Let's Capitalize

Since I ended up in town this weekend, I tried to capitalize on the fact and get some riding done. This was a bit easier said than done given the weather. We have had to try to squeeze ride time in between rain drops.

Given the weather, we have been lucky and fairly successful. One ride took us to the top of Rock Canyon. The initial plan was to descend Squaw Peak, but the road got muddy toward the top. We thought that was a bad sign and would be indicative of a muddy, single track descent. So we turned back and came down the way we ascended. I think we spent two thirds (at least) of the ride time climbing and maybe one third coming back. It was a constant grind for me, but fun none the less.

Chris practically floating up the road

Putting a little distance between us

A view from the top into the valley

Happy Chris

Access Denied

On Wednesday morning I hit the dirt before I had to head up to the airport for a trip to Sydney Australia for a Distributor event. Nothing like a nice dirt session before heading for a long, long flight. The morning was perfectly warm. Right before getting to the trail, I encountered my first snake of the season. He was just relaxing across the road soaking up some morning sun.

Can you see the snake?

 After peaking and starting my descent into dry canyon, I took a moment to capture the wild flowers. They started blooming this week. It adds to the beauty of the mountains. My ride was definitely the best part of the day.

Wild flower are blooming. Dry Canyon Loop

When I got to the airport, I couldn't print my ticket. I was instructed to see the ticket agent. She informed me that I needed a Visa to enter Australia. The market staff booked my ticket and did not instruct me to get a Visa nor did they get one for me. I was only issued a ticket to LA. I tried to get an electronic Visa, but after speaking with my department administrative assistant who consulted with our corporate travel specialist I was told it would be 24 hours before the Visa would issue. I needed the Visa before I could get the ticket.
So I went to the gate and informed the agent there and let them know I was not getting on the plane and to pull my luggage. I was heading home. I felt really bad about this; I felt as if I was letting the market down as they had been promoting the event. None the less, Australia would not have me.
A little disappointing as I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Sydney since I first saw photos of the Opera House in the 5th grade. Maybe another time...

Frustrated Incorporated

Chris raced Mesa Verde this weekend with Alex. I was a bit back and forth as to whether or not I would join him. I opted to stay home for a couple of reasons. First, that would make it three weekends in a row where I would be out of town. I was visiting family in California last weekend and am scheduled to travel for work next. Part of me just wanted to be home. Second, I figured I would be able to ride more if I was home. Granted I could ride the days before and after the race, but I would need to be sacrificing a whole Saturday worth of riding. Again, note this would be three Saturdays in a row.
So I stayed. I worked Friday but didn't ride "saving" my legs for what I anticipated being a long* ride on Saturday. I had my plans for the day laid out and was going to ride later in the afternoon. I needed to "Stans up" my rear tire because I got a flat last time I rode. We came back through a construction area and I picked up a hitch hiker. Luckily I just had a short distance back to the car.

Well, I tossed in some more Stan's which seemed to seal the hole, but I was still losing air. It was coming from the hole of the stem. I messed with the stem a bit, pumped it up again, and it continued to lose air. I spoke to Chris and he recommended breaking the bead and putting a new stem in it. Ugh! I hate breaking the bead because I struggle to get it re-seated. I swapped it out went to pump it up and it still lost air.
I still had my hard tail. BUT I could not open either skwer. I felt defeated.
Chris called back and this time suggested swapping the tape also. He walked me through what this would entail. I did it but with the same results. Chris did have a good suggestion for getting my skwers open which worked but it was later in the day and I was defeated.
When Chris got home he messed with my rear tire a bit. He struggled to figure out what was wrong with it. He too was getting frustrated. While I hate to seem him frustrated, I did feel a bit of justification in my struggles. He finally got it to work, but is/was still stumped by why it was not working as it should. Even though Chris was completely cooked, he still went for a ride with me. And it was delightful.

*Long ride is a relative term. Long for me these days would be about three hours.

Catching Up

I am a bit behind because I am completely lazy this year. I know why I haven't been posting. I have either been simply lying around or sleeping. That is where most of my excess time is spent these days. While on some level I am okay with it on others...not so much. None the less, that is what I do.
I do still try to get out and ride. If it is cold, or I am tired, or not feeling it, I don't force it. Instead I just go home and lie around the house. Lazy? Probably. In my defense though (you knew it was coming), I am still trying to figure out what is going on with my body physically. Because now when I use the same inputs that I have for the past several years, it is not responding the same. It is changing so drastically, I can hardly keep up with it. It is like something else has taken over...or maybe something has.

USCS #1 Lambert Park

None the less, the year of Chris continues. He raced Lambert Park last weekend. He did this the day after riding White Rim. I did not accompany him to Moab. He got up Friday morning early, drove down to Dead Horse Point, rode the 100 miles with friends, and drove back. I was really looking forward to White Rim this year because I have not done it for a while. No dice. Next year though, right?
I was a bit surprised he was still game for Lambert especially as the weather was sketchy. I think I would have bailed. While it was not his best showing, I was still proud of him.
This weekend was 5 Mile Pass. Early on there was talk of a course change. That talk seemed to fade as the race approached. And while a map of the course was not available on the website, the 11 mile lap claim seemed like it would be the same. It was apparently.
The weather was delightful, especially for 5 Mile Pass. There was a breeze kicking up some huge dust, but I picked a pretty good spot to do hand-ups--which I seem to be much better at doing these days. The only dust I had to deal with during the race was what was kicked up by racers.
Chris had another good day. Coming off his first lap, he was in a group not far behind the sole leader. On his second lap, the group had diminished to just him and fellow Kuhl teammate, Jon. The gap between them and the leader had grown but there was space between them and the rest of the category. Coming into the finish Chris was well situated into second place (with Jon comfortably in third).

