megalungmtnfreaks

Farmington Bay Birds

2012-02-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

Made a trip to Farmington Bay wildlife area this morning to see if we could see some Bald Eagles. No eagles this year, but a blue heron, a hawk and some good views of the northern Wasatch mountains.

A real nice day, which I think explains the lack of eagles this year. Only a thin layer of ice on the bay, with temps in the 40's today. Maybe we'll have better luck if it gets colder and snows some??

Party, Party, Party

2012-02-05T20:02:00.003-07:00

Another year, another wine and dessert party. A little different theme this year, with mostly finger food desserts. A few different cake balls, covered in chocolate, some truffles, a cheese cake and the fruit flan. Of course some wine and good friends and all is good.

Creme Brulee cheesecake

Karen worked hard to get the cake balls all done a couple days earlier, and the cheese cake the week before, so party day was pretty laid back actually. Enjoy some event highlights.

Invest in Silver...... get GOLD!!!

2012-01-29T19:05:00.001-07:00

Magic Maker!!!!

For Christmas Karen got books on how to make Whoopie pies and Cake Pops. She told me to make them she needed a Kitchen Aid Stand mixer. So, I got a Silver Kitchen Aid...... now I get the GOLD!!!!! So far, 2 batches of Whoopie pies, and today 1 cheesecake (though I am forbidden from eating until next weeks party!). Not sure I like it. If we had Saunders Hot fudge, I bet it wouldn't be in the freezer!!

Seems to be working pretty well, so I have high hopes for this weekend, with the Wine & Dessert party. Stay tuned for pics of the party and all the yummies!!

January rain

2012-01-19T20:17:00.002-07:00

This seems to be the craziest year of the past century, as far as the weather goes. Driest December on record, then no snow in January and warm weather, with a weekend of rain this week. Well, rain in the valley, SNOW up in the HIGH country!! Only 2 days on the skis so far this year, though will ski some on Saturday this week, given the 18+" so far and the prediction of SNOW FOR THE NEXT 4 DAYS in the mountains.

Should be about 3-4 feet of new. Nice heavy, wet snow to create a good packed base at the resorts. Hopefully the pattern will continue and build the base. In the meantime, this was some guided hiking in the enchanted forest of Devil's Hopyard, S.P. in CT. Interesting place. Hope to get back there for some runs in the summer.

New Light

2012-01-08T19:38:00.003-07:00

We got the new light for the hall. Finally got it up this week. Took a little figuring, but it seems to be hanging well, and REALLY lights the hallway!! I like it!!

Got some snow here finally. Only 2 inches here on the benches, but about 4" in the mtns. Went to ski today. Not Utah quality, that's for sure. Felt like a day back on the East Coast! Lots of ice and crust. Will keep doing the snow dance every day. Might even shave the beard, then it is sure to get cold.

New Year, New Post

2012-01-02T16:43:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are in 2012. Not quite the same easy role off the tongue as 2011, but we'll adjust. I had hoped to get the new year off on a better start than last year, as far as getting the posts a little more regular. I guess two days in is better than 2 weeks in? Maybe I'll have to make that a resolution- more frequent posts. I think I have said that before however... and not done too well. But then again, they weren't resolutions, so I didn't have to follow them!!

Seems too early to say what other resolutions we have this year, as it is time to look at things that we have coming up. Definitely going to CT for my parents 50th Anniversary this summer. Also hoping to get to France and do the Tour de Mt Blanc. Looking for some biking goals and running goals as well. As holidays fade and reality kicks in we will get back to some planning.

Here's to a happy new year!!! Got bike miles in already!!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-04T20:37:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone with a good time here in Salt Lake. John and Carole were here from Michigan for a week. Luckily it was good weather and we had some time off to visit.

Karen and I went to do a 5K run in the morning over in Millcreek canyon. Then we came home to begin cooking. Got the turkey in, had stuffing, sweet potato, green beans, and pecan pie.... lot's of it!!!
Even got a little walk in after dinner (roll really!!).

At 4 am the next day, Karen and Kathy headed out in their pajamas to go to the mall and shop. Home around 7 am, and then out again a little later with Carole to a different mall. Saturday we had a chance to get downtown to see the lights in Temple Square quickly, as it was a little cold. Sunday it was christmas dinner, since we won't see them on Christmas. A great visit with all.

rk

Iceman 2011

2011-11-13T21:04:00.001-07:00

For the event of the year, I chose to try and race the Iceman Cometh mountain bike race in Traverse City, MI. It is one of those races that I never got around to doing, in the 2 years that I lived there. Maybe that was for the better, since then it was nowhere near as big a field as it is now. With 4000 some racers leaving the starting line it was a constant flow of racers through the woods. If it were any more single-track it would have been a slow slog through the woods. But luckily the trail is mostly on double track trails, with some dirt roads and single-track mixed in. Since the singletrack was short, I used it as a nice rest, then tried to push the open areas harder.

The start was a little cool, but the sun was out and it promised to warm as the day went on, so I opted for just the thermal skin suit and a wind stopper t-shirt. Perfect!! Though, my hands were numb for the first 7 miles. No worries, I was on a single speed, so didn't have to shift and lead the SS pack into the woods with a clear view so didn't need the brakes either.

Not really sure what happend for the next near 2 hours, as it was all a blur or passing racer, after racer, after racer, after racer, after racer........, Yup, I passed a LOT of people. I new the end was approaching as the hills came quicker together and the back was getting tired. After a trip through the finish area, it went back out to another hill before a final trip to the campground and to the finish.

I ended up finishing exactly as I had hoped, right on 2 hours. Karen had a great day, 9 years after her last time there, with a finish about 5 minutes faster than her prior time!! Also, my cousin John finished very well with a 2:03.

Next year? A long trip, kinda expensive weekend, but a GREAT race. I might need 1 bigger gear?

Star gazing

2011-09-25T21:20:00.002-06:00

Not really what you think. This weekend the USA national Xterra off-road triathlon championships were held at Snowbasin ski resort in Ogden. About an hour for us, just to the north. This is where the 2002 Olympic Downhill course was. Still haven't skied there yet in 9 years... but I digress. Anyway we went up because some guy by the name of LANCE was racing. Funny, how that goes, when he shows up so do the crowds. It was estimated and extra 3000 people were there. So, what does a 7x Tour de France winner expect when he races against the top Xterra athletes in the world? Well, I guess he is not really intimidated!!

Lance on the last downhill

Apparently he was out of the swim in the first pack, then finished the bike in 4th overall, and actually ran 10k and only lost one place!! The man can run too!! I would say a pretty impressive finish, considering he is not really known for running anymore. Yeah, I know he used to be a triathlete before the bike thing. But come-on, that was like 20+ years ago. How many of you can say you are as fast now as you were 20 years ago! A good show!! He was beat (soundly) by a Frenchman (ironic huh!) Nico Lebrun, who just flew over the run course, from 3rd to first. Followed by a South African (Dan Hugo), then an American (Josiah Middaugh), then "the Caveman", Conrad Stolz. Too bad Lance is not admitting to racing in the World Chaampionships in Maui, though the rumor is he has scouted the course, from his home in Maui. We'll see.

Not only can he ride uphill.. he runs too!

Nico Lebrun.. The WINNER!!

Be nice to have the tire actually ON the rim!!

Sun Valley

2011-09-23T22:31:00.000-06:00

Finally.. the last post of our trips for the summer. Amazing that we actually went to all these places in the summer. Funny, what you can do when there are no real training objectives for the year. I digress...

We talked to our friends LeeAnn and Jordan who are experts on the Ketchum/ Stanley area about going for the long labor day weekend. They arranged a condo and we all went to Ketchum for the weekend. Also we met some new friends, Greg and Kristen, that added to the enjoyment of the weekend. Was a great weekend of shared fun, rides, food and socialization.

On Saturday we rode to the east portion of the valley, up to a high cabin built for backcountry skiers in the early days, that is still used today. Wow, what a beautiful place. High up in the mountains, below the peaks of open bowls. This place must be just crazy in the winter. Anyway, a good ride up, though a few thought it was too steep and rocky. Nevertheless, a great place. The descent left a little to be desiered. Was actually a hiking trail, that allowed bikes, but was very narrow, steep and overgrown. Lots of on/off the bike and bushwacking. We made it down to the road and all but Jordan decided we would ride the road home, rather than climb back up over the ridge to get back.

On Sunday, there was a division of desired activities. Karen and LeeAnn went for a run/ride at the resort. Greg and Kristen went for a more mellow ride and the fish/ shopping trip. Jordan and I went for the gusto and rode up Red Warrior to Mars Ridge. The first section up Red Warrior is an absolutely pleasant ride up toward the top of the ridge. All but the last 2 miles are easy well graded climbing. you do need to cross the creek something like 20 times, including at the trail head where you need to wade thru thigh high (labor day level) very cold water. In a 20' crossing my feet where numb. Anyway after some hike-a-bike to the top of Mars Ridge (looks like a lunar scape) we had a great 360 view of the mountain ranges to the north, east, west. Wow. A great descent, a close encounter with a badger, and a little ride on the bike trail and we were back home.

Monday brought a nice relaxed ride for 2 hours with Greg and Kristen just north of the city. A great end to the weekend. If you haven't been there it is great in the summer, but also in the winter for all the XC-skiing trails and nice weather. The downhill skiing..... let's just say it ain't Alta, Snowbird and Solitude!!.

Brian Head

2011-09-20T20:51:00.003-06:00

Wow, what fun. Though at times i thought some of the group would need new lungs, or at least an accessory one for some of the altitude riding at 9000-11,000', but everyone managed. We started with a great cabin just north or the resort base. Great place, but needed a decorator and a good purging of knick-nacs and shit but no bother.

First day, we rode the two shuttled "downhill" rides, Dark Hollow and Bunker creek. Dark Hollow, had some tough technical sections, but was very fun and challenging. Bunker Creek was more mellow, more pedaling and flowed smooth, like a true XC course. Both, definitely worth riding at least once.

Day 2 was the big challenge of Virgin River Rim trail. From a start at Strawberry point to the end at the park was a challenge. It has been 7 years since I rode the trail last and did not remember the rocky base of the trails. A 30 mile trip began early, with the group starting like they were shot from a cannon!! Taking up the rear to start, I had a bad feeling about people while I was trying to catch back on. A couple crashes near the zion overlook, drew first-blood, but everyone soldiered on. With all the climbing toward Navajo lake, Brian started cramping. Needed more salt. At Navajo lake, he decided to take the road out to the car and the rest of us embarked on the last flowing section to the end. Some great flowing, swooping single-track later, one big herd of sheep to navigate thru, a few people bonking on the final climb out and we made it back to the road. Fun!!!

Day 3 and a many a sore butt we loaded the cars and went to Red Canyon for the Thunder mountain ride. This is a great ride thru the redrock canyon, amongst the hoodoos. A nice road and dirt climb up for 7 miles, then rolling, fun, switch-backed terrain to the final 1 mile downhill along the wash. a great end to a great weekend. Next years trip...Crested Butte?

Crested Butte

2011-09-20T20:29:00.001-06:00

Only 2 1/2 months late, but finally able to get around to it. Our 2nd annual trip to Colorado took us to the towns of Crested Butte and Aspen. Crested Butte was great, Aspen... not so much. Crested Butte is a great small town with a laid back style and welcomeness. Okay, maybe I made up some words, but you get the point. Bikes everywhere, friendly locals willing to share info on the good rides, water, etc.. Will plan a trip their next year for more rides, that we didn't get to ride because they were still under snow from a record year.
Aspen, well it is pretty much the opposite. Stuffy, crowded, lots of traffic, too much crap (Prada, Gucci, ferrari's). Though it felt great to drive thru in our 1987 vanagon!! Mostly we went to see the John Denver memorial and to check out the town. Checked out, not really on the list to go back.

MIA

2011-09-03T07:40:00.002-06:00

We have been MIA from the blog lately. Actually just me as Karen has abandoned me and gone to face book land. Anyway we have been busy with lots of trips and plans to go some more. Stay tuned for more from Crested Butte, Brian Head and Sun Valley.

Van weekend

2011-03-27T19:04:00.001-06:00

Got the van out for the first trip of the year! Had planned for St George to do some Mtn biking, but we didn't get away on Friday ,so on Saturday after the paper, we went to the San Rafael Swell. This is on the way to Moab, just outside of Price, Ut. It is an anticline uplift that was created 40-60 million years ago and has since had erosion carve it into beauty.

At right the top of the Wedge overlook, which looks into the "little grand canyon". Is everybit as amazing as the "Big Grand Canyon", however you can actually drive your car down to the bottom and hike in it. Like a 5000' down escalator!!!

We got snowed on in the late afternoon and overnight, only an inch or so, but it prevented us from having a campfire. We were content to sit in the van and read. Came home over Rt 31 thru Huntington Canyon and down into Fairview. Wow, what a drive!! A good weekend, all in all. 6" more snow tonight, then 60's all week. Yeah!!

Spring Weekend

2011-03-13T20:23:00.003-06:00

Wow!! What a nice weekend. Was in the 50's one day and easily in the 60's the other. Even the flowers are coming out. Not only did we get a GREAT bike ride in today, but also got alot of yard work done.

Trimming the apple tree (always a pain in the @$s!!) but also getting 11 bags of pine needles raked up. Hard to believe that only 2 pine trees can drop inches thick covering of needles. Anyway, time for another year of accumulation. Got a couple of the limbs that broke from the last heavy snowfall put into a pile to await the chipper.

Really felt good to get out on the bike for a couple times this weekend. The patellar tendon still is not 100%, so no running, but did well on the bike, so I am encouraged!! Hopefully it will improve to ski 2 days this week with Brian.

We'll see.......

That time again!!!

2011-03-06T18:21:00.003-07:00

March is here!! Must mean it is bike time again. The snow isn't sticking in the valley more than a day, was in the upper 40's all week and the graffiti on the old train car told me so!!

Unfortunately, my patellar tendon doesn't think it is a good idea. I did something this week that flared it up. Went to go for a 7 mile run on saturday am, but only managed 0.6 miles before I had to stop and walk back, because I couldn't load the tendon without pain. To the ICE BAG!!!

