Like Father Like Son...

You can take the boy from the ranch but not the ranch from the boy. I'm back home in Alberta, Canada for the holidays and having eaten and opened presents, and with the Lakers/Celtics game a few hours away, there's not much else to do on the ranch. My dad was a pro bull and bronc rider in his day and even in his early 60's he's still competitively team roping (and winning money). In team roping there are two riders who ride after a steer. One rider ropes the steers head, the "header", while the other rider ropes the steer's legs, the "heeler". My dad is a heeler and In our barn he has a his practice setup of a mechanical steer and a hay bale "horse" set up, complete with saddle. The mechanical steer's legs move in a running motion and the steer's head and horns also flex to simulate an actual steer. 

As a kid, my dad taught my two brothers and I how to rope. He, being a heeler, taught us all how to rope as a headers so we would one day be able to team rope with him. I have roped throughout the years, but not on his "horse" contraption and not with his mechanical steer. So, after we had gone out and fed the cows, I decided to give the practice steer a shot. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I caught the steer 7 of my first 10 attempts. My dad was impressed and said with some riding practice I'd be good! It was good fun and a good arm and shoulder workout! Enjoy the pictures, any of you surprised over my ranch background?

*P.S. Upon further inspection I apologize for the look on my face in the pictures...I'm trying to decide if I'm just super excited or if I really am a zombie...I'm leaning towards the zombie....

Draper Boulders (Part 2)...

As promised, here is the second installment of the Draper bouldering experience. As mentioned in Part 1, Julie (photographer friend), Brian (friend and coworker) and I did a bouldering shoot at the Draper boulders. After getting lost and hiking for an hour and a half too far South (in one of the pics I'm looking from a promontory while talking to Tobin, who had given suspect directions), we found the bouldering area. The lighting by that time was less than ideal, but we got a few shots anyway. I think the problem Brian did turned out a bit better than the one I did, but Julie still made it look good. Thanks Julie for the time and thanks Brian for finding this location! Enjoy and comment, thanks!

California Love...

As mentioned in the previous post, I was in California for work a few weeks ago conducting a Pieps Avalanche Beacon clinic in the Reno/Tahoe/Truckee areas of California and Nevada. The area was gorgeous and warm (before all the snow from the past week or so) and due to the lack of snow, we conducted the clinic in Kings Beach, Ca. on the South shore of Lake Tahoe. 

The clinic consisted of education and hands on practice/testing of the major popular avalanche beacons with local ski patrol, search and rescue, shop employees, and other winter professionals. We had 15 or so participants and did several other 'shop' clinics for employees who were unable to make the larger event in Kings Beach. The clinics all went well and overall it was a successful trip for the company; it was also some very appreciated change of scenery for me personally. 

The highlight of the trip was the beauty of Lake Tahoe. Our hotel was right on the beach and I was able to go running most of the nights I was there. The sunsets, the smell of the pine trees, the clean air, and change or scenery were all refreshing. I'd say it was the perfect blend of work and play! Have any of you had experiences when work was just as fun as play?

Goin' To California...

At this very moment I am in a hotel room at the Crown Motel, literally feet from the sandy beach of the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. It's been a busy few days; I'm out here for Liberty Mountain doing Pieps Avalanche Beacon clinics for the ski patrol, search and rescue, and outdoor shop employees of the area. I've visited many shops, met a ton of people, travelled from Reno to Truckee to Kings Beach and back. Visiting shops all along the way and promoting beacon use and general avalanche safety. 

During the slow times in between shop visits and clinics, Brian (my coworker) and I were able to get a few pictures at Donner Lake (no cannibals in sight), and Lake Tahoe. Donner memorial was particularly cool because it was built to the height of the snowpack level when the Donner party had their mishap here. The weather has been sunny and gorgeous...I have jogged a few nights on the beach, the moon reflecting off of the water and the sunsets have been amazing. It is incredibly peaceful and relaxing here...enjoy the pictures. 

Draper Boulders (Part 1)...

In the climbing world (of which I am a novice), boulderers are known for expending the most amount of energy actually climbing while expending the least amount of energy in the approach. Most bouldering areas are notoriously close to roads and fairly easy to access. It was amazing to me how difficult it was to find this area! The guidebook was several years and even more housing subdivisions old, and there was a lot of overgrowth in the area. Then again, I'm not sure they see a lot of use in November! 

