Dirtsomewhere

Powder Blueballs

2012-01-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

So, I got up this morning knowing it was going to be tight to make it up to the resort before the whole world. I needed to help lindy get the girls ready for church before i could head up the canyon. Well, I was too late. Traffic up the canyon was ridiculous. Slick roads and people in civics holding things up. By the time I made it up there the parking lots were full and cars lined the road with powder hungry skiers and boarders. I decided to pull the plug and try it again tomorrow. After all, it's posed to snow tonight. That really only makes me feel a little better. I'm sure it was pretty sweet for those that made it up there. Here's to tomorrow!

expectations lowered

2012-01-21T11:54:00.003-07:00

So, I have not had many chances to try out this camera while skiing so far. It snowed a little this week and I sneaked up to get a few turns in before work. Here is the video. Its nothing too exciting. The snow was heavy, manky powder. It was still softish. How fast our expectations get lowered. Anyways, here's to hoping more light fluffy Utah powder is on the way. It looks like I need to shift the camera up just a titch. It was still great to get out and you will never hear me complain about getting some decent turns in before work.

Christmas Time!

2011-12-12T18:05:00.001-07:00

Ok, the requests are starting to come in. "What do you want for Christmas?" Well, there is still plenty to choose from on my Birthday list. But, here is some additional items for you to choose from.

I always enjoy a good Probar. They pack over 300 calories and are good to have around if I get busy and don't have time for lunch or breakfast on the way to some early morning skiing. Here is a link. PROBAR. I like the Koka Moka best.

I am also in need of some new water bottles. Over the last few years I have migrated to the camelback podium bottles. You can get these bad boys at your local bike shop or at your local REI store. I prefer any color except black. Either the 20 oz. bottle or the larger 25 oz.

Just like pretty much everyone I know, my fuel of choice is Carborocket. Now, its pretty much the best ever endurance fluids you can get. I could use a replenishing of both the standard carborocket as well as the Half evil 333. All flavors are pretty good. You can either order direct from Carborocket or your local bike shop. If you're ordering online, you may as well toss a pair of socks into the cart. Not only do I like those socks but he used the word "rad" in the description. I'm sold.

To further aid me in my snow evaluation, I could use one of these as well as one of these.

I could always use a new pair of cycling gloves. Ergon makes the best grips around and they just started selling gloves. I would venture to guess they make pretty good gloves as well. Size Large. Ergon-bike

You can never have too much Stans tire sealant in your garage. It seems you always run out just when you need it most. Stans no tubes tire sealant

Like alot of guys my age training tends to take a back seat. Stuff gets in the way time is crunched etc. Lynda has a pretty good following of her training plans. You could always hook me up with a training plan for the "time crunched" forever midpack racer. They start at $50. LWCOACHING

Back to the socks. I follow a pro endurance racer named Sonya Looney. She is pretty much a bad ass on the bike and I enjoy her posts. She wears some pretty cool socks and I want some of these. I know they are pink. I don't care. I want them.

Speaking of clothing. Twin Six makes the best cycling T-shirts etc around. You could choose pretty much any of their T-shirts and I would be happy. Twinsix.com

You could also get a gift card to one of my favorite outdoor retailers. Backcountry.com

One more item. A harness for my Avalanche Beacon. BCAACCESS.

So far this season, our snowpack is looking rather bleak. How bout some snow? Hello? Is this thing on?

Hearding Cats

2011-11-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hearding Cats, my guess is kind of like trying to teach a 5 year old to ski. I like to pretend I have patience but its clear to me now. I don't. I may seem calm and jovial on the outside but inside I'm boiling! WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME???? I have to alter my expectations. If she's having fun, thats all that matters. Right? I sent Dug (who's on a blog hiatus) a txt asking if he had any tips. His response? Put em in ski school and go skiing while they are learning. For some reason I knew that was going to be his response. Problem is, ski school costs money and I have very little extra of that floating around right now. Maybe sign her up for a few 1/2 day lessons for 50 bucks at Solitude. Thats about the best price I have found so far.

All I know, its she is having fun. So long as I don't make too many rules! I made that mistake while trying to get her to listen to me while teaching her how to swim. I ruined it for her. She didn't want to go with me anymore because I had too many "swimming rules". Well, that made me feel like shit so I am trying to keep it light and fresh. If she's having fun and she is making a little bit, even just a smudge of progress its a good thing. Here's a little video from our outing to Alta Sunday for their "free after 3" thing. Its a pretty sweet deal. Enjoy.

Turkey Day Ride 2011

2011-11-26T14:55:00.005-07:00

As things turned out I was able to carve a little time away in the morning for a ride. We had planned to meet at Lambert at 8:00 with Justin and Brannen. Tanner was gonna come but he showed at 10:00 and we were all done. He must have missed the memo? Or, maybe he was busy making pies or rolling out dough for some rolls. Banks couldn't make it because he was downtown or some bullshit. He said he was with us in spirit but I didn't feel it. The only spirit I felt was pure joy. Sorry evil but the joy shut you out.

It was a popular place for a ride as we saw many people out. Conditions were great. It wasn't cold and the trails were not muddy. Brannen has twins coming in February so, I probably won't see him again till next year. 6 boys! Holy crap!

Without further ado, here is the video. My battery died after about 5 minutes of rolling film. Bummer. Oh well, enough to put together a video. Hope your Thanksgiving was as good as ours!

Birthday wish list

2011-11-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

I am posting a few items that you could get me for my Birthday. Did I mention its coming up? Its on Tuesday November 29th as it falls on every year. See below for a few choice gift items.

I need a new helmet. I do have one, it does have a little crack that I found a month ago. They say your supposed to replace your helmet once you have crashed on it because they say it compromises the integrity of the helmet. Not sure I believe that, sounds like a conspiracy to me. But, just encase its true here is a link to a new brain bucket.
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_522173_-1_202695_10000_

My cycling knee warmers are getting worn out. I mean, I have only had them for 8 years. They still work but they are getting some holes in them.
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_511951_-1_202151_10000_202511

My GPS has started to die on me. I can't keep it on my handlebars because the battery jiggles loose and it turns off. I can still use it, I just have to put it in my pocket. Not very convenient to look at. GPS is an important gadget. Check it out.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product2_10053_10052_516234_-1

Well, you all know how much I love riding bikes. I think I would love a Cross bike. One that I can ride on the road in the winter with some knobby tires and go on some dirt roads as well as some trails. It would also give me the opportunity to race Cyclocross. Something I have been wanting to do for a few years now.

http://www.cannondale.com/2012/bikes/road/cyclocross/caadx/2012-caadx-5-105-21567

How about some Jazz tickets? I bet you could get em pretty cheap right now?

I could also use some lighter weight ski pants.

http://www.backcountry.com/patagonia-snowshot-pant-mens

That should give you enough variety to choose from I think? If you need some other ideas just give me a shout. I am sure I can find some other things.

Last year we were skiing some pretty good snow at this time. Is it too much to ask for some more?

Some "me" time!

2011-10-31T12:01:00.000-06:00

Search engines should have fun with that one. Anyways, a week ago I cruised up to Park City to ride some single track before the snow covers the trails up until June. I couldn't talk anyone into playing hooky with me (even though its my day off) so I went up solo. I took alot of footage that day. The video doesn't do it justice though. The leaves were completely gone in some spots and totally radical in others. I broke the video into 2 sections. I couldn't edit it all into one. So without further delayed gratification, enjoy!

Chasin Banks!

2011-10-13T20:43:00.000-06:00

Banks and I partook in some Corner Canyon Monday night. Here I am chasin him. He left my legs out there on the side of the trail somewhere. Enjoy.

Ever had a close encounter?

2011-10-10T09:55:00.000-06:00

No, not with an alien. I'm talking about a close encounter with an animal while riding. Even been hit by a bird while night riding? I have. Ever ran over a snake? I have. Ever had a deer or similar large animal run across the trail in front of you? I have. Not to be confused with Bear Bait. Ever been slammed into by a huge buck while riding singletrack in Africa? Didn't think so. This dude has. Watch this.

Is there anybody out there?

2011-10-05T19:51:00.000-06:00

I snuck in a ride this morning before the downpour started. I had time this morning and I figured if I tried to wait until after work there was a good chance I wouldn't get the ride in. I was right. I saw a total of 5 people. 1 runner, 2 hikers and 2 bikers. I pretty much had Corner Canyon to myself. My current favorite trail is Ann's. I really, really like the downhill. I am also really liking the Rush trail but Ann's is pure money in either direction.

I mounted the camera on the seatpost today to try something new. It worked ok. I liked how the footage came out but the camera gets in the way even while standing. Total no-go if pedaling is required. Nonetheless the trails were sweet and the crowds were non existent. Great way to start the day. I love riding. Seriously, if you don't ride a bike, why the hell not?

Learning Curve

2011-10-03T20:53:00.000-06:00

Try # 2 was a little more successful. Rotated the lens and presto, no skinny video. Although, I wouldn't mind a little slimming affect these days. Here's a little video of Upper Rush. Still working on my editing skills. Its a work in progress. Enjoy a little "roll the bones". Really loving the new Rush additions this year.

First timer

2011-10-01T12:56:00.000-06:00

I got this fancy helmet cam off backcountry.com last week. I have always wanted one and when they dropped the price in half, I couldn't pass it up. Here is my first attempt. Im a rookie at this, hopefully I get better. Cam position seems good, footage came out skinny when I rotated it. Nonetheless, here is my first video. Its a shorty. Basically the downhill section from Clarks to Canyon Hollow. Enjoy.

Untitled from Nate Kingdon on Vimeo.

Underwear Model

2011-09-16T16:44:00.000-06:00

This kid has some pretty sweet moves! But, whats with the underwear? Calvin Klein might be in his future, if he can turn that mini keg into a 6 pack.

Different perspective

2011-09-06T16:04:00.000-06:00

So, this year I took a different perspective for one of the hardest endurance races in the country. The Park City Point 2 Point. About 80 miles, 14,000 vertical with over 90% singletrack. One amazing day. I was a spectator. I finally decided that I didn't have the miles in my legs nor the mental capacity to suffer like I did last year. I puss'd out. But, I wanted to be a part of this great race. So, I threw an email out to the Draper crew to see how I could best be used. I landed on heading up to the TG water station to hand up some Otter pops, refill water bottles, pump up tires, tighten up pedal cleats etc. Basically whatever was needed with the exception of shammy cream. Thankfully I didn't have any requests for that.

This water station was at mile 37 or about half way into the day. Everyone that came through there had a smile on their face. Why shouldn't they? I mean, the worst part of the day was coming up. But still, all smiles. It was awesome to be there and help.

Otter Pop handups. Frozen sugary goodness.

After this I cruised over to PCMR. I told banks that I would ride the last section from PCMR to The Canyons. Banks and Gordon rolled into the aid station right around 3:30 just in time to make the cut off. Much like I did last year. They rested there for a few minutes then we started up Spiro. It started out with 3 of us. We caught up to J. Thomas about half way up and Lyna caught up behind us just about the turn off to MMT.

Heres J.Thomas and Banks grinding up Spiro

Banks cussing Spiro

Banks focused on the job at hand

Gordon at the Colony stop. He had just about had enough. Dude separated his shoulder months ago and still rides. Crazy mofo.

Ready to rip some downhill

1 more climb after this

Sun setting

The difference of riding this section fresh and riding it after 60 miles is staggering. I remembered crawling up Spiro last year. Walking at times. I remember dreading the MMT Re-route (which has been re-routed again this year, much better. Still rough as hell but much better). Last years re-route just about sent me over the edge. I remembered how emotional I was during this section, crawling, walking, front wheel going all over the place. I watched Brandon, Gordon, Justin and Lyna all suffer. They battled the demons that kept pulling their wheels every which way but straight. The amount of effort that went into each pedal stroke. The devotion, hard work, stubbornness, tenacity etc. It took it all. Just keep pedaling. Don't apologize to me because you have to walk for a minute. I don't care. I am just here to help any way I can. No apologies. I. dont. give. a. shit. We tredged on, they could smell the finish line. Hell, we could hear it. We reached the final climb, that punch in the balls. You can see the finish area, you can hear the music, you can almost smell the food. Then you turn right back up the mountain. Now, while we were on our way here the consensus was that we were going to walk this section. Do you think they walked? No, they didn't. Sure there were a few moments that we walked. I think this was one of the faster sections that we rode. The pedals kept turning. Determination was running at an all time high. Then, we caught Beth. We asked Beth how she was, she was worn down, beaten. No doubt she had spent the majority of the last 4 hours alone. Being alone is a dangerous thing. Your mind messes with you. Doubt creeps in. What am I doing, am I the only one out here? Did I pack my waterproof matches?

We passed Beth, told her she was getting close and that she was almost there. We stopped a few minutes later to re-group. Lyna caught up, not far behind was Beth. We waited. Beth rolled up, she was on the rivet. Then the rivet blew off. She broke down. Pure raw emotion. I have been there. I was there 1 year ago. She had the hardest day ever on a bike. As all of us. (well, not me but im telling the story) The PCPP is one of the hardest races in the entire country. The pure fact that you toe the line to start puts you in a class all its own. To finish? Well, there is not much that can compare to the feeling. We all supported Beth, told her it wasn't much more uphill and then its all downhill to the finish. We kept her close. By this time it was getting dark. We didn't care, we all wanted to roll into the finish area as a group. We took our time coming down the last decent, regrouped a few times along the way. We rolled onto the pavement, regrouped and made our way to the finish area. As we rolled into the finish area the crowd went crazy. Deep anticipation of our arrival had been building for the last hour. Brandon, Gordon, and Justins wife and kids were all waiting for them with bated breath. The crew from Draper, Riessen, Bright, Tyler who all had awesome races and finished stronger than last year were all waiting. Bob, Lyna's husband was waiting, gave her a big hug and a kiss. Camera's were flickering, crowd cheering it was amazing. Beth let it all out there on the trail. She gave us all hugs. I think she will look back and think, damn that was awesome that I finished!

I was pretty pumped just to be a part of this race in any way I could. I was even more pumped that it turned into an Epic day. Not necessarily an Epic day in terms of miles that I had ridden, but Epic in the sense of the experience.

Different perspective, same result. I crossed the finish line with an amazing group of people. I was elated and felt amazing. So, here's a tip, just pick a group, ride the last 22 miles and you will be touched. No need to suffer all day.

Truthfully though, there is a deep sense of satisfaction when you cross something like that off the list. Well done riders, and thank you for the experience.

Suitcase of Courage

2011-07-19T18:46:00.000-06:00

As Phil Ligget said in a previous stage of this years Tour de France about French rider Thomas Voeckler, "he's digging deep in his suitcase of courage right now". This quote rang home for me. I love how Voeckler races. He puts it all on the line, everyday. He rides hard until he cant anymore. I need to take a page out of Voecklers book.

Anyways, its been over a week since the PC50 race so I figured I better get a little report up. It was a shitty race for me. End of story.

Ok, I started out pretty easy but, on this course easy was not really a walk in the park. The first half of the race held about 6000 vert with another 2000 in the last half. Survive the first half and your golden.

