My First Trip to Moab

What a blast I had in Moab. For my first trip you couldn't have asked for a better experience. The morning started early with Mike, Eric and I leaving around 6:30 am for Moab. Mike and Eric race on the UMB team, and I was a little worried about going with them because they are stronger, better riders, however my concern for them holding them back was over ridden by my desire to go to Moab. Our start time was perfect and allowed for a great arrival time. We decided for our one day trip to ride Slickrock trail and Sovereign trail. Slickrock was first on the agenda. Not knowing what to expect, and after talking to a few people, I ended up taking my hard tail to Moab. This was not the advice by anyone, in fact everyone told me to take my full suspension, but the one thing that encouraged me to take my hard tail was the statement "very technical trail". I am a better rider technically with my hard tail and it turned out to be a good choice.

The Slickrock trail is a 10 mile loop. The lady at the pay station told us it takes 2 to 4 hours to complete. I thought she was crazy, since it was only 10 miles how in the world could it take that long. Well, it does. There are lots of stops and do overs as you try to clear different obstacles and climbs. I was very impressed with Eric and Mike, because they cleared practically everything and made it look so easy. They did have do overs, but only a few. It was also great riding with them because they helped me learn to ride the hills better and clear obstacles better. I had one spill while we road. I was climbing a hill and didn't quite make it. Most times I got off my bike fine and was able to finish pushing my bike up the hill. However this one time was not the case. I got off the bike, started to slip and then it was over as I rolled once with my bike down the hill. Lucky for me I was able to keep a hold of the bike so it didn't continue rolling down the hill. It turns out rolling down rock does not hurt as bad as you think it will. Although to see my bruises today you would think it hurt a lot.

Slickrock was fun, I liked it and riding my hardtail worked fine on this trail. I definitely did not need my full suspension. I had a smile on my face the whole time we were riding. However, when we got Sovereign I was grinning from ear to ear. Sovereign trail is a blast! And I definitely could have used my full suspension on this trial. We did part of the link trail and I absolutely loved it. It is full of drops and jumps and climbs and you can pretty much do about anything on this trail.

This trail we started out together, but somehow I lost Eric and Mike. Apparently there was a right hand turn and instead of going right I went straight. This turned out to be great for me as the part of the trail I was on was a lot of fun. Eventually I realized I took a wrong turn and went back and found Mike and Eric, or they found me, I am not quite sure. Anyway, the whole thing was a blast and words cannot really describe it other than I cannot wait to go back. I don't have any pictures yet, but hopefully soon. My camera finally broke for good and I am waiting for Mike to get pictures to me. As soon as I have them you can see what fun we had on the trip.

I'm Going to Moab

I'm going to Moab. I'm going to Moab. Leaving for Moab tomorrow morning bright and early. This is my first trip, and I can't wait!!! I am sure I will have plenty to write about.

You're Never Alone

Saturday was supposed to be a group ride with the bike peddler group. However, it turned in to one of those days where I just needed to ride and be alone, so I took off for one of my favorite trails in AF Canyon.

The ride started out with me going about 3/4 of a mile when I start to hear a ringing in the distance. I stopped and pulled over, because I knew immediately it was Steve. He has a bear bell on his bike now and it works great. I think I may need to get one of those. We visited for a moment, found out he made it in the Christmas Carol at the Hale theater center--congrats' Steve, and the I went on my way.

I went about another mile down the trail when I say a kid on a motorcycle and his dad. Dad was trying to remedy things since his son has crashed. He had his hands full with a toddler on his bike, which he was holding up while at the same time trying to restart the little motor bike that his son had crashed. I did ask if he needed help, but he said no. I wonder if he ever got it started???

Further down the trail towards the pine hollow and ridge trail intersection I ran into 2 hunters. One was on a horse and the other was leading a horse. We visited for a moment, and then I asked the silly blonde question if they had seen any deer. Yep they had, and it was on the horse the hunter was leading. I really need to work on my observation skills.

My next meeting turned out to be a life saver. I was pulling into 4 corners area and there were 2 motorcyclists. We exchanged greetings however my greeting was more one of concern as I noted my rear brake was not working. I was trying to figure out how to go down Deer Creek South Fork without a rear brake. One of the riders also rides mountain bikes and knows about hydraulic brakes. He was able to help me and get my brake fixed. Whew! It would have been interesting riding without the rear brake, and I am much too stubborn or foolish to get off and walk my bike.

Going down Deer Creek was great as it always is. In fact towards the end of the downhill I actually started to get sad it was over. Near the end I ran into 3 other riders going up the trail. I jokingly told them they were going the wrong way and they asked me if they were. We talked for a moment and sure enough they were. I told them the right way to go and then rode with them up to the Pine Hollow, Ridge trail intersection. It turned out riding with others was a good distraction for the day. I got to meet new people which was a lot of fun.

