Riding the St. G

We left this morning to ride in St. George. I slept most the way down. According to Chris, so did he. We made it safely and without incident. Paul Moot met us at the trail head--the recycling bins in Coral Canyon--for a ride on Church Rocks. We did a loop counter clockwise, headed out on Prospector to Silver Reef to have a quick bit at Red Cliff Recreation. Paul left us there as he had to get back to his family. On the way back, Chris had a small incident with an equestrian. I don't think he was to blame and apparently one of the other equestrians apologized for the first.






We then grabbed a quick bite and met Dennis (Jones) at the Zen trail head. While there, we ran into lots of people from up North. Mona Vie was out on a training ride as was the newly formed Skull Candy-Peak Fitness squad. Dennis had never ridden the race course and has been wanting to do so. We showed him around. I think he liked it. We then headed for Zen. Zen as always was good. It was a day on the bike. My legs are rocked--feels so good.

Today Was a Good Day

Well, work was work; nothing memorable. Although I did get out with only working eight hours which is good. But the really good stuff started to happen post work. I got on my winter riding gear and headed to Bonneville Shoreline above Slate Canyon Road. The sun was shining and it was surprisingly warm. So I did not need so many layers. This led me to believe that it was going to be muddy. But I was wrong. It was wet, but nothing bad. There was snow but it was mostly ridable. It was delightful. I kept thinking that it was finally happening--a good winter ride.

The mountain seemed golden in the sunlight

There was snow but nothing bad

I turned around in Springville

Is that supposed to loose?

That was the one downfall. The nut came off my roater adapter. I knew Chris had issues with his when he was in St. George. I gave him a quick call and he said not to worry about it. So I did not mind the jingle jangle from back there.

And then when I got home...it came. My new cross frame! Let's just same I am EX-CITED. Today was a good day.

Cannot Win

My sore throat finally went away and I am feeling relatively good. We had plans for camp Lynda this weekend which was canceled. Chris tried to find some place regionally for us to ride, but it did not look good anywhere. So we stayed home and tried to do something locally.
We once again attempted Squaw Peak. We gave the snowmobilers plenty of time to pack down the snow. It looked promising as we pulled up there were lots of trucks and trailers. But again the snow, even with the amount of traffic, was too soft. I made farther than I have all season, but that is not really saying much at all. I convinced Chris to ride the Provo River Trail a bit with me though. I found that enjoyable. Chris did not so much. Then again he was having a personal equipment issue--he seamless shammy had bunched up. If you have those Bontrager shorts, you know what I mean. It made him understandable cranky.
Well, since Squaw Peak was so deep and soft, I decided to try some snow shoeing. I opted for Bonneville Extreme South starting at the buckets in Springville. We had tried to ride this several weeks ago, but the snow was too deep. This time I should have brought my bike; there was hardly any snow up there. I did not really need the snow shoes so much and finally turned around due to a lack of snow. I cannot catch a break.

The "deep" snow on Bonneville in Springville

The lack of snow further up the trail

29er Crew for 2010

We got the call this week. Okay, maybe it was an email. But it came. We are a part of the 29er Crew this year. Subaru opted out of the grass roots program which we were a part of for the past couple of years. So it is no more...or that is what they told us.
I feel grateful and lucky to have been provided this new opportunity. Additionally, getting some perks to take the edge off of maintaining two bikes, components, etc. for a race season is always helpful. Chris and I have been big proponents of the 29er movement for several years and we are big fans of the Gary Fisher geometery. So really this is a great fit.

Where in the world was KC?

A fair sized contingency of riders with whom I associate spent this past weekend in St. G. The weather was warm and the trails were in great conditions. Chris put together his SuperCal Hi-Fi and enjoyed it when it was functioning properly. He had lots of issues primarily with the rear shock.

Chris working on his bike with help from Bob

Chris, Joe, Kevin, Phil and Keith atop Zen

Bob, Brad, Dan, Joe, Chris, Kevin, and Phil
And another shot of the group (they really like that view)

Russ Holley was also there. Chris said he got lost along the way without him noticing. He is a bit concerned whether or not he made it back to the trail head. Has anyone heard from him lately?

You may notice that there are no pictures of me. And one may assume I was taking the photos, but that would be wrong. I just simply was NOT there. I was home not doing much of anything. I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday moving less than I have in many years. Doc said I have some viral infection. It has been camping out in my throat for over a week and it was really bad this past weekend. On Monday I swallowed once and it was pain free. That was delightful. The pain came back with a vengeance though.

They say misery loves company. Chris is not feeling so well now, but it does not seem to make me feel any better. I will try more ibuprofen as it is the only thing that seems to have had benefit.

Getting Out

I got out for a ride this weekend. Just something short. I was going stir crazy and really welcomed the opportunity in spite of the less than desirable air quality.

A frozen fountain outside a house at the Mouth of Hobble Creek

Speaking of getting out, I am getting out of the business and am looking to sell my road bike. It is a 51 cm Scattante. The scandium frame and Easton carbon fork make for a great ride. I may sell it as a frame set; I am just not sure at this point. More details to come as I get things figured out.

Happy New Year 2010

With the New Year landing on Friday resulting in a long weekend, we could not help but capitalize on this riding opportunity. So we went to St. George. Calvin Calhoun and his riding partner Darrin were heading down with Dan. We convinced Josh to come with us and Brad was going to meet us on Saturday. And we ended up meeting Bob Dawson and Brandon Cross (Mona Vie-Cannondale) at different trail heads so they joined us on respective rides.
Throughout the weekend we ended up hitting the race course, Zen, Barrel Cacti, Bear Claw-Poppy, Barrel Roll w/ Sidewinder, Black Brush, Church Rocks (through the tunnel), Prospector, Paradise, and Hurricane Rim to Jem. We did not do Goulds though. We hit mud after the hike-a-bike and steep climbs. Even though it was cut short, it was a nice finish to the weekend.

Trying out some new formerly used cranks

Chris and Brandon on top of Zen

Calvin, Dan (hidden), Darrin, and Chris

Josh and Dan on laughing on Paradise

Brad on Barrel Roll

There were a couple of notable incidents throughout the weekend. On Paradise, Chris and Josh were messing around, somehow got entangled and ended up crashing. By the time I caught up to them, Dan was there holding up a Chris' bike. Josh was standing off to the side, and Chris was on the ground next to Josh's bike. Dan caught some of the happenings and found it comical as did Chris and Josh. Luckily no one was really hurt and the bikes did not suffer either.
As part of the Church Rocks-Prospector ride, we head up the road to Red Rock Campground to have a snack and head back. We apparently picked a campground that had been recently raked. The campground grounds keeper came up to "cuss us out". He ended up pretty nice and let us stay and eat. Mental note--don't pick camp spots that have been recently been raked.