Saturday, December 07, 2013
Snow Day
It was just a bit too warm, so the snow was slushy in places, and I was a little wet by the end. Still, fun times on the fat bike.
Later.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monterey in Mostly Monochrome
We took another quick trip to Monterey utilizing Veterans Day to make a three-day weekend.
On Saturday morning we rode north on the trail. It was a little cool but sunny. We totaled almost 16 miles and it was a great day.
The next morning we took a walk and had breakfast. Afterwards I went on a late morning solo ride.
In the afternoon we went on another walk and took some photos.
A bystander offered to take a rare picture of all three of us.
We walked around the marina and looked for animals along the shore.
We finished up with the car show near the wharf.
On Monday morning we went on our last ride, cramming in almost 19 miles before checkout. Now we head back to work and school. Hooray.
Another great trip in the books and a nice break that should nourish us until the Thanksgiving break.
Later.
Friday, November 08, 2013
Fat Jenny
Way back in the summer I bought new, wider wheels for my Pugsley. Then I needed new cranks to accommodate the wider rims and tires. That started an incompatibility chain reaction, which eventually caused a complete upgrade to a 10-speed drivetrain. With all the old parts then sitting in a pile, I realized I only needed a frameset to build another fat bike. I bought an extra small Pugsley frame and built it up, so now Jenn has a fatty.
This morning we went out to Folsom Lake for her first fat bike ride. The water level is pretty dismal, but it made for some interesting terrain. Here Jenn rides on the surface of Mars.
This egret had little trouble fishing in this landlocked puddle. Like shooting fish in a barrel . . .
We rode along the lake shore for a while. The dirt, mud, sand and rocks were no problem.
It has been difficult to get Jennifer to ride in the dirt over the years, but she didn't hesitate on her Pugsley. The fat tires are confidence inspiring from the first pedal stroke.
When we made it to Granite Bay, we looped back to Beal's point on the trails.
It was a fun ride and I think Jenn really enjoyed the fat bike experience.
Later.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Cool Video
My son recently attended an Apple Camp where the kids made their own videos. A few of them used stop motion techniques, and I was intrigued and impressed by their creativity. This video shows how far you can take stop motion. Enjoy.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Smoke on the Water
On Saturday I got out early for a ride. My intention was to do a nice off-road loop, but once I started moving I knew I didn't have great legs, which killed my enthusiasm and motivation. I opted to just stay on the road and climb to the summit. I didn't exactly set the road on fire with my speed, but I made it. On the way back down all I could think about was how horrible my fitness is right now.
After a shower and lunch we headed to Truckee to hang out for a while. We walked down main drag and did some window shopping before ending up at the Mellow Fellow Pub. They had a nice selection of 40 beers on tap and a foosball table, so we simply had to stop for a while. (You know, so the boy could play.) A few beers and foosball games later, we stepped outside to find the town shrouded in smoke. The wind had shifted, bringing with it the smoke from the American Fire in Forest Hill. Visibility was maybe half a mile.
We did a little more shopping and browsing in the stores. I popped into a chocolate shop and bought a number of ridiculously expensive truffles, turtles and caramels. Nobody else was very interested in them, and they were melting in the bag, so I had to eat them all. I simply had no choice. Really.
We made our way back to Tahoe and found that the smoke had made its way there also, although it wasn't as bad as Truckee.
By the next morning the smoke still hung in the air, and I didn't want to ride in it. I figured I would just ride later back home where the air would be "cleaner." Instead I went on a brisk two hour walk around Incline with Jenn and the boy.
When we arrived back home in the late afternoon the temperature was 97 degrees. The air didn't seem great, but looked much better than Tahoe. I dressed and went out for a ride, deciding to do my short loop due to time constraints. The loop is about 14.5 miles with 1000 feet of climbing. I usually do it in about an hour and four minutes on my 29er. A number of times I have tried to crack an hour, but without success.