I was in a group with Banks, Bright, JThomas, and others for the first 10 miles or so. I watched Banks and DT ride away from me shortly after the aid station at mile 8. Bright caught me around mile 15 as I was pulled over for a rest. Day was not starting out how I envisioned it. I was in for a long sufferfest. Can't put my finger on it. I had a decent breakfast, had CR half evil at half strength in my camelback and a bottle of water. I had eaten 3 GU's and a honey stinger waffle in the first 3 hours or so and after that, I just couldn't take anything in. Stomach was angry. I crawled my way to the 23 mile aid station, took a rest, drank a coke and some water. Refilled my camelback with regular CR tasted it and whoa, it wasn't going to fly, not today. I dumped it and filled it up with water. I figured I would go as long as I could. I thought it wouldn't be long until I was seein stars since I wasn't able to take in any calories. I was pretty pissed to because I started the race and specifically said I am going to stay on top of calories. I started out pretty good but, somethin just wasn't sitting well.

My stomach quite cramping around mile 30ish. I tried to eat a bar and promptly spit it out. I decided water would be my sole source of fuel for the day. Yay me! MMT re-route is the devil. That trail nearly killed me last fall in P2P and it nearly did it again. If I wasn't able to pedal, I walked. I didn't give a shit. I was like the honey badger but less aggressive. I was too far into the sufferfest to NOT finish that fucker. I thought about it though. I wanted to. But, I didn't let the demons of self doubt overtake me. So, I got that goin for me.

I was finally rewarded with a long 7 mileish downhill all the way to the finish. Man, it was rippin. I wish I had more energy on that section because there was some sweet 1 track there. I think I am narrowing it down to the GU'S. I think I can handle those in moderation throughout the day but need to take in other things as well. I made the mistake of goin straight GU'S for the first half. Idiot. Next race will be done sans GU. If I need to stop to eat a nutroll or somethin, Im going to. Better than blowin up and riding with those stomach issues. Its just not fun. I enjoy the suffer but not like that.

Few observations:
The volunteers rocked! Bent over backwards for people. This has been well documented.
MMT Reroute is the devil.
There was a huge amount of moose shit on MMT Reroute. Like pile after pile. If it was chocolate I would think someone was leaving me a crumb trail.
Riding with no energy is not my idea of a good day
Mentally, I feel like I overcame a lot
No more GU
Having the crew from Suncrest all hanging around for my sorry ass at the finish was pretty damn awesome. Seriously, thanks. It meant alot.
Riding and suffering with strangers is way better than suffering alone.
Suffering alone is a very, very dark place.
600 calories is not enough for a 50 mile race
Dunking your head in ice cold run-off feels amazing. I did this no less than 4 times.

I think I had dug a hole with the training and not sleeping very well prior to the race. With a newborn at home, its tough to do it all. I think I was fatigued before I even lined up. Took me a week and a half to recover. I went out for a ride last week and just felt SLOW. No pop, just really, really tired. I put the bike away and tried to rest. I went out today and I am feeling much better. Sleep is good.

I hope to take alot away from this. Including riding like Thomas Voeckler. Dude just rides his ass off until he can't. Much respect. He's a badass. Hope he holds on for a podium spot this year.

Jdub kicked mean ass in this race. As did his better half Annie. She rocked her first endurance race after suffering a few mechanical mishaps. Banks, finished that mofo and got this monkey off his back. We all knew you could do it. You're riding strong this year. Excited to see you roll across the line at P2P. Bright rolled that mofo after hackin up a lung the week before and boozin it on the cruise the week before that. Bright, if you would stop makin out with strangers on the cruise ship, you wouldn't get sick. DT rocked it as well, even with those sticks he calls legs. Good shit man, you got any meat on you? Seriously, if I am ever stranded somewhere and have to resort to cannabalism, I don't want to be stranded with you. Seamons kicked some mean ass after his training this year has basically been a few rides and some runs on the streets of China. Im guessin here but, he has been in China more than Utah it seems.

If I left someone out, I am sorry. You kicked ass as well. Good job. Thats all for now.

Oh, no pictures, I swear I saw someone taking pictures on the trail. Apparently, I was hallucinating. Sorry, this was a long post.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T16:26:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed a ride in CC this morning. I couldn't make the PC50 pre-ride and CC fit the time. When I got home, Hannah wanted to go out and ride her bike. She's gettin good.

Cardiac Arrest and Suicidal Squirrels

2011-06-28T17:21:00.000-06:00

Instead of the called for intervals today I opted for a TT of Clarks. I hate that climb. I have to say, there is no way I could have gone any faster. By the time I reached the little sign towards the top I thought I was going to kill over. I felt fast, well fast for me. My gps battery was dead so I had to rely on my strava app. I have tested it out and it seems to be pretty accurate. All in all, I was extremely happy with the results. I am also happy to report that I didn't go into Cardiac Arrest. I did however taste blood. I think a TT of Clarks is a good replacement for 5x3 minute intervals. Right? I was pleased with my result. I guess intervals do help.

Once I regained consciousness I rolled down Brocks to Canyon Hollow. Only saw a handful of riders out in the trail. I cruised up Ghost then came back down. On my way back to the EQ Center a squirrel darted out from the bushes and well, didn't quite make it across the trail before I rolled him or her. Heard a Squeek or a grunt. Oops, sorry bout that. Usually its a snake or a lizard that can't escape. First for me.

Im tryin to get a hall pass from Lindy as well as work to do the PC50 on July 9. Not sure if I can work that out or not. Im hopeful.

Our little addition is settling in nicely. She is an eater though! I guess thats good. She has been doing pretty well at night. She sleeps in pretty good chunks, only problem is when those chunks are is still unpredictable. I'll take it though. Hannah was up every few hours like clockwork.

Just a moving tip

2011-06-27T08:45:00.000-06:00

Just a tip for the next time you move. If you move to an area that is still stuck in the 80's aka still has a dude hangin on the back of the garbage truck that stops and actually dumps your garbage this would be ok.

But, since we don't have that here anymore, these people are in for a surprise when they come home to find out that they still have to break down 50 more boxes. Glad its not windy today, those boxes would just be in a neighbors yard.

The new Rim Trail

2011-06-24T22:25:00.002-06:00

Made it over to the Draper Rim Trail this morning. This is going to be a great addition to the trail system if Corner Canyon. I rode it up from Potato Hill to the DH intersection. Must of had some kind of work release goin on today. Saw about 8 kids all with bright orange hats on clearin roots from the trail. Thanks!

I added some intensity rides this week since imi short on time to ride since we just had another baby a week ago. I must say, my legs feel it. It will be interesting to see if I have any different/better results over the next while. Time will tell. I hope I get somethin out of it.

Chicks dig scars!

2011-05-27T12:10:00.001-06:00

The sprocket monster took a chunk outta me today. The dirt was good though.

S. Suncrest

2011-05-15T13:29:00.001-06:00

South Suncrest Time Trial done.

photo taken another day

I felt o.k. Im still shakin off this head cold. I am also about 9 lbs heavier too. Nice tail wind for most of it, some crosswinds, and one spot of a headwind. That part sucked.

Time was 22:16. about 30 seconds slower than my fastest time last year. I think that was in late June/ early July. So, I guess I feel ok about it. It hurt though, as it should.

TURN IT ON!

2011-05-13T13:59:00.000-06:00

In an effort to blog about something other than backcountry skiing or cycling I was thinking of some childhood memories. I thought they would make good blog stories. So, today I bring you the story of the Swamp Cooler.

I am sure many of you if not all of you grew up in a house that used a Swamp Cooler as its main source of Air Conditioning. In Utah, it worked pretty well 75% of the time. If it was Humid it didn't work so well. Some draw backs were sometimes your food would get stale from the extra humidity, loud, really cold right by the vent and not so cold further away, gettin it up and going. This post will focus on the last one.

You see, at my house growing up, I had 3 older siblings. The closest of which was 4 years older than I. This basically meant that as soon as I was old enough to take on certain tasks, they were immediately passed down. Enter the Swamp Cooler. I cant remember exactly how old I was when I took this task on but Im guessing maybe 9 or so. The time would come to get the coolers up and running at some point in May usually.

My dad would get a bucket, a screwdriver and a wrench. It didn't matter what kind of wrench either. My dad would get the ladder out, carry his bucket with his screwdriver and his wrench in it with the hose in the other hand. Now, to this day I have no idea first hand what went on up there I just have my reflections of being at the bottom. That is inside working the controls of the unit. Water was going everywhere my dad made his way up to the roof while I waited patiently at the vent where the controls were. Our controls were old school. You had pump, a hi and a low along with off of course.

And it begins. My dad would start yelling. OK TURN IT ON! Im seriously laughing while I type this. I would turn the pump on. OK TURN IT OFF! BANG BANG BANG. I am not sure if this is what the wrench was used for or the screwdriver. OK TURN IT ON AGAIN! I could hear water running, BANG BANG BANG. TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! OK, JUST WAIT A MINUTE! We didn't have Itouch's or any of that cool stuff to kill time. I just sat there, waiting for my next instructions. OK! TURN THE FAN ON LOW! click, click, TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! In a slightly panic voice. BANG BANG BANG! This would go on for what seemed like hours, realistically probably 20 minutes. Luckily for me, we had 2 swamp coolers. All in all it took maybe an hour or so. Every year, those coolers cranked up and kept our house coolish. I got to the point where I could figure out if we opened the hall closet it increased the airflow into the bedrooms. Awesome. I miss those days. Any time I bring up Swamp Coolers at a family function we all start laughing. Its a good time. TURN IT ON!!! We are so spoiled nowadays.

Enough

2011-05-11T14:56:00.000-06:00

Ok, enough is enough. This wacky Spring has left my waistline in a more round shape than I would like. Yes, I will blame it on the Spring weather. Not going to blame it on candy, cake, ice cream, cupcakes, chocolate, fast food etc. Its the Spring weather and Im stickin to it!

But, enough already! My mid-section looks the same now as it did back in January. Plump. Now, I am sorry Lindy (my wife) I know I am not supposed to talk about my weight or being fat with a pregnant lady in the house but I cant take it anymore. Aside from PCPP (which Im not even sure I will ride this year) and the Draper ICUP, I don't have any events to train for with the exception of a newborn baby due in June. Im worthless.

So, I am going to make an attempt at droppin this weight. I have about 8 lbs I would like to get rid of. Theres more there to lose but 8 would get me down to where I was last Spring. I was pretty happy with 172. There it is, I have atleast 1 month left maybe more before baby Betty gets here. Thats long enough right?

How am I going to do it? Well, for starters I will but cutting out the aforementioned things that I am not going to blame my plumpness on. I will also ride my bike as much as possible, drink more water etc. There is also some new 1 track bein cut in Draper. Although that 1 track won't help immediately but every time I drive home I will be able to see it. That will motivate me.

Balloons and the Human Sign

2011-05-04T15:53:00.000-06:00

Most of you know I work in the Construction Industry, more specifically New Homes. I have been doing this for over 10 years now and over the years I have ran across some interesting characters. I have worked in Springville, West Jordan, Layton, Syracuse, Murray, South SL, Sandy. Each city has its own sign ordinances. Some cities we can put signs up, others we cant. Its kind of a pain in the ass.

In Syracuse, they wouldn't allow offsite signs or weekend directionals. So, we had a giant 6-8 ft A Frame sign that was out in this field that we had to knock down to lay flat each night and put back up each morning. Sounds easy enough except when theres a foot of snow in the field and the sign now weighs 2x as much. Oh, we also got to use balloons. The builder I worked for at the time (national builder jackass's) had these gigantic balloons. We blew them up in the model stuffed them in our car and drove out to put them on the sign. Problem was, the static in the car would cause the balloons to pop. Did I mention these balloons were gigantic? I remember the first time one of these balloons popped in my car. Thought I had been shot at, needless to say I had to make a run to get some new underwear. This was a daily ritual. I think those popping balloons took years off my life.

In Springville, we couldn't even do the above. So, we hired a human sign. Some dude or lady would come to my model on the weekends pick up our giant hand held sign drive out to the corner of the busy street and hold/wave the sign. This brought out some interesting people. I was just going through some old pictures and found these.

You see, they had no idea how big the sign was and they came unprepared to drive the 4 blocks out to the main street. I can't tell you how many times I found the sign propped up against the car and them napping inside. Easy job I suppose. Stand on the street, hold a sign, wave at people, listen to some tunes? No, tough and tiring job, must take a nap. There was the pale skinned dude who came to be my sign in the hot summer month of July. No, he didnt have sunblock and after a day in the sun holding the sign he came back and had the worst sunburn. I am pretty sure the 40 bucks he made that day was not worth it.

There have been several others, but these pictures made me laugh and it brought back some memories.

Dogs & Dirt

2011-05-03T16:22:00.001-06:00

Some of you may follow me on Twitter, and some of you don't do Twitter. If you don't do Twitter, why not? Anyways, I was short on time yesterday but I wanted to get a ride in. It was blue skies and sunny and I thought it would be a great day. Like I said, I was short on time so a quick road ride would do the trick. It was a bit chilly, colder than I expected it to be. Rolling down south suncrest was cold! I threw in some intervals just to spice things up a bit. Damn, those hurt. Anyways, as I was rolling back home down Eagle Crest I saw out of the corner of my eye something running towards me. My first thought was, Oh shit! Its the Cougar! (there has been a few cougar spottings in our neighborhood over the last few weeks) then I realized it was not a Cougar, it was someones black and white dog, running towards me prepared to help me make a skin donation to the roads of Suncrest. Luckily, I saw it soon enough, swerved a little to the left, I was able to unclip and kick the bastard in the teeth. One swift kick and it stopped and went back home. Why do people leave their dogs unsecured? I had some good advice via facebook from KK. "BTW, K. Fisher taught me the property dog kicking technique. Don't swing your foot, lift it up and drive it down on top of the dog's head. It keeps you in better balance (so you the kick doesn't crash you) and pushes the dog's head into the ground which stops them better"

Best advice I had from that little exchange. Everyone else just felt bad for the dog. Dog wanted to take a bite out of me! I had fears of eatin it, leaving my skin on the asphalt, then getting eaten. I used to get chased by dogs all the time when we lived out in Herriman, its been awhile. It will be interesting to see if that dog chases me again, thats assuming its left unattended again.

junction of Ghost/Canyon

Today, I opted for the safety of CC. HAHAHA, Safety? Some will say, theres Cougars etc roaming around there. This is probably true, but usually want as much to do with me as I do them. That is, we want to leave each other alone. Hopefully. Dirt was in great shape, all trails are good with the exception of Clarks and Rush. I heard a few people tweeting draper "when are you going to open Clarks?" Haven't heard a response. Got in about 15 miles, did jacobs, canyon hollow x2, and ghost x2. It was a great morning. Seems that Tuesdays are always windy. What the hell?

Saw the same Utah Mountain Biking dude there this morning as I did last Tuesday. He keeps to himself as he gets ready, once we part ways I never see him again. Don't know who he is but, Hey! How's it goin?

Mojo

2011-04-29T16:40:00.000-06:00

Im usually off on Fridays but this week I had a switch and took Thursday off instead. I think it worked out great. I got in a quick dirt ride after work wednesday night then met Lindy and Hannah for dinner. Thursday morning I dropped Hannah off at school, cruised over to CC and rode for a few hours until it was time to get Hannah. The dirt was good. The temps were just about right, it was a little windy but beggars can't be choosers right?

I have been having trouble with my left lately with it holding air. I pump it up and within a half hour it loses half the pressure. I was bummed with this yesterday when I noticed it on the climbs. I have to say, I didn't notice it on the downhill. Never bottomed out once. I felt really good on the downhill. You know how once in awhile the stars align and you have a great smooth flow on the DH? Thats how it was. Some have that all the time, some never get it, and others once in awhile. Im hoping I can have that feeling more often because its like sex. There, I said it. Lets face it, riding bikes downhill lasts longer. Right?