We took a trip out to Saltair today to take some photos of the abandoned rail car and building today before the rain started. Then home to do some work. Maybe we'll get to ski next week?

Running with Forrest

2011-02-26T18:44:00.003-07:00

We made it! Our final run of the Salt Lake 30K series of the Salt Lake Track Club. It was a 5k, then 10k, then 15k all at the Saltair flats and 2 weeks apart. A GREAT series! Thankfully, today was not as bad as it could have been. Though we did get 10" of snow here on the bench by the Canyons, it only snowed about 2-3 inches there and the roads we clear.

Each run was planned to be a certain pace. Karen wants to run the Salt Lake half-marathon in a time "with a 1:xx in the front. Last year she was 2:00:03 and not happy about the 3 seconds. This year, she has recruited me to pace her to a 1:xx!! So our goal was to run each of the runs at under this pace. 5k- 8:37 pace, 10k-8:41 pace and today 15k-8:57 pace!! Very encouraging, since her prior long run last week was 7 miles at 9:20 pace. She rocked today! Negative Split, 9:02/m first half, then 8:52/m second half!! As long as I can get her thru the half without stopping for the bathroom, it will be easy!! April seems so far away for the run it s hard to believe we have that much more time before having to do the run. must mean spring is close. Although, Alta got 36" of snow last night and today!! Looks like a powder day tomorrow!!

Finally, some snow

2011-02-20T19:44:00.003-07:00

Got up to LCC today for some skiing at ALTA in fresh snow for a change!! We were concerned at first, as the road was closed until 9am, lending to some wondering about should we reconsider. We got 2 miles in the first 30 minutes!! Finally after, the 3rd mile we got a clear road and made it to the top. An hour later it was worth it!! Karen got to ski in some real powder!! Also, got a lesson in how to get out of powder!! The official word said 24 inches, but i think someone got it wrong, because I hit alot of waist-deep shots.

Unfortunately, Karen has to work tomorrow, but I will be going up to Solitude to ski some stuff that hasn't opened in a few days!!! Should be good.

Wine and Dessert

2011-02-14T19:54:00.005-07:00

Another wine and dessert night down. Great crowd and a fun time, without snow!! Seems like a good time of year to have the party, right before Valentine's Day. Everyone gets chocolate to go!! Of coarse, Karen had a great spread laid out, with her Tuffles, and a new cream sherry cupcake. We also had a fruit flan and triple chocolate cake from Salt Lake Roasting Co. YUM!!

We started the day with a 10K run as part of the Salt Lake track club 30K series. Got kind of nervous at the start, my number was 666. We did well with a great pace and finished in about 54min, 8:40/m pace. A good start for the season and the goal of a sub-9 min pace for the Salt Lake half marathon. Karen is deter

mined to see a 1:xx in front of her finishing time, so I will be pacing (pushing) her to that goal. Should be FUN.

Time for a diet, more workouts and get ready for spring!!

Time Flies...

2011-01-28T20:28:00.003-07:00

Man- Where does the time go? Can't believe it has been 3 weeks? Lots of working, a little bit of play time. Seems January is always that way. We did get out for a great snowshoe last Sunday. Beautiful sunny day, 4" fresh snow and a great walk up to Dog lake, via Mill D. Other than Karen walking like an Olympic power walker, it was good.

We are trying to get back to the usual routine of workouts, skiing, eating right again. Off to a conference next week (ski conference though) will disrupt it some. Starting to plan the summer. Hope to get to the east coast for a week (July probably), to San Diego for a weekend and some MTN biking in the south highlands. Ambitious, but doable. Here's to another update soon!!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-03T17:18:00.004-07:00

Well another year is here. Finally. Seems like the holiday season was extended this year. Maybe because of the holiday's falling on Saturday's? Anyway, we made it through and had good snow, though Karen got sick over New Years. We did get a couple of ski days in, good powder and snow. Not too cold. I have been trying to learn how to telemark-ski. Not so easy. My balance and leg strength are poor. Maybe I need a lesson?

Here is karen in her new ski pants!! She was tired of black, so I made her very noticeable!!
For New Years eve we went to the symphony to hear them play music set to the Discovery channels films about wildlife from the show Blue Planet. Very good music with the film, however the narrator could have been turned off (Oren Hatch)!! Maybe next time.

Early Christmas

2010-12-23T13:37:00.002-07:00

Well, so much the the vow of weekly posts! Can't believe it has been a month.

Anyway, I have been off this week getting ready for Christmas and finishing up somethings around here. We have been on the northern end of the torrent of moisture coming from Southern California since last Friday night. Needless to saw there has been ALOT of snow in the mountains since then. I took advantage of that on Monday with one of my friends. The reports of 27" new on the site we enticing to say the least. However due to the avalanche danger some areas had not been opened for a couple of days. Still, the best area, Honeycomb canyon, did not open that day. However we made due by playing almost everywhere else in light, fluffy mid-thigh to waist deep powder all day. Storm totals are now over 60" since last friday night. It has finally stopped and we may actually see the sun for Christmas!! Call me crazy, but I'd rather be like you see me in the picture above!

Merry Christmas all.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T21:10:00.003-07:00

Today...we gave thanks! Especially for the snow in the past week!! Got our first day of skiing for the year at Solitude. It was truly that, especially after noon, when everyone left. Was a good day to try out the telemark skis again. Just when I think I am getting the hang of it, I start falling all over the place. Oh yeah... AND MY LEGS ARE DEAD TIRED!!!!! Oh well, I'll keep working on it.

Anyway, we are going up to Yellowstone for the XC ski festival. Should be fun, as they have a good start on the snow for the year. May also shoot up to Big Sky and downhill for a day?

Post later.
rk

Double Cross

2010-10-31T18:38:00.004-06:00

Cyclocross season is here!! I have had a couple races already, but this week was a double cross weekend. One saturday and one sunday. I am too old and out of racing shape for that. I have been racing in the Men's Masters A category, always have in the past and finished mid-pack, but this year, I am lucky to finish on the same lap. Usually last, or near the bottom. This week was 3rd to last. Sunday, I decided to race on my singlespeed because it is only 40 minutes, not an hour. Things didn't go much better. I was 2nd to last. Though, I was totally undergeared, compared to a number of the people. Live and learn. I did have fun though, in a tiring, brutal way. No Crashes!!

Saturday night we went to eat at Metropolitan, then to the Ballet. Carmina Berona was the first of the season. It was very nice. Great music, a little different ballet, as it mixed modern dance in, but good none the less. Ballet 2 is Nutcracker in December.

Lastly, speaking of old, give a shout out to Brian this week as he turns the big 40!!!

Weekend road trip

2010-10-17T20:19:00.006-06:00

Whew, what a week"end". Karen had a few days off, so we packed up the van and headed south. Our plan was to go to Vermillion Cliffs area in Kanab, UT and try to get a permit to hike the wave. Unfortunately, 84 other folks had the same idea, and we were no one of the lucky 10. Soooo, we drove to wire pass and hiked in to the junction with Buckskin Gulch. Though we only hiked about 1/2 mile downwash and maybe 1 mile upwash, we got LOTS of cool sites. What an amazing area. Make us want to do the whole hike to the Paria river junction, though would have to wade some of the holes? Might be worth it.

We decided to stay around and try our luck on the next morning as well. Better odds (only 64 people), though same results. So we pulled out the map and headed for the north rim of the Grand Canyon. On the way to Glen Canyon dam, just out of Page, Az we saw this beautiful "site". Note the pollution ring above the stacks. Glad we need the energy!

Anyway, driving out of Page to the south was amazing. Desert and red cliffs. Until we started driving up to Jacob Lake, then from Pinyon pine to Ponderosa and high forest with COOL temps. The drive from Jacob Lake to the North Rim is one of the best in all the parks I have been to. Once we arrived we B-lined it to the campground to get a site. As luck would have it they had one, on the LAST night they are open for the season. Lodge, food, store, water, all was being shut the next day. We took the site and headed for a look at the edge in the Grand Lodge. Nice place, though can't imagine it would stay there with any earthquake above a 7.0. Anyway, pretty deep hole in the ground. Some smoke and hazy clouded the air, but could still see well. We got up the next morning and headed down the Kaibab trail with intentions of only going a short way. About 3 miles later, we decided to turn and head back up. This is where I learned, never let Karen lead. Took us 1.5hrs to walk down, but curiously, the same to walk back UP!! Maybe I should have stopped to "take more pictures". Actually, over the 3 day weekend, I took 184 pics, that I have whittled down to "only 66".

We then headed home, planning to go to Zion and camp to brake up the drive, however as luck would have it, all campgrounds were full. Decided to head home. Great trip! Van is key!!

More black and white

2010-10-11T20:21:00.005-06:00

After last weeks post, I decided to put a few more B&W pics up. Some are from our CO trip and some more from Hawaii. If you want to see some cool infrared pics go to the Triathlete site from this past weekends Ironman in Kona. By the way, a way cool race for the men, in case you missed it. Dog fight to the end. Will be on NBC on Dec 18.

At left, a small flower begins to form on a plant in the lava fields. Great place, with the intersection of rain forest and lava fields. Next we see a small fern, that has grown across each other. We called it the butterfly fern.

Finally, the Great Sand Dunes National Park. These are from the day we hiked the sand dunes to the top. A long, tiring walk actually. Great going up, like walking in sand!!, but hot coming down!! We had gone up by 7am too. Can't believe all the yahoo's going up at 10am when the sand was that hot!!
Going down south to UT/AZ border soon. Hope to get some canyon shots. Stay tuned.

Hawaii in B&W

2010-10-03T08:59:00.005-06:00

As promised, another blog entry within a week. Looking back at the Hawaii pics from our trip, I decided that it was time to post some of the B&W pics that I took. There is so much contrast and texture, that it makes taking B&W's pretty easy. Kinda like living in UT for outdoor landscapes. The horses are in a field up on the rim road outside of Waimea toward the north end of the island.
When we stopped at one of the black sand beaches (can't remember the name) to look for some turtles I spotted a small pond. Great light at that time of day. Nice lily pads and flowers.

Finally, while we hiked the trail to the Kilauea lake we happened on lots of ferns and fiddleheads along the rain forest section of the trail. Dark, lush, moist area, all on the way to the solidified lava lake at the mouth of the big eruption that was not too long ago. Pretty cool, if not eerie to walk over a solidified lake of lava.

Look, A New Post!!!

2010-09-27T21:43:00.006-06:00

First- sorry for the delay. Can't believe the last post was August 1!!!
My "New Fall resolution" will be weekly blog updates.

SO much to tell. I added a new peak to my list of Wasatch Mtn peaks. I finally climbed Mt Timpanogos this weekend. Karen has done it a couple of times, but I seem to have always been somewhere, doing something. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and ignore all the talk about the "sketchy" spots at the top, that might bring out my subtle dislike of high edges/ledges. I must admit this is much worse on a bike, but even some hikes I get afflicted and really have to keep moving or I will be there for awhile (probably until someone gets me about 6 beers to let go of the wall!!). Anyway, I figured I could always turn around and wait at the lake level. Turns out it was not bad at all. Lots of scree, and fairly a wide path all the way to the summit at 11,749'. Not even any altitude problems! Since I haven't hiked in about 2 years, I was somewhat concerned about a 15mile walk with 5000' elevation gain (and then loss) and if it where possible. Mauna Kea in HI, was 13,300, but we had a ride to the top, and felt kinda crappy up there. Maybe because we went from sea level to 13,300'?

Had lots of company on this hike. A great group of 7 people that all hiked about the same pace, plus lots of the furry white things you see here. Amazing where these guys can walk!!( If you double click on the image it gets bigger.) So, another peak, more sore legs but 9hours of fun!! Why can't I seem to find fun exercise that lasts 2 hours instead of 9-10hrs?
I must be "broken".
rk

Aloha (Finally...)

2010-08-01T20:31:00.004-06:00

It's only been two weeks since we have been back, but has taken that long to catch up. Hawaii was lots and lots of fun!! We spent a day in Maui, then flew to the Big Island for 8 days of fun and travel in our hotel on wheels- Holo Holo. Holo Holo was the name of our VW vanagon camper that we circled the big island with. Same year and model as ours. We went from Hilo to Volcano N.P. and spent 3 days there. Lots of hiking, relaxing, some driving around. The old lava flows are crazy! Just flows down and covers anything in it's path. Walked across the lava lake, hardened for 400 feet down, though lots of steam coming up trough the cracks, kinda freaky!
Next we continued south and west to Hookeena beach park for a night on the beach. Quiet, cozy place. Nice sunset.

Next we continued on to Kona. Left the beach early in the a.m. to get to Kona in the morning for a run. We had to do a long run that day so we decided to run the second half of the Ironman course, from Kona to the energy lab and back. Man, does it get HOT in the energy lab. Took a cool shower at the beach shower to cool down then finished up. Very tough run. Definitely would be hard with 112 miles in the legs.

The next night we took a guided tour to the top of Mauna Kea for sunset. A nice bus to the 13,800 foot peak to watch the sun go down over Maui. Very pretty, very cold and little oxygen! After sunset we went down to 9000' for a star show. Got to see Saturn (with rings), a nebula, and some other stuff I think they made up!!
Next day we drove from Kona to Hawi (Ironman bike turn around), then continued on to The north side of the Island for 2 nights at another beach park, with the waves crashing on the shore only 20 feet from the van. Very soothing.

Then, I had to go to "work". Next up, the resort on Maui.
rk

Can I get a Woot Woot!??

2010-06-28T08:30:00.003-06:00

My new toy!! YAY!!!!

Decided to return to a full suspension for comfort reasons and so that maybe I'd stay on the trail better, haha!! This is the newest member of the family - A Gary Fisher Superfly carbon 29'er.

Now anyone wanna buy this one?:

Tour de Colorado

2010-06-27T17:15:00.006-06:00

I say Part 1 because we are already making plans to go back again... this trip just whet our appetites for more. A fall trip to Rocky Mountain National Park is in the planning stages as we didnt get there this time due to snow/rain/falling rock/zero visibility. And of course, we are totally committed to getting back for some multiple days of Rocky Mountain mountain biking!

