The Kitchen Renovation Begins!

Yep, we did it... we started the kitchen! After years of talking about it, we decided this is the time to get going. We always said that when the stove died, we'd redo the space, but dang it! They made stuff to last back in 1976 and that stove is hanging tough. The idea is to make the kitchen much more user friendly, with an updated look and open the space a little. So...
Picture #1: The before - . We had already taken out the drop ceiling shortly after we moved in and put up the track lighting. We also added recessed lights over the counters.

Picture #2: The soffets come down to open up the ceiling even more. We had to leave the soffets in over the sink and fridge because there is a beam and some duct work in those.

Picture #3: Opening the walls. We wanted to open the space to make it seem bigger. What a difference!! We took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room. This will have a hanging vent between and a service bar into the dining room. We also took out the wall between the kitchen and the front hallway - boy does that sun stream in to the kitchen now! It's awesome.

The big pantry cabinet was moved over by the sliding glass door - a new vibrant green on the walls ...

More updates later!

Cyclocross

Well that cyclocross season has started!! A beautiful weekend here and nothing like getting waxed to celebrate!! I started in the Men's A 35+, which is where I usually race. Even took the usual last spot in line after the start (somethings never change). Usually I have the endurance to maintain contact and knock off a few guys toward the middle and end laps. Watching the B-Men's race before ours, I was starting to worry.The top five there were absolutely flying. Probably should be in the A's.
Anyway, here I am in last place at the end of lap 1 and I finally catch back on to the caboose (well, the guy in the main group). After getting by two guys, I am trying to ride comfortably and smooth. I come the a sharp right and decide, I can just turn without braking. Getting into the turn, I quickly find out that is not going to happen and go crashing straight into the chain link fence. So much for being smooth?! No worries, got right on, no one passed me, still not DFL!! Only a couple other little bobbles on the sandy corners and I manage to get 2 more passes so I think it went okay for the first time out. LOTS of bike set-up changes to make. Also, next time I am not going to rake leaves for 2 hours prior to the race. My back has been howling!! Live and learn. Till, next week, I'll be working on my starts!!

24hrs of Moab

Another Moab in the books. That makes three Moab and I think 9 Canaan/Snowshoe races. Man, I must be getting old. This year was great, as it marked the return to racing for my brother Brian. After 2 years of being the mechanic, he has been riding like a fiend, lost 20lbs and gave it a go. Pre-riding the course with him, I was reminded how great a descender he is, as he was stuck to my rear wheel through some truely technical riding, never having seen the course and on a borrowed bike with 2-inches less travel than he is used to. Crazy! Our result? A top 5 finish in the men's sport class!! I think that was the best we have done at any of the races in the past. It turned out almost perfect weather this year, with sun, cool temps and NO WIND!! The sand had been tamed, compared to prior years and the course was 99% rideable. Though I did have a bike with more than 1 gear this year, which may have helped?! Anyway, we started with the youngster of the group, Steve, first. He got off to a very fast start with a 1:07 lap or something utterly ridiculous. Brian followed with an excellent lap, just below 1:30, then Zach on his single speed again, around 1:17 and I was the old man caboose. I was pleasantly suprised to ride a 1:12, taking 3 minutes off my fastest lap from 5 years ago on a full suspension. This year, I again rode the irrepressably fast, comfy and stable Surly Karate Monkey hardtail!! I love that bike. As they say Steel is Real!!
The race continued without serious disasters until Zach came running in, after breaking his chain about a mile from the end. This must have been a bad omen, as my lap third lap went from okay to CRAP, quickly. It is always the third lap for me that is poor. This time it had gone okay until the 11 mile mark when I was coming up a rocky climb on the backside. As I rode up over the rocks, one grabbed my front tire, stopped it dead, catapulting the rear up in the air, with me still in the seat pedaling in the air, only to be slammed back down and toppled to the side, landing my ass on the rock. Since it was 4am, first, I thought maybe I was just dreaming? Alas, not to be. Got back up and started riding, pain in the ass not allowing full power to the left pedal, but luckily, not much climbing on this course. At the end of the long dirt road decent in the sand pit at the end, I pedaled half way though when my cranks suddenly pedaled round with no resistance. Dropped chain, crap. Dismounted and ran the rest of the way through. Put the chain on and took 1 pedal rev, dropped chain again, Crap. I focused my light on the chain, only to find 2 chain ring bolts gone, and the ring about 1 inch away from the crank, benty beyond repair. Double crap! So I ran (kind of, did I mention my ass?) the last mile pushing my bike. No bolt spacers to be found, my race was done. Steve, Brian and Zach finshed the day off in good style. A total of 16 laps, our most ever. All in all a great race. Everyone seemed pleased, happy and no injuries (my ass was better in a week). Everyyear, seems like it will be my last, but then I think of the sicko's who do it solo, the real sicko's who do it solo on singlespeeds, and the truely insane who do it solo on rigid singlespeeds and figure, I must not be that demented!!!

