Man's got to have dreams

So all the time I am left wanting new new new new. I bet some high end bikes see 1/4 of the use that I get all season on my rigs. I am extremely thankful for my two bikes and the fact that they are in working order right now. They are probably mid level bikes for their category and have been great bikes! The kona is pushing 6 years old it has been a great bike! I still have many original parts still on there which thankfully includes the hubs. I know this bike will demand a wheel set someday down the road and I will probably buy on cause I got good memories on this bike and it's still a good bike despite all the crazy over the top technologies that are out. The fork will be getting a much needed seal kit and oil change when the snow flies since it's been years of neglect....The Raleigh which is now a little over a year of abuse has seen new brakes, new crankset, new headset,a replacement frame and hopefully no more investments. It was a $1,000 bike that I picked up for $500 to get me into the rigid SS 29er market. Money is short so I had left out the comforts of modern mountain bikes and never looked back. Now with my decision I have really enjoyed the bike fully! I ride it 90% of the time and it's my go to bike. The trails that I ride weekly really are abusive on a bike let alone no suspension big wheels. I think besides having to replace parts on my two bikes I would very much like to add another bike to the collection. With a lot of research I have landed my sights on a bike from Trek. I find myself wanting some more cushion sometimes when I really want to push things and if I choose to I want a bike for it, and one that pedals uphill as well. There are other bikes I would consider but the one that makes sense for the $ would be the Remedy. Something to get me up and down these rock infested woods and a drop here and there. The 8.0 would probably be just fine but I prefer the 9.0 so I will set my sights high in hopes to have enough saved up by spring 2013.....dream away

DROOL

Throwback Tuesday

August 29, 2009-Legacy Parkway-Utah

On a warm sunny day the Legacy Parkway had a little bike ride with me and my wife. It was a 5k run or a few miles on the bike so we opted to do the bike ride. We both had new bikes and had a great ride cruising the brand new pavement on our tires. It was really one of the few times we have been out on these things. We had a really good morning and could leave happy our donation went to Cancer research.

Millas 1st Rip

Finally made my way out to Millers Pond State Park! I knew this was going to be a real treat from what I have heard and seen. I met up with Paul and Andy and we got cranking about 1:30. Immediately when we hit the I was harassed by feature after feature. The pedaling between the features was no easy task, this place was littered with rocks and spines and very very technical. The log rides were welcome and I have been progressively getting much better at them! They are a fun challenge and pose little risk of injury especially when they are a foot off the ground. I landed a lot of log riding success that day which made me happy about how much better I am getting at them. A lot of them I got on the first try or soon after. After getting worked for over an hour we made our way to the XC side of things which still had some features but it was really nice after all that session to cover some ground. This place is really great and I hope I can get back soon!

Miller first rip

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Friday Good Day

Set off Friday morning on a ride with Bentley and his new friend a weimerener Kala and my wife's cousins husband Randy. Randy rides road bikes here and there and is a runner and hasn't ever mountain biked. I was expecting a slow ride and take him on the easiest trails I could find at Hale. After a short bit on on the way to squiggle this guy was killing it! He took really naturally to mountain biking which left me very impressed. Because he had no problem putting his tires over all the rocks and logs and his cardio was real good. After squiggle I gave him the option as to what kind of ride he was looking for an was content so we set out for the slick rock end of the park. The temperature was amazing and the day was really sunny and could not have asked for a better day. We started to really get cranking uphill and as any human should it took some work and he handed it great, I was still in shock of the skills that Randy had for being so new to the trails. By the time we were among the last hill I decided to walk and he was ok with that. We rode the ridge and shot down and hit the road and back up to squiggle and out of the woods we went. He wasn't very phased by the ride but had enjoyed it greatly which made me glad I invited him to ride in the first place.

Ride with randy

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Turkey Ride With Bentley

On a sunny thursday morning I awoke before the alarm just minutes before that suck was going to go off, it was 6:40....... I had gotten about 6 hours of sleep and by my sleep time that was all I needed, especially when I was going to sneak in a ride on my bike. I have family staying at the house and was free until 10:00 so you know what this bike whore did.... I packed up the car and let it run to clear the windshield of the ice. It was downright chilly, when I hit the trail it was 33 degrees at the case pond lot. But I was on a mission and got right to pedaling, luckily I had my favorite riding companion at my side more than happy to be out there with me. I was expecting it to be much more wet but to my surprise it wasn't as bad as I thought. The leaves and ground were frozen and were damp which made for some tricky uphills but for the most part it was not a big deal at all. I set out on blue since it's always a safe bet and sure enough I ran into Pat. This worked out great so I followed him around for an hour, and then he had to split to meet with a group he was meeting with at 9:00. I continued on down the tinti and had a might fine time. I caught myself smiling again as I was over joyed to be out and riding and watching my pooch trotting at my side. I was having a great day and not wanting it to end but as the frozen leaves gave way to just being wet I was heading off the hill and to the car. I had such a great day riding and went down as one of the best days of the season. The rides are becoming short numbered as the weather is getting cooler and cooler. Get out there and ride and enjoy!

