That Time of Year

Saturday















Sunday (about 14 inches!)

Road Riding - SLC Style

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

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

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

"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!

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......

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