My good friend Jody came to visit from Michigan to get a little riding in. She has heard stories of the great riding in Fruita, CO and wanted to give it a shot, so off we went! The trip started off rocky as Jody's bike decided to take a trip to Vegas instead of landing in SLC so it was to get here a day late. What to do? We contemplated renting but when we got back to my house, Jode looked at my full suspension Santa Cruz and thought... maybe I can ride that. Welll, I'm quite a bit taller than Jody, but the frame isnt that big on that bike so we thought we might be able to work it. Lowering the seat, moving it forward and making some other adjustments made it tolerable, so off we went - not ideal, but at least we'd be riding!

We hit the grocery store, packed up the Vanagon and off we went. We arrived in time to set up camp, visit the bike shop (a must on every mountain biking trip!) and cooked dinner. We had GREAT camp food each night - pizza in the camp oven, veggie burgers with fresh tomato and avacado, etc. yum! The next day (Fri) we headed off to the Kokopelli section of trails. We started off on Rustler's to warm up and see what adjustments might be needed to the bike. Good thing, it was not shifting at all! A few turns on the derailleur screw and it was better and ride able. This loop is super fun - fast and flowy and a great 4 mile warm up. We then started the climb up Mary's and connected to Horsethief. Horsethief is an awesome trail that will test your technical skills with lots of rocky descents and ledgey drops (not too big!), it was super fun. Then we climbed back out and onto Mary's to finish the rest of the loop. The weather was perfect - 60s and sunny.

The next day we went over to the 18 Road section of trails. We road Prime Cut and part of Frontside, then cruised a sweet ride down Kessler's run - swoopy and fast - absolutely a blast. Jody opted out of John's Ridge as the steep drop off the top made her leary due to the fact that she was a bit uncomfortable on my bike because she couldnt get back off the seat that well, plus the days riding yesterday made for some weary legs. We decided we would take the time and drive to Moab instead of stay in Fruita another day.

Moab gave us rain. We were rained out that afternoon and so wandered the town and had dinner. The next day it was raining again when we woke up, but soon cleared a blue sky hole just big enough for us to get in a quick ride on Klondike Bluffs. This is a short but sweet trail that I new Jody would love, and she did. Great fun! Afterward, we headed back to SLC, with hopes of riding Park City the next day. Rain, rain and more rain. BUT, as I type this, the sky is blue and the clouds are dispersing... good Karma? I would say yes!

A Day in the Life

Ever have one of those days when it seems all is perfect in the universe? That everything is aligned just to make you happy and content? Yesterday was like that. I can not think of a better way to spend a day than hiking with friends and just hanging out for 7 hours - not a care in the world, being totally in the moment and relishing every second. My friend Amy organized this hike for us, providing a shuttle car at then end and a ride to the start. She gathered us together, after finding a date that was good for all a month ago, and off we went. There were five of us - two had to bail - and it was a perfect mix of folks. Myself, my two good friends, Amy and Kris, Amy's neighbor, Mike, and a good friend of hers from Washington, Barb.

The weather was perfect. A blue bird day with a perfect breeze to keep us cool as we hiked the open spaces and basked in the sun at our chill spots. We started off in the woods, hiking up out of Mill Creek Canyon. Soon we were up high and on the side of the mountain ridge, heading toward the Canyons Resort. The smell of the pines, the golden aspen leaves scattered across the trail were pure heaven. Then, we got to the views. The colors were so vivid, with the sun shining on them, I couldnt believe my eyes. The yellows and greens bright as could be with splashes of red popping out here and there to surprise you. Walking, talking, taking it all in.

