Since the weather today was not the greatest for riding bikes (as seen in the previous post), it was pretty easy to burn the snow day watching the youtubes, scanning the blogosphere, and just generally getting my fix on the ol' interwebs...but I digress.
Here's a video I found worth sharing. It's a little glimpse of what Oz is up to behind the curtain.
FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
¿Qué locura es esta?
If you haven't already seen this video (it has been circulating the bike geek blogs for a few weeks), here it is:
This also has been circulating around, but it's too awesome to not share. Someone has been setting hipster traps in NYC. Thanks to Douche Blog Cycling for this one.
Other than that, the weather is warming up. My Blue Hills fire lane roads have become a mess, so I'll be bagging miles and miles of pavement for a few weeks to get ready for the Ragnarok 105. :( Oh well, time on the bike is time on the bike I suppose.
This also has been circulating around, but it's too awesome to not share. Someone has been setting hipster traps in NYC. Thanks to Douche Blog Cycling for this one.
Other than that, the weather is warming up. My Blue Hills fire lane roads have become a mess, so I'll be bagging miles and miles of pavement for a few weeks to get ready for the Ragnarok 105. :( Oh well, time on the bike is time on the bike I suppose.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Corridor 31
I got some decent riding in this past weekend on the Soma Juice. Roughly 3 fairly fast hours on Saturday rollin' solo (plus an hour run in the evening), and 2-3 hours of easy pacing on Sunday with a fellow riding buddy who rides for BKM Custom Stone and Tile. The 12" of snow that rolled through didn't start coming down until Sunday afternoon, so I squeezed in some Blue Hills ice road bikin' just in time.
The roads were pretty sketchy at points...glare ice from shoulder to shoulder, forcing you at times to ride the snowbank. The snowmobile trails made for much better riding. Pretty firm crust, but also icy at times. Icy enough where some studded tires would be perfect. The 2.4s on the Juice were almost overkill on this day, as no flotation was needed. I think the tyre PSI was at about 22 & 20, so they were pretty solid. On that note, I did have one good spill on some ice. I fell down fairly slow, but it still left me with a bloody knee and a sore hip. Meh.
On both days I was able to scout out a corridor trail (31) that I've been itchin' to ride for quite some time. There is one more section that runs north of Wagner road that I'd like to ride soon. I think/hope it connects to the Tuscobia Trail. If that's the case, I can essentially ride 3 blocks from my front door, and not ride another mile of pavement for as long as I can possibly endure.
What's also great about these trails is that they simply connect and cross all of the gravel roads that I became familiar with last year training for the Almanzo 100, so now there's all sorts of options for rides/routes. I'm getting pretty close to mapping out an epic gravel/dirt grinder that should compete with some of the best. Excellent training grounds out here!
Sunday - http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4311626
The creek crossing above is at about mile 7 on Saturday's ride. I didn't ride beyond this point as the trail got pretty soft, but this past fall I rode about a 1/2 mile beyond it, and it thins out to an ATV width trail. The Gazetteer shows another 4-6 miles of trail that could be explored beyond that...hmm maybe one of these days. Out!
The roads were pretty sketchy at points...glare ice from shoulder to shoulder, forcing you at times to ride the snowbank. The snowmobile trails made for much better riding. Pretty firm crust, but also icy at times. Icy enough where some studded tires would be perfect. The 2.4s on the Juice were almost overkill on this day, as no flotation was needed. I think the tyre PSI was at about 22 & 20, so they were pretty solid. On that note, I did have one good spill on some ice. I fell down fairly slow, but it still left me with a bloody knee and a sore hip. Meh.
On both days I was able to scout out a corridor trail (31) that I've been itchin' to ride for quite some time. There is one more section that runs north of Wagner road that I'd like to ride soon. I think/hope it connects to the Tuscobia Trail. If that's the case, I can essentially ride 3 blocks from my front door, and not ride another mile of pavement for as long as I can possibly endure.
What's also great about these trails is that they simply connect and cross all of the gravel roads that I became familiar with last year training for the Almanzo 100, so now there's all sorts of options for rides/routes. I'm getting pretty close to mapping out an epic gravel/dirt grinder that should compete with some of the best. Excellent training grounds out here!
Here's a rough sketch of the two rides this weekend...the trails are hard to track on gmaps' satellite so they might look a little odd.
Saturday - http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4311618
The creek crossing above is at about mile 7 on Saturday's ride. I didn't ride beyond this point as the trail got pretty soft, but this past fall I rode about a 1/2 mile beyond it, and it thins out to an ATV width trail. The Gazetteer shows another 4-6 miles of trail that could be explored beyond that...hmm maybe one of these days. Out!
Monday, December 6, 2010
A little bit of high desert country
Over the past few months it has been tough finding the motivation get outside. For me, that can cause some serious issues when heading in to the dark and cold December through February that plagues the mid-west. A few weeks ago my thought was that a week of hikes, rides and runs in some warm weather would help me reset, or at least ease me back in to a training regimen for the spring gravels classics that I'll soon be registering for. So, sort of out of nowhere a flight to Albuquerque was booked, and I was shortly on my way to the southwest to visit family for Thanksgiving. Although it was sunny most of the week, the weather was unusually cold for this early in the season. Even though I was expecting warmer weather than Wisco, it was probably foolish of me to pack several pairs of shorts. The sunny, windy and brisk weather was still a nice break from the freezing rain/sleet that was coming down for several days prior to my departure.
The first full day out there my bro and I rode about 40 on the bike paths that run throughout the city. It was a nice and easy ride and helped loosen up my legs a little after having been slacking for a while. I failed to take any good pictures on this ride...so I'll just start with introducing my bro's dogs, Roja (left) and Chica (right). They would accompany us on the rides and hikes for the rest of the week.
On Thanksgiving day we did roughly a 4 hour hike in the Sandias. My bro knew of a trail less traveled that ends up underneath the tram cables and provides many scenic views. Unfortunately I didn't take too many pics this day either...but here's one looking up at the tram (the little white spec in the sky).
The day after Thanksgiving we threw the mountain bikes in the car and headed out to the White Mesa Bike Trails, roughly one hour north of Albuquerque near the Ojito Wilderness. This is where I took the bulk of my pictures, or at least the decent ones...
As you can see it was quite rocky, but the gypsum that forms the mesa is pretty brittle. Many rocks that couldn't be avoided would simply shatter beneath the tires upon impact.
It was a little chilly, but not a cloud in the sky.
I still can't believe how fit these dogs are. It didn't matter how fast you could possibly ride or how hard you could push them...they simply had insurmountable energy and would eventually catch you.
The Dragon's Back trail. You can see the ridge down the center of the picture that the trails follows...beautiful trail/views!
The first full day out there my bro and I rode about 40 on the bike paths that run throughout the city. It was a nice and easy ride and helped loosen up my legs a little after having been slacking for a while. I failed to take any good pictures on this ride...so I'll just start with introducing my bro's dogs, Roja (left) and Chica (right). They would accompany us on the rides and hikes for the rest of the week.
On Thanksgiving day we did roughly a 4 hour hike in the Sandias. My bro knew of a trail less traveled that ends up underneath the tram cables and provides many scenic views. Unfortunately I didn't take too many pics this day either...but here's one looking up at the tram (the little white spec in the sky).
The day after Thanksgiving we threw the mountain bikes in the car and headed out to the White Mesa Bike Trails, roughly one hour north of Albuquerque near the Ojito Wilderness. This is where I took the bulk of my pictures, or at least the decent ones...
As you can see it was quite rocky, but the gypsum that forms the mesa is pretty brittle. Many rocks that couldn't be avoided would simply shatter beneath the tires upon impact.
It was a little chilly, but not a cloud in the sky.
I still can't believe how fit these dogs are. It didn't matter how fast you could possibly ride or how hard you could push them...they simply had insurmountable energy and would eventually catch you.
The Dragon's Back trail. You can see the ridge down the center of the picture that the trails follows...beautiful trail/views!
It was pretty neat to ride some different singletrack trails other than what I'm used to. Rocky, but at least you aren't constantly worried about being ejected off the bike in to a tree, as is common at Levis or in the Chequamegon. Being ejected off a cliff however - still a concern!
Over the weekend we decided head down to the Ladron Mountains roughly one hour south of Albuquerque for an overnighter. We built a "legendary" rock pit/ring for a fire as is the custom on my camping trips in New Mexico. Enjoying some whiskey, cigars, a few growlers filled with local brew pub beer, delicious leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner cooked on the skillet, and spending time with family around the fire more or less completes the trip.
The following morning I only managed to take one picture (above) at the beginning of the hike before my phone died. This was essentially my view through the tent window in the morning. Considering this was now my golden birthday...I couldn't have asked for anything better!
On the last day of my stay, I was actually feeling a little lazy and wasn't sure about lining up another hike or ride for the day. I suggested to my sister that we do something touristy. She in turn suggested we do the Eye of Sandia hike...possibly the most touristy hike you can find in the foothills. Works for me!
A little snow flurries and decent winds gusts blew in mid-hike. As soon as we were tucked around the canyon near the painting the sun came out for a bit, and made for a nice day.
"Urban legend has it that the eye represents the mountain crying over the encroachment of the city. Nobody knows who is responsible for the original painting or the recent new coat of paint, but half the fun is the hike anyway." -- http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/26952
We had to hike out soon as we were running out of daylight. The brief moment I had snapping pics of the eye actually felt like more of a reflection on my own sadness that it was already my last day in New Mexico...what a great trip! Heading back to the frigid mid-west...but there's no doubt that I'll use the week of fresh air to pull though the rough winter. Cheers!
Over the weekend we decided head down to the Ladron Mountains roughly one hour south of Albuquerque for an overnighter. We built a "legendary" rock pit/ring for a fire as is the custom on my camping trips in New Mexico. Enjoying some whiskey, cigars, a few growlers filled with local brew pub beer, delicious leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner cooked on the skillet, and spending time with family around the fire more or less completes the trip.
The following morning I only managed to take one picture (above) at the beginning of the hike before my phone died. This was essentially my view through the tent window in the morning. Considering this was now my golden birthday...I couldn't have asked for anything better!
On the last day of my stay, I was actually feeling a little lazy and wasn't sure about lining up another hike or ride for the day. I suggested to my sister that we do something touristy. She in turn suggested we do the Eye of Sandia hike...possibly the most touristy hike you can find in the foothills. Works for me!
A little snow flurries and decent winds gusts blew in mid-hike. As soon as we were tucked around the canyon near the painting the sun came out for a bit, and made for a nice day.
"Urban legend has it that the eye represents the mountain crying over the encroachment of the city. Nobody knows who is responsible for the original painting or the recent new coat of paint, but half the fun is the hike anyway." -- http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/26952
We had to hike out soon as we were running out of daylight. The brief moment I had snapping pics of the eye actually felt like more of a reflection on my own sadness that it was already my last day in New Mexico...what a great trip! Heading back to the frigid mid-west...but there's no doubt that I'll use the week of fresh air to pull though the rough winter. Cheers!
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