Barf Sandwich

2012 is the Year of the Cat

2012-01-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

he Black Cat, to be specific.

Behold:

Around TWO YEARS ago, I put down my deposit for a new custom-built single speed bike. It was to be a gift from me to me to celebrate my 50th birthday. The builder, Todd Ingermanson aka Black Cat Bicycles, is getting pretty popular, and for good reason. His builds are solid and sexy, each one a work of art.

I tried to be patient, but my birthday came and went and still no new bicycle. So I told myself it would be more of a Christmas present.

I even made my own head tube badge to keep myself busy. On Christmas morning I ran down the stairs, and there, under the tree, STILL no shiny new bicycle. I guess Santa thought I was a bad boy last year.

Finally, Todd called and informed me that the bike was on the way. I unpacked it and was not disappointed. Curved top tube, swoopy seat stays, internal cable routing, just a beautiful creation.

The paint job was inspired by the head tube badge I had made. The Zia symbol gave Todd the idea to use a sort of Anasazi-style transition in the green paint. I think it came out nice.

The maiden voyage did not disappoint. The shorter wheel base afforded by the curved seat tube made the ride much more nimble and intuitive. The tapered steerer tube and 15 mm axle on the Fox fork had the bike carving turns like it was on rails. The long wait was worth every minute.

It's going to be a good year.

Walkabout

2011-10-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since Ive been in here. Dead computer + new girlfriend = no time for blogging.

It's funny, the things you can see when you stop looking at what everyone else is looking at and start looking where you wouldn't expect to see anything.

Finito!

2011-03-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

finally finished that bitch off! Had my first shower in there yesterday. Everything looks great. It cost a lot but it was money well spent. I will be in there every day for the rest of my sweet young life.

Custom-built solid cherry vanity by my friend David Linke:

Dovetail joinery with hidden Soft-Close drawer glides:

The new tub that killed my back. All tile by yours truly.

Marble countertop and backsplash, vessel-style sink, and bamboo motif deck-mounted faucet:

Custom toilet paper holder:

Thanks for looking!

Almost there....

2011-03-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

he bathroom remodel is at 99.5% completion. I promise pictures by the end of the week.

There was an unexpected delay of a couple of weeks. I let you figure it out....

White Mesa

2011-01-31T17:39:00.000-08:00

inter forces us mountain bikers to seek out lower-elevation rides that are free of snow. Time for a trip to White Mesa, also known as the Ojitos Wilderness.

I rolled up to CDaddy's house, he was ready to go so off we went under blue skies.

One water crossing. Kinda scenic.

White Mesa is a huge gypsum deposit with some crazy geology. There are these crazy sinkholes out there. I did a pretty good web search but could not figure out the technical term for them. They are quite round, deep, and have water in them. Falling in would mean a slow death.

Here is CDaddy grinding up the hill:

And yours truly with Cabezon in the background:

There are numerous mineral springs in the area that form these really cool travertine terraces:

I tried to get a good shot of the grand-daddy sinkhole:

Here is CDaddy rolling the last steep line off of the Dragon's Back:

I guess that's it. Thanks for looking!

During....

2011-01-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

Alright, so New Years Day has come and gone, and I have no "after" pictures of my bathroom remodel project to show the six faithful readers of my blog. Perhaps I was a bit optimistic about my projected completion date, but I might have made it if my tile saw hadn't frozen solid when the cold snap hit. As it stands now, I am 90% complete with the remodel and 100% sick of being in that bathroom.

So to tide my faithful readers over until I can post the "after" pics, here are some photos taken during a much-needed hike through Diablo Canyon today. My hiking companions were Todd Glatz and his spawn, the Master of Awesomeness, Conner.

We hiked through the slot canyon and headed down the wash towards the Rio Grande. We saw some icicles under a seep in the cliff wall:

Bored with the wash, we decided to scramble up to the top of the mesa.

It was tough going for Todd and I, but Conner scooted up like a monkey....

The summit was attained and the striking views were enjoyed....

Thanks for looking!

Before.....

2010-12-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

Very little to share lately in the way of riding or any other outdoor activities. I've been spending my weekends on a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling remodel of my master bathroom. It was the world's second-ugliest bathroom ever (the first-ugliest was my guest bathroom that I remodeled about 5 years ago). The guy who built my house was a complete idiot when it came to finish and trim work.

I've ripped everything out down to the studs, moved the plumbing and electric, and now I'm hanging drywall and cement board. Which is a painful challenge when you've ruined your back moving a 300-lb cast-iron bathtub up a flight of stairs. As I've said before, getting old sucks.

Here are a few "before" pics, I hope that the "after" pics will be up by New Years.

I'm sorry you had to see that....

Cabezon

2010-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

inally climbed this thing after 14 years of thinking I should.

Drove out with some new friends and got right to it.

Getting closer....

Starting up "the crack"....

I made it past the crux move without too much trouble.

Lot's of scrambling up big boulders....

Marcia taking a break....

Up on top....

The views were nice....

Thanks for looking!

the Zuni Mountains

2010-11-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

hen you're driving along Interstate 40 between Albuquerque and Flagstaff, the scenery ranges from beautiful to boring, but mostly it all seems like different variations on high desert. There are stretches of cliffs and mesas, expanses of nothing but dunes and scrub, and miles of crusty black volcanic cinders. So it may come as a surprise that a few miles east of Gallup and a dozen miles south of the freeway, there are huge meadows and forests of aspen and ponderosa pines. And killer singletrack.

I ventured that way for a long weekend recently. The weather was unsettled when I arrived, the mountains socked in with threatening clouds, so I played it safe on Day 1 and rode the always-fun High Desert Trail north of Gallup.

The scenery is classic New Mexico:

I only saw one other rider all day:

And just one hiker, moving slowly but with determination:

On Saturday I headed up into the Zunis and met up with the enigmatic Bill Siebersma, consumate mountain biker, trail builder, and the driving force behind Gallup Trails 2010. His son Mike, also a mountain biker, was visiting.

