While everyone else went to the Desert Rampage mountain bike race in St. George, we stayed home (but I did shave my legs, as promised). We wanted to go, but one thing after another came up (Jolene getting sick was the last straw). So instead of riding my bike on dry dirt in short sleeves, I went snowshoeing.
DJ picked me up, we met Tony and carpooled up American Fork Canyon to Pine Hollow.
As a side note, I went to college with Tony and hadn't seen him in years. I enjoyed getting caught up with him.
I expected more fresh snow from the last storm, but there was only 2-3 inches and the old snow had a crust hard enough to walk on. In fact there was a lot of dirt at first and we carried the snowshoes. After half a mile it was obvious we wouldn't need the snowshoes so we hid them behind a tree and continued to boot it up the trail.
Pine Hollow is, true to it's name, thick with conifers (or PLTs - Piney-Looking Trees). I tried to identify the trees from Alex's guide, but couldn't remember what feature went with what tree. Still it was fun to examine the features of the cones and twigs I found on the ground. Consulting the guide at home I see that most of the PLTs there are Douglas Fir with a few Englemann Spruce.
Once we got out of the hollow a bit, we were treated to this fantastic morning view of Timp. I love living near this magnificent mountain.
We hiked up Pine Hollow then went out on the Ridge trail a ways where I took this picture.
And a little farther along the trail I took this one. Timp just looked so good covered in snow with the thin, low clouds floating by I couldn't keep my eyes off it.
We considered going farther out to the Mud Springs trail, but time was short so we headed down a ridge that joined back to the Pine Hollow trail. The Utah Velo Club group caught us and went down that way. The descent was fun as we jogged down, slipping and sliding.
A little snow had been coming down off and on, which you can see in this photo I took almost down to the trail.
It felt good to get out into the mountains. With the recent thaw I was reminded that Winter is on it's way out so that helped me savor the moment. Now many months from now we'll have a 90 degree day and I'll think back to this day and how refreshing the snow and cold was. The contrasts of the seasons are one reason I so enjoy living here.
P.S. The reviews are mixed for the Watchmen movie making me even less interested in the movie. I'm sure the visual effects are good, but I'd rather keep the images in my head from reading the book. In fact, I may read it again soon to see what details I glean from a second pass.
The Opposite Of Desert Rampage
First Ride On The 29er
Back in January I bought a 2005 Gary Fisher X-Caliber sans wheels.
I bought some Bontrager Rhythm Comp TLR Disc wheels from Racer not long after but upon building them up with rotors, tires and a new cassette I discovered that the rear tire hit the front derailer. Huh?
I called Racer and he told me the older style Shimano front derailer that was stock on the bike was more compact and, obviously, didn't hit the tire. So somewhere along the life of this bike the derailer was changed and it was made into a commuter running smaller slick tires that didn't hit the newer, bulkier derailer. Instead of trying to find the older style derailer, I bought a new top mount Shimano derailer. It arrived two weeks ago and I installed it last Saturday. There's less than 1/2" clearance, but it does clear the tire so it works.
Today at lunch I took it for a spin on the Corner Canyon trails.
I've been on a full suspension bike for more than 5 years and I was expecting this hard tail to ride really rough. It didn't. The larger wheels and big tires did OK in the rear. Of course the Corner Canyon trails are pretty smooth so that helps. It was fun to ride a new bike and to feel the hard tail ride again.
I had a fun ride, even though my fitness is lacking. I rode up the Lower Corner Canyon trail. The dirt road section is much better than last week when it was a muddy mess in places. I took the left (east) fork and hauled the bike over the dug up berm along the side of the road and hit the trail that crosses the stream over a bridge.
I rode up to the North Ghost Falls trail until the snow patches got too frequent then turned around. At the switchback around the granite boulder I had to take this photo, inspired by Alex:
How sweet it is to see dry dirt this time of year. The newly built Draper Temple is in the background left.
They're building some concrete water diverter or somesuch down in the east fork. The trails are blocked off so don't go the way I did, go BST north then take the Gasline trail over to get to the North Ghost Falls trail.
I finished the ride by taking the BST north to the Draper dirt road, then reverse course and back down Corner Canyon to my car at the equestrian center.