Now its cold and sort of trying to snow. I'd rather it snow than rain. Snow seems to be better on the trails and it keeps people from going out. Hoping to ramp up the riding here soon while I still have some time before baby #2 gets here in June!

Commute

2011-04-20T12:32:00.001-06:00

So, I have settled into my new work location and I am finding that I quite enjoy being closer to home. My new community is behind the Home depot on State in Sandy. Its a 15 minute drive or about an hour bike ride. Or longer depending on the route you take.

Yesterday I rode home. A little over 10 miles, just under an hour and close to 2000 vert. Not a bad commute. I was hoping the weather would hold for me to ride back to work on my mtn bike via Corner Canyon. It did hold, and it was the best commute I have had in a long time. I dropped down Potato Hill, across the BST trail, down the silica trail, up canyon hollow, up ghost, down ghost, down canyon hollow, out lower cc and through the streets of Draper. If I had more time I would have rolled out towards Scout bridge and out that way. I think that will be a good way for me to get some riding in that I maybe would not get. I won't be able to do it everyday but I think once a week at a minimum.

All in favor of a commute via bike say I. I!

I also wore the new Revolution Team kit. First time with bibs. A little different, holds me together a little more, fresh material, a little audio slit in the back. Very nice! Oh, and the plaid rocks too!

Commute via CC

Oh S&^%!

2011-04-09T15:34:00.000-06:00

This last few weeks has been a bit wet here in the 801. With the several new inches of snow that has fallen in the mountains I decided, why fight it.

I haven't been skiing a whole lot in the last month. Since I committed to the epic fail that is also known as True Grit 50, I tried to spend more time on the bike in preparation. Since then I have been on the bike a few times but the weather has not been ideal for riding. It has been more ideal for skiing however.

The last 2 weeks I have spent transitioning to a job that I have had for 7 years to a brand new job. Same gig, just with a new builder. One that is emerging from this craphole downturn and ready to rock and roll. I am also ready to rock and roll after 3 years of picking myself up off the mat each day to roll into work and get my teeth kicked in again. The time had come to make a move.

So, with all of that going on plus a new kid on the way and trying to get room finished in the basement recreation has taken a back seat a little bit. With the new snow I was searching for someone to ski with Friday. Steve came through for a late afternoon meeting. We needed something fairly quick since Steve had a hot date with his wife that night so Mill D North fit the bill. It dumped on us pretty much the whole time. The wind was mostly calm and the snow was piling up. It was fairly dense below 8000 ft but above 8000 it was much lighter. We spent an afternoon in the mountains with new snow. Thats a good way to spend an afternoon.

The real excitement came on the way down the canyon. Steve was driving his Subaru and the road was slick. It looked as if it warmed up a bit melted some snow then got cold again and froze it. Steve made a maneuver to pass an Aerostar mini van, immediately after we hit some ice. We could see people up ahead on the road and I knew there were some cars off the road. As we got closer, we started sliding. Steve downshifted, still sliding, he finally stepped on the gas just in time, we fishtailed a few times almost taking the dude out that was walking across the road. I was trying to decide if I should brace myself or jump out. Luckily, Steve has trained in defensive driving and we made it. We immediately stopped to watch the Aerostar blast into the cars. That never happened though. They must have seen us fishtail and slowed way down. We are such dicks, stopping to watch some carnage.

Steve got us home like a champ. We always say, live to ski another day. We usually just mean don't take unnecessary risks while in the backcountry. I guess it can apply to the drive as well. Steve assured me that I was covered with several airbags. I wasn't worried.

Good times. Thanks Steve.

The Nail

2011-03-31T22:18:00.001-06:00

Some days you're the hammer, some days you're the nail. Today was the latter. Not that I am the Hammer very often. Its actually a very, very rare day. But its been awhile since I was hammered like I was today. I knew within the first 5 minutes that todays ride was going to hurt. Then we rolled up on Rick and his superhuman strength and freshly shaved legs. Yep, I said it. Either the pace ticked up or someone let the air out of my tires. I struggled, my heart rate was higher than it should have been and to make matters worse, my garmin died so I had to rely on the blood coming out of my ears and my heart about to beat out of my chest to tell me that I was about to die.

This is what it felt like. Pedaling a fat ass around CC.

I hope its a long time until I feel like that again. I had no pop, felt tired and my HR was hi. Boo! The ride was still fun though even though I suffered.

Thanks guys, I needed a good ass whoopin. Time to get my shit together.

Mud and Rain

2011-03-29T20:36:00.000-06:00

Many of you know already that I traveled to St. George to participate in the inaugural Grit 50 Epic Race. We were all watching the weather wondering to ourselves and outloud, hope it holds! Even the morning of the race, I checked the report, mid 60's 20% chance of rain, partly cloudy. I can live with that kind of weather. As I drove in from Hurkin to St. George, I could see dark clouds out west and south. Sometimes its hard to tell just how ominous things look from a distance and sometimes those clouds never drop rain. This was not one of those times.

this is after riding 2 miles on a wet road. It helped clean off some of the mud

There was a pretty big crew from SLC and lots from the Hoood. Jdub, Banks, Seamons, DT, Gordo on his virgin race voyage, Grizzly, D. Bagley and many others. We were all excited because this race links together some of the best desert singletrack around. Technical, fun course. Banks and I had pre-rode the first half of the race earlier in the month and I knew it was going to be tough but had no idea what was on the horizon.

But not all of it

Race started at 9:00 a.m. I enjoy that start time much better than the 6:00 or 7:00 a.m start time. I can get up have a good breakfast and not feel rushed. It was cold but not unbearable at the start. mid 40's. I had arm and knee warmers and had my windbreaker vest on with a cap under my helmet. I think I dressed about perfect for the day, a rain jacket would have been nice but not sure it would have helped much. After about a half hour of racing it started to rain. It was a steady drizzle that pretty much wouldn't stop until about an hour after the race. Sometimes it let up only to follow it with some extra heavy downpour. The first half of the race was great. I felt good, was never cold, trails were in pretty decent shape. Most of the first half is over slickrock and pretty technical terrain, there were puddles around and the rain made some of the sections extra tricky but it was all good. I kept thinking the rain would end, the sun would come out and it would be a marvelous day. Well, that thought would come crashing down as we started the Stucki Springs climb. We got into a decent pace going up the first half of Stucki, then it seemed that it got really cold. All of our hands were going numb and we could barely feel our hands. I kept saying it felt like my suspension wasn't working and my wrists were getting pretty sore. We were all together on the climb, me, jdub, banks and Gordo. Gordo blew off the front out on a mission, we didnt see him again until the finish area. Once we got to the top of Stucki, we stopped to shake out our legs and hands knowing that the decent was only going to make matters worse. We looked at each other and I think I said out loud. "What the fuck are we doing out here" At that point we all laughed and laughed. What else could you do. We were cold, wet, muddy. I have never been that wet on a bike before. Seriously, we couldn't have been more wet if we stepped into a shower fully clothed.

CRAWLINGSPIDER.COM

The first part of the downhill was good. A little slippery but not treacherous. Then we encountered the mud bog. There were people and bikes everywhere, trying to figure out how to lug there 25 lb mtn bike that quickly became a 50 lb bike covered in thick goo, wheels wouldnt roll, there wasnt any shifting going on. It was an unreal scene. We just laughed and said the F word alot. It made me feel better. We crawled our way out litterally, some parts we were able to ride, some parts we had to walk, we eventually rolled up on a volunteer who happened to be on the phone with the race promoter. He said they were pullin the plug. They were going to start pulling everyone off the course due to treacherous conditions, some even were treated with hypothermia.

CRAWLINGSPIDER.COM

We opted to continue down the road that eventually led us back to the start of the dirt and on to the main road back to the finish. Not sure how we ended up there but we did. We were cold, dirty and shivering. People were huddled around a propane heater, some with blankets, I even spotted a dude with a space blanket on. Shivering uncontrollably. Low 40's and pissing rain are not great conditions for a long mtn bike race. It truly was Epic, and Grit to say the least. I have never participated in a Cross race but have watched them. Those were perfet cross conditions. 50 minute race full speed and done. Instead we spent 4+ hours in it we were done just in a different way.

CRAWLINGSPIDER.COM

After all is said and done, I felt pretty good during the race. Only one spot of bother was on the climb to Stucki and I think that had more to do with the cold than anything else. It was a great day and a ton of fun. If it weren't for my riding buddies, I would feel entirely different. We all made an effort to try to stay together the best we could. I couldn't imagine spending that much time in those conditions by myself, that would have been torture. Instead, we had good friends, and one hell of an adventure that we will never forget. Some rides are epic because of a distance that you rode, some rides are epic for the things you overcame. This ride was epic on many counts, weather, trail conditions, bike conditions etc. One hell of a ride.

Thanks for the photo Mrs. White!

DT looks cold! Brrrrrr

Huddling around the heater. I don't think the heater was working. I saw flame but it was still cold.

The fellas, all were able to muster a smile. Thanks again Annie.

You can check out Jdubs write up here.

Can't wait to go down next year. It can't possibly rain like that 2 years in a row can it?

Thanks fellas!

Oh, I almost forgot! The worst thing that was a result of riding in the rain for 5 hours in the cold? My right nipple got worked. In an effort to get some comments, I am going to prostitute my right nipple. For those of you that are afraid, stop here. My right nipple got rubbed completely raw. Everytime I shower it hurts. I have to shower with my hand over my nipple. Stupid little thing. Enjoy!

The Beginning

2011-03-14T21:58:00.001-06:00

Behold my hand me down Green Schwinn. This baby was 20 years old by the time I got my hands on it. My first real taste of Joy and Freedom came with my feet placed firmly on those black pedals. Riding a bike brings me joy that only a few other things have been able to replicate. Looking forward to Spring.

Got out for a little Heathen Road Ride yesterday with evilbanks. Fitting partner for a heathen ride. It was a little breezy up top here but was nice and calm down in Alpine. We got in about 20 miles. Can't wait for the next ride.

Sprung!

2011-03-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

No, not the Sir-Mix-Alot song although it is a good song. Spring has sprung in the Wasatch, err atleast for now. Birds were chirping, sun was shining, singletrack drying. Yesterday was a great day! I was debating a road ride or a mtn bike ride. I saw that someone said that the lower CC trails were all dry and rideable so I opted for the mtn bike ride. Sure enough, trails were dry with the exception of a few muddy spots here and there. Temps were warm, warm enough to ride in shorts and short sleeves. It was nice to be on the bike again. My ass took a real pounding last Sunday down south. 5 hours + on technical one track for the first mtn bike outing of the year sure did leave its mark. But, well worth it.

Dry one track

Shadows with a little snow

One of my favs

obligatory photo of me, its my blog afterall

So, while it looks like Spring for a few days, it looks like there might be some wet weather heading our way, I guess I'll bust out the ski's.

Day Trip

2011-03-07T19:46:00.001-07:00

Late last week I decided that the weekend was going to be my best shot of getting to St. George for a day trip. Ya see, the Desert Rampage was on Sat. and there was a Grit 50 pre-ride set-up for Sunday. I made the decision that I was going to drive down early Sunday morning, ride some dirt with some pals, and return home Sunday night. Long day, but it was worth it!

Left just after 5:00 a.m and arrived in St. George at 9:00 a.m. No stops, just drove straight through. The pre-ride was starting at 10 so I parked at the Green Valley loop and changed got my camelback filled etc. @evilbanks met me there along with DTanner. I was pretty happy to be riding in short sleeves and shorts for the first time since last year. The weather was perfect, 65 mostly sunny. I got to ride some trails that I have never ridden before and a few of my old favs from when I lived down there.

Here is a sweet video I found of the Zen Trail, one of the new trails we rode. It was technical but fun.

Zen Trail from shelby meinkey on Vimeo.

We rode several trails for a total of about 35 miles. Definately worth the trip down. We rode, Red Bluff, Zen, Poppy and to the top of Stucki Springs. Rode down Stucki (great downhill) and back up Poppy to the car. The long climb out Stucki was a bitch. It was long and it was hot. We made it though, all in all a great day trip and I was definately happy I made the drive down. I must say, I'm lookin forward to Spring. But for now, its nuking snow outside and theres a few feet of snow Im gonna ski this week. Yep, I said a few feet, like 3-4.

Vintage "Evilbanks" as per grizzlyadam

one of our stops early in the day

Banks cruisin in style

Top of the long Stucki Springs climb

2011-02-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ya know, Dug might just be right with this one! There is absolutely nothing that I could possibly add to his extremely thorough review of Diet Coke. I mean, I hate the taste of regular diet coke and have always opted for Coke Zero or the original Coke. I have recently stopped at the local Chevron and mix half Coke with half DC w/Lime. Yum. Yes, I just typed Yum. Anyways, I bought a 12 pack and tried it straight up today and the results were still Yum. Now, this doesn't mean I will discard my other soft drink choices but this is definately something that will be added to the mix.

On anther note, we hit up Scotties again Friday morning early for some recycled powder. I say recycled because it had been ski'd out heavier than we all had thought, plus the wind was blowing from the opposite direction that the avy forecast said it was. There was still really nice snow up top in the bowl and in the trees to the west of the main Scotties shot. Still a great morning. Only downside was, I left my poles behind. The wind knocked over my skis and my poles in the parking lot. I put my skis in the back then pulled my soaking wet undershirt off because I was freezing, then the wind kicked up again so I threw on another shirt and made a b-line to the car leaving my trusty old bent poles behind. Heard a rumor that someone may have picked them up but we have yet to be reunited. Hopefully the poles they picked up are indeed mine, if not I guess I have an excuse to get some new ones.

VD

2011-02-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

No, not THAT kind of VD, Valentines Day! The weather in these parts has been a little bit on the warm side. Warm for us up here in Northern Utah, not warm for those of my readers down south in Arizona. Its still cold for you. Anyways, the temp has been nearing 60 for the last few days so I decided to try to take advantage. On Monday instead of going for sushi with the sales team after our meeting I brought my bike and decided to go for a ride. Besides, there is only 1 other sales rep besides myself left and the thought of looking at him all lunch vs. going for a ride up Emigration Canyon well, you get the picture. Sorry Phil!

Our meetings usually get done fairly quickly and that would leave me about 2 hours before I needed to be back to my model. I left from my model in S. Salt Lake and headed North. The sun was out I was in knee warmers and arm warmers with a vest. No booties, no long sleeve jersey, no winter hat. Ahhhh, it was nice. I pedaled towards the Zoo a little unsure if I would head up Emigration or do a nice loop over towards Millcreek and head down 39th back to work. I opted to head up Emigration. Its a nice mellow canyon until you hit the switchback. I pedaled to just before the switchback and turned around. The ride back was into a nice headwind and the sun went away. It never got cold however and the entire ride was very enjoyable. Topped off the day at my parents for my dad's birthday. Yep, birthday on VD. Not very often is it nearly 60 in February in Salt Lake. Lots of people are gettin the spring itch. I know I am. But, theres another winter storm on our doorstep thats about to drop 12-18 inches of new snow. Brigham Young got one thing right, This is a pretty great state to call home.

Beautiful Reward

2011-02-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

Last week was a pretty good week for skiing. Wednesday we got to do a very nice Scotties Bowl shot. The snow was soft and fast. 18" of new snow fell earlier in the week and I had to make an exception to get out and ski some of it. The climb as always sucked. Well, thats not all true. I don't mind the climb, Im just slow and that part sucks. Not sure how to get faster. Anyways, I joined Dug, Mark and Steve for a nice long lap. No pictures, forgot my camera again. I suck.

