Sean, Amber, Moab

Ice Climbing Attempt - Rollinsville, Colorado

2012-01-24T23:44:00.001-07:00

Train heading towards the tunnel.

Bishop sprinting in the parking area. Notice, we can see the ground right there below the snow

Train headed into Moffat Tunnel. Notice the trees with no snow on them, the mountains not fully white, and the brown weeds poking up from the ground...not much snow and ice just yet.

Quite a bit of green, and not a ton of white around the place.

We passed the first ice climb that had literally zero ice on it, and this is Amber hiking into the woods towards the north facing ice climb.

Sean and Moab walking on ice and snow above a tiny creek, hopeful still that ice climbing will happen. Alas, it was not to be...someone was on the north facing ice climb already, and Moab decided she was done hiking uphill...we ended up with a nice snowshoe experience for about two hours...

It's Winter!

2011-12-31T23:05:00.002-07:00

It's been a bit snowy recently (10 inches outside our front door, snow shoveling for two hours...that kind of thing), which the dogs have been thrilled with. Sean and I have decided to join in the fun, so we packed our gear for snowshoeing and ice climbing...Unfortunately, wind gusts up to 111mph today thwarted us from going out today. Oh well, at least we're ready for next time :)

The back of the FJ all ready to go!

Moab going after Bishop in good fun.

Bishop jumping on Moab in good fun.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-03T16:32:00.001-07:00

Moab, UT Fall 2011 - Such a Relaxing Weekend

2011-11-12T16:40:00.003-07:00

Sean driving the new FJ up Top of the World, carrying my DH bike on top.

Sean on his way down Lazyman DH

Top of the World

Since we needed to try out the four wheeler, and Sean was still recovering from a crash sustained on a recent weekend biking outing, we decided to do some relaxing riding as well as some four wheeling out in Moab, Utah. First, we headed over to Lazyman DH and did a couple runs down that. After it started to snow, we headed over to Top of the World to drive up to the top. We strapped my DH bike to the top of the four wheeler and headed up. Sean drove down, and I rode my DH bike down. We ended with a fine evening at the Moab, Brewery enjoying some of their food. On Sunday, we headed over to Mega Steps and EKG for some fun times riding our Ibis XC bikes. The weather was sunny with blue skies early on, and then darker clouds started roll in as we finished the ride. Bishop, our speedy dog, came on the XC ride with us and seemed to have an excellent experience sprinting around.

This is the area we rode in on Sunday.

Amber enjoying some singletrack.

Amber heading up the trail.

Sean heading down the trail.

Amber riding beneath an amazing Moab sky.

Amber having fun going down a section.

Sean looking for the next corner.

Bishop watching Sean come around a corner.

50 Days in Whistler, B.C.

2011-08-11T22:38:00.006-06:00

50 Days

Amber
24 Whistler Mountain Bike Park Downhill Days
2 Cross Country Mountain Bike Days
5 Dirt Jump Days
1 Airdome Day
8 Allergic Reaction Sick Days :-(

Sean
20 Whistler Mountain Bike Park Downhill Days
1 Cross Country Mountain Bike Day
9 Full (unavoidable) Work Days in CO :-(

Whistler, B.C. August 8th

2011-08-08T21:31:00.004-06:00

A Little Bit of Everything Fun!

Today was an excellent, relaxed, fun-filled day of riding with Sean. We played on some Blueseum with some roots and wooden features. Then we enjoyed some B-Line with some corners, and some Heart of Darkness with some speed and jumps. Additionally, we hit up a bit of Fantastic along with some drops and some Crank it Up. The sun shone all day and we smiled quite a bit!

Sean flowing through Blueseum, smiling all the way.

Sean enjoying some roots in Blueseum.

Sean having a great time with some corners on Blueseum.

Sean enjoying gliding through the woods as the sun shines through on Blueseum.

Amber enjoying the exit of Wednesday Night Delight.

Amber just about to hit a steep rock roll, surrounded by moss.

Amber practicing some drops at the Joyride Drops.

Amber having fun on Heart of Darkness just after Crank it Up.

Young Lust, Whistler, B.C. August 1st

2011-08-01T19:12:00.006-06:00

This is a ride that has a thrilling descent, but it is mandatory to first do the ups, downs, switchbacks, and some fairly steep climbing amidst giant green trees, rocks, logs and moss. There are several fun wooden features for amusement in the forest, as well as some steep rocks and roots. However, the best part of the ride is definitely scooting down the technical descent. I often don't change my seat height for descents, but on this one today I lowered my seat quite a bit. Overall, it was a happy day outside on the bike, and the dog was stoked!

Bishop and I started off at the beginning of Comfortably Numb, which is the place to start in order to connect to Young Lust.

I rode, and Bishop ran, up and down rocks and roots for quite some time.

Then we went over some wooden features in the dark forest.

Bishop was happy to get to this point where she could drink some water.

This was an exciting section to ride with some features that felt steeper than they look in this picture. All of the descending sections were way too much fun to stop on. I only stopped here because I had hydrated extensively and needed to relieve myself urgently.

This was a fun wooden feature to ride down to a steep exit.

Finally, we came to the key intersection. Bishop was happy to take a break at this point.

We took the Young Lust trail, which is a super fun, steep, rocky, root-filled, descent that results in a super big smile.

While we paused at the intersection of trails, I tried to get Bishop to do a self portrait with me.

Bishop spent a fair amount of the time with her tongue way out as we sprinted down the trail with her on my wheel as much of the time as she could keep up.

It was a superb sunny day, which was perfect.

When we were done with the ride, back at the river, Bishop took several gulps of water.

Coffee and Scenery

2011-07-25T15:20:00.009-06:00

Yes, the mountain biking in and around Whistler is awesome! However, there's also some excellent coffee and tasty pastries around this massively scenic area.

Nairn Falls in Pemberton, B.C.

Nairn Falls

Bishop and Moab hanging out at the lookout on Nairn Falls.

Nairn Falls

Nairn Falls viewed from the lower overlook

Bishop and Moab hanging out on the deck of the upper overlook of Nairn Falls.

Amber in front of Nairn Falls

View looking down at Nairn Falls

Bishop looking through the fence at the lower overlook of Nairn Falls

Information about Nairn Falls

Trees on the path on the way to Nairn Falls

The path to Nairn Falls

Lily pads on One Mile Lake in Pemberton, B.C.

Favorite coffee spot of the trip so far...Blenz! Loving the lattes, dark chocolate mochas, mango rooibos hot tea, ham and swiss croissants and cinnamon rolls.

Whistler, B.C. July 8th

2011-07-21T23:32:00.005-06:00

Riding Bikes Makes us Smile

Now that there's a full house, everyone's getting stoked on all the great riding options in Whistler. We've been having some fun times on Lower Smoke and Mirrors, Angry Pirate, Fade to Black, and the jumps in Whistler Valley. Many thanks to our fine photographer, Sean, for providing all the photos for this post.

Amber having fun cornering out of Lower Smoke and Mirrors.

Amber exiting the woods on Lower Smoke and Mirrors.

Amber dropping in on Angry Pirate.

Amber and Jason cruising in the woods on Angry Pirate.

Jimmy and Tammy cruising in the woods on Angry Pirate.

Jimmy smiling because he's doing some jumps in Whistler Valley.

Jimmy playing on some jumps.

Tammy playing on some jumps.

Jason riding up on Fade to Black.

Jason enjoying a second go on Fade to Black.

Jason dropping in on Fade to Black.

Jason going for it on Fade to Black.

Whistler, B.C. July 5th

2011-07-21T21:13:00.005-06:00

Busy Times in Whistler

There has been so much happening recently in Whistler, as Tammy and Jimmy arrived filling up the condo with Lana and Jason. Jimmy busted out the grilling for dinner, and Tammy got Jason and I over to the Air Dome. Bishop and Moab are stoked on all the attention from Jimmy, and we're enjoying all the mechanical help and group cooking from Jimmy. Life is good!

Sean at midstation on the mountain with a clear view in the background.

Sean having fun on some Smoke and Mirrors on the mountain.

The clear days are few around here so far, as you can see a downpour is always good for cleaning the mud off the shoes, as evidenced by the sopping wet shoes and pants of Sean and Amber.

The Irish Pub at the base of the mountain has provided some excellent lunch breaks, especially with their Murphy's stout and their two for one Fish 'n Chips Mondays.

A friendly reminder at midstation on the mountain, in case you're uncertain about where to pee.

Sometimes it's nice to get off the mountain of awesome downhilling and do some cross country riding. Here is Moab and Amber on River Runs Through it in Whistler Valley.

Amber having a go at some wood features on River Runs Through It.

Amber on a few more fun wooden features on River Runs Through It.

Bishop and Moab enjoying the river on River Runs Through It.

Sean getting ready to head out on the extremely well-signed trail, River Runs Through It.

Another great break from the mountain is the Air Dome. Above you see Jason giving it a whirl at the Air Dome.

Jason and Sean doing some brake maintenance just outside the condo.

The Nature Trail by Lost Lake is a fine place to walk the dogs. Here Bishop is shaking off in the water.

The river beside the Nature Trail.

Bishop crossing the river on a log by the Nature Trail.

Whistler, B.C. July 4th

2011-07-21T20:51:00.003-06:00

Another day of playing on the mountain with Sean, Jason, and Lana.

Jason going for the Container.

Lana going for it on In Deep.

Amber in some roots heading towards some mud on In Deep, while Sean was clearly being the photographer for the day.

Whistler, B.C. July 3rd

2011-07-21T14:42:00.010-06:00

Lana and Jason arrived in Whistler and the day was filled with riding and relaxing.

Amber doing the Drop In Clinic in the wet.

Jason and Lana getting a bit muddy on the mountain.

Moab chewing a stick in the river after sleeping on the couch all day.

Bishop excited to sprint and stand on the beach after hanging out indoors all day while we rode bikes.

Bishop and Moab playing in the water during their afternoon walk.

Sean getting a jet massage on his knee.

Silly close up shot of Sean and Amber taken by Jason.

Jason all smiles in the hot tub.

Sean and Amber laughing and relaxing in one of the few hot tubs Amber gets to go in, since it is thankfully not treated by too many horrible chemicals.

Lana chillin' and Jason making faces.

Beginning of Vacation 2011, Whistler, B.C. June 30th - July 1st

2011-07-02T12:18:00.012-06:00

Last night, a co-worker of Sean's invited us over for a Canada Day dinner, so we celebrated with them and then we headed over to the village and watched fireworks with them and a bunch of other locals and tourists.

The bears are out and about around the condo, as well as on the mountain below the lifts, and running across the trails in front of mountain bikers.

Sean took this helmet cam of us riding mountain bikes on opening day on Garbanzo, complete with a bear crossing his path.

Parts of the trail were so misty and impossible to see that Sean had to edit out the complete gray zones of the trail in the helmet cam. It was fun to ride in mist in an adventurous, exploratory way.

On opening day of Garbanzo, we rode through thick mist on parts of the trail. I wished for a fog light as I could barely see the trail in places.

No, we are not on a skiing trip, although the top of the mountain does make it look a bit that way. The Whistler crew has dug out some trails on the upper Garbanzo zone.

The dogs have settled into the condo, enjoying the inside and the outside. Life is good!

Spring in Moab

2011-04-06T20:36:00.002-06:00

3/12 Lazyman DH
3/13 Lazyman DH
3/19 Lazyman DH
3/20 Lazyman DH
3/26 Lazyman DH
3/27 Lazyman DH
3/30 Sovereign Singletrack
3/31 Porcupine (twice) :-)
4/1 Porcupine
4/2 Amassa/Rockstacker in the morning and Porcupine in the afternoon

Fun Trip Back to El Paso, TX 2/18 - 2/21

2011-02-24T23:01:00.005-07:00

Sean topping out on some amazing, beautiful, chill boulders.

Amber getting on things and giving it a whirl.

Warm sun made the trip SO pleasant and relaxing.

New bike and a weekend in the desert.

2011-01-23T23:33:00.009-07:00

We picked up Amber's new DH bike on Thursday and headed to the desert for the weekend so she could start to get used to it. It has so many different options for tuning and set-up it is a little intimidating so we figured that just riding it would be a good place to start.

Intense M9 (small frame) 41.12 lbs with pedals

- Boxxer RC2 Fork, Cane Creek Double Barrel Rear Shock

- Saint Cranks, shifter, rear derailleur, Code Brakes

- Hadley hubs to Mavic Rims

The guys at The Fix Bikes Shop once again looked after us and Mike Kreger did an awesome job on the parts spec and the build (Sam helped as well :) ).

We planned to head to Green River, UT and ride some desert spines. Unfortunately a snow storm that came through earlier in the week dropped a lot of snow over the entire region and although we awoke to blue skies and lots of dirt without snow it as not really rideable. The snow had melted into the dirt and had not dried in most places yet leaving a goopy nasty mud to deal with.

Amber's shoes after we hiked around a bit looking for dry dirt.

Amber was antsy to try her new bike so she pushed up a steeper road section and came down it - like 5 or 6 times. First impressions of the new bike with very favorable. "Super Smooth", incredible traction and amazing brakes are the highlights so far.

That afternoon we packed up the tent and drove over to Moab in the hope of finding some good dirt to try and start tuning the new bike. We took a quick drive up Hurrah Pass in the hope that it might be a good shuttle even though it was on a dirt road. Unfortunately the road just wasn't steep enough and while it had some fun sections mostly it was just a long pedal even though it went in a downward direction.