As we rode and got to the Summit, we arrived on the Bike Peddler group ride. I was happy to see them and really wanted to stay and ride with them, but I knew my husband would probably send out a search team if I was too late getting home. Unfortunately my cell does not work there, and believe me I tried. I saw Josh--great hair cut by the way, and Gareth and I know I recognised a few others, but the people I was guiding were anxious to ride on.

As we rode up the trail I ran in to Kyle from UMB. He also works at Bike Peddler. He was on his new ride, which is really sweet--not as sweet as mine, but sweet enough. It was much too clean, and apparently this was not his first ride on it either. I think I need to learn how to clean my bike better even his tires were pristine.

After leaving Kyle I led my new friends to their turn off and continued on my way. Towards the bottom of pine hollow hill when you are going really fast I came upon 3 hunters. I don't know who was more startled them or me. Glad they did not have their guns ready.

I kept riding thinking surely I would not see anyone else, but sure enough I ran in to a rider in a UMB jersey. Hopefully he is joining the team, because I have not seen him before. He was not too talkative and neither were the other 2 riders I came upon which is good, because I was running late and you know how it can be if you get home too late from a ride.

In the parking lot I met another motorcyclist and he commented on my muddy appearance...Forgot to mention parts of the pine hollow trail had the wet, slick mud and I got a lot of it on me. Definitely brings a smile to my face.

The ride was a lot of fun and it turns out that even when you want to ride alone you are never really alone.

Commuting Lessons

I started my new job Tuesday, and decided since I would not have to drive out to other offices yet I would take advantage and ride my bike. Here is what I have learned about commuting over the past 3 days.

1. It is best to pack your messenger bag the night before, so you don't forget something. And as a gal some things are more important to remember than others....I almost walked out the door without packing a bra! Oh the horror of wearing a stinky sports bra all day.
2. If you leave your clothes in the messenger bag they stay moist all day long, yuck.
3. You can leave your shoes at work instead of bringing them home with you. I had 3 pairs of shoes at work today. :-)
4. When the weather is 34 degrees in the morning and 70 degrees in the afternoon you end up having to put more clothing in your messenger bag in the evening than in the morning...hence the shoes stay at work.
5. It is best to put nectarines, plums or other possibly soft fruit in a sandwich bag in case they get squished. I did and they did, but no mess thanks to the sandwich bags.
6. Wearing a dress at work is fine, but when you need to go get lunch you cannot jump on your bike and ride to the nearest store.
7. Wearing cycling shoes in a food establishment always gives way to conversation.
8. Some bags are not big enough to carry your lunch you made the night before....plan ahead.
9. When there are 2 left turn lanes and one gives the option of turning or going straight it is best that you go straight and then wait to cross again to go up the street otherwise you could get caught in between cars. I am sure I was cussed out by a couple of drivers, and it certainly scared the bejeebers out of me.
10. Don't forget to turn off your rear light when you get to work....oh, and batteries last longer than 12 hours on those rear lights.
11. Even if it is only supposed to be a light recovery ride day when you see the head bobbing ahead you have to work the pedals harder, then smile and carry on a conversation as you pass. Of course your legs hate you later for not recovering like you were supposed to.
12. Intervals with a messenger bag on make you tough.
13. If you end up having your husband come and get you because you need the car for an appointment, don't forget your helmet otherwise you cannot ride when you get home. :-(

So there are a few things I have noticed over the few days of commuting. Anyone else have some suggestions or words of wisdom they care to share?

Messes

I have not had much of a chance to be on the Internet lately, because I need to set up our wireless router. We changed to Comcast and the old modem/router apparently will not work with their technology. On Sunday I decided to set up the router, so I could get my lap top to work and wouldn't have to wait for an opportunity to get on the computer. I followed the instructions for the router set up and of course got an error message. No problem. I redid a couple of things and tried again, and again, and again. I finally called Linksys to see if they could help. Of course they could. William badge number 1224 said he would have me up an running in 20 minutes. Great! An hour and a half later it is determined that the router is defective.

I went back today and exchanged the router. I came home and attempted to install once again. Same problem. I didn't call Linksys yet, although I did everything we did last time, and it did not work. I don't think it is the router, but I am not sure what it could be. Any of you techno guys have any ideas?

I start my new job tomorrow, so I emptied out my office at my soon to be old job, and brought all of my stuff home. I will not have an office at my new job, instead I will have a cubicle. I have a lot of files, boxes, pictures and wall hangings sitting in my office at home. I started to rearrange my office and realized I have a good week of getting everything reorganized. I guess it's good it was cold today so I couldn't feel too bad about not riding.

