More Park City (Better Than More Cowbell)

Joined Alex, Collin and Ian for an after-work ride in Park City. I was excited to be shown more Park City trails.

I think this is the route we took: Mid Mountain, Team Big Bear, Tour Des Suds, T.G.1, T.G.2, Link, John's 99, Empire Link then return on Mid Mountain.

I was bringing up the rear, enjoying the trails and trying not to hyperventilate.

I crashed on a root drop when the front wheel washed out. In spite of that I enjoyed the technical stuff, and these trails had 'em.

We ate some good Mexican food and talked, then headed for home.

There's a trail over there somewhere we were just on.


Ahhh, mountain trails.


The guys were busy when I rolled up. I expected thumb twiddling.


Tomorrow (Wednesday) we head out for a 4-day anniversary vacation to Steamboat Springs. Never been there but hear it's nice. We'll do at least 2 mountain bike rides, probably a hike or two, and whatever else looks fun - like pushing some dirt around with heavy equipment.

In Honor Of Susan

It was a privilege to attend Susan's funeral yesterday morning.

Yes, it was sad. Yes, I was choked up the whole time and shed some tears. Yes, it crushed me to think Elden is about my age and how I'd feel if fate had selected my wife instead.

The privilege that was mine was hearing how many people were touched by Susan's kindness and love. And learning about her talents, strength, endurance, charity and goodness.

I came away with the same resolve as Aaron: I want to be good like Susan.

Elden showed amazing composure as he spoke about Susan. He shared many of the thoughts from his blog post.

Every speaker showed me something wonderful and good about Susan. I was especially moved by Kellene's (Elden's sister who visited several times to help Susan) delivery of messages from Susan to each of her children and Elden.

I believe every life is precious, but with Susan I felt something more - that one of the best of us is no longer with us. And that made me sad.

P.S. After the funeral I arrived at work to learn that the brother of the CEO had broken his leg and gone to the hospital where he suffered a heart attack and went into a coma. Over the next two hours we received updates until the final one announcing he had passed away. Dazed from the funeral, this news was like a punch to the gut.

P.P.S. I composed the previous post about our anniversary last night and scheduled it to post today. In light of Susan's funeral, I hope that wasn't in poor taste.

Mawidge Is What Bwings Us Togevah Today

Mawidge, the bwessed awwangement, that dweam wiffin a dweam...

OK, I'll stop with the Princess Bride quotes, although it is one of our favorite movies.

20 years ago (yes, the glasses, I know):


And now.


Still goofy in love after all these years.

Putting The Oo In Timpooneke

It's a shame my first mountain bike ride up American Fork Canyon for the year was Saturday. I blame the wet Spring, but the truth is I could have gone sooner. I've been distracted by other rides, so it's not like I've been without. But still, it's a shame, as you'll see.

We lucked out and found a parking space at the Timpooneke trail head lot. It was a cool, blue-sky morning. Mark joined Jolene and I for the ride.



The plants were green and tall with a stunning display of wildflowers.


Picture yourself riding here - I dare you to try not to.


Jolene and I climbing Deer Creek South Fork (thanks, Mark for the photo).


If you don't know why I'm smiling, go ride the AF Canyon trails.


The plank-and-split-logs bridge across the stream near the Timpooneke trail head add some flavor to the ride. Going out is pretty easy, but coming back across the split logs is bit more dicey.


Making the turn.


Now just steady as she goes.


Almost ran over a deer, and saw a flock of wild turkeys in the big meadow above Pine Hollow.

A fantastic ride.

Millcreek To Crest Ride

Mark and I mountain biked up the Great Western Trail (GWT) in Millcreek Canyon then took the Wasatch Crest trail to Desolation Lake where we went down the Mill D trail. Half way down Mill D we took the trail up to Dog Lake and returned back to Millcreek.

Going up GWT was harder than usual. My legs had less kick and my breathing was labored. I got on myself for beings so slow, but I kept turning the pedals over. I haven't been riding much in the last week and a half and I suspect that's the cause.

As we climbed a fair number of riders passed us heading down. Jared stopped to say hello as he took off his jacket. The valley was very windy and he reported the Crest was windy and cold. KDay also went by.

I did OK going up the Crest. I still felt hammered, but the legs seemed to feel a bit better.



The descent of Mill D was fun. Some of the technical spots have changed a little. I picked a particularly poor line down the rooty / rocky drop after Lake Desolation and Mark followed (sorry man), but we didn't crash.



I wanted to roll through the angled log drop, but panicked and stopped. Berated myself. Tried again, flinched again. Another pep talk. Third time was the charm, even though it was kind of ugly (chainring caught the log). Next time I'll roll it.

(photo courtesy of Mark)


The climb up to Dog Lake was a grunt. Mark made it pretty far, me not so far. We walked the steep middle part. Then back on the bikes to gain the lake.





The descent back down into Millcreek was good. There were a few people on the trail, but not so many it got annoying. It was getting dark and harder to see, mostly because of the setting sun, but all the dust in the air didn't help.

It felt good to do a bigger ride with a good amount of climbing, despite my sub-par fitness . The trails were in good shape (getting dusty, but not too bad) and the scenery was good like it always is with plentiful wildflowers still going strong.

Somber For Susan

Plopped down in front of the computer this evening, checked my blog and noticed a few new blog posts from friends. Then I read the title of Elden's (FatCyclist) latest post:

Don't Say She Lost

I felt a sudden panic and tightness. No, it can't be. But when I read the post, it was true: Susan died this evening. My body, mind and soul became heavy. Yes, I knew it was coming, Elden has made this clear, but it was still a blow.

I met Susan once, briefly. It was at her home after the TriathAlon. I could sense her warmth, vibrance and strength as we talked. I'm sad she's gone, sad Elden is separated from his companion, and sad their children are parted from their mother.

I changed the blog background to black to honor Susan's passing and express my sense of loss. Rest in peace, Susan. My sincere condolences to Elden, children and family.

"WIN Susan pink" Petunias in our yard.


P.S. In a strange twist of fate, yesterday my friend Steve's son learned his cancer is in remission. Two years ago he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. He has undergone 3 rounds of chemo, 3 radiation treatments and recently a bone marrow transplant. His latest PET/CT scan looks clear. He'll have to have scans every five years, but the expectation is the cancer is gone.

Feeling sad for a life cancer took, and happy for a life that escaped cancer is messing me up.

Sushi Cruise

Last night we decided to go to Yapona in American Fork to get in on their sushi happy hour. And to celebrate Jamie getting a scholarship to UVU before she starts class in a few weeks.

One glitch, the new owners aren't doing the happy hour special anymore (half price regular roll with every specialty roll) even though it's still on their website. The waitress checked and they gave us the deal anyway - crisis averted.

So we ordered 8 rolls - going light. Our order took a little longer than expected, but the presentation made up for it.



ALL ABOARD!



We've been to our share of sushi restaurants, but this is the first time our order came out on a boat. The kids loved it. The chef added some nice touches (click on the photo to see the boat in it's high resolution glory):

• In the bow is the ginger and the wasabi shaped into a mound or hill with sprig of parsley on top
• In the stern is a "tree" of parsley sprigs.
• The sushi is arranged nicely.

$60 to feed 4 people (the boy doesn't like sushi, yet) is a pretty good deal. Too bad they're doing away with happy hour.

BTW, Kara is at Clear Creek Camp. They've been running that camp a long time - I went to that camp when I was in 5th grade. In fact, I still have some relics - sounds like another treasures post is in order.