The Lower Corner Canyon trail is still a bit rough and I did notice the jarring from the hard tail, but it wasn't bad. It would get old on a long, rough trail, but for everything else the hard tail ride is OK.
The 29er wheels rolled nicely. They rolled over the few rocks OK. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do on more technical terrain.
I think I'm going to like this bike.
Watchmen Review
LEGSHAVE Challenge update: I feel I owe an update to those who donated. Since the first leg shave on February 15th, I shaved again on the 20th for the trip to Arizona. It was kind of nice to ride with smooth legs, but I didn't notice it that much. It was a bit easier to clean the rash on my knee after the crash with shaved legs - but cleaning wounds with hair isn't that bad so I still don't count this as a good reason to shave. The stubble on my legs is long enough now it isn't prickly or itchy, but they still look clean. This weekend is the Rampage race so I'll be shaving soon as promised.
I first started hearing about Watchmen about a year ago when the movie was in production and some teasers came out. I foundlearned that Watchmen is critically acclaimed as one of the best graphic novels (aka comics) so I bought it and started reading.
This is essentially my first graphic novel. It was an interesting experience. Like half way between a book and a movie. I mostly focused on the words but noted the illustrations as I went along and noticed the details and nuances that served the story.
I must say the artwork is fascinating. Expressive and bold. And there is a LOT of it - I'm amazed one person could draw so many frames. And it's not just quantity - every frame is loaded with detail and expression.
The writing and story has that pulp feel (there is sex and graphic violence), but not so strong as to repel the casual reader like myself. Plenty of depth with multiple intermingled plots, some fun twists and strong ties to the cold war era. It's weird that I've forgotten so much about how the cold war felt and Watchmen brought a lot of that back for me.
The characters are fascinating (if superheros aren't interesting, something's wrong). They have depth and humanity - they weren't just larger-than-life, one-dimensional do-gooders.
Ironically I'm less interested in the movie having read the book. It would be fun to see these characters and scenes "made real", but Watchmen will be difficult to adapt to film and frankly I doubt it can be done in a satisfying way. And Hollywood doesn't have a great track record with intricate fiction like this.
P.S. I took the book with me to Arizona and read it for 2 hours at the airport and on the plane. I admit I was self-conscious about reading a "comic book" in public.
McDowell Loops & Pemberton Ride
Sorry for the delay - it's been crazy.
Saturday we drove out to McDowell and made a big loop ride out of the Sport, Technical and Long loops (this was a good idea, Mark). Mark's brother, Paul, was fresh and made us work, plus he's the better downhill rider. The loops were fun and Paul made the ledge climb (see the video). We did the big loop in just under an hour - not bad pace.
Next we drove a few miles to Pemberton and headed up the Stoneman Wash trail. It's a mellow incline but it you feel it after a while. They put me up front, even though I've been the tail man all the other rides, so I tried to pull a respectable pace. It was nice to get in a a good rhythm and roll along. The trail is fantastically buff - I wish we would have come down it, but, well, I'll get to that.
At 6 miles out we made a short out-n-back on the Secret trail, then with daylight waning, we went north on the Pemberton trail to take it around and close the loop. The riding was nice, but even with us racing down the old double-track the light was getting dim. By the time we hit the single-track it was hard to see and we kept getting surprised by features we couldn't make out.
I went cycled through feeling good, feeling dead, and back to feeling good. At least I ended strong (for me) - I took the lead and held it back to the cars. I have pretty good night vision so maybe that was factor.
Back at the house Paul treated us to delicious teriyaki chicken and pineapple sandwiches. One last session of Rock Band and the vacation was pretty much over.
Mark and I drove back Sunday - through Flagstaff this time. The drive was pretty good.
Big thanks to Mark and Paul for another fantastic mid-Winter Arizona mountain biking escape.
McDowell Sonoran Ride
Today Mark and I rode into the McDowell Sonoran Preserve (interactive trail map).
We went up the Desert Park trail, then up and over the pass on the Windgate trail, then down Windmill / Coachwhip, then south on Dixie Mine which dumped us onto a road. We rode pavement a few miles then jumped on the Lost Dog Wash trail, then Quartz, Paradise, Gateway Loop, and Horseshoe took us back where we started. 31 miles and 3850' climbing.