Chris' Category

Chris coming into the finish

Where I would have started IF I had raced

Cactus Hugger

We headed down to St. George last weekend for some more biking and stuff. We had some business to attend to also, so we went down early. We rode Friday in Hurricane doing the Gould-Jem-Hurricane Rim. When we got to the trail head there was a group of polygamist women and children casually walking through the sagebrush. They had bags on their back and attached to belts. Chris asked an incredibly friendly women what they were doing. They were harvesting some herb that although very bitter helps cleanse the blood. Nothing is worse than dirty blood so I can see why they would want to make this bitter herb into tea. They were gone by the time we got back to the car.
Then we headed into Santa Clara for a jaunt on Sidewinder and Barrel Roll. And it was a good day.

Chris raced on Saturday. His mom, Step-father, and sister came to watch. He put on a decent show finishing third. He was in the mix at the front for the first couple laps and then began to fade just a bit on the last lap. He still killed it in my opinion. He said the heat had him a bit nervous towards the end of the race. Luckily, his mom did his hand ups so it all went smoothly and he had the liquid and calories he needed.

We rode the race course as it doubles as a fun trail. We also rode Zen and Snake Pit. I would have liked to have ridden a bit more, but we were budgeting riding time with family time. It is always fun hanging out with Chris' mom so it was not much of a sacrifice. None the less, another great weekend in St. George. It will likely be the last for a while as temps are warming up. 

Breaking Point

As the week progressed and we realized that spring would not be present this weekend, we thought of heading South. Chris has been wanting to go to Moab for months now, but it hasn't really worked. I have had conflicts or the weather or something. So we planned on a day trip.
Then we woke up to inches of snow on Saturday morning. We knew Saturday was going to be chilly and since it stays light later, we did not worry about getting a super early start. We woke up to much more snow than I had anticipated. I knew we would still have some storms, but this was bigger than I imagined. I did not have the heart to tell Chris about my apprehension. We followed our predetermined schedule. It continued to snow. As we were packing up the car, Chris told me we would give it a go and if the canyon was bad we would turn around. O.K., that sounded good.
We headed up toward the canyon and the it was obvious the plows had not been out yet or for very long. As we got closer though the main roads looked better. We headed up Highway 6 and it was surprisingly in fair condition. Chris was cautious but it was not crazy. A few miles into the canyon and it was all good. The storm must have gotten "caught" at the base and it was smooth sailing to Price and beyond.
We got to Moab and rode Pipe Dreams after a quick stop in town. It was warm with a chilly breeze, but much better than what we left. It was not a no dab day but the trail was delightful. A nice little warm up.
Then we headed to the Moab Brand trails. The wind seemed to pick up as we were driving North, but at the trailhead it was not any worse than Pipe Dreams. We did the usual sans-Sovereign because we both wanted to hit North Klondike Bluffs. By the end of the North 40 though I was beginning to feel it.
We then headed further North to NKB. Parked. Got ready. It was getting cooler. And we headed out. I had lost some of my pop, but Dino Flow still flowed. We came straight back on EKG which was slow going for me. I am so out of shape these days. None the less, we got in five hours of riding before heading back home. We left around 8 am and returned just before 10 pm. Totally worth it.

Here are some photos of past rides. Nothing from this weekend...no time to stop. I was chasing Chris all day.   I believe these are from a trip to St. George in January courtesy of Keith.

Adam and Chris

Chris

Feeling Better...Finally

So after two weeks of feeling terrible, I finally started to feel normal last weekend. We stuck around home but still got some great riding. Trails are starting to dry out here and turn green again. It is glorious--both spring setting in and feeling better.
Unfortunately though my knee was pretty sore afterwards. So then I had to take another two days or so off the bike. 2013 is going to be crazy. 
This weekend we headed down to to St. George. The weather was absolutely divine. Adam and I went for a ride on Saturday. Trying to avoid racers, we hit Rim Runner and Precipice-Sidewinder-Suicidal Tendencies. On the top of Rim Runner I got off the single track a bit and washed out. As I am falling I notice my face is heading towards a decent sized rock. I start thinking this is going to be really bad. Somehow my head and face avoided it--thankfully. As I got up though I noticed I was missing my watch. I sliced the band clear through. Son of a...! It was Adam's first time on Suicidal. I am not convince he really liked it. Although it can be a lot to take in the first time.
Then I headed back for the end of the True Grit. Chris had already "finished". His race took twist. After his first lap on Barrel Roll, he thought his number plate needed to be checked so he stopped at the course marshal/timing official. Unfortunately, he was told he not only did not need to "check-in" but he was to head back to the finish. He asked if he needed to do a second lap on Barrel Roll and was told no. He went to the aid station there and asked again for confirmation. He was again instructed to return to the start/finish. So he did (as did the first six riders or so). None the less, he was given wrong instructions. This was after he spent the entire race playing catch up because he sliced a side wall in the first few miles of the race. Not really a good day for him. I still thought he did well considering.