schnauzers.ws

My recent mountain bike vacation to Hurricane, Utah provided some incredible experiences.  Yes, I have been there before, but this time it was different.  It was a lesson of sorts.  The main take-away as we heard one evening was that “life is one big sh!t show, but a damn good sh!t show”.

This was a gathering of friends from all over and some who never knew each other before the first day.  But, you know what?  Within thirty seconds, you know these are good people.  I met some of them years ago just tooling around on the Internet, before the Web became the go to place.  I was just looking for people who shared the same passion that had gripped me.  There was a small community of mountain bikers then, eager to share how much they enjoyed riding on dirt.  Awesome friends who still share the same passion.  I introduced one of my local friends this year and here is what we learned.

We learned that 8.5 hours to a ride destination is a long drive until you get there.  Then it doesn’t seem half bad.

We learned that Yelp is pretty damn accurate when it comes to fooderies.  You shouldn’t give the benefit of the doubt.

We learned that getting a group of eight to the trailhead before 11:00 AM is nearly impossible.

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Keep It Single Speed

That’s been my mantra for the past month or so.  I guess when my OCD takes over, it’s all or nothing.  I have really enjoyed the SS on the last few rides.  So much I’m thinking the next bike will be single speed.  A special single speed.

Today I decided to do a longer ride in Buffalo Creek.  Sure, not much climbing, but plenty of grind.  It was a spctacular morning as well.  Temps were in the 70’s as I hit the trailhead.  Kind of amazing for a Summer day in Colorado.

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Sometimes I am a bit reserved. I tend to over-plan things and pay too much attention to the clock. This weekend, I was more relaxed. I had my parents visiting from NJ. They brought my youngest son with them. He spent four weeks with them. Kind of like a free sleep-away camp :).

At first I thought business as usual for the weekend, but I quickly decided that spending time with them was more important than a long ride. So, I did some shorter rides.

Saturday, I wanted to spend time with my Dad, so I brought him and my youngest (older one was working) to the shooting range. My dad had a blast (literally).

We scoped out our targets at 25 and 50 yards.

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Once there was this guy who wanted to have a great day. Sure, there were plenty of good days, but great days were few and far between. He was determined to make things happen, and the evening before he thought hard about what could possibly make a great day. Being passionate about mountain biking, he knew that the great day had to include that. So, he set out to find a trail that would bring the great day upon him.

With his decision made, he invited several people to join him on this auspicious endeavor. Sadly, he was not taken up on his offer, but he was determined not to let that sway him from the task at hand.

The morning arrived with little fanfare other than a crystal blue sky and the daunting task at hand. He quickly loaded up his necessities, chose a rather lightly geared stead, and headed out to higher elevations to achieve his goal.

Sipping on a grape soda and eating some rather fresh Oreo cookies on the way, he had an epiphany. Since his first choice of trail was a lesser traveled trail, what would happen if he was stuck by himself? How would anyone know if he had a great day, if he never came back? Who would help him keep a steady pace? Was it really worth the extra fifteen minute drive for a shorter out and back course?

With that in mind, he changed his destination and arrived at the Kenosha Pass trailhead. After all, it’s only a great ride if other people see you having a great time, he thought to himself.

Saddled up, he began the long arduous climb to above tree line. His ride started out in relative solitude, as he left a small group of people who were preparing in the parking area. It was just him and the trail.

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A long weekend of riding and trail building was ahead. I haven’t taken time off of work in a while, so I was do.  I’ve got lots of vacation days, just never enough time to use them.

With the camper loaded it, it was off to Buffalo Creek.

I managed to get a few good rides in spite of the weather.  The old saying of “it’s Colorado,  wait ten minutes and the weather will change.”, did not work this weekend.  It was rainy!  It had been rainy for a few days.  However, I did fine some intermittent sunshine just long enough for a pedal.

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