Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving Vacation

Thanksgiving week vacation was packed full of driving to a few different locations. First stop was Sedona on Saturday and after a rainy night and rain called for all day on Sunday we decided to beat feet to Fountain Hills to see Shawn Gregory and family and to see his 2nd home which happens to be 10 minutes from McDowell mountain park which has miles and miles of mountain biking. It was cold and rainy on Sunday but the granite terrain soaks up the moisture just fine and we knocked out 18 miles on the competitive tracks. The camp grounds are awesome with very little people around. On Monday Shawn and I went out for a 5 hour ride and rode over Tom's Thumb area onto the Scottsdale side and did a loop back over Sunrise and back to the Fountain Hills side. We were short on light for our original ride plan but still ended up with nearly 40 miles and 5k of climbing. Some awesome trails with rocky and technical spots on the Scottsdale side. On Tuesday morning Laura and I did a quick cruiser on the Pemberton Trail loop and ended up with 18 miles total. So, after a few days there we headed over to Las Vegas on Tuesday to spend a few days. We stayed at Dale Savage's house which was our third year at his house and now a tradition to spend Turkey Day there and feast like kings. Dale does an awesome job of preparing a super deluxe turkey dinner with all of the fixings. We did manage to visit with Laura's dad and also her mother. Too little time to do everything. I was able to fit in a single speed cross ride on the road Wednesday with winds and some snow up at Red Rock loop area. Also, as tradition on Thanksgiving day we ride out at Cottonwood Valley. It ended up with just Dale, Laura and me riding the NORBA loop from the Late Night parking lot; I continued onto Blue Diamond where Laura picked me up. It was cold! We departed Vegas on Friday and headed over to St. George, Utah to stay a night with Adam Pace and family to see the new house. Adam and family (he has 3 kids) just relocated from Las Vegas to St. George this past summer. Adam showed us some sweet singletrack not too far from his house. We where also able to squeeze in an hour ride on Friday, just before dusk and a Saturday morning ride at the Santa Clara Preserve Barrel Roll trail system. Great riding for sure on these trails with some techy stuff and good climbing. I'm looking forward to getting back over there soon to ride more of these trails. Maybe I can squeeze in a training trip weekend in December or January.

The following pics are somewhat out of order but who cares!?! Enjoy!




Sedona camping spot on Saturday evening before packing up and going to Fountain Hills.



The rubber duck that was to be hung on the Hung Duck trail in Cottonwood Valley. Compliments of TR.


Laura can sure cook it up while camping. Homemade onion rings from scratch with turkey burgers to follow.



Our camping spot in McDowell Park.



Shawn Gregory enjoying the sun.










Rocky Knob.
























On the Scottsdale side.



















Laura having fun on the Pemberton cruiser trail.






The singlespeed cross bike on my road ride on Wednesday. Red Rocks in the background.
Laura descending down on our way to the Devils Staircase.















Hung Duck tree.












Views from Barrel Roll in St. George.







Laura having a blast on Barrel Roll.




Adam and I on Barrel Roll.
















Laura still sleeeping in the van while in McDowell.























I LIKE MY VAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell by my many photos.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Roller Time

That time of year again to start on the rollers. This was my 2nd time in the last week to get on the torture device. Knocked out 1 hour 10 minutes and 20 miles yesterday afternoon. It was my day off and it snowed most of the day. I also got out and finished some wood splitting and hauled it up to the deck before I got on the roller. I hope I have enough to get through the long winter. I can always chop more.



It takes talent to snap a self portrait while riding the rollers. You have to balance yourself as you pedal.



The view from my rollers in my man cave.


This is where it happens with me and the mean Dean road bike.


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Winter Time

Got out yesterday afternoon on my day off for a winter time ride. The temperatures were hovering around 32 degrees at 3.30pm. Soon the only cycling available will be on the road when it is not too snowy or traveling elsewhere to ride. I need to embrace the thoughts of getting on the snowshoes, xc skis and tele's.

My picture quality on my blog hasn't been great of late (well never really has been) due to using the Blackberry cam most of the time as I have been too lazy to grab the real camera.

Also Laura and I went back to Moab this past weekend for a few days with the dogs and had a blast as usual. 38 miles on Saturday and 20 miles on Sunday. Our neighbors, Sue and Mike from Rico were there as well with some friends and we all had a chance to ride both days together. Super fun with lots of laughs around the campfire and many beers to boot.
Also received the new White Brothers front suspension forks from Matt so I spent Friday afternoon in the Moab desert cutting steering tubes to mount the new forks. Laura loves the feel of the 100mm fork on her Ti FS Titus. I already had a WB 80mm Magic on my Ti 29er Airborne but a fresh new one is hard to beat. These boys rocked right out of the box with not a better place to test them but on the Sovereign Trails in Moab. Nice job on White Brothers producing a fantastic product.



The light was fading fast. 4.30pm and it seemed like 8pm at night.

At the overlook above Rico. Some new fencing was put up lately to block people from going up this mining road. I suppose I'm not bothering too much by just riding the road so I just climbed on over and kept pedaling. No laws broken if nobody saw me. Right!?!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Moab

Laura and I and all of the kids went out to Moab last weekend to camp and ride. The weather was pretty good until Saturday night when some rain and high winds hit for a few hours. Otherwise both Saturday and Sunday were sunny and the temps around 60 degrees for riding.


Nacho having a good time.



Laura having fun on the Sovereign Trail.

Our campsite somewhere North of Moab without a body around for miles.



Having fun on the rocks.








Wednesday, November 3, 2010

EXUSTAR Products

Exustar, the bicycling component company that selected a picture of me for the back cover, yes, not the front but the back of the 2011 catalog from Brian Leddy's Photography has provided me some great deals on some of their products. I rode last weekend with a pair of their mtb gloves and they seem pretty good. More testing to come on the longevity of the gloves. I tend to burn through gloves quickly. Also I received a pair of mtb shoes. I'm going to give these puppies a whirl this weekend in Moab and see how they hold up to some burly cycling and hike-a-biking Moab style. They are definitely a color (Brown) that I would not initially pick out for myself but after seeing them in person I think I'm sold on the color. Than again I looked at them after working 17 hours on election day. Anything looks good at midnight when it is shiny new in a box. LOL!!!!




Injected carbon fiber sole
Upper Synthetic microfiber leather, breathable mesh, molded heel counter.
Fastener Forged Microlock buckle, Trihook straps.
Sole Injected carbon fiber with TPU tread.
Insole Washable, Dupont Engage EVA.
Compatibility SPD
Weight 680 g


http://exustar.com/index.php