Proof Positive Steep Smith

Below is some proof that steep climbing is around Central Oregon....the area requires one lonnnng, steep (to match the climbing) approach, and the routes definitely require traffic in order to clean up but ahhh - thuggy climbing does exist!

I was a bit frazzled on the first climb as I pulled off 3 handfuls of rock while climbing which led to a couple of interesting falls and a very very tentative climbing mind after.  It was hard to trust your feet for fear of exploding off the cliff side...3 times bitten, many times over shy....  The area definitely needs some traffic in order to clean up and be a little more secure but it was a great day to be out cragging...and most importantly we were where the crowds were NOT.

Steep Climbing Smith?

Yes, it does exist....it is few and far between and in this case the approach was a nice long 1 1/2 hrs to get to the crag but the scenery along the way was worth the long hike in.  Below are some pictures of the approach into/out of the crag.

the return at the end of the day...Josh with their new pup Ainsley who was very well behaved for being a new member of the K family

 Smith....we started from the parking lot in the mid-left part of the picture.

 One of the good things about the approach....it thins out the herd at the crag!

 dropping back down to the river...to be followed with a quick short steep hike to the parking lot.

 Smith Rocks....looking west..

 the fish eye version

More CX Cross Crusades

There were some great costumes at the recent CS Cross Crusades:

CX Crusades Bend

If you happen to be a cyclocross junkie, then this recent weekend in Bend might just have been nirvana for you.  The Cross Crusades series stopped in Bend this weekend for 2 days of racing and big FUN.  Saturday's events included a 'regular' cross race and the evening's races included the costumed Clydesdale's event which was hysterical!

Saturday night was just about people watching and letting the beer flow freely while watching the Clydesdale fiesta'd costumes roll through on the CX course.  This was all followed up by the warehouse party in the Deschutes Brewery.  

Sunday's events included a costume version of Saturday's race which was big fun.  I decided to go as Officer Dangle from Reno 911 while the missus went as the Sock Monkey.  Miss Sock Monkey managed to win her category for 'best costume' but paid the price for it while she rode as the wool costume created a little mini sauna as she rode.

details on the race(s) to follow...for the time being, here are some phone camera pix of the costumes in action:

CycloCross Bend Style

The weekend ahead:

Phattie evolves

As we are going through the process of replacing stolen bikes, the wifer's phattie was one of the bikes that needed to be replaced.  She decided she really liked my  9zero7 build and so she convinced me into giving her the 9zero7 and urged me to go look at phattie replacements for me.

Since her Salsa Mukluk was stolen, I figured it would be good to try out a different bike and get a taste of what else is out there for options.

Last year's season of Phat proved to be a lean one for consumers in so much as inventory was difficult to come by.  The burgeoning phat scene is taking off and as a result the simple rules of supply and demand seemed to be bottlenecked on the supply side.

This year, there are many more options and technology is changing as quickly as it has in the world of phat.  The big change across the board seems to be dropouts on the rear to accommodate singlespeed with sliders or even internally geared hubs.  These seem to be standard options now for many of the bikes.

I decided IGH and SS were not must have options for me on a snow bike and opted to go for inventory on hand that FatBack had pre-built.  I went over to the warehouse in Bend and checked out the build that have upgraded rims and carbon fork.  It was a departure from building it up but in a way it was good to be able to roll in, check things out, and roll out with a bike....speaking of Roll Out....

back to phatties....I decided to go with the raw Fatback option:

Tunes - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

who knew you could have so much fun at.....THE THRIFT SHOP>>>