The trip started out on a hot hot day as we headed toward Moab in 95+ degree heat... no air conditioning in the Vanagon makes for an interesting drive on such a hot day. We stopped in Moab as a half way point since we were leaving after Rich got off of work. Of course, we HAD to have dinner at our favorite place, Miquel's. http://www.miguelsbajagrill.com/ Miguel's is a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant that is fantastic! The next morning we got up early, went for a run before the 105 degree temps kicked in and headed out of Dodge. On to Mesa Verde, our first stop.

Mesa Verde is seriously cool. Walking in the footsteps of people who occupied that space 800- 1000 years ago is quite an experience. The cliff dwellings, so full of history, resonates through you as you feel connected to something so grand and to a culture so old and forgotten. We took a couple of the tours so that we could get up close and personal to the history of the Anasazi people. The dwellings were remarkable, so perfect in every sense, from the plum walls and near perfect construction, to the utility of every building and room. It was humbling, to say the least.

The next day we got up early and headed out at 7:30 to ride a trail called Phil's World. http://www.spokejunkies.com/reviews/colorado/index.php?get_page=philswo rld We had heard from three different people that this was a trail not to be missed. The trail did not disappoint. Desert singletrack at it's finest with the craziest, most fun section called The Rib Cage that literally felt like a roller coaster - huge 30 foot whoop-de-dos and tons of giggles. The heat chased us away and off we went to The Great Sand Dunes NP.

The sand dunes were also amazing. Such a fascination - reaching 750 feet out of nowhere, seemingly growing from the side of a mountain. Naturally, we did what anyone would do - climb to the top! Of course we did all that very early in the morning to beat the heat knowing that a high sun would be scorching on that sand. Afterward we hung out, and then hung out some more, then in the afternoon, we hiked to a hidden waterfall that took us up a freezing cold stream, into a cave to discover this most amazing sight. Well worth the painful frozen feet!

Afterward, a great little drive through the mountains, north to Denver. We drove through Salida - a really really great little town, that I would love to visit and spend some time in again. We arrived at our friends, Laura and Rich's (old friends from Michigan) in the late afternoon. After a quick run to stretch our legs, we hung out with Rich and Laura, ate some great bbq chicken that their cockatoo, Snuggles, helped cook and drank some great wine. So great to see old friends! The next morning, Rich and I went off to mountain bike with some other Michigan transplants and old friends, Kevin and Danielle. We decided we want to live down the street from them - they have the perfect spot! Off we went, trying to beat the rain, on a most stellar mountain bike ride! Quintessential mountain biking. Gradual ups, through the high altitude pine forests, over rocky ledges, and then down down down - swooping and fast and seriously fun! That night, dinner out with the six of us.

We had planned on hitting RMNP on the way home but the weather kept us from heading that way. Huge storms, hail, snow, etc. made the 12,000 foot pass impassable for us. Another time! A beautiful drive back on I70 and home to more rain! A GREAT trip all in all - super relaxing, super fun, saw lots of amazing sights and got to hang out with some really great people!

Vanna, I'd like to buy a vowel...

2010-05-10T20:18:00.004-06:00

Riding my bike the other day, climbing a hill I got to thinking. What is the difference between the two pics here? Other than one a cat, one is not? A vowel, that's it. Feeling a like a rotund, slow decrepit individual wallowing up Clark's trail in what was clearly too big of a gear on the singlespeed, I began thinking about how ironic the difference is between the words FAT and FIT. Just a vowel!! As simple as a quick stroke of the pen or keyboard, yet requiring hours of workouts and exercise! All to make the difference from this cat to this man. After an annoying crash (boy I have crashing!!!), which has taken most of the skin from my hip, some of the knee, shoulder and elbow, I am now dedicated to asking Vanna for an "I"!!

48 Hrs in St. George & 36 Hrs in Moab

2010-05-02T20:21:00.008-06:00

Rich and I have been out of town the last two weekends, enjoying the desert and some mountain biking. Last weekend, we headed to St. George, about 5 hours south. I was supposed to run the Red Mountain 50k but had to bail due to some plantars facitis in my foot. I couldnt run for a couple of weeks so thought better of running 30 miles! Because we had a room reserved already, at a discount rate, we decided to head down anyway to take advantage of some warm weather to bike and hike. The weather WAS beautiful... mid to upper 70s both days. We arrived on Friday, took an easy run after picking up my t-shirt from the race (hey, I earned it but doing all the training!) and then had dinner and went to a movie: Date Night - VERY funny movie! Saturday we hit the trails and rode 21 miles on a big loop that was ridiculously fun: Gould's/JEM/Hurrican Rim. Such flowy, fun, fast singletrack! That afternoon we headed to Snow Canyon for some hiking and photograpy. We enjoyed a VERY nice dinner out at the Painted Pony restaurant (a bit of a splurge, but well worth it!). Sunday we hiked to the top of a cinder cone that erupted 27,000 years ago spewing lava all throughout Snow Canyon. A great little mini vacation!

This weekend, we headed out for a short but very enjoyable weekend in Moab. We headed out after Rich got off of work, and got down there about 10:30 pm. After an hour of searching for a place to camp, we finally got settled and crashed. We met up with our group the next morning and headed out to Behind the Rocks to set up camp. Once settled we headed out to the Sovereign Singletrack trail to ride. After finally getting there, and an hour of lunch making, preparing and farting around (testing Rich's patience for sure, and mine as well) we finally got going. The trail is super fun, with some challenging climbing and descents. After a few hours, one bruised hip, and a sprained wrist (not ours!), we finished to settle back at the trailhead for a beer. Back to camp, a great dinner and comaraderie and home the next day!

Spring Has Finally Sprung!

2010-04-18T09:24:00.004-06:00

April 16 and its 70some degrees, finally. Perhaps we're past the snowy cold weather, although the end of the week calls for three days of rain - April Showers bring May Flowers, right? Well, we have tons of flowers blooming already, daffodils are tulips are aplenty.

So, what have we been up to this spring? Riding our bikes, mostly, and doing some yard work. I have not been running for over a week and likely will not be doing my big race next weekend. My foot (planters faciaitis) is not healing and I'm nervous about running 30 miles on it and making it worse for future activities and races. I think patience and logic will rule this decision, not emotion and desire. We'll see, I'm not ruling it out completely, but with only 6 day until race day, it's not looking good. Either way we'll still go down and do some mountain biking and hiking in the area next weekend.

Rich tore out the bushes in the front of the house and so that has become our next "project". We're going to get a little professional help with this one, though, as harvesting and transporting and lifting big rocks is not something easily done. We're going to rockscape the area with sandstone boulders and flagstone the color of the brick on our house, including a little patio where we can sit in our rockers and watch the world go by. Should be completed mid-May.

We've been out on our bikes a bit... a few road rides and a couple of mountain bike rides. Yesterday an awesome 2.5 hour ride on the trail and today a road ride in gorgeous 75 degree weather.

That's it, enjoy spring in UT as it's amazingly beautiful with the snow covered peaks, the trees turning green, flowers coming out to enjoy the sunshine and blue skies.

I've had enough of this...

2010-04-01T12:15:00.002-06:00

Just when we thought it would be spring, we got another 6-8" of snow yesterday/today. Cruel April 1st joke! We are on vacation this week and had planned to get rid of some bushes and tree limbs, but now have a bunch of new snow!! The Gnome is ready for Florida!

Doesn't look like we will get much training in this weekend, as it is now looking like a blizzard out there, tomorrow should be possible, then rain/snow saturday. Sunday is supposed to be nice at least!

Looks like we will look for some indoor projects.

At least were not camping!!

Summer trail Challenge

2010-03-18T20:52:00.003-06:00

It has finally been getting nice around here that going outside for a ride or run is comfortable! In the spirit of hoping for good weather and planning the summer, we have both entered the Triple Trail Challenge! This consists of three different trail running events in the Park City area. The first and most fun sounding is the Jupiter peak steeplechase. I think about 16ish miles from the base of PC mountain resort to the top of Jupiter peak and back down. Sounds doable. I've ridden all those trails and none are too hard. I seem to run uphill faster than I ride, so should be a good challenge. Two weeks later comes the PC half marathon (for us). No idea where this goes. Then 2 weeks later and the mid-mountain marathon from Deer Valley to Canyons resort. Karen ran this last year and RAVED about it. I met her in the woods at mile 16 and she was like " I'm at 16 miles already?". I don't ever remember saying that in a race!! Since Karen wanted to take the plunge and do all three this year, I thought it would be fun to train and run together on the trails to get ready. Otherwise, I don't seem to run at all anymore?! Feels kinda good though!

So, our summer will be trail running and camping in the vanagon wandering on the Big Island of Hawaii. Maybe I'll try a jog thru the energy lab, without the 112m bike and 20someting mile run warm-up?

Double Black Day

2010-03-07T16:06:00.003-07:00

Solitude!!
Exactly as it sounds. From the lift lines, to the lunch line and on the slopes...Solitude is it.
Nary a wait all day. No lines of skiers on the back country or ridge line hikes, finding a table at the outdoor grill.
Had a great day of skiing on the groomers, bumps and powder in Honeycomb Canyon with Karen and a few friends. Even took Karen on a Double black in Honeycomb.... and then she wanted to do it again!! Amazing, since she ran 20 miles yesterday!! I think she is starting to get strong at the right time. her 50k race is only 6 weeks away.

Anyway, we'll hope the powder builds this week and maybe ski again in 2 weeks, since I have to work next week. Seems strange, since it was 50 here in the valley and our flowers are starting to bloom!! Bike season is almost here!!

Where has the time gone?

2010-02-25T21:43:00.002-07:00

Wow! Has it been that long? Seems like just a few days ago we were finishing the Kitchen and having a Wine and Dessert party? Guess I missed a week or two?

Have been busy, I guess. Getting re-acquainted with working out has been fun. No more skipped heart beats with running, biking, alpine skiing or XC skiing!! Now if i can just rid myself of the Jan Ulrich look, things will be good. I saw a massage therapist today, whom I have not seen since a week before Ironman last year, and he was amazed. Mostly that I actually don't look like a skeleton all the time, but do have fat. At 175lbs now, 164lbs then, it feels like hauling a backpack uphill all the time. Easier now than 2 weeks ago, but I still breathe to heavy.

Well, workout plan is getting organized, (No Ironman's!!) for the summer and fall. Will definately include weight lifting this year. More singlespeed riding this summer, so need to work on the guns!! Perhaps, I'll be able to fit into Karen's arm warmers by my birthday!!

RK

Final Kitchen

2010-02-04T13:42:00.004-07:00

The kitchen is done!! (kinda of). We do need to finish the floor, but otherwise the main things are done and in place. Just in time for the annual Wine and Dessert party this weekend!! We have some friends from CO coming in, plus I think 48 people RSVP'd for the party. Should be fun!! No Snow predicted to foil the night.

As you can see we have changed the cabinets, now a mission style, in a copper glaze. There are all stainless appliances, except the old trash compactor is

still harvest gold for now, and new concrete countertops in "Kendall charcoal".

It has been a process for sure, but a good one. I am now ready to start playing more and spending less time in the kitchen. Since the heart seems to be doing well a week after my procedure (I can workout tomorrow for the first time), it should be easier to pull myself away from the house to ski, skate, run, bike etc... Enjoy the pics.

Because there's more to life...

2010-01-30T13:28:00.005-07:00

than kitchen remodeling! :-) Rich's first time out on tele skis a little nordic skiing and my first powder day of the season... kitchen? What kitchen??

kitchen update #6

2010-01-23T10:33:00.002-07:00

Slow but steady progress. The stove hood is now fully installed and operational. The ceiling is completed and painted. Now we are waiting for the countertops! They are pretty much done, so they will come and install them next Friday the 29th. After that we need to do the trim, backsplash tile and finish the floor. The floor will be a little longer, as we will need to get some boards milled and then have someone sand it. We are still trying to decide on backsplash tile. Will wait until we get the countertop in to match a couple of colors and styles. Hope to have all but the floor done by the dessert party on the 6th?!

Kitchen update #5

2010-01-01T20:41:00.003-07:00

We have had a good deal of progress lately, though no time to update things. My parents were here for the past 2 weeks, which allowed me to get a good deal of things done, that I have not gotten to in the past. Fixing old outlets, moving electrical boxes, getting trim pieces done, etc...

We also had the cabinet guys here and the installers for the stove and microwave. Amazingly it all came together and I was actually able to make a rib roast and popovers in the new oven. Also we had baked eggs and chorizo for Christmas day breakfast!!! Yum!!!

It is starting to look like a real kitchen again. The dining room table is cleared off and usable again. Now we need to finish up the walls, get the island hood installed, then finish the ceiling, do the trim, and get the floor done. Can that all really happen by the 2nd weekend in February? I hope so. Oh yeah, the countertops are coming in mid-January. The color we picked is a dark grey, which it turns out is called "Kendall grey" Coincidence or destiny?

Kitchen update #4

2009-12-20T20:27:00.003-07:00

So, another week and more work done on the kitchen. We did get most of the painting done. The ceiling and soffets are done and look amazing. We got 2 coats of the granny apple green on the walls. Tomorrow the cabinets are supposed to be coming. The cabinets should be done by Wednesday, and hopefully the oven will get installed. We need to get a gas person here to get a line run for the stovetop, which might be a problem? Maybe we will even get the crap all put away off the dining room table and have dinner there!! We'll see....

Kitchen Update #3

2009-12-13T20:14:00.002-07:00

Well, the work continues. After the third week we are finally getting to the end of the hard stuff. The second coat of mud is on, waiting to get sanded tomorrow. At least the majority of it. This week, the stove wire gets moved, allowing for the finally wall to be taken down and then built again. Hopefully we will get the gas line for the stive done as well. By next monday, we need to have the place ready for the cabinets to come in.