Riding up the Desert Park trail.
Looking down the Windgate trail from Windgate Pass.
Windmill trail.
Coachwhip trail.
Dixie Mine trail.
How To Start A 3 Day Bike Vacation: Crash
Crash hard.
On the first day.
1.5 miles into a 17 mile ride.
On a moderate foot high drop.
In the lead so your riding partners get to witness it and wonder if you broke a bone.
And have to brake hard so they don't run over you.
---
Mark picked me up at the Phoenix airport around 3 PM and headed straight to South Mountain to ride the Desert Classic trail. I changed, we met Mike (a local who runs an excellent website covering the area trails) and headed out.
I felt good to be back on the bike - maybe too good.
I spotted a short, 1 foot drop and decided to pull up the front to air it out a bit. Except I spazed and for some unknown reason yanked the bike to the right. I instantly knew I was going to crash. With me in the air and the bike angled to the right the front wheel hit the ground and instantly washed out, slamming me down on my left side.
I hit hard enough I bounced (Mike saw the bounce). I lay there letting the waves of pain register and hoping none of them are the bad kind that means serious injury.
At this point Mark says "Dude, you didn't break your collar bone, did you?" This has the opposite of a soothing effect as I frantically feel my collar bone, half expecting to feel something bad. (While Mark's comment was alarming, it wasn't nearly as bad as Fish's buddy.) Turns out it was not broken, thankfully.
Slowly I figure out I'm not seriously injured. I have some good rash on my elbow, shoulder, hip and knee, but it's not too bad.
I try to block out the confidence chilling effect of the crash, but I was only partially successful and rode pretty timid and without much gusto. Still, it was a nice ride and the Helipad trail was good.
Mike was great to ride with, even though it was obvious he could have gone much faster.
It's sweet to ride in short sleeves, sunshine and 70 degrees.
Reviews: Planet Earth, Naked Economics, Bobke II
Planet Earth is an 11-part series of absolutely stunning nature cinematography. Co-produced by the BBC and the Discovery Channel with a budget of $25 million and shot completely in hi-def, the result is a true work of art. The first episode, Pole To Pole, introduces the series then each episode portrays a different habitat: Mountains, Freshwater, Caves, Deserts, Ice Worlds, Great Plains, Jungles, Shallow Seas, Seasonal Forests, Ocean Deep.
I rented the BBC DVD set from the Orem Library and was mesmerized as I watched African Hunting Dogs setup an ambush, Great White Sharks attacking seals in super slow motion, Birds Of Paradise perform their flamboyant mating displays, the freakishly giant crystals of Lechuguilla Cave, intimate footage of the elusive Snow Leopard in the Himalayas, and much more.
Following each 50 minute episode is a Planet Earth Diaries segment showing how some of the shots were accomplished. A gimbaled camera aboard a helicopter, days sitting in blinds, tracking camels - it was amazing what went into capturing these images.
My only complaint was the audio mix - the narrator, David Attenborough, was too quiet (or the music too loud).
Hours of gorgeous imagery, stunning scenery and fascinating animal and plant life. Watch it, buy it, rent it now. Get the Blu-Ray hi-def version if you have the player for it.
Naked Economics takes you beyond the (oversimplified) basics of Econ 101 but still keeps the concepts clear and fairly easy to understand. The academic nature of economics has filled it with an arcane language (almost like law) that presents a barrier to the lay person, but Charles Wheelan translates and boils it down to the essential concepts. A timely read for our currently troubled economic climate, this book helped me understand economics so I can better evaluate the current problems and the proposed fixes. Recommended.
Bobke II is the follow-up to the original Bobke which is out of print, rare and quite expensive. It wanders and feels like pages from his journal torn out and plastered into a book. Bob's style is unique and feels incoherent, but just go with it and enjoy the wild ride.
Some of his stories, and the way he tells them, are hilarious. His story about being constipated during a stage of the Tour Day France and how he remedied the problem had me laughing so hard I cried.
This book is not a monument of literature, but most cyclists will find it entertaining. Recommended for cyclists. (How did I miss this in my review of cycling books? I've added it now.)
