Gooseberry Mesa, finally....

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

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

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

Spring is Here!

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

the ENDLESS winter

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.....

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!