Today's Ride

Patty and I finally pedaled up Birch Creek.  Like all the other local trails I've warned you about, don't go up Birch Creek either.  It's no good.

Found It

One of the many (at least four or five) readers of this blog requested this photo.  I found it finally.  It's quite artistic, taken from the top of the Dirty Head Road between Weston and Clarkston, looking back into Utah.  I have to get back up there soon, but it's been so hot and dry that I may have to wait for fall.

Father's Day 2012

Only in the Rockies can you sled down a mountain in shorts and t-shirts on Father's Day.

Saddle Time

I've been on the bike as of late.  Yesterday I climbed the forest service roads from Right Hand Fork to Mt. Logan.  Wednesday I did a road ride to Newton.  Tuesday I did the fast group road ride to Hardware Ranch.  Sunday I rode Portage Canyon.  Saturday I rode Green Canyon with Cody Man and on Friday I did the same ride with Paul.  I plan on doing a light spin today.  That would make seven out of eight days on the bike.  Wow.  When Patty and Lupine return from California my priorities will change.  Or, I could just keep going and get back into racing shape.  Sherwood Hills is on June 30th.  Yep.  I'm already signed up.

Washakie

I did a little recon ride on Sunday over in the Malad Valley.  I rode through Washakie, Portage, and up Portage Canyon.  Strange, strange, strange.  Washakie is a tiny little ghost town/Shoshoni Indian Reservation/old Mormon-Indian Farm.  Follow the link to read the history (go to the end to find out what happened).  In short, Brigham Young tried to get the Shoshoni to become farmers as early as 1854.  Washakie was founded in 1881.  I'm here to tell you, it was a piss-poor choice for the location of a farming community.  Like most reservations, it was in the middle of nowhere, had little good land, and little water.  In Portage I had to ask a 17 year-old girl pushing her baby in a stroller, "Where am I?"  "Portage," she said, but she never looked at me and did not stop walking.  Yeah, I know.  I'm really scary looking.

Only In Logan

After work on Wednesday, Cody Man and I sat in the back yard and had a beer.  Or two.  Yes, it was two.  At 8 PM it was time to get some food for dinner.  Patty had been asking about dinner for over an hour.  I sprinted to the Panda Express for three orders of string bean chicken.

My deposit for the day was still deep in my front left pocket, cash from the sale of a wheel-set to Hyrum C.  At the register I dug deep into the same pocket for some loose change.  When I got home the cash deposit was gone.  Yesterday I called Mr. Panda.  "High, I know this is going to sound strange, but did anyone find a large wad of cash on your floor last night?"  As strange as it sounds, yes they did.  A four year old boy picked it up and gave it to his mother who gave it to the woman running the register, Ms. Maria Angeles, who gave it to her manager.  Tonight I got my money back.  Only in Logan.  At the Panda Express tonight there was a young couple.  They looked like teenagers, but they had six children all under the age of seven.

Only in Logan, where everyone is trained to turn in large wads of cash dropped by long haired beer buzzed liberals who complain about the Mormons.  Well, I'm not going to complain for a long time.  Yes, Greg W., I keep the money in my front left pocket, mostly, not in the Klean Kanteen next to the four year-old vodka under the sink.

And now for a ride report:  last weekend I rode from home to Bear Lake via Preston and Ovid, ID, on Wednesday I finally rode the new single-track in Providence Canyon (it's no good, don't go there) where there was more than an inch of fresh snow on the upper bridge, and today I did Green Canyon with Paul V. in my jeans on the Pake C'Mute with no helmet, one brake, and one gear.  I may never ride a mountain bike again.

I Confess

Mother forgive me
It's been days since my last ride
I've been real busy

Talking To Myself Before And During Yesterday's Ride

Self:  Hey, don't you want to grab a jacket and a poly-pro shirt and  take it with you?

Self:  Shut up.  It's not that cold and the sun is shining.

Self:  It's starting to graupel.  And it really hurts.  You are getting really cold.  Why did you wear a cotton tshirt and cutoff 501s when it's only in the 60s? 

Self:  Shut up.

Self:  Now it is hailing, there's two inches of ice on the trail, and your hands are so cold you can hardly ride your bicycle.  Why are you on a greasy trail way up in the canyon on bald 34c tires?  I bet you really wish you had your jacket.

Self:  Shut up.  Just keep pedaling and get the hell out of here.

Self:  How many times does this have to happen before you learn your lesson?  Don't you remember all the times this has happened before and you could have easily died?  If anything goes wrong, you are dead.  Really.  If you die, does Patty know where you've hidden that roll of hundred dollar bills in your ____ next to the _____ under your _____?

Self:  Shut up!  Shut up!  I'll be home in less than a half hour.  Any adventure you live to tell about is worth doing.  Oh my god am I cold.  I wish I had my jacket.

Jackson

We did a quick trip to Jackson this past weekend.  We all rode on the new bike path between Moose and Jenny Lake.  I pedaled a big loop on the path and the unimproved River Road on the fixed gear cyclocross bike.  The road was river gravel and larger cobbles.  My hands and bottom are paying the price for giving up the 29er and riding only on skinny tires.  Ouch.  The views of the Snake River, however, were easy on the eyes.  As usual, we mostly drove.  Some day we are going to find a nice spot in a National Park and just stay put for a week or more.  Here are some pictures and a bison video:

Finally, A Real Tuesday Ride

Nope, I did not do the Tuesday road ride.  Paul and Ben took me to the mountains.  We did Right Hand Fork up Cowley to the top of Richards Hollow.  Richards is a fantastic trail, easy and smooth to start then a little technical at the end.  We turned left and climbed up Herd Hollow and back down Cowley.  The ride time was around 3 hours, the distance 24 miles, and the elevation 3,800 feet.  I rode the fixed gear cross bike with rock hard tires.  My hands hurt.

Tour de Gainesville 2012

I missed this one too.

Another long week
Without a bicycle ride
Way too much shop time


BMI rising
My hands now rough and calloused
Fitness diminished


So I'll roll out now
Into the cold morning air
Unmotivated

Ape Hangers

It's not everyday you get to turn an old mountain bike into an ape hanger with shiny fenders.  If you do, your going to need quite a bit of cable housing and a tandem length rear derailleur cable.  Enjoy it, Jeff.

Big Plans For A Big Ride

I'm going on a Robert Ride today.  Mama forgive me, it's been five days since my last ride.  I'm going to ride the fixed gear Pake C'Mute cross bike from home up the River Trail and the highway to the top of the Jardine Juniper Trail then back home.  Ride to the ride.

Not Poetry

Tonsil stones make your voice gravelly.
Shop life is getting busy.
I rode on Tuesday.
I want to do a night ride tonight.

The ideas expressed above are not in the form of a baiku.  Sorry, but I'm way too busy for that.

Bear Lake Monster Cyclocross Races, Half Off

I just signed up for what will be my first four cyclocross races of the 2012 season.  The Bear Lake Cyclocross Weekend will be September 21-23, 2012.  Use the discount code "halfcross" when you register for all four races and get over $50 off.  Where can you go do four races, one of them 80 miles and supported, for only $52.50.  Did I say it was Bear Lake?  Beautiful.  And, it will be hot and dry.  No high side passes in the snow.

http://bearlakemonsterride.com/monster-cross/

Up And Down

I'm working up in Montana for most of this week.  I will try to be in the shop on Friday and Saturday.

Patty scanned the old picture at the top of the blog.  It's strange to see the old front yard used bicycle business.  Lupine was so little.  I was so young.

I had a great ride on Monday.  I went from Tendoy, ID to the top of Lemhi Pass.  It was so steep I had to walk most of the last mile.  On the way down, I melted the tubular glue on the front wheel and ripped out the valve stem.  When it cooled down, I had to rip it off.  The tire, not just my thumbs.  When I finally got another tubular on the rim, a huge thunder storm rolled over the mountain.  I survived the slow journey down with a front tire that had no glue, so there was no serious cornering and no front braking.  I just drug my feet most of the way.  My short 3 hour ride turned into a long and cold 5 hour ride, 2400 feet up in 12 miles.

Jason's Juice

One's Got Gears, One Doesn't

It's finally happened.  A Pake C'Mute has rolled into the sunset away from Robert Hamlin Bicycles equipped with front and rear derailleurs.  And a pink cooler.  Cool.  Enjoy your do-it-all comfort cross, Wendi.

Here is a close up.  These city bars and stems from Origin-8 are hot sellers.

Gears.  Again, I really like the Origin-8 parts.   The tires, crankset, brakes and levers, seatpost, saddle, stem, bars, and headset are exactly what you want in bicycle parts.  They are well made, light, and cost less than other brands.  The derailleurs are super inexpensive Shimano Tourney, but they work well and will last.

A few days ago I showed my current ride with road tires and a flat bar.  I could not stand it any longer.  And, I had a crankset failure on my race bike.  But that's another story, one about carbon fiber bicycle parts.  Stay tuned.  My Pake C'Mute is now set up as a full-on flared drop bar single speed/fixed gear cyclocross bike with a flip flop 22 fixed/16 freewheel set up.  Now I can ride fast to the trail head and go up fast like a mountain bike with the flip of a wheel.  I just have to file off the Redline red from the forks.  Sandpaper.  It's carbon, so it will be fine.

The Many Faces Of The Pake C'Mute

Here is one built up for my use, a fixed gear, Mary Bar, worn out saddle, road tire, super fast beater.

Here are the first pictures of Jules' new ride, a singlespeed, heavy, slow, cargo and dog hauling, go to school, do it all commuter.