We grabbed a hotel for the night and planned on checking out Portal on Sunday.

In a fit of optimism we decided to drive up to the Porcupine DH Shuttle in the hope it was ok to ride. Unfortunately it was buried in snow and not an option.

On the way over to Portal I dropped Amber for a run down the Chillie Drops DH trail. It was the first test for her on her new bike.

Steep is the only way to describe the last sections of this trail.

Amber cruising a much steeper (and looser) section than it appears in the photo. Amazing blue skies and dry dirt. Moab always comes through.

The new bike does look pretty.

After Amber's run on the DH trail we headed over to the Portal Trail. We pushed our bikes up and up and up.

Pushing up. The Portal Trail is an optional finish to either Poison Spider or Gold Bar Rim trails and drops down very quickly from the top of the plateau to the River.

As a trail it has to offer some of the best riding that Moab has - and this is without exaggeration and a mighty big statement when you remember the other trails in Moab. You have to earn your descent either by one of the long (but classic) trails or by pushing up from the bottom.

The photo's don't do justice to the amount of flow and fun that this trail packs into it's descent. There is a little of everything and it is really close to a perfect DH Race Track in feel.

Fast sections to drops abound everywhere.

Flowing corners to technical moves.

Rollers into corners.

Fast into chunky sections and drops.

Amber even managed to steal the camera and get a photo of Sean.

Overall Portal descent just rocketed way up anyone's "should do" list of rides. Hard work with a long push up but oh so fun and oh so repeatable. We will be back again this winter to spend a day pushing up and riding down.

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-24T18:52:00.018-07:00

The drive to the parking area....Bishop was excited to run in the snow upon arrival.

Amber hiking up toward the ice.

Amber playing with some ice ax and crampon placements.

Sean playing with some ice ax and crampon placements.

Sean packing it up after a fun bit of ice bouldering.

Thanksgiving 2010 - Moab, UT

2010-11-29T11:52:00.001-07:00

Amber had Wed of before thanksgiving so we packed up the car and headed out early to avoid to traffic and to try and beat a storm that was coming in. Luckily we managed to do both and gave a friend a ride out to Glenwood Springs as well so she could spend Thanksgiving in Snowmass with family and enjoying what was looking to be an epic opening weekend for the Aspen/Snowmass mountains.

We had grand plans but as is the way of things on road trips you have to be adaptable.

Thursday we thought we would go and do some shuttles on the Porcupine DH race track but were met with a lot of the white stuff at the drop point. Amber opted to take the first run down.

This is the exit of the DH run, I rolled my small bike down to meet Amber.

It was snow covered 100% of the way and although the dogs absolutely loved the trail it was less suited to riding bikes on being a slippery and cold ride down for Amber with about 4" of snow all the way.

In the afternoon we had originally planned on pushing up Portal and checking it out but after bumping into a friend earlier in the day we decided to check out the Chilli drops. They are a number of DH trails up behind the original location of the Chilli Bike Shop. Some really fun riding that ends with very steep terrain. The steepness was very reminiscent to parts of Idaho Springs and was loose and rocky as well. We each did a run and Amber pushed up the bottom to redo the steep ending.

On Friday we decided to head over to Green River for a day trip. There have been a number of great looking videos on VitalMTB recently that piqued my interest for the area. The Alex Pro video being one of them.

We didn't really have any directions so we headed out a likely road and stumbled onto an awesome looking area with spines and features all around. The area we came across wasn't the area in the Alex Pro video but instead was the area that the Drop In crew visited. Season 5 - Episode 10, Steve Romaniuk and Mike Metzger push up and ride down.

We warmed up playing on some of the lower spines. Push up, roll down, repeat. :)

Everything is much steeper than it looks, but everything was fun and confidence inspiring with great soft dirt and good clean entries and exits. Amber enjoying one of the steep rolls.

Part of the fun was linking the spine sections.

Really was a fun zone to play in, We will definitely go back an visit again.

After warming up we decided it was time to do the big push and head up the mountain more and checkout the feature that the Drop In crew hiked and rode.

It was also a trail that the dirt bikers also rode. This is the view as you start pushing up. We are heading all the way to the rock pillars on top.

Up, Up, Up. The dogs came as well.

Steep in sections, this was one of the lowest angled sections. Moab rests while Amber and Bishop push on.

Looking about down from about half way.

Almost at the saddle.

Amber dropping in from the high point. The steepness and the exposure definitely played on your mind as you started down. We definitely want to go back again with water and food to be able to stay and play on sections to get comfortable with the terrain.

Amber controlling speed.

Rolling a steeper section. We controlled our descent where as Steve Romaniuk rolled it as a wheelie in his version.

Looking back at the mountain and the spines on it's flanks.

On Saturday we were feeling a little lazy and went and checked out Porcupine on the forlorn hope that some of the snow had melted. Unfortunately it was still there in strength so we decided to go for a drive and go and have a look at Top of the World thinking that it might be a fun to 4-wheel up and the ride down.

It was definitely some fun driving as there was a lot of snow and ice, but the riding was not as friendly given the time required to drive. So Amber took a run down and we called for the for the day.

Fun riding in the snow.

We headed home pretty early Sunday morning to try and beat the holiday traffic and to stay ahead of another storm front that was coming through and threatening road closures in the mountains. Luckily again we avoided the storm and the worst of the traffic.

A great weekend of exploring and we will be heading back to Green River.

Last October weekend in Moab - Moab Ho Down

2010-11-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

We were both really excited to be heading back over to Moab again for the Halloween weekend after hearing that they would be doing a Life Cycles Premier on Friday night and having the DH race again on Sunday.

The Ho Down is put on by Chili Pepper Bike Shop and is in it's 5th year. Tracy and Ryan at Chili have done a great job building up the grassroots event and added a film festival to the agenda for this year.

We both took Friday off so that we wouldn't have to rush out there to see the movie and managed to get a couple of DH runs in on the race course before the sun went down. The DH race starts at the lazy man's porcupine drop point and comes down the Classic Porcupine climb ending at the Water Tanks exit. The Super D race starts at the LPS grate and comes down the same finish.

The movie night was started with the winner of the amateur submissions. It as a short film of a local we know well from the race season - Aaron Brags - riding the Portal trail like I didn't even know was possible. Really well filmed and made me want to push my DH bike up portal to try and ride it racer style somewhat like Aaron did.

The main even was Life Cycles. The film was a mix of amazing bike sequences in the same sort of presentation as The Collective but it was short with a lot of other sequences of the style of Earth. The combination was spectacular! We will be buying this on blu-ray once it is available. Awesome bike porn!

Saturday we decided to do a pay shuttle of Porcupine in the morning and self shuttles of the DH track in the afternoon.

Amber amped and dressed to play for the day while we wait for the shuttles to arrive. Unfortunately shuttles were not dropping for Hazard or Kokopelli because of the snow and mud from recent storms and instead dropped us at the bottom of the Kokopelli trail which meant a climb up to UPS. I was surprised at this drop as I would have just avoided the climb and come in from above LPS had we known.

Amber in a section of LPS. We really didn't get any photos worth much as we were having to much fun just riding bikes. Amber started slow but by the time we were in LPS was a pedaling monster all the way across LPS and the Porcupine Rim as well. Great weather and great trail conditions all the way.

One of the gullies in the bottom of Porcupine.

After some lunch we headed back out and did a bunch of self shuttles on the DH track. We were both unsure as to which bike (Mojo or 951) to race with as the DH track has some flat sections with a lot of pedaling. I found that for me my DH bike was faster as the big 38 tooth front ring was much better than the 24 tooth ring I have on my Mojo so that even though it was easier to pedal on my Mojo I could nail the DH obstacles faster and better on my 951. Amber however found that her Mojo was a better choice for her than hauling the big bike around. I managed to pinch flat my last practice run on my Mojo as I decided to go the big bike while Amber went the trail bike.

A really awesome day of riding bikes

On Sunday we had hoped to get some practice runs in but we got moving later than we would have like and missed our chance as the Super D race was seemingly going to be starting early. We took the dogs up the trail for a while before coming back down and getting our race kits on.

The race was great fun! and we will race it again next year for sure. Amber got 1st place in a small pro-women field even with a mechanical. She dropped her chain high up on the course and had to stop, get of the bike and re-set it so she could pedal. In the rush of it she put it back in place on the granny front cog and left it there for the rest of her race run. I was really happy with my 3rd place in Sport Men and we both got prizes at the end of the day. (Amber's were pretty awesome swag, mine was an excellent beer glass).

Results: http://news.chilebikes.com/
Mountain Flyer article: http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/moab-ho-down.html

After a really fun weekend we made the journey home to arrive at about 11.30pm in time for Amber to submit an assignment for her masters that was due at midnight. Full and fruitful days and nights are the only way to live!

Another Weekend in Moab

2010-10-24T22:27:00.002-06:00

We headed to Moab again for the weekend. The weather looked like it might be questionable but Moab trails generally are far better for rain.

We really wanted to do Porcupine from Hazard but got a pretty late start and decided to self shuttle. Amber to the first drop starting at Hazard.

We were met by a cover of snow. Amber was still psyched to do a run for at least the Hazard section but wasn't sure about Kokopelli down as the mud there was likely brutal.

Bishop go to do the section as well and was super happy as well.

View from the top of the Hazard drop in.

Happy smiles at the end of the run for Amber. She had a great time slipping and sliding her way down with as little brake use as possible.

Happy tired dog as well!

I opted to take a Kokopelli run to the river. The start was pretty muddy but turned to hero dirt as soon as you reached UPS. The sand was wet and made for tacky perfect conditions.

No photos on the way down as it was simply to much fun to even bother to try and take a photo other than at one rest spot. It took 2hrs 20mins from Kokopelli with one pretty significant mechanical (chain ring bolt working loose and getting stuck against the chain guide). I passed 69 people along the way which is a personal best, luckily most all of them were easy passes that didn't slow things down. A great ride that was a perfect kick-off to the weekend.

Saturday night in camp was pretty exciting as a storm passed over with torrential rain and light strikes all around. Some were very close on the light/sound measurement. The dogs decided it was best if they joined us in our tent while the storm was passing by.

Sunday we decided that Amasa Back out to Rockstacker was a great option that we had never done before.

Bishop trying to convince us that she was ready to go as well. Unfortunately it is a pretty long ride that covers a lot of slick rock and we forgot to bring doggy paws for her so she had to stay at the vehicle and keep Moab company.

Moab looking happy with some impressive cliffs in the background.

Climbing up Amasa.

More climbing, Amber tackling a much steeper than it looks in a photo section as we climb.

Amasa received some maintenance a couple of years ago by the owner of the gas line that runs up over the plateau. This move is a steep roller that is one of the cruxes for the Jeeps and after the maintenance was a smooth section of dirt. Now it is back to it steepest and technical best on the edge of a cliff. Amber cruises it!

We have not ridden Amasa for a couple of years and a lot of great trail work has occurred since we were last here. There is a new single track section that goes out towards Pothole Arch that you use to get to Rock Stacker. It used to be that you rode some old Jeep trail and then single track that was very underground. Now the single track is signed and awesome riding.

Rock Stacker is an old previously underground trail that we had always meant to get out and do but had never made the time. Luckily that poor choice was corrected today. The trail starts at a high level of difficulty with a number of ledge drops and a very steep move

It drops down just out of sight past Amber

A friend of ours who happened along as we were checking out the section. He just rails down the steep section of slick rock like it was flat! It is much steeper than the photo would indicate.

Amber taking her turn

Another steeper than it looks move by Amber with some impressive background.

You can't tell from this but it is one of the moves that are common in this section of Rock Stacker. You come around switchbacks and have to make a steep move and then control the exit because if you don't you are going over an edge to a drop that will very hurt you. Amber tried this one a few times before nailing it! I didn't even try it.

Another of the moves. This one has a sharp right turn to a drop.

Single track! Rock Stacker is an amazing trail section that is must do. It has a lot of moves that most of us will walk but it has lots of sections that you can do better and better each time you go back.

We went down Amasa proper rather than taking Jackson's Trail as I really prefer the high speed romp that is the Amasa descent over the technical descent of Jackson's. No photos as stopping on the Amasa descent is against the rules.

An awesome weekend of riding.

Whole Enichilada - Moab, UT

2010-10-11T19:07:00.001-06:00

We headed over to Moab for the first time since spring as the weather good and the temperatures cool enough. On the Agenda was the Whole Enchilada - a route that only has a short season to do it it's entirety due to the fact you start up above the tree line at around 11,500' and end in the desert. I have done it once before two years ago and thought it about the best ride I had ever done, but physically really tough with hard climbs at altitude and lots of mileage over technical terrain. All in all - a mega classic.

We convince our friends Jason and Lana that it would be good times and that they should come as well so they joined us for the fun. Here is the camp site to start the day.

Unloading the bikes at the trail head up in the mountains. We had two vehicles so we left our here and would return (much) later in Jason's truck. Self Shuttling saves a bunch of money but does add some overhead on a ride like this with nearly a 30 mile shuttle involved.

The ride starts with a brutal climb up to Burro Pass. Steep (really steep) grades see pretty much every but the strongest walking many sections of this part of the ride. This section is one of the flatter sections where you can actually sit down and pedal.