It was 45 degrees and threatening rain, but no one asked whether we were riding or not. Bill drove us out to Twin Springs and we began enjoying the abundant singletrack.

The trail cruised along a long exposed shelf of Navajo sandstone, the southernmost expression of the Colorado Plateau.

We also rolled through some stands of aspens in full glory:

Iris the trail dog had a great day.

Sunday the weather turned nice and we hit the trails again. Lower Sawmill to Quaking Aspen to Plush Trail to Torreon to a beer at Bill's cabin. Life is Good!

An exceptionally huge alligator juniper:

You can thank this guy for these buff trails and the signage. If we all did one-tenth of the trail work that he does, New Mexico would be a true mountain biking Mecca.

Thanks for looking!

Autumn Colors

2010-10-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

all is just absolutely the bestest time of year in northern New Mexico. At least according to this guy. The wonderful smell of green chiles being roasted all over town tells you that the colors will be a-changin' soon!

I rode the always-awesome South Boundary Trail with Taos Director of Tourism Greg de Taos and the colors were fantastic. No need for LSD on this ride when the aspens are golden - you'll be trippin' anyway.

The Spanish name Mondragon has long been present in these parts, long before Teodoro carved this in 1948.

Yesterday was another awesome fall ride, this time in the aspen groves above Santa Fe in the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

SweetLeaf on the climb:

Here's Anthony rolling past Aspen Vista:

And yours truly not far behind:

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

T and A on a little roller...

Thanks for looking...

Monarch Crested Beauty

2010-09-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

My annual fall trip to Colorado always begins with the Monarch Crest Trail. Some say it's over-rated, but I say it's hard to argue with a ride that covers 36 miles, 9 of which are above tree-line, has forever views, and a net elevation loss of 7,800 feet!

After traversing the Crest, the trail drops into the Silver Creek drainage which is fast, flowy, and beautiful. You can get some serious MPH going here.

After Silver Creek comes Rainbow Trail - lots of ups and downs and ins and outs through the trees and wildflowers, with incredible views around every corner.

I flashed this ride in less than 4 hours this year - I was having too much fun to go any slower!

After the ride I drove over to Gunnison and got ready for another biggie.

Reno-Flag-Bear-Dead is one of Crested Butte's most popular looped rides, covering 20 miles with 3,400 feet of climbing. The name is shorthand for Reno Divide Road to Flag Creek Trail to Bear Creek Trail to Deadman's Gulch Trail.

The ride starts with a long and steep climb up Reno Divide Road, past this fixer-upper with a view:

Then a long descent on Flag Creek trail. If you like motorcycle ruts and cow shit, you'll love this trail.

I know that most of the trails around Crested Butte were built by motos, but the conditions there don't support the amount of traffic they are getting.

I finished the Flag Creek descent and started up Bear Creek.

Notice the 2 big fresh cow pies in the trail. The first of hundreds. The stench of cow shit was everywhere, accompanied by hordes of biting flies. The only break from this during the long climb was the noise, exhaust fumes, and dust from passing motorcycles. Maybe it was my mistake for hitting this popular loop on a Sunday, but I saw more cow shit and motos in one afternon than I have seen in 10 years of riding in New Mexico. I won't be doing this "classic" again.

Next up was another new-to-me Crested Butte classic, the famous 401 trail. A long climb followed by a long descent. What could be better?

The climb was manageable, and the summit was attained.

Time for the descent. This one lived up to its reputation - fast, steep, and amazing scenery. Too much fun!

I'm sorry to say that the lower section of this trail also had tons of cow shit everywhere. Corporate welfare for America's "ranchers". Grrrr....

Time for an easy ride in anticipation of one last big one. I'm no spring chicken anymore (was I ever?) and riding many days in a row starts to wear me down.

I headed out to the trails on lower Brush Creek road - Canal Trail, Strand Hill, and Farris Creek. I was expecting to be down in the sagebrush and hot sun, but was happily surprised to find myself on twisting swoopy trails in a golden aspen forest, giddy with the joy of riding a bike through the trees on a brand-new trail!

That was FUN ! !

My last day. And a fateful one. I headed out for the Doctor Park loop from the Taylor Reservoir road south of Crested Butte. I had read thru the guidebook description many times, and opted to bring just my topo map, as the guidebook did not fit well into my hydration pack.

I headed up Spring Creek Road, a beautiful long but low-incline climb up a beautiful canyon with huge cliffs and spires on either side, gradually opening up into a wide valley. Having no odometer or GPS, I watched for landmarks mentioned in the guidebook.

Long story short - I missed a well-hidden turn off of this main road and pedaled an extra 5 miles and 1,000 feet before I figured out where I was. No problem - I had eaten a big breakfast, had plenty of water and food, so I scooted back down the road to my turn-off and headed into the... unknown.

The guidebook calls this section of trail a "road". Huh? Oh well.

I passed this spot the thinking the climbing was over. Silly me.

I rode up to the predicted fork in the trail, followed the suggested directions, and found myself at a 4-way intersection that was not shown on the map or mentioned in the guidebook!? I puzzled over this for a while and made my best guess based on the elevation contours shown on my map. One mile and ~800 feet of descending later I dead-ended at a mining claim. My back trail was too steep to climb, so I pushed back up to the 4-way. Oomph.

Attempt #2. I tried my second-best guess and descended about 1,000 feet over a mile before dead-ending at, you guessed it, another mining claim. This also was too steep for me to climb back up in my depleted condition so I pushed it all. Ooomph!

Back at the 4-way, and only one way left to try. It was straight up a loose rocky Jeep road and I just pushed and rested, pushed and rested. I knew I had enough gas in the tank to go back the way I came, but DAMMIT I wanted my singletrack descent and I wasn't ready to give up.

