Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Christmas Valley Sand Dunes - Fatbiking
The unusually warm weather held through Sunday which meant there were outside the box opportunities for this time of year. Christmas Valley Sand Dunes are east of Fort Rock in Oregon and as per the website are the largest shifting inland sand dunes in the state. The dunes were created way back in the day when Mt Mazama blew her lid (creating Crater Lake). The sand dunes are the pumice and ash from said explosion.
Another intriguing reason to go was the Lost Forest. The lost forest is a little 'forest'...although forest is probably a bit of an exaggeration as it is not a 'thick' forest but more like a series of scattered ponderosa pines in an area that outwardly appears to have no water source.
Despite the geologic intrigue, the real reason was to get out there and dust off the fat bikes! This time of year, the fatties are usually getting some mileage in the white stuff. This was a little window to get out and play in the loose stuff.
After a 2 hour drive we got to the recreation area and were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the temps were. It was shorts weather! and in January no less.
We quickly found one of the access roads to the dunes and saw that it was a giant mud-fest for a couple hundred feet. The fatties handled the mud although it was that horrible clay mud that just stuck to everything. The wheels and drivetrain quickly caked up and we did a little house-cleaning after we got through the bog. Shortly after, we hit the dunes and had ear to ear grins on our mugs. After riding for about 15 minutes, we stopped, took some pix, and deflated tires to around 4-5 psi. This made a significant different in handling in the sand and made the riding just a little less challenging than it was before.
We spent a little over an hour pedaling though the dunes and kept having the pinch me moments of how it felt 'hot' in January, shortly followed up by....'where are we'!
What a great destination for a different kind of fat biking (different for us that is). It would be fun to go back and do a little more exploring but it will definitely have to be during similar temperatures as I cannot fathom being out there in weather much warmer than what we were in.
Some pictures:
Another intriguing reason to go was the Lost Forest. The lost forest is a little 'forest'...although forest is probably a bit of an exaggeration as it is not a 'thick' forest but more like a series of scattered ponderosa pines in an area that outwardly appears to have no water source.
Despite the geologic intrigue, the real reason was to get out there and dust off the fat bikes! This time of year, the fatties are usually getting some mileage in the white stuff. This was a little window to get out and play in the loose stuff.
After a 2 hour drive we got to the recreation area and were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the temps were. It was shorts weather! and in January no less.
We quickly found one of the access roads to the dunes and saw that it was a giant mud-fest for a couple hundred feet. The fatties handled the mud although it was that horrible clay mud that just stuck to everything. The wheels and drivetrain quickly caked up and we did a little house-cleaning after we got through the bog. Shortly after, we hit the dunes and had ear to ear grins on our mugs. After riding for about 15 minutes, we stopped, took some pix, and deflated tires to around 4-5 psi. This made a significant different in handling in the sand and made the riding just a little less challenging than it was before.
We spent a little over an hour pedaling though the dunes and kept having the pinch me moments of how it felt 'hot' in January, shortly followed up by....'where are we'!
What a great destination for a different kind of fat biking (different for us that is). It would be fun to go back and do a little more exploring but it will definitely have to be during similar temperatures as I cannot fathom being out there in weather much warmer than what we were in.
Some pictures:
Monday, January 26, 2015
Smith Rocks - The Zoo
With the unseasonably warm weather this weekend, we decided to switch it up and seek fun in the sun. The snow conditions are abysmal at best but the forecasters were predicting 60 degree temps for the weekend.
The loose game plan was to climb a day and ride a day. Saturday was our day to climb so we got got moving and put a plan together: The Zoo. The crux for the approach was to determine whether to go via Skull Hollow or via the regular Smith 'trade route'. We opted for skull hollow as the hike up and over Burma road was brutal.
Time wise, it was probably about the same to go via Skull Hollow or the Smith side. The Skull Hollow was a better option as the hike in was mellower and more importantly it was away from the hordes of people.