My coworker Brian, photographer and friend Julie, and myself all headed up on a sunny Saturday to get some more bouldering shots. After wandering in the wrong area for an hour and a half (it wasn't too bad, it was a great hike and a gorgeous morning) we finally found the Draper boulders...just off of the Bonneville Shoreline trail. They had some chalk on them, but it was not a very climbed area. We found a good highball boulder, where if you fell you would suffer most certain injury, and had a great session! It looked more difficult than it was, with a lot of great hand and footholds. Overall, it was a gorgeous day! How do you think the pictures turned out?

12 Hours of Sundance (late post)...

*Ok, late post I know...I slacked off a bit on writing this one up because I have no pictures (of my own) and I looooves the pictures! I managed to steal some photos from Racer's blog (see friends list). 

The 12 Hours of Sundance was held Saturday September 13, 2008 at the Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon. It is a 12 hour endurance race that goes from 7 am to 7 pm. Those of you who follow my blog (all 3 of you-thanks Mom, Dad, and Bob!) will remember one of my earliest postings was of the 24 Hours of Moab race, this race was like that but only 12 hours. For those unfamiliar with 12 and 24 hour endurance racing, you pretty much have a course you ride as many laps as you can in a 12 (or 24) hour time period. The racer or team with the most laps wins. I raced in a 5 person co-ed team for the Moab race, but since I couldn't find anyone to race this one with I just signed up to race the Solo class. My bum would regret it. 

The course was just under 10 miles and almost 1000 feet in elevation. It was a perfect mix of short steep uphill, smooth and technical, and twisty downhills. The only annoying section was a new uphill section they swathed and didn't do much else to. It was rocky and technical and super slow initially but by the end of the race had a nice singletrack line carved into it. The temperature was perfect, cool at the start but warmed up to the high 70's. 

For my first solo endurance race, I had a ton of fun! I forgot the "bag butter" the first two laps so my tender bits got sore a bit earlier than I had hoped, but that was the only mishap of the day. My knees, hips, and shoulders were great and other than normal fatigue I felt great. I was supposed to have a support crew there but no one showed up. Fortunately, the gang from Racers Cycle Service had a full crew with food, drink, lawn chairs, and some good laughs, thanks Kellie and Richard! 

All in all, I completed 8 laps for almost 80 miles and over 8000 feet of climbing. I had a blast and didn't come anywhere close to first but I am hooked on endurance racing! This ranked up there with the Xterra as my favorite races of the year. I look forward to more solo riding in the future! Anyone want to join me??

Late Fall Bouldering...

Liberty Mountain comes out with two catalogs a year. The first is a gigantic sized "Everything" catalog that displays our almost 20,000 items in full color and glossy pages. When describing it to potential customers I refer to it as the "phonebook sized catalog that can stop a bullet and probably kill a man if thrown!" The other catalog we produce is a climbing only catalog that is significantly thinner and full of climbing and bouldering photos of staff and friends on every page. It's put together and presented as professional as possible and is meant to "showcase" the wicked awesome radicalness of Liberty Mountain employees. Unfortunately, I only had one picture in last years catalog...a lowly V0 boulder found near Stansbury Island. The location was great and the boulder was fun, but that particular picture that ended up in the catalog was an awkward and unflattering back shot. I was determined to get some better shots this year.

Friends are good, friends with mad skills are even better! One of my friends, Julie, is a professional photographer. We met a month or so ago as she photographed my brothers wedding and as I've gotten to know her her talents have become obvious. In my quest for better climbing shots she was the perfect person to document my efforts. We set up a day that would work with both of our schedules and picked a good spot and went to town. My fellow Liberty Mountain Desk Lacky, Tobin (* there you go!), joined us for the climbing shoot and we headed to Little Cottonwood Canyon. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, with a recent snow, so we were stuck to bouldering at the Cabbage Patch boulders. We got some good climbs in but it got dark fast and the flash batteries gave out on us. It was a fun time and we had some good laughs in the process. Despite the snow and difficult lighting I think the pictures turned out great, what do you think?