Everything seems to be falling in to place. Might even have a stove and oven form Christmas!!
Till next week.
r

Kitchen Update #2

2009-12-06T15:30:00.008-07:00

The kitchen is consuming us! Poor Rich, having to do most of the work hasnt even gotten out to play or exercise at all! I can at least squeeze a run in between chores. Today we worked some more on the putting up the drywall. Rich had to figure out a very tricky corner which took the majority of the morning, it's now 3:00, we'll probably see if we can finish the dry wall this afternoon and call it good for this weekend.

The Kitchen Renovation Begins!

2009-11-29T08:42:00.008-07:00

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

2009-11-01T17:14:00.004-07:00

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

2009-10-28T20:35:00.004-06:00

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!!!

2009-10-08T22:15:00.005-06:00

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

2009-09-26T15:29:00.004-06:00

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

2009-09-13T11:27:00.005-06:00

"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

2009-09-06T10:15:00.003-06:00

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!!!

Long workouts

2009-08-24T21:23:00.003-06:00

Another long training weekend. Both of us. We started early on Saturday in Park city with Karen doing a 20 mile run out prospector, around Round Valley trails, back Prospector. I rode behind for the first 2 hours, being a waterboy. She did great!! Good pace, little pain, ALL on HER BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! (22yrs old I think).

I left to go and join Zach and Steve for a ride from City Park. We Rode to DV on the road, then up Tour de Homes to silver lake. From silver lake up Homeeard bound? to naildriver, deer crest, bowhunter, flagstaff loop, deer crest, naildriver to silver lake, midmtn, Tour de suds, TG, John's, Town loop, climb to Steps, Apex, Keystone, Shadow lake loop. Here I left them to ride up Scott's pass and out BCC to home, and lay on the floor!! Total day, 7 hrs, 56miles, ~9500' climbing.

Then karen's Birthday Dinner at Tiburon !! Yum!!!

r

Running ....

2009-08-11T08:18:00.004-06:00

"Strength does not come from physical capacity - it comes from an indomitable will." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I feel as if it will take an indomitable will to achieve my next goal. The issue is not only that it's a lofty goal, but that I've been suffering an injury while training and hoping that my leg will get to the finish. It seems I have this kind of luck when training for big events, doesn't it? What is the event? The Mid Mountain Marathon. This is a 26.2 mile race at 8,000 feet on singletrack trail in the mountains around Park City. Sound crazy? I think it sounds like fun! I love trail running - the quiet of the mountains or woods, few people, beautiful sights. Nothing but the sound of your feet slap slapping against the dirt. Cool breezes in your face and unparalleled scenery to keep you company. The miles go by quickly, you hardly even notice them.

So, about a month ago I got a tear in my Achilles tendon where it attaches to the calf muscle, mid-calf. Kept me from running for about a week then I slowly started to run - short distances, flat, no trails. Of course, this is now interrupting my training schedule and I'm freaking out about not being ready, and about further injuring the tear. I've been icing, massaging and stretching like crazy. Trails and uphills flare it up, but it not too awfully bad. I managed an 18 mile run last Saturday without too much trouble, hopefully, I can continue. A "rest" week this week, a 20 miler next week and then the taper to the race September 12. Wish me luck!!

Where does the time go...

2009-08-05T20:44:00.003-06:00

Man, hard to believe that it is a month since we last posted. Seems like it was only a week or so. I guess we have been busier than we thought. Seems like that happens every July. I am post-ironman and trying to catch up at work, Karen is done teaching, hating the hot weather and disappearing out of town. Then BAM, it's August. We did have a great time over the past few weeks despite being busy. Karen moved Kathy to North Carolina. She finally couldn't stand the bullshit at that charter school. From the sounds of it she should have a great year at her new school in NC. We'll definitely miss her.

After being home for 2 days we then went to San Diego for a family reunion with John and Carol and all the "kids". John and his kids from OR, as well as Kathy and of course our hosts Jill and Steve who live there. It was a great time!! Jill and Steve have a great house just out of the city, that has great views and quiet.

We did some touring of the area, via the SEAL boats. Otherwise known as duck boats in some cities. A great tour with lots of wildlife. Sea lions, pelicans, snowy egrets, ducks, and even a few navy men in big boats and helicopters!

Now it's time to get back to the usual routine and start working out for end of summer races. Hopefully this will get us fit so we can then adventure more in the fall in our VAN!!!

till next time.

Anniversary

2009-07-13T21:24:00.003-06:00

Happy Anniversary to us!! We celebrated our 6th this past weekend by treating ourselves to a weekend up at Solitude. After a great morning ride on the Wasatch Crest trail and down Mill Creek Canyon we went home put the bikes away and headed up to Solitude for a weekend stay. We decided to play a round of frisbee golf. We bought tickets for the chair ride up to the top of the course and walked out to get on the lift. Once on the lift after about 200yds I heard rustling below us. I turned around to see my friend Bullwinkle running under us on the lift. Nice young Bull on his way to the forest or chasing us up the lift?
After the moose we went and played the rough and tumble sport of Frisbee golf. Let me tell you, triathletes are sissies!! After 13 holes I could not trow the damn frisbee anymore my pec and shoulder hurt every time!! How pathetic, I can exercise for 11 hours, but can't throw a frisbee more than 50 times!!
Anyway, while wandering around the mountain side we saw about a thousand Picas. These things are NOT endangered. Man, they were everywhere!!
We returned to the condo to soothe my arm in a bottle of Chardonay!! Good relief, much better than Advil!! While sitting we saw a humming bird sitting in a tree, resting I guess.
Finally we went to dinner at Mimi's, the new restaurant there. Fairly good food, not crowded at all. Then the next morning, after waiting to get coffe until 8am, we went for a nature walk, no animals though. We went to brunch, which was very good and headed down canyon.
A great getaway, even if it is only 10 or so miles away!! Here's looking at another excellent year to come!!!

Ironman

2009-06-23T12:28:00.004-06:00

Number 6 is in the books. For those that didn't follow, I finished in 10h 47m, good enough for 260th overall (2300 starters), but unfortunately only 53rd (444 starters) in my age group. Some how everyone is getting faster but me? Last qualifying slot this year was 9:55, when conditions were worse than last year! That is nearly a 2o minute increase from last year. As I have said before, if you can't run a marathon in 3:30 or less, you won't qualify. I did run better this year than last, 3:57, compared to 4:05. But not good enough. My strategy of going easy on the bike to run better, didn't seem to make a difference. I think 10 min slower on the bike, but only 5 min faster on the run. May as well just bike hard... it's more fun!!
The swim was very rough. Lots of scattered waves in your face going out, and BIG chop at the turn around. At times I would look up to breath and see people far above my head going over the next wave. Amazingly, I swam nearly exactly last years time.

After a very long transition that I put on my winter wind front base layer, arm warmers and full fingered gloves, I was off on the bike. My goal was average 200W, no more than 250ish. That was not possible. Some of the hills just to keep moving and not walk I had to get in the 300's for less than 30sec. Still no HR above 150. I'll down load the info later, but at no time was I breathing hard. Almost bored though. I was cold at times early, than warmed some during brief periods of sun, but then got cold again as the clouds and wind rolled in.

For the run, I figured I would be working hard, so I got rid of the arm warmers and winter shirt. In retrospect, maybe I should have kept one of them? It was cold! Plus the wind, made my hands frozen. At least the pounding in my legs kept my mind off my hands, until I would try to use them to drink. By the end, all my fingers were white. Luckily, I finished just as the rain started so I didn't get too cold. Go figure, 3 years ago I was here in 95 deg temps and dying. Today, 55 deg and rain.

That should be the end of the Ironman days. Despite a few different training methods and schedules, I can't seem to run much faster in ironman. Rather than torturing myself more trying to qualify, I think it's time to just ride my bike(s).....

rk

Yard Project

2009-06-14T18:36:00.004-06:00

With all the down time for not having to train much lately, we have been able to nearly finish the side yard project. What was going to be a simple "table for next to the hammock" turned out a little bigger. Much nicer however. A little less grass, a little more relaxation spot. Not a bad trade off. Just a few more rocks for the patio section and it should be done. Just in time for me to relax the rest of the summer!? Karen will be off training for her mid-mountain marathon in September, so maybe I can catch some Z's in the Hammock!!
R

Run like a Kenyan

2009-06-13T11:04:00.002-06:00

This is the theme for my run this year. After practicing shorter steps and higher cadence, I saw a video of the Kenyan's and Craig Alexander running at last years Ironman. What do they have in common? They look the same. Well, not just skinny and blazing fast, but with short strides, flat foot strike and high cadence. Though the Kenyans do it at 4:40 pace, I just hope to be able to make 8:00 pace. So, for Sunday the theme in my head will be bike like a turtle and run like a Kenyan!!

rk

False Start...

2009-06-09T21:03:00.003-06:00

So saturday was to be the first race of the season. A half-ironman distance race in ID called Vikingman. Driving there Friday night we ran into VERY windy conditions (30+mph) and driving rain at times. By the end of Dinner it had stopped raining, though was still pretty Chilly. Went to bed after getting the bike all ready, clothes laid out and a review everything was working.

4:30am Saturday am, I wake up to the alarm, trying to deny to myself I am actually thinking about getting up and racing, but I actually do. I set two Eggo blueberry waffles in the toaster, open the JIF peanut butter and Honey jar ( a new find which kicks ass!!) I have had it everyday for breakfast thus far since then!! Anyway, then I open the door....... RAINING, 48 deg. and wind blowing. @$**%^$ $#%*(%$(....... Okay, do I race or go to bed? The SLC weather report said HI 65/Low 50, 20% showers in PM. So, for my warm clothes I packed a long sleeve Under armor cool gear shirt and arm warmers. No rain jacket, no wind breaker, no down Everest Suit!! After alot of language I don't think the Burley people would approve of, I decide to bag the race. Since my weight is now 162 and I was standing outside in denium pants, two shirts, socks, all DRY and SHIVERING, I did not think I would get more than 1-2 miles on a flat bike course. Not to mention the wet roads and Coeur d' Alene in 2 weeks. So we left Burly after less than 12 hours and came home to a gorgous day. I went to the airport to get a workout in, aeo helmet, disc wheel the whole works. Just happened to be the state TT race that time. Got permission to just ride on the road, I think in the middle of the Cat IV race. Road 40 miles, then ran 14 at race pace with good sensations in the legs!! Kept the run under 8:00/mile pace and the bike average at 22.5 (200W strict!). Hard to do when all these guys are riding hard around you, but I kept to the plan. So, the rocket ship is ready, the run legs are coming!! Now the mental games begin.....

Whew! An exhausting weekend!

2009-05-10T21:27:00.004-06:00

Oh man, what a tiring weekend - but so productive! I started the weekend out right having dinner with my friend Christina at a new restaurant downtown called Eva. It's a Mediterranean tapas restaurant and was excellent. SLC has a cool thing they do called Dine 'O Round where you get to go to restaurants for a 3 course meal for a set price. It's a great way to check out new places. Saturday was a grueling day for us both. We both got up and swam in the morning - Rich 3000 yds and me 1200 yds. Then it was yard work for both of us. I made a trip to Home Depot for plants and mulch and spent the rest of the morning working on the new side landscape - planting and mulching for a couple of hours. We took out some grass and extended the herb garden around to the side of the yard. This all started because I wanted a table to put my drink on when I'm in my hammock. :-) For this I needed a little "patio". From there, we decided to extend around and connect to the herb garden. SO... what you see in the picture is the end of phase one. I added more thyme, oregano, sage, some chive and cilantro.. also some flowering plants, a forsythia bush and some hostas. The section on the right of the picture is where the flagtone "patio" will be that will go under the hammock and with enough room for another chair.
Rich, meanwhile, came home from his swim with the tiller and tilled the vegetable garden for a couple of hours. THEN... he went for a 3 hour 21 mile run and I went for a bike ride. When I came back I tackled a small project in the front yard, digging out grass and planting hydrangea bushes. We were both so exhausted, we ordered pizza in and later pulled ourselves off the couch to go to Dairy Queen in our PJs! :-) Sunday, I skied - yes, skied. 50 degrees, sunny and gorgeous in the mountains, while Rich toiled away for 5 hours, and about 100 miles on his TRAINER bike in the basement. I planted tomatoes, eggplant, peas and peppers to start the veggie garden, Kathy come for dinner and now we are both working toward bed! whew!

Happy Birthday Marty!

2009-05-10T21:12:00.006-06:00

Rich and I took off last weekend to Connecticut for a surprise birthday for his mom. It was great - she was so surprised! We flew in on the red-eye, overnight, on Thursday, arriving about 9:30 a.m. We headed from Hartford to Lebanon to Rich's brother Brian, and his wife Jill's, house. After a nap and relaxing we went to dinner where we met Rich's aunts/uncles - his mom's brother and sister and their spouses - for dinner. It was great to see them, they are such fun and wonderful people! They are all from MI and Marty had no idea they were coming in either. The next day Rich and I went for a run - what a pleasure to run at sea level!!! We ran on this BEAUTIFUL rail trail for an hour. The trail is surrounded by marshes and woods and was really amazing - makes me realize how much I miss the trees and woods of MI. It was an awesome run and we both really enjoyed it. Then... to Rich's parents house to set up decorations and wait for his mom to arrive. We all hid in the dining room when she came in and surprised her. What a hoot! I have never had a surprise party turn out so ... surprising!! Marty was seriously shocked and elated. It was awesome. We hung out for a while at the house and then went to a really nice dinner in Mystic. We visited the next day as long as we could, then caught our flight home. A whirlwind visit, but definitely fun and worth it! Happy Birthday Marty!

PIZZA, on the GRILL??

2009-05-10T21:03:00.004-06:00

Yep! Rich and I found a cool recipe and thought we'd try it! It was AWESOME! Put the dough directly on the grill, when it starts to bubble, turn it over with tongs, and add toppings. Cook til the cheese melts. We put on home-made roasted tomato sauce, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, salami, fontina and Parmesan cheeses. YUM!

Time flies...

