Hard to believe we are wearing Jackets in June, But we were all glad to get a ride in at the Arnold trail system. The weather actually was very cooperative, only slight rain.

Lucas was having a ball on some trails that were new to him

Sean leading the way down from the Top Of the world

I'm really glad everyone decided to go rain or shine. Yesterday would have been an easy day to stay inside and be warm, but we all would have missed out on almost perfect conditions.

Not a whole lot of riding going on. Bobby and I did a little tree trimming on some local stuff, but even that was impossible to complete in the time allotted. Picked up me new rack, holds six Mountain bikes and no road bikes. How cool is that, most bike racks are modified roadie systems modified to accept mountain bikes. I figure I could haul 9 bikes without getting crazy. I'm planning a fathers day ride in to Sand Bar flat. Girls will bring the kids and food and we can try out the new shuttle setup on the way out.

Catch Up

A week ago we thought it was spring. Cody, Nathan, and Bobby followed me around some of Deer Creeks best. Other than the crazy overgrown brush it was a great ride and a welcome change to driving down the hill to get our single track fix. 21.71 miles
I think Spring left us. Hard to believe its May 17. Bobby, Nathan and I near the top of Mt Elizabeth. I was feeling good then. After this shot we hit the only single track of the day. We tested the limits of traction. I managed to stay upright, barely. Then we continued through Cedar Ridge over to Big Hill. Nathan showed us a new way down to Italian Bar, not trail but mostly dirt and way more fun than Big Hill rd. The only thing is watch out for the dogs, they saw Bobby riding in the back as there next meal. Lesson learned don't be the last guy when you might be on the menu.

This was the lowest elevation point on our ride (Italian Bar camp). We climbed over 1500 ft by the time we got here. Unfortunately I was starting to drag by the time we got to this point. I plan on revisiting this route as soon as I can, with a little rest beforehand. When we hopped in the truck the final stat were; 40.09 miles, 6hrs29min, 4561ft of gain, 5559 calories burnt. Still a good workout. Thank You Jeanie for saving my ass from the last 5 miles.

You can catch up on training, you can catch up on sleep, but I don't recommend doing both at the same time. I had to bail on a ride for the first time yesterday. I've had to cut rides short before and had to get a ride to save time but I can't remember just taping out before. I thought it would be great idea to do a 45mile ride after working 16hrs with no sleep. I probably would have been OK if I had been riding more than once a week. It was still am awesome ride I just couldn't quite finish. I want to thank Nathan and Bobby for waiting for me while I found out what it was like to hit a wall and stay there for 3 hours. I guess I should have squeezed more riding in this winter.

Busy

Tamarancho is well maintained with bridges and log rides
Every obstacle had an alternate line if your no feeling up to it

Ashton had so much fun he snuck into a second race

Gage must have hit the teeter toter a dozen times.

Just three of about 20 different lines in the North Shore area at Woodward

The last few weeks have been super busy for me but, there has been a little riding going on. Played on the Tamarancho trail for a day up near Mt Tam and the birthplace of mountain biking. I could understand a little more now about the first mountain bikers. The first time I rode up there (Pine Mt loop) I wasn't sure why they bothered. Tamarancho on the other hand is a great trail that makes you work for your downhill, and the beer at Broken Drum Brewery. Lots off flowy smooth single track with super tight switch backs and a little rocks thrown in to keep you honest.
This last weekend I played hookie from work and took my boys to their first mountain bike race. The Sea Otter happens to be the biggest race in the country but they didn't grasp that. With the magnitude of this event you would think the kids race would be well organized, you would be wrong. After about a half an hour of fighting through Disneyland like lines we got the boys racing. They both did great, Gage 2nd, Ashton 3rd. No whining until their race was over and we made them look at all the cool bike goodies on display.
Today I had to go to Fresno so Sean and I decided to hit up Woodward bike park on our way back. This place is not worth a trip but if your in the area it is a lot of fun. There are lots of different things to hone your skills on, but not much in the way of trails in the sense that I am accustomed. We ended up spending most of our time in the North Shore area. There are all kinds of wooden trail from a ladder loop with log rides in the middle to super skinny elevated collarbone breakers. I am planing on taking my boys down next time so they can get some practice on balance and jumping.
I hope to get some actual cardio and distance training in soon.

Hurricane,UT

All that mud was before we rode
On slick rock its all about connecting the dots

Smiles say it all

Both boys did amazing on terrain unlike anything at home

Ashton had a ball untill he got to tired and started to crash

Spring break was an excuse to get out of the snow that has been tormenting us for months. We decided to take the family to the desert for some wide open mountain biking. First stop on this trip is a cool little town called Hurricane UT, right outside Zion national park. We started to go for a ride this morning but it was snowing here (lots of anger on my part) so we checked out Zion with snow capped peaks (incredible). The snow and rain let up enough for us to sneak in a ride at Gooseberry Mesa. I have lived on a dirt road for most my life but my truck has never been that muddy. The boys loved the slick rock playground until they too tired. The views are amazing, I just wish we had more time. Tomorrow we are off to Fruita CO.

Jellyfish stings and frozen King hubs

That was the first time Chris King has ever let me down
You can see the ice build up on the front of the derailer and rims

Perfect weather if it was 50 degrees warmer

Hagg Lake. 14.5 miles BURRRR!

I thought I could escape the snow at home by heading up to the Oregon coast area. I found plenty of snow here and some of the coldest conditions I have ever ridden in. I am pretty sure it was bellow 20 degrees. After riding for only 30 min I started to have problems with my rear hub. It was so cold that the ice was building up everywhere and made the ring gear in my Chris King hub skip and finally disengaged completely. I had to use all the water in my camelback to try to keep the hub thawed. Finally I just peed on it. That lasted for a good 30 min. The ice froze every cable on the bike. I couldn't shift front or rear derailer or drop my seatpost. I think the brakes were freezing, they were very hard to pull. The rear derailer was so frozen it wouldn't tension the chain. I used every piece of cold weather gear I own and was just barely warm enough. Wool and Gore tex are amazing. It was a great ride and a bit of an adventure.

Dogs 1 TROGS 0

Katie was happy to run in the rain

Ashton learning to stand up down hill

Mom had to learn to go even slower downhill

Gage was climbing everything

This mellow switch back was no big deal, but the tighter one later when he was tired got him

He was happy to make most of the hills but he was happier when we went down them

I followed a Trogs thread that said they were going to meet at Red Hills at 9am today. Unfortunately I did not decide to join them until about 7am, so I never posted that I would be going. Turns out it was a fair weather only ride for them. Katie and I never saw a single soul. It only rained a little and It didn't bother Katie at all. She hasn't been able to go on many rides lately.
I took the whole family down to Tuttle Town on Saturday. Ashton finally warmed up to his new bike. He was singing and begging to "ride the whole thing, no short cuts". After about 10 crashes we decided he was tired enough. Gage, who has always been pretty good on the down hills amazed me by climbing almost every hill. Even after the whining started. So far the false spring has been productive, lets hope the real spring in even better.

The bottom two photos are of Ashtons first attempt at Tuttle Town. The hill he is struggling on didn't even get his attention the second trip. The first trip I thought we screwed up buying that big of a bike. The second trip he couldn't stop singing and tried every down hill, sometimes more than once.