Turkey ride with bentley

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Mushy Wednesday

The rain is here.........as usual it it a weekly thing and starting to feel like I live in the pacific northwest. Don't get me wrong rain is great and I am so very thankful we get it, water is an absolute necessity for the human body and for us to function on a day to day basis. I guess I just wish it was sunny and I was mountain biking, I mean what bike whore like myself ever ask for. So on this dark and damp morning it shall be lighted up by a little doggy named Lily. This is a pretty neat trail dog following a guy down a trail that I am pretty upset that it was built after me leaving but oh well. This movie made me think about my trail dog and how I hope he enjoys it as much as this little doggie.

Thowback Tuesday

Here we are again, this time I have been able to get it done on the anticipated day and I am sure my 1,000 followers are pleased.....haha anyway here we go.

Blackhawk Trail-Utah Valley-July 27 2009

So I was a young lad sick of life in CT and obsessed with snowboarding and in need of a change. I had never been to Salt Lake City but I was on a flight there due to moving to Whistler falling through. I arrived and within 30 minutes of leaving the airport I already confirmed a room rental and then enjoyed the next few days. I found myself in a crappy hotel with time on my hands so I set off in my rental car to rent a bike and find a trail. I did some research online and somehow of all the trails 10 minutes away I ended up 60 minutes away up a mountain valley in Payson Canyon. I got to the trail and immediately hit impossible clay. This stuff was so bad, it stopped my wheels from being able to turn and made even walking hard not from sinking but from the amount of clay protruding outwards form my shoes. This was a fail on the Blackhawk Trail but 2 years later I will get my revenge. Knowing my previous try on this ride I picked my day wisely and arrived and began to pedal. The trail was absolutely beautiful and lush on a nice summer day. These trails were not frequented by Mountain Bikers and more so by horses and cows so you can imagine some of the trail I ran into. I had to spend a lot of time finding out where the heck I was a lot of the time but I think I hit all I needed to. By the time I made my way to where I knew was going to be a long descent, I could see into the valley the dark clouds forming and flashes of light. My heart sank as I know how dangerous the afternoon storms in the mountains in the summer can be so I sped down the trail in hopes to getting to the car asap. Despite my best efforts I ended up riding back in a scary thunderstorm saying prayers on the way there. I arrived to the car after pedaling a few miles on a road that I wasn't anticipating in a thunderstorm. Amazing ride!

FunVille

Me and Paul met up at 6:00 at Grayville Falls last night for a ride. Each time I ride this location I enjoy it more and more every time! The temperature was dropping quick for this guy in shorts and T shirt but by the time we got cranking the body took care of the rest. We started off on the normal very smooth very flat first mile, it's about the most mellow beginning to any trail system I have ridden so it makes a great warm up. I began chasing Paul's 22 tooth cog uphill and was failing on my 20 but that's usual. Didn't nail the bridges like I would have liked but hey it was dark out right. The legs were strong as we cranked up the north end of the park where we always seem to get confused with the network of trails but made our way the the fricken awesome smooth rocky schtuff on the far end of the park. In the night it makes riding that terrain very fun, at soem point we came across a log log that Paul has conquered so he nailed it and then I had a go at it. It's pretty cool doing the features under the light's, so far it hasn't made things any more difficult to do in the dark necessarily but I still think we get bonus points. After we both got some video on it we moved on. By now I was looking to make the way back to the car and Paul led us to an awesome down hill thrill, well maybe a moderate downhill, I mean for east coast standards. We were flying through the woods twisting left and right it was awesome, and then we missed a turn and ended up riding a nice trail that was in the opposite direction but was really fun and seemed to have lead to a game of chase as we sped out of the woods. Another really great ride on a really good night, these are numbered and I know it and am tremendously thankful all the stars aligned for the ride.

Funnville

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Nice day for a good ride

So my good friend Craig, who I harass on a daily basis to come up to Coventry, had finally made it up this weekend. Craig is extremely busy with school and work and what little he does in between so I was understand it is tough to come visit, but this time with the holiday weekend arriving he had some time off and decided to pay us a visit. We went out to dinner with my brother and then saw tower heist which was a good movie then he stayed over and the next morning we were set to ride Hale. We set off to ride the North loop but quickly came on some debris and since this was not a TM ride and short on time since we had a show to et to in Boston I set off on the standard arrangement of Hale. We hit the trail and made our way around the puddles on the road and then found the trails were actually very dry compared to the rainfall we have been recieving. Craig was having no problems riding despite riding once this year. We use to ride here and there some 5-7 years ago but never more than a handful of times, he is a good athlete and takes to the trails with ease. I had my loop planned out and skipped one stretch due to not wanting to expose him to all of Hale that way we could make the loop. The weather was great, warm and a perfect temperature and a breeze that was chilly at first but then it was nothing. I found a new line and knocked it out of the way, I was missing some cush from the Kona but I was still having a blast on the rigid. Made my way to the tree ride and after some work I got it done both ways..... Then I had a good idea to rotate the go pro so Bentley could get to shine on video and it worked awesome, only problem was I had a tired dog that wasn't right on my tail. I will experiment much more with this and can't wait!
Craig was pretty tired by the end of the ride and I don't blame him, after 10.4 miles and his second ride this year he did a very good job.