Friday we got up early for some Pink Pine. There was a huge army that was out that morning. Not even really sure how many. At least 8, no more than 15. The climb up to Pink Pine was nice, UDOT was bombing on the North Side of the Canyon. Its always kind of cool and somewhat nerve racking to be hiking and hearing huge artillery go off in the not too far distance. I got to the booter just a few minutes behind the last person of the main group so I hung out there for a few for Dug and is Brother-in-law. Dugs binding broke again so he had to drag one of his feet up the entire skin track. It did look like a lot of fun and I almost locked my binding down but in the end I decided to use mine as they were intended. Booting is always interesting. This is only the 2nd time I have done it so its not like I have vast experience. Its kind of a cool thing to boot up a ridge. I try not to think about what would happen if I slipped and fell. Its kind of steep. The boot up to the top didn't take too long, we put our ski's back on to skin a little further in and then took in the view. Pretty amazing. I took this little video clip at the top.

The shot after the booter is much longer than stopping just short. Dug said its always better to boot it if you have time. I would agree. Snow was really, really good! Super sweet turns up top, little crust in the middle and great turns the rest of the way. 2 great tours with some of the best snow we have had in a month or so. I managed to tear the shit out of my heels on Friday. My moleskin slipped right off my heels. It doesn't work so good when its bunched up somewhere in your socks. Hopefully they heal up fast. Shoes don't feel too good right now. Worth it though.

Dry spell with spring like conditions over the next few days. I think I will be able to get out on the bike a few days this week. I am craving some red dirt but also have really been enjoying this year skiing. I lost count but I think I have been out 20 or more times. Waaaay better than last year. There is still a few months left of skiing. March/April will probably bring a mixture of riding and skiing. I can live with that.

Mouse no more

2011-02-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

It came to my attention that I had a little critter hitchin a ride in my car for who knows how long. I have had the seats down for quite some time now for my skis to fit. I put the seat up the other day and saw remnants of a little critter. I mean, if I was a mouse, it may not be a bad way to live. Endless food supply thanks to a snackin 4 year old ridin around. Its warm for the most part. Atleast its warmer than it is in the garage. I have not figured out how said mouse got in the car but I have my theories. I do know however, how said mouse got out!

I set up 3 traps in the car. 2 on the shelf under the back seat and one on the floor. Filled the traps with some crunchy peanut butter. Sidecar-I really, really hate setting up snap traps. Its one of the worst jobs as a homeowner. Im usually just waiting for them to go off in my hands. Hate that!

So, after less than a few hours I checked the traps and sure enough! GOT ONE!

Now I just hope the little bastard didn't have a friend hidin out in there. Don't want babies runnin all over. That would be bad, very bad.

Took the car to the car wash the next day to vacuum out the little bastards crap, put some air freshener in and its good as new. Well, at least as new as a 7 year old car can be.

Hey kids, dont forget!

2011-02-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Got out for some sub-zero hiking and subsequent skiing with the usuals. Temps were downright cold and the winds definitely were not helping to warm things up. Nonetheless we started our way up flagstaff but instead of climbing flagstaff we headed towards Cardiff. I had never been over that way so I was a bit excited to check out something new and different. The climb was going great (as great as suffering can go) until I hit an icy patch and slid off the skintrack. You can see this from the gps track below my demise.

The full gps below

Once to the top the wind was really rippin. We transitioned to ski mode, well most did. I fucked around and forgot to switch my boots into ski mode. I wondered for half of the first decent why do I feel so retarded. No, it wasn't the sheet of ice that we all slipped off on. I slid what felt like 50 feet but was probably more like 15 until the snow got soft enough to hold an edge. Woowee, that was exciting. Still pissed about forgetting to flip my boots. Won't let that happen again. The snow was soft once we were off the ridge. A little more wind affected than we thought it would be but still soft. We transitioned again and started our way out to poleline pass. Climbing went pretty good until we were about 2/3 of the way up. We found the rain crust and it wasnt going to let us skin to the top. We transitioned to bootin. My first boot pack and not the last. It was interesting to see how well the snow holds when its like that. It was like a staircase in some spots. I felt kind of like Rocky in Rock IV climbing the mountain. Except he was a bad ass and did it in Sorels. I had nice stiff ski boots and poles. Rocky rules.

Once to the top of poleline we transitioned again and half the group took off just as I was getting there and I brought up the rear. The turns down Cardiff Pk were pretty good. A little heavy in spots but overall pretty good. Ski to the road and walk a block or so back to the car.

As always, with each tour I learn something new. Todays lesson, don't forget to switch your boots out of walk mode into ski mode. It will make you look stupid. Or at least MORE stupid than usual.

Thanks to Steve for the pictures. I forgot my camera.

Mike and Dug almost to the top. Mark and his buddy are hiding on the ridge in the trees.

Me after sliding off the skintrack and losing contact with the group

Seeking shelter in the trees. They didn't offer much protection.

Our tracks. Someone else beat us there and put some tracks in too.

Plumbing and the Internet

2011-01-30T14:29:00.001-07:00

Our 2nd bathroom bathtub has not been working for several months now. It works it just puts out scolding hot water. Not real conducive to giving kids baths. Not to worry, we have other tubs and thats what we have been doing for said several months. I got a wild hair up my ass and decided I would try to fix it today. First, I had to figure out how to take the thing apart so I could figure out what was wrong. I basically needed to replace the valve. I needed to figure out how to take the valve out so I could take it to Home Depot and get a replacement meanwhile, learning how to put it back together once i have the part. Ya follow? Good, because Im not sure I do. Took about 45 minutes to get the thing apart. Would have taken half that time if the valve didn't get stuck half way out. Warning, this is NOT a tutorial.

These are the steps I needed to complete.
1-turn the water off
2-take the fixture apart to gain access to the valve
3-NOT lose any of the parts
4-take valve out (easier said than done)
5-take valve to Home Depot to purchase the right valve
6-return home
7-clean out valve
8-lubricate pipe (everything is better with lube right?)
9-slide valve back into place
10-put all valve pieces back together
11-turn water back on to test prior to fully assembling the fixture
12-test complete
13-reassemble the fixture
14-clean up
15-Give Hannah a hi 5 for a job well done.

Of course Hannah was there to tell me I was doing a great job and to tell me that it was O.K when I was getting frustrated. She's so good at giving encouragement.

Here it is all taken apart

old valve

new valve

lubrication

halfway put back together for testing

my helper, actually she spent most of the time fartin and stinkin up the bathroom. She did hand me some tools though.

All put back together

Hannah was so pumped that it was all fixed that she wanted to take a bath. The internet gave me just enough knowledge to get the job done. Thank you whoever invented the internet. Wasn't it Al Gore?

Roooooaaaaaddddds! (in a Tommy Boy voice)

2011-01-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

The weather around these parts has been well, a little mild. Hasn't snowed in a week or so and with a day off yesterday I was either looking to get in a little ski tour up BCC or a road ride. I couldn't find anyone to ski with so I opted for a road ride since its not too smart to go in the backcountry alone. It was around 40 degrees and thats actually not bad winter riding conditions. Really, anything above 30 or so if its sunny isnt too bad. I did the usual route, south Suncrest to the Dry Creek trailhead, took a few scenic routes along the way and back up s.Suncrest. The southside is a good hill for early season, sustained, not too steep and long enough to get in a groove. I like the south side. Anyways, its always great to get out for a ride in the winter. I don't think I got out last year until late February. Yay me!

looking down the northside, lots of gunk down there

little break to enjoy the scenery

A little roooaaaaad time? Yes please.

More Pinkie

2011-01-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be good for Brad to get out on a little tour in a place other than The Willows in BCC. I thought Pink Pine would fit the bill. Pretty mellow approach, some steeper climbing and some pretty cool scenery. Sunday was a great morning to get out. We arrived at the parking lot about 7:30 and there was only 2 other cars in the lot. By the time we got back it was overflowing out to the road. First, here's some scenery.

Once to the top of the ridge we were treated with a peak of the mighty Pfeifferhorn. Its an amazing peak. We could tell that the winds were ripping through the ridge the prior day because it was scoured and slick. Very different than the prior week. Once at the top I popped a few small cornices off the ridge, things were a little slabby up top. Didn't get anything to move much, probably because Dug and crew knocked it all out the day before. Thanks again! I kicked out a few turns then traversed over to the apron, the turns were very fast and very sweet. Have I mentioned how much I like my skis?

Brad forgot his poles. Its ok Brad, we all forget shit once in awhile. Thats precisely the reason I built my hooks. I want all my stuff in the same spot so I can hopefully minimize the possibility of forgetting something. I gave him one of my poles for the climb and we found him a good long stick to serve as his other pole. I rendered my other pole for the escape out since he was on a board and would need them more than I. I know, I am a great friend. I told him even the great ones forget a pole sometimes. He also had a few equipment failures but we weren't in a hurry. We got it all handled and enjoyed a nice morning with some sweet soft turns. Again, the views weren't bad either. I didn't catch Brads face afterwards but he was smiling from ear to ear.

A visit to Scotties

2011-01-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

The moon sets and the sun rises in perfect harmony

Grizzly Adam took some AMAZING pictures that morning. I have never seen it so beautiful up there for a dawn patrol ever. Granted I have only been on a dozen and a half or so but still. It was one of those mornings that you were glad you pulled your head off your pillow. I wasn't feeling great. I had a hard time chokin down some toast in the morning but thought I was up so I may as well go. Worse case scenario I rip skins before the top and enjoy some turns. I only got one long decent in but the hike was worth getting up in its own. The turns weren't bad either. Pretty icy near the top, couldn't hardly keep an edge. We pulled the plug just before the summit and started the transition. Some fast dudes got 2 laps in and others just 1. Scottie's is one of my favorite spots due to the open bowl and the terrain features available. I spent most of the morning hiking by myself looking up at the trail of headlamps above. I forgot how many kickturns there were on Scotties. Some were barely the length of your skis.

There was a pretty big crew that got out. Mark, Rick, Adam, Aaron, Steve, Rob, John, Brandon (on his maiden voyage) and a few others but their names escape me. Pretty big group.

The turns were nice, there was about 8-10 inches of new snow on top of the stout crust. Dust on Crust is a good way to describe it. Once in awhile you would hit the crust but mostly you were able to stay up on top. I brought my gps but forgot to turn it on. Until next time.

Handy

2011-01-14T18:27:00.001-07:00

I got tired of my ski stuff laying all over the garage on the floor so I decided to do something about it. I didn't get out as much last year so it wasn't that big of a deal, I was able to put my stuff away and it didn't lay all over the garage. Maybe I have more gear now? Who knows. I had an open wall and a spare 2x4 so I drilled it into some studs and got some hooks at Lowes and went to work. First I had to find my drill, then I had to charge the battery. I can't remember the last time I used it. My motivation would have to wait until the battery was charged. Damn!

Here is what it looked like before-

Here it is after one battery died. It doesn't hold a charge much. I think I got this drill as a wedding present 12 years ago. Might be time for a new one at some point.

I added a screw at the far left so the skis would slide out and fall over. This comes in handy for a few reasons.

And here it is in all its glory!

Next up would be a shelf over the top to store gloves, goggles etc. Maybe next year. I only have so many handy matches to burn in a year.

On another note, got out this morning with Dug, Steve, Tyler and Dugs 12 year old Holden. We headed out to Pink Pine Ridge. Thats a cool area to ski, we found pretty good snow up top on the n/e slopes. We got in 2 quick laps. Holden killed it on the up and boy that kid can ski. 12 years old! I wish I started skiing before I turned 19. Oh well. Can't turn back time!

Tough Guy

2011-01-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

So, I have been lucky enough to get some new gear lately. Partially due to some ffb winnings and partially due to a generous offering from my mother for Christmas and my Birthday. I thought it would be fun to give a review of some of those things. Not that anyone will care what my opinion is but someone might. Right?

Todays review will be on Flylow "tough guy" Gloves

Now, I am fully aware that Rick did a post last year about some similar gloves but after I read his post last year I thought to myself, would those really work as well as he says they will? So, I decided to look for something similar after a few tours this year where my hands were sweating. I usually used my ski gloves I bought from REI several years ago. Removable liner inside, leather exterior that came up on the forearm with a elastic closure. Typical ski glove. Works ok, I just seemed to get hot sweaty hands.

I finally found a pair of gloves and they were cheap, 28 bucks so I thought what the hell, I'll give em a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. My hands were cold at first (they always seem to be) but after a few minutes of climbing they warm up. They are waterproof, I have good dexterity, so far they seem pretty durable but at 28 bucks you could buy a few pairs and still not spend near the amount of a nice pair of ski gloves just like Rick said last year.

So, after a few tours with these gloves I am very happy with the purchase. If your hands get sweaty and wet while out touring you should try these out. If you don't like them you can give the gloves to me.

Ouch!

2011-01-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, me, Sam, his brother and Plummer met up in the morning for some skiing. We originally were going to the Monitor Bowl in BCC but heard from some others that ski'd it the day before that it was no good and to stay away. We decided to drive up to Alta and hike into grizzly, take a peek at Silver and Days. Maybe a run in each depending on how it was. When we left the mouth of the canyon it was 13. At Alta 32 and sunny. It was a gorgeous morning as we skinned up into grizzly gulch. It got hot fast and we were all shedding layers. We got to the top and traversed the ridge to the west then came back towards the east to a nice North/East facing shot into Siver Fork. The plan was to ski a shot here and then a shot into Days on a similar facing slope. The top was a little more choppy than I was expecting but after 3 turns or so it was nice soft snow. This was a pretty fun line we ski'd. This was Sams little brothers maiden voyage. He was on Sam's old skis since Sam just got the Megawatts. His little bro rocked it. Very good skier. Like Sam, he is fast on the up too. On the bottom part of the slope things were a little tight manuevering the trees/cliffs. Brian went first and got a little too far back on his skis in the deep snow and popped his ACL. We reconvened at the bottom and decided Brian and I would ski out Silver Fork to Solitude and Sam with his brother would hike back up and ski back to the car and come get us at Solitude. A sad ending to very good ski shot 1 week after the last snowfall. Im still amazing by the backcountry, so much terrain, so much good snow even a week after the last snowfall.

looking west at Superior

The Pfeifferhorn in the distance

me sweatin my ass off

Sam and his bro. Sam was lookin for some Barry White on his iphone

I hope Brian has a quick recovery. This was my first tour with him and he is very knowledgeable and willing to teach. I love guys like that.

I am really enjoying my first full season of Backcountry. I am lucky to have so many friends willing to go with me and teach me their wise ways. Like Yoda and Luke. Take me to the backcountry you will hmmmmm?

On a 2nd note, on an email thred between Dug, Sam and I. Sam was expressing how much he loved his new Megawatts. I too am loving them. Dug so eloquently responds, "welcome to the orgasm that is Megawatts" That gets the quote of the week.

Elk jerky

2011-01-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

If only I had a gun, and nobody was around. Guess thats called poaching.

This heard was just below Montreaux at the bottom of Suncrest. Not too often you see a heard of Elk that low.

Lame

2011-01-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

As Dug pointed out it is lame to blog about a ski day that happened more than just a few days ago. Well, Im really lame because I am going to do the same. I took some time off between Christmas and New Years and I got a few ski days in. So, in an effort to not bore you and force you to click to someone else's blog I will paraphrase Dug. He said after 1 of our days, "I feel like I should talk to the Bishop". Now, Im not sure what Dug had goin on but, I agreed and laughed. I later told my wife what he said and she said, "did he jizz in his pants?" I said, well, i doubt it. Hope not. Its like trying to explain sex to a virgin. Its impossible. Its one of those things you just have to experience for yourself. Here are some photos.