After a nice hour long approach with amazing views, we descended into the drainage were the Zoo sits. We opted for a nice mellow 5.8 to start with. It had been a while since either of us had been on real stone so we wanted to find our groover and flow before jumping on anything more demanding.
It felt a little awkward at first but I tried to remind myself of how that seems to be typical for me on many first climbs of the day, and somehow I always seem to overthink the easy stuff. Perhaps because the mind has the opportunity to wander a little?
We did a quick lap on the warm up and then moved over towards the platform where we did a couple more routes. We stepped up the grade each time and somehow managed to keep climbing without falling. There was only 1 other party there so it was very different feel than what we predicted was playing out at Smith proper where people were probably waiting in lines to jump on the stone.
It was a 4 route day - not a ton of routes but probably about the limit for us considering we had a nice long 1 hour hike out back to the car. It felt good to get back on stone and it also felt good to force the body to work hard and also get the lead head back on outside.
Overall, it was a really pleasant day on steep stone at Smith...yes, I said steep stone at Smith!
gimme gimme!
The loose game plan was to climb a day and ride a day. Saturday was our day to climb so we got got moving and put a plan together: The Zoo. The crux for the approach was to determine whether to go via Skull Hollow or via the regular Smith 'trade route'. We opted for skull hollow as the hike up and over Burma road was brutal.
Time wise, it was probably about the same to go via Skull Hollow or the Smith side. The Skull Hollow was a better option as the hike in was mellower and more importantly it was away from the hordes of people.
After a nice hour long approach with amazing views, we descended into the drainage were the Zoo sits. We opted for a nice mellow 5.8 to start with. It had been a while since either of us had been on real stone so we wanted to find our groover and flow before jumping on anything more demanding.
It felt a little awkward at first but I tried to remind myself of how that seems to be typical for me on many first climbs of the day, and somehow I always seem to overthink the easy stuff. Perhaps because the mind has the opportunity to wander a little?
We did a quick lap on the warm up and then moved over towards the platform where we did a couple more routes. We stepped up the grade each time and somehow managed to keep climbing without falling. There was only 1 other party there so it was very different feel than what we predicted was playing out at Smith proper where people were probably waiting in lines to jump on the stone.
It was a 4 route day - not a ton of routes but probably about the limit for us considering we had a nice long 1 hour hike out back to the car. It felt good to get back on stone and it also felt good to force the body to work hard and also get the lead head back on outside.
Overall, it was a really pleasant day on steep stone at Smith...yes, I said steep stone at Smith!
gimme gimme!
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
2014 - It's a WRAP
What better way to polish off the year that was 2014 than to head up to Tumalo for a quick split lap?
Surprisingly, the weather up at the mountain was nicer than it was in town. A couple thousand feet in elevation gain provided for warmer temps. Dutchman Sno Park was a disaster! I have never seen it that busy with people stacked double time for parking. It was NUTTY. We ended up going over to Sunrise parking lot and trudging across the road in order to get a lap in at Tumalo.
The skies were clear so I was looking forward to the views as we ascended...as usual the views were kick butt.
The skin up was so toasty that I removed my gloves...until we peaked at which point it was time to bundle up as the temps moved from the mid 30's to the single digits.
We transitioned to ride mode and took a super mellow aspect down and got as many turns in as possible.
ohh, sweet nectar for the soul - ohhh and atlas shrugged:
Surprisingly, the weather up at the mountain was nicer than it was in town. A couple thousand feet in elevation gain provided for warmer temps. Dutchman Sno Park was a disaster! I have never seen it that busy with people stacked double time for parking. It was NUTTY. We ended up going over to Sunrise parking lot and trudging across the road in order to get a lap in at Tumalo.
The skies were clear so I was looking forward to the views as we ascended...as usual the views were kick butt.
The skin up was so toasty that I removed my gloves...until we peaked at which point it was time to bundle up as the temps moved from the mid 30's to the single digits.
We transitioned to ride mode and took a super mellow aspect down and got as many turns in as possible.
ohh, sweet nectar for the soul - ohhh and atlas shrugged:
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