2009-05-08T21:38:00.004-06:00

Can't believe it has been almost three weeks since we posted last. Where does the time go? What have we been up to? After coming back from fruita and running the half marathon we settled into working and training. Karen did a off-road tri at the U, and OF COURSE.... FINISHED 1st in her age group!!!!!!!!! A little slow in the swim (another pool swim), but then put the hurt on everyone on the bike (in the mud) and ran very quick to smoke her age group peers and WIN!!!!!

We then took a trip to CT for a surprise birthday party for my mom, (age withh

eld) which was a LOT of fun, though too short.

Now back home we are back to training for a week. Put in most of the new garden on the side of the yard. Next week Karen heads to Moab for some fun and I have to work. Then Moab again for Memorial day? Whew. I'm tired.

SLC Half Marathon and Bike Tour

2009-04-19T10:00:00.006-06:00

Rich and I participated in the annual SLC Marathon events this weekend. An unusual turn of events, though - Rich ran and I biked! I've done the run for the past 4 years, one marathon and 3 half marathons while Rich was always spectating and chasing me around on his bike. This year, because I've been working on these sprint triathlons, I havent been putting in long run miles yet. Rich decided to do this half as a training run and I decided to do the Bike Tour for the fun of it. The bike tour allows riders to ride the marathon course with the streets being blocked off and no stops. It was a great training ride for me as it allowed me to just push a big gear and pedal hard for an hour and a half, building some strength. The start was a little hairy, though, and very cold. We got up at 4:30 a.m. as I had to be at the start by 6:00. Morning temp: 38 degrees. Brrrrr. I couldnt get over how many people were there! Wow, over 1500 riders all starting at the same time - a little chaotic to say the least. The ride started off on a slight downhill stretch for a couple of miles, causing some teeth chattering and shivering, but once we got to Sugarhouse Park and I was able to push a big gear up a couple of hills (re: working hard to create warmth!) I started to thaw out. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Rich ran a great race - finished in 1:35, a pretty quick pace, although, he was not finished there! His training program called for a 3 hour run that day so he decided he would just continue running back to the car at the start. He added 8 miles for a total run of 21 miles. I couldnt believe it - the "after run" was all uphill to the car - what an amazingly strong guy he is! I rode along with him on my bike, I'm not supposed to admit it but on the really steep ups, he beat me up the hills! Lame! :-) Haha. Ah, well... We got home by 10 a.m., couldnt believe it was ONLY 10 a.m.! We put our jammies back on, made coffee and read the paper - starting the day over...

Gettin Old

2009-04-06T21:08:00.002-06:00

Another snowy weekend here in the Wasatch. While it has been other worldly for the skiers, for those of us trying to train for summer activities it has been difficult.. to say the least. Maybe I am gettin too old to drag my sorry ass out there to train, but I WANT TO WEAR SHORTS!!!!! Having the worst run I can remember on saturday (snowing, 40, hip pain at 8 miles, walking alternately at 10, only 13 miles in 2 hrs... boo who, cry, wine...) left me with little motivation for a nice day on sunday to ride for more than 1.5 hrs. I went home and rode indoors for another watching Flanders. The only way for me to explain it is I am old, well maybe I'm a sissy too, but I'm sticking with old. Being old though, has given me a renewed desire to train hard, get out there so I can get this Ironman thing out of the way. So this week, I will get my 15 hours in....regardless. Anyone for 4 hour ride this weekend?

rk

Icebreaker Triathlon

2009-03-29T10:03:00.015-06:00

I can say that I love races. What I particularly love about them is the scene, the people, the energy. I love the camaraderie that accompanies each race no matter how different they are, no matter what level you race at. There is something about that early morning rising anticipating the day that really appeals to me. This race was no different. This was my first "real" triathlon. I have done multisport events before and even did the Turkey tri last November - but that one was backward so it doesnt count as a "real" tri. What is real? Swim - Bike - Run.
Good friends Eli and Eddie did the race as well. Actually, I can blame Eli for getting me into all this craziness! :-) What a great thing to have friends at the races who are supportive and encouraging and who you can laugh with and celebrate with. I would also like to give a big thanks to Kathy for all her support and her awesome photos that allowed me to chronicle the experience. And of course love to Rich, who was on call so couldnt be there, but he was greatly helpful and supportive, and of course bought me some really fast new wheels! heehee. :-)

Early rising - but not too early as the race had a generally late start - 9:00 am. Contemplating the amount of coffee I should drink, the amount of water and trying to settle my nerves. My nerves are not in my head, I am feeling calm and ready, but my body is telling me otherwise... my stomach gurgles and I have to use the bathroom too many times to count... yep, definitely nerves. We arrive at the venue and enjoy an amazingly beautiful morning. The sun is rising over the mountains, there is a hot air balloon floating effortlessly... a good sign indeed. After setting up my transition area I head off to get my timing chip and body marking. There's something really cool about having those numbers written on your arm and leg.

I head to the pool to get some warm up in, knowing that I will have to warm my lungs so I dont get asthmatic in the pool or get my heartrate up too high so that I have difficultly breathing (something that happens to me when I exercise)... after warming up and waiting, waiting, waiting, freezing, freezing ... for the race to begin we are finally lining up for the swim start. I notice that I am surrounded by a bunch of big guys, and I'm feeling a little nervous! (check out the photo of "me and the guys") We get in and I am literally swarmed by big, clumsy men swimming all around me! They were like bulls in a china shop and were swimming up over my legs, smacking me along the sides, and then getting in front and kicking up the water like crazy - definitely not finesse swimmers! then one starts swimming breast stroke, taking up the whole lane! Grrrrrrrrr. Needless to say, I was so uncomfortable that my heartrate started rising, I couldnt catch my breath and my swim was awful. I ended up stopping at the end of the lane to let them all get past me because they were
such a nuisance! I'll be curious to see what my swim time ended up to be (official results are not on line yet). I'm sure it wasnt the 7:00 - 7:20 time I log in the pool all by myself!!

Well, having survived the swim, I made my way out into the cold to the transition area. It was around 35 degrees at this point, but my adrenaline and warmth from the swim carried over and I didnt feel cold. I added layers, took the time to actually put on two shirts, a jacket, a pair of tights, a cap, gloves, socks and shoes! Riding it sub 40 degree weather is COLD, especially when you're wet, and I didnt want my time jeopardized because I wasnt warm. A warm body functions much more efficiently. Although, I'm not sure wearing one's tights backward helps! Of course, in my haste, I put on my tights backward, which I didnt happen to notice til the run... oh well, I dont think it slowed down my bike any. I love the bike. I am a bike rider, and it felt like freedom getting on that bike after that ridiculous swim. As soon as my legs started turning the pedals I felt joy and normalcy and that made me smile. I feel so out of place in the water that this was like coming home and I needed it at that point. The course was pretty easy, only one long hill up and the rest was flat or with a bit of a downward slope - made for a fast and fun ride.

The run was just as great, the transition was smooth and my legs felt strong. By now, it's sunny and quite pleasant, although still probably only 40 or so degrees. Finished strong and feeling great in one hour, nineteen minutes. 1:19 - good enough for first place in my age group. Now.... what am I going to do about that open water swim in June?? :-)

March Madness

2009-03-22T09:40:00.009-06:00

No, not basketball - just a very busy month! :-) Have been enjoying the spring weather, as Rich said, watching the flowers bloom, but the poor things, every time they get happy, they get snowed on which is going to be the case again tomorrow! Ah well, that's March for ya!
The early part of the month brought visitors! First, Beatrix came out for a 10 day stay - we headed down to Moab for the first weekend, just a quickie getaway, but makes it seem more vacation-like. We did a little hiking and a little biking, but mostly took it easy and relaxed - beautiful there, of course. I had to work some during the following week, but we managed a couple of hikes and a movie in between. The next weekend, Dad and Jane came out - a quick visit, but really nice. Dad has been watching the "Diners and Dives" program on the Food Network so we took him to a couple of places that he saw: The Red Iguana, Blue Plate Diner and the Buger Bar, but that was closed! Also on the list - for you SLC'ers - are Lone Star Tacoria, Cotton Bottom, Ruth's Diner and more. We all went cross country skiing at Sundance on a gorgeous sunny day - well, all except Rich who was being diligent and getting his training in.
Friday, Kathy and I enjoyed a day at the spa, courtesy of Mom and John, who sent us gift certificate long ago that we finally got to use. The Avenues Day Spa was VERY nice... oh so relaxing! We then went to an awesome dinner at the Oasis Cafe - a perfect girls day!
Yesterday was a record breaking 74 degrees - we both had a great workout and did some spring yard work and ran some errands, of course including a trip to the DQ! Rich bought me some new wheels for my bike and they are AWESOME. Felt like my riding was effortless (of course the 10 mph back wind helped! haha) sooooooooo smooth and quiet and really great! I had such a great ride, I doubled my planned distance, then had to do a 3 mile run right after - that was killer! :-) Rich cooked an amazing dinner of lobster and shrip on the grill to cap off a perfect day!
Today, rain, tomorrow, snow.... March Madness for sure!

Spring has sprung

2009-03-20T19:43:00.002-06:00

As today is the first day of spring, it was only fitting that it was nice. Since I had the day off I went for a run in the am and ride in the pm. Nice little cruise up to Ruth's and back. Some wheel sucker from porcupine sat on for the ride, until I turned off to come home. Strange how some people will ride any pace, change gears to go slower and NEVER come around for a pull. Timid? just followers? or maybe stalking tendancies? Anyway, I had a nice easy ride in the beautiful wasatch. It will be short lived for the shorts, but hopefully not more than a week, until it is warm again. After a swim and long ride tomorrow, maybe Dairy Queen? Yum!!!

Snow, glorious snow!!

2009-03-10T21:10:00.003-06:00

Wow, what lame arses we have been. No updates since Feb 23? Must be getting too busy with other stuff. Anyway, have had some good ski days in the last couple weeks. A perfect day at Alta with old friends from Boston this weekend. Had a great time touring around the mountain in the bright blue powderbird day. Good snow to be found everywhere.

Lots of visitors coming in the next week. Bea is here now, with Bill and Jane arriving on Thursday. Should be a great time with all of them here. Not sure what the plan is for things to do, but I'm sure we'll figure out something.

Will try to update this week, again!!

Dinner at the Yurt

2009-02-23T17:27:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday, Rich and I headed up to Solitude to have dinner at the Yurt. For those of you who are not familiar, a yurt is a Mongolian structure, historically, in which the Mongolian people lived in as their homes. A few fun facts about the yurts are that the door is always facing south to preserve heat, the tables are typically always in a circle around the center to create community (which is why they try to copy that will long family style tables at our yurt), the doors are always made smaller so that invaders might hit their heads and the Mongolians can defend themselves.

For us... nothing so extreme.. we were treated with utmost care and welcomed warmly. We hiked in about a half mile, an easy hike, we had the option of walking or xcskiing. We chose to walk and just enjoy. When we got to the yurt - all 27 of us!!- we made our way around the tables and sat with our new friends. We had 12 at our table and greatly enjoyed everyone's company. We were about half and half - locals and "out of staters". Our meal was superb: 5 courses. The first was a hearty white bean and beef soup with awesome warm bread. The second was seared scallops with carmalized onion on some type of greens. The next course was a salad: greens, cranberries, walnuts, green apple and goat cheese, the main dish was port tenderloin in some kind of demiglaze with shreaded brussel sprouts and potatoes, and then the dessert was a chocolate torte with rum soaked strawberries.... YUM. Everyone brought their own wine, and that made for a very festive occasion! :-)

Rained out

2009-02-16T17:46:00.004-07:00

Well our plans to visit California and see Mitchel and Kamala were foiled due to forecasted torential rain. Didn't really think that going to ride and run, with pouring down rain would be all that fun. So we stayed home. Maybe Lance will ride next year too!! Maybe Paris again? We did get alot done though! Finished the downstairs bathroom finally!! The top is concrete, made in the basement. On a Kraft made cabinet. Basin sink. Gives some modern touch to the downstairs.

We also went to Farmington Bay to see the Eagles. We got a nice surprise with a whole flock of pelicans in the water, close to the shore. We stayed and took a few pics. Then home to train some. Ski day tommorrow, no mater what. Big storm tonight and tomorrow means fresh powder day all day!! See our friends, Andy & Rhonda's page for a good utah powder day!!

Where Have I been?

2009-02-10T21:20:00.002-07:00

Man, I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since we updated this thing. Talk about losers? Been busy I guess. What have we been doing? Catching up. Skied once or twice, ran alot, swam alot, put on alot of lotion!!!! Chlorine is just killing us this year. Us. you say? Yes Karen has gotten the triathlon bug and has planned to do the BAM tri this June. She has been swimming diligently, learning a new sport and doing well. She can already swim the distance, now we just need to work on speed and CALMNESS in the open water! She will do great.
Got a new color in the corner of the Kitchen...... Granny Smith Green!! and Chalkboard black. No really we put up chalkboard paint in the corner, looks cool. Sorry, you'll have to wait for me ot take pics. Concrete countertop part II is almost done. Need to wax and hope to get in next week.

We leave this friday to go to California for the Tour of California. Just happens to end in Santa Cruz, stage 2, where we will go to stay with Mitchel, Kamala and Cozmo and Ezra. SHould be a blast. Hope to make it over the Sierras Saturday am and hit some warm sun, sea level riding and running. I can't wait. Pics when we return. Lance Pics, Floyd pics, Tyler pics, maybe one of Karen and Tom Boonen?
rk

BASH

2009-01-24T14:06:00.010-07:00

That would be "Battle at Soldier Hollow". Last weekend, Rich and I raced the BASH winter triathlon. It was a 3 mile run, 3 mile bike and 3 mile ski. The weather was cccccccooold!! 9 degrees at race start! brrr. Of course, one warms up once you get going, but it was very chilly waiting to begin and took half a run lap for fingers to thaw out! The course was fun - not too demanding on the run and bike and we both enjoyed this a lot. Rich rode the bike course on his single speed with is amazing. I did well on the run and made up a lot of time on the bike, as most athletes are likely roadies and skate skiers and not true mountain bikers. The time spent in MI and in Moab riding in the sand was very beneficial to us for riding in the snow. Of course, all the time I made up on the bike I lost on the ski as that is not my strength at all. The ski course was more challenging as it had a killer hill to climb right in the beginning. We had to do that twice. Rich is a great skier and had the third fastest ski time overall - that's great! Actually, Rich kicked butt in the whole race, too. He finished first in his age group and 4th overall! He did so well that he got invited to the World Champion Winter Tri event in Austria.... Hmmmmmmm..... I, of course, did not get invited to Austria! haha. I finished 41 out of 60 overall.

