profusely and starting to cramp by the half-way point.  I thought I was hydrated because I actually had to stop and use the port-a-john, so kept going thinking maybe it was because I was not used to being in the aero position so long.   Still, I felt I kept a consistent pace, but started slowing as the bike went on.  I realized electrolytes might be the culprit, and started taking my endurolytes, but the last half hour was rough and I came in at 3:07 for the bike leg, well over what I had been hoping for.

Another slow transition (and had to use the loo again!!) and I started off in the now intense (for me) heat, sun beating down as I came up the first hill.  The crowd support for this race was outstanding, and the town really came together to provide great aid stations, with sprinklers and hose spray-downs included!  I was happy to see there were cold sponges at the aid stations, and as I plodded along with ever-continuing cramping in my left side I went through all the usual phases of a long endurance event-- the "why am I doing this again?" followed by the "this hurts so freakin' bad I don't know if I am going to finish" to the "well, I suffered through the first 7 miles so may as well finish the run now- I don't care what my time is"

To my surprise when I looked down at my Garmin I was actually maintaining a better than 10 minute mile pace, so that helped get me through.  That and chatting with those who run at the same pace helps pass the time.  Misery loves company!  The most impressive were the man with the cane who I believed walked the entire course (though did miss the time cut-off) and the girl from the states who had trained 3 years for this because the swim was so intimidating and was doing so well she put me to shame!  Somehow I finished, with a better run time than last year, and quickly proceeded to grab some food and a shower.  I did not win the beautiful Orbea bike that was given away in the post-race activities, but hey, there's nothing better than passing people on an expensive pimped-out bike anyway.  The scenery was definitely amazing, the people were super friendly, and all-in-all, it was a really well-organized race.  Plus I scored a great tech tee as part of the race packet (though it is a dreadful light pink!)  Best of all, I didn't finish last (this is an improvement for me) as I solidly placed mid-pack.  Though I have to give props to the over-60 year olds who kicked some serious ass on the course as evidenced by their times!

As I drove home I forgot about the pain, and by Wednesday of this past week actually started feeling like I was ready to start training again- a much quicker recovery than last year.  I am now in shape enough to start the mountain biking/Xterra season- my goal for doing the half in the first place.  Oh wait- it's pouring rain outside. . .  at least I did some maintenance on my mountain bike so it can look pretty in the garage while I wait for the great flood to end.

MTB: Tholleaverstake Loop

The weather on Saturday was looking a little dodgey but considering the forecast said 'scattered thunderstorms', I figured it was worth the gamble to try to get out and get a ride in.  I was curious to see how the trails were holding up given our recent biblical type rains the past few days.  It was an interesting ride that included a little bit of everything!

After parking at 9 mile, it was time to head up to the Thompson Park trail system and use that as a barometer of just how well the trails were holding up (or whether they had turned into streams).  The lower loop at Thompson had a couple of wet spots, but nothing that raised alarm bells in turns of turning around and heading back to the car.

The ride ended up being a link-up of a couple loops around Thompson Park, then up to the Toll Canyon trailhead/Pipestone Pass where I caught the CDT going over towards Beaver Ponds, then up and over on the CDT to Homestake Pass where I caught Blacktail Road back down to Cont Drive and to the car...my mashup link is aptly called 'Tholleaverstake'.

The ride was just under 24 miles in 3 hrs with around 3,400 ft of elevation gain:

The big unknown was the condition of the CDT going from Pipestone Pass to Homestake Pass in the upper elevations.  I was curious about the little meadow at the bottom of the first set of switchbacks below the ride peak on the northeast side.  There were a couple of small patches of snow right below the peak that you could ride through (would expect those to be gone within a day or two).  The meadow was a soggy mess.  That area is typically always the last to dry out and at times will stay a little soggy throughout the summer....it is currently a long stretch (almost the entire meadow) that is in bad shape.  The rest of the trail is in good shape as the decomposed granite tends to drain quickly.

The 4 wheeler trails heading back down into Butte to Blacktail road were also in pretty bad shape.  This is the start of the Butte 100 and it is even sketchier this year compared to last year.  There has been a lot of 4-wheeler traffic and the ruts are deeper - It will be even worse once it dries up and the sand loosens up.