Interbike 2008...

The Interbike Expo is the premier U.S. cycling trade show. Bike enthusiasts converge in the Sands Convention Center on the Las Vegas strip from September 22-26. Bike and bike related companies set up booths that showcase their upcoming lines of bikes and accessories. The first two days consist of a dirt demonstration located near Las Vegas in Bootleg Canyon. Liberty Mountain distributes for the German manufacturer Vaude, which has a bike specific line of panniers, hydration packs, and tool bags. Our booth is small compared to a lot of big name vendors, but just being at the show is a fun and amazing experience. It was a fairly uneventful show except for the "injury" I suffered setting our booth up. I scraped a good chunk of skin off of my right forearm trying to stop some booth panels from falling off a trolly. Good fun and I can't wait until next year. 

My Ellie May...

One of my better friends from high school had a 1981 Volkswagen Jetta we used to put around in. It was a faded red, diesel powered beast that managed to somehow make it over 200,000 kilometers (124,274 miles for my American readers). My friend named his car "Adolph", a name that played on the German origins of the Volkswagen company, and a name I have replicated on my own VW. It was the first time I had heard of anyone naming their car, and since then have had named all of my important machines. 

Enter Ellie May. 

I named my Ellsworth Evolve mountain bike Ellie May because she's a sultry belle with all the right curves and she knows how to treat her man! I can get her dirty and she never complains, she's always up for an adventure, and has all the right characteristics of a keeper! Anyone else name their bikes or cars?

Ogden Xterra Sport...

Last year I raced the 4th Street Clinic Triathlon put on by the U of U medical department and had an absolute blast. It was a short tri with a twist, instead of a road leg it was a mountain bike course near the U. Since then I have been training for the Ogden Xterra Sport off road triathlon and this past August I was finally able to race it! 

The Ogden Xterra is the Mountain Championship course, meaning that placing well here will earn you an invitation to the USA Championships at Lake Tahoe and/or the World Championships in Maui. Professional and more competitive racers race the Championship triathlon with a 1.5k swim, 30k mountain bike, and 10k trail run. I raced the Sport course with a 750m swim, 19k mountain bike, and 5k trail run. While shorter, the Sport race follows the Championship course and so the difficulty is high. 

I got to the race early enough and set up T1 at the Pineview Resivoir, then drove up to T2 at Snowbasin Mountain Resort. I lolligagged at the T1 setup and as a result missed the last shuttle bus down the mountain to the race start. I was standing with a handful of other slackers when a bus driver informed us that we'd missed the last bus. We all scrambled for our cars and sped down the mountain. I got there just as the cannon went of for the Championship racers. Luckily, the Sport group didn't leave for another half an hour. 

I had rented a wetsuit from SBR Sports in Orem and thought that was all I needed for the swim prep (besides some strategically placed Body Glide, goggles, and my fluorescent green swim cap) unfortunately I didn't sit in the water and acclimate to the cool temperature. As soon as they shot the cannon off I dove into the high 60'ish degree water and promptly gasped a mouthful of water, "so that's why everyone was chilling in the water before the start!" I had to backstroke for a buoy length before acclimating enough to breast stroke(Aislinn has since commented that I was indeed doing the front crawl not the breast stroke, dang medication). I was soooooo slow!

After the swim I was ticked off at how slow I was and determined to make up some time on the bike while still saving some juice for the run. I started slow, recovering from the swim (and the claustrophobic effect of the wetsuit) but soon found myself passing rider after rider. This gave me motivation and I really started pushing it on the course, which was almost entirely all uphill (except for a mile or so downhill towards the end of the course). I must have passed 40 or 50 other competitors and I got tired of yelling "passing on the left (or right)". I did get passed by an exceptionally talented female rider sponsored by Kuhl Clothing. She had a flat but passed me once she got it fixed, although I kept up with her almost to T2. 

T2 was a bit confusing as it was at the Snowbasin Resort parking lot. I was unsure as where to start running, but I soon got going only to be slowed down from side stitch cramping. I had to walk it out then got to running. I was making good pace the second half of the course and saw the finish line when my right shoe came untied. I got it tied and then sprinted to the finish, I re-passed a few competitors that had passed me and came across the downhill finish with my hair flying in the wind. 