A Big Moon, and stuff.

2009-01-11T10:32:00.003-07:00

Well, it's been a pretty uneventful couple of weeks since our last post. Rich is working diligently on the concrete countertop for the bathroom cabinet but it's giving him grief, and he may have to start over again. We knew it would be a process, for sure.

Kathy and I went to the movie Slumdog Millionaire, which was AMAZING... I recommend everyone go to see this movie! Click here to learn more about it. On Thursday, Kathy had her birthday (on the 8th), I took her to the BodyWorlds, http://theleonardo.org/bodyworlds/index.p hp, exhibit before it left town, where we met up with some friends, and then we went to the Bayou, http://www.utahbayou.com/, for dinner and drinks - about a dozen of us, very fun! The Bayou is an excellent place to chill and hang out, if you're ever in SLC... the best beer menu in town and great jazz music Thursday - Saturday. Happy Birthday to all by January friends and family: Pat, Lori, Bea, Kathy and John.

Friday, Rich and I went to his work holiday party (a little after the fact) which was nice, and Saturday, I did an awesome skate ski with Rhonda while Rich did his own skating and swimming elsewhere. Rhonda and I went up to Solitude and did 15 km on perfect snow on a perfect blue bird day. It was great! Saturday night Rich and headed to the west side of the valley to get a good view of the BIG moon that was rising that evening. Apparently this is the largest and brightest moon in 2009. It was gorgeous as it came over the mountains.

Sunday, a disappointment - we had planned on skiing and meeting Jen and Stu up at Alta, but Jen called just as we were loading our stuff and said the weather and turned bad, she wasnt going to ski into Alta from Snowbird afterall, and Stu had hurt his back so he was out of the picture. We decided to scrap the day and go next weekend, hopefully not having to bear wind gusts of up to 80mph, little visibility and wet, sleety snow... I guess that means back to cleaning the house and going for a run!

Happy New year!!

2009-01-01T21:01:00.003-07:00

hey all, Happy New Year!!!!
Having the week off we were having lots of fun playing in the snow. Skating, skiing, shoveling... then I got a cold. Went to bed New Year's Eve at 10:30, blew off the 5k in Sugarhouse park, didn't want to get sicker to start the year. Had a great brunch this am, then was going to snowshoe. I turned the corner to come upstairs from the basement and bang, it felt like someone shot me in the right calf. After swearing and rubbing my leg, knowing it was a bad cramp or something bad with my calf/Achilles, I limped to the chair. So here I sit with a pain in my as..., er calf, gingerly walking on it still not able to contract it. I don't know what was worse, knowing I couldn't start my 24 week build to Ironman or having to sit through 2 football games and 1 really bad movie (Apocalypto?). It might be a long few weeks. Maybe, I'll heal quick?!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-26T09:45:00.008-07:00

Rich and I had the most mellow Christmas we have ever had, I think. It was just the two of us, which is unusual. We usually invite over some of our other "orphan" friends for dinner, however, this year, Rich was working and everyone was taken care of somewhere else. Kathy is out of town so she wasnt around either. Actually, it was really nice - very very relaxing and warm. Rich was able to get home from work around 10ish or so, which was lucky. We had a nice breakfast and then opened presents. We'd like to thank our families for all the wonderful goodies! Lots of books to read, snuggly clothes to wear and things to "play" with! We had a blast opening all the great presents! Afterward, I took a nap, Rich read, we did some stuff around the house, took a nap, read, prepped dessert, napped, made dinner.... :-) Actually, it was I that did most of the napping! Like I said, a really mellow Christmas! We cracked open our "crackers" to get our little surprises and our crowns for dinner - even Heat Miser got a crown this year! We had an amzing dinner of filet mignon, with a blue cheese topping and a port reduction sauce... and white chocolate bread pudding with homemade caramel sauce for dessert - of course some very good wine as well. Afterward, we snuggled up on the couch and watched the original, 1973 movie musical of Jesus Christ Superstar - it was awesome! Funny, I saw the lead - Ted Neely in the stage show last year - 35 years after! The snow fell, and fell, and fell, leaving about a foot on our driveway for the morning shoveling. All in all, a wonderful holiday! Rich is still working all weekend, on call, unfortunately, but next week he is off so we can play! :-) Merry Chritmas and Happy New Year to all of you!!

Weekend Fun in the Snow

2008-12-21T15:10:00.009-07:00

Lots to do when the snow falls! Although we didnt get up skiing yet we still had a ton of fun without gravity! On Saturday, I attended a skate ski clinic with Rhonda, Andy, Tam and Lara... Rich went, too, but didnt do the clinic - he and his friend Zach did laps around us! Tam and I will be participating in a winter triathlon in which one leg is skate skiing so we thought some instruction would be a good idea. The clinic was put on by the race and was free - great! We also were given water bottles, gel and very nice running hats! I've skated a handful of times before, but am always looking for pointers on technique. With skate skiing, it's all about technique, the better you are the easier it is. Tam, Rhonda and Andy had never tried it before. We had a lot of fun, but it was very cold...mainly because we werent' moving for so much of the instruction. Once we got to do a couple of laps on our own we warmed right up!
On Sunday, Rich needed to do some Christmas errands and swim - it's his only day off this week as he is on call for Christmas and working all week, so........ I couldnt get him up skiing and I didnt want to go by myself. No worries - I called my friend Eli to see if she wanted to play - lucky for me, she was just getting ready to go for a hike up in the foothills behind the University. We had a great hike on and around the Shoreline trail! That's it! Happy Weekend!

How Quickly Things Change

2008-12-20T10:06:00.009-07:00

A week after the "perfect bike day" we were cross country skiing up East Canyon. Since then it has been doing nothing but dumping snow... I think we've shoveled a total of about 2 feet off the driveway in the last week! Of course, this is fine with us as we love the winter, especially in SLC. The snow makes the mountains unimaginably beautiful and, of course, is great for skiing! Unfortunately, we havent been up to downhill ski yet - just havent been able to fit it in, looking at going tomorrow - although the high temps are supposed to be ZERO - might not be too bad if the wind is calm. Today, we are heading to Mountain Dell for a skate ski clinic, well, I"m taking it, Rich is just skating as he's already pretty proficient at it. Want a good cardio workout?? Try skate skiing - it's amazingly hard! haha. I've gone about 10 times over the past couple of winters, if I can go more often I think I can get better - I better, as I'm doing a winter triathlon in January which include skate skiing! Yikes!
For those of you who havent been out to visit, I'm putting in some pictures of "where we live". As I was driving home the other day I couldnt resist snapping pictures out my car window (probably not the smartest thing!) because the mountains and the area looked so pretty. It's a great place to be!!
Hope everyone has a great Christmas! More on the holidays later!

Perfect Bike Day

2008-12-07T16:37:00.003-07:00

Wow, December 7 and 50 degrees, no snow and great trails!! Somewhat of a different winter this year. Did a 2hr ride on the Bonneville today (with 100 other people), enjoying the great weather. As the forecast is for a maybe, possible, perhaps chance of snow in the valley, maybe the last real ride for a while. Although, until the snow is ready to skate on, I may be riding. Anyway a good relaxing ride, Karen was flying on the way home, just cruising over the terrain, giggling and singing "Weeeeee", "Weeeeee". So, happy biking fora little while longer!!!!

Giving Thanks

2008-11-30T10:33:00.007-07:00

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Happy Thanksgiving! We had planned to travel south to camp, as we did last year, but due to inclimate weather we decided to stay home and relax, get some work done around the house and play together. We invited our good friends Tammy and Ian over for dinner, as they are our family away from home here in SLC, with their new 4 month old baby Annika it felt like a real family get together. We cooked up a big turkey and all the trimmings, drank wine, and had some awesome apple pie after a nice long walk around the neighborhood after dinner. It was a perfect evening, even while missing those back in MI and CT. Kathy is in Arizona, so we missed her as well, but she was in our thoughts as we stuffed ourselves silly. :-)

Black Friday took us away from the crowds and on to the trails. Tammy and Ian (and little Annika) joined us for a hike up Grandeur Peak trail. Grandeur Peak is a beautiful trail up the mountain (3 miles up, with 2419 feet elevation gain) in Mill Creek Canyon. We went to the saddle, but it was getting windy and chilly so we decided to head down with the baby. We were only about 400 feet short of the summit, so we had a good haul up still before heading back. It was the perfect option to the insanity at the malls and stores!

Saturday, Rich and I worked on some projects around the house - I'm painting the "art/massage" room and redecorating it - as it was, it was totally uninspiring and I finally decided to take the plunge to re-do it. I'm envisioning a peaceful, Zen space that will be lovely to be in while I paint, or do art projects. I'll post pics when it's done, it was covered in "old man pajamas" wallpaper that just had to go! After stripping off the lasf of the paper, we went for an awesome trail run in East Canyon - 4 miles along a wooded path to the lake and back, although cloudy, it was really pretty in subtle browns and golds.

Today, Sunday, we have patched the room and are waiting for it to dry before priming. Not sure what we'll do for fun... hike? run? bike? :-)
Hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Try a TRI

2008-11-26T09:40:00.008-07:00

I jumped. I am now officially a triathlete. Last Saturday I did my first triathlon. It was a mini sprint, meaning very short - good for me due to my lack of swimming ability! haha. Total distance was 3 mile run, 13 mile bike and 250 meter swim. It was a lot of fun. My friend Eli, who talked me into doing it, her husband and I did the race. We went up to Weber State University for a 9:00 a.m. start. It was cold - around 30 degrees, but promising to be a nice day overall, at about 50 or so. The tri was done backward, presumably because of the short swim (which was in the pool), and the cold temps. The run started off with two laps around the track then outside for a good climb up a hill, around the event center and back to the bikes. The bike course was a 3 lap course, with a wicked long, hard climb on the backside. Then, on to the pool for 5 quick laps. I did well, and really enjoyed myself - 13th out of 39 women and third in the 40 - 49 age group. Here are some pictures, but none of them are of us, as none of us brought a camera! These will give you a feel for the day, though. What next? A winter tri (run bike ski), then a sprint distance in March, an Olympic lite (with a trail run) in June, and a full Olympic distance in September....

Women For Women International

2008-11-16T11:49:00.002-07:00

I came across this organization in Time Magazine and was profoundly moved by the struggles of women around the world and the mission of Zainab Salbi to try to make a difference. Below is the link to the web site for Women for Women International to learn more. I have decided to become a sponsor. I will get my sponsor kit in about 4 weeks, with the name of my sister, and I cant wait! I am so grateful to be able to do even something so small to make a difference, I wish I could do more. Think about the things that you spend $27 on regularly, wouldnt it be awesome to spend that somewhere that will really have an impact on someone less fortunate than we?

http://www.womenforwomen.org/index.php

What if you can change the course of one woman's life in a war-torn region of the world? Now what if you knew her name?

Women for Women International's Sponsorship program creates a unique experience by building a one-to-one relationship between you and a woman who lives thousands of miles away.

By sponsoring a woman you not only provide her with the financial assistance she needs to get back on her feet but also the hope and emotional support that are the keys to rebuilding her life after war.

What is Sponsorship?

As a sponsor, you will be matched with a woman in a country in which we work. Your monthly contribution will provide her with rights awareness education and job skills training so she can continue to support her family in the future. She will also receive a portion of your contribution in direct aid so she can provide her family with basic necessities.

The Connection is real...you know her name

When you receive your welcome kit, you'll receive the name of the woman you are sponsoring, information about her country of origin and her background information - does she have children, is she married? She learns your name too, because until she is matched with you, she cannot begin the program. So she knows it's your commitment that's given her this opportunity.

The letters

You'll not only know her name, you can exchange letters. In fact, your letters are a powerful tool for helping women in these desperate regions of the world know that there is someone out there who knows of her existence, who actually cared enough to sponsor her and write to her. Many women in our programs have never received a letter addressed to them, so you can't imagine the impact it has on her self-esteem.

Sponsoring a woman can profoundly change your life too

Not only do your monthly donations and your letters help women from war-torn countries, but your connection with them can change your life too. Many sponsors feel they unexpectedly “get” far more than they receive. You’ll be astounded at the strength and courage these women have in the face of so much adversity.

"I thought it was going to be me that did the giving, but I was the one who truly received the gift." - A Sponsor, January 2006

Women for Women International Keeps You Informed

You’ll receive updates on the progress of women in our programs in the Outreach newsletter and in email updates. And to the extent that she's able, you can receive letters in return. Translators in each country work with participants to write letters to their sponsors. Letters are also dictated for the many illiterate women in our programs. In Sudan alone 94% of women cannot read or write. And when you receive notification that your sponsored sister has graduated the year-long program, you’ll know you’ve significantly impacted that one woman’s life, her children’s lives and her community.

What Your Support Means

Each country’s program varies due to economic, political, cultural and religious factors. However, in all countries where we work, your monthly support ensures that your sister receives the following tools and support over the course of her one-year participation:

Direct aid on a monthly basis in cash.
Emotional support and encouragement from her trainers, fellow participants and from you, her sponsor.
Training on leadership, rights awareness and the role of women in society.
Job skills training applicable to the local economy.
A network of women to connect with in her community.
Small business assistance and in some countries Microcedit.
Access to a variety of other programs, depending on the country or region where your sister lives. These include, for example, literacy training in Kosovo, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention training in Nigeria, savings and investment counseling in Rwanda and infant care classes in Afghanistan.