Unlike the day before, I had great legs. I blasted up the first few climbs in the big chainring and felt good. Just for fun, I put myself into racer mode and gunned for my personal best time.
With two miles left I was at 49 minutes. It usually takes about 12 minutes to do the last climb, so knew I had a shot at the elusive hour mark. I turned myself inside out but came up nine seconds short in the end. If you look at the moving time of 59:59, you might consider that a win, but I don't. For me, stop signs, traffic lights, waiting for cars and any other slowdowns count towards the time. Otherwise, I could stop for 30 seconds somewhere, rest, and resume riding at a faster clip and make better time.
I didn't feel great in the hours following the ride. I had a headache and my lungs burned. Movement was minimal for the rest of the evening.
Today I woke up feeling like I had a bad hangover without enjoying one drop of beer. Just for grins, I checked the Spare The Air web site and yesterday was a spare-the-air day, the first of the year.
It never occurred to me that the ozone would be so high. Our air has been so much better the last few years, I don't even check anymore.
At any rate, I spent all day feeling horrible. This "smog sickness" has happened in the past, and I know better. Bad air is not something to mess around with, so I need to do a better job of checking the air quality.
Later.
Monday, August 05, 2013
Fat Sunday
Roger and I took the fat bikes out to Folsom Lake yesterday for a little ride. We started at Beal's Point and rode out to Donton's Point. You can see the route here.
We encountered sand, dirt, rocks, gravel, mud and granite slabs. None were any match for our fat tires and mad riding skills.
On the way back we took a few minutes to do some rock crawling and take a few pictures. Here Roger descends on The Beast with only a coaster brake at his disposal. It's a fine line between life and death out here.
A note regarding Roger's bike—It's from Walmart. It's called The Beast. It cost a cool 200 bucks.
When he first told me about it the bike snob in me thought, seriously? But after it showed up and I rode it, I didn't think it was too bad at all, even with the ridiculously high gearing. With a few key upgrades, and a gearing change, Roger has transformed it into a pretty cool and functional ride. It just goes to show that we sometimes place too much emphasis on the latest high-dollar gear.
(Dear Santa: I'm just saying that. I still really, really want a carbon Beargrease. That's B-E-A-R-G-R-E-A-S-E not B-E-A-S-T. Thanks.)
Later.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Presents!
Oh, yeah. A new front wheel featuring a Holy Rolling Darryl rim, a pair of Knard tires (birthday present—thanks, Jen!), rim strips and a tube. Let's build 'er up.
Very nice.
This is the first step of a new project that I will talk about in a future post. That's it for now.
Later.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Separation Anxiety
Recently I have been adding mileage and sprinkling in a little dirt here and there. Yesterday I finally felt like I was healed up enough to get back at it. I loaded up on food and water, and I headed out for a big loop I had never tried before.
First off was the trail near my house that parallels Highway 50 heading east. It isn't terribly exciting, but it gets technical and rocky in spots, and it keeps me off the road.
After crossing over Highway 50 and a short ride on Mother Lode Drive, I turned onto the El Dorado Trail, which heads south along the railroad tracks.
The trail varies from smooth singletrack, to steep and rocky ATV trail, to narrow goat path. In the beginning there are properties along both sides of the track. As you ride deeper into the boonies, there are times when you really feel isolated.
Towards the end the trail bends west towards South Shingle Road.
After nine miles of trail I hit South Shingle and headed south to the town of Latrobe. I crossed Latrobe Road and continued on South Shingle. After about a mile, the road turns to gravel.
The dirt and gravel continues for around seven miles. Sometimes the scenery looked like the gravel grinder racing pictures I have seen from the Midwest.
I left the dirt and took Scott Road north. As you can see from the elevation profile, this was the low point of the ride. From there I had a long, hot, uphill ride home. Although the Garmin output says it was only 82 degrees, it was way hotter than that. Perhaps that figure comes from the beginning of the ride.
I'm looking forward to putting some miles in and getting back to the fitness level I achieved in May.