Mother nature did her part to make the ride interesting - it was all good until about 1/2 way through when the clouds started to accumulate overhead and then the skies unloaded with hail.  While riding, I figured the hail was better than rain though - at least the hail was just bouncing off you as you rode....then I spoke too soon as the hail turned into rain.  Once wet, it was time to deal with the cold...the descent back to Homestake Pass was not as enjoyable as usual because my hands and feet had lost their feeling....my hands were functioning and able to follow the brain's commands to brake but it was like watching a foreign entity as the hands were good and numbed up!  It was like have a couple of wooden clubs and about as clumsy too.  When I got back to the car, it took a while to be able to get the bike loaded and get cleaned up - it was bizarre to watch my hands holding something but have absolutely no feeling in them whatsoever.

It was still a good ride though so all is well that ends well.  The Bozeman crew was out in full force on Saturday.  I ran into 3 different parties for a total of about 20 riders who came out to Butte to ride (their trails are not ready yet).  I talked to a couple of Bozeman riders as we waited out the hail/rain storm (more like it waited us out as we eventually got moving again while the storm persisted).  Once we got to chatting we all enjoyed a couple of those 'wow, small world' moments.  I am constantly amazed at the common ground you find with people when you take the time to talk.

Rumor has it, the wifer is going to be making a guest appearance on the blogaroo with her race report of her Oliver 1/2 IronMan last week...or should it be called the Oliver 1/2 IronWoman?

Stuck on Repeat

Every once in a while a really annoying song will get stuck in my head....as everyone has more or less suffered through this at one point, it seems like the only way to get it out of your head is to replace with yet another annoying song....

today's flavor is the horribly annoying song from that horribly annoying show 'COPS'... "bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, when they come for you"

someone make it go away!!

One of my favorite shows is the spoof on that show - Reno 911.  It is so un-PC and just cracks me up.  As with most shows, the first couple seasons are the most rip-roaring

June Snow

It is a wee bit of a buzz kill but snow has been falling for the past few hours here in Butte.  Fortunately the ground is warm enough so that the snow is not sticking here in town but it definitely will push the mountain biking back a few days as the trails are bound to be packed with snow and or soggy from all the rain.  The preceding two days have been wet wet wet, and the forecast calls for more rain.

The good news is that we are not being impacted by flooding which many places currently are.  The combination of deep snow packs, sudden warm weather (not currently given the snow), and constant rain has proved to be a bad combination for flooding of local rivers.

The crazy part about this snow is that we are less than 2 weeks away from the summer solstice.  It will certainly put a wrinkle into the plans of people getting ready to do the Tour Divide race as much of the route in Canada and Montana will certainly be impacted by the deep snowpack.

here is to trying to get psyched to get on the indoor trainer once again later today.....good thing we have the trainer as it is getting some serious use this year!

Butte Observation

another tongue in cheek observation:

Over the past couple of summers, I have noticed that as warmer temps arrive in Butte, so do the RV's.  It is mind-boggling how many RV's there are in this town!  No wonder there are multiple RV dealerships in town as they not only cater to us locals who seemingly keep them pretty busy, but given the location of Butte being at the cross-roads of I-15 & I-90, they must stay pretty busy with pass-throughs too.

One of the things that amazes me is just the sheer volume of trailers/RV's/campers and just how much people like their toys!  Toys are indeed a good thing.

I have also noticed that these trailers are usually parked outside people's houses as if to flaunt their secret handshake with other camper secret society members.  In a town that is not very affluent, the $ spent on these toys (must include 4-wheelers, dirt bikes, and snow mobiles into the toy mix) is just staggering.  I understand that there are many who can't afford to pay $5 for a prescription, etc...but sometimes it is about choices...perhaps if you can't afford to pay for the $5 script, or minimal co-pay at a health clinic, then just maybe you should not have purchased the $20,000 RV, or the $1,500 flat screen, or the $400 phone with a $100 a month plan.  It irks me to no end that everyone (ok ok, not everyone but a big chunk of peeps) feels like they are owed something without having to work for it - unfortunately this is not particular to Butte but starting to be endemic of our culture.  The sad thing is that the people who game and abuse the system are really impacting those who really need the help.

back to RV observations though....it dawned on me yesterday that these RV's that come out in the spring and summer months don't ever go anywhere!  Now the whole idea of having something like an RV is so that you go out and enjoy it by going places and camping, etc.  I have come to believe in the clandestine messages that these RV's must signify as part of their secret society because these RV's come out when it warms up, but they never get to go any further than enjoying the wonderful view of their owner's front yard.  So it begs the question....what's up with that???  Does the RV become an addition/extension to the house?  Is it a super secret message (like back in the day when dealers were ID'd by sneakers hanging off of phone lines? or was that urban legend?).

