"got my balls back"

Got to git it while you can right. I must say I did not intend to ride today with having a little work to do and conditions. But when I felt slightly warm getting out of the car it made me think. It was when I put the boy down at 2pm for a nap that I knew he was going to be asleep for awhile and allow LuAnn to study and do her thing. So I geared up with a cotton t-shirt and a hooded sweaty and headed out with bike shorts over tights to ride the cooler temperatures. I had the dog tagging along as I chased him down the street in his fury of excitement. Hit trail and found conditions almost identical to Monday's, nice and frozen very very solid. Not far in I came across a stranger on a rigid SS Kona Unit that has been screaming my name for the last year, turns out he bought it from EMS where I had been eyeballing it for so long.He was lost and I offered him to come ride along and I guess it did not go to well since it was his second say on the bike and never been on rigid SS. I know all to well what that was like, especially at Nathan Hale. He felt bad i could tell that he was riding slower so we parted ways and on I went. I can say this trip out, heart and legs were in sync which felt tremendously better from last two rides. Came across some familiar faces and said a mild hello and was back off on a comfy lovely ride. Started to map out what I was going to do from there and mixed it up. Text the lady to see if Landon was still asleep and thankfully he was so I added another 30 minutes to the show. Passed two more bikers, pretty surprised to cross path with a few riders since 98% it feels I am the only one out there. Absolutely fantastic ride, really really good, gimmeee mooooooorrrrrreeeeee.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1994559&code=b2160c3e0b78af423fab01f1e013a9c0

Frozen Goods

After resisting the trails this weekend with the fantastic warm temperatures, I arrived with the idea of riding Monday before we got more snow and bitter cold. Luckily when I hit trail I was greeted with narrow snow free single track. As I pedaled on I definitely expected to hit crusty frozen snow but as I kept getting further that was apparently out of the picture. It felt mighty good to be out there, what else is new coming from this guy. I was in luck that some groups had already rode because most of everything outside of where tires went was thin snow. I continued on and had the though of doing the normal loop. I caught my body giving me warning signs to back off the gas so I did so as needed. I finally accomplished a piece of very rocky hill section that I have been unable to conquer. I have always knew it was in my reach but never felt like putting in the extra effort. Well after three attempts I made it my biotch and happy to say it. Onwards the trail got a little more scarce, still it was 100% manageable. After the extensive climbing from the river I was getting wiped out. I never really felt like this much prior seasons, despite lack of riding, maybe the temperatures got the best of me. By the time I reached the high point I was really light headed and I stepped off the bike and laid down on a rock for a minute. I always forget to do this, most times I am so sucked into a time frame that I never take the time to stop and admire how truly awesome it is to be out in the woods with the bike. Anyway I had LuAnn at home with the baby and I was concerned about Landon turning into a handful without me there so I opted out on the lengthy return and hit the pavement. I regret doing so since he was still in a nap when I got home. Either way I certainly got my dose for the day and could not be happier.

Hale beater

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Landon Dood

Total Awesomeness

I heard yesterday that desert dry Case was thawing quite nice, while it wasn't ready for hoards of bikes it was good to go. I planned to hit it in the morning where it would be nicely frozen for a somewhat legit first ride of 2013. Well it rained a little last night and this morning it was out of reach with having to tending to other things. The day got kind of dreadful, not bad but not great. I was working at my desk when the sun appeared low on the horizon at 3:00 and I said screw it, lets go see what Hale is doing. I geared up with an open mind thinking I could be pedaling right back home if conditions were not right. When I arrived at the entrance to Al's trail I was extremely pleased to find no slop or grease anywhere! Oh it was on like donkey kong! With a great start my spirits soared as I pedaled on trail, so much that my heart was not ready to keep up with these buff well rested legs. I found myself with a hammering heart rate and some wheezy lungs after a short stint of normal pedaling. It was a harsh reality of my mind over body, that 8 pounds of fat and lack of activity has sunk me into winter slacker. I had to slow down to allow my body to get back adjusted, but still I found myself with only one gear and legs for days but no lungs. Trail conditions were as good as any day. I was blown away and thrilled with the melt we got the last few days. Once I got some lungs back things felt better and I really enjoyed the crap out of riding. Tires were low so I got to take a good rest and pump both up. By the time I exited Al's trail I saw it had been only 36 minutes, I scratched my head knowing on a normal day I average 40 minutes on this trail. Knowing I stopped a few times for those non SS quick climbs and pumping up tires, I could have really impressed myself had I flowed it. Across the road on the more popular stuff I found more trail in great shape, I saw daylight starting to slip away and knowing I could sneak 15 more minutes in I decided to not ride home on the road in the dark. Put in a hour of riding on 5.9 miles, it truly felt amazing! After this snow goes should be interesting to see when the heck I will be able to ride with LuAnn going back to school. I figure I can always hike with the baby and do trail maintenance throughout my favorite trails. Landon is doing great, still sleeping 8 hours every night. I find he demands more work these days keeping him happy. He is still a very good boy and is growing so fast.