First, we had a fabulous day at Solitude. It was deep and I was wishing I had my Megawatts mounted.

Then we had a nice shot into Days across from Alta.

The badass mofos kept going for an epic day given to them by Reed Benson.

Me and Steve caught some air of this small cornice coming back down Flagstaff

More good soft turns coming down Flagstaff

Topped it off with a little sleddin with Hannah. She loves sleddin and skiin, as long as she's outside she is happy!

All in all, a pretty damn good 10 days. I may be lame for blogging about it late, but I don't really care. It will probably happen again.

An open letter to snowplow drivers (revised)

2010-12-29T20:00:00.001-07:00

Ok ok, you have made your point. I have made a big, big mistake. In a previous post I said some harsh words about snowplow drivers. I am a grown man and I know when I have made a mistake. So please, please accept my deepest apology from the bottom of my heart. I really didn't mean it when I called you a dick. I especially didn't mean it when I gave you the the finger as I drove by.

I really appreciate all the work you do to clear our streets and make driving safe. The occasional snow bank is acceptable. I only ask that you try your hardest to pile the snow somewhere other than my driveway. I worked really hard to clear the driveway this morning only to come home this afternoon to this.

This photo makes it a little difficult to tell just what was left behind your massive snowplow truck. Here, maybe this is a better shot?

Is that clear enough? Whatever I did to make you upset I am truly sorry. Maybe next time your out and about you would like to stop in for a cup of coffee or some tea perhaps? I could even make you some hot chocolate if thats your flavor. I would even leave a thermos out front for you so you could continue the hard work in clearing our neighborhood streets. You just say the word. Leave me a comment and we will talk this out. I am confident we can come to an understanding.

As a measure of good gesture, I want you to know that I did not throw any snow into the street while I was clearing my driveway. I also cleared a path to the fire hydrant that is on the corner.

As you can see, I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. Lets make up. My back can't take anymore. My body is shattered. Truce?

An open letter to snow plow drivers

2010-12-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Snow plow drivers,

Winter has arrived and I know you guys are excited. Lots of snow to plow, piles to make, cars to cake with thick sludge, garbage cans to knock over, people to cuss at for driving too close, people to cuss at for parking their car on the street, coffee to drink, etc. Yay! Its a fun time. While I do appreciate all the work that you do to clear the roads lay the salt down (although my street seems to be LAST on your list) etc.

I have a small bone to pick with you. Last year I looked the other way when you piled snow on my park strip that was nearly 10 feet tall. Mind you there is a vacant lot right next door that you could pile snow on till your hearts content. But no, you just kept on piling. Normally this would not bother me, but the salt that you use kills the grass and all other living plants. This basically means that I have to re-sod my park strip every year. I am sure that you don't realize what a pain in the ass it is to scrape up dead grass, go to the yard store to get enough sod to lay on my park strip. Surely if you did you wouldn't be such an ass.

This year, you have taken it to a new level. It seems that you are just f&*^in with me now. Not only are you piling the snow on my park strip again but you have also been piling the snow in front of my driveway. Now I can appreciate the fact that you feel the need to give me a core workout but seriously, im not that fat. The first time I laughed. The 2nd time I laughed less, then you did it a 3rd time. I didn't laugh. I cussed. alot. This last storm was super heavy wet snow. My snowblower does not work well with slush. I think you know this. I came home last night to find a 3 ft snowbank in front of my driveway. Wet, heavy, slushy snow. After much work, I finally cleared my entry to my driveway. My back hurts, my arms hurt and Im pissed. Next time I see you, your gettin the finger instead of the neighborly wave I have been giving you.

Merry Christmas DICK!

Worst Hurdler Ever!

2010-12-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

This one's for you Dug!

2010-12-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

After a nice ski day with Dug Friday (save that for another post) we went to dinner at Training Table. We went at 5 because I was starving! Anyways, I had to relieve myself so I went to the restroom and was confronted with this.

sorry bout the photo, I couldn't get it to rotate

Right off the bat when you open the door, if someone is at the urinal, you are violating a man code. Terrible. It felt awkward to pee knowing that at any moment the door would swing open, just missing you as they scoot by you to wait.
Terrible, just terrible. After reading several of Dugs posts about public/work bathrooms. I cant NOT go into a bathroom without noticing things that seem off. Thanks Dug!

Just a SO-SO day

2010-12-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Got an email from Dug yesterday saying that he was thinking of getting out this morning and wondered if I was interested. I emailed right back and said yes. I of course waited a few minutes so he wouldn't think I was overly excited. Truth is, I have been itching to get out and the timing just has not worked out over the last week or so. I know, a travesty, I haven't been skiin in a week or so. Conditions continue to be stable and that is always a good thing.

We started a little late due to the winter solstice and its still dark at 7. We met at the spot at 6 and made our way up to the top of LCC. Parked and watched a snowboarder dude roll right over Mikes ski tips. He hadnt put them on yet and they were just on the ground but still, really? Luckily they rolled over the flat parts and didnt do any damage. That would have been pretty sucky. We started our way up the Silver Creek headwall. This was a bit sketchy at times due to the slipperyness hidden just blow the fresh snow. We made our way to the top to take in what would be a pretty so, so few runs. Here's the up and a view shot.

Here we are ready to Harvest the goods. They all whored into my shot. Whores. Im in the meat in the sandwich here.

Looking straight into Silver Fork

Our fearless leader, photographer and guide.

Me after the climb, I mustered up a smile.

Some turns, it was all untouched.

Few more action pics here, here and dugs writeup. It was just a SO-SO day in the wasatch with Jamie, Dug, and Mike.

Confusing

2010-12-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

As good as the snow coverage has been this early in the year I couldn't find anyone to go skiing last weekend. I was going to get a workout in Sunday come hell or high water. I woke up and found the weather outside up top Suncrest to be rather pleasant. It was nearly 50 degrees. I sent Banks a text and said, hey we should get a road ride in. Banks waffled but made the appropriate decision within a matter of minutes. How perfect. It was a glorious ride. Temps were warm, I think we both overdressed. You can never be too warm as you roll down from Suncrest. The first few minutes are always the coldest of the ride. We got in a good hour and a half ride about 18 miles and I was home in time to watch the Cowboys game. Sunday glorious Sunday. His actual response was "F*ck it, I'm in" Im getting confused with the change in weather. Its going to be warm all week with no snow. Time for some bike rides I suppose.

Sorry bout the text, somehow it got screwed up and I couldn't fix it. Im an idiot.

Hannah's Hooked

2010-12-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

I finally got Hannah up to Alta for the "ski free after 3" deal that they have for their small lift. This is perfect to get young kids out for some cheap thrills. Took us awhile to get up there since I left the backpack at home and had to turn around at the Draper roundabout. I'm forgetful at times. Anyways, she had a blast. I asked her at the end if she wanted to go 1 more time before they closed the lift and she replied, "I want to go 6 more times!" She's Hooked.

35+5%

2010-12-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

You might be saying to yourself, what? 5%? No Nate, its 10%. Well, some blessings come in other forms besides the 10% good mormons give back. In Utah blessings also come in the form of 5% powder. For those of you that dont know what the hell I am talking about, Utah powder is light. 5% is the amount of water in the snow. 5% means its light and fluffy and fast. 5% means your in for a very good day.

So, you may know that last Monday was my Birthday. The big 35. I had forgotten to ask for the day off but when Dug asked if I could go skiing I quickly responded with "I could make that work". So, we met up at LCC at noon with Sam, Steve W, Dug, and me. We made our way up Flagstaff and its many kickturns that I love so much. The skin track was slick that day. I was slipping a bit and thought it was just me but Dug said it was slick and Steve was havin a helluva time. Slow and steady was my pace. I didn't want to slide backwards so I wanted to be as sure as possible my footing before I put all my weight down. I'm gettin better on the kickturns. Anywhoo, the uphill was not the excitment of the day. The down was. We reached the top and Sam had some hot apple cider in a thermos that he thoughtfully shared with us. Damn, it was good. After that we had 2000+ feet of 20+ inches of classic 5% Utah smoke. Damn it was a good run.

After that we parted ways, I went home to change and get a shower. We piled in the car and made our way to my parents house for dinner. Lindy and Hannah made me a homemade cake from a box and it had crumbled butterfingers on top. It was good too! My mom had my favorite ice cream Mint Chocolate Chip with a slice of cake. Best Birthday yet! Thanks to Mom, Lindy, Hannah, Dug, Sam, Steve and mother nature for a great day.

As Rick said so eloquently a few weeks ago. It was a good day.

Month of Nate

2010-11-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

My birthday is coming up. If you haven't found that perfect gift for me yet let me give you a hint-

MEGAWATT

I could also use another set of base layer, but those are a very, very distant second to the Megawatts.

Number 1 of Number 2

2010-11-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

My 2nd season of Backcountry action got underway yesterday morning with a Dawn Patrol with the likes of Dug, Mark,Jamie, Mike x2, Rick, and Sam. I forgot my camera so I borrowed these photos from Mark. Besides, I think he is a much better photographer than I am. Mine turn out blurry.

I also googled Days Fork and found a picture of the uptrack on Flagstaff.

Yep, thats ALOT of kickturns. My legs are feeling each one of them today, but its a really good feeling. I have been sick the last few weeks and havent been able to do much. You lose fitness sooo fast! I am looking forward to getting my fitness back. I think a few more DP's will help. I'm amazed at how fast Mark and Mike blazed up that thing. Homeboys got some serious fitness.

The backside into Days was nice. Im still working around some of my equipment. 2nd turn and my ski popped off. Luckily I wasnt too far below it and I could reach it with my pole. 2nd, I had an issue with my skins last year. The clips came off the back and got lost so there was no tension on the skin and it kept rolling back on itself. It was a nightmare. I was lucky to have some good help that day with Mark and Ben. I found out how it happens yesterday. On the kickturns if I try to hurry it and my tail rolls on the ski when I pull it up to turn the tail drags out and pops the clip off. I think this will go away once I get better at the kickturns. I felt like I did better yesterday and will only continue. That being said, I will be buying some extra clips for my pack just in case, as well as carrying some duct tape. Wow, got off subject there.

We didn't think the frontside of Flagstaff was going to be much more than just get to the bottom without blowin out your edge. Turned out to be really, really good. Not deep, but soft and buttery. I hit a few rocks up top but nothing deep enough to get a core shot.

Its great touring with guys that have so much knowledge, patcience and the willingness to take a newbie along. Dug takes the time to tell you about where we are going, why, whats a good route and what else you can access from the area. Priceless.

Season 2 is off to a really, really good start.

Is it wrong that I think this is funny?

2010-11-11T16:56:00.001-07:00

Because if its wrong, I dont wanna be right.

It is pretty cool that she finished though!

Must see inside?

2010-11-03T17:05:00.000-06:00

I was driving around today trying to find the X-mas light place that stores our lights. My plan is to pick them up to see how much of our house I can cover with our old lights and then decide what to do. First, I had to find the place. As I was driving around, I saw this house "for sale". It immediately made me start to think about all the tough houses I have sold over the years. I dont know that any of them would top this. I have sold a double wide trailer the day before the listing expired, I have sold a house and closed 2 days before foreclosure, I have been "paid" in appliances from a short sale. I have sold a house that was rented by a Vietnam Vet hippie that was always rockin his guitar and a doobie everytime I went over. He was actually pretty funny dude. I have sold the SAME townhome 5 times before it closed. You get the picture. There are some tough sells out there. This one ranks up there.

Must See Inside!

This house has a detached 2 car garage.

Also comes with a "Treehouse" or a guest house. I bet you are thinking to yourself right now, whats the catch? The catch is, thats I-15 right there! You are directly next to I-15. There is no on-ramp near by so you don't even get the convenience factor of being that close. Tough listing there.

I thought it was funny, am I the only one?

Huh?

2010-10-28T16:31:00.001-06:00

This is an actaul phone call I had yesterday:

To protect the innocent, lets call her Mary. Mary lives in this community.

Me-Hello
Mary- Oh hi Nate, this is Mary from the neighborhood.
Me-Hi Mary, what can I do for you?
Mary- Well, I just noticed that all my interior doors have locks on them? I have been here over a year and just noticed.
Me- yep, all the interior bedrooms and bathrooms have locks on the door knobs.
Mary-Hmm, where is the key? I tried my house key but it doesnt fit.
Me-You tried your front door key?
Mary-Yes, but I couldnt get it to fit.

So, in my head I am thinking to myself wow, am I really having this conversation?

Outside of the door, using a special key to unlock the door

Front door

A key that wont fit in the hole of the 1st picture.

Me- usually they leave they key to the door above the door on the door trim.
Mary-What does it look like?
Me- Its kind of hard to explain. Get a chair and look on top of the door.
Mary-Oh, I found it!

Lets hope Mary figures things out.

To wear or not?

2010-10-27T16:20:00.000-06:00

This has been rattling around in my head for awhile now and since the snow has been flyin around I thought it was fitting. I have worn a helmet while riding my bike since I was a kid. Yes, I was the ONLY kid in the hood that had a mother insist on my wearing a helmet. I hated it! Especially since the helmet she bought me was HUGE! Seriously, it was big and I felt lame that I was the only kid that had to wear a helmet. Well, the others came around shortly after a friend fell going down a hill nearby and would never be the same after. HAHA, jokes on them now. I set a trend. Anyways, Im getting sidetracked.

The helmet I had as a kid ranked up there with this one Riessen was sportin on our night ride last week. Sorry Riessen!

I guess what I am saying is I have worn a helmet while cycling since I was a kid. I havent been on a ride without my helmet since. Brainbucket is always there.

Skiing on the other hand well, I guess its still a newer concept. I have worn a helmet while skiing for the last 5 years or so. Its still not like cycling where most everyone wears a helmet unless your name is Sly. I would say above average amount of people where helmets while skiing but not all. I had this conversation with Dug last year while skiing. If I recall it went something like this:

Me-So Dug, you where a helmet while you ride your bike right?
Dug-Yea
Me-Is there a reason you don't wear one while skiing?
Dug-I don't really have an answer for that.
Me-What? You dont have an answer?
Dug-No punk, leave me alone.
Me-Is it like Old School?
Dug-Did you not hear me?
Me-A little sensitive here?
Dug-swung his ski pole at me.
Me-I shut up after that.

I may or may not have added some to that conversation. But, it got me thinking. A brain injury is a brain injury no matter if your skiing or cycling.

Exit question:

If your a cyclist and you wear a helmet AND you ski. Do you wear a helmet? If so, why? If not, why?

Time to dig my ski gear out!

Hoping for some more!

2010-10-23T16:43:00.000-06:00

I felt that time was running out on the high country Wasatch so when the opportunity presented itself for a ride the day before a big cold winter storm was about to slam into us I couldn't pass that up. I rolled up to the Top of Millcreek and parked at the Big Water Trailhead. The parking lot was not very busy so I felt that I was in for a pretty good ride. It was a bit chilly in the parking lot but figured once I got started I would warm right up. I started just before 4, I decided to pack my lights so I could stay out a little longer. It gets dark by 7 now.

I forgot how nice the climb up Big Water is. There are some grunt sections but mostly a pretty pleasant climb. The views were pretty ok.

Climb up Big Water


Red Pine Lake


Desolation Lake with some snow flurries

Dog Lake

The trails were all in great shape, a few small muddy patches but nothing more than a few feet. Big Water, Crest, Dog Lake, MMT. Finished a little after 8, in the dark. Super fun decent with nice lights!

