One last steam

Well maria has headed out to sea and so are we, this was one last spinner before the trip, still dreaming of aspens pines and fall colors, might not see any this year.....

Fine Day for a Fine Ride

Another fine day for a fine ride

Speedy Usery

Another speedy quick route, again setting personal records which I have not done in a LONG time. Sunny and cooler and vacation is on the horizon, off to Cat Island for 9 days.

Powa Howa

Felt good the monday, quite speedy might have found the secret, a chocolate with peanut butter before the ride :) Soooo for awhile now I have been losing brake power, my front got really bad, to the point the lever was on the bar and barely biting. So I planned on a bleed after I replaced the front brake pad but when I did I luckily noticed the rotors read resin pads only. Well I put some new slx rotors on and whole crap I have brakes again! now they bite a little too hard in the lever throw but for now it's wonderful.

Beautifully Slow

A bit torn on where to head Saturday morning I ended up in Gold Canyon. As usual it was very quiet and had time before the sun came up to enjoy the desert waking up. I found myself very low on energy and ambition and fought the two most the ride. I took the fast easy way round the park and found myself traveling massively slow but was enjoying the beauty so all was well. Barely made it thru that one for some reason. Now time to rest for next week.

Hawes

Feeling better than most days it was a fast spin at hawes, nothing fancy but spent a lot of time as usual with trying to figure out my next bike. I got a frame coming this winter and plan to swap the trek bits over to it. While I love my trek and it's all I need right now, I really would be more comfortable with another bike, I am pretty set on the Santa Cruz Chameleon but can't demo one yet but anxiously awaiting one to get near me. So good ride, temperatures are dropping fast :)

Thursday Nighter

Me and my homie Ryan went out for a night ride, he flatted a few minutes in, turns out a valve failed on his tube, got him back rolling and into the windy but nice night light. Things went good and enjoyed it plenty out there.

Filling a Tuesday

Again Landon was off to school and pops was out for a ride. I picked Usery go figure and did the normal stint around there, lost some Gps track so I decided to keep strava running so I could pick up the accurate 10 miles instead of 4. All things are running smooth, was so excited for Thursday for Landon to get his cast off! Next ride should be 10 degrees cooler!

Monday

Well Monday came and an chance to cruise into it arrived after me boy went off to school. All set for Hawes on another heat filled afternoon but not for much longer, same goes with Landon's cast. It was a punchy normal ride around Hawes, nothing too great but on the bike I can't complain.

Slow San Tanning

Anxious to ride and out of my mind I was all set for a morning ride. At 3:30 am my son awoke with a bloody nose, it was a big mess and took awhile to get it sorted out. I figured since my alarm was set for an absurd 4:30am I might as well just roll out as planned. I got the the lot by 5am and found two cars had beat me to it, I was impressed. I lazily began the chug up San Tan and into the darkness, caught a rattler moving off the trail, that was my first rattler spotted in San Tan hopefully my last but not likely. As I got in further I realized that my performance was falling off and I just focused on enjoying the sun coming up over the desert during my ride. It brought some peace and enjoyment slowed down and enjoying my music, not that I am ever racing out there. I cut the ride a little short but tired and lazy I headed home with good miles this week.

Rolling dirty

I was after it at Usery and it has been awhile, as I normally find it bland and lacking hills to climb I found this ride somewhat fun storming around the place, not a bad time.

One hot piece

SO sick of this heat, still it's lower at 106F but man I am soooooo ready for winter, 90s is just around the corner. So as usual I sucked it up and while the kid was t school I went out for my spin. It was casual but needed and all was well. I figure I might have around 5,000 miles on this bike and the only part I have needed to replace was the wheelset, what a build.

Staying Alive

Tuesday evening I rolled out onto desert Classic and knowingly with a storm on the other end of the valley, I felt good, so good I just couldn't find myself to use my side of caution. As I rolled further in knowingly without a light I was going to be using that good ol moonlight for my ride back for sure. I could see some flashes behind me but according to the radar it was still 30 miles away. It looked a lot closer but it did start to dissipate. As I turned back it didn't look pretty but I knew I had bail points if needed. I was feeling very good, legs and mind were happy, the wind came, then the dust it got pretty bad at some points for like 10 minutes but then subsided and all was good. I wanted more trail but I opted for the car with lightning all round but not too close and no headlamp I went for the car to arrive home 30 minutes early to a happier wife I'm sure.

Ribbons of delight

Monday was a treat, headed for Browns for some fast flowy trials. I took the easier approach and kind of did a perimeter of the trail and a lil bit after, I am still amazed at how much great single track there is out there, yeah it's not hard at all but man it's nice to just pedal and not be climbing much ever. With that said this was a fast and fun loving easy ride, perfect for my wonky legs still working fine but feeling funny from Utahs backpack and bike rides. Lots of people out there or the Labor Day holiday obviously but it was a great time

Round Hawes

Soon Thursday my son damaged my iPhone, on friday I was back on my old phone and headed for a ride while he was in school, the phone signal bounced around when I got there and proved to be useless so I had no choice but to head home so if there was an emergency I could be reached by my phone of wifi while my kiddo was at school. By Saturday I had a 20$ smart phone and bummed to be back in the Phoenix Valley but looking to get miles. I rolled into Hawes and was on dirt by 5:30am with plans to ride around the mountain to spice things up. It was humid, I though it might rain if I could see there were no clouds, as light grew so did sweat. It was soon good to be back on my own bike, I missed it's rigid light snappiness when faced up against those rental bikes. I chugged around the mountain at a decent pace, the legs took forever to warm up but they did see a lot of activity the last 7 days. It was a pretty sun rise and I was pretty glad to be on the bike even if I was back in this poop hole. Things were quiet until I made my way down the Pass Mountain Trail, then it was all DH to the car. Good mix of trail, even if theres a few miles of pavement.

The Farewell

Another later start than planned but riding no matter what. Me and the Trek could have rode plenty of places but I feel most comfortable at Corner Canyon and less spooked when I have to ride at night by myself. It was a slow climb up the canyon rd but the legs were working and that's about all I could ask for. I had planned to make this an easy one and headed for the Shoreline trail. It was quite windy and no one was around as usual, I thought more people night ride but I guess it's only left to the brave and adventurous. Then up Rattler and zipped down Rush reminding me again how useless 100mm of front suspension. A quick spin to the car and I definitely wanted more but again I needed to get home.

Paradise

I got back Sunday from a 38 mile trek in the wilderness, it was absolutely incredible with good friends and good times. My legs felt ok Sunday so Monday I went to grab a regular tire bike at UVU, it was a less than impressive bike known as the Trek X Caliber that had weak parts and weight but regular tires :) I rolled out of the house with enough time to head to Park City. The plan was to do the Crest but I got a later start than I liked so I modified the plan as I went along. I started at the Trailhead and headed for Armstrong, the bike felt pretty good under me, it was heavy for a hard tail but it pedaled well and I was able to subtract most the weight without dumb dumb plus tires. Climbing I felt pretty good, I was really running thru my head that I want a geared hard trail, but after a few rough sections I realized I might as well have a rigid over a 100mm fork. Instead of turning off onto Pinecone I headed into the thick of pines and it got dark real quick. I had all night to ride essentially but came back from a few rough nights sleep and didn't need to push that hard so I decided to ride Mid Mountain. The trail and scenery was wonderful and it was getting dark quick. Once darkness settled in I grew uncomfortable with the lack of people up there and realization I had a lot of crap to do when I got home and wanted some time to relax on my last night. I rolled down Empire Connector and did the as planned roll down Main St. I have good memories of that area and it's rare I am on my own and able to relax so rolling down there after a ride and taking in the sights and smells was the icing on the cake.

Fun Wednesday back home

Well we got to Utah nice and good at 2pm after an hour long flight instead of a 12 hour drive. I had plans to head out the next day around 4pm for a 4 day backpacking trip but before then I had a bike rental lined up for Wednesday night. There is a bike shop right down the rd and as much as I did not want a Plus bike that was my only option with them and since it was full suspension and pretty nice I decided to give it one last shot on a Canondale Bad Habit. Once Grandma was able to take care of the kiddo I was off to Corner Canyon. I hopped on the bike and began to pedal hoping for a better experience, but as soon as I met the first incline was was pretty disappointed. So much that I almost turned around in frustration as I crawled up the road on a plus bike that was also too large for me. As I pedaled on I tried to behave optimistic and I downplayed the evening ride for a more modest loop. Once I did make it to the top I will admit it the added tire was quite comfortable in a straight line but lost all control when I tried to push it on corners, which is a common problem for me on these things. The ride did get on and I am glad I hun in there, but I will NEVER try another plus bike, I can't believe how many people like them......