The ride starts above tree line and then descends steeply into an evergreen section for a few miles before exiting into an Aspen section.

There are a few creek crossings that really make you forget that you are out in Moab and will soon be down in open desert terrain.

We didn't get any photos of the Hazard or Kokopelli sections as they are simply too much fun to stop and bust out a camera. High speed flow with turns, berms and hops are par for the course.

Once you enter the UPS section you have a selection of fun technical sections that again are pretty hard to stop and take photos on. This is one move in a sequence of great flow and fun.

Lana pedaling along the rim. By this point we had been in the saddles for close to 3 hours so fatigue was definitely a consideration. Luckily as the ride goes on the last part gets fun and fast again which has a tendency to wash away fatigue.

Cruising across Porcupine proper. The variety of terrain you will encounter is non-stop smile inducing.

Excellent views and excellent weather!

Steeper than it looks.

Have I mentioned how scenic it is on this trail? In one of the last sections of the lower single track portion of the ride.

Almost finished!

We wrapped the ride up in just over 6 hours with only 2 flat tires in the group and close to 30miles of terrain covered. Physical and on the must do rides on the planet.

The next day did a much shorter version of it and dropped in at Kokopelli and turn out down the Porcupine climb to end at the water tanks for a great 85minute blast of some of the best parts of the Whole Enchilada.

Sadly driving home pointed out that the window to enjoy the higher trails at Moab was fast coming to a close with the Colorado Rockies getting snow again.

Closing weekend at Winter Park

2010-10-02T10:00:00.013-06:00

Closing weekend at Winter Park. After a long season of racing we had taken a couple of weeks of from big bikes and rode at Crested Butte on our Trail Bikes. We had intended on doing Monarch Crest this weekend but everything conspired to encourage us to do one last lift weekend and head to Winter Park for Closing weekend. Really glad we did!

On Saturday the lift lines were reminiscent of Whistler. It was actually kinda fun for closing weekend to have long lines as you got to chat with people between runs instead of just jump straight back on the lift for another run. Even Ollie lift had lift lines which is never the case!

Amber had and awesome weekend and hit a bunch of features for the first time, getting better and better as the weekend went on. This is the first drop on No Quarter.

She also had one last race to do just for fun. It was the Conference Collegiate Championships. The collegiate series is super laid back but surprisingly well attended for the women with Amber's category (A) having 10 competitors.

The trail crew continues to work on and improve this mountain. The really tough rock double to exit Trestle DH has been upgraded to an elevated step down that you can hit almost as fast as humanly possible or hit at a more comfortable speed. Amber hits it here.

The first rock blob up on Trestle.

On Sunday we did some runs with friends who had never DH'd before. This is Meatball doing the Rock Garden on Double Jeopardy. We also rode with Mike Glicksman who was enjoying the evils of a bike not intended for uphill peddling as a break from his Cross Country and Cyclecross racing endeavors. They both had a blast!

A great weekend to close out an excellent summer! We will be on trail bikes for a while now until winter arrives in it's fullness.

DH days so far in 2010.

2010-09-28T14:18:00.015-06:00

DH Days - 2010

January - 6 shuttle days out of 5 weekends
February - 3 shuttle days out of 4 weekends
March - 2 shuttle days out of 4 weekends
April - 2 shuttle days, 6 trail bike days in Moab out of 4 weekends, Amber also had 4 days racing at Sea Otter
May - 8 DH shuttle days, 3 days lift assist out of 5 weekends
June - 3 DH shuttle days, 10 days lift assist (2 races) out of 4 weekends
July - 17 lift assist days (2 races, 5 days whistler) out of 4 weekends
August - 10 lift assist days (3 races) out of 4 weekends
September - 5 lift assist days (1 race), 4 trail bike days in Crested Butte out of 4 weekends

Total so far:
69 DH days

45 Lift assisted
24 Other
8 race weekends (10 for Amber)

Month	Weekends	DH Days	Shuttles	Lift assisted	Races	Trail Bike Days
Total		69	24	45	10	10
Jan	5	6	6	0	0
Feb	4	3	3	0	0
Mar	4	2	2	0	0
Apr	4	2	2	0	1	6
May	5	11	8	3	0
Jun	4	13	3	10	2
Jul	4	17	0	17	2
Aug	4	10	0	10	3
Sep	4	5	0	5	2	4

Taylor Canyon Doctor Park Shuttle Ride 9/18/2010

2010-09-19T22:12:00.022-06:00

Amber exiting Doctor Park near Taylor Canyon.

Second shuttle of the day...two chain mechanicals and brake mechanicals, but managed to finish riding down...

Moab waiting for Sean to come down on his second shuttle...he had a flat tire :(

Moab and Bishop being buddies and walking around the trail together.

Yay! Sean made it ---flat tire fixed and all :)

Sean exiting around a corner and through some trees.

Sean exiting towards Taylor River.

Day two of riding got nixed due to Amber's brake failure that wouldn't fix even after Sean's efforts of bleeding the brakes several times....

Sedona, December 24th 2008

2009-01-10T16:07:00.008-07:00

The next day we decided to go and try another area that had a few local knowledge trails that I had read about on MTBR. We started up a trail called Munds Wagon Trail or something like that. The riding was still good but it was decidedly looser with baby heads floating around many trail sections.

Amber coming down a rocky section that is steeper than it looks.

We ended up turning around here as the trail was just a little loose for our tastes after this. But there was still nice slick rock to be had.

Amber taking an alternate line across a steep slick rock section.

The trail criss-crossed a creek many times which I imaging if there was water flowing could be quite problematic.

Back in the parking lot.

We decided to head down to Phoenix the next day and see how the riding on South Mountain was. It hosted a trail called the National Trail which in the rock climbing world would be on a 50 most crowded list - but for good reason...

Sedona, December 23rd 2008

2009-01-10T16:02:00.009-07:00

I had never been to Sedona before and despite hearing a lot about it and that it was a great riding destination we had just never even thought to come here until now. The weather in Moab forced us south and I am glad it did. Sedona is a beautiful place with rock all over the place. It is a big tourist destination so being able to be happy in traffic and crowds is a necessary thing for a visit here. Fortunately there is plenty of free camping on both sides of town.

We popped into a local bike store to find a guide or a map. The second store we wandered into was Mountain Bike Heaven and the guy in the store was amazingly helpful suggest a nice link of of trails that we could ride to straight out of the store.

As soon as we hit dirt we realized that the riding out here was going to be fun. The trails were single track with rock everywhere but not loose rock. It was also very scenic. We started by heading up to Teacup and then on the advice from the store took a turn of the main trail and headed higher with the plan to be to drop down some gullies and rejoin the trail.

The trail section going down the gully was excellent with a few steep rollers and nice flow in between.

Still in the gully area.

We exited the gully soon after this and re-joined Teacup. The first section of Teacup we rejoined was fast smooth riding with some great corners.

It then started to climb across some more exposed slick rock and the riding was now fun, more technical riding where strength and body english were both needed.

Oh, and you had some decent views as well.

This is near the end, but there was a bunch of great riding before this as we had climbed up a jeep road to pick up some single track on a trail called Soldiers Pass. After this sink hole we decided to try and join across to another area called "The Secret Trails" - there was some great riding, but mostly we just got lost in the area until we popped out near the main road. At that point we road up a creek bed that the locals call Second Coming. It seemed that the creek bed would be blast coming down it and large sections of it were fun to ride up, but it was pretty technical and we pushed a fair bit it.

Vacation! 2 weeks on the road. First stop - Moab.

2009-01-10T15:39:00.014-07:00

So my work has a mandatory Christmas holiday week so we decided to tack an extra week on and hit the road for a 2 week road trip to warmer areas. Denver has had some absolutely brutal winter conditions leading into the new year so both Amber and I were antsy to get some decent time on our bikes again.

We decided to sign up for a camp with Gene Hamilton (www.betterride.net) in Bootleg Canyon, Nevada on the weekend of New Year so we planned on heading to Moab and riding there for as long as possible before drving to Nevada.

First day in Moab was amazing. The sun was out and temperatures got as high as 45 degrees. We decided to do an old favorite - Gold Bar.

Bishop has become quite the bike dog. She is still learning how to behave on trails but is getting there. At the moment her biggest issue is when bikes come from the other direction and I still need to train her properly in those situations.

Moab has a decent covering of snow on most of the area but Gold Bar is largely wide expanses of Slick Rock and is southerly facing so the trail itself was perfect to ride on.

Amber avoiding snow.

Fresh tracks!

Scenic background and one happy dog.

Amber in the middle of a great little section of the trail. I love this section in both directions as you have to keep momentum and flow to clean it on the climb and the more smooth you ride it on the decent the bigger your smile.

About to exit the section.

Things started to cool down later in the day, but the riding was still good times.

Playing around on a little thing in the sun.

Amber on the same.

Weather came in that night and we awoke to a world of white so we opted to pack up and head south. Weather and condition reports said that St George was just as bad so we decided to head to Arizona as reports were that Sedona and Phoenix were perfect for riding.

New Bike! just in time for a road trip.

2009-01-10T15:04:00.007-07:00

My new Intense M6 finally arrived. I can't believe how nice this bike looks!

I moved some parts from my old M1 and purcased new parts as they were needed because of differences in the frame (i.e. Bottom Bracket, 150mm rear wheel drop outs, 1.5" head tube etc.)

Shiny new Saint 2009 cranks.

Diety Dirty 30 Handle Bars. I was looking forward to riding these wider bars.

Cane Creek Double Barrel with Ti spring - dead sexy to look at and an amazing shock to ride on. It will take some getting used to with all of it's tuning options - high and low speed settings for both Compression and Rebound.

Picture perfect White Intense M6.

Here are my other bikes. I am very, very happy with my stable.

Black Market Riot Hardtail.

Fat Ibis Mojo with coil 160mm front fork and Pushed coil rear shock.

Thanksgiving in Moab

2009-01-10T15:01:00.012-07:00

Thanksgiving is always a fun long weekend for Amber and I as we always head to the desert to play. Last year we headed to Moab and were forced further south by cold weather and snow and ended up in St George for the first time.

This time around we were hoping that the weather would hold up and we could just stay in Moab to avoid the drive and to enjoy the riding there. Amber also had her new Downhill bike for the 2009 race season and was looking forward to trying it out in Moab. Unfortunately her wrist was still pretty sore from a crash a few weeks early on Porcupine so it would be a day by day decision as to whether she would actually even ride.

We opted to drive over Thursday morning to get some rest and avoid the traffic leaving Denver.

Friday just I rode as Amber relaxed and kept the dog's amused. I didn't get any photos but had a great time as I went out and checked out in it's entirety a local knowledge trail. I rode it as an out and back and had a great time in both directions.

On Saturday I got a free shuttle in the form of Porcupine.

Conditions were interesting as snow had been falling recently and the cloud level was very low. It was only really rideable from the LPS drop point as snow was deeper the higher you went. This is the drop point we ended up using.

This is how it looked from the Kokopelli start.

Not a lot of photos as I was riding alone. But the trail conditions were actually pretty insanely nice with the moisture making the surface very tacky.

I did bring Bishop though and she loved the romp down Porcupine.

Amber snagged one photo near the start and then we were off.

It was strange riding in North Shore style mist and this is the conditions at the Porcupine lookout spot. (where LPS joins Porcupine). This is another rider approaching as he finishes the climb up the original Porcupine jeep trail. There were a few other riders out on the trail, but no where near the normal numbers.

A random shot of Bishop along the way.

As always, Porcupine was awesome times. The trail was perfect and tacky and the sense of solitude much higher due to the cloud and mist.

Sunday morning we opted to do a couple of runs on the little hill in the back of Sovereign from the Dalton Well Rd side. Amber's wrist was at about 80% which was enough to take her Socomm for a first ride. It is a great little trail section to push a big bike up and rail down.

Another fun Thanksgiving, although it was a pretty brutal drive home as there was a storm in the mountains that ended up closing Vail and Eisenhower passes for a while. We got held up in at the bottom of the highway to the Tunnel for a couple of hours before they re-opened the road. The drive home ended up taking about 10 hours instead of the normal 5-6hours.

Nov 16th - Moab

2008-11-18T18:42:00.011-07:00

Sunday we woke up looking forward to a quick ride before having to head home again. We opted to go with a easy choice - Porcupine again.

The dogs were playing in the morning as well.

One of the old faithful Coyote shuttles. These guys are laid back and fun at all times.

We passed a few people but never saw anyone from our shuttle again which sorta surprised us as we were stopping to take photos on a regular basis.

Fun little obstacles with amazing backdrop views.

UPS has to be one of my favorite trail sections that we have easy access to.

And they say that Moab doesn't have single track. Over the past few years the amount of easily located and rideable single track around Moab seems to be growing happily and constantly.

Lot's options to play on and around.

Amber was riding steep terrain really well this past weekend.

Once we joined the main Porcupine trail we decided to drop down the Porcupine climb as we have never done it and thought it might get us back to our car a little faster and easier. Riding back to town was probably about close to the same time as if we had continued down Porcupine but it it was definitely fun racing down Porcupine.

Nov 15th - Moab

2008-11-18T17:38:00.011-07:00

We picked up a new bike rack for the FJ so the only option was to load the bikes on and head to the desert to take advantage of the incredible weather that the region has been having recently. We drove out Friday night and then slept in saturday morning before heading out to explore a trail we hadn't been on before.

The dogs were happy to be in the desert as well.

Slick rock in the middle of nowhere.

Happy dog leading Amber along.

Single track in the middle of nowhere

After some lunch and a beer at the Moab Brewery we headed out again and trotted up to Slick Rock to play before it got to dark.

Amber cruising the steep exposed switch back in the first section.

Happy face.

Slick rock is steep up and steep down.

On the way back the light was starting to get very pretty on all the Slick Rock.

And the shadows were getting long.

Another fun day in the Desert.

Oct 25th - 26th - Moab

2008-11-18T16:41:00.003-07:00

We went to Moab and this time we did a self shuttle where Amber dropped me at the trail head for Burro Pass.

Wow, the The Whole Enchilada is brutally hard on your body. 5 hours of constant riding with a tough climb to start. 29 miles total and about 22 miles of that is descending. Lots of fun, lots of riding, very sore body at the end of the ride.

Sunday we got up and shuttled Porcupine again, this time both of us via a Coyote shuttle.

Riding downhill things is fun.

Oct 11th - 12th - Moab

2008-11-18T14:41:00.002-07:00

Again still no camera but we headed to Moab to kick-off the desert riding season. I had a pretty bad cold so we started with a self shuttle of Porcupine from the Kokopelli drop. Amber went first and we timed her run as 2hrs 14mins. I went next but this time started from the Hazard County drop. My time from Kokopelli was 2hrs 4mins and there was about another 15minutes of great riding above it in the Hazard Section.

On Sunday we both took a pay for shuttle to the Hazard drop. We were both pretty tired from riding hard the previous day so we just took it easy and enoyed a relaxing romp down Porcupine from Hazard.

Sept 29th - Sol Vista Closing

2008-11-18T14:23:00.002-07:00

Really out of date on keeping the Blog up to date. We lost our Camera for quite a while there so our weekends were without photo's.

This was the close for Sol Vista and it was very fun times seeing many of the people we raced with over the Summer. We took it easy just doing runs down things we had done plenty of times before. I had picked up a DMC moto trainer so I was getting some base times to be able to compare to next year. Sadly I was lazy with updating the blog so I have already forgotten them.

Anyway, a great way to wrap the Downhill Season.

Sept 20th - Crested Butte

2008-09-27T11:26:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we decided to leave our tent up in our camping spot up Slate River Rd since we had had a lot of fun and the tent was wet when we woke up in the morning.

So that meant for this weekend we were heading back to Crested Butte again!

We had so much fun on 401 the previous weekend we decided to start the weekend on that again. The leaves everywhere were fully turned now and the colors around the place were just outstanding.

We have a new way of getting started in the morning when we are not taking the dogs on a ride with us. As each of us is getting ready someone takes a bike and rides the bike out along a trail and back again so they get a bit of a run as well.

I was feeling strong this weekend but Amber was still under the weather a little from a tough week of work and a cold.

Scenic vistas in every direction. Even the grass as it browns after the summer added to the color.

Crested Butte is good times and pretty views.

Amber was pretty beat up by the time we reached the high point and rested a little before we started downhill.

My bike has gotten heavy over the past 2 years but, oh boy, it is fun to ride!

Colors on the open slopes of 401.

The ride down felt like it was even more fun than last weekend.

This time we bought Bishop along as well as she can keep up pretty well. By the time we were in the tree section she started to slow down and we had to wait a little but it was not that bad.

Unfortunately rain came in while we were having lunch and then stayed all night and into Sunday. So we did not get another ride in for the weekend and headed home happy again.

Sept 13th, 14th - Crested Butte

2008-09-27T10:57:00.009-06:00

Race season is over so it was time to bust out the small bikes fully again! After relaxing last weekend we decided that it was time to head back to Crested Butte as the summer was fast ending and we hadn't ridden there this year.

That means it is time to use the excuse of stopping for photos to recover breath again! I was curious as to how we would feel after spending all summer riding down mountains rather than riding up them.

We started with the classic Crested Butte ride - 401.

I was really looking forward to doing this ride as I thought that the downhill sections were going to be a lot of fun after all our DH racing and I was interested to see how it felt since last time we rode it over a year ago.

The climb up the road was easier than I remember which was very encouraging, unfortunately the climb through the trees was brutal as it had rained heavily a few days before we arrived. I thought that the single track in the trees might be muddy but was pretty confident that the downhill sections would be perfect.

Amber was on fire climbing the single track cleaning everything even though it was slick and nasty. I on the other hand was lazy and just pushed any of the steep sections.

It was pretty up there as all the mountains had a decent dusting of snow. Signs that summer was coming to an end were everywhere. The leaves had started to turn and the mountain tops were white.

Climbing, Climbing, Climbing.

It was fun to be out however and even with the mud we were enjoying ourselves. We definitely had that "end of a great season of riding" strength in our legs which made life very enjoyable.

There were a surprising number of other riders on the trail which was a little surprising considering how the conditions were. I expect everyone was a little like us - "oh crap! summer is ending and we still have so many rides to do!"

Once we started downhill the smiles really started! The trail was perfect and tacky and our improved skills and confidence from racing made the ride downhill just insanely enjoyable. It was actually like riding an entirely different ride compared to how I remember it from 2007.

Not a lot of photos as we were having to much fun to stop.

One interesting difference riding 401 at this time of the year is that up in the open sections the plants were all falling across the trail so that you had a hard time looking ahead at the trail. This made ripping along the trail at high speeds even more fun as you really had to pay attention and ride well.

Riding the section in the aspens was about the most fun you can do with a bike!

On Saturday afternoon we headed out and took the dogs up Strand. I had actually never ridden the "normal" Strand trail as we always bailed out of the climb up the jeep road and went around Strand to Farris Creek. That was a mistake every time! Even though climbing the jeep road is hard and boring the reward at the top is large! The decent down Strand is almost as much fun as 401. It is more tighter cornering and has a lot more steeper technical sections so it was a perfect complement to the ride we did earlier in the day. Unfortunately we forgot the camera but I am not sure we would have stopped for pictures that often as the riding was just that great!

We ended the day by sessioning the pump track in Crested Butte with the guys (and gal) from Big Al's Bike Shop. The jumps there look to be perfect to learn on with a really nice progression of difficulty available. We stuck to the pump track as I was too lazy to change our pedals to Flats.

On Sunday Amber wasn't feeling so hot having come down with a cold all of a sudden. That of course means I get a shuttle ride! On our way home we stopped at Doctor Park and I took Bishop (our energetic new dog) with me and after getting dropped at the top got to rip down to the Taylor River.

As far as fun weekends go, this one was really high on the list!
- 401
- Strand
- Doctor Park
Yep, Life is Good!

Sept 6th - Lazy weekend, Little Raven Trail

2008-09-27T10:51:00.004-06:00

We pretty much just relaxed and cleaned up the apartment this weekend. It had been a hectic summer that felt like we were away every weekend and we would get home Sunday night dump dirty clothes in a piles, do some laundry and start the work week. As a result our apartment was a disaster and both Amber and I were looking forward to taking it easy this weekend!

We did head out on Sunday afternoon and check out a trail called Little Raven. It was recently worked on by the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance and they had put a lot of work in to getting it into the current state - which was awesome! It is not a long trail section but would be very easy to link into any of the other trails around Brainard Lake. The riding was excellent, it had a number of rock gardens that were fun in both directions and a narrow wooden bridges over boggy sections.

A fun little ride and a good relaxing weekend!

August 28-31- Sol Vista MSC G3

2008-09-27T10:12:00.011-06:00

So this is the final race for the Mountain States Cup for 2008 and it was over a long weekend at Sol Vista. The format was G3 again where we would do three different races on each day and overall standings were determined by cumulative time over the three stages. You also got to podium on each individual stage of the event.

Amber and I both took Thursday off from work to get another practice day in. We both had a fun day of it, but unfortunately Amber blew out the rear shock on her bike and it was out of action for the weekend. Sol Vista has a great range of demo/rental bikes from a bunch of manufacturers, sadly though they only had one bike in Amber's size which was a Trek Session 10. Amber never really got to like that bike as it is more a Free-Ride oriented bike that also downhill's than a pure DH bike and it rode very differently than her 2004 V-10.

Day 1 was down Cheez-It to Ashy Larry ending down the main track over the little road gap and into the moto whoop section at the bottom of the mountain. I don't think I rode my race very well at all having a lot of problems with the steep rocky section at the top of Cheez-It but I still managed 5th place which I was happy with (and somewhat surprised at). Amber crashed pretty badly in her race run going over the bars and badly bruising various parts of her body in the process. She was on a good run and still managed 3rd place for the stage.

Womens Beginner (top 5)

1	Katy Monger	4:26.49
2	Jamie Edgecomb	4:31.05
3	Amber Price	4:42.91
4	Jill Behlen	4:43.93
5	Kristin Buell	5:04.27

Mens Sport 40+ (top 5)

1	Jack Serra Jr	4:01.48
2	Michael Monsauret	4:09.73
3	Steve King	4:11.44
4	Michael Lees	4:15.47
5	Sean Smith	4:21.46

Day 2 was Silk Johnson. The pro categories were all "required" to run chainless, however the other categories got to decide amongst themselves whether to run chainless or not. Sadly that meant that Amber's category was mostly not chainless as not of all of the girls wanted to run without a chain. The peer pressure built in the later groups and pretty soon all categories ran chainless which was an absolute blast. I was pretty happy with my run, I messed up in a few of the dusty corners in the middle section but had a pretty good run and got 3rd for the stage.

Beginner Women (top 5)

1	Jill Behlen	5:19.39
2	Sarah Rawley	5:24.36
3	Katy Monger	5:25.52
4	Amber Price	5:30.71
5	Kristin Buell	5:37.02

Sport Men 40+ (top 5)

1	Jack Serra Jr	4:57.81
2	Michael Monsauret	5:07.83
3	Sean Smith	5:08.00
4	Michael Lees	5:08.22
5	Steve King	5:15.34

Stage 3 was Buck Nasty. The final stage was down a new trail section call Buck Nasty that had a pretty nasty new steep rock section that the trail builders built by dragging in rocks from nearby. The rest of the trail was not as technical and was a lot of fun to ride. Amber rode the rock garden well but was still having a hard time on the Trek. I rode poorly and opted for the ride around on the rock garden. I rode the rest well but was pretty certain I was on a terrible time so I didn't push it in for the road gap or the whoops section. I guess I was actually on a good time coming out of the final trees and had I pushed it at the end as well could have easily made the podium. As it ended I placed 6th and Amber placed 4th for the stage.

Beginner Women (top 5)

1	Katy Monger	3:34.97
2	Jamie Edgecomb	3:43.15
3	Danielle Shewmake	3:49.89
4	Amber Price	3:54.54
5	Kristin Buell	3:56.55

Sport Men 40+ (top 6)

1	Michael Monsauret	3:00.26
2	Jack Serra Jr	3:08.14
3	Michael Lees	3:15.97
4	Steve King	3:16.84
5	Mike Haley	3:23.12
6	Sean Smith	3:24.30

Another great race weekend that was also the wrap up for the season. These were our overall standings for the weekend.

Beginner Women (top 5)

1	Katy Monger	13:26.98
2	Jamie Edgecomb	14:01.95
3	Amber Price	14:08.16
4	Kristin Buell	14:37.84
5	Danielle Shewmake	14:44.15

Sport Men 40+ (top 5)

1	Jack Serra Jr	12:07.43
2	Michael Monsauret	12:17.82
3	Michael Lees	12:39.66
4	Steve King	12:43.62
5	Sean Smith	12:53.76

Amber also placed 4th place overall for the season which was great since she didn't race Angel Fire or SnoMass and did race any of the Mountain Cross.

We finished the season really motivated for next year!

August 23rd, 24th - Sol Vista

2008-09-27T10:03:00.002-06:00

We opted to head to Sol Vista again this weekend as there was the final race of the season coming on the next weekend and riding had just been a lot of fun the previous weekend. We rode full days on both days and much good times was had!

We ended up riding quite a bit with Santiago Garcia who is a great guy to ride with. He is that perfect riding partner - funny, motivated but relaxed. We did a bunch of runs and on Sunday started to do some timed runs with Santiago. Timing your runs in practice changes the whole ride! It stays fun, but now there is an extra element in every run down. I was so impressed with the approach that I ordered a DMC moto-timer that you can leave on the bars of your bike and will use it as a matter of course now.

On Sunday afternoon a rumor starting around the mountain that for the race we would be doing Silky Johnson chainless as one of the stages. We started doing chainless runs timed to get a feel for where the tough spots for flow would be. Wow, riding down hill trails chainless is a totally new experience for me. Since I couldn't pedal I was really forced to concentrate on the flow of the trail and I was riding so much better than when I was pedalling! It opened my eyes to a big area of opportunity in my riding and I think that for every race track I need to do some chainless (no pedalling) runs very early in the practise sessions to get a feel for the flow trail.

All in all a great weekend! (no photos sadly).

August 17th Sol Vista

2008-08-19T23:17:00.003-06:00

We had planned on riding Saturday and Sunday at Sol Vista but we had some crazy weather come through and everything was unrideable on Saturday. The mountains actually got quite a bit of snow and Sol Vista closed their trails on Saturday.

I decided before the weekend that I would demo a new Intense M6 so I was looking forward to being able to ride on Sunday.

Wow! conditions at Sol Vista for Sunday were, quite simply, perfect! the dirt was tachy and the trails amazing. There were also two new trails Tron and Ashy Larry that were new sections that you reached by going down Cheeze-It. The new trails were rated as Blue trails but both had all sorts of optional black and double black features and trying to ride them at race speeds is just crazy good fun.

It also turned out to be a very poor financial decision on my part to demo the M6 as the difference in how it rides to my current frame is similar to the difference in a $30K sports car and a $150K sports car. Both are fun and decent at what they do, but the high end version just leaves the low end version for dead in terms of fun to use and performance! Between how the M6 rode, the perfect condition of the trails and the new fun trails that were added it was one of those dream days of riding. Amber and I pretty much did non-stop runs all day with just a break for a beer and lunch. We did a few runs with a great guy by the name of Santiago who I chatted to a little at Snomass. Riding behind someone who is better than you is great fun and really helps you push yourself in skills and effort.

All in all an awesome day of riding and the race at the end of the month promises to be even more fun than what Snomass was. The trail builders at Sol Vista really have it going on up there. If you are in the area during the summer find a way to make some time to do some DH riding there.

some vast action photos

2008-08-19T22:40:00.005-06:00

Some action shots from the recent races taken by the guys at vastaction.com

Crested Butte Wild Flower Rush - Amber

Sol Vista Sol Survivor - Amber

Sno Mass G3 - Amber

August 10th - MSC Race, Snomass G3 - Race Day

2008-08-15T12:19:00.013-06:00

Sunday was the last race day and during the night things looked promising as the stars were out and the sky was clear.

However we woke to heavy cloud and some light rain. Amber and I both did a practice run and conditions were pretty decent with the track surface being not too wet and traction was not too bad.

For this race the organizers went back to the normal order of things and the Beginners would be first to race. Unfortunately weather was deteriorating quickly and light rain started before the first racers left.

Amber had a tough run down on the upper part of the course coming off her bike many times. In one of the crashes she broke her gear shifter and because she wasn't sure of the damage and didn't want to risk a jammed chain she opted to run the rest of the course without pedaling. She ended up very happy with her run despite the problems simply because she rode the Waterfall section cleanly and picked up good time in the bottom technical sections.

However she lost a lot of time to Kristin who had placed second behind her in the Super-D on Saturday. Amber had started the day with a 1:10 advantage over Kristin and because the overall standings were not handy it wasn't clear how the overall standings were after the final DH race for Amber's class. It turned out she did enough to hang on and she got 2nd place for the DH race and won the overall by 5 seconds. Her riding the waterfall section instead of crashing or walking it was very likely the difference that let her hang on for the win!

By the time I started my race run conditions were totally crap. It had been raining non-stop and was raining for our race. I managed to pass the two guys who started ahead of me in the upper section but once I was in the tree sections I was pretty much just tripoding my way down the course constantly keeping one foot on the ground. I walked both of the technical sections and was just happy to get to the bottom in one piece! I did enough to comfortably hold onto 3rd place for the final race and for the overall standings. The guy behind me in 4th place entering the race crashed badly in the waterfall section and broke his nose, dislocated his shoulder and tweaked his knee.

It was just an absolutely epic day of racing and was great fun. It was exciting watching the times improve despite the terrible conditions as the experts, semi-pro and finally pro racers came down.

The winner on the day was Aaron Gwinn, he was on an great run but slipped out on a slippery bridge within sight of the finishing line. He was fully off the course and had to push his bike over the finish line - and he still won by 6 seconds. It was crazy to watch! He had placed 10th earlier in the year at his first ever world cup race in similar muddy, crappy conditions so it would seem that he is going to be a guy to watch in the future!

Amber's DH#2 Podium

Sean's DH#2 Podium

Amber's overall Podium!

Snowmass G3 Overall - Beginner/Jr Women:
1. Amber Price 27:19.1
2. Kristin Buell 27:24.8
3. Brittany Engleking 34:07.7
4. Katy Monger 34:41.6
5. Lana Lawson 35:25.0

Sean's overall podium.

Snowmass G3 Overall - Sport Men 40+:
1. Michael Monsauret 20:30.6
2. Blake Nelson 23:30.6
3. Sean Smith 25:34.0
4. Scott Branney 32:54.3
5. Tom Stevens 35:03.2

August 9th - MSC Race, Snomass G3 - Race Day

2008-08-15T11:54:00.002-06:00

Saturday we had two races, the first was the fast DH track and then in the afternoon we would do the Super-D. We woke up early and got ourselves some coffee and a good breakfast. We had found that at Sol Vista if we were ready a good hour before riding started we both did much better in our race run.

We both took a single practice run on the DH course and then relaxed before the race. Because of the moisture on the mountain the course organizers broken with tradition and sent the races down in reverse normal order. Generally pro racers start last and the beginners go first so by the time I raced (in Sport 40+) the course was in good condition and for Amber it was nearly perfect.

I was very happy with my Race run and felt like I went pretty much as fast as I could for my current skill-set and I placed 3rd and was about 7 seconds back from 2nd place. Amber was also very happy with her run and just placed 1st! She was about 2 seconds ahead of the 2nd placed girl.

We then had to switch modes and get ready for the Super-D race. We both did one practice run to try and get some details of the course in our minds. After the practice run I decided to switch of my big bike and ride it on my Mojo. The decision was a tough one as I hadn't ridden the course a single time on the Mojo but there was quite a few sections where pedalling would be key. The main tough choice was that there were also some bumpy sections that the big bike would probably be faster on and the fat tires would help in many of the corners. Also it was threatening to rain and then the big bike would probably be much more stable if it got muddy.

But I went with the Ibis and was happy that I did. I got a good start in the short run and settled into 3rd place by the time we were on the Single track I kept the other two guys in sight for about the first half of the course but was dropped once we hit the more technical sections. The Super-D course also finished in the mountain cross course and that was somewhat of a concern for both Amber and I as neither of us were comfortable with the jumps and so in practice were slowing down for them and rolling/pumping everything instead of jumping the doubles and tables.

When I got to the mountain cross section of the course I was feeling good and on the last Table I tried to jump it but fully dead-sailored the jump and nose dived into a full crash that sent me and my bike flying. I was able to get up and get going pretty quickly having only just scraped up my arms and back a little and I still held onto 3rd place for the race. I was about 20seconds back from the top two guys.

Amber got a slower start in her race and had to pass a few people as the opportunity presented itself. She ended up settling in behind another girl and they pulled away from the field. Amber was able to pass Kristin in the bottom third of the course and took 1st place for that race as well!

We were both very happy with our races and things looked good for the Sunday final race with Amber holding a comfortable lead overall in her category and I was solidly in 3rd place in mine.

Amber's Super-D Podium

Sean's Super-D Podium

August 8th - MSC Race, Snomass G3 - Practice Day

2008-08-15T10:58:00.003-06:00

Amber and I both had Friday off so we packed up the bikes and the dogs on Thursday and headed over to Snomass for this weekends Mountain States Cup race. We would be able to get tent camping in Snomass from Friday in a soccer field but for Thursday night we would have to find another option so we found a nice camping spot near Independence Pass.

This race was a G3 format race and it would be our first time racing this format. I was not sure how it we would go as the normal format is a couple of days practice and then the race day where you do a single run and that time determines your standings. For Sol Vista all the practice runs we were able to do helped immensely with finding lines and then hitting them in the race run.

G3 format is different in that there are three different races over the weekend and you could win those individually but the overall was a cumulative time across all the races. It is like a multi-day stage event like they have in road racing. It was a little intimidating as we had never been to Snomass before and one of the DH tracks was the same as they used earlier in the season and by the sounds of it that track was pretty technical and caused quite a few problems in the beginner classes (i.e. what Amber and I are).

Weather was also going to play a part as it rained all night thursday night where we camped and when we arrived at Snomass on Friday it was very wet on the ground there as well.

There were three tracks for us to race and therefore practise. On Saturday we would be racing a new DH course in the morning that no-one had been able to ride for a few years and the Super-D course in the afternoon. The DH course was a fast course with the main technical sections just being in the form of high speed bumpy or rocky sections, there was also going to be plenty of time made or lost in the corners. The Super-D course was similar to the first DH course but with more pedalling and less intensive bumps and rocky sections.

We opted to start the day on the Super-D course as the first DH course was not open yet and the sunday DH course was pretty wet. We just did a casual run down the Super-D track on our big bikes to get a feel for how much climbing there was and where the tough spots were - there literally wasn't any climbing so this course was going to be well suited to either a big big or a 6 inch AM bike.

We took a run down the Sunday DH course as well and that was entirely ego destroying as it was slick and muddy and super crowded. On the two technical sections it was either a constant flow of high speed pro level riders or a constant clutter of bumbling crashing riders (such as Amber and I). We just did one run down it and switched to the Saturday DH track once it opened up.

The Saturday DH track was being ridden in every single run down so it's speed was getting higher every time. Amber and I were also getting our lines, particularly for the top section that we would run on both DH tracks.

I was very happy with how the first DH track felt but still had a couple of sections I needed to get a fast line for. Amber wasn't sure and the corners in some sections were still presenting issues for her. We were both hitting the jump in the lower section at good speed so things looked promising for our race run on saturday.

August 2nd - Crankworx Winter Park

2008-08-14T16:33:00.008-06:00

It was totally crazy being able to watch, in person, what the slope style guys can do on (and of) a bike.

So much fun it is hard to describe unless you have seen it live as well. Here are a few random photo's from the spot we were standing.

August 1st-3rd - MSC Race - Sol Survivor

2008-08-14T15:28:00.006-06:00

Amber and I had both been looking forward to this race since we returned from our vacation. We had both spent a lot of time on our big bikes and I felt that I had made some good technical gains as well as being in pretty good shape.

Amber got an extra day on Thursday as they opened the mountain for practice an extra day an she was able to get a good day of runs and also get us a tent site in winter park. This weekend was going to be a hectic weekend with the racing being just down the road from Crankworx Winter Park. We also had the luxury of being able to stay at Mike and Kristi's condo in winter park after it turned out they had room after all.

Friday was practice day for both of us and it felt like we made awesome progress with both of us confidently hitting the last obstacle which was the steep rocky drop/roll in the first part of the trail. We also started to finalize our lines for the other technical sections and so it was a contented night of rest that start with dinner at a great mexican place in Winter Park.

Saturday was more of the same with steady improvement for both of us on our lines and a couple of good top to bottom runs to put it all together. Saturday afternoon/night was spent enjoying Crankworx. (I'll do a separate post with some pictures of the slope style event)

Sunday was race day! Both Amber and I did a last minute practice on the morning of the race and for both of us it went well.

I was happy with my result, I ended up in the middle of the pack in Sport Men 40+. I messed up my lines in the first part of the course but got it together for the last part. Unfortunately I caught the rider who started ahead of me and that slowed me a little as I didn't pass him (which was also a great learning experience).

Amber had a good run as well. The last race we did was Crested Butte and Amber placed 3rd at that but was nearly 30 seconds back from 1st and 2nd place. In her race run she also caught the girl ahead of her and didn't manage to pass. She also crashed into a tree near the end and came to a full stop. Both of us learned that we need to be loud and forceful if you catch the person ahead of you and more than likely they will be totally cool and move out of the way once they hear you.

This race Amber posted a better time than the girls at Crested Butte and she placed 2nd with the winner being a girl that dropped down from having raced Sport previously because there were just no other girls in that category and she was being forced to race against Expert category girls. Amber was just under 8 seconds back from Kira who won - An awesome change from her last race!

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Lisa Myklak
2. Jacqueline Harmony
3. Sarah Elworthy
4. Rachel Bauer
5. Stephanie Hatalsky
6. Sage Wilderman

Expert Women
1. Christen Boyer
2. Jennifer Wolf
3. Soraya Khalje

Beginner/Jr. Women
1. Kyra Alexander
2. Amber Price
3. Katy Monger
4. Anne St. Clair
5. Jamie Edgecomb
6. Lana Lawson
7. Kristin Buell
8. Dani Brownell-Patty
9. Brittany Engleking
10. Jenelle Spedden

July 27th - Sol Vista Bike Park

2008-08-14T15:24:00.002-06:00

On Sunday I headed over to Sol Vista Bike Park while Amber stayed around Winter Park and did some trails there. Amber would have joined me at Sol Vista but her big bike was still broken and waiting for a new bottom bracket to go with new cranks. She was going to be able to ride Sol Vista later in the week while I was at work.

We had a race at Sol Vista next weekend and an extra day of practice was going to be valuable. I had a great day riding and spent a lot of time on the trail that would be a our race track. It was not quite ready as it was a combination of two existing trails and the connector was not officially open.

After a days riding I was a little concerned as there was one steep rocky drop that was still very intimidating and a lot of work left to do to find lines in the many technical corners that the trail had on it. But things were promising and I was looking forward to next weekend!

July 26th - Winter Park trails

2008-08-12T09:21:00.002-06:00

Amber and I headed up to Winter Park this weekend as I wanted to get some time on Sol Vista in preparation for the MSC race on the next weekend.

On Saturday we hooked up with Mike (a friend from work), he has a condo in Winter Park and also rides an Ibis Mojo after picking one up earlier in the year. He has the luxury of being able to ride out of his Condo into an awesome trail system on the hills above the town. He can also take trails across to the ski mountain and drop down those if he wants.

Mike took us on a great little connection of trails. D2 -> WTB -> Elk Meadows -> Sunken Bridges -> Zoom, back up Zoom -> FR159 -> Leapfrog.

The riding was an excellent variety with sections of forest road occasionally to connect sweet single track sections. The single track varied from buff, fast flowing sections to steeper rooty sections and the last section Leapfrog was just great technical riding with rocks and the occasional wooden structures. We ended up doing about 20miles of riding and I am looking forward to getting back there after the Race season finishes.

July 7th - July 19th, Whistler - 9 riding days

2008-08-11T16:26:00.013-06:00

We spent the rest of our holiday pretty much exclusively riding Whistler Mountain and packed 9 days of riding in amongst the 13 days we spent there. We also took the dogs on a couple of short valley rides in the form of Young Lust (a bail out option from Comfortably Numb) and River Runs Through It.

However the mountain riding really caught our attention and that was our focus for the rest of the trip. We spent a lot of time on a few trails in particular but did ride a wide variety of trails.

The trails that really grabbed us were:

B-Line: We started spending time on this because it seemed like a nice fun warm up, but the more often we rode it the more we wanted to ride it. We found it to be really good to improve our (much lacking) cornering skills.

Crank It Up: This was a deliberate choice to spend time on as both Amber and I wanted to get more comfortable with jumps in the middle of a downhill run. This ride is the perfect progression trail for learning to jump and getting comfortable doing it at speed, there was also the added bonus of a bunch of great corners and number of drop options.

Original Sin: by far this was my favorite trail on the mountain! it was hard for us in that there were quite a number of technical section just at our skill level so we were able to push ourselves to do those sections. Later we were able to start working on linking the entire ride at speed and the flow that started to come as a result was just ear to ear smile riding. From Original Sin you continued (generally) into Duffman which was another great trail. There were plenty of other options we did as well, but we spent a lot of time doing this run and improving our speed and style doing so.

It is hard to describe just how much fun Whistler is, particularly if you get to spend a decent amount of time there. Anyone who loves to mountain bike needs to find a way to spend at least a week or two in their life playing in whistler, bring a big bike or rent one locally and the fun you can have is near endless.

We didn't get many photos of Whistler as the riding just doesn't lend itself to carrying a camera or stopping to use it.

A steeper than it looks exit from a switchback on Original Sin. The upper section of this ride really had a downhill race flavor to it with steep but flowing riding across roots, rocks and switchbacks.

This is the steep rock roller that is the last sequence on Original Sin. It was very intimidating to both Amber and I, but once you did it you just wanted to go back and do it again and again. There is a few steep sections of granite before this section and you end with this roll to a tight turn.

Amber did it by taking the outside line, I did it by coming down the face. Both options had their pro's and con's. Amber's method demanded tighter turning at the end of the rock, whereas my my method had an easier turn at the bottom but steeper rock to roll. I imagine that the section would be a totally different endeavor in wet conditions!

It was fun to see the bears everywhere. At first it was a little disconcerting to to come flying around a corner and see a bear wandering by in the meadow, but there really were everywhere you could watch them from very close by if you wanted and were careful.

Another steeper than it looks roller, this one is an optional feature towards the bottom of Duffman that was just a lot of fun for both Amber and I. It had a clean entrance and a clean exit so it was very easy to try and low risk if you somehow messed it up.

This is not Amber or I, but it was just to impressive not to get a photo of. It is an optional super steep and long granite roller part way down Blue Velvet. The line was to roll the granite until you were about 10 feet from the bottom transition and then you popped into the air to land onto the transition. Those that did it made it look easy. To me it looked insane but spectacular.

One of the other great things about Whistler is all the activities in the Village. This is Ryan Leech putting on a trials show as a part of the Norco 2009 product launch. We had seen Ryan in videos like The Collective and Kranked but to see him do this riding in real life was just incredible.

He had just such an easy going personality and was talking to the audience throughout the entire demonstration. Amber even got a signed poster out of the deal.

Our time in Whistler was amazing and it really felt like we progressed incredibly in our riding skills. Taking what we had learned back to Colorado was going to be fun!

July 5th - Comfortably Numb, Whistler

2008-08-11T16:08:00.011-06:00

we opted to leave Vancouver Island a few days earlier than we originally intended and it was actually a pretty tough decision to do so since we had been having such a great time there.

However, the offer to ride one of the classics of Whistler with some locals was just to tempting to pass up and the idea of two full weeks of riding Whistle Mountain and the valley was also very attractive.

We rode Comfortably Numb two years ago when we first visited Whistler and to be honest it was just brutally hard for us. It was physical, it was technical and it was long. That combination left Amber and I both riding the end like we were walking dead.

We were hopeful that two years and a lot more riding would make a big difference this time around. We would also be riding with Gerry, Paul and Gerry's brother from Pembarton. Riding with them was a good news/bad news scenario - it was guaranteed to be fun! but they were strong both physically and technically so suffering was sure to be present.

Luckily the fun far, far outweighed the suffering and just as we hoped the difference between this ride and the last time we rode it was night and day. We were treated to great riding conditions where it was cool and overcast and even though it rained on and off throughout the ride the conditions were excellent.

Things that looked steep and scary two years ago now looked fun and enjoyable.

Pretty forest riding.

There was some new wood work in a number of sections, it was great to see that the trail had constant maintenance to keep the feel of the riding and protect the forest around it.

The moisture started to become a factor in the steeper granite sections towards the end, but it was more a mental factor and a real factor as traction remained excellent.

Wet loam is an awesome surface to ride on. (just be careful with wet roots!)

We finished the ride and then enjoyed beers and food in Whistler Village.

July 3rd - Forbidden Area, Thursday night ride.

2008-08-11T15:02:00.004-06:00

Massively out of date on keeping the Blog up to date! Going to try and catch things up over this week.

July 3rd we were invited along on a Thursday night ride. The only catch is that we were actually invited along by two different groups. How good is your riding community when you have regular after work rides almost every night and with great people every time.

Amber and I were enamored with the trails up near Forbidden Area so we took Gerry up on his kind offer of a group ride followed by home brew beer and snacks at the base. Unfortunately I forgot to grab the camera in the excitement of getting the shuttle vehicles loaded so no pictures.

The riding, as usual for the area, was phenomenal. We came down Jake the Snake to Two Sheiks. I don't remember the trail sections past that, but the riding was varied and fun and one particular obstacle ("the drop of doom") will remain ingrained on my psyche for years to come if I can't get back to the area to ride it. It was a clean steep granite slab that had a slight lip part way down the slab so that as you approached it all you could see was the edge of a cliff. Beyond the lip was a steep roller with a good exit before a tight turn to finish the sequence. Unfortunately neither Amber or I would commit to try it and we both wimped out and will have to ponder that for a while to come.

We enjoyed awesome company and some home brews after and decided to join Gerry and Paul for another ride in a couple of days - Comfortably Numb at whistler.

July 2nd - Mount Washington Bike Park

2008-07-03T12:53:00.005-06:00

We decided to bust out the big bikes today and head up to Mount Washington. We needed to get the rear wheel on Amber's Mojo rebuilt as she broke a spoke on the first day riding in the area and none of the shops were open to get it repaired. The wheel was due for a rebuild as last time we had her bike over-hauled and serviced at out local bike shop The Fix they told has that the wheel was in trouble as when Phil (our mechanic) trued the wheel we would constantly pop a spoke out as he tightened the other side. The wheel held up just fine on the previous two days of riding but this was a good opportunity to get it fixed once and for all.

So we dropped Amber's bike in a great little store in Cumberland called The Riding Fool and they were able to get a new rim laced to her existing hub for us to pick up later in the day.

We enjoyed a day on the big bikes at Mount Washington. The riding in some ways was kinda strange as they had "groomed" trails that were fast and immaculate with perfect berms and table-tops everywhere. Unfortunately since neither Amber nor I can jump worth a piece of shit it made those trails a little less as good for us as they would have been for others. We did stumble onto an old DH trail that is the classic race track called Monster Mile. We were only able to pick it up part-way down it as the upper part of the mountain wasn't open yet. It was rocky and steep and reminded me a lot of some of the trail sections we have in Colorado.

I managed to take a good tumble after deciding that the Blue trails would be great for a fast run on my Mojo as well and I totally lost it on a steep, loose and rocky entrance into a blue run and went fully over the bars. I had taken my upper body armor off, the fall was a gentle enough tumble and I didn't feel like I had hurt anything but later that night I started to feel some bruising in my right shoulder. Nothing to be concerned about but it was a good lesson that my Mojo can't ride the steep rocky stuff as fast as my DH bike can!

We had a great time getting in a bunch of runs and having an awesome lunch at the grill. I absolutely love the food in Canada, it reminds me a lot of home in Australia. You can get good fish and chips where the fish is done in nice Batter and the chips are proper chips and not the fries that you get in the USofA.

We were tired and exhausted after the previous 4 days of riding on-top of a long drive so we ended up standing up Gerry on his Thursday morning offer to go riding and instead will catch up with him (or Bob) for a Thursday evening ride.

July 1st - Forbidden Trails again

2008-07-03T12:21:00.004-06:00

July 1st is Canada Day! We failed in the local custom of wearing Red and White but we were not alone as no-one we road with today did either. It was very hot again and we joined Bob and Jane again for a ride up in Forbidden trails area. They were riding with some friends and had an epic day planned. They adjusted plans slightly as it was very hot but it still ended up being a full and tiring ride.

The group was seven people strong consisting of: Bob & Jane, Doctor Dave, Steve, Gerry, Amber and I. Steve was trying to develop his urban skill so at various waiting places as the group rejoined it was fun to watch him hopping his bike up onto cut 3-4ft logs and then down the other side. Gerry was also a crazy strong rider that was super friendly to boot. He invited us to drinks and food later that night at his place and fun times were had. It was eye opening watching him cruise skinnies to teeter's while being 5-6 feet off the deck.

The ride linkage we did today was: Two Sheiks & a Dog -> Dirty Jane-> KMA-> Cliffe Ave-> ?Easy Rider? -> Bics-> Bear Bait-> Nymph Falls-> Twister. We ended at the Rock Pools on Duncan Bay Main and cooled of with a beer and a dip in the pools in the river.

Another awesome day of riding with again a huge variety in riding styles. Two Sheiks is a local classic that has stood the test of time. It has been around for nearly twenty years and although stunts have been added along the way it fundamentally hasn't changed in all that time. The riding was flowing with roots and logs to tackle as you went. I would totally ride this almost every other week if I lived in the area. (I say this with a deep level of experience having ridden exactly 3 days in the area. :P but it certainly was enjoyable and I would love to go back and ride it again before we leave).

Dirty Jane was entirely different in feel but was also most excellent. It was put up by Bob a couple of years back and spent most of it's time riding Granite rock sections with up's (lifts) and steep downs and drops, there is one section in particular that was excellent!

We pushed a couple of hills in the lower sections and were rewarded with fun, flowing sections of fast single track in the trees. The final section called Twister was physically demanding at the end of so much previous riding with roots, logs and bridges the norm. It was technically difficult but had so many fun sections that you could try or watch people like Gerry clean.

Another great day of riding that was capped of by dinner at Gerry and Kathy's place. Beer and good food in the presence of great company - it really doesn't get any better! We have really been spoilt on this trip so far, it definitely has not been the normal dirt bag road trip we normally do.

Amber getting encouragement from Gerry (right) and Steve (left) has she finishes off a skinny practice section on the ground.

Steve cleaning a steeper, harder than it looks rock section.

Beautiful sunny days show off B.C. Clear-Cut terrain. Amber on the exit out of Two Sheiks. A great trail!

Amber learning new body english on a section of the Nymph Falls trail system.

Cleaned it including the turn at the end.

Gerry showing us how to ride a long log in Twister.

Teeter-Totter a few feet off the deck.

Monday June 30th - Forbidden Trails.

2008-07-03T12:07:00.006-06:00

Sunday night we called Bob and Jane and organized a ride for Monday. They had been away for the weekend at a motor bike trials event elsewhere in British Columbia.

On Monday they suggested we do a shuttle ride that started up at the parking lot for the Forbidden Plateau since it was still very hot. Amber and I were only to happy to take that as an option.

We started down a steep loose fire ride to access the trails that are also known as the Lakes trails. The initial fire road was actually pretty fun as it reminded me a lot of a down hill trail on a disused fire road. It was fast and loose and had a couple of fun little whoops along the way.

The trail Bob was taking us on today started with Screamin Demon and it started right next to a local classic called Two Shieks & A Dog which we would be doing tomorrow. Jane had appointments in the afternoon so we needed to keep moving and take the fastest trails down and in some ways this made the introduction ride to the area even better!

The trail link up we did was: Screamin Demon -> Two Pond Pass -> Lumpys -> Puntledge Plunge -> Nymph Falls Trails (Bear Bait). It had an awesome variety of riding and reminded me of the old school trails in Whistler Valley like Shit Happens. You were riding rooty loam sections to Granite faces with dry moss and then loose eroded steep trails. There was great flow and lots of technical sections to try or walk and add to a list for another day. The friction on the trails was perfect as it was dry and warm.

Bob and Jane were also great to ride with, for an old guy :p Bob can ride! heh, he can roll almost anything it seems and it was great to see an Ibis Mojo getting put through its paces. Jane was also riding a Mojo and was really strong at riding technical obstacles like logs and roots and was great at telling Amber options for the next section as they were riding towards it. It meant we were able to keep a good pace and flow going all there way while also getting a little history on the trails and at junctions details on what the other options could be when we came back alone.

After the ride we got to have dinner with Bob and Jane at their place in Comox and we also took their advice and moved our camp to a pay for place by the beach. It was very cheap and had great showers and a laundry as well as being right on the beach. We had been camped up near Forbidden and it was stinking hot up there such that you couldn't lie in your tent during the day and relax.

Dinner was great! Jane is an impressive cook and I doubt we will get anything better from any of the restaurants we eat at along the way on this trip.

The finish of the fire road above the start of the main trail system. This is where you start Two Sheiks and Screamin Demon.

Loamy single track.

Sunday June 29th - Cumberland, BC

2008-07-03T12:02:00.003-06:00

Sunday we woke up after getting a few hours sleep in the car and decided to try and energize by going to check out some trails in Cumberland. We found a decent little trail map in a free tourist guide that the hostel behind the Riding Fool bike shop and more than got us riding.

We were pretty tired and it was really hot (it turned out that the temperatures were unseasonable warm and were setting records all around the island). We just did a few runs on a link of trails where you rode up a section of fire road for about 15minutes and then dropped into a great section of riding with all sorts of technical sections. There were roots, logs and man-made obstacles. Amber and I had a great time on it and were really looking forward to the other riding around the area.

Riding over logs would be a challenge for us as in Colorado you rarely find logs left on the trails. We have rocks and roots in Colorado, but for some reason the logs are removed very quickly.

A fun little A-Frame over some fallen timber.

Learning new body english.

The end of a really great section of riding that had a bit of construction and some fun steep loam with roots.

Amber trying a section that was higher off the ground. It is funny to me how easily we freaked out as soon as the wood got more than about a foot of the ground.

Also, just as we have to learn to ride constructed better, I need to work on my dark forest photo skills - chopping Amber's head off as she rolls a steep exit.

Vacation - British Columbia for 3 weeks!

2008-07-03T11:45:00.004-06:00

Amber and I have 3 weeks living in the dirt and loam up in British Columbia. Our plan is to spend a week on Vancouver Island riding the Courtenay and Forbidden Trails and then after that head over to the Whistler Valley area to ride the trails there and do some days in the Bike Park.

We left Friday afternoon for the long drive. It is about 22hours of driving and we stopped in a Walmart parking lot in Bozeman to grab some sleep until dawn. It the best (only?) good thing that Walmart has done for America - easy, no hassle place to sleep while on the road. On Saturday morning we hit the road again and made it to Vancouver by about 7.30pm and waited for the last ferry to Vancouver Island that left at 9.30pm.

A brief stop along the way to stretch legs and let the dogs run around. A beautiful river that would outstanding fly fishing terrain.

We finally got to Courtenay late Saturday night and tried to find a camp ground to sleep for the night. We normally are philosophically opposed to pay camp grounds as they are never as nice as free bush camping but since we were exhausted anything would do. Unfortunately the only camp ground we could find closed (with a gate) at 10pm so we headed up towards Mt Washington in the hope that we could find somewhere to sleep on an old logging road. Sadly we spent another night sleeping in the vehicle. We got total of about 9 hours of sleep from Friday Morning through to Sunday.

Travel days are always brutal and tiring which is why I always prefer to just visit one or two places on shorter road trips like this one. You also get to meet the locals and feel like a welcomed visitor rather than a random Tourist. And we certainly have been welcomed with open arms! We had a contact from MTBR who was also an Ibis owner. Bob and Jane had offered to show us around to get us started in the area if we wished and we took them up on the generous offer on Monday and Tuesday.

June 22nd - Crested Butte - Wild Flower Rush

2008-06-23T08:28:00.007-06:00

This weekend was a Race weekend with the Mountain States Cup moving to Crested Butte for the Wild Flower Rush.

Amber headed out early and was in Crested Butte from Monday the 16th. (we have a few pictures to come from that from the other camera)

I took Friday off and drover out Thursday night so that we could use Friday as a practice day. We both registered for Super-D and Downhill.

The Super-D was just like riding a normal Crested Butte bike trail but with less climbing. We did a few practise runs on it on Friday and Saturday and I was really enjoying the track and was somewhat optimistic as to my prospects for the Race. Amber had a big crash on our final practise run late saturday afternoon and since she wasn't wearing a full face helmet got quite a nasty cut on her chin. She crashed as she was trying to push her speeds on the single track sections in the aspens.

We also got in a couple of runs on the Downhill track. It was a lot less technical than most downhill race tracks with lots of fast sections and two sections of pedaling. The pedaly sections were pretty brutal on a big bike, but over all the track was great fun and we were both looking forward the actual race.

As is normal, we got no photos of any riding this weekend, but we had a great time doing it!

The Super-D started with a run to your bikes and I was feeling tired by the time I got on my bike. I managed to catch a few people on the initial downhill but then settled into the back part of the "pack" once the first climb hit. I never saw anyone else on the ride except for a couple of people that had flat tires along the way. I need to get a lot stronger if I want to move up the field of the 30+ men in Super-D and since I really don't ever see myself training I am pretty content that this race will always be just a fun part of a race weekend to tell stories about after the weekend. I ended up placing 17th out of 25 and I was 5 minutes of the winning time. A good line in the sand to compare to as we ride and race more.

For the Downhill I was surprised just how nervous I was the morning before and as I waited for my starting gate. I entered the 19+ beginner men which was an interesting category as you had young guys and old guys competing against each other. I had an Ok race run but really messed up the tight switch backs after getting a good start on the first steep section. I also didn't pedal the pedaly sections very well at all either as my lazy boots kicked in a bit. I ended up placing 13th out of 17 and was 42 seconds back from the winner of the class. Had I raced in 40+ Sport men instead I would have placed 8th out of 13 and still been 46 seconds back from the winner.

Amber also raced downhill and put together a great run! She placed 3rd in her category and got a podium on her first downhill race!

Downhill racing proved to be way more fun times than the Super D race that day.

June 14th - Sol Vista, CO

2008-06-23T08:11:00.005-06:00

Our original plan for this weekend was to head back to Angel Fire and ride downhill but the prospect of the long drive and nasty gas prices changed our plans and we decided to go check out Sol Vista Bike Park instead. We had a friend from my work that had a condo in Winter Park that was going to be there as well Saturday so we packed up the dogs and all 4 bikes and drove to Granby. Sol Vista is new to the mountain biking scene with the mountain developing 4 trails last summer and the lifts were free to ride. The reports were that for a small mountain they had done great job putting the trails down.

Sol Vista will also be hosting two MSC race weekends this year so getting some time on the trails for those was a big motivator.

Wow, for just 3 downhill trails this mountain is addictive! We got in 8 runs before close and that was with a later start than we wanted. The trails is shorter than Keystone but are exactly the length that most race tracks are. They have rocky sections, fast sections, jumps and berms. Simply great riding, I can't wait for the races and I can't wait to see the new trails they add this year.

Amber on the roll option on one of the trails.

There were a number of high speed open sections that linked the trees and the more technical riding. The combination of technical sections and speed sections was perfect!

One thing that did surprise me was how dry the trails were. The rest of the mountains are still covered in snow but the trails here were dry and sandy. Some rain will help settle things down.

Saturday night we had dinner with Mike and Kristi in Winter Park at a great Mexican restaurant and then hung out at their condo drinking a few beers. All in all a great day! It also was Amber's birthday!

June 7th - Hartman Rocks, Gunnison CO

2008-06-23T07:59:00.005-06:00

Saturday morning we had to go to a bike shop and try and get Amber a new chain and a new granny gear on her front rings. She was getting really bad chain suck in the mud on the ride yesterday and when I had the same problem a while back replacing the smallest front rind and chain corrected the issue.

I noticed that there was a new bike shop in town and we decided to check it out. Go Big Sports is a small shop up in the ski village and Peter the owner is just one of those guys that absolutely oozes enthusiasm for mountain biking! He fixed up Amber's bike and also convinced us to go check out Hartman Rocks down in Gunnison. It was a place I had often thought about visiting but just had never made the time to do so. That was a mistake!

Hartman is just crazy good fun. The riding in single track amongst Sage Bush on a small plateau with Granite boulders and slabs everywhere. It has a lot of rock climbing and a lot of great mountain bike trails!

We pretty much have no photos that do the riding justice as it was impossible to stop on most of the sections due to the fast flowing riding you got to do.

We did Becks -> Rocky Ridge -> Broken Shovel -> Josho's -> Rattle Snake -> Becks. What a great loop, it had fun (gentle) climbing, 3 great downhill sections and so good technical sections amongst the granite.

The flow of the downhills is absolutely top notch. If you want a place that will get you leaning your bike from corner to corner this a place to visit!

June 6th - Crested Butte

2008-06-23T07:45:00.007-06:00

After last weekend at Angel Fire we were motivated to compete in the Wild Flower Rush coming up in Crested Butte in a few weeks so we decided to head over to Crested Butte and start the mountain season. Things were not promising as we headed out with the reports saying that virtually no trails were ready because of the brutal and long winter we had this year.

We got there early on Friday so decided to see how conditions on Lower Loop were, it is a ride we had never ridden as it is just a short little loop that has a reputation for being popular.

Conditions were certainly not ideal with a lot of mud on the trails and plenty of snow still on the upper part of the loop. But the riding was fun and fast!

As always Crested Butte is just a nice place to ride mountain bikes. A late afternoon ride on single track is how everyone should be able to finish off a Friday work week.

There were a few other people on the trail but not many and as we came around a corner we surprised a porcupine. It was fun watching him climb up a tree to get out of the way, luckily I saw him before either of the dogs so I was able to grab Bishop and watch the prickly guy shuffle to safety.

It took a little gentle taps with a bike wheel on Bishops hind quarters but she quickly learned the ways of being a trail dog and when to get of trail and out of the way. She is incredibly fast and seemed happy to run forever!

The upper lower loop was still under quite a bit of snow. We had to walk across a couple of patches, but the riding in between was excellent.

Another snow patch.

Heading back to the car.

May 24th Memorial Day Weekend - Angel Fire NM

2008-06-23T07:13:00.011-06:00

We made the big decision (for us) and head down to Angel Fire for the long weekend on Memorial and see what the Racing scene was like! This weekend was the Mountain States Cup Gravity kick-off and sounded really intimidating from a beginner racer perspective as the courses at Angel Fire all had the reputation for being the hardest (technically) on the MSC race calendar.

We figured that worst case it would be great to watch pro's racing and as the 4X and DH were national qualifiers for Worlds in August there should be some big names. It turns out that most of the big names for DH were at another race on the east coast but there was still an incrediable amount of people there racing (over 600 people registered for the downhill alone)

It was also our first road trip since we got our new dog Bishop.

The dogs were super excited to get going.

But quickly decided driving was boring and sleeping was good.

We have no photos of us riding as racing doesn't really lend itself to that. We arrived Thursday night and set up a tent in the parking lot with everyone else. Amber and I both registered for Super-D and I also registered for Downhill. The weather was pretty funky on the first day and it got really crappy as the day proceeded. Friday was a practice day and we (in hindsight wrongly) opted to start with Super-D track thinking it would be a good way to get some riding in.

Looking back what we should have done was started immediately on the Downhill practice even though the weather was dubious, that would have gotten us over the intimidation factor that haunted us all weekend.

The practice on the Super-D was excellent fun though as the course really was a perfect Super-D track. It had a couple of climbs that meant big bikes were not going to be an option and then a number of technical sections linked by high speed single track.

We practiced in some really wet conditions and decided to do one last run for the afternoon since Saturday was Race Day. The weather came in hard core as we were riding the lift up and we made the bad decision to try and ride down rather than stay on the lift and ride it back down. Conditions were full white out snow and Amber and I both got really, really cold - particularly our fingers.

Saturday was Super-D race day and both Amber and I entered and had a great time. The weather cleared up and it was beautiful and sunny, however the track was muddy and slippery which in race conditions I found to be really fun riding. I definitely had my lazy boots on and took it very easy on the climbs even taking the opportunity to watch the open Women go by me. I ended up in the rear of my classification while Amber ended up 6th in hers. She did a better time than me!

Our first race tags!

Later on Saturday was the 4X mountain cross UCI event where the winner (if they were a USA citizen) was automatically qualified to worlds. We had never seen a mountain cross event live before and it was a lot of fun!

Qualifying saw the riders race individually for seeding.

And the race proper had waves of 4 riders scrambling to get to the bottom first. This is Mike Kreger putting on a show. Mike works at The Fix Bike shop and has helped us out many a time so it was fun to see him at play - the guy can ride and is also a phenomenal announcer.

Cornering with other riders trying to take it as well seems like would be a whole different game than cornering out on the trails!

The winner was Petr Hanak, he lives and works in Sol Vista, CO but was not a USA citizen so the locals would have to wait until the 4X nationals event on Sunday.

We wimped out for the rest of the weekend having lots of good reasons but no valid ones to head home early instead of racing the Downhill. Amber had her last week of school and had a boatload of work to do, she worked all day Monday so it was a good thing we came back early. We were also exhausted from the riding we had done, but the real reason we came back is that the downhill race was simply intimidating! Looking back at the weekend I can only be reminded of times I wimped out from doing a big rock climb, it was really easy to find very valid reasons to do something else.

It was a great first race weekend, the scene was incredible and friendly, the race we did hard and challenging and we got our feet wet at racing!

New member of the family (dog) - Bishop

2008-05-19T08:57:00.003-06:00

We had been thinking about getting another dog for a while now, Moab (our current dog) has been getting older and she really can't join us on longer or faster rides anymore now that she is nearly 9 years old.

So on Saturday we visited the Boulder Human Society and picked up a 1 year old female Australian Shepard (which on a side note we have no dogs called "Australian Shepard" in Australia - but she is a lot like working dogs down there). We named her Bishop after a small town on the Eastern Edge of the Sierra's in California.

In some ways it is easier having an slightly older dog than a puppy as potty training is easier, however in other ways it is harder. The two dogs are having some confidence issues with each other and we have some work ahead to get Bishop trained to play with Moab and to follow us on the trails as we ride.

She is really fast and super nimble so we have fun times ahead!

May 11th - Porcupine (from Kokopelli)

2008-05-12T22:34:00.002-06:00

Ambers ankle was hurting her on the descent the previous day on Gold Bar so she opted to rest and I scored a free shuttle for Porcupine. She had a hard time standing in the descent sections so it seemed risky for her to aggravate it by the 16miles of fast and technical downhill riding that Porcupine has to offer.

I wasn't full of energy but I had a great time blasting Kokopelli into UPS then LPS and hitting all the ledges I could find (other than the Diving Board - that is still a little big for me mentally).

My life doesn't suck - 4 runs down Porcupine in the past month.

May 10th - Moab, Gold Bar Blue Dot

2008-05-12T22:15:00.008-06:00

We headed over to Moab again this weekend thinking that it will likely be our last visit until the Fall arrives and temperatures cool down again. We will see, but it is certainly warming up in the Desert again with the highs getting into the mid 80's. While that is very ridable, particularly if you ride early and late in the day, it is less attractive to us as the mountains start to open up. Also our dog Moab is getting older now so we have to leave her behind in the vehicle while we ride if the distance is more than about 10 mile and that just doesn't work if the temperatures are that hot.

So since this might be our last trip over here for a while we went with a classic and one of our favorites in Gold Bar Blue Dot. I wanted to try it after the winter riding to see how I felt on the more technical sections and also see how my new wheels & tires felt on a familiar ride.

Spring has come a few weeks late in the desert, but it makes for pretty pictures.

Amber was full of energy and worked on a couple of technical up sections that previously she never really bothered trying. She has been riding technical downs (that don't involve air) all year now so progression on the technical ups was great news, particularly with our planned summer trip to Vancouver Island in July.

Steeper than it looks with a tough slow left turn on top.

If you haven't ridden the Gold Bar blue dot section up to the Rim, definitely add it to your list of must do rides. It is a fun little 4 mile section of great single track that joins into just as good single track across the Rim to the Portal trail (or Poison Spider).

I always enjoy this little move up near the Rim. I have to be fully committed otherwise I always step out somewhere mid-move.

This is a better sequence of shots of the steeper than it looks section that I got Amber on from a different angle the last time we rode this. It freaks me out because the first move is narrow and a (seemingly) bit of a tire grabber before you roll down to a couple of drops.

Amber rolling the first and just in front of her is the second. It is bigger again.

Scenic Rim Shot.

We turned around a few miles across the rim as the heat started to get to us and our lazy boots made their way to our feet. Once you turn around you have a fairly tough stretch back to where Gold Bar jeep trail first touches the rim and then you have a great 4 miles back down the single track to the start of Gold Bar (which is where we park).

May 4th - Porcupine

2008-05-07T21:13:00.006-06:00

We had always planned on doing Porcupine on Sunday morning before driving back to Denver and riding UPS and Kokopelli on Saturday just motivated us even more to still do since they had been so much fun.

This time we parked the car in the Negro Bill parking lot at the end of the ride and then rode into town to find a shuttle to take us to the Kokopelli drop point on the La Sals Rd.

Hardly any photos as it is just to much fun to keep riding rather than stop for pictures.

Second time around Kokopelli and UPS were even more fun as we knew what was coming around the blind corners and as you dropped down the steep sections. This was also my 3rd time on Porcupine in the past month so had started to learn the lines I could hit at speed. So even though we were both tired from the previous day's jaunt we both had silly smiles on our faces all the way.

We were getting really tired by the time we got to the single track at the end of the ride so the camera started to come out finally.

Moab had good single track.

and pretty scenery

At the end of the ride we were totally wrecked and worn out. I was sore for a couple of days after but it was one of those weekends you dream about when it comes to mountain bike riding. A double dip of pretty much the best mountain biking that Moab has to offer!

May 3rd - Moab Kokopelli Down (into Porcupine)

2008-05-07T20:52:00.005-06:00

Another Moab weekend and this was a particularly fun weekend which has come to mean not much in the way of photos due to a lack of desire to stop riding and take a picture.

We were a little bit undecided on what to do on Saturday as Sunday was planned to be a shuttle day on Porcupine. I read something on MTBR that piqued my interest a little and we decided that it might be fun to try it for a morning ride.

We opted to drive up to the LPS drop off point for Porcupine and then ride up UPS. I had heard UPS was good but we had never ridden it due to the questionable access to it. I figured that riding up it would be a great way to see the trail and see where it joined Kokopelli higher up, it would also give us a good argument of ignorance if the Rangers happened to be out on the trail (which they weren't).

Wow, this is an amazingly fun section of single track riding.

A rare picture of from the ride. You travel up along the rim much of the way with amazing views. There were a few sections of pushing the bike on the way up, but that just made the ride back even more fun.

I was surprised at how much slick rock was on the ride, this is one scenic section that was easy to take a break on and get another rare photo.

I really enjoyed the technical riding (in both directions) you had to pick your lines and keep momentum.

After UPS we continued up Kokopelli to the La Sals Rd. This is the condition of Hazard County at the moment, obviously not ready yet.

On the way up we crossed paths (in a friendly/fun way) with lot's of other riders who were enjoying the downhill frolic from the shuttle drop on La Sals Rd.

Once we reached the top we got to turn around and enjoy it as well. OMG what amazingly enjoyable riding. You have blast as fast as you can open riding on the Kokopelli section and then swooping single track mixed with steep rock section on UPS. We had just a great time!

We also opted for the "spoil Sean more" choice and Amber and our dog finished at the car while I raced down LPS into Porcupine and Amber picked me up at the bottom of Porcupine. No photos but many "I love my Bike, I love this Ride!" moments. I was pretty tired by the time I got to the bottom as the heat had arrived and after 22miles of technical riding fatigue was a big factor. Beer and Food summoned us and we relaxed the rest of the afternoon.

Moab - Porcupine, Slick Rock 4/19

2008-04-21T19:14:00.002-06:00

Later in the day after the morning ride of Sovereign/Salt Wash we were somewhat undecided as what to ride. Originally I had planned on riding Amasa later in the afternoon once things cooled down but the idea of climbing the ride to the rim didn't appeal to Amber or I.

Given our indecision we decided to just take the easy way out and do just the best! Amber dropped me off at the Lower Porcupine Single Track (LPS) drop for Porcupine and headed back down to the Slick Rock trail. The plan was for me to ride Porcupine while she did Slick Rock and when she was done to pick me up at the bottom of Porcupine.

Ok, so I think I definitely got the better half of that deal but I wasn't complaining and Amber had a great time on Slick Rock as well so we were both stoked at the end of our rides.

I had been looking forward to doing Porcupine since I changed my fork to a Lyrik U-Turn coil and I sure was not disappointed! I can't imagine a better way to end a great day's riding than racing down Porcupine Rim late in the day without another soul on the ride. Amber dropped me off at about 5.30pm and I saw one other rider on the trail and he was riding it in reverse on a 29'er. I caught a couple of guys just before the trailed ended and other than that the trail was empty and the solitude really enjoyable for a trail that is normally super popular.

I also realized I have has some work ahead of me for the downhill season as my legs were really tired and sore the next day after the pumpy/flowy riding on Porcupine.

What a great weekend of riding! I can't wait to get back again next weekend.
(sadly no photos from either Amber or I for the afternoon ride as neither of us thought it worthwhile to carry the camera while riding alone).

Moab - Salt Wash/Sovereign 04/19

2008-04-21T18:55:00.011-06:00

We had tried to get over to Moab the previous weekend to this but got stopped by bad weather in the mountains. We were literally at the Eisenhower Tunnel when they closed I-70 westbound. It stayed closed for about 2 hours and we made the decision to turn around and head home very quickly after trying to go around the Tunnel via highway 6 and Loveland Pass only to see cars stuck spinning in the terrible conditions.

So we were very motivated to get to Moab for this weekend as we hadn't been on our bikes for a month because of bad weather and me travelling to New Orleans for work.

I had read on MTBR that there was some new trail options added to Sovereign and that seemed a great morning ride as we would be camping very close to the trail head and could get an early start to avoid the heat and crowds. (we failed to avoid either)

The new trail is called Salt Wash and is best ridden from the Willow Springs end and is well marked at all the junctions. We picked it up from the first junction on the very first section of slick rock on the Sovereign Trail.

It didn't start out that promising with a lot of very sandy sections, but they were mixed with some fun technical riding.

The ride really started to grow on us the further into it we got. It is definitely a good option to add to Sovereign if you have done it as an out and back many times previously. I think that Sovereign is the "better" ride but Salt Wash is still a good option with a nice variety of riding in it. It has a lot of steep (but very ridable) sections that drop you down into gulley's and is most definitely going to be better done in one direction rather than the other.

The trail wanders nicely through some very diverse terrain.

and has some really nice flowing sections.

It crosses Sovereign a number of times and joins it for a while to climb the last dusty hill on Sovereign proper but quickly breaks of it again on top of the hill.

We returned to the trail head via Sovereign and overall I would rate this as a very nice addition to the single track Moab has to offer - as long as you can get past the sandy first sections.

Moab single track is growing nicely, it still doesn't have as much as Fruita, but for me Moab remains the destination of choice on my weekends at this time of the year. The quality of riding compared to Fruita is higher and the atmosphere around around town much better! This is just my opinion and others will have different opinions - it doesn't suck being able to argue whether one possible weekend destination is as world class as another possible weekend destination.

Easter Saturday - March 22nd

2008-03-25T08:07:00.016-06:00

Saturday came and we decided on doing a hard ride (for us) and went up to tackle Gold Bar single track across to Portal as an out and back. This ride is more often done as a shuttle where you drop down Portal (or Poison Spider) to a waiting vehicle but that is not an option for us and we figured it would be a good early season workout.

It was a warm day and the riding is hard in both directions so I bought extra water and food. I felt pretty terrible most of the day due to a cold I seem to have gotten from my visit to the dentist a couple of days earlier. Riding in the heat on technical demanding and physically draining trails while under the effects of a Cold is tough times.

This gives you a little feel for the amount of riding terrain there is up on Gold Bar Rim. The background here is just a tiny portion of the trail.

Most of the trail is single track, but you occasionally share the jeep trail right on the rim itself. It was a picture perfect day with the snow covered La Sal mountains providing the back drop.

Amber was riding steep rollers really well all day. This is the entry into the next sequence of photos.

I wish I was positioned different for this sequence as it does no justice on how steep it really is.

It is a great section of small problems linked together in ever-steepening difficulty.

This is one shot I really wish I was in a different position for as it was a nasty 2ft drop that you had to roll because it was so close to the last move. So this photo does it no justice.

Another steep than it looks entry into a steep section.

The final roll-out amber endo'd pretty badly just after this photo and banged up her knee and ankle. But it certainly makes for a great photo!

Scenic vista's across the rim.

Timer self-portrait.

Yep, more pretty views amongst great riding.

And another steeper than it looks section with a number of moves combining to make it a great section to ride.

The exit move to the previous section.

Fatigue started to hit us both towards the end, unfortunately we were only half-way as we had to do the return trip.

Pretty mountains, pretty bike.

By the end of the ride Amber and I were both destroyed. My cold had blossomed nicely and Amber's knee and ankle were pretty beaten up. But it was a great ride in perfect conditions! One day we will be strong enough to do the full version of dropping down Portal and then riding back up Poison Spider and back across God Bar.

Easter Friday - March 21st

2008-03-24T21:48:00.009-06:00

We had been looking forward to a long weekend in the desert for a while. Amber had to work late thursday night and there was crappy weather in the mountains. So we took the easy way out and headed out Friday morning and got over to Moab in time to head out to the Slick Rock to play a little.

It was jeep safari week, which as we found out last year is now an excellent time to visit if you are a mountain biker as you get all the fun side effects of a huge event like this but with noone on the trails. (as long as you still to the trails that are official jeep week trails - on those trails on the one group that is the jeep week group is allowed on the trail so you dont see anyone as long as you can time it to avoid the jeep line).

We opted to play around on the practice loop area late in the day. It was awesome temperatures and boded well for the next day.

Lot's of Slick Rock.

Some of it steeper than it looks.

After a quick ride we noticed lots of jeeps and people heading down a side road so we figured we should go see what the fuss was about. This was the site that greeted us as we crested a small hill.

It was a free play area where anyone and their dog could try to get their jeep up a steep face. Some cruised it, some had to work hard for it and some just broke their machines trying it.

I know if it was me on the top I wouldn't be anywhere near that close as some of the jeeps really had to gun it to make the last section.

I was fun watching some of the more dedicated rock crawlers play in steeper, harder sections.