I had so much fun racing the Xterra and I have already determined to start training for the full length Championship distance for next year. I think my swimming is what needs the most improvement on, but I know just being in better overall shape will make a difference too. I think the most important training I can do is stretching, especially my hamstrings. It seems my family is cursed with extra tight hammies so yoga and other stretching is necessary to continue being healthy racing. It was a challenging race, but I can't wait until next year!

Fu, By Popular Request...

I work at Liberty Mountain as the International, California, and Nevada sales rep. We are a ginormous outdoor distribution company with almost 20,000 backpacking, climbing, and other outdoor products all stored in our warehouse in Salt lake (we also have an East Coast facility in PA). We stock probably every outdoor store you've been to. 

Last month a customer calls up and wants to know the color of a particular rope. Now this is the most confusing rope company known to man, with 2-4 different colored thread patterns in every rope, and a different color depending on length, width, dry treatment, and so on. So I make a call to our warehouse manager, Danielle, and give her our 6 digit item number for two different rope types and ask her if she could check the colors. Her response is, "I could take the time to check them, but the first one is lavender and a dark navy blue and the second one is a teal with a dark reddish color." I called BS, thinking NO one could know that out of 20,000 products. She said "what do you want to bet?!" So I, thinking there is no way I could lose, say "I'll grow a nasty mustache if your right! If you're wrong,  you owe me a shake!" Well, she got the ropes and damn if she wasn't dead on, tints of blue and everything! What followed was the most agonizing ten days of my life! Anyone who is close to me knows that I HATE facial hair, it makes me feel greasy and gross; however, true to my word, I grew that Fu and grew it well! 

Enjoy!

Solitude Revisited...

My friend Garrett left his job at Liberty Mountain to persue a career in photography, hammersinc.blogspot.com, he graciously came to one of the Solitude weekly races to shoot some of the riders. I remember that particular race because I was fulfilling a lost bet I had made at work and was growing a "Fu Manchu" as a result. At this point I'd had it for a week or so and it was full on at perpetrator length, so I remember being quite self conscious at the start line in my race clothes, wild hair, and perpetrator "Fu". At any rate, Garrett took some great pictures and in particular this picture I just love! Enjoy!

Mid Mountain Strikes Back...

So I was riding on my favorite trail in Park City, the Mid Mountain Trail, this past Saturday and the ride was amazing! It was warm, for Park City, but I had brought enough fluids and food so I felt good the entire ride. I did the full loop which is around 23 miles with an elevation gain of 2400 feet and thanks to information from my Garmin Edge, I burnt almost 1700 calories. The ride takes you up to the 8000 feet elevation point at Park City Mountain Resort and continues along that contour until you hit The Canyons Mountain Resort, at this point it's a fast downhill to the resort and a road ride back to the parking lot at PCMR. All was going well, I had stopped at the Red Pine Lodge at The Canyons to eat lunch, hydrate, and stretch out. This is the halfway point milewise so it's a good place to stop, but things turned ugly fast after leaving Red Pine Lodge.

There is still a good amount of snow in that area and as I was descending towards the canyons the trail wound under a very large snow bank. The trail was muddy underneath it but seemed stable enough and I remember thinking "Aww, I can ride this!" There was a puddle about four feet wide and three feet long that looked solid enough and I didn't even think to inspect it as I started riding through it. As my tire hit the puddle it dropped into the hidden, three feet deep mudbog that the puddle was concealing! My front wheel disappeared, i went over the handlebars and Pete Rose'd head first into the mud! I was covered in mud but what was shocking was how cold the water was! Coming from snowmelt, the water was ice cold and took my breath away! I just laid there for a second shocked over what had just happened, then got up and wrang myself as best as i could dry. This part of the trail is in a pretty remote section of the Canyons but of course, just my luck, there happened to be two Canyons workers within earshot and, worst of all, sight of my ordeal! After laughing for a few minutes and stating the obvious "You just ate SH$!", they asked if I was ok and I gave them a muddy thumbs up! Well, the rest of the ride was uneventful, except for the mud drying in a thick crust on my legs, arms, jersey, helmet, and face! I got home and managed to get some pics before hosing myself and my bike off. The faces of the other drivers as I came back into Salt Lake was one of the best parts of an awesome day!