We eventually got to the Suncrest Lodge in the Canyons resort. This is their mid mountain lodge high up for the skiers to take a break at. Of course, it was closed but we set out a table and some chairs and made ourselves at home. Here we kicked off our boots, had lunch, lounged in the sun and just chilled for about an hour. It was perfection.

On we went then, for the final stretch down the mountain, to the Canyons resort, about 2 more miles from there, I think. We found the resort virtually empty, with most businesses closed, so it felt like we owned the place. We grabbed a couple of six packs, made ourselves at home on one of the patios of a bar that was closed, kicked off our shoes once again, and lounged for a good hour and a half. Finally, we peeled ourselves off our chairs and headed into Park City for an awesome Mexican dinner and an end to our perfect day.

Mid Mountain Marathon

"You cant muscle through a five hour run; you have to relax into it, like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it."

"Dont fight the trail, take what it gives you. If you have a choice between one step or two between rocks, take three."

"When you run on the earth and run with the earth, you can run forever."

"Instead of cringing from fatigue, you embrace it. You refuse to let it go. You get to know it so well, you're not afraid of it anymore. Look forward to the Beast showing up and show it who's boss."

(~ Sage advice from ultrarunners in Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.)

No, 26.2 is not ultra-running by industry standards, but for me it is. I had been reading this book prior to the Mid Mountain Marathon and connected deeply to these statements, and I ran with them, making all the difference.

The day was perfect. A cool 45 - 50 degrees at the race start, promising to shape up to mid 70's. My stomach was churning with nerves and blueberry waffles with peanut butter and maple syrup as I looked around at the nearly 200 racers - most looking relaxed and seasoned - I wondered if any of them felt the same level of anxiety I did. I was antsy, ready to go so my nerves would calm, I knew once I started running I would settle in and chill.

The race finally started with a loop around the Deer Valley buildings to spread people out and then headed out onto the trail. The trail was absolutely beautiful. I have ridden parts of it but never in it's entirety - this was a treat. The trail was mostly rolling, gentle ups and downs, through gorgeous aspen and pine forests, alternating along the way. The rich, fragrant smell of the pine was intoxicating. The trail itself was generally rugged, especially through Iron Mountain with sections of smooth flat dirt - all singletrack. Many a runner finished with bloodstained arms, legs and faces. I, myself, had one crash, but it was gentle - and no blood! The first 15 miles of the trail went by in a snap - I couldnt believe when I saw a sign at an aide station telling me 14.8 miles done - could that be possible? I felt so good and the time just flew by. I was running like the Tarahumara Indians - with joy in my heart and a smile on my face... and the running felt so easy.

At mile 16 I ran into Rich. He had hiked in a couple of miles to see me and take some pictures. From there he ran with me to the cut off point at mile 18 - Red Pine Lodge. I was hoping to make the cut off, and did so easily - an hour and a quarter ahead of deadline. I arrived there in 3:43. From Red Pine Lodge, the trail got more difficult. It was about a two mile "climb" from there and then, I was told, a six mile descent into the Canyons. And indeed it was, downhill, until about mile 23 where it began to climb back up for about a mile, somewhere around where Ambush connected with Holly's, this was tough and I walk/ran most of that section (with probably more walking!). The downhill was a blessing and a curse. My hips and feet were just killing me but the gentle gravitational pull down toward the finish was awesome, even provoking giggles and "airplane arms" around the switchbacks. Finally, I hear the noise from the finish and am routed around the village to the finishing line. Perfect!

My goals for the day were to finish in under six hours, finish unbloodied, and to have fun. I accomplished all three, finishing in 5:32 (unofficial time, by my watch) with a smile on my face.

PCP2P

What a day, literally. 75mles, 14,000' of climbing, 90% singletrack, lots of back aching, triceps aching, grip all but gone and it is done. The 1st annual Park City point to point race was a success. For a first time race, everything was very well organized. A tremedously well marked course. Lots of luck from some awesome rainbows and the day was bound to be a success. I finished in 8 hours and 57 minutes. Good enough for 3rd placed old man. Karen was busy the entire day volunteering at the race. Interestingly she got all the same swag and goodies the racers did, but didn't have to torture herself? For the day it was a nice cool day, some sun, some rain, lots of clouds, some wind, great day for that kind of race. For my race stats, I burned 8852 calories, average HR 152. I estimate I only took in 2000-2500 calories, so I figure I lost a pound or two!! Hmm, maybe I should go eat some fun stuff!!!