WHAM BAM Thank you Glam

Phattie gets her glamor shots.....still need to go in and weigh the beast.  The pedals are temporary until I figure out the better option between platform vs clipless,  For riding in the snow, I can definitely see pros and cons to either.

The clipless will be more efficient, but might be harder to get started in the snow...feet might also get colder thanks to the cold temps making the pedal cold and transferring that cold to the shoe.

The platform is not as efficient with pedal stroke but gives you more options in keep your feet warmer as you can wear warmer boots (most cycling shoes are not made for below freezing temps).

in the interim, below are phattie's poser shots;

 little piggy waiting to get taken out for a proper inaugural ride...perhaps this weekend....

 so fresh and so clean...

 curvalicious

 white cable housing for effect

 grip shifter action - going with a 1X9 set up for now...I have two chainrings which will give me the optino to decide to upgrade to 2X9 or just remove one of the chain rings if not needed.

 Even Moby is bowing to the big phattie:

 Moby dog says "whoa, this is a beast!"

MTB Guacamole Trail Video

Below is a GOPRO video of our excursion to Hurricane, Utah where we rode the Guacamole trail.  Good weather, great views, fun riding.

MTB Guacamole Hurricane from Tiago on Vimeo.

Mountain Biking in S Utah - Guacamole Trail outside of Hurricane/Zion

On another note, the phattie is built and ready for her glamor shots....updates to follow tomorrow.

Minication Zion

After a day of climbing and another day of riding, we decided to head into Zion to do the turista thing.  The wifer had not been to Zion and we were in the hood so it made a lot of sense to go in and check out some of those big cliffie thingies.

We took the dogs for a walk along the trail by the visitor center (the only trail that allows pups in the park).  It was a nice way to walk along the valley floor and look up at the formations.  Like most National Parks, this place makes you feel pretty puny.  Zion is such an amazing place and we really only just saw the very tip of the iceberg.  I would like to head back and so some hikes through slot canyons, etc.  Angel's Landing is another hike worth re-doing - you definitely feel a wee bit exposed while hiking up but the scenery is amazing once you crest.

Speaking of scenery....here are some pix:

MTB Hurricane Guac

Day 2 our of mini vacation took down to Hurricane where we rented a bike from Over the Edge and heading up to the mesa north of Gooseberry to ride the Guacamole trail.  The rental was a nice Rocky Mountain with lots of cush.  It was heavy as a tank but did not ride as heavy as it weighed...you can perhaps say it was big boned....

We headed up to the mesa and took turns riding/watching the dogs.  We got up there and had the mesa to ourselves - by the time we got done riding, we had lots of company.  The strangest might have been when I returned from my ride to find the missus hanging with the dogs and a mormon family in the same area cutting down firewood.  It was strange because at the time there was no one else up at the mesa but they had to choose the same location to crank up two loud chainsaws.  The weirdest thing of all though was what they said when they pulled up....the asked the missus if she minded if they stopped there for a picnic.  Apparently 'picnic' is mormon code for busting out chainsaws and increasing the decibel levels for a while.  When I got back from my ride and heard the chainsaw action, we quickly got in the car and re-located down the road where the chainsaws were at least muffled a little more.  Ahhh, the sweet sounds of the outdoors.  Mental note:  must learn mormon code mo' betta'

The weather was still amazing (perhaps even perfect) and we were treated to some great riding and phenomenal views overlooking Zion.  The riding on the Guacamole trail was not as technical as Gooseberry or Gander but was certainly still enough to keep you thoroughly engaged and on your tek game - any lapse in focus or judgement could make for a bad day as there could be consequences.  It too had some exposed riding near the rim edges but not nearly as exposed as you felt on parts of Gooseberry.

The riding generally felt like it had a little more flow but you had to pay particular attention to the cairns that marked the way because it was super easy to get off track and not see where the trail went.  All in all, it was a big thumbs up - the missus and I both got some riding in and the dogs got in another great round of play.  By the end of the day, they would be exhausted.

Some pix of the Guac trail:
looking towards Zion:

 The mesa was rockier than at first glance:

 it looked like there had been a recent burn too:

not a shabby way to spend the turkey mini holiday.....

Mini Vacation

The missus got Thanksgiving Friday off at the last minute which meant we had a small window to plan a little getaway.  Unfortunately it did not leave us with enough time to plan a getaway to visit family anywhere but it did provide us with a 4 day mini break.  We decided to rent a mini-van and head south to try and chase the sun.

Destination: St George in Southern Utah.  As soon as the wifer wrapped up work on Wednesday, we loaded up in the car and started the 11 hour trek down to Souther Utah.  The intent was to get a good push in on Wednesday night, leaving us with a manageable drive on Thursday.  We made it as far as Orem and pulled over to catch some zzzzz's late Wednesday night.  We got up early and got behind the wheel once again, arriving in St. George around midday on Thursday.

The plan was to do a little climbing and riding over the next couple days.  Fortunately the weather played nice and we had blue skies and warm temps.  The temps hit the upper 60's on Thanksgiving day and we all got out into the Red Cliffs recreation area in St George to play on some rock.  We ended up at Turtle rock which was a crag a little further away from the first pullout that can be a little bit of a circus thanks to the short approach and easy access to climbing.

We hiked the mile or so over to the crag and then roped up and proceeded to get utterly humbled as basked in the sun and got put in our place after not climbing for over 3 yrs.  It was still good to be out climbing but it was a reality check of just how out of climbing shape we are.  My forearms got their pump on quickly and lasted all of 4 short climbs!

It was perhaps one of the most humbling climbing days I have ever had but it was probably a good reality check of what happens when you don't do a sport for 3+ yrs...the ego was bruised - well, actually, the ego is still bruised!  It was still good to be out pulling on rock and try to get back in the right head space.  The dogs had a great time and we had some really awesome weather.

Let the spank fest begin!  Warm up route:

 crag dog:

 even Otis got in on what being a crag dog is all about...notice the black basalt rock behind Otis - red sand stone mixed in with basalt...a very crazy geology in the area....very cool

 coming to terms with starting over from the climbing strength department:

 an arch off in the distance

 heading back to the car after being spanked and beaten, with my tail between my legs.....

Night Ride Ben Stiller Style

Ben Stiller describing a night mountain bike ride:

Knobby Phattie

Knobs on a phattie?  Oui Oui...Most phattie tires have been created with few knobs.  The mellow tread on the snow/sand tires makes sense given the conditions they are ridden in.  As a trail addict, I feel it is important to have a choice of tire that is a little bit more aggressive and looks like it belongs on a mountain bike.  Enter Nate.....

The Suly Nate tire looks like a true mountain bike tire on 'Roids.  I am fully expecting to hear the hummmmmm of the tires if they ever hit pavement - you dirt afficionados will understand said sound.

I went to work on the front wheel today - drilled out the Rolling Darryl rim, deburred the holes, wrapped the tire with ribbon and Gorilla tape and voila....some sweat equity that went a little sum'n' sum'n' like:

The original wheel pre-drill action

 Finishing up the drilling....

 Weapon of Choice - I think the rim is feeling a wee bit violated and is looking disparagingly at the bad bad drill

 a little white ribbon, gorilla tape and ready for some rubber...

 speaking of rubber....for giggles, on the left is a road tube, middle is a mountain tube, and to the right is the phattie mcphattie big boy tube!

 rim drilled, rubber installed, looking mean and ready to get dirteeeee

 I love me some Knobbiiieeeees -