ellipti-what?

just another slice of a crazy off-spring of bike related product...

looks like it could be fun to play on for a day or two but I don't think I would want to ride one around town, or up a hill, or on a trail, or a tandem,,,,etc

perhaps this is the perfect product for you if you are addicted to the elliptical machines at the gym and want to expand your whacky flailing to the world that exists outside of the gym fishbowl...seems like a fall one of these bad boys would be pretty spectacular.

I suppose it is still a much better alternative to the ummm....runbike:

http://runbike.com/

after all, it is just like running on the moon....

Climbing Flashback Trifecta

some pix from our infamous (to us) road trip to the Red in Kentucky...

Biblical type rain (most rain in a 24 hr period in close to 100 yrs) in the area made for slim pickings climbing wise but we tried to make the most of it in the intermittent windows that provided micro windows to climb...it rained this hard for days!  note the tents underneath the shelter....we set up camp in the eating area at Linda's or else we would have needed a paddle to get to/from our tents

This missus getting her climb on, or practicing crunches, or something....

 mo' missus - gratuitous butt shot:

 mo' missus climbing through the buckets:

 yours truly enjoying the super fun warm up with gi-normous holds

 a little friend I almost stepped on at the base of the crag - fortunately he was in sleepy mode

 Twinkie - big holds, big fun...

from the ground it was hard to understand why this was rated 12a - the holds all looked super positive and HUGE

just plain fun climbing!

feet wherever you want

 just down the trail there was another super cool overhanging route that was beggin' to be climbed:

 same climb - steep and hard

 there were little glimpses of blue sky every once in a while....

 the missus leading some slabby looking horror-show (any slabby looking anything is a horror show to me)

Climbing Flashback - Part Duh

Some awesome climbs in Clear Creek - the old stomping ground in Denver...

back when there was a Tyrolean traverse over to Sonic Youth - one of my very very favorites climbs and projects in Clear Creek!

 working through the lower iron cross move at the bottom of Sonic:

 first crux down, now through the overhanging dyhedral

 getting out of the 'rest' up high and getting ready for the biznasssss on Sonic

 we have arrived at the biznasssss

 sticking and holding the sloper on the biznasssssss - reaching for a nasty little crimper with the rightie

 New River Wall in Clear Creek

Reminiscing of Climbing

As I was organizing pictures yesterday, the gears in the mellon started to grind away at all the awesome climbing adventures and how the plan is to get back there at some point and partake in the fun again - it will be humbling to try gain some climbing pump again but c'est la vie...to be expected after a long hiatus.

Until then it will just have to be a trip down memory lane:
Tensleep - looking up at the thin (not my forte) crux above...

 great climbing on great stone in Tensleep:

 and yes, there is some steep stuff to be found in Tensleep:

 Nice roof with some jugs!

 more steep Tensleep luvvage - climbing through the roof

 exiting the 'Woof'

 an uncompleted project in Eldo....scary clip - on a tenuous flake that rattled and you had to knee bar and smear your foot for the knee bar as you clipped...anything blowing off the smear prior to clipping, etc would mean a fall where you would deck - sketchy!!!

must get back in climbing shape!

Climbing goes Mainstream?

OK, so climbing won't ever be main-stream despite its growth in popularity over the past decade - and free solo action definitely won't make it main-stream but the fact that there is a 60 minutes segment and a recent front page of Nat Geo featuring climbing and specifically this guy, goes to show that there seems to be some level of raised awareness - perhaps? sorta'? kinda'? maybe?

just plain nutty...as in having a set so large that you need a wheelbarrow to carry them around in:

Unless you are a climber, it is difficult to appreciate some of the things this guy is doing.   Scary, impressive...or suicidal?  regardless, talk about some serious mental fortitude to stay focused - to me, his most impressive feat is the free solo in Zion of Moonlight Buttress....that climb was just recently (somewhat recently) freed and for this cat to walk up to it and free solo a 5.13 finger crack when the crux comes up high several hundred feet of the deck....WOW!

