June 18, 2008
~ the pros and cons of bartering ~
Now that the weather has finally decided to cease being winter, I have some outdoor recreation fodder for all of you. Before I get into that, I would like to consider the weather for a moment longer. Roughly one year ago, some friends and I participated in a cruiser bicycle parade to celebrate the 27th anniversary of my birth. On that day, one year ago, it was HOT. Like, really really HOT. So hot, that we were in fact, OVERHEATED. I feel inclined to state that it was near to 100 degrees hot, but I am not certain if that figure is fact or fiction. At any rate, HOT is what it was. This year, the same time of year as last year, it has been the opposite of hot. And while 100 degrees is too hot for me to be entirely comfortable in my skin, I also am not a fan of cold. Especially cold when you're expecting it to be hot because you live in the high desert and it's supposed to be hot during the summers. Anyhoot, this weekend the temperatures soared into the 90s and it was lovely not being cold for a change. /End rant about the weather.
Sandhollow to New Plymouth
On Saturday, as the temperatures were expected to be in the HOT zone, Josh and I got up early-ish and headed out for a road ride adventure before the heat set in. I might mention that the day before Saturday, Friday actually, we went on a road ride after I got off work, and I found myself feeling uncomfortably hot in the 95 degree temperatures - - which is what compelled us to get out on a ride while it was still cool on Saturday morning. As we were hankering for something of an adventure, we loaded our crap on the car and drove out to Gem County for some rural riding. At some point, my bicycle computer was acting strangly, and so I am not entirely certain the distance that we covered, but I am confident that it was somewhere around the 30 mile mark. We parked at Sandhollow (which I believe is just a gas station and general store, not an actual 'town', amid lots of ruralness) and meandered over to New Plymouth. I appologize that this post is so much about the weather, but yea...so as we were riding to New Plymouth, an incredibly strong headwind was making the ride significantly slower and more difficult. I had become to feel a bit less confident in my fitness as a result of this wind, the peddling was so strained.
We stopped for lunch in New Plymouth. I'm sure you all remember the Emmett to New Plymouth ride we did two years ago. Well, the deja-vu I experienced when we rode into New Plymouth this weekend was something else. And when we left to complete our loop back to Sandhollow, we passed by some of the roads that we took two years ago and the memories of that ride came back to me very strongly.
One memory of that ride, in particular, that I do not reserve a special place in my heart for was when we were chased by some dogs. If the memory serves, one of the dogs even bit Josh on the ankle (or was it the bike wheel?). Ah, the trials and tribulations of road riding in a rural state! I believe that I have previously articulated my disdain for some people opting to allow their dogs run free. I understand that dogs love running free and love chasing cyclists and scaring the crap out of them, but for me, it is unpleasant. Anyway, I was to experience quite a bit of deja-vu on the ride this weekend, as we had a number of encounters with dogs chasing us.
In other biking news, I've taken Elizabeth out on a few more mountain bike rides lately. I must say, she's a natural! We continue to ride the same loop as before. As I keep mentioning, this is the area of foothills trails that I found my love of mountain biking on. They're wonderful because they're so scenic and interesting, with a good blend of hills and flat sections. Also, they're an amazing amount of fun to bonzai on the downhill.
We rode on Monday evening the first time. Elizabeth seemed to think that I tricked her, but really, I just did not provide her with all of the information. We rode to the base of the Reserve area to wait for the others. I had mentioned "the others" back at my apartment, but she seemed to think that I was proposing a group ride at some point in the future, not that very evening. Essentially, after I had arranged to go mountain biking with Elizabeth, Josh called to say that he and another dude he works with wanted to join us for the ride. While I understand why Elizabeth might have felt not enthusiastic about riding with two dudes on her fourth mountain bike ride ever, I was familiar with the riding level of the other dude and was confident in Elizabeth's ability to surpass him. So anyway, Elizabeth seemed a bit offput at first while we were waiting for the dudes to arrive.