Solitude Weekly Race Series...

The Full Throttle Midweek Mountain Bike series started Tuesday June 24th at Solitude Mountain Resort. It was the hardest race I've done this year. It was only around 8 or so miles but it was steep, muddy, and unfamiliar so it kicked my butt! I didn't hydrate enough, preride the course, or eat properly before the race so I cramped up early and didn't really recover the rest of the race. I should have known I was overdoing it when in the first short paved climb I was right on the race leaders wheel thinking "this race is easy, I'm so gonna place!" Yeah, I can only blame that on dehydration delirium! The course was muddy and had two or three large snow patches that we either had to run over or ride through...I ran over them. The best part of the race was passing a few of the guys on the downhill that had passed me on the first lap climb. My skills are improving in the downhill and my bike has a lot to do with that! The other best part of the race was the moose I saw just before the second lap downhill, it was a young bull and was happily grazing in a meadow near the summit. Hopefully I'll improve on it over the next few weeks!

Mid-Mountain Meditation...

Sometimes you just have to get out and ride. Leave work, life, and love's stresses behind as you pedal, push, and sweat your way up a really hard trail. The other night I needed one of these...so I packed up my bike and headed for Park City. It was around 95 degrees in the valley but in PC it was cool and calming in the 70's. I rode a combination of trails starting at Spiro, over to the Mid-Mountain and down to Park City Mountain Resort. I didn't invite any friends, didn't really see anyone on the trail, just threw a calming mix on my ipod shuffle and rode. As the miles and elevation went by...I felt my worries, stresses, frustrations, and confusion melt away as well. I felt more centered and at peace with the world, and I realized I was actually grinning! It was only an hour and a half ride but it did wonders for my soul...enjoy the ride.

What Can be Said About a Bottle?

Well...it may seem like an inconsequential piece of equipment but finding one that doesn't leak is a dream come true! Once you do find one like this, you gotta treat it like a family heirloom and pass it down to your kids! So, this particularly fine bottle came into my possession at the Sea Otter Classic, and for FREE from the SRAM booth! Woot! Membership has it's privileges! It has a flip top for easy filling, the valve is easy enough to bite open, it's perfect for a short race or training ride, and how can you beat classic SID blue? Woot indeed!

The Showdown at 5-Mile Pass...

The Showdown at 5-Mile Pass took place May 3rd, 2008 and was a fun race! It seemed really cold and windy at first, but the temperatures warmed up by race start and the breeze helped to cool off during the race.  My parents were visiting from Canada that weekend so they were able to come to the race and see me finish. 

The course is located about twenty or so miles past Lehi, Ut., in the West Desert and winds it's way around Juniper and Sage, circumnavigating a mountain in the region. The course distance is about 11 miles and follows clay and sand single and double track trails with rolling hills. Just about to the halfway point of the race is an insanely steep ridge called Yellow Pages Hill that rises 300 feet in 1/10 of a mile. Yes I, along with everyone else, had to hike my bike up that section! The rest of the course consisted of a smooth, long climb up an ATV trail and then rolling hills and a bermed fast downhill. For my division we did two laps of the course totaling just over 22miles of riding. My Garmin Edge 305 died about 2/3 into the race so exact data is unknown. Total climbing for the two laps is approximately 2000 feet. 

It was fast and rocky and if your tires weren't aired up tight you would pinch flat super easily-I passed a lot of people on the side of the trail stuffing new tubes in their wheels and pumping their tires. Several of the competitors had to walk their bikes back as well. I had fun on the course and ended up 8th out of 15 in my class so it seems I'm slowly climbing higher and higher up my division although I still haven't qualified for any points! I guess I'll have to get on that trail building for points service project!

Sea Otter Classic 08: Cold and Windy!