I shed a tear of joy when I finally found this trailhead:

It was all worth it! This was one of the bestest trails I have EVER descended! Easily in my top five ever. Fast swoopy sections through meadows! Rooty twisty sections through the trees. Techy chunky switchbacks. And amazing swoopy flowy mile after mile down a creek lined with golden aspens. Nirvana for a mountain biker. And not a whiff of cow shit anywhere.

Click on the images for a better view. And thanks for looking!

the Jemez Mountains...

2010-09-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

It is specified in my will that, when I die, I want my ashes to be scattered over the Jemez Mountains. So beautiful! The dozens of canyons radiating in all directions from the collapsed caldera of this dormant volcano are each unique, mysterious, and breathtakingly beautiful. However difficult or strenuous the journey, when I ride there I always feel that I belong.

On this particular journey, Todd Flatz and I determined to connect two trails by a route neither of us had tried before.

Before we lost cell phone coverage, Todd stayed busy shifting his investments around in anticipation of a big day on Wall Street.

I hope you scored some big dividends Mr. Day Trader, it would be nice if you shared the wealth a little.

From the many bikes in my stable, I elected to ride my sweet Michelob Ultra Trail Shreddr Deluxe:

Many many miles of climbing are required to get from Dixon's Apple Orchard near Cochiti lake (elevation ~6,000 feet) to the top of Cochiti Mesa (elevation ~8,600 feet).

Yours truly on a very welcome flat spot:

And Mr. Flatz on the only other flat spot:

We finally reached Cochiti Mesa and headed down the "Killer Switchbacks" (true trail name), on which we would descend 1,200 feet in about a quarter-mile. Steep and skinny! FOCUS is the word.

We did NOT see this rainbow at any point during the ride:

Todd tried hard to keep up with me on the descent:

The final 6-mile ripping descent down Media Dia canyon was, as always, WAY too fun to stop for any photos. There are few trails in Northern New Mexico as sweet as this one.

Post-ride recovery nutrition so that I can do this ride again tomorrow:

Thanks for looking!

the Emerald City

2010-08-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

was lucky enough to be sent out to Seattle for a week of training. I had not been back to Seattle since I moved from there to New Mexico almost 14 years ago.

The Fall Protection training was on Bainbridge Island, which is across Elliot Bay from downtown Seattle. The views from the ferry were nice, especially in the afternoon light.

Bainbridge is a sweet little island, I'm sure you gotta be pretty well-off to live there.

Flowers everywhere...

I had a few hours to check out the city before catching my flight home.
Pike Place Market was the obvious choice.

And then down to Pioneer Square...

Amazingly, I was able to catch this shot of the Space Needle with my arm out the window as I drove by...

It was nice to see Seattle again, it reminded me of all the reasons why I left (traffic, weather, people), and of all the reasons why I love the Southwest (way too numerous to list).

Thanks for looking!

Rancho Viejo

2010-07-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

y favorite ride close to Santa Fe is the Rancho Viejo loop. I'm not sure why we call it that - none of the actual trails have that name. But there are some old relics along the way that could be the remnants of an old ranch.

This ride has a lot going for it - six or eight separate climbs and descents, 4K feet of climbing, 20-plus miles, and great Sangre de Cristo scenery.

Much of the riding is on the historic Borrego Trail which connected the northern New Mexico villages of Cordova and Truchas to the town of Santa Fe.

Borrego Trail crosses the rios Pacheco, en Medio, and Nambe, then climbs up and over yet one more ridge to the rio Capulin, follows it downstream, then crosses back over rios Nambe, en Medio, and finally the rio Pacheco.

It is rare to see a hiker or another rider out on these back-country trails. Your only company is the locals.

There is a tribe of Hippies living near the end of the loop that like to build loopy rock stacks. Although I am an avowed hater of rock cairns, I decline deconstruction and let them have their fun.

Good times in the back country.

Thanks for looking!

Life After Gooseberry

2010-06-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

rom Gooseberry Mesa / southwest Utah, I drove to California to visit family and friends. And did my first-ever mountain bike ride in the Golden State on the unremarkable San Joaquin River Trail. In a nutshell, the trail went up and over a big ridge, then followed the shoreline of Pine Flat Reservoir forever, so far that I gave up after 11 miles out. The best part was the wildflowers.

Happy to be leaving the Central Valley (sorry Mom), I eagerly headed over to my former college town of San Luis Obispo. I thoroughly enjoyed my 5 years at Cal Poly and the following 3 years that I taught at Cuesta College. Those were the formative years of my life, where I discovered my affinities for both science and art, and equally importantly, learned that even I (who grew up as a fat boy) could enjoy and excel at endurance sports. I became first a runner, then a cyclist, a swimmer, a triathlete, a marathoner, and a USCF Cat 3 bicycle racer. Those were some of the happiest years of my life.

I had done some interwebz searching and knew there was not a lot in the way of trails on the Central Coast but I was determined to ride what I could.

Day 1 was a short ride in the Irish Hills, so named because they are as green as Ireland.

The next day I hooked up with a couple of locals and we rode some stuff on Cuesta Grade above town. A lotta lotta lotta steep climbing.

Damned if I didn't forget both their names already. Sorry.

We rode past some crazy antennas

And through an explosives disposal area...

The we went downhill on some of the crappiest stuff I have ever ridden. A quarter mile of chunky singletrack followed by maybe 5 miles of old reverted doubletrack. These locals kept grinning at me and saying "Isn't this awesome?" And I'm thinking, "NO! this sucks ass!".

But eventually we got onto a singletrack trail that was pretty damn fun, if only for a couple of miles.

We were crossing the creek and saw this scary water bug with her eggs glued onto her back. Ick!

I made sure to go to the beach a few times. I like the ocean, but not as much as I love the mountains.

On my last day on the Central Coast, I rode at Montana de Oro with a cool local guy. His parents named him Taurus, after the car I guess, but he goes by Brown Teeth.

We rode a fun trail up through thickets of poison oak to a peak, then down to the bluffs over the ocean and back. I enjoyed it very much.