Chicks on Bikes

I haven't been on my mountain bike since last Thursday, which feels like an eternity. Jolene and I went up to AF Canyon to do Timpanooke loop. On the ride up AF Canyon we saw Elden riding his bike (not sure which one) up the road wearing the new Fat Cyclist jersey. The jersey is a good looking jersey. We stopped on the road to tell him how much we like the jersey. He doesn't know me, and slightly knows Jolene, but does know her husband Kris, but that's okay we still said hi. I hope he wasn't too upset we stopped him on the up hill.

The trail was in perfect condition. I was a little concerned about mud on the Ridge trail on the Cascade side of the trail, but it was great. As Jolene and I rode we passed and stayed ahead of a few guys along the trail. I couldn't help but think of fat cyclists blog about sexism as we rode. The first rider we saw came up the top of the pine hollow hill. I thought for sure he was going to pass us, but he decided to stay behind. We exchanged hellos and found out he was only doing the up and back. Well I guess after talking to us he changed his mind and he followed us for a bit, Jolene saw him, but I never saw him again. The next set of riders we saw were going up what I like to call gravel hill (it is the final hill climb to the 4 way intersection). They were walking there bikes, so there was no accomplishment in passing them. However, when we got to the top Jolene was taking some pictures and all of the sudden we saw them riding their bikes past us. I guess getting passed by some chicks is motivation to get back on the bike.

Later while we were going down the best down hill ever we ran into Steve and a friend hiking up to the 4 corners. We exchanged pleasantries, had Steve take a picture of us and continued down. Going down was so awesome!!! The whole ride was great. I don't think you could have asked for better trail conditions and the scenery was beautiful. Jolene and I both got some some great pictures, of the scenery around the trail.


Ridge Trail on the Cascade side.
Down at the Salamander Flats picnic & campground area.
Mountains & scenery south of Timpanooke campground parking.

Jolene snaps me climbing the ridge trail on the Cascade side.

Looks like a golden carpet.

Trees through tinted lenses...great coloring.
Same trees without the lenses.
Picture of the changing colors in the canyon.
Two chicks having a blast riding down the mountain.
Gorgeous pic from the trail.

In or Out

I was supposed to go on a Mtb ride early this morning in AF Canyon. The last I heard from the weather man last night was it would not start to rain until close to noon. The weather man was wrong! At 6:15 am this morning the wind was blowing and the rain had started to come down--ride cancelled. As I watched the rain all morning long all I could think about was riding my bike. I wanted to get out and after resisting as long as I could I finally gave in. Excitedly I got my gear on, pumped up the tires on my road bike, added the flasher to the back so people could see me and took off. Looking up to the mountains with the clouds low and surrounding them I knew exactly where I wanted to go. My destination Squaw Peak Road.

The rain drizzled lightly as I started down the road towards Provo Canyon. I had all of the vents on my rain jacket vents unzipped which turned out to be the perfect temperature for the ride. I was looking forward to riding Provo Canyon Trail and Squaw Peak Road I figured in this rain the trail and the road would be empty, and I was mostly right. Going up the trail I was able to ride where ever I wanted without having to worry about a cyclist, rider or long board coming my direction. It was cool being on the trail by myself. Just as I rounded the corner near Timpanogous Park I saw another cyclist. We exchanged greetings and continued on our way.

This was my first ride up Squaw Peak Road, and I was not sure I would be able to ride the hill. But was determined to give it my best. The ride up the road was great as most people were at home due to the rain. There were a few cars that came down the road and three that passed me coming up, but not as many as there usually are on a weekend. A feeling of peace and calm surrounded me as I road by myself. There is something about rain, dusky darkness and low clouds around the mountain that bring calm and joy at the same time. The fall colors are beautiful right now and the swirling clouds around the mountain enhanced the beauty. I wanted to take stop and take pictures, but did not want to stop riding, so I comprised and decided to take pictures on my way down. As I rode up the road the rain was a steady drizzle, but as I climbed and got higher the drizzle became stronger. By the time I got to the top the rain had become a steady down pour. Lucky for me going up keeps your warm.

At the top I took some pictures of the valley and the mountains and then started down. I didn't get far when I realized I needed to close the vents on my rain jacket as it was getting cold going down. I made a couple of stops on the way down to take pictures. At one of those stops I had to get out my extra gloves, because all of the sudden my fingers were getting cold. I guess that's what happens when you go faster than 5 miles an hour. The ride down was quick, fun, soggy and cold. On the Provo Trail I ran in to one more cyclist, he seemed to be enjoying riding in the rain as much as me. I found even though I had on shoe covers that my socks had become squishy inside my shoes. It reminded me of when you are a kid and you play in the rain puddles and you have the squishy tennis shoes. By the time I got home my outside gear was soaked. The rain jacket worked pretty well, and my jersey was only slightly wet. The ride was great and I have now learned I can ride skinny tires in the rain and I will not kill myself!

It's the Weekend!!!

Going to Work Monday.

Going Home Friday

CATastrophe

I am more of a dog person, but I got these in the email today and thought I would share.