Tetons/Yellowstone

2008-10-30T15:43:00.008-06:00

Well, I'm late posting, as usual. A couple of weekends ago, Kathy, Amy and I went to the Tetons and Yellowstone for a long weekend. We all had Thursday and Friday off of work and wanted to get outta dodge. Jackson Hole is about 4 and a half hours from here, but probably closer to 5 in the van. Pretty cool - a short days drive to amazing scenery and two national parks. We had beautiful weather - in the 60s, although it was chilly at night, in the mid 30s - comfortable for sleeping but cold for cooking! We had dinner the first night at the Jackson Hole Brew Pub - GREAT food and company - my friend Kevin joined us. Kevin was my and Scott's guide when we climbed the Grand Teton years ago and we have kept in touch since. Kevin is still guiding and is now doing some chef work and soon, ski patrol. The next day we toured and hiked around Grand Teton National Park. Did a hike up into Cascade Canyon, but not too far as the sun was getting low. And then on we went to Yellowstone the next day. Amy had never been there before and we had a blast exploring, and checking out the hot pots and animals. We even saw Old Faithful blow which is a must if you've never seen it before. Home the next day, revitalized and happy. A great trip!

Back on the Horse (er..Monkey)

2008-10-26T19:57:00.003-06:00

After 2 weeks of slothliness, I finally got back in the groove this weekend. A run yesterday, along a nice flat road in nice temps and a bike ride today. Feeling that my endurance and fitness from the past year would keep me going, I jumped onto the Monkey and climbed to Scott's pass, then down to sahdow lake and Mid-mountain all the way the the crest connector and then back the crest to Guardsman pass. Had heard a few reports of this route, but never actually done it all together. Had done most of it on various rides, but never did the crest this way. Suffice to say, I am not in the shape I thought I was, two weeks of nothing hurts when you do something and climbing 5700' on a single-speed hurts, especially if you bonk!! You might think that this was a bad experience, but nay!! It actually was a beautiful day (60's, sunny) with little traffic on the midmountain trail, nice to cruise this trail for 12 miles thru the slopes and pines with scattered leaves throughout. Finally, I came to the connector trail from mid-mtn to the crest trail. This is a fairly steep climb. I don't know what hurt more, my back, biceps or quads? After a short time though I was up at the great western/crest junction above millcreek. I think the next climb was the worst. This is where the bonk began to take root. Looking at the garmin and it saying 8900' was not encouraging, as I know the top of puke hill was 10,000'. Not sure I had 1100' feet more of climbing in my legs I nursed every chance I had to rest (giving way to downhill riders!!). After the spine, it all seemed to get better, flowing nicely along the crest, looking at the spires above Solitude all draped in snow, thinking SOON!!!!!! Anyway a quick trip down puke hill to the car, was refreshing and made the ride worth it!! Makes me wonder why I keep chasing the Ironman dream? Anyway, might be the last ride at that height for the year, but good to keep it fresh for early summer, well mid-summer after Ironman.

24 Hours of MOAB

2008-10-14T17:57:00.014-06:00

Moab was awesome! Two words: windy and cold. We arrived Friday with something like 20-30 mile an hour winds kicking sand up and blowing it around everywhere. This did not let up until the wee hours on Sunday morning! And of course, it was cold. 30ish at night. So, how was it all? Well....

We arrive on Friday in a number of cars forming a little village of our own in the desert fields. Rich and his brother, Brian, me Tam and Kathy, Tammy's husband and his family (visiting from MI), Libba and Camine (my teammies) and Zach (Rich's Teammie) and his wife, Kate. This was actually the way it was all around, villages of teams setting up for the event, settling in and trying to tolerate the sand blowing all around. It was like a big city plopped down in the middle of the desert. We went into town and had dinner that night, came back and hit the sack, trying to get some sleep, but managing little, mostly due to the wind buffeting the van to and fro. Saturday morning finally came and after loading up on carbs, proteins and coffee we began our preparations for the 24 hours ahead.

A quick rider meeting at 10:30, in the blustering wind with sand and dust blowing like crazy, sometimes nearly blowing Laird around the stage.
THE START: Tammy started for our team. They do a LeMans style start with everyone running down the field, around a pinyon pine tree and back, I suppose to spread people out. Off they went kicking up a good dusting in their wake. Tammy is a super strong rider and finished her first lap in 1:42. Camine took off next, then me, then Libba. We were all under 2 hours our first lap, all is well. Rich and Zach were riding 1:25s - very very fast!

Rich and his partner, Zach, were racing a Duo Pro team. Meaning; only two members, racing against pro teams. The kicker? They were racing on Single Speeds (meaning only one gear!) against the others with geared bikes! These guys are nuts! (Awesome, but nuts!) :-)
THE NIGHT COMES
Then, the night time came, the cold set in and questions of how to dress runs through our heads. Will our lights last? Will I get a flat in the dark? Are there mountain lions in the desert? (haha). I love riding at night. Peaceful, quiet, a little creepy at times... I had issues with what I was wearing and found myself over dressed for the long climb in the beginning, which made me very cold for the rest of the lap due to being sweaty, but I made it. I lost some time stopping and adjusting my clothing along the way. We all finished in about 2.5 hours at night, except for Tam who did 1:52 - and get this - with a regular back up LED camping headlamp - her other light died ONE MILE into her lap! She's a rock star! Rich also had some issues with his lights; his headlight went out and his bar light was pointing strangely off to the right making it quite the challenge to see straight down the trail!

ON my third lap, I was doing really well, time wise, then coming down one gnarly stretch of trail, a steep, rocky, loose descent, this guy passed me, totally out of control and crashed, HARD, right in front of me. Well, of course, I stopped and stayed with him til the EMTs got there. He was pretty messed up. Finally, I'm on my way. With adjusted time I finished my last lap in about 2 hours, same with Libba. Camine, had to bail on her third lap due to a knee injury. Rich and Zach decided to slow down a little (to 2 hours on a couple of laps) to allow themselves more time to recover. Keep in mind, they were taking turns going out approximately every hour and a half! After six laps and some fork issues, Zach called it done, Rich slept for a few hours and did a final lap as well. Then ended up 8th out of 18 pro teams! A job VERY well done!!

THE WRENCH

Brian flew out from the east coast to be both teams mechanic. This is something that is essential, especially for the teo person team. To eat, change, sleep and work on your own bike is not possible in an hour and 20 minutes. He did an awesome job, sticking it out until 4:30am, when everyone else tired out as well. Indispensable!

The Support
And special thanks to Kathy as well. She was our "support" crew. Kathy fixed us food, cleaned up for us, made sure we were drinking, met us after every lap with a warm coat, but most importantly, her enthusiasm and spirit were hugely valuable. Always cheering and encouraging. Also, indispensable!

Well, it was a great experience all in all, I had the best team you could ever imagine and a lot of fun. We all came home tired and happy, ready for a hot shower and a warm bed!

That Time of Year

2008-10-07T17:18:00.002-06:00

Saturday

Sunday (about 14 inches!)

Road Riding - SLC Style

2008-10-05T21:03:00.004-06:00

While Rich rode up LCC on his mountain bike, Rhonda and I did a road ride up Emigration Canyon. About 25 miles. The rain finally cleared out leaving us a beautiful fall day of about 60 degrees. The clouds were hanging low still and gray, but with this amazing sunlight coming through and illuminating the hills. Rhonda and I had an easy spin up the canyon, relaxing and chatting all the way. I took my camera and had fun snapping pic en route. The ride down the canyon was very chilly though, as the wind was hitting us hard and cooling us down dramatically. Upon returning to Wasatch Rd, I was able to see a ton of snow up high on the mountains - I hear there is supposed to be up to 2 feet by tomorrow! Ski season here we come!
It was an awesome weekend filled with the company of good friends. On Friday, I enjoyed drinks after work with Eli, Christina, Amy and a couple others - great conversation and chillin. I stopped by Amy and Jeff's on the way home to see how their new landscape is coming (it's awesome) and they were kind enough to invite Rich and me to stay for dinner - more great conversation and chillin'! Saturday night we enjoyed great conversation and chillin' at Rhonda and Andy's (and some killer ping pong!) and Sunday we enjoyed some great conversation and chillin' at Stu and Jen's. (hahahahaha - there seem to be a pattern here! LOL). Anyway, the week ahead will be busy and fun -more on that later!!

Fall rides

2008-10-05T20:46:00.003-06:00

Salt lake, October, SNOW!!! It's here!!

It was a fairly rainy, snow up high, here this weekend. All of saturday, and sunday am. Afternoon here the sun broke out and it was time to ride. I got a small ride up LCC trail today. Just an hour, 17m round trip, but with the leaves and rain, we actually had foliage that looked green!!, not brown.

We are heading to Moab, next weekend for the 24hours of Moab. SHould be a fun time. The Monkey is all ready and primed. I put the bigger gear on, since It doesn't have alot of big climbs. Hopefully I won't feel like a crack addicted, meth smoking gerbil spinning the pedals and going nowwhere!! Here's somemore fall. Will report more next weekend.

Cross-eyed

2008-09-21T21:07:00.004-06:00

Fall is finally here, and with the cool temps, so comes cyclocross racing!! We went to Victor, ID on Friday night for a Saturday cross race and Octoberfest at the Teton Brewing company. Our friends from Salt lake Rhonda and Andy also were up there. It was a nice weekemd, but alittle cold and rainy. The cross race was on a new course that was constructed this spring/summer. Nice course with some interesting features, though a bit rough and rocky. Overall the race was fun, not too hot, some rain, lots of dust. a good hour workout. I did have a crash on the first lap, that jammed my shifter and left me with only the three smallest gears (46x23,21,19) which was just not enough to maintain contact with the "bunch". I had decided to race in the Cat 1/2 class for a good workout. Only 6 people showed and I had the unfortunate place of "DFL". Maybe better luck next time.

So it was time for "Octoberfest" at the brewery, which happened to be across the street. Seemed that it was doomed however as the clouds rolled in and drenched everything. While having a beer, eating brats, watching drunking pseudo-Germans throw beer kegs and fall on the ground and wearing our full down jackets, fleece, gloves, winter hats we noticed a ray of light in the rainbows that were so close you could touch!! After karen and Rhonda tried their hands at the Stein holding competition (3 32oz steins of rootbeer in one hand), karen was last to go out in her round, we headed for Rhonda and Andy's B&B to have some wine in the warmth. Finally we wrapped it up by parking the van in the campground to sleep for the night. After a good drive through the ID mtns we arrived back in SLC for a warm afternoon. A week of call, some trainer sessions then SLC cross season begins Oct. 4. Maybe I will pick up a place or two in the next two weeks!!\

rk

Friendship

2008-09-18T22:01:00.014-06:00

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
- Anais Nin
So, I'm going to get serious for a minute here, wander a little bit astray from the usual blog type entries. I'm going to talk about Friendship. I was just so impressed and touched by the generosity of my two friends April and Jody this evening that it got me thinking about how utterly blessed I am to have such great friends in my life. From my longest, dearest friend, Bea, to the newest friends that I have here in Salt Lake City. It never ceases to amaze me how kind and thoughtful and amazing all of these people are and what an honor it is to know them and how much better my life is for having them in it. I often wonder... what the heck did I ever do to deserve this? They say that a man's character and greatness is judged by the friends that he keeps... if that is true, I must be of the highest character and greatness there can be, because all of you, my dear, wonderful friends, who I love so much, have made me who I am and I would not be the person I am today without you. Thank you for all you have given me.
"I count myselt in nothing else so happy
As in a soul rememb'ring my good friends."
- William Shakespeare

So much going on!

2008-09-09T17:16:00.008-06:00

First, the pictures are of the Spiral Jetty, an "earth art" piece found north of SLC, in the Great Salt Lake:
Robert Smithson's monumental earthwork Spiral Jetty (1970) is located on the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Using black basalt rocks and earth from the site, the artist created a coil 1500 feet long and 15 feet wide that stretches out counterclockwise into the translucent red water. Spiral Jetty was acquired by Dia Art Foundation as a gift from the Estate of the artist in 1999.
Kathy and I took a trip out there a couple of weekends ago for kicks, she hadnt seen it before and I love to visit, it is so unreal and has great energy. There is never any people there and looks different every time depending on the water level, the amount of salt crystals on the rocks, etc.

So what else is new? I quit my job. YIKES. What am I doing? Well, it's a long story involving a change in job description and philosophical differences in how to best teach special ed kids, not to mention the total jerk that the new director is. So, what is the new job? I'll be a counselor for the Salt Lake School District. I"ll be one of 4 itinerant counselors hired specifically to work in the most high risk Title 1 schools doing direct counseling with elementary students. This will be actual counseling work, one on one and small groups. The idea is to try to help these students deal with whatever is going on in their lives that may be interfering with their ability to work well in school. I'll also be helping the families find resources in the community and things like that. Title 1 schools are schools with 80-90% poverty. There are many immigrants and refugee families here as well. I think the job will be very interesting and will be a great learning experience! It is extremely difficult to leave Entheos as I have really enjoyed my job there, of course with only 3 days left, I am naturally hoping I made the right decsion! :-)

Rich and I have been doing a ton of riding lately. Unfortunately, I have no pictures. Rich rode with some guys last weekend and did 8 hours of riding and 13,000 feet of climbing!! That is so insane to me! I did a paltry 2 hours and 45 minutes and 2,700 feet of climbing, haha. :-) We have both signed on for 24 hours of Moab mountain bike race. More on that later, it's in October.

My friend Bea is now a grandma!! The first of us crazy gals to breech that hurdle, I guess the only one that it's even possible for! haha! And my friend Tammy's little girl, Annika, is getting cuter and cuter as the weeks go by.

Other than that, we're livin' life, havin' a good time and hangin' loose. Hope all is well with you out there.

New Addition......

2008-08-28T20:07:00.003-06:00

Okay, now don't get all crazy with those thoughts. But yes Karen and I have a new addition to our family.....of bikes!! Because Karen has been soooooo good, she now has a new Gary Fisher Superfly!! Quite possibly the new standard for all good cross country bikes. Do you really need suspension? After riding the 29er (of all 29er's) from Surly, I became convinced that suspension is NOT needed in the wasatch and that Karen would LOVE climbing and rolling over the small rocks, as well as stable handling on the trails. So far one ride and one happy customer, other than the heat stroke?!!

