It's The Season

There is snow on the top of the mountains this morning.  I'm not kidding.  Snow.  That means it is time to start training for cyclocross season.  Here's the plan.  No, it's not my plan.  I'm lucky to get out for more than one ride per week.  My plan?  Just ride.  Ride hard.  Ride easy.  Hill repeats.  Run some.  Run some hill repeats.  Ride short.  Ride long.  Just ride.  To hell with a plan.  Just ride.



See?  Just ride.  How could you have any more fun on a bicycle than this?

Juniper

I finally got up the canyon for a night ride.  It's Fall already and I've only done a small hand full of real mountain bike rides.  Last night I hit the Jardine Juniper Trail with Paul, Greg, and Ray.  The moon was full, rising beside the evening star.  Was that Venus?  Just a few weeks ago it was in the West.  Hmm.

Stand Up, Sit Down, Shut Your Mouth

I saw a guy riding one of these today.  Riding may not be the word, as he was really working hard on the perfectly flat 100 East.

Let me just say this.  What a stupid idea.  The modern bicycle has not changed in nearly 100 years.  Why?  It is the most efficient transportation machine ever invented.  Nearly perfect.  So, if you want an efficient bike and you do not want to sit down, just raise your bars and remove your seat post.  There you go.  Just stand up and pedal.  The Elliptigo is almost as stupid as the Trikke.  A fool and his/her money are soon parted.

Bicycles

I've been working on a bicycle all morning.  It got a new chain, cogs, cables, housing, tires, and brake pads.  The canti brakes, wheels, derailleurs, and crankset were all sprung/bent/slap wore out.  So were the forks.  I have decided that I really do not like working on old bikes.  There was a time, but it has past.

I suffered on a ride last night, up Rick's and down Steel.  Did I say that I suffered?  It was the first real hard/steep mountain bike ride up the canyon this year.  And it's already the middle of August.  Cross season will not go well if I don't start riding more than once per week.

Windows

I've been putting in windows in our attic/loft this week, carpenter's assistant rather than bicyclist.  Here are the before and after pictures:
 

before, no trees, now windows

today, with windows and trees

windows with ceder trim

Tonight At 8:00

It's the not-really-famous-at-all Logan Thursday Night Right.  Who is in?

Sunday's Robert Ride

Sometimes, no matter how mentally prepared I am, Robert Rides can quickly turn from the epic, on the edge challenge they are supposed to be to the forced death march they often are.  On Sunday I had planned to take the River Trail up the canyon to Right Hand Fork, up Cowley, down Hurd, and out Left Hand Fork back to town.  As I started climbing Cowley Canyon, every muscle fiber revolted.  So, I stopped, turned around and went home.  Perhaps it was destiny.  On the way home, I stopped on the River Trail to fix a friend's broken chain.  Yes, the chain tool goes in the backpack for all Robert Rides.

Lightning In The Air

Last night I went for a fast ride with Martin and Greg on the cross bikes.  We took the fence-jumping-sewage-treatment-plant-dirt-roads route up to Amalga and Smithfield, and took the Smithfield-Logan Canal back to the south.  The out flow winds from several isolated thunderstorms swirled hot and cold in all directions, and the southern sky was full of fantastic orange lightning.  At certain times we saw aligned planets to the west.  Martin is way too fast.

Report

There was a big turnout for the not-really-famous-at-all Logan Thursday Night Ride (LTNR).  Four had promised to ride, only two did.  C.J. and P.V. are lame.  Even though my back is just as bad as it was in February, I still rode.

Could not squat or wipe
Went for a ride anyway
Past flocks of magpies

Greg and I blistered the River Trail on the fixed-gear-flared-drop-bar cross bikes, door to Third Dam to door in just over an hour.  The monsoon season has begun.  The wind was blowing 30mph out of the canyon.  Lightning flashed below scary gray clouds and virga.

Down Again

I'm back to square one
Crippled, unable to stand
Or lay down and sleep.

Home Again

I'm back in Utah.  Today is Lupine's birthday.  Time seems to turn faster and faster the older I get.  It is hot as blazes outside, but I can already see the signs of the seasons beginning to change.  There was a brief thunderstorm last night.  Finally.  Here is an old post about seasonal signs.  I need to take a bicycle ride before it's too late.  I will go for a ride today, even if it is right before midnight.  First, there's a birthday to celebrate with dinner and a movie.

Early August heat
Nine years pass in a moment
Leaves wilted, yellow