Craig and I

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Throwback Thursday

My bad, my laptop runs off the wireless network at work and since that's down, so is my pictures on it. So let's try this one again.

Ridge Trail 157-American Fork Canyon Utah
Ok so this ride was on a warm July 31st summer morning, it is located up American Fork Canyon, and that canyon is located just south of Salt Lake City in the Utah Valley. This was my very first trip into the area and I had high expectations since I read up on it. America Fork Canyon is open to ATV and Motorcyclists so it gets it's share of abuse, but these mountains are among the closest to civilization but the most hardcore of rough mountain riding and views. The mountains behind Mt.Timpanogos have always felt like a very special place, like all areas of the state, even 20 miles south of the famed cottonwood canyons lies a different world. This trip I had a route planned and while it wasn't the best it did work. The climb us to the top was a mother, I hiked my bike basically for an hour to reach the top, my mistake on the starting point, but at this early time in the morning it was a honor to enjoy the morning take effect, as the wildflowers and aspens began to glow and the damp air relieved giving scents of local plants. When I did arrive to the top where I began to pedal it was filled with meadows, alpine forests and moondust. Rain fall is scarce in the summer even for the mountains which leads to something called moon dust which I think you can imagine what it appears like. Enough blabbing onward with the photos.....

Into the erie night

Arrived to the Line St trailhead ahead of time for mine and Paul's night ride, got out to get the bike out of the trunk and could not help but feel spooked. It's strange how the night spooks me so easily, but with the company of another that spook is non existent. Anyway we met up at 5:45 and got rolling before 6:00 for a ride. The air was warm and extremely pleasant to have this time of year, I know nights like these are numbered so it was a really nice night to get out to the trails. I had missed a sunday ride due to my knee injury but by mid day I was feeling 90% better so I knew if monday worked I was getting out. The lights lit up the trails as clear as day with all the leaves down and little to distract the view in this distance. The trails were covered in sheets of leaves which made things a little tricky in spots. The challenge was welcomed and kept me on my toes. Making up a route as we go we ended up coming across some small debris which was easily removed and then it was clear for awhile and then as we headed up the hillside things got down right ugly. The fire road looked like a war zone. Despite the down trees we continued and got some relief after 50 yards of downs. It was clear for awhile until we hit the hillside and lost trail 4-5 times. Frustrated but still having a good time we went around the reservoir and opted out of tinti since the carnage got the best of me and I was happy with what we already rode. Made the way back to the car and had that smile that could not be unwashed from my face, feels funny to be having such a good time just out riding my bike and how truly happy it makes me feel sometimes, I hope all mountain bikers can enjoy the thrill and rewards that are made on the trail. Even if that is that cadence, or lap time, or slick tight team outfit it all comes down to the rewards we reap on the trails. By the way Paul is the man and he will be a sorely missed riding friend next month. He nailed this log in the dark and I finally got one of his on film!

Into de night case

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Hurd state park 1st

Got out Saturday for a ride with some friends and ended up by the time we got pedaling we were 15 peoples deep. I was really surprised how many were riding but none the less we had a great time. I have never been to Hurd State Park which was awesome to get somewhere completely new to me. After some pedaling we came upon feature after feature which were moderate sized drops and jumps that were really fun and didn't require spotting landings. There were some good rippers in the group which made it quite fun following. I was on the Dawg and was very glad with the suspension and all. I accomplished every drop we came across I believe and almost made it all the way down the last log ride but had to bail the last few feet into a rotted out tree. I rose unscathed and tried 10 or so times to accomplish the feat but was left withe hesitation and nervousness and while I was still pushing to get it done I had gave up.

Hurd state park

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Throwback Tuesday

It's official, Monday is a struggle to put the throwback together, so I will now make it Tuesday as the throwback day.

The Pipeline Trail- Salt Lake City Foothills-May 2007
I have had countless good rides up in Millcreek Canyon, such great fond memories have been made in this Canyon including my first ride with my wife and it's even where I married my beautiful wife! I have always lived 10 minutes from the canyon my entire time in Utah despite three moves. This particular trail borders an old water pipeline that use to run down to the city. It has the most amazing views and it lacks technical and steep descents but it makes up for it with it's incredible views and full on experience from starting in the mountains and cutting a line out to the view point where things go from alpine to high desert. This Particular trip was with a friend from work named Josh, I believe this was my very first time on this trail and little did I know how many more time I would ride this trail and love it! I am getting very homesick thinking about Utah right now as I type this and can;t wait to get back and visit my in laws and get a good old taste of the good life in Utah. The dog is my friends a Catahoula Leopard dog, which is quite the trail doggy.