A pic from the peak:

Th ride back out went past all these sweet-smelling sage bushes. Not the desert type of sage out here in New Messico, but the kind of sage you would cook with. It smelled heavenly.

So that was my week in California. Then I drove home. I'll tell more about that later.

Thanks for looking!

Gooseberry Mesa, finally....

2010-05-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

finally made it to Gooseberry Mesa. In case you're wondering, Gooseberry Mesa is just southeast of Hurricane Utah, east of St. George and just outside of Zion National Park. I've been wanting to ride there since I first heard about it some 8 years ago. The riding there was outstanding - technically challenging and with fantastic scenery. It was an 11-hour drive from Santa Fe and worth every minute of it.

Day 1 was an 18-mile romp along the north rim of the mesa to a huge descent on the Grafton Mesa downhill. Five minutes into the ride, our ride leader Quinton, owner of Over The Edge bike shop in Hurricane, rolled this insanely steep and chunky roller. I was impressed, and resolved not to follow him too closely....

A group shot:

I didn't get any other good pics as I lost my front brake early in the day and was quite focused on not crashing.

Day 2 was more Gooseberry, this time the south rim and the challenging Hidden Creek trail. The South Rim of Gooseberry Mesa was the best riding of the whole week - tricky ups and downs with amazing scenery everywhere. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pics. Dave "Slower than Snot" Nice took some pics for me but they all sucked. Thanks anyway Dave.

Day 3 was Little Creek Mesa, where more sweet scenery and singletrack awaited us.

A rock bridge:

Some vandals preceded us:

Another rock bridge:

It was on Little Creek Mesa that I used up my good luck for the entire decade:

I was just riding along the rim and nicked a little branch. My rear derailler sucked up into the spokes and self-destructed. Big bummer. I was preparing to walk out and was pulling the busted bits off the bike when Steve-O from Canada rolled up and said "I have a spare derailler. Take it".

When does THAT ever happen? In 10 minutes I was riding again. Unbelieveable.

Although I love riding with other mountain bikers, getting everybody geared up and organized and delivered to the trailhead can take a long time. By Day 4 I was ready for an early-morning solo jaunt. Gould's Rim to JEM trail to Hurricane Rim was right outside of town.

A long climb led to some views:

and some flowers:

JEM trail was so fast and flowing and fun I never even considered stopping for photos. It dropped down to the Hurricane Rim trail overlooking the Virgin RIver canyon. Awesome scenery and a fun flowing trail.

I took a day off of riding to explore Zion National Park. It was time well spent. I took a lot of photos but few of them were worth sharing. The Park is so overwhelmingly amazing that you have to see it for yourself to beieve it.

Those that preceded us cut these footsteps into the rock to make it easier to get to the water:

Magnificent!

The trail to Observation Point went through a beautiful slot canyon.

The only thing I saw that day that wasn't beautiful was the gift shop.

On my last day in Utah, some new and old friends and I rode Rockville Bench, also known as Slickrock Swamp.

SteveO flashing the peace sign.

This is me on the edge.

Phil from Canada:

Me again

After riding everything at Rockville, we agreed that we needed more, so we drove over to St. George and hit something called Church Rocks.

As usual, it was steeper than it looks.

I could have stayed and played in southwest Utah for many more days, but my path from there led to family and friends in California. I'll post pics of my riding there in a week or two.

Thanks for looking!

the Drive

2010-04-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

hat could mean a lot of things.

You can drive a car.
You can drive cattle.
You can drive a golf ball (I can't).
You can drive someone crazy (I can, easily).

But to be driven is to have a compulsive or urgent quality. And in my case, I am driven to see new things, explore new places, to have new experiences of the amazing world that gives us life.

From the humble,

to the proud.

From the mysterious,

to the unlikely,

to the magnificent,

and even to the regrettable.

Of them all, I prefer the humble.

Thanks for looking!

Beer: not just a breakfast food

2010-04-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

The latest offering from New Belgium Brewing, an India Pale Ale. It suits me, dontcha think?

Spring is Here!

2010-03-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

woo fucking hoo. The endless winter continues....

the ENDLESS winter

2010-03-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

h dear LORD what a winter we've had. As I sit here looking out at the sun-drenched fields, I still feel a huge sense of relief that it's finally over. Storm after storm after storm rolled through our beautiful state all through the month of February. Rides were few and far between. Even getting out for a hike or a run was difficult - the mud was ankle-deep everywhere here in the valley.

Jack and Riley made the best of it...

I made it out to Red Mesa for a solo ride. Saw some pretty cool graffiti on the way:

About one mile in, still on the doubletrack, a nifty little root sliced open my rear sidewall and ruined my tire. Curses! A tube, a boot, and a Stan's - lubed wrestling match, and I was back on the trails.

A few days later I got another ride down in Placitas, with only one picture to show for it.

My friend Myles and I made it out to White Mesa a week later. A beautiful spot with some crazy geology.

We ran into Dominic out there and stopped to chat at one of the strange sink holes.

Dom is contemplating a dip in thebubbling warm springs...

We finished up just ahead of yet another storm.

So is the Winter from Hell finally over? It feels like it, but you never know.

But this little creature in the garden knows!

Thanks for looking!

New Moon, New Year, New Decade.....

2010-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

ccording to some Native American tribes, January is the month of the Full Wolf Moon. This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.

I started off the new decade by making some changes in my lifestyle that I hope will lead to better mental and physical health. So far it seems to be working.

My first ride in the new decade came not on the first, but on the 2nd of January, at the local cold-weather standby, the Cerrillos Hills Historic Park.

I was shooting a photo of this cool rock formation when a Raven flew past just as I opened the shutter:

In some native tribes the Raven is known as the "keeper of secrets." They hold the teachings of mysticism and magic. Ravens are linked to the void, where universal secrets are stored. Their inky black color is the color associated with darkness. The darkness is a place where unconscious fears live. Raven, a master magician, embodies the energy of transformation and shows us how to eliminate our inner demons. Seems I have much to learn from him.