We are part of the RV club, but apparently on the outside looking in (in regards to the secret society and cool kids' handshake) since we don't know the secret handshake and we keep our little tin can hidden in the garage until it does to get enjoy the open roads.

To those poor stranded RV's that are beached in their owner's front yard with an anchor that never let's you feel the tug of the open road, I feel for you....It is a shame that in some cases you are worth more than the house you are parked in front of, and you don't get to roll your rubber on the paved or unpaved vistas....it is kind of like having wings and being caged so you can't fly

MTB Ride: Thompson Beaver Blacktail

Sunday was another HoTT day...it got into the 80's, but it felt like it was in the 90's.  After all this cold weather we have been having, a 40 degree jump in temps is difficult for the body to adapt to...

I went out to 9 mile and hooked into the Thompson Park trails - did the lower loop, upper loop, back down to the road by the Archery range, and then back up to the rail road bed, over to the Pass and caught the CDT to Beaver Ponds and linked the Beaver Ponds into Blacktail.

After a good effort on Saturday, the legs were feeling heavy on Sunday.  It was good to get back to back 3 1/2 hr rides in.  Although Sunday felt much more difficult on the singlespeed.  It ended up being around 25 miles with around 4,700 ft of elevation gain (the abrupt vertical line at around mile 11 is where I stopped the GPS and forgot to turn it back on until we had already ascended to Pipestone Pass - mileage on the chart is also under-stated by about 3-4 miles.)

A big owl flew about 10 ft above my head while doing the lower loop in Thompson Park.  The owl had a huge wingspan of what appeared to be around 5ft or so.  He flew over my head and then flew onto a tree about 25 yards away:

I came up on a few big trees that were down and took a moment to look at the bark and noticed the impact of the beetle that is devouring the forests:

Even the East Ridge is drying out a little after this heart wave:

and with the first heat wave, comes the first biker burn/tan line:

Roadie: Fairmont->Pintlers->Fairmont

What a banner day weather wise.  We had clear blue skies with warms temps that felt downright HoTT considering our recent temps.  I took the skinny tire out and needed to get a good long ride in today.  I parked right off the 211 Exit on I-15 and then got on the skinny, rode to Fairmont, hooked up to Hwy 1 until 274 and then took 274 S through Mt Haggin along the East side of the Pintler range.

It was a 63 mile ride with one big hill on the way to Mt Haggin - total of around 2,300 ft of climbing and about 3 1/2 hrs of ride time.

The legs felt pretty good until I decided to stop taking in nutrition and I paid for it starting at about hour 3.  All I had was some Heed during the 1st hour and then a baggie of the Honey Stingers - so naturally I had to fight the bonk for the last 30 minutes into a headwind...and yes, I am a repeat offender bonker...or a ROB'.  Part of that is by design thinking that if I train the body to deal with a lack of nutrition, it will better prep me for epics when this inevitably happens a few times....the big thing is trying to stay hydrated and that was a bit of an issue today too...I took in 2 bottles during a 3 1/2 hour ride on hot day and I have a high sweat rate ....there is only so much H2O you can take with you on rides though (and this ride does not offer much in terms of stopping at a gas station/store, etc...pretty remote)

The scenery was spectacular and you had to be careful not to be too focused on the mountains you were riding through or the consequences could be a seriously taco'd wheel from some of the giant potholes that spot the road.  The ride is super scenic, but the road is as scenic as it is rough...