Anyway, we also had the Tour of Utah come thru last week. Took a short ride out to the canyon climb that ended at snowbird to watch them coem by. Not exactly the TdF, but got to see a bunch of cycling celebrities.Was good to see some of the biggies pushing up the mountain, some with panache (tyler), and some looking.....well like me!!!

Supposed to go away this weekend, but storms, back pain, and cold (snow possible above 8000') may just keep us home to train. Yes, I said train. We are both now officially entered in the 24hrs of Moab. Karen on a sport team (Chicks on the Rocks) and me (2 gears 2 Monkey's 1 Wrench) in the Duo pro class (what am I thinking?). Should be FUN. Until later.....
r

Weekend R & R

2008-08-11T20:42:00.011-06:00

I needed some rest and relaxation, actually, more like stress relief. Crazy stuff going on at work for me.... Rich and I decided to take the van and head out of dodge. After a nice long bike ride Saturday morning, we loaded up the Vanagon, made quick stops at the grocery and wine store, and headed to Timpanogos Camground and Sundance for some camping and mountain biking. Timp is about an hour away through some of the most scenic mountain roads you can imagine. Mount Timpanogos looms large over you, at 11,000+ feet, and aspen trees stand like massive armies, on guard, along the way. The mountain sunflowers were in bloom and the blue sky was dotted by beautiful fluffy white clouds, a slice of heaven, to be sure. We arrived at the campsite and just simply started to breath, every breath of fresh air bringing me a bit closer to feeling human again. We built a fire and prepared dinner. As it was cooking (pizza in the oven on the camp stove), it began to rain, a perfect rain, the kind that sounds awesome, smells great and is caught in the trees so that you can find solace under some thick foliage without having to go inside. Perfect wine allowed us to completely relax and enjoy the moments. After a perfect night's sleep (for me anyway), we got up, made a mug of camp coffee that wouldn't taste consumable at home, but delicious and perfect at camp. Soon, we headed out to Sundance for some mountain biking. Cool temps and a perfect sky set us up with a stellar background for some riding. We began to climb the trails to the top of the mountain, through thick forests and rocky trails perched precariously on the mountain's side. Finally, to the top, our reward, going down!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Super fun, heart pounding now from exhilaration, instead of effort, we smiled and laughed and before we knew it we were down and heading up again - this time on the chairlift! After a bit more riding, about two hours worth, we called it a day and headed home, refreshed, revitalized and re energized.

Michigan Part 1

2008-07-31T15:23:00.010-06:00

FRIENDS AND FAMILY!! It was so great to be back in MI and visiting my dear friends and my wonderful family. We also got to visit with Rich's awesome family as well! It's been a few years since I was able to spend any time in MI and any substantial time with anyone. I love being in MI with all the green trees and farm land. I even took pictures of the dirt roads that I miss so much! :-) Although it always seems way too rushed and not enough time in any one place, I feel like I got a pretty good dose of all the people I love so much. Never enough, but it's hard when we live so far away, I always like to encourage you all to come visit, for more one on one time! (when are you all going to learn to love skiing?!!) :-) Anyway, I got out to MI and was able to spend 4 days with Bea, and spend some time with Lori and Deanna as well. We had a blast just hanging out - it seems as if there has never been any time apart whenever we get together, it's awesome. Going back to Ann Arbor and being with my old friends is like putting on your favorite flannel shirt and slippers at the end of a long day... perfectly comfortable. Bea, Lori and I went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth... not a great movie in it own right, but it was in 3D! We had sooooooooo much fun, being goofy and carrying on! The pic with the glasses is of us after the show. :-) I was able to spend a couple of afternoons with my mom and John and we enjoyed some relaxing time cleaning out the gardens and doing some work around the house. I always wish I were closer to be able to help out my family more, so I do what I can when I visit. It's a nice way to spend time. Rich and I took Mom and John out to Common Grill for dinner after riding the Poto, and it was great, Lori joined us as well. We also spent some time up north, with Dad and Jane, and David. David treated Rich and me to lunch at the golf club he works at. I felt like I had to speak with a drawl, and say "dah-ling" a lot there! Lunch was great and it was awesome to see Dave in his element. He and Dad cooked a great dinner for us one night - yum yum!! Rich and I then went back to Milford to stay a few days and visit with his uncles and aunts. We had a great time, his family is so great! Lots of eating out, and gaining back the 4 lbs I lost before going to MI!! Worth it though! Lots of mountain biking helped keep it in check. :-) I also got to visit with my dear friend Pat. Pat and I worked together in Taylor for many years. She invited a handful of our good friends and old colleagues over for lunch and we had a ball. Lots of laughing and getting caught up. I had lunch with Jenny and her kids - one of which is my Godson, Jacob. Then on back to Ann Arbor for food and drinks with Cheryl, who is doing and looking great! We had a great time shopping, and trying on jeans! :-) A visit to our favorite old haunt, the Irish Pub topped off the evening. Then the long drive home the next day and you can read about that in Part 3! :-) Whew! A whirlwind visit but perfect all the same! I miss everyone terribly!!

Michigan Part 2

2008-07-31T15:07:00.008-06:00

MOUNTAIN BIKING!!! One of the things I really wanted to do while in MI was visit some of my old mountain biking haunts. The trails in MI are so much fun and so easy compared to out here, I really wanted to just get out and play. So... I drove out with my bike and Rich's on top of my car and we hit the trails while there. First, I met up with Jody and April at Pontiac Lake, before Rich got there. Jody and I did a loop before April arrived and then did a second one with her. It was so much fun!! I had forgotten what a great trail PL is and I think it must be my favorite trail now. We had a great girl's ride that day, then we all had dinner and spent the night at Jody's with a good glass of wine and lot's of girl talk. Jody and April headed out to work in the morning and I headed to Island Lake to ride by myself before picking up Rich at the airport. Island Lake is a super fun trail that I call the Superhighway of mountain biking. Flat and fast. I did both loops, for a total of about 15 beautiful and fun miles. The pines are my favorite section - Mmmmm, smells so good!! After picking up Rich, we headed up to Petoskey to visit my dad and brother. Up there, we rode the North Country Trail, which we had a blast on. The beginning climb used to seem sooooooo long, but compared to the 4 to 6 miles climbs you get out here, it was over before I knew it. Dont get me wrong, I still had to stop and catch my breath!! From there, it's just a series of whoop-de-dos and giggles. What a great trail. The next day, we went to the VASA singletrack in Traverse City. This trail was made longer then the last time I rode it, to about 12miles and it was sooooooooo flat it was funny. The fun part though, when not cruisin' along at mach speed (haha) was that there were some sections that were soooo tight and twisty it was crackin' me up! Geez, watch your shoulders and hips!! So great to be in Northern MI riding a bike! After we got back downstate, we rode the Poto, what a grunt that trail is in 90 degrees and 95% humidity!! ugh. We also met up with Tammy and Ian (our MI friends who now live in SLC as well - they were visiting at the same time we were!) and Jody and Todd, for another round at Pontiac Lake. Unfortunately, we got rained out of our ride at Highland. Well, that was it. Lots of fun riding in the beautiful MI forests. The amazing trees, the shade and the smell of pine. I loved every minute of it and miss it a lot. This Sunday, back to our 17 mile mountian loop!

Michigan - Part 3

2008-07-30T12:16:00.009-06:00

The last section of vacation was actually not in MI at all but rather involving the drive home and hanging out with Gloria back here in Utah. On the way home I divided my drive to include a stop in Toledo, Iowa. The Ragbrai ride (http://www.ragbrai.org/) was going on at the time I headed back and April and her friend Kirby were in the race. April was driving support for Kirby and was hanging out so I decided I would camp with them and hang out too! It was an easy drive their, but I knew it would make my second day long. That's OK, it was great having friends to hang out with rather than sit around by myself in a hotel room! The next day was a very long, miserable drive to Gloria's in Johnstown, CO. I started out with 3 hours of torrential rains through Iowa, then road construction on and off through Nebraska, which is a miserable state to drive through as it is. Actually, maybe the construction was good as it forced you to pay attention for a while instead of getting mesmerized and hypnotized by the endless flat land and corn fields. Finally, after a stop at the Sierra Trading Post outlet (no good finds, though!), I got to Gloria's about 12 or 13 hours later! Gloria used to work at Entheos and was the glue that held the school together! A group of about 6 of us would go out for drinks every Friday and hikes every weekend, mostly encouraged by Gloria, we became know as the Core Crew, it was awesome. We have tried to continue with the traditions, but it's definitely not the same without Gloria! Anyway, we relaxed and got to bed early, to drive to Steamboat Springs the next day to meet up with Amy and Garry who we also work with. They were there doing a WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course for 10 days. We stopped and took an awesome little hike up to Lake Agnes before getting to Steamboat, then arrived with plenty of time to chill. We found a great little cantina, had a cold one and waited for Amy to get done with training that day. We all went to a free concert in the park of Lez Zepplin - yes, an all girl Led Zepplin cover band - it was super fun. There was ski jumping going on in the background, yes, without snow! Then dinner, another drink and bed. The next morning, not being able to float the river because of time constraints, we went in anyway and playing in the freezing water and enjoyed the beautiful morning. Then, Gloria and I hit the road back to UT. A little BBQ in her honor at our house, with some of her old friends, and an overnight jaunt for hiking and camping the next day. We headed to the Uintas, to hike at 10,000 feet where it is cool, but were thwarted there for camping due to the mosquitos - they were swarming! Not to mention the rain, but that passed. We ended up at Wasatch State Park and had a great camp fire, a great bottle of wine, and lots of laughs. All in all a great end to the month!!

Friggen' Genius'

2008-07-06T18:42:00.005-06:00

SO here is my commercial plug for one of the best bike parts in existence!! Coolest anyway. I recently had a birthday and for my birthday, I told my lovely wife that I wanted a Surly tugnut. You might be saying.." What the #*&? is a tugnut?" Well as mentioned above it may be the best part that has been thought out. And I mean thought out!! I have been riding a Surly karate Monkey singlespeed for the past year. When I have been down in Moab, it has occasionally had a dreaded axle slip in the dropout when i mash on the pedals to go up a hill. Then I usually go straight to the ground, as my feet don't come out that fast and I acquaint myself with the Red Rock... not fun! So I started looking for a solution, that did not involve ugly, impractical, 1930's technology lugnuts on the rim. Just couldn't do that to the I9 wheelset!! Well this is what I found. It might be hard to see, but essentially it is a stop that you tension along the horizontal dropout so the wheel cannot slide forward. It goes thru the skewer and locks it down. I can atest to it's stength as I rode with Ian yesterday in American Fork canyon and did a bunch of climbing, some pretty good up, that made my cadence fairly slow (30-40 rpms) while standing levering the handle bars in a 42x22 gear. Yes it was a little big for the climbs, but live and learn. This will give me the strength workout I need now that Ironman is over!! Anyway, not only is the new device efficient at what it does, but this is where the Genius part comes in. I think the folks at Surly
deserve a medal for the cool factor!! Check out the real purpose of the flames!! Never left in the Lurch!!!!!!!!

Genius!!
rk

Summer Fun!

2008-07-03T08:30:00.008-06:00

Now that Rich isnt training any more we've been having some fun on the mountain bikes, as you can see. We rode Little Cottonwood Canyon with Tammy a few nights ago, surprisingly cool at 7:00 when it was 96 all day! Tammy was given a new bike by her husband as a gift for giving them the beautiful gift of a baby girl, Annika Sage, 3 weeks ago. Yes, three weeks ago! And she was out mountain biking already! Ian, Tammy's husband, then arranged for a little girls get-to-together to ride while he watched Annika. Camine, Tammy and I did an awesome two hour ride around Corner Canyon, in Draper. It was a perfect evening, cool enough again at 7:00, after a 99 degree day. We had a blast!
Next, Kathy got home from a 3 week trip to MI (our timing is off, I'm going next week!), where she was able to visit lots of friends and had a great time. We opted for a hike up in the mountains, near Alta, where it is relatively cooler (about 15 degrees cooler than the valley). There was still a bit of snow up there, but we were able to walk for a couple of hours. We did a hike that took us up to some remnants from the mining days at Alta. Used to be a booming mining town up there! Pretty neat to check out the history of the place first hand. To learn more about the history of Alta, click here: http://www.townofalta.com/about_history.shtml

Flying Dog

2008-06-28T16:27:00.007-06:00

A perfect 68 degrees as we pulled into the trailhead parking space at 9:00 am in Jeremy Ranch, halfway between SLC and Park City. Perfect temps to start a long ride as it is destined to get very hot later in the day. We hop on our bikes, me on my old Superlight with a new Fox RCL fork and Rich on his new Surly Karate Monkey single speed. We begin to climb. A perfect, gradual climb with little breaks, here and there, then up again and up again and on and on and on for 6.7 miles through some of the prettiest trail you can imagine. The trail begins as you climb up through meadowy hills with wildflowers brightening your way. A cool breeze keeps you comfortable even though there is no shade. Soon we enter the scrub oak forest, lots of shade and grassy coolness. We keep climbing. Soon, the trees grow up and become a gorgeous forest of aspens, and wildflowers grow in abundance. The views are spectacular as well, looking out over Jeremy Ranch in one direction and toward Park City and the mountains in the other. We finally reach the top and anticipate some sweet downhill. We drop over the summit and head down, giggles and who-hoos cant be contained as the thrill and utter fun of the descent takes over. 4 miles down, we bottom out, ride through an incredible meadow that smells so sweet you wish you could bottle the aroma and take it with you. Then, back up we go! What happened to the 6.7 mile downhill return?? We continue to climb another 2 or 3 miles to the top of Glenwild, and now I'm tired! Legs aching and protesting with each turn of the pedal as we make our way back up. Finally, another summit topped and the final descent! As we are riding the final mile down, I get too close to the inside hill as I'm reacting to rocks and drop offs and my tires slide out and down I go! Not a big deal, I brush myself off, offer up a curse word or two and make my way back to the car. What a ride! 16.7 miles in all, 3 hours. Will definitely return and do that again, hopefully with more miles on my legs for the second uphill push!