Phil's

I had an impromptu day off this week and took advantage of the weather and went down to Phil's in Cortez. The parking lot looked like a weekend crowd. I guess everyone wants to take advantage of the nice weather before the snow begins to fly this weekend in the high country.

It was also good to get out and make sure everything on the 29er was working properly before the 12 hour race this weekend. Going to run a 32x20 gear ratio and my tire of choice will be the Specialized Captain Control 2.0's with Stans. Everything seemed to be working fine. Here we go!!!

Moab

Sunrise in Moab.

Another great weekend of camping and riding with Laura in Moab. Our good friend Tom Davis drove in from Vail to ride with us as well. We camped off of the Willow Springs Road near the Sovereign trail head. The sunrise on Saturday morning was pretty awesome. Living in Rico we do not have the luxury of a sunrise or sunset like we did living in Vegas or Albuquerque.

We rode the Sovereign Tails on Saturday with a 15 mile loop and rode from the Sovereign Trails to Klondike Bluffs/Babysteps trail system on Sunday with a total of 33 miles on this loop all from our campsite.

Phil's

Laura and I went down to Phil's on Sunday and boy was it a perfect day. Lot's of people were there as well to enjoy the sunny fall day. Met up with Mitch Fedak and his buddy to ride but lost Mitch somewhere by Lemonhead. Next time Mitch. So, I just rode along at a nice pace for the 22 mile ride. Saw some people I knew and chatted a bit along the way.

The Vassago Jabberwocky. It rode nicely.

Nice views along the route.

Phil's

Going down to Phil's World today with Laura to do some fun riding. 20+ miles of fun single track.

Rode from Rico down to Cortez yesterday (Saturday) on the single speed cross bike. It was about 20 degrees when I started and warmed up as I made my way south. Just under 60 miles with no major climbing, just what my legs wanted as they a bit tired. I started running 3-4 days a week and haven't rested much since the Zuni 100 race.

Next race is November 14th; 12 hours of Temecula.

Fall in Moab

That time of year when the snow starts to fly in the high country to get out to other localities to ride. And one place for us is less than 3 hours away; MOAB. Laura and I went out to Moab the weekend of October 24th and camped out on Willow Springs Road located North of Moab and rode the Sovereign and Brand trails. The weather was perfect as far as riding weather goes; around 65-70 degrees and just above freezing at night. The Sovereign trails are a blast to ride. If you haven't ridden these trails it is a must to get out to Moab and ride this stuff. You can start right in Moab and ride the bike path out to the Brand trails into the Copper Ridge Jeep Route and right into the Sovereign trail system. Sovereign is best ridden counter clockwise but any way you slice it is is fun. The best map is the Latitude 40 Moab West version. And the trails are well marked.

Locals Loop

Despite the snow in Telluride all day I was able to ride in Rico today after work. The temperature gauge was reading 45 degrees when I left the house. The trails were surprisingly dry after rain and snow off and on the last two nights.

Me grimacing from the cold or is that a smile?!?

Fall tends to make the beautiful mountains look a bit barren. Rico in the distance from the Locals Loop overlook.

Up at 10k elevation in Rico in October is awesome. We call this Moki Mine; named after Mike and Sophia's dog.

Zuni 100

It was a great weekend for a race in the Zuni's outside of Gallup, NM. One of my local riding fanatics, T.R. from Montrose made the trek with me for this one. 8 of us lined up at 7am to race the 100. I think 5 single speeders and a few geared guys. As soon as we started into the first section of single track I knew how this was going to pan out. Cameron on the geared FS was going to take 1st overall unless he had a major incident (which he didn't) and me next on the single without incident. And that's how it ended up; 2 of us finishing the total 100; 1 gear, 1 single speeder. I thought Lenny was going to hold strong with me but dropped off of my pace as I was running a 32x19 which was a great call for this course. Mentally it is a tough course. After you finish the first 50 you have to go backwards on what you just rode so you know exactly what pain is coming; and painful it is. I went lightweight with three bottles for each 50 miles and a food bag on the top tube. No need for a camel back on this race. I ended up drinking only 4 bottles for the 100 miles. I was well hydrated going into the race. My time was 9 hours and 42 minutes which is great considering I had 11 hours 5 minutes two years ago on this course. The course has changed but I think it is harder and longer than the 2007 course.
T.R. raced the 50 mile and kicked butt with an approximate top 5 overall and 1st on the single speed. This may change when Lenny has finalized the final standings.
This was a great way to end the race season.

After finishing.....I was still smiling. What a long day for sure by myself on the 2nd half.