And so we set off! Right from the start, it was apparent that we were all just there to have fun and that it didn't make a shred of difference that there were a variety of ability levels present. And soon after we started, I was quite proud of Elizabeth's effort on the intermediate level hill-climb. This was her second time on this hill, and it is a not at all a beginner hill, and she made it up sections that she walked before. It was awesome. After this hill, there's a nice flatish section and then another big hill. Josh and the other dude were chilling at the intersection before this second hill, and Elizabeth just rode right on by them and put in a big effort on the steep hill. Again, it was awesome. After this hill, there's another flatish section. Then we turned around for our downhill. Let's see...we met up with the dudes around 8:45pm (because it was too hot earlier in the day) and there was a glorious sunset in progress during our downhill. I love mountain biking in the evening! Anyway, Josh and the other dude led on the downhill, followed by Elizabeth and then me. And I will refrain from beating a dead horse on this next point, but the awesomeness that was Elizabeth's downhill is beyond words. She totally kept up with the dudes and rode faster than ever before. Gosh, it was awesome. After the ride, Elizabeth and I hung out on my stoop drinking beers, which is the only way to end a good ride.
But then, yesterday (Tuesday) we rode the same thing again. It was cooler yesterday (the temperature), so we were able to hit the trails around 7:30ish. The ride was very similar to the one the day before, except no dudes. I have to say, I think that it was good to have Elizabeth ride with the dudes - - because no matter how much of a stern drill sargent I try to be, nothing compares to a person trying to keep up with other people. And so on yesterday's downhill, even though she wasn't going quite as fast as when she was trying to keep up with the other dude, Elizabeth was going so much faster than ever before and I was very impressed. If you consider that fourth photo of Elizabeth, you'll notice a huge smile on her face while she bombs down a trail. What fun!
May 19, 2008
~ hot weekend ~
Temperatures soared into the 90's this HOT weekend. I am now making the transition to always carrying sunscreen with me and am developing my annual summertime flip-flip calluses.
For all of you fashion-conscious, Josh has started wearing fantastic lavendar v-neck t-shirts in soft cotton. I think that he looks great in lavendar. The color goes well with his skin tone and hair, and it's a great color going into the summertime months.
In the way of mountain biking...On Friday, I was able to get off work a bit early and we went on a mounain bike ride in the hot heat. My face became very red and my head felt like it was cooking on the inside. As a result, it was decided that now's the time to start up the morning bike rides to avoid the heat.
Thus, on Sunday we met up at 8:30 and rode Hard Guy. Hard Guy is one of those higher trails which I have never seen that many other people enjoy. I think in all of the times I have ridden it, I have never seen more than five other people on the trail during a ride. On Sunday, I was floored by how many other bikers there were. For one, there appeared to be a big group ride of dudes grunting up the trail. But there were also just loads of other mountain bikers. And a few dudes on singlespeeds, which I thought was crazy. Anyhoo, it was great that we headed out on our ride so early, because we were able to beat the heat. I wish that I knew what the elevation was that we climbed. At the top, there was a significant temperature decrease as well as snow. Considering that I have not been doing all that much riding, I am not exactly in Hard Guy shape and I was exerting an extraordinary amount of energy trying to grunt to the top and I had to take more breaks than I normally do. In fact, for the rest of the day, I felt pretty exhausted and beat up from the ride. That said, boy, did I have the most amazing fun on the bonzai downhill! I would like to take a few minutes to go on and on about how much fun I had on the downhill, but there are no words to describe even the rush in my gut that I feel just remembering the fun.
After the ride, we enjoyed a morning coffee experience and I partook of some extensive knitting, without a care in the world. I am on the last stages of two knitting projects that I am very excited about. Photos coming soon!
Later in the afternoon, Josh and I went to the Botanical Gardens out by the Old Penitentary where they were having some "Museum Fair" which was free to the public (always nice!) and had exhibits from all of the different museums. These photos on this post are from that experience at the Gardens. It was a lovely afternoon. The flowers were so pretty and fragrant and I felt very relaxed. We also took a few minutes to explore the Old Prison a bit. More photos are on my flickr deal, as usual. After we left the Gardens, we went for dinner and some beers (ahh!...nothing is better than a cold beer on a hot day!) and then played smashmitten in one of my neighborhood parks.