A few days later I hit it again with CDaddy:

The follwing weekend brought a ride at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. We call it the Sphynx Trail for reasons that are not clear to me.

Tony's dog Lulu joined us. She is a natural trail dog but doesn't like having her picture taken.

I also got in a ride at Red Mesa, where the only picture I took was this one of Dillon rolling the Cheese Grater:

A week or two of decent weather was much appreciated. Then it was back to the cold and the snow.

That didn't keep me from getting in a nice hike through the snow to the top of Atalaya though.

Another storm is on the way. And so is springtime!

Thanks for looking!

The post with no name....

2009-12-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

I don't really have anything to say here, I just wanted to put up some random pics from the past 2 months. Like this rainbow:

I last rode the Turner around 5 weeks ago at Cedro with a coupla friends. There was a little chunky stuff to play on:

Then we found what looked like a meth lab hidden out in the hills. Probably somebody just squatting on public land, but they had been there long enough to turn the place into a real sh!t hole:

I did a solo ride out near Cochiti Pueblo. The views were fantastic!

While I was descending a long arroyo the universe sent me a sign - but what does it mean?

Clearly something about Love. And plastic.

Thanksgiving came and went and I had a great post-dinner hike with my grandson Eban. I learn a lot from him.

Last weekend my special-needs friend Makachut put on his 3rd annual Punk Enduro, an undefined event that involves bikes, beer, trails, and informal competition. Good times.

Today I played hooky and rode at Cerillos Hills with a coupla friends.

There are literally hundreds of old mines out there. In fact, the oldest continuously-worked mines in North America are in the Cerillos Hills - turquoise has been mined here for over one thousand years.

We saw a Real Live Ghost Town!

Bikes back on the car...

And a post-ride refreshment!

Thanks for looking!

Shooting Stars

2009-12-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

was out soaking in the Tub of Hotness just now (which is absofuckinglutely awesome when it's this cold out), and it occurred to me that it has been a long time since I saw a shooting star. I used to sit out there and tell myself "Okay, I'll get out when I see a shooting star". And I would usually see one within a few minutes. Which was really cool.

Now, everyone knows that shooting stars are God's brain cells exploding. Which makes sense - meteor showers happen on nights when God really feels the need to tie one on. The fact that they only happen a few times a year shows what restraint the Big Guy has, considering his responsibilities.

Anyhoo, thinking about shooting stars got me thinking about Bob Dylan. Huh? you ask? Well, one of my favorite Dylan albums, Oh Mercy, has a track called Shooting Star. As with all of the tracks on this album, the lyrics just cut to the bone.

Once again the world conspires to force me to review my shortcomings as a human being. And that's OK.

I could not find a decent video of Bob playing this song. But I encourage you to read the lyrics. And you can get a used copy of the whole CD for $2 plus shipping.

Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you.
You were trying to break into another world
A world I never knew.
I always kind of wondered
If you ever made it through.
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of you.

Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of me.
If I was still the same
If I ever became what you wanted me to be
Did I miss the mark or
Over-step the line
That only you could see?
Seen a shooting star tonight
And I thought of me.

Listen to the engine, listen to the bell
As the last fire truck from hell
Goes rolling by, all good people are praying,
It's the last temptation
The last account
The last time you might hear the sermon on the mount,
The last radio is playing.

Seen a shooting star tonight
Slip Away.
Tomorrow will be another day.
Guess it's too late to say the things to you
That you needed to hear me say.
Seen a shooting star tonight
Slip away.

Edit: I was driving to work the morning after writing this post and a song by Harper Simon (son of Paul Simon)came on the radio. The song is called - you guessed it - Shooting Star. And the last two lines of the refrain are "Someday, you'll find out who you are. Someday, you'll be more than just a shooting star."

Weird.

Rift Valley Trail

2009-11-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

orthern New Mexico has a new trail system! How cool is that? Thanks to the hard work of the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, we have new trails to ride outside of Taos. I hit them up today with the Taos director of Tourism, [B]Greg de Taos[/B]. While they may not have much in the way of technical challenges, they are skinny, twisty, flowy, and pass by some fantastic views of the Rio Grande Gorge.

These trails would be a great option for a second day in Taos after some hard climbing on the South Boundary trail. Some easy miles with not a lot of climbing to work the kinks out of your legs.

The scenery in NNM is always great, except maybe in downtown Espanola. But out here it was grand.

A fine ride on a fine day, followed by a fine selection of fine homebrews served up in some fine glassware.

Get on up there and check it out!

Random Acts of Photography

2009-10-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

o I finally did the "plane wreck" ride in the Jemez mountains. If you haven't been getting enough hike-a-bike lately, you should do this ride. It really delivers on the steepest crap you will ever push a bike up. A good solid 4 miles of the stuff. And to top it all off, you get to see a busted-up airplane! What could be better?

I'll tell you what's better: the rippin' descent down Medio Dia canyon. Seven-ish miles of pure adrenaline.

OK, so Anthony was still climbing in that pic. Give me a break. When the downhilling starts, there is little time for photography.

Tim Wise aka Sweetleaf making it look easy:

Sometimes a safety meeting is called for.

After you cruise through the meadows,

you come to the cabin:

Someone was watching Anthony. The opposite of Big Brother - Little Sister!:

Too much fun will make your head feel like a mushroom.

A week later I rode to the San Antonio hot springs with Tim and Mark. A more beautiful place you will not find.

Looks like someone exceeded the weight limit for this bridge:

Here come the merry pranksters - Tweedledum and Tweedledipshit.

I did a solo ride today. I am finally willing to consider that summer may be drawing to an end:

The Rig got a new wheel set:

Another storm rolls into northern New Mexico. Will this be the one to bury our higher trails for the season? I hope not.

Thanks for looking!

Autumn Colors

2009-10-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

ere in northern New Mexico we get four distinct seasons. And my favorite by far is Autumn. The weather gets perfect - cool nights to make you sleep good, brisk mornings, and warm afternoons. But the best part is the amazing colors that bust out everywhere.

Everywhere you look are brilliant colors.

Even down on the ground.

Everybody raves about the aspens, but the cottonwoods put on a pretty good show also:

The only down side to Autumn is knowing that winter is coming. Bummer.

Thanks for looking!

14 rides in 10 ten days - southwest Colorado road trip

2009-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

stayed pretty close to home for most of the summer, and by September it was high time for a change of scenery. So I loaded the bikes onto the car and headed north.

I passed this old water tank that serviced the now-abandoned Chile Line that connected Santa Fe with Colorado.

Soon I was in greener pastures.

I passed this sweet crib in Antonito Colorado. This guy is living LARGE!

I stopped on the way and did a 2-hour out-and-back on a little-used section of the Rainbow Trail that is east of Highway 285 at Poncha Pass. It was steep but the views were great.

That night I sampled the fine brews at Amica's in Salida. A very fine IPA was on tap.

The next morning I boarded a shuttle van that took me to the top of Monarch Pass. Rain was forecast by noon so I got smart for once and took the Green's Creek descent. I have always wanted to check this trail out, but always opted for the longer Marshall Pass - Silver Creek - Rainbow trail option. Green's did not disappoint - delightfully techy and very scenic. And my hunch was right on - rain was falling on the high trails as I was driving out of Salida later that day.

After recovering my car, I headed west towards Gunnison. It was a beautiful drive. Take my word for it because I lost the pics somehow.

The next morning I headed out to the Hartman Rocks riding area just south of Gunnison, which did not disappoint at all. Lots of techy sections separated by flat fields of fragrant sage.

After about 4 hours at Hartman's, I headed further west. I stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and rode my singlespeed to all 12 of the overlooks, about 16 miles total. The views were incredible. This place ranks right up there with the Grand Canyon in terms of visual impact.

I crashed at my sister's house in Montrose, then headed up to Fruita the next day. I was going to ride everything at Loma and Mack, but it started raining just as I climbed up out of the Horsethief loop.

So I headed over to Grand Junction and rode a bunch of trails at the Lunch Loop / Tabeguache area. These trails never disappoint, unless you're retarded like me and start at the top on Little Park road. So I ended up descending first and then climbing back to the car. But I did manage to dodge the rain that day. Plus it was a blast.

My sister's cat was pretty cool. It is rumored that she has two, but I only saw this one while I was there: Introducing Loki.

The next day I stopped in at a local bike shop in search of a ride closer to Montrose. The owner sent me down to Ridgeway to try out "some new stuff". It turned out to be ALL old, loose doubletrack, and less than 2 hours worth of riding. Kinda disappointing but the views of the Cimmarons and Mount Sneffels were awesome.

After a delicious Thai lunch in Ridgeway (who knew?), I felt the need for more riding. So I drove west a ways and rode up Last Dollar Road. More killer views.

On Wednesday I drove up through Silverton towards Durango. My plan was to ride a section of the Colorado trail from Molas Pass, but the weather was not cooperating.

I saw this in Silverton. I think you could access just about any trail head in it.

I dropped into Durango and hit the Junction Creek trail head - the southern terminus of the Colorado Trail. A nice looped ride there got the kinks out of my legs.

I saw this crazy rock formation that reminded me of Sedona ;-)

Driving thru town I spotted this sweet ride. I bet it goes real fast!

The next day I was supposed to catch a Hermosa Tours shuttle up to a ride called Blackhawk Pass. I could tell by the way the weather was shaping up that it would be a bad idea. So instead I drove over to Cortez and rode Phil's World. I always enjoy this trail, and with the recent rains it was quite tacky and fast. Plus they have added a lot of new trails, so it has gone from a quick 2-hour ride to well over three.

Saw a fellow traveler out on the trail...

Good times. And I had successfully dodged the rain for 6 days in a row. I heard later that the folks who did the Blackhawk ride above Durango got hammered by hail and rain. Good call.

The next day I pre-rode the Single Speed World Championships course, which was to be held the next day. And what a challenging course it was - lots of climbing, a big hike-a-bike, 3 miles of exposed technical ridge line, and then lots more climbing. It whooped me good.

This little fellow followed me home from the liquor store. Some fine Colorado sippin' whiskey to share with my friends back home.

On the day of the race, I rode a bunch of trails in Durango's Horse Gulch area. I rode Telegraph Trail and parts of the race course. It was fun but by this time I was getting pretty tired - nine days of riding.

There's a reason they call it the Telegraph Trail.

I think somebody is going to miss this.

I headed over to the finish area. There were a lot of costumed riders and spectators, and free beer courtesy of Oskar Blues.

That evening I rode the bike paths along the Animas River 5 or 6 miles through Durango to the post-ride party at Ska Brewing Company. More good times. Met some friends from home. Made a lot of new friends.

Saw a few freaks.

I left before the playoff basketball game to determine the venue for next years' championship. I heard later that New Zealand beat Italy handily.

Day 10. Ok let's get this over with and get home!
I drove south to Aztec and rode the Alien Run trail, which passes the purported site of a UFO crash landing in the 1950s.

The road home.

Through O Keefe country.

The welcoming committee.

An awesome road trip,but it's always nice to be home again

Thanks for looking!

SSolo

2009-09-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

iding with your friends is always fun. Lots of smack-talkin' and such. But a solo ride is nice too. Just cruisin' along deep in your own thoughts, detoxing and processing all the crap that comes your way in this crazy fvcked up world.

I was listening to the Celtic-rock tunes of Ashley MacIsaac on my way to the trailhead. I have his 1995 disc "Hi How Are You Today" but don't really know what he's done since then. You probably remember this one, not his best but kinda cool.

I headed out from Nun's Corner, on my own schedule and at my own pace (read: sloooow). Little did I know this might be my biggest singlespeed ride of the season: Chamisa to Winsor to Pacheco Canyon Rd to Big Tesuque to Winsor to Borrego to Bear Wallow to Winsor to the bottom, to Burn to Juan to the car finally! Not as big as an easy day for a SS God like Sweetleaf, but a big day for me none-the-less.

How many times have I seen this landmark? At least one hundred, probably more.

The shuttle-monkeys have been busy on upper Winsor - every corner had huge skid marks, most of them leading off into the trees. Wish I could have witnessed the carnage!

The approach of Autumn cannot be ignored any longer:

Graffiti at altitude:

Lunch time at the Big Tesuque Cafe.

Cross the creek and start the climb up Borrego. A yellow ribbon - who is it for?

Time for the big descent. But I had to lock 'em up for this:

Shrooms Gone Wild!

I like rocks with stripes.

Almost home. Time to go into Stealth Mode.

I'm glad to say I made it home safely. And had a most enjoyable post-ride recovery meal at Bumblebee's Baja Grill!

Thanks for looking!

I got lost!

2009-08-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've been mountain biking in the Land of Enchantment for 7 or 8 years and until yesterday I've never ridden past a lake! I suppose that's because there aren't many lakes here, and the few we have are in wilderness areas where bikes are banned (grrrr). But yesterday the gracious Greg de Taos was kind enough to lead a ride to Lost Lake, somewhere between Red River and Taos. What a fantastic ride it was! Around 3K feet of mostly mellow climbing to a gorgeous alpine lake with killer views all around, and a rippin' descent back to the fine IPAs waiting at the trail head courtesy of CDaddy. And the icing on the cake was the fish tacos on the way home.

A fine day indeed.

Unfortunately our gracious host went OTB and suffered a palm bruise that made braking difficult. But as we say, crashing is just part of the fun!

The talus slopes kept CDaddy honest. As if....

one more.....

Thaks for looking!

the real world

2009-08-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

It is truly an amazing place, this world we live in. The incredible beauty of our planet, the diversity of life that has evolved here, the mysteries of the universe. How lucky we are to have these amazing bodies with which to experience it all. The free will to choose, to choose whether to do good or bad with our time here.

And then there is the world of our dreams, where anything is possible. Where our words and actions have no consequence. Where our joy and pain, our wonder and terror are all fleeting. The canvas erased each morning, to be re-created the next night.

The late great Roy Orbison said it best in his song "In the Real World"

In dreams we do so many things
We set aside the rules we know
And fly the world so high
In great and shining rings

If only we could always live in dreams
If only we could make of life
What, in dreams, it seems

But in the real world
We must say real goodbyes
No matter if the love will live
It will never die

In the real world
There are things that we can't change
And endings come to us
In ways that we can't rearrange

I love you, and you love me
But sometimes we must let it be
In the real world
In the real world

When we were dreaming heart to heart
I wish that we had stayed right there
For when the dreamers do awake
The dreams do disappear

If only we could always live in dreams
If only we could make of life
what, in dreams, it seems

But in the real world
We must say real goodbyes
No matter if the love will live
It will never die

Statistics 101....

2009-08-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

Face it, if you live and drive long enough in this state that has a reputation for a drinking-and-driving problem, sooner or later you are going to have a close encounter of the wrong kind. My number came up today. I was on my way to the trailhead for a short ride on when I noticed an erratic driver behind me. Sure enough, he tried to pass on a narrow 2-lane road and side-swiped my car, taking off the side-view mirror. I was able to follow him for a while and called 911. Amazingly, Santa Fe's finest (major overstatement) caught him a few blocks away, where he was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest, and driving under the influence.

It's sad to think of kids being this wasted at 8:30 in the morning.

Thanks for looking.

UPDATE:

Yesterday I got copies of the arrest report and the accident report. Mr. Julian Quintana, age 26, was arrested for DWI at 8:30 a.m. He had a 1.75 liter jug of Southern Comfort in the car, as well as a 17 year old girl. He was also cited for reckless driving, having an open container, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to render aid, failure to immediately notify, and resisting arrest.

OK, so sometimes you need one more...

2009-08-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

I've been riding the Haro Mary 29er single speed for over a year and was still loving it. It's perfect for short rides on the local Dale Ball trails. But a friend had a Gary Fisher Rig for sale at a killer price that I just could not pass up. I had tried out a Rig last fall and found it to have a much nimbler geometry than the Mary. Steeper head tube angle, shorter chain stays, and more trail made for a much better-handling bike. Plus it has the Fox 29er fork which is sweet. So I bought it.

I swapped my Avid Juicy 7's and my Truvativ Stylo bottom bracket with 180 mm cranks onto it and now I'm loving it. I'm making more of the switchbacks now with this set-up. Plus it's 5 pounds lighter and accelerates way faster.

I took it out this morning and had a sweet ride.

Another thing I'm lovin' are the quiet pawls in the freehub. All my bikes for the past 3 years have had noisy rear hubs, so it's a nice change to be able to ride in full stealth mode.

Post-ride recovery green-chile cheeseburger with fries at Bert's Burger Bowl, a Santa Fe tradition. Oh yeah!

Thanks for looking.

One is all you need....

2008-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I posted here on my blog. I finally have a computer at home that I can upload pics to, and I can access internet at the Santa Fe Brewing Company, so I no longer have any good excuses. I hope to post more frequently in the future.

I had been trying to sell my old road bike for a long time, and last spring I finally found a buyer. The bike was custom-built for me by John Cutter of San Luis Obispo, California in 1986. It was a work of art in its time, beautifully fillet-brazed and powder-coated in a turquoise color. But I knew I would never ride it again and it needed to belong to someone who would use it. Some guy somewhere back east gave me $750 for it, and promptly put red tires on it. Yuck.

Coincidentally, right about the same time a friend tipped me off that a local shop was offering a smoking deal on a slightly used 29er Haro Mary SS. I never thought I would enjoy singlespeeding much, but I took it for a ride and the fit was so good I just couldn't pass up the bargain.

One ride on the rigid fork was enough, though, so the first upgrade was a RockShox Reba. No complaints about that fork, it has worked beautifully and the lockout feature is great for long climbs. The Avid BB5 brakes sucked, so next up was a pair of Avid Juicy 7's that I scored on Ebay. I've tried numerous tires on it and have settled on a Continental Mountain King in front and a Kenda Nevegal in the rear. Perfect for the loose conditions frequently encountered around Santa Fe.

Learning to ride the damn thing was another story. The local Dale Ball trails are perfect for SSing, nothing too steep, but the numerous tight switchbacks proved challenging in the uphill direction. My most sucessful strategy has been to get some speed up and try and stay seated through most of the turn.

Singlespeeding is a lot more work than riding a geared bike. Once I got in better shape I started taking it up higher trails with longer climbs. By the end of the summer I was (barely) able to ride it all the way up to the TV towers above town for a total of 5,000 feet of climbing.

Half of what makes singlespeeding so much fun is the simplicity - no thinking about when and where to shift, just pedalling and enjoying the ride. The other half is the amazingly fast acceleration out of corners. Even with the 29" wheels, you can just get up to speed in a hurry.

Thanks for looking!

Went for a little ride......

2008-04-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

I was short on time, so it would have to be a small ride. Just a little way down the trail and back.

Cruising along, I noticed the wildlife was out everywhere, enjoying the fine spring weather. Horned toads are common in the southwest - I saw this little guy and he was cool enough to pose on my thumb!

Down the trail a little farther, and I saw another critter, not sure what it was. A baby skunk? Badger? Venomous duck? Not to worry, it seemed pretty harmless.

Reached the turnaround point and stopped to munch some trail mix. What's this? A mouse? And he's hungry! I shared a sunflower seed with him.

This was getting a little weird. Oh well, gotta finish this ride. I picked up the pace a bit, then slammed on the brakes when I spotted another critter. I didn't think anything like this lived around here...

I was starting to get a wee bit creeped out. But the ride was over. Next time I'll have to do a BIG ride.

Thanks for looking.

Turd-smoker sighting!

2008-02-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

It's been a cold and wet winter up here in Del Norte. Enough to drive a mountain biker to desperate measures in order to get some riding in. I mean really desperate. Enough to go to (gasp)..... Texas.

Yes, a couple of amigos and I headed down to El Paso in January in search of dry trails and fresh gnarliness. We found the Redd Road trails, which had a little something for everyone - lots of cross-country desert cruising, lots of ledgy, techy goodness, and for the truly brave, the Devil's Trail! (which, needless to say, I did not attempt - the consequences for failure would have included a trip to the ER)
The next day we rode at Franklin Mountains State Park. These trails started out pretty good, but at the half-way point it became clear that we rode the loop in the wrong direction. Besides riding into a headwind, the ride finished with a mile of extremely steep doubletrack. Not fun. But hey, at least we were riding, it wasn't snowing, and there were no flat tires.

We also saw this dude smoking a coyote turd on the side of the trail. Weird.

Thanks for looking!

Seven Rides in Seven Days

2008-01-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

So this pathetic loser (me) wakes up alone on Christmas Day and considers his options: 1: Wallow in self-pity and depression. 2: Commit suicide. 3: Get the fuck out of town. Since the first option was already achieved, and I didn't have the balls to select option 2, I chose door number 3.

After taking the dogs out for a quick run, I packed up the car, and 7 hours later I was in sunny Phoenix! I stayed at my friend Kathleen's house with her two psycho dogs. And I rode every day. It was good to be back on the bike after 4 weeks of not riding. Here's what we did:

Day 1: Hawes / Pass Mountain - 31 miles after a month off the bike!
Day 2: an easy spin on Desert Classic - man was my ass tender!
Day 3: the Milagrosa Trail in Tucson - easily the highlight of the trip. This trail ROCKS!
Day 4: Goat Camp trail at White Tanks - way over my head expert level stuff
Day 5: South Mountain - up National, down Geronimo, up Geronimo, down Corona Loma. Fantastic riding!
Day 6: Trail 100 at North Mountain Preserve - easy cruising
Day 7: 3 hours at the newly-completed Black Canyon Trail - very scenic desert riding

I demonstrated yet again my complete lack of any talent at mountain biking on the Goat Camp trail, where I walked everything of consequence and berated myself the whole time. Was there ever another mountain biker that sucks as bad as I do? Doubtful.

One more thing

2007-12-19T06:17:00.000-08:00

Since the trails have been snowy and muddy, I took CDaddy's offer to try snowshoeing. I rented some shoes at Santa Fe Bike-n-Sport and borrowed some poles. We drove up to the Santa Fe ski area and hiked up Raven's Ridge to the overlook, then bushwacked down to the Winsor trail. Going uphill was great fun, but going downhill through deep powder was hard. I couldn't figure out how to do it right.

One more thing I suck at. Hopefully I'll be dead soon and it won't matter.

Maybe I was wrong...

2007-12-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

OK, so maybe I don't completely suck at mountain biking. The weather was crappy last weekend so I went out in the back yard and built a drop on the hillside. It's about 40 inches at the lip, and maybe 4 feet or a little more down to the landing zone. Definitely bigger than anything I've dropped off before.

On Sunday my friend Andy drove up from Albuquerque and we raked in a trail leading up to the drop, and cleaned up the landing zone. Then, there was nothing to do but hit it. I ran up on it a couple times and bailed off to the side. Then I just decided I HAD to do it. I knew deep inside that I had the skills, that my body would know what to do if I could just convince my brain. So I just got some speed up and shot off it! Yeah, it was scary, but mostly fun. The main thing is that I didn't crash.

First Post EVAR!

2007-12-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

Wow! I'm a blogger! How frikkin exciting is that! I'll bet I suck at it just as bad as I suck at everything else I do.

I play chess but I suck at it.
I'm into mountain biking and I suck at that too.
I like to paint with watercolors but I suck at it.
I play a little acoustic guitar and Guess What? I suck at that too!

I'm a complete fucking loser.