Airstream Maintenance

Upon returning from our last outing with the tin can, I stopped at the RV dump to empty out the black tank (sewer tank).  The norm is pull up, grab the sewer hose, empty the tank, do a quickie rinse, then put the hose back in the carrying pipe and motor back home.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled up, bent down to get the sewer hose and realize the pipe that carries the sewer hose was totally MIA!  The only thing left was an end cap - DOH!!

somewhere along the dirt roads of backcountry Montana there is a PVC pipe with a sewer hose snaking out of it.

Where it was supposed to be:

Since it is sorta kinda important to have a sewer hose and carrying mode, I made a quick trip to the hardware store where I picked up some end caps, clamps to secure the PVC, and a new hose...about an hour later, voila, back to having a functioning storage system for the sewer stuff...

the end caps screw on and the sewer hose is stored inside - out of the way....

the mystery loss happened sometime before this pic as the pipe is missing in this pic...dogs are showing their concern too...pic of the Bitterroot - Big Hole area

 more Big Hole fun

MTB: Bitterroots Again

The weather was unseasonably warm again this past weekend so it made for yet another extended window of opportunity to get out and ride...in the immortal lyrics of Queen:

"Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like"


'Where I Like' just happened to be the Bitterroots that were calling out to me again.  This time however it was going to be a solo adventure as the missus had to work the weekend.  The plan was to get out and explore another section of trail that we had not gotten to the prior weekend.  I had my handy dandy Forest Service map, my nutrition, my water, my water filter, my little sordid collection of gadgetry and a can of bear spray just in case the bear bell on my 'wingnut' did not make enough noise to warn critters.


The Stewart fire southeast of Wisdom had picked up and the Big Hole was in a shroud of smoke from the fire that has been burning for weeks...fortunately I was heading further west and would not be impacted by the smokey skies.


I parked the car and clipped in and started to ride...I explored the first trail on the map that would gain access to the CDT where I was planning on riding the spine of the divide for a while.  The problem was that the trail that was on the map was nowhere to be found...no problem, it was a day to adventure with no particular agenda in mind so adventure onwards....The a side dirt road eventually gave way to an un-maintained trail that was overgrown and had no evidence of human activity - there were some wildlife prints in the mud but no footprints or bike prints.  After a couple miles of bushwacking, dismounting my bike to clear fallen trees, swamp riding, branch scraping, etc etc...I figure this trail was not going anywhere and it might be a wise move to turn back and explore option C.


I was glad to have the bear bell during the bush-whack-a-thon and found myself talking out loud a few times to make sure I was making enough noise to alert any critters.


fast forward a few miles on the retreat of the trail and there was another trail with a sign that indicated it was 5 miles to the CDT...'AHA moment'...The Plan:  take said trail to CDT and ride CDT to where we finished our ride last week (we went south to north last week and the plan was to ride north to south and end up where we exited the CDT last week).


What do they say about mice and men??  well awry it did go...


I followed the trail for 3 miles up the ravine (this trail was actually evident and no bushwhacking required) - although it was pretty tekkie which was fun though.  It reminded me of some of the BC riding with roots and rocks.  After 3 miles, the trail pulled a Bermuda Triangle and disappeared.  I bushwacked for a while but could not pick the trail up.  I was tantalizingly close to picking up the CDT but no dice...I looked at the skies and they had the look of change.  The blue skies were turning dark and I could feel the winds that were pushing weather into the area.  At this point I figured given the day's track record the best move was to turn around and head back to the car.  


I did make it back to the car unscathed, but frustrated at not having been able to get on the elusive CDT this weekend.  All's well that ends well....to use yet another literary quote...


It was still a good day to be out - 17 miles of exploring on roads and trails, and non existent trails.  Even in getting off the beaten path, the area opens up a little more to you.  It is all good in the hood G!


pix of the excursion: