SOLD!!! Titus Racer X and KHS SS For Sale SOLD!!!!!!!

SOLD!!!!

Laura's Titus Titanium Racer X is for sale. She is a full convert to 29er so it is going bye bye! Listed on eBay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270731327221&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

SOLD!!!!


Also her KHS single speed soft tail is being sold on eBay here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270731265887&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

12 Hours of Dawn til Dusk

Just a few more days and I will be off to Gallup for the 12 Hours of Dawn til Dusk for my first 12 hour race of the year. Ive been doing this race since it's inception and it has snowed twice in the history of this race. The weather isn't looking so great at this point as it is actually getting worse by each day. The competition as usual is stacked. Two years ago (2009) it snowed/rained the night before the race and the race was cancelled. The trails just were not rideable at all even after a few hour delay. Hopefully the race Gods have pity on us and the storm passes without much to do. Nothing to do but drive down and see how it plays out. It's just money and time, right?

Weekend Wrap-up: Miller and Riding

Millers final resting stop in Rico.

 It was a tough weekend emotionally starting on Friday when we had an appointment to end Miller's suffering. It's never an easy call to make when you are ending a life. Miller was suffering; not eating or drinking water for nearly a week except maybe the smidget of jam or honey he would lick off our fingers. We had Miller for 13 years from when he was just a wee little kitten. He provided Laura and I so much joy his entire life. His name comes from my favorite garage beer; Miller. He was always an active vocal cat. Super smart and always there to greet you when you came home. He enjoyed dog food and would come eat with the dogs when they were fed. He was the lead dog (cat) amongst the animals in the house. Even Nacho would bow down to Miller. I never thought it would be easy to lose a pet but this was pretty damn hard on us. Laura and I chose to be in the room when they put the lethal injection into Miller. I wanted to see him go peacefully. And he did. We buried him in our yard in Rico on Friday evening with one of his favorite blankets and a few of his favorite items. He has a nice headstone in which I will engrave his name. We have been lighting his grave at night with a candle and had a 8x10 picture framed of him Saturday which is hanging in the living room. We miss him dearly. Rest in peace Miller.

With more than a few tears shed we put miller to rest. Laura and I decided to name Saturday's mountain bike ride at Phil's World  "The Miller Memorial Ride" which will happen the first weekend in April every year. I rode 42 miles on Saturday and Sunday was a good easy ride at Phil's for 22.5 miles. Laura rode her new Vassago 1x9 and rode a total of 47 miles with both days combined. The Dawn til Dusk 12 hour race is this Saturday April 9th in Gallup, NM. I think I'm ready.

Below is LK's new Vassago and my single is below hers. I was out washing them in the snow on Sunday afternoon.

Miller the Cat-R.I.P.

Miller hanging with Manny the Moose in his last hours. Now he is in Awesome World. We love you little buddy!



Miller the Dude!



Miller our beloved cat of 13 years passed on Friday April 1st. He will be put in his final resting spot in Rico on our property. An evergreen spruce tree will be planted at his resting spot. Damn I'm going to miss my little buddy.  He had developed a cancerous mass in his chest cavity combined with a heart condition that led to his rapid health deterioration. I never thought I would lose him and never imagined it would be this hard on me. Damn it. We loved him so much.

A POEM FOR THE GRIEVING...

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there, I did not die...

-Anonymous

Phil's World Weekend

It was a nice weekend to stay local and go ride Phil's World down in Cortez. Training was to be multi laps on Saturday with a  few guys from the area; Kiviok, Jeff Fox and Paul Adams. 4 laps on the race loop resulting in 65 miles and 5500 feet of climbing in 5 hours and 42 minutes. Kiviok was on fire and set a mean tempo the whole time. He is addicted to the 29er single speed. I easily forget how hard those laps are until you do a few. Mitch Fedak started off with us and it was good to see him for a few minutes.

Went back down on Sunday with Laura and did a nice recovery ride on the race loop. I think the weather scared everybody off as there was only 7 cars in the parking lot. I had Monday off and rode 21 miles at a nice tempo on the JabberWocky full rigid. Laura received her new Stan's wheel set from the bike shop on Saturday. Stan's Crest rims with the new Stan's 3.30 hubs. Pretty sweet wheel set for the price. She dropped 3 pounds off of the new build. Now a respectable 25 pounds for a steel 1x9. She loving it.

 Laura negotiating the Elbow section at Phil's on Sunday.

Laura's Bandersnatch and my Jabberwocky.

More of the same....Moab

Another long weekend in Moab after TR and I made the decision to bail on the Sedona Not so Big Friggin Loop. Just not worth the drive to ride 35 miles. I cannot get enough of Moab it seems lately so it was an easy choice to go back for the third wekend in a row. Maybe we need to buy a house there. That would cover us in three states. We have the place in Vegas already, a mountain home in Rico and a place in Moab. Sounds good to me.

Anyways the weather was far from ideal and I felt terrible due to my allergies kicking my butt for a few days. Thursday was a bust as the weather in Rabbit Valley was bad and Moab wasn't good either. Friday we met up with Fred W. and rode Moab Rim>Hidden Valley>Pipedream and back to the Moab Rim trailhead. A nice loop with 2 hours of solid pedaling. Pipe dream is a new trail and worth riding. Hidden Valley from Moab Rim was pretty cool as well and new terrain to me. Laura and the kids came over on Friday night as well as Paul Adams and we camped again on Willow Springs road. Saturday we rode the usual Sovereign trails over to Klondike/Baby Steps and back to the Sovereign area to ride some sandy 4x4 roads back to camp. It was a 4 hour ride with lots of wind in our face on the way back to camp. Laura did her own thing and rode her newly built Vassago Bandersnatch. She is loving it. Sunday was a short ball buster of a ride on the Brand Trails. There is a new trail that connects Lazy E to Bar B trail called Deadmans. TR, Paul and I hammered the loop with lots of high intesnity involved. My HR was hitting almost 180 on sections of the trail.

 Cruising along the Colorado River on our way to Moab from Rabbit Valley.

 Van Nation in Moab. Notice the arch in the background. That is Poison Spider up on that mesa as I have seen the arch from above. The van is great for long weekends. The built in bed is awesome and makes it easier to go places and have a comfy sleeping experience. TR has a true conversion van with mood lights inside.

Camped off of Willow Springs Road. Found a great spot with awesome views.

Another Moab Epic

Another great weekend in Rabbit Valley and  Moab for some good hard miles. TR and I went over to Rabbit Valley on Thursday night to ride the Zion Curtain/Western Rim/Koko Trail. We racked up 31 miles and 3K+ feet of climbing. We ran into Ryan Douglas, Jon and Joey on the Zion Curtain and rode with them for the remainder of the day. Than we cruised over to Moab on Friday night to camp and meet up with Shawn Gregory and Kiviok on Saturday morning to ride a mini epic.Flats Pass/Behind the Rocks/Hunter Canyon back to town via Kane Creek Road. 42 miles and 4200 feet of climbing. We were looking to ride Moab Rim and Hidden Valley but time was getting away from us as Hunter Canyon took longer than anticipated. It was a great ride with expected sand along the route.

Also Laura got on her new 1x9 29er Vassago BAndersnatch and rode the Brand trails. I think we have a convert to 29ers. She loved it. Very awesome.

Sedona Big Friggin Loop is next on tap on March 19th. I should be nice and tired for this one.

On the Zion Curtain.

Zion Curtain Trail looking toward Rabbit Valley and KT route.

TR, Jon, Ryan and Joey on Western Rim.

Motor bike down the cliff. Rider was OK as he had bailed off the bike before it went down 50 feet.They were trying to evac it out.

Gourmet Turkey burger with mozz cheese, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Camping cooking at it finest.

Colorado River along Kane Creek

Shawn, TR, myself and Kiviok ready for another beat down.

Typical Kiviok and mechanicals. Cleat screw gone. Shawn is looking flustered.

Micro biotic crust. Stay off.

Instead of petroglyphs that use to exist now it is a bunch of freaking idiots names scribed into the sandstone. People are retarded.

Dumb asses.

Looking to the LA Sals from Flats Pass route. Flats Pass is not flat. Give it a whirl.

Hunter Canyon scenery. Just amazing.

Shawn trying to figure out our next move.

Me and Kiv on the Pridgett route before turning on Hunter Canyon.

Hunter Canyon trail. Not so bike friendly in spots.