I saw a few oddities. One group of 4 right by Desolation. Looked in over their heads. Not uncommon on that trail. They all had their hooded sweatshirts with the hoods on, no gloves. Hopefully they made it out ok. I also saw one dude in full on armor heading up Dog Lake. He was ready to rip that mean downhill apart. Dog Lake? Seriously? I have to admit it was not as busy as I was expecting. I had plenty of carrots to keep me rolling but there was never a time that I was frustrated by people. Overall a pretty great ride. I would rank it in the top 5 for the year.

Carpet of Yellow Aspen leaves

My phone died shortly after. Hopefully this storm doesn't completely rule out any more rides before the snow really flies. I would like to ride some more of that singletrack.

Still need to find a Helloween Costume!

Many reasons! No matter the season...

2010-10-18T20:27:00.000-06:00

I love where I live. I love the fact that I can roll out from my garage and be on these trails in less than 5 minutes. I don't care who you are, its some good stuff.

Sundays ride was one of those rare rides when the flow is just about perfect. I felt the presence of Jesus, I just followed his line.

Let the Indian Summer continue....Snow will come soon enough.

Also found out....... Hannah's going to be a big sister to a little brother or a little sister!

Im kickin my ass do ya mind? PCPP Writeup

2010-09-08T16:13:00.003-06:00

I am sure many of you have read several accounts of pain, suffering, delusions, possibly hallucinations, trimph, bitterness, what ifs, could haves and the overwhelming feeling of a phenominal accomplishment. I felt a little like this video clip. I signed up for this? Wow! You all know how I got into it and from previous posts have read about other failures. Well, I was looking at PCPP for some sort of redemption. Something to say my summer of riding was not a waste. Although, how could a summer of riding a bike be even close to waste? Impossible. Anyways, lets start out at the beginning.

We decided to stay overnight in PC so we wouldn't have to drive up in the morning for a 7 a.m start. This was nice. I got a better nights sleep than I did before Butte so I was already feeling much better. Ate a bagel with some peanut butter and honey and half a bar with some water and coffee. Rolled to the start area around 6:30 a.m and quickly found the rest of the crew. It was a bit chilly but not too cold. I really never felt cold once we got going. I "self sorted" to the 10+ hour finish time, mostly because I had miscounted and missed the 9-10 hour start. I self sorted on accident. Does that still count? Had I known what was to come, I would have self sorted more to the back of that group. The 12+ hour finish time. Oops, just gave it away. Round Valley was good, fast twisty singletrack, cool temps and good vibes. I found it comical watching people bust their ass to pass people only to get stuck behind 200 "other" riders, or better yet crash into a bush. Seriously, its a long day and I didnt feel that the energy required to pass people was worth burning. That said, I did pass people that I found going extremely slow. It had to be done. E.Bright went to pass some dude and the dude turned right into him knocking his bars out of alignment. Bright yelled some choice words as he rode away. I was glad to find out later that it wasnt anything major. Enough to piss you off though. We rolled through the first loop in just under an hour and we started the Skid Row climb. I felt pretty good over climb. There were still lots of riders around and passing was tough so we mostly just settled in. Passed a few people on the short downhill sections only to catch up to another "group" of riders. My stomach started feeling shitty about half way up the Deer Crest climb to Silver Lake. I can't really put my finger on it. I was staying fueled, had 2 gu's and a pack of honey stingers over 2 hours. Stayed hydrated but I just didnt feel good. I had good legs but my stomach was not good. I let some people pass and then got passed up by the rest of the guys in the hood. I rolled into Silver Lake wishing I was done. I painfully knew what was before me and it reminded me of hell. Not that I have been to hell but if you had mtn biking in hell, this trail would be there as well as a few others that we rode.

At the beginning of the race I decided to try out Brads new CR333 stuff in moderation. Meaning, instead of 3 scoops, I would use 2 and only utilize a few bottles throughout the race. Just as a way to get some extra calories in. Mistake. I tasted the stuff the night before. Sweet and tasty. First drink I took from the bottle at Silver Lake I thought it was going to come back up. I was doomed. Half Evil was pure evil on my stomach at the time. I dropped my camelback off so Lindy could refill it while we rode this shorter section and put the camelback back on as we headed out to the mother of all mothers loop. I could barely get 1/2 the bottle down and my stomach was growing angrier and angrier. I got into a good flow on the downhill of flagstaff loop. Thats such a good piece of onetrack.

I took a few minutes to gather myself at the 2nd stop. I had just arrived as the rest of the crew were heading out. I was able to drink some coke and some water and get some food in before heading out. Team Big Bear was good. TG was good. I got into a decent rythm put my head down and just pedaled. (man i missed headphones in this race). For some reason, TG started getting rough. Really rough. I started thinking man did I blow my shock and my fork at the same time? Nope, im just a pussy and the trail was kicking my ass! Then the fun began. Johns Trail. I spent the entire time on Johns Trail (felt like an eternity) thinking to myself who in their right mind would ride THIS trail when there is so much buttery smooth singletrack around. Seriously, who? What a god awful section. nuff said. Like gettin a wax, just rip it off so its done. Not that I have even been waxed, just sayin. I wanted nothing more than this section to be over. Alas, as soon as its over, you get to climb your ass back up to 9300 ft to shadow lake. It was hot, long and I thought I was going to die. That sums it up pretty well. There was walking, crying, contemplating and suffering. The voices in my head said stop. Turn around, you made a valiant effort. Your not going to make the cutoff. I kept going. I felt I could make the cutoff. And at this point, that was my immediate term goal. Get to the #3 aid station before they say, sorry try again next year dumb ass. That descent was ripping! I have no idea how I managed to hold on to my bars. Fastest descent of the day by far. I rolled into the aid station #3 at 3:30 an change. I made it. It was here that I found out the others were not too far ahead and that ERIK had been in the portopotty for the better part of an hour. YIKES! He emerged long enough to congratulate me for making it to the cutoff. I started asking around for Banks. He hadnt been through. I was puzzled. I mean, I know I was deeeeep in the pain cave but I would have noticed my good pal Banks if I had passed him. I had been chasing that group all damn day. Nothing. I asked a few of the other guys I came in with if they saw him, nope. Then he emerged from a different direction. SHIT! He overcooked a turn and got off course. I was bummed. I know this meant as much to him as it did to me. I felt a bit deflated. Don't worry Banks! I am 66.6% IN for next year. (never thought I would say that Saturday afternoon)

I somehow talked Riessen into tredging forward with me to the finish. I am not sure what the conversation was like. Probably like this. Riessen, I need someone to care for me if I dont make it. Your a Dr. and my best shot at survival. He probably said HTFU I'll kick your ass all over this section even if I have been pissing out my ass for the last hour. GREAT! I have company. This was huge because I was cooked from being solo for so long. No ipod meant the voices in my head were much louder than I wanted them to be.

Riessen and I started out that steep fireroad to connect with the Spiro Trail. Spiro was great, until it wasnt. It was nice to get into the shade and we had a good conversation going. Not the most enlightening conversation ever. We pretty much told each other about our dark moments and how shitty we were feeling. WHERES MY IPOD? Sorry Riessen, my inner monologue was already kicking my ass. We eventually just started talking about random stuff. If you have ever ridden with Riessen, you know how he talks and its so scientific and Dr. like. It sounded like this at the time, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No offense Riessen. I normally like it when you talk. Because that means Im not talking. Man, Spiro seemed like it took forever. I have no idea how long it took us. 50 minutes maybe? an hour? Then the hell would begin. MMT Reroute. This trail has been well documented. While riding fresh, you can power through this section and its not that bad. While riding tired after 60 miles of technical, twisty, rooty, rocky onetrack this section felt like the devil was grabbing my tires. I walked a good part of this. I was drunk and it felt like I was staring at every rock TRYING to smack it with my tire. I just kept thinking, keep moving forward. If I have to walk, walk. If I cant ride, walk. Move forward. Neither one of us could eat or drink much of anything. We were both battling that feel good one minute, feel terrible the next. This was the enemy. We contemplated bailing at each and every road crossing, or dirt road that looked like it might take us into town. Nope, I am finishing this fucking race. If I have to walk, crawl or sit here in the bushes to take a crap and then keep going, Im going to finish. (I only had one trailside dookie. Sorry bout that) So, really long story here. I will try to sum it up. We endured, we were triumphant, atleast in my mind. Coming over the last hill, you could hear the bass thumping. I thought for sure the party would be over and everyone would be packing up. Site for sore eyes. We saw the forum. I started to cry again. Seriously, the emotions of the day were so messed up. We ripped the downhill the best we could. We were both exhausted mentally and physically. Rolled onto that asphalt and made our way to the finish stretch. I made a wrong turn and went to the left of the tape instead of the right. I didn't care. I heard the cheering, I felt the warmness of the fans bringin us home. It was such a good feeling. I was eladed to be done. I crossed the line with one of my good friends. I wouldn't have made it without his company over the last stretch. The nice lady asked me what size feet I had. At the time, I thought what a bizarre question. Then I remembered. OH! My socks! For some, that craving of food keeps them going to the finish. For me, it was the socks, Lindy and Hannah waiting for me at the finish. Good stuff.

Suffer well? Hmm, I certainly suffered. Not sure if I suffered well. I finished. Thats all there is to it. My time estimation was clearly overestimated. I learned some stuff along the way. Overall, the experience was amazing. The vibe at this race was phenomenal. The trails, (most of them) volunteers, staff, marshals, mechanics, and most of all Lindy and the Draper Crew Girls. PHENOMINAL. We need to get them shirts for next year.

Thanks to all the crew from D-Town. The rides and company were all more than I could have asked for in a summer. Should we do it again next year? Maybe.

The badass award definately goes to BRIGHT. Riding the last 18 miles with a bike with no seat is hands down badass.

Im kicking my ass DO YA MIND?

It comes to this

2010-09-01T16:30:00.001-06:00

6 long months ago on February 14th I signed up for an endurance mtn bike race. Not just any race mind you, Park City Point 2 Point. This race, in its 2nd year sold out in under an hour for the solo category. In under 1 hour 200 other crazy bastards signed up for this race. I am almost positive that many of them have spent the last 6 months training, watching calories, studying maps and profiles, testing out foods and other things all leading up to this. The final countdown. It comes to this. The cold winter days skinning up mtns in the Wasatch Backcountry, trying to stay in shape throughout the long cold winter. The dark mornings of crawling out of bed just to ride your stationary trainer in a cold concrete prison room in the basement. The hours on the bike. The pain and suffering of training rides with people faster than you. The early wakeup calls throughout the summer to get some time on the bike before the rest of the world is awake. The time away from family. The support of Lindy. The cheering of Hannah, "umm, my daddy is beating you". The deep burning desire to NOT be the slowest guy in the group this year. It comes to this.

The Park City Point 2 Point race is by far the largest event I have ever entered into. It is known across the country by professional endurance mtn bike racers. There is envy from those that tried to get in but missed out. There is the shock and awe of those that think I and others are just plain crazy. To those I say, that might be so, but its just one of those things. As Dug said, Once your hooked, your hooked.

I have ridden nearly 1600 miles so far this year. There is still 2 months left of the season atleast. 1600 miles is nearly what my mom drives each quarter. My training has gone nearly to plan. I am looking forward to finishing the PCPP race with a smile on my face come late Saturday afternoon.

So, theres nothing left to do except Pedal Dammit, and Suffer Well. I also like what Dug had to say. Many other posts about PCPP showing up right now. Its all good stuff.

10 day review part 2

2010-08-26T17:02:00.000-06:00

Picking up where we left off. A few weeks back while riding in Park CIty, my bike began making a weird creak noise. It would happen under pressure or riding in certain parts of the trail that a creak wouldn't normally happen. If that makes any sense. Probaby not but it was making noise. I couldn't pin point it to an exact spot except the rear hub area or somewhere in the rear. I got out my headlamp and started to investigate. Didn't really know what I was looking for but, I saw something that I was concerned about so I took it in to Revolution for a professional look. Worry confirmed, it was broke. I didnt know how to react. 2 weeks away from PCPP, what bike would I be riding. Not a good feeling. I tried not to freak out but my stomach was in knots. Matt (the cannondale rep) just happened to be on his way to the shop, so I hung out.

Broke, cant tell from the pic though

Matt came in and checked it out and immediately was on the phone to Cannondale. Awesome! Oh wait! Backordered until October! Shit! He said he would find me a bike to ride and thought maybe he would be able to track down a frame. Told me to call him later that night. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat and got me a new frame. Less than 5 days later, I have a new frame all built up and ready to roll.

Sweet brand new frame!

I took it out this morning on its maiden voyage and broke it in real good. I took a digger coming down Jacobs. Trail is pretty washed out in a few sections and rutted. Got caught with my pants down in a rut and wasn't able to pull it out. (no pun intended) Crashed into a huge sagebrush bush and some small oak trees. Broke my sunglasses and scratched me up pretty good. Pretty lucky actually, I was expecting it to be much worse at the speed I was going. Too bad nobody was with me. I am sure it was a spectacular crash to watch, only Lord of the Blue Dome witnessed.

On to the Queen Stage of the Tour Of Utah. I have been looking forward to this stage for a long time. I wasn't able to watch last year since I was crawling up LCC just before the pros came haulin ass through. I got to watch the finish but I really wanted to be lower in the Canyon where I could get close to the riders. It didn't disappoint! We arrived at Tanners Flat around 1:30 ish. We were able to get a great spot up towards the top before it bends right. We could see the whole straightaway. We got the chairs out and hung out for an hour or so and waited for the support cars to roll up. Once we say them we knew they were getting close. Plus I was following where they were on my phone via Twitter.

We went to the other side of the road since it was less crowded and everyone seemed to follow us. Dammit! We had a great view and we were near this guy.

This dude was pumped to be there!

He also came with a chick dressed like the Wendy's chick. Couldn't get a good pic of her though. Anyway, Tanners Flat came unglued when the riders started rolling through. I jumped right in and ran alongside the riders, screaming and yelling, ringing my bell. It was a blast! We saw Levi roll through and Burke, got some decent pictures. A few of the riders off the back asked for a push, I ran alongside them while pushing. They were all suffering. America's Toughest Stage race had taken its toll on everyone.

GO Levi GO!

Hannah started school back up on Tuesday. She was pretty pumped to go back to school. We will take advantage of that since it won't be too long before we are throwing cold water on her to wake her up!

Woke up this morning pretty sore. I went out for a easy mtn bike ride to see how my body felt. Felt decent on a bike. Rollin up to PC tomorrow to ride the last 2 sections of the PCPP course. Should be a good time.

10 day review part 1

2010-08-25T18:03:00.000-06:00

In an attempt to catch things up a bit I thought I would try to do it in a few posts.

The Tour of Utah rolled through last week and I know alot of us did whatever we could to catch a stage or two, or three. I was able to catch 3 of them. I really wish I could have made the Park City Crit but was unable to pull that one off.

I cruised down to Nephi and watched them climb the backside of Nebo. It was a ton of fun to see all the support cars, media etc roll through there before the riders. Unreal how these guys climb. Here are a few photos from that stage.

Next up for us was the Time Trial. We decided to make the drive to BFE because I had the day off and it had some kids stuff goin on that I thought would help keep Hannah entertained. We got to meet the Bees mascot, we got to stand within 4 feet of Levi while he warmed up and we finally got a front row seat to watch the last 15-20 riders cruise in through the finish. Average speed 30+mph!

I really wanted to hug him but he wouldn't let me.