On Saturday, I spent the day getting my life back together. I've been so busy lately, as I've mentioned on more than one occasion, that my life has fallen into complete disarray. It really took me the entire day to put everything back together - - just so much to do!
May 16, 2008
~ mountain biking buddies! ~
Took Elizabeth on a mountain bike ride yesterday. As you can see, she had a wonderful time! After putting in a lot of thought about which trail to take her on, I decided to start on the dirt path in the Reserve Area, up the intermediate-level switchback, out and back on Shane's-the-backwards-way, and down Central Ridge. Last year, we did a couple rides on Crestline. However, in my experience, getting up and over the beginner mountain biking hump requires that one develop a true sense of joy from the experience. Crestline is okay, but it's not the most scenic trail, and is so full of runners, hikers, and dogs that one must always hold one's bonzai back a little. I have a big fondness for the Shane's / Central Ridge trails because it was on them that I truly began to LOVE mountain biking. Not only is it more scenic, but there's a lot less foot-traffic and dogs to worry about, and it's got some lovely singletrack that winds around the hills. Thus, I decided to share some of my favorite trails with Elizabeth and I think that was a good move. I made her try to ride the intermediate-level switchback uphill grunt and she successfully rode almost all of it, which I thought was very impressive. I was also impressed at how fast she was riding on the downhill - - for whatever reason, I hadn't thought of Elizabeth as a thrill-seeker, but we had a good time on the cowabunga! down Central Ridge.
October 16, 2007
~ the hollowness of the doors ~
I admit it... the restroom situation at my new office makes me uncomfortable. It, the restroom, is located in the middle of the suite, and because of the thinness of the walls, the hollowness of the doors, and the acoustics of the suite, it is possible to discern EVERYTHING that takes place in the restroom. Which makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Early this morning, I completed a thorough exploration of the first and the second floor, which yielded no restroom alternatives. Later today, I will wander the third floor which may afford a more acceptable restroom opportunity. Although, I have heard odd things about the third floor. In particular, some people have claimed that occasionally there are nude senior citizens on the third floor, and that, too, makes me a bit uncomfortable.
In other news, this weekend it was GLORIOUS. On Saturday, Josh and I were determined to squeeze in a mountain bike ride between the time that he got off work and our scheduled dinner/movie date with Elizabeth and Edvin. Initially, we were going to do some version of Hulls, but the thick cloud of gnats made cycling nearly impossible. All was well on the beginning of the trail, but as we got deeper into the mini-canyon, the gnats formed a thick wall, and riding through the wall brought numerous gnats into our eyes, our noses, our mouths, and all throughout our clothing items. To be honest, I have never experienced such a thing before. So, we turned around and decided to ride Shane's instead.
We made good time up to the top of the trail, at which time the sun began to set. I was a bit nervous about riding in the dark - - an activity which Josh does with some regularity, but which makes me feel a bit nervous. My first night ride! And it was awesome. Once the sun began to set, it got dark fast. But there was enough light pollution from Boise that I was able to discern the direction of the trail, albeit not the features of the terrain. It helped that I've ridden this trail so many times that I have it virtually memorized, but I was keeping my body relaxed on the bike in case I hit an unanticipated bump or rock. Ultimately, I think that I may have been riding faster than normal, what with being unable to see the terrain, I just let the bike go and I put my trust in my skills and the wheels. It was loads of fun.
Then on Sunday, Josh and I went out to the Owyhees and rode some of the area across from Barking Spider. Please see the above photos. The ride was great fun, and would have been even greater fun if the trails had been a bit more hardpacked. From the second and third photos above, it is evident that the trails were highly sandy (Josh even fell off his bike because of the sand!). We ended up hiking our bikes for a substantial amount of time and distance...through valleys, up and over mountains...I was getting a bit cranky about all of the sandiness. But when it was fun, it was a blast! I rode down some things that would have usually make me rather afraid, but I've got a new-found confidence and lack of fear with my new bicycle. It's so great, no longer being afraid.
May 8, 2007
~ behold the glory ~
It has finally arrived, my brand new Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe GS women's specific full suspension mountain bike. I have been awaiting this day for months, and quite frankly, I thought it would not come for several more weeks, what with it apparently being unavailable in the country. But yesterday, Josh from The Bike Shop called to say that my "special order" had arrived. I had already scheduled to take the afternoon off of work to study for my stats exam, which is this evening, so I had something else to take my mind off of studying.