I was blessed to be able to attend the 2008 Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA from April 17-20. I say blessed because I wouldn't have been there had it not been for my company Liberty Mountain and Vaude exhibiting at the event. I worked the exhibition booth while there, but was able to pre-ride the course after the show closed on Thursday and raced early Saturday morning. The pre-ride was amazing, sunny, perfect conditions, and I had a great ride except for flatting 3 or so miles from the finish. Although it was late in the day, a rider from Cytomax stopped and gave me a CO2 cartridge and I got home! I think my rear shock was a bit over pressurized but I didn't have time to mess around with it.

Raceday was cold, windy, grey, dreary, cold, and cold! Did I mention it was cold? Unfortunately, being from Canada and living in Utah, I assumed that California would be super warm in late April so I didn't pack my arm or leg warmers. Fortunately, I had a Mountain Hardwear windbloc zip T I was able to wear under my jersey and I'm sure that saved my butt! The loop is just over 19 miles long and had around 3500 feet of climbing. So about the same as the Mid-Mountain trail in Park City, one of my favorites. There were two super sandy downhills that I was a bit sketched out in, especially because I overinflated my brand new Kenda Smallblock 8 rear tire so it was slipping a lot in the sand covered hardpack, but I made it through alright.

I crashed hard about halfway into the ride when a rider went down right in front of me and I skinned my left knee pretty bad. I kept riding and by the end of the ride I had a sweet dried blood trail down to the timing anklet and sock! The best part of the race was that there was a rider that I kept passing and getting passed by. I would pass him on a climb, and he would pass me back on a downhill section. We did this probably 4 or 5 times over the ride. There is a looooong climb before the last quick downhill finish. I was determined to pass him on the climb and give it hell to the finish. I passed him just before the crest and never gave it up. I checked times and i was almost half a minute ahead of him! That made my 49th place finish out of 72 seem sooooo much better! Hahaha! Overall the race and exhibition was soooo much fun and I can't wait for next year!

Desert Rampage: Day Full of Surprises...

The first race of the Intermountain Cup is the Desert Rampage, held March 1st in Green Valley outside of St. George, UT. It's a great location because it's warm, dry, and a fairly non-technical course. I raced my new Ellsworth Evolve for the first time and was able to get a better feel for it.  I took Friday off from work and got there that afternoon after a windy drive down from Salt Lake, and immediately suited up to pre-ride the course. I raced here last year and the course hadn't changed so I knew that the loop would ride up a steep rocky wash, climb up the ridge, come down again, up another wash and climb to the ridge again, before a fast downhill to the start/finish area. 

The Evolve has a dual nature due to the four-bar suspension and Fox RP23 shock. In the "open" position the shock pedals well and soaks up the large and small bumps; however, when in the "closed" position it pedals very well yet felt a bit harsh. I need to dial in my shock pressure and rebound settings so that will affect it as well. It's easy enough to flip the switch when you have a lot of climbing but most of the time I just kept it open as I don't have a smooth enough stroke to take advantage of the stable platform damping anyway. My new 180mm XTR cranks were amazing! I noticed more leverage and due to the high bottom bracket height had no problem with pedal strikes, I am super stoked on these cranks! Although it pedaled well, I can still lose some chub on the Evolve, as it's still in the high 27 pound range, maybe some lighter tires, pedals, brakes, and a cassette. Other than that, the frame rode amazing and I had a blast on it!

The race was super fun, even though I cramped up and finished near the back of the pack in my division. One of my favorite things in the whole world is seeing sponsored riders on 4 and 5,000 dollar machines lining up in the Sport division! Hahahaha, stop sandbagging and move up a level already! The highlight of the race for me was on the second lap when an Expert rider came up behind me and arrogantly barked "passing on the left!" At the time I was in Keyhole Wash with five foot walls on either side of me so I yelled back "where exactly are you passing at?", to which he replied again "passing on the left" and tried to force me into the wash wall. I got pissed and barked back at him "where the hell do you think you're going? You can wait your damn turn!" Needless to say, he didn't try to pass until the trail opened up. The best part is my buddy Chad was a just up the trail and heard the whole thing and tried not to laugh too hard at the rider! 

Overall, the race was a reminder that Spring in Utah is just around the corner, as the temperature in St. George hovered in the low 70's, while up North we got a storm and several inches of new snow! I had fun on my bike and in the sun, and while the weekend contained some unexpected surprises for me, I worked through them and came out happy and content!