We all had a really great time watching the Time Trial. Although, the Time Trial is probably not the greatest fun since you only see them for a split second.

I had decided that day while riding up AF canyon that I would do the Snowbird Hillclimb the next morning. I could do that and still make it to work. Since my Scalpel broke (more on that later) I was unable to do some PCPP recon friday and wanted to get some good riding in. So, I surprised Lindy who was planning on going to the Farmers Market the next morning. She was a good sport and was able to come see me about half way up the canyon and still make it to the Farmers Market. I was pretty pleased with my time. 1 hour 6 minutes. Fastest by about 4 minutes unless you count the climb 2 years ago when it started over towards Big Cottonwood. A bit shorter I think. I felt pretty good and was able to finish strong.

The previous week, the good DR. and I made our way to Park CIty to ride some pristine one track. The trails in Park CIty are very nice. Good flow, smooth, technical, demanding climbs etc. You name it they have it. We fumbled our way around the course and ended up with 30 miles. Not what we had planned out but good riding nonetheless.

Come back for the news on my broken bike, the Queen Stage of the Tour Of Utah and possibly some other stupid stuff.

Heathen Clarks TT PR

2010-08-15T12:56:00.000-06:00

Beat my old time by a whopping 4 seconds! I don't think I could have gone any harder without passing out. Happy with it though.

Clarks TT by nkingdon at Garmin Connect - Details

Let the PCPP be your rememdy

2010-08-11T17:36:00.000-06:00

So what! I stole the title of my blog post straight from the end of this video. But, it is so true. Let the PCPP be your remedy. A little more than 2 weeks and several of us from BUTT will be looking to PCPP for some redemption. It will be sweet. Oh yes, it will be.

Did a ride last Friday to the AF summit. Legs were a little tired but overall I felt pretty good. Shaved a few minutes off my time to the summit from my previous time. I felt pretty good about that. Still nowhere near the fast kids, I would fall into lucky #13 there. Got out for a little dirty heathen ride on Sunday and my legs felt great! The Zeph and I got out early this a.m for some dirt. Early dirt is a great way to start the day.

The good Doc and I are hittin up PC Friday for some smooth like butta one track. Can't wait!

Pain in the Butte!

2010-08-05T18:35:00.002-06:00

Where to begin. Have you ever thought about something so much, pondered, planned, anxiously awaited only to have it all blow up in your face? Thats how I felt Saturday late afternoon. Last spring I reluctantly signed up for the Butte 100 endurance mountain bike race. The reluctant part came because there was not much information on the website about it. Brad (aka Carborocket) did this race last year and had nothing but good things to say. Even though it took him just over 12 hours to complete it and he has superhuman powers, I still thought it was something I could do. All the website had was a shitty map, an old profile and a vague description. I thought for sure more details would come and it would help me prepare for my first endurance event. Those things never came.

July 31 came pretty fast. I trained alot this year, stayed in decent shape through the winter and rode a fair amount in the early spring and started the season at a good weight. As July 31 came closer I became more and more nervous about what I was getting myself into. Everyone I talked to said, "didn't Carborocket do it in over 12 hours" "Its going to take you 16 hours!" Great. That was BEFORE we found out that this years race would be harder and longer. It took the winner almost an hour longer than the winner from last year. I'm not going to blame the course or anyone else for my failure. I was simply not prepared well enough either mentally or physically. More on this later. First a few pics of the best looking crew in all of mountain bike racing. They were awesome!

We rolled into Butte on Thursday and stopped at the shop, one of the owners is Levi's brother. You know Levi the pro racer NOT Levi Johnston. Picked up a map and I quickly looked for a total elevation gain. I added it up and it as over 22000! I think I crapped my pants right there. That cant be right. I dismissed it and tredged on. We got a map and headed out to scope out the start. Then we headed out to see the aid station 1. After that we found some food at Mckenzie River Pizza. It looked to be the safest of what was limited options in Butte. Unless you wanted fast food.

Friday we woke up and I went out for an easy spin for 45 minutes to shake out the legs after the drive. I felt good but my rear shock was not feeling right so I took it down to the shop and left it there for the day. They offered to do quick tunes on anyones bike that was doing the race so I took em up on it. Turns out the Utah Cannondale Rep Matt Ohran was up there for Tinker and actually did the race himself. I actually bought my bike from him so he did some work on it replaced some bushings and did some work on the BB. I felt much better after that. Bike was dialed. Everyone else started rolling in Friday afternoon. We gathered together that night for dinner at the above mentioned establishment. That place was packed. After dinner we headed over to the bike shop for the 8:00 pm racer meeting. I wanted to be in bed by then. Great. We listened to the description of the trails, the descriptions were not any better than what we had read previous to getting there and there was still no mileage to aid stations, no profile, nothin. We were going to attempt a dirty hundie with no real knowledge of the course except that the climbs are long and brutal and the descents can get real sketchy. Nice. May god be with us.

We rolled back to the Hotel that was only a few blocks away to find that our floor had been taken over by teenage girls that were in town for a softball tourney. My worst nightmare had come true. Giggling, door knocking, door slamming. You name it, it kept me up. I went to the store at 9:15 looking for ear plugs only to find the waxy kind. I really didn't like them. They muffled the noise a little but could not drown out the doors closing etc. I slept like shit. I think I only slept maybe 3-4 hours. Not a good way to start out with a 4:00 a.m wake-up call.

Alarm went off shortly after the wake-up call. I had to have an insurance plan. I brewed some coffee, gathered my stuff together and ate some cereal. Cereal that I would see later in the day.

Brad J drove us to the start so Lindy and Brads Girlfriend could roll into aid station 1 and not be in such a rush to get out the door. That worked out great because Lindy and Alisha got along great and became friends. All the support crew had a great time throughout the day.

So, off to the race report- Get comfortable.
6 a.m. Sun rising, a little cool. I felt good, felt confident for what was to come. I had trained hard and thought I had prepared mentally and physically for what I was about to do. And we're off! The race started with 1/4 mile of road that filtered into a dirt road and fed us into an ATV trail heading down. 80+ riders all grouped together made this first descent a bit sketchy. I saw multiple people go down in the loose sandy sections. All really good riders going down on a section of trail that would normally not be difficult but because of a large group and people going slower than they normally would go made things a bit interesting. This trail dumped us out onto a residential (montana style) dirt road. I saw 3 horses running in a field towards us, I thought they were going to jump the fence but they stopped abruptly. Then, within 3-4 minutes I heard this "clip clop" behind me and I thought it sounded like a mtn biker running with their biking shoes behind me. I thought damn they are fast. Just then, the 3 horses race by as if they wanted in on the action. It was crazy. I thought I was taking it easy on this flat section but my HR told me otherwise. Probably nerves. My HR always jumps at the beginning of a race. I tried to settle in and ride a good pace to get into a rhythm. To the first aid station was not a difficult part of the race but there were some short steep climbs that got my HR going and some long flat sections. I latched onto a paceline group with Banks and Seamons and this helped go much faster on the road section heading up to the Nez Perce trailhead. Nez Perce was the spot for aid station 1. I was feeling really good here and was excited to start the climb up Nez Perce. This climb is wooded, mystical, semi technical but all rideable singletrack. Nothing steep all middle-ring. This climb did seem to go on a ways. Once it topped out the descent was sweet. Twisty, turny, tight singletrack that was a blast to ride. If I had known more about the aid stations I would have gone past 2 and stopped at 3. Instead I stopped at 2 and skipped 3. Mistake. Between 2 and 3 was mostly downhill. 3-5 was mostly uphill and hot. The descent from 2-3 was sketchy. Steep, loose, rutted etc. I went down shortly after station 2. As did most of our group from Draper. I got a nice raspberry on my right butt cheek. Nothing too painful, I was just glad it didn't rip my new shorts. At station 3 is where the real hell started.

As we entered the station 3 I didn't stop. I should have. Its all uphill to station 4. Or it felt that way to me. And it was hot! This was by far the hottest part of the day. Totally exposed, hot, no wind, this is called Whisky Gulch. I wish I had some Whisky to put me out of my misery. My stomach was already acting up a bit and this made me nervous since we were only 35-40 miles in. I had hoped it would settle and allow me to eat some food. At station 4, I refilled my pack and thought we had about 10-12 miles to go for station 5. This is where our crew would be with a ice cold coke and some pretty smiling faces. This part took what seemed like FOREVER! Climbing, climbing, more climbing, just when you thought you might be close? Nope! More climbing! It kept going and going. Mile 50 ticked on by and the aid station was nowhere to be seen. We just kept climbing. We could hear the highway and even caught a few glimpses of it as if it were teasing us, messing with our heads. At this point, Banks, Seamons, Bright and I were all together for the most part. Mile 50 is where we thought the aid station would be but it turned out to be closer to mile 56 or 57. It was a complete mind f*&^! You could hear the highway, and you could see it at times. We were on this long dirt road that just kept winding up, up, up. Every corner you thought you would come across and the station would be there. I came to really hate those corners. We finally made it and I had the best Coke in my life. We stayed here for awhile, trying to regroup. My stomach was not feeling well. Nothing sounded good to eat at all. I ate a fair amount of watermelon, half a snickers bar and a coke. I felt much better after spending some time there. Alishas ice cold rags were a close 2nd to the Coke and Lindy's smiling and caring face. Not to mention she had her workout clothes on so they were tight and she looked hot.

This is where things got interesting. We just came up from the depths of hell, oh my lord was that hot. The skies were getting dark and looked promising that it was going to rain. The thought of a little rain was great since it would cool things down. Had no idea that rain in Montana meant torrential downpour with hail and hi winds. Just as we started the descent it started to rain. This meant we had to take it a little slower since we couldn't see so good and the hail was pelting us. The descent was shortlived. Quickly we started climbing again. Surprise! This was a really cool section of trail. Deep woods, singletrack and uphill. It kept going and going, uphill, just when you thought you were done, the trail would level out, you would click a few gears up and it would turn uphill again. This is where my stomach started really getting serious. As we climbed and climbed I couldn't take any food in. I would try and chew and chew and chew and as I would try to swallow I just couldnt do it. I ended up losing my breakfast on that long climb with switchback after switchback. Seriously it was a trail connected by switchbacks after switchback up, up, up through the woods. Admittedly this was a great section of singletrack. I only wish I felt better because it was perfect. Temp was great, trail was in great condition, I however was not. I felt great immediately after losin my lunch so I tried eating some food. Within 5 minutes of starting back up again the food made another appearance. I suffered to the top and started the descent, the descent was actually alot of fun. We rolled through the archery practice area and I thought I was hallucinating because I started seeing all these huge stuffed animals in the trees with targets on them. Then I remembered we were in the Archery. DUh! I was really disappointed because my legs felt good. I really couldnt push it and i felt weak but my legs didnt ache at that point like I thought they would. Maybe I had a nice break walking so much because some of the trail was straight up STEEP! Those boys in Montana don't eff around.

Finally reached aid station 6 and I did the math in my head and figured there was no way to make it to the time cut-off. I kept waiting to start feeling better and it just never came. In that condition, going as slow as I was, it would have been 16+hours to finish. I forgot my bearspray so this option was not on the table. I wrestled with the thoughts of continuing on or pulling the chute there. I decided I had suffered enough and pulled the rip cord. 71.62 miles. Mostly uphill (atleast thats what it seemed).

Results were posted and 34 out of 71 finished the 100. Less than half. Somehow it doesn't make me feel much better. Maybe a bit. But not much.

71.62 miles
10,317 elevation gain
Average HR-151

I have to take this as a learning experience. It was my first endurance race. Its really the only way to take it without wanting to sell my bike. Like the race organization, a few tweaks here and there and I will be set. I felt that I had the legs and am in good enough shape to complete an endurance event. I am looking forward to PCPP. I will finish that race even if I have to crawl across the finish line.

Lessons learned-
1-too much time spent at aid stations. This was partially my fault and partially the nature of this race. I had to find my bag, drop some carborocket in my camelback, pour some water in etc. Just took too much time. I may roll with bottles at PCPP.
2-Need to figure out fuel. Maybe eating something more often. I am able to take food in on training rides. Not sure if race pace just puts that much more pressure on my system that it starts to tweak on me. Any advice would be appreciated.
3-a cold wet rag is heaven on earth during a race. Oh my lord!
4-Coke tastes wonderful
5-Montana beat me down, but I am going to leave the door open to return someday.
6-Never underestimate the power of bug spray. Good hell those bugs were as relentless as the climbing.

Thats it for now. Thoughts are now on to PCPP.

Gauntlet Supreme + S. Suncrest=Pain

2010-07-05T17:40:00.000-06:00

So, this last Friday a few of us embarked on what people call the Gauntlet Supreme. Well, I am here to say that it is appropriately named. Jdub, Zeph and Evilbanks rolled out of the culdesac at 5:40 a.m. Yep, you read that correctly A.M. Sam and another dude named Karl joined us for to the summit of AF. For those of you not familiar with The Gauntlet Supreme it is basically hell. Although crazy mofos like Rick (not his real name) say "thats my favorite road ride". Crazy bastard. Anyways, here is a link to the Gauntlet Supreme. This link is a little different than what we ended up doing. Ours ended up being 112 miles and over 14,000 ft of vertical. The hardest day on the bike for me. I felt pretty good most of the day. My triple definately came into good use throughout the whole day. My knees would have never made it with a double. Call me what you want, I would rather ride my bike with a triple than not ride at all. Clear choice. We started out with AF to Tibble Res, continued up to the campsite. Cant remember the name. After that we kept going up to the Timpooneke Campground. (the site where the kid got mauled by the bear last year) after that we kept on going until we reached the summit. We hung out at the summit for a few minutes, none of us wanting to decend into hell (Cascade Springs) Zeph calls this climb BCS. Butt cheeks spread. Ya know, its ugly. Good term Zeph. Banks and I have never done the BCS Cascade Springs climb, so we didnt know what we were getting ourselves into. It was a bit windy as we decended down to the potty/water source. Jdub and Zeph flew down the road. I preferred to take it easy since I didn't know the road very well. And to be honest, I was not in a hurry to turn around and climb back up that beast. We all met back up at the bottom, replenished our bottles ate a little food and got going. I don't know if I was expecting worse or what, I felt pretty good coming up Cascade. I got into a good rythm and just pedaled. I kept thinking I was close to the top and it just kept going. There are 2 sections that really mess with you. One, you can see this big stretch of road before you its daunting. The second is just steep and painful. And it just keeps going. I am pretty sure there are some 12-14% sections on that climb. We met back up at the top and continued on down the Sundance side of AF. Thanks to Rick for the advice to ride Cascade early. We would have never ridden that if it was towards the end of the day. We refilled at Vivian Park and continued down the Provo River parkway trail to attack our next climb. Squaw Peak, this climb is not particularly long about 4.5 miles and not super steep but its steep enough that it makes you work. You can't really take this climb easy and recover at all. We could feel it getting hotter and I think I will speak for the whole group that while this climb was short it took its toll on us all. We took our time rolling back down and took it easy riding back up to Vivian Park where we took a break in the shade. Next up was South Fork. This is a short and pretty easy climb. usually. We were all getting fairly tired and we had a nice headwind and that made South Fork seem way harder than it actually is. We made it to the top and turned around back to Vivian Park. This is the time that Jdub noticed a little snack shack. We got some ice, mtn dew, snickers and Zeph and evilbanks each had a hotdog. I didnt dare so I settled for a snickers and some mtn dew. We all wanted to stop at that point and call it good. But, we would regret that decision so w tredged on. The first few miles to Sundance were BRUTAL. It was hot, and it was a slow mover. Jdub dropped me just before Sundance. I was so happy to find out that Sundance was 2 miles up and not 3 miles like we had originally thought. We hung out there and got a cold pepsi and a peanut butter and honey sandwich. We waited for Banks there but he sent me a text saying he was an animal and he was going to just keep going. He had some of Carborockets magic sauce. I need to get me some of that. We were in the homestretch. The 3-4 miles after Sundance I felt good. Then I hit the WALL! I was crawling. I was feeling pretty bad and knew I needed to get some food in me. I pulled over to pee and shoved some food in my mouth, got back on the bike and pedaled ever so slowly. Jdub and Zeph both dropped me long before so I was in for some lonely suffering. I crawled my way back to the Summit where they were waiting for me. I ate what was left of my sandwich and some gelblocks and started the windy decent down AF. The wind was ripping on our decent and that made it interesting. Crosswinds are not a bike riders friend. Things were sketchy. We got out of the canyon without incident and made our way to our last stop, Chevron. We shared a Coke, and got ourselves ready for the homestretch. Luckily the wind was still blowing from the south. This meant we would have the wind at our backs. Phew! Jdub dropped me again, he seemed to just get stronger as the day went on while I got weaker. That was a long ass day.