For months, I've been pouring over online reviews (such as this one from a female mountain biker) and mountain biking forums (such as this one) drooling over what I hoped would soon be mine. My skill in articulating overly verbose explanations of things fails me when it comes to the complexities of mechanical dealie-bobs, so for engineering design details I will refer you to the above linked review and forum where those sorts of things are expounded upon at length. I am still working on understanding them myself, so I read them regularly. See, people have different strengths, and wrapping my mind around mechanical dealie-bobs is not one of mine.
Yesterday, Josh and I spent some time in the back of the bike shop after he got off of work, tweaking the fit and whatever else on my new bike. It turned out to be more of a procedure than I anticipated. I've become much more mechanical-oriented in the past two years, so while Josh was switching out the handlebars, I successfully performed complex mechanical operations such as installing water bottle cages and removing the tires and tubes from the wheels. When I thanked the owner of the shop for the special deal on my bike, he said that now I'm charged with the responsiblity of teaching Josh how to ride a bike. I suspect that he was impressed with all of the grease on my fingers and the finess with which I handled the allen wrenches. Once the bicycle was set up to the fern-specific specifications, we set out to ride Hard Guy.
Interestingly, Josh and I rode Hard Guy the day before, on Sunday, when it was windy, windy, windy. There were times during the descent that the wind was blowing so hard against the side of my person, that I was concerned about being blown off the trail. Josh described what he saw as "the leaning tower of fern" while I was attempting to counteract the forces of the wind by leaning into it. There were times when it felt as though my helmet was acting like a parachute - - the wind was lifting it from my head and I had to make something of an effort to pull my head down.
Last night, the wind was a gentle breeze that just plain felt good. This past winter, I didn't stay in cycling shape, I hypothesize, because I performed my exercise on the elpitical rather than in spinning class, so my legs haven't felt up to par. I expect that this will change quickly and that I will be up to snuff, and exceeding my past snuff in no time. Also, I've had a bit of difficulty relaxing on the downhills ever since my crash...I've been a bit tense.
Anyway, I absolutely LOVE my new HiFi. It is wonderful having so much suspension under my person. My ascent and descent last night on Hard Guy was significantly smoother. Also, I've heard that there can be difficulties with full suspension bikes being heavy and squishy, thereby reducing power and speed on climbs. The HiFi is pretty light (27 lbs) and I didn't notice any squish. I found that the mid-level setting on the rear shock was quite nice - - the washboard sections were easy on my sit bones, but firm enough so that there was no bobbing. The front shock doesn't have a lockout, which I do think is a shame. While we were riding up Bogus Basin Road, I had the shock turned to the most-firm setting, and there was a significant amount of bobbing when I stood up. I am considering having the pressure increased to compensate for the lack of lockout...after all, there's a lot of room in five inches of suspension.
I'm not the biggest fan of the disc breaks. At the moment, they're not adjusted to my satisfaction. There is a great distance that one must first pull before experiencing any breaking effect, but once the breaking effect is achieved, they are ridiculously sensitive. Also, the front and the rear break seem to be adjusted slightly different, which was very noticable on the descent, as I periodically almost hurrled myself off the front of the bike. Luckily, these are all things that can be adjusted. And I'd also like to state for the record that I am not complaining, instead I am observing. As already articulated, I absolutely LOVE my new HiFi.
After the ride, Josh and I went to Lucky 13 for some beer and cheezy garlic bread. When we arrived, the establishment was filled with gads of other mountain bikers drinking beer. It was truly astonishing the number of bikes leaning against the outside benches and trees, unlocked and perfectly safe under the watchful eyes of all the enthusiastic cyclists. I perched my HiFi along the bench on which I rested, and attached joy to it being out in the world and having a great fun time. Here's a photo of the sweet HiFi in its new home.
April 30, 2007
~ Three Bears and Life Stuff ~
On Sunday, I took advantage of the nice, but overcast, weather and rode Three Bears. I wasn't feeling 100%, so I went at a somