Desert Mesa, on a 29er

Took a trip this weekend out to southern Utah for a ride on the Gooseberry Mesa. Well worth it.

First of all, JetBlue serves bottomless snacks and drinks on the way over. I haven't treated myself like that in a long time.

Secondly, although I haven't trained at all at higher altitude, the ride went pretty well. I tore myself up in all the usual places and battered the bike pretty badly (a loaner from a friend--I still feel bad); but jersey's can be replaced and skin regrows (though sitting here typing I'm wondering if the grapefruit sized bruise on my thigh from body rafting ever will).

I also took a hike up Angel's Landing in Zion's National Park. I've only seen pictures of this stuff before, and it's waaay better in real life. The hike has quite the altitude gain, and my sea-level lungs were definitely struggling, but the view and the sunset were phenomenal. Shame that I have to fly back just three days later to start school again. 

Engineering school is overrated.

Nope, no teeth

I think ridership in my area has increased by maybe, MAYBE, one percent. Which is good because it means more shoulder for the road warriors...I mean, me and my pals.

This year I'm riding with a Mexican (Tito) and a guy from the Dominican Republic (Luis). The most diverse group I've ever ridden with, I think. I don't know where everybody was from in Arizona.

Anyway, we got Tito set up on a Fuji with Zipps and Luis is still riding his Cannondale from 5 years ago. I just got my new (old) Diamondback Podium 5 (an upgrade from the Podium 2 I was on before), and we're hit the proverbial road.

This last week was spent battling it out on the track at a nearby park. The first 4 or 5 go-arounds were spent clearing debris from the left-hand shoulder so we could focus on our peloton...er...triangle équilatéral. What's it called when there's only three? Anyway, it was Tito's first time on a road bike. We converted him because he's spent the last year riding every day to the gym on a Costco brand mountain bike.

No, this isn't us. Whoever took this picture is heartless.

Tito took a nasty spill on one of the turns, and after checking to make sure his bike was all right, we kept riding (we checked him out too, but what an awesome landing! The bike wasn't even scratched!). Good ride, nothing to shake a spoke at, but good enough for training purposes. We'll probably spend 2 or 3 days a week there training in the mornings to get our speed and endurance up.

And then Contador had better watch out...

Lake Champ: Part II

Lake Champlain was just as beautiful--and just as flooded as everyone told us it would be.

We arrived and found parking in Burlington where we could stay for a few days and took off on the first leg that was supposed to take up to North Hero where we had reservations at a little spot just off the water.  We got out about 45 minutes when a storm that was completely invisible before started to blow in directly in front of us.  10 minutes later the rain started coming down in drizzles. No problem! We threw on some light rainjackets and pressed on.  5 minutes later the trail was flooded out for as far as we could see.

We pulled out the map to chart our route around, found a way to do it that involved minimal backtracking, and then turned back to face one of the biggest storms I've ever been in.

Our few minutes of mapping may have saved our lives.  The rain started to grow more torrential, so we took cover under the awning of a nearby garage, and the rain turned to hail.  The owners of the house pulled up, and saw us with our kids standing under the 8 inch roof and invited us onto their porch (I don't blame them for not inviting us inside.  We were soaked and dressed in riding gear--the type of people they're probably sick of living directly off a bike trail).  The lightning picked up to 4 bolts per minute, and they were touching down all around us, 25 feet away to 100 feet away with a report that was louder than a cannon.  The hail got bigger (1/2" to 1" chunks of ice), and just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, a tornado touched down.

We were glad we had decided to wait out the storm.  It took more than an hour before the lightning and rain had died down enough that we could get back on the trail to backtrack.  And when we got to our turnoff, the backtrack was flooded too.  We discussed again, decided to drive up the first leg to Hero and launch again tomorrow.

The drive up to Hero was possibly even more miserable than waiting out the storm.  The tornado and storm followed the lone road all the way up to Hero, gather strength as it went.  When we stopped to get food, they told us that the town of St. Albans had been evacuated.  And when we got to the lodge that evening that was supposed to be on the water, it was actually in the water.

North Hero.  Flooded? Yes.

Needless to say, when we went to grab a pizza that night, they were shocked that we had even made it as far as we did before turning back.  And they were shocked that we were going to push on to Canada the next day.

But then, who understands anything that cyclists do?

Family Reunion

I went out to a family reunion for the weekend of the 4th, and as is our tradition, instead of renting a car, we rented bikes.

It became a tradition when we realized that the best way to see just about any city is by bike.  It goes slow enough past you that you can really take it in, and it gives you a close interaction with the people around you.  Additionally, parking is anything but an issue.  And while we haven't had an issue with anything being stolen, we're covered by our Visa if anything does happen.

Admittedly, they cost more than renting a car would.  Even with gas and insurance a car for 2+ people is only about 150 bucks.  But 2 road bikes and a trailer will run you well over 200 for a weekend.  But we don't own a car out here, and we just apply the money we save by not having a car toward getting bikes when we're on trips like that.

And if you're wondering how much money we save by not having a car: We owned a car for a year after we'd lived here for 6 months.  In that year, the cost of owning the car (gas, service, insurance, tickets, etc.) came out to 26 dollars a day.  The cost of what we do now (cycling, walking, buses, trains, taxis and renting the occasional car) is closer to 6 dollars a day.  In our book, the choice is clear.  Life is more fun without a car.

Recently two of our friends out here were forced to give up their cars: one had their license expire and had no way to renew it, the other had their car impounded and no way to recover it.  Now nearly two months later they are as strong of advocates of the car-free lifestyle as we are.  Sometimes it just takes a little doing.

John Paul Statue

I read an article this morning about the statue of former Pope/future Saint John Paul.  Apparently people think it's pretty much a flop--they fail to recognize the "artistic" messages behind what otherwise appears to be a heap of metal in the shape of--their words--"the head of a fascist."

Now put that one on a High School Graduation Test for me: "From the following shapes, please pick the one that looks the most like the head of a fascist..."  Is there a wrong answer?  I suppose the Italians would know best, having more experience with fascism than most other places, that is.

See how you do:

"I wasn't thinking about resemblance, but rather a work that was able to synthesize, in the posture of the head and body and in the draping of the cloak, the way the pope went out into the world..."

But it wasn't even the fascist head comment that really got me.  Associated Press interviewed a woman in Malaga (never heard of it--apparently a Spanish city on the coast) who said that she couldn't recognize it as being the pope. "It could be a cardinal or anyone else."  What was her suggestion to differentiate it from any old cardinal or bishop?  "I think they should have put a crucifix..."

Oh man, sister. When was the last time you went to Church?

Lake Champ

My wife and I are training for Lake Champ this fall. It is apparently an incredible ride and incredibly beautiful at the same time. Training for us means runs at incredible hours of the morning when neither sensible nor unsensible (in other words, senseless) people are out or about. It also means rushing home from work to my beautiful wife who either already has the bikes out and ready to go, or is nigh thereunto.

We learned a lot from our last trip without SAG,for example,exactly how much (or how little) it is convenient to carry in a trailer that you're pulling behind you for 500 miles. People who do assisted rides across America have no idea what I'm talking about (and they tend to be the ones who talk loudest when you're standing in line at tour local bike shop). They brag about their best distance in a day, and all you have to ask is who cooked their meals at night,and who id the repairs on their bike. Sometimes they semi-justify by telling you they had panniers. Try a 65 pound trailer next time.

Thanks to tha experience, we're trying to shoot for a month that is warm enough that we won't need sleeing bags, but cool enough that we won't die in the sweltering heat. So maybe September. There will be a few longer interim rides, of course, but there's also the matter which I know many of you can appreciate,which is time off work. Weekend rides are one thing, week-long rides a complete 'nuther.

Been a while...

Okay, so things have been a little busy at work this last week.  We're getting ready to open another property and my wife can tell you that work has been following me home--

--which isn't helping my winter weight problem.  I'm like a polar bear.  No matter how carefully I follow a diet (like my no added sugar diet which kicked butt last summer!) I pack on the pounds during the winter months.  I'm not obese, but I am overweight coming out of the winter season, making it even more important for me to be diligent in the spring and summer--

--and unfortunately the weather hasn't been too cooperative.  I also changed office locations so most of the time I'm over on 1st Ave. now.  Completely changed my commute, but I'm enjoying the East Side greenway.  I love to see the beautiful buildings of Harlem.

Anyway, I was out on an evening constitutional with my wife tonight (the kids tag along, of course) in shorts, and I realized that the season snuck up on me.  Granted, there's been a lot of rain lately (A LOT!) but it's really no excuse.  Gotta make it happen.  So this next week is pledge week.  Gonna make it happen.  3 good rides.

And a long one on Holy Thursday...