A few observations from the day.
1-overall I felt pretty good. I need to find some other ways for calories as bars and gels become nearly unbearable after 6 hours or so. Suggestions anyone?
2-riding that long with a few good fellas is waaaaay more fun than doing it solo. Seriously made the day go by alot faster.
3-Carborocket rules. I have mentioned this before but my issues were not from what I was drinking. It was from what I was NOT consuming.
4-Headwinds suck. Tailwinds after 105 miles are gods way of helping you along. I think God rides bikes.
5-I have come a long ways from last year.
6-Sam has ridden his bike 5 times and still can kick all our ass's.
7-riding bikes through swarms of bugs with sunscreen on your face and arms isnt cool. I spent the rest of the day pickin those bastards out of my arm hair.
8-Jdub and Zeph are animals on the downhills. Way beyond my comfort level.
9-Banks kicks mucho ass for just rollin on past Sundance. Im sure he flipped us all the bird as he rolled by. I am pretty sure he also yelled out "see ya at home bitches".
10-a creaky bike gets to be pretty annoying when you are deeeeeeeep in the pain cave.
11-I need to use more chamois cream on my butt. I applied liberally but used more on my junk. I coulda used a bit more on my butt.
12-While it was painful, it was a necessary training ride in preperation for Butte. I am glad we completed the Gauntlet Supreme Du Jour.

Sorry, I didnt have room for my camera. I was too worried I wouldn't have enough food.

is mario in trouble?

2010-06-19T16:07:00.000-06:00

Is Super Mario in trouble? I hope not. What would this world do without Mario? Its tough times for everyone Mario! Hang in there!

wannabe blogger

2010-06-18T15:19:00.001-06:00

I suck at blogging! Its not that I don't have the time, believe me, I have time on my hands. I just suck at it. But, I am going to make another attempt (however feeble it may be). The training for Butte 100 and PCPP has been going pretty good. Both of those races still scare the crap out of me though! Misery loves company though so I will continue on like a lamb to the slaughter house. So far YTD I have about 800 miles on my legs. To some that may not seem like alot but for me I think it is. Looking back at last year I have alot more miles under me than I did at this time last year. I was also able to knock off that Halloween/Holidays 10 lbs I packed on in a few short months. I am not just a little less than I was at the end of last season. I feel good about that. This spring has been a weird one with the weather. Gets warm, then cold and rainy or snowy. Not ideal cycling weather. Thats Utah for ya. Here are a few pics.

Doesn't Hannah look thrilled

Here's Kayonkris @ the summit AF

Stole this and cropped it from the UMB site.

Anyways, Riessen and I just finished a nice long ride in CC. Most of it was good. I took a little digger banged up my elbow, knee, thigh and forearm and I have some pretty sore ribs right now. Hopefully they heal fast. Hate crashing, guess it comes with the territory. Heres a link to our ride. Tour gay CC Pretty good route except for the first hour. Felt wasted. Lots of scrambling trying to find the road and lots of walking. We found our way though. All in all, I felt pretty good. Legs felt sluggish in the first few hours, felt pretty good after that until the end. Spent most of the time riding with sore ribs. Thats no fun. Hopefully I blog again soon and not wait for 2 months. Thanks for keeping me on your blogroll.

Butte 100

2010-05-03T17:35:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, its still a few months away. I am both nervous as hell about this huge race in the end of July that I somehow got talked into signing up for and also excited as hell. The trails sound awesome and look like they will be a ton of fun. Atleast the trails that are downhill or flat. I haven't seen any of the uphill trails or a profile of the trail. Thats probably a good thing. Thats the part thats scary. Well, that and the 12+ hour timeline. That part scares the shit out of me.

Random picture day

2010-04-19T17:36:00.000-06:00

Today was a good phone pic day. Enjoy.

The Double

2010-04-16T16:26:00.001-06:00

I pulled off the elusive "double dip" yesterday. Not sure how many opportunities come around to partake in the double dip. Mine came about due to Lindy's family coming in town for the Salt Lake Marathon, coupled with a funeral she was attending. I dropped Hannah off at school, went straight to Corner Canyon, was on the trail by 9:00 or so. I rode until just after 11, loaded up and returned to pick up the lil darlin from school. We made our trip to Beans n Brews for an after school, post ride drink. Caffeine for dad and sugar for Hannah. Both satisfied, we headed home for some lunch, a story and naptime. I even managed some yardwork while she napped.

After she got up, Lindy was home and I left for a short road ride. My plan was to head down north suncrest ride around for a bit and head back home. I had about an hour. Last year I timed north Suncrest once. 27:30 was my time. I decided to see what kind of shape I was in this year. Since I am 10 lbs lighter in April than I was last year. I started out not going for the time trial but rather just to see how it was. I felt decent so I decided to push the pace a bit. That climb never gets easier. Made it to the stop sign in 24:50. I was surprised, tired, panting and excited. One of my goals this year was to climb North Suncrest in under 25 minutes. Never thought I would do it in April. I will need to re-do that goal.

All in all, it was a great day off. Dirt in the morning, asphalt in the evening. Spent some time with Hannah, got some yardwork done, went out to dinner. Good day. I'm sore today, can't decide if I'm more sore from riding or from stupid yardwork. My guess is the yardwork. Last year, I got tendonitis in my wrist from stupid yardwork. Guess I had better pace myself this year.

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Jose

2010-04-15T14:58:00.000-06:00

No, im not trying to be mexican. Those of you who know me, know I can't speak spanish. I speak Mexican/English. Its a tricky language. One that requires spending time in Mexico to really get the hang of it.

So anyways, back to the story. Hannah has many loves on this earth. A few of those are as follows in no particular order. Swinging, riding bikes, riding the train and the updown at the Zoo, Mustaches, going to the park, getting a balloon, eating ice cream, a man named Jose, her teachers, grandma's etc etc. Wait, what? She loves Mustaches and a Man named Jose? Yep, you read that correctly. Not just any man named Jose. The Jose that works at Taco Time. They go way back. Each time she goes to Taco Time, he is working. Now she runs up and gives him a hug! JOSE! They have conversations. I don't think either one of them understand what the other is saying. They just nod at each other and smile when they are done talking. Its great. One of these days, we will get a picture of Jose and Hannah. Until then, you will have to use your imagination.

Hit up Corner Canyon this morning after I dropped Hannah off to school. More trails are opening up with this warm weather. Rode up Ghost Falls and it was mostly dry all the way to the gate. The gate is still closed. Still a few muddy spots but with a few more days it will dry out nicely. Still getting my bike dialed in. Never thought it would take this long. Things just feel different. I suspect I will get used to the new position soon enough.

Also got the new Revolution Kit. I may need to trade up to a large from medium. Lemme know if you know anyone looking for a medium. I can get in it, but I feel like a sausage. It runs smaller than the kit from last year. Its a medium and fits great. Not even sure 5 lbs would make it fit better. It might though.

Expectations Met

2010-04-01T12:18:00.000-06:00

I was just thinking how my virgin year of Backcountry skiing has been a bit of a bust. Between a below average snow year and shitty timing things seemed to evade me when it came to gettin out for some Dawn Patrol. I have been on a few tours, 1 where we followed rick to low and missed the road return to the parking lot coming off the backside of Scotties. The snow was good that day, the missed turn not so much. As Dug said, like other Virgin things, atleast I got my virgin BC ski year nearly behind me. Today we had redemption. Today my expectations were met. Nobody seems to take pictures when I go. I was hoping to star on film. Instead, I get my own crappy shots.

Above are I think Ben, Mark, I think there was a Frank and Joe headin up for 2nds.

You get pictures of me here. Its my blog dammit. This is just at the bottom of the Scotties Bowl about to rip up the lower section. It was all good, and all untouched! Redemption! Im tired and actually sore since this is my 3rd tour. Lets see how I feel later. I may or may not be ready for another round tomorrow. Sorry my links won't link to the other blogs. Im retarded as I told Dug at the top while I was making my smooth transition from skins to skis. I am sure he was laughing. Probably still is.

So, all in all, for today, my expectations were met. Here's to more days like that in my future.

Summer Plans

2010-03-20T17:31:00.001-06:00

I guess its time I lay out my plans. Not that any of you care. But, for those of you who might, here they are.

I have a few goals this year for the bike.

1-Sub 12 minute Clarks TT. My best time last year was just under 13 minutes. I feel that I can knock a minute off that time.
2-Sub 25 minute North Suncrest Road TT. Last time I timed that climb it was around 28 minutes. It was early June and I was not in really good shape yet. I hope this is doable. I think I can.
3-Sub 22 Minute South Suncrest Road TT. I can't remember my times from last year exactly, I think this would knock off a few minutes from last year.

I will also be participating in the following events this year. Short list, but sweet.
1-100 miles of nowhere sponsored by FATCYCLIST.
2-Icup Draper Race. Backyard course. I am excited about this one.
3-Butte100 Mtn race in Butte Montana
4-PCPP-Not exactly backyard but home dirt thats for sure.
5- Possibly the Snowbird Hillclimb. Not 100% in for this one.

Oh, you may have heard, I got a new Mtn Steed this year. Hannah was helping me clean it last week. I will post a better picture. It rides sweet. Back on a Scalpel!

Man Crush

2010-03-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

So, this isn't about me, although I can think of a few "men" I could have a crush on. Thats a whole nother story. I was driving down I-15 today on my way to work and saw this suv in front of me with a Yankees sticker on the back window and a license plate that said "JTERFAN". I naturally reached for my phone to take a picture but he got away before I could get a picture. Yes, you read that right, HE got away. I obviously thought to myself after I saw him that it would be a chick driving the car. I was wrong. Apparently this dude has a "Man Crush" on Derek Jeter. Seriously? I would never have a "Man Crush" that strong that I would get a personalized license plate. And Derek Jeter? The best and lets be honest here, the ONLY thing Derek Jeter has goin for him is Minka Kelly. Nuff said.

Elephant Man

2010-03-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was digging around in some old pictures that I took with my mac cam and ran across this.

This reminds me that I need to renew my EPI PEN perscription this year. I think it expired. Yep, I'm allergic to bees. This particular bee flew into my face and got stuck between my glasses and my helmet. Stung me right on my eyebrow. I looked like the Elephant Man for a few days. It was hilarious to watch people come in the my office and stare at me wondering what was wrong. Ever since I started carrying an Epi Pen, I haven't been stung. Weird. I'm glad really, I still dont know if I will be able to jab that thing in my leg. Well, I guess if I'm going to die I could.

Frank

2010-02-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok. Some of you know me well. Pretty well. You all know I have A.D.D. So, I started this post yesterday about people that I see because of a person I just saw and I totally forgot to add them to the story.

Let me start it off with this. I need to set the scene.

Car pulls up. Its a pretty nice car. Gold Maxima. Gooooooooooooold! Anyways, this guy gets out. Lets call him Frank. Now Frank was a little light on his toes if ya know what I mean. No, thats not what Im bloggin about. He had jeans on, a gray and white striped shirt WITH a matching hat, pulled sideways. VERY fasionable. He walked in and wanted some information. From the get go I thought something was up. He seemed "shifty". I couldn't put my finger on it but it was in the back of my mind. We went out on site and walked through a couple of houses. He was young, under 25, said he was in Real Estate and said he could spend up to 300k. Another alarm went off. I dont know many sub 25 year olds doing THAT well in Realt Estate right now. I could be wrong, but I rarely am. Upon returning to the model, he asked to use my bathroom. "sigh" sure, its on the top floor. I love it when overweight people ask that AFTER they just walked through the model. "Oh, I gotta walk all the way back upstairs?" Well, you aint doin your business in my office. Feel free to go use the Arby's bathroom. I told him I would put a packet together for him and sent him on his merry way. Or is is Mary? Frank returned a few minutes later. Yea, he wasn't gone that long so I didn't think anything about it. You all know where this is going. I gave him his info, got him registered and we parted ways. Immediately I thought, man that dude was off. I had to pee so I went upstairs to take a leak. Got to the top of the stairs and I think I passed out for a minute. Sweet Lord! Montezuma's Revenge had made a deposit in MY bathroom. My eyes were watering, I was nearly dry heaving. It was bad. I turned the fan on (who doesn't turn the fan on after they drop a serious bomb) returned to my office, returned with my clorox wipes in hand going over every surface I thought he may have touched. After that I washed my hands, went in the other bathroom and pryed off the seat cover that says this bathroom does not work, peed and returned the seat cover.

Yep, thats right. I got a visit from Frank. Frank seemed like a fitting name for the smell he left me.

My fair share of crazy visitors

2010-02-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that I work for a home builder. I manage a community sales office and such. I deal with different types of people on a daily basis depending on how busy it is etc. Well, along with that I also get my fair share of interesting visitors. My community is near the TRAX and is what we call an Urban community. Some of the visitors that come to mind are

1-the dude who drank out of my water bottle and stole a sleeve of string cheese
2-the dude that has no interest in buying a house, they just need to use the bathroom
3-the dude that acts interested but really only needs to use the bathroom
4-the dude that just wants to bust my balls and since my door says "open" he uses that as an invitation
5-dumpster divers
6-the homeless dude that just wants to "warm up" oh and use my bathroom
7- I had a toothless lady who wrote a contract and was going to wire full funds to buy the house in cash. She transferred utilities, forwarded mail etc. The promise went on for weeks and weeks, every day something prevented her from wiring the money. She was extra special crazy. Holy hell.
8-the dude that walked in with a bird literally on his shoulder
9-a buyer who had his family over to see their house and somehow the glass cover of the fireplace fell off and bashed his sisters head who was laying on the ground in front of the fireplace? WTF?
10-the dude who backed into a landscape rock and it was somehow our fault for putting the rock there
11-the dude that came in for free movie tickets that we were giving away. I think he tucked his pants in 100 times while we talked. He lingered for a long time.
12-Don't even get me started on radio remotes and free giveaways.
13- the weekend sign guy that wears brown pants EVERY time i see him. This dude is creepy and likes to stay and chat.
14- Have had several strippers come in to buy a house. Even have sold a few houses to strippers. Once in awhile they come in with their pimps. Interesting people.
15-the guy that has no job, no money and bad credit. Why are you looking at houses?

There have been several others but, this should give you a pretty good cross section. Do you have any stories like this?

Testing

2010-02-13T12:44:00.002-07:00

Testing