Later.
Monday, June 24, 2013
El Dorado Trail
We started at Missouri Flat Road and headed east towards Camino Heights. Jen's geared bike is in Tahoe, so we took the single speeds.
With 1500 feet of climbing, this was definitely the toughest ride Jen has done on a single speed thus far, and she did great. The nice thing about the trail is the grade is fairly constant due to it being an old railroad grade. You can see the profile here.
The trail consists of paved sections, some dirt, a trip through old Placerville, another paved section and then a couple miles of dirt to the end.
It was tough climbing towards the top with the loose gravel, but she was still smiling.
We turned around at the top and enjoyed over seven miles of mostly uninterrupted downhill back through Placerville. After a few more miles with a couple climbs we were back at the truck.
Jen was a bit apprehensive about taking the single speed, but I think the ride showed her what she is capable of on a bike. She is much stronger than she thinks, especially when the road tilts up.
Later.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Back At It
Yesterday we went out for a family ride on the bike trail. I rode the Jamis Dragon 29er for some reason, and I was far less comfortable in the more traditional mountain bike position. My shoulder is pretty sore today.
Anyway, other than experiencing a little pain it was a good ride.
We knocked out 25 miles and had the benefit of a stiff tailwind the whole way back.
We followed up the ride with lunch and a dip in the pool. All and all a great day. It's good to be back on the bike, even if it hurts a little.
Later.
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Knowing When to Shut Up
We had gone to the local baseball park in Incline Village to work on some fielding. I was showing the boy how to properly field a ground ball. My technique was pretty smooth and fundamentally sound for the first 15 grounders or so. The last grounder was thrown far to my right, and I ran hard in an effort to make the backhand stab. Unfortunately I was so focused on the ball that I tripped over the pitching mound and separated my shoulder.
I missed the last five days of May and ended up with 611 miles, well short of my 700-mile goal. I also fell out of the top five at work. Neither goal met.
| Click to enlarge. |
I think my friend Miki pulled up short because he was only a handful of miles behind me last Sunday. If so, a noble "rider down" gesture for sure.
My boss Jim (James) beat me fair and square because there was no way I was going to top his 846, healthy shoulder or no. Next year.
Later.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
May Update
With no Little League games scheduled because of Memorial Day, we decided to head for Tahoe for a little weekend getaway. Yesterday morning I started off with a mountain bike ride.
Knowing the family wanted to ride later in the day, I selected a short, 17-mile loop.
Conditions were bone dry with not a bit of snow to be found. There have been some years when I have waited until July for the snow to melt on these trails.
In the afternoon we headed for the bike trail. It was cool and windy, but not unpleasant.
We did an out-and-back to Squaw Valley, riding along the Truckee River, and finished up with 16 miles.
Today I did 25 miles with 2200 feet of climbing. Miles are much tougher to come by up here in Tahoe, especially on the mountain bike.
I must admit I am a bit worn out, and I will be happy when this month is over. I still have five more days to grind out some miles to see if I can solidify my goal of a top-five finish at work. We shall see.
Later.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Early Bird
If you have even been up at 4:30, you may have noticed that big fiery ball is missing from the sky. It's dark. Really dark. This is especially true in my town where the invention of the streetlight has yet to hit the newspapers. I have a good light, though, and the streets are completely empty at that hour, so who needs streetlights.
| That's El Dorado Hills down there where they have electricity and lights. |
About halfway through the Brown's Ravine trail the sky began to lighten, which was welcomed relief. My speed picked up immediately.
Shortly after exiting the last of the dirt, I was on the bike trail. There isn't a whole lot of excitement there, but it continues my car-free route for another 18 miles.
I did see this guy strutting his stuff. The colors would have been much more vivid had the sun been up.
It took me 2:45 to ride the 39 miles. Kind of slow. Next time I would like to shave 15 minutes off that time so I hit the showers closer to 7:00.
Later.