Pintlers were in full effect:

Had to keep an eye out for the Taco Hay Makers:

It was a small price to pay for the killer views:

and the awesome and fast descent (got to head all the way back down - about 1,500 ft)

time to enjoy a brew, run a compex recovery sesh, and hope the legs are up for round 2 tomorrow...meanwhile, the wifer is up in Oliver, Canada getting ready for her 1/2 IronMan Tri tomorrow a.m....hope she is getting some good solid rest for her big day.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

I finally got around to seeing 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' and was struck by just how talented some of the street artists are.  The movie is about 'street art' and started off as an attempt to document the scene but then morphed into a movie about the person who was capturing video for this street art scene.

The interesting piece to me was how the street art scene started to be embraced by collectors and soon enough it was all the rage and premier street artist pieces were being auctioned for big money.  The periphery and somewhat dismissed collection of artists were all of a sudden becoming stars.

The film eventually settles on the whacky documenter/videographer who appears to enter the art world by collaging street and pop art.  He ultimately ends up putting on a show at an old abandoned building and appears to be woefully over his head as he tries to pull it altogether by opening day.  Most of his art appears to be tweaks to existing concepts or pieces with this own flavor - think street art meets Andy Warhol...It brings up an interesting question of what exactly is art?  This guy is a great example of someone who did not earn or pay his dues over a career, but instead made a big splash by spending a lot of $$ hiring artists to bring his vision together...in some ways, it you could argue it is not art but just a re-gurgitation or collage of existing art & styles - if that is the case, then you have to take the same analogy further to music artists who mash up other people's music and create something new in the process.

Banksy appears to be the undisputed king of the street art scene - to the point where he has even had his own shows.  Initially I thought street art = graffiti but soon realized that there are legit and uber talented artists that use the street art to intelligently tell their messages that are often full of irony, humor, or sometimes just commentary on society.  Banksy is not only a very talented artist but also brilliant in the sense that his art is thought-provokling with messages that hopefully make people stop for a moment and use their noggins to try and interpret what they are seeing.

Word Up!

or  weyrd up!

As technology leaps forward, new words are introduced into our everyday vocabulary and new words pop into our culture based on how things evolve or devolve as it may...The Brits would accuse us Yanks as butchering and bastardizing the proper English language, which I suppose might have some merit but to each his own.  Below are some bastardized words that I have either heard or made up lately by combining words:

Sheoples - combo people and sheep - too many followers who blindly follow like sheep

Re-dumbdumb - combo redundant and dumb (sort of redumbdumb in and of itself - ahh the beauty of irony)

Mediscare - combo Medicare and Scare....whenever you have a gov't run anything, it will certainly become the butt of many jokes - why would Medicare be any different?

Voluntold - combo volunteer and told - sometimes we get volunteered for stuff which really just moots the concept of 'volunteering'

Obnauseous - combo obnoxious and nauseous....admittedly, I am not a good sick so when something is kicking my tail, I get ornery and Obnauseous

Medijuana - combo Medical and Marijuana - the new fad seems to be getting a Mary J card for anything that ails...where people get diagnosed over the phone & subsequently get a card...my 2c?? The gov't should just legalize and tax it so it can at least be regulated & taxed like alcohol or tobacco (which seem to do much more damage to society) - in this day and age, they certainly need the revenue!  The current escape clause is the medijuana card - so of course it is getting abused.
Just tackle the bigger issue and make it legal for all - The problem is they don't have the cojones to touch such a touchy issue though...grow a set already!  At the end of the day, I don't care what people do, as long as their actions don't negatively impact someone else - pretty simple concept, but as usual the gov't has an innate ability to 'turn an Easter egg hunt into a butt-f#@$-a-thon (to steal a quote from the movie 'Made')...of course, the other side is that society also has the propensity to abuse the system as is the case with this medijuana card, or alcohol, or tobacco.  The challenge is to develop an instrument to measure levels of intoxication for driving or operating heavy machinery, etc?  Although you could just make that a zero tolerance for things such as driving....
I am not sure why so many people 'need' medijuana cards - but that is the avenue people have been give to pursue toking up ala 'Up In Smoke'...hmmm wonder if Cheech or Chong have any stakes in all these new pot shops???

I don't expect to see these new words in Webster's anytime soon, but they have certainly entered my own little Webster's vernacular.

Airstream Logo's

There are a series of great Airstream logo's that are probably interesting only to tin can owners...so for everyone else, this will be boring......