Hale hour bliss

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NOT MUCH

Not too much going on with all this thaw right now, looking forward to getting back out there but definitely enjoying being lazy too. I have seen some clips from killer karaoke, this one especially is absolutely hilarious! Enjoy a good laugh

Riding Delight

I managed to get out on a day trip up to VT. I have been lacking in riding my snowboard with good friends for some years now. The last two years I preserved my lift tickets for Utah trips which uneventfully ended in boredom. My two good homies Craig and Eric & their friend Ryan were already up at Eric's VT house. So my alarm went off at 4:45 and I was in the car by 5:00 and was on my merry way. The forecast was good, it was calling for partly clouded and packed powder. As I was driving in the dark rocking out to Pandora my stoke began to soar. I hit the VT border by 6:30 and then got onto the back roads where I looked forward to some enthusiastic driving but continued to get stuck behind truck after truck and VT Locals. I was good on time so I just sucked it up and moved on when I could. I took a different route which led my up a Mountain with a great overlook. The sun was nowhere to be found but the beginning of it's rays were glowing the hills in the background. A few pictures and I was off. Hit the Sun Bowl at 7:45 and I was the only person in the entire lot. After further research I found the lifts open at 9 so I was quite early. Some time went by and soon I met up with my friends, and got on the lift. It was stellar out as I rode up the lift, perfect temperature, perfect conditions. As I strapped in I decided to film my first run, since I forgot my GoPro, the iphone had to do. Even spending the whole run holding a camera, I had a mighty good time, the groomers were absolutely perfect, got some serious edge. The runs to follow were equally insanely good. As I got more comfortable I started to find more places to catch some air, feeling awkward in the air I kept at it until I could find my weight balance. It was so fun, felt just like the good old days, it had been too long since I rode with my friends. I hop I can replicate a trip like this before the year is over.

Hale N Snow

Finally I got a chance to get some trail time. Headed out at 8am for some frosty trail, luckily a fellow rider already had a route planned and it put us onto the standard single track which was quite hairy but it was only for a few minutes until we hit the dirt roads. The dirt roads were getting some use from local rednecks on their atv's and for once I was somewhat thankful they had. The road was firm packed double track, it was all good as long as you kept it in the zone, anything off to the side and the bike stops. It was a good start riding the roads, it felt good, despite 20 degrees I was still sweating in a jersey with a t shirt under it. Got off the dirt road and onto trail, it was narrow but seen some bike and foot traffic so it was manageable. Then some paved stuff and then back to doubletrack and then down a good size descent, it was downright sketchy at all times but felt pretty good so I was light on the brakes enjoying the new challenge. I guess somewhere I rubbed a sidewall of the trail and it had me ejected off the bike, for some reason I found myself in the standup slide position I learned in Baseball. As I spent what seemed awhile in mid air I spotted my landing and saw a bald rock nearby but not my landing point so I had no idea what was going to be underneath. Lucky for me when I did hit, my ankles took the blow and I popped right up nothing happened. Onwards things got ugly for me, while climbing breathing got difficult, felt light headed and under energized. I knew two weeks off the bike would phase me but my goodness. I bailed on the ride from there and was pleased with my mild accomplishment and puttered home to suit up for food and Landon's appointment. I guess this was the first ride of the season, a bit weak on my performance but a good ride none the less! little guy is doing great, he has been very very good the last two weeks since his shots wore off, sleeps all the time. The last two days fro some reason have been tough, he's pretty grumpy, probably another growing spurt, still despite whatever antics during the day he always goes down 11pm-7am no matter what so I can't complain.

I tried

I tried to ride flatland rail trail....worked out for a little but then got ugly. Going to try some frozen snow in the am this week, heard from a bird it works on Atv tracks nearby. I hate winter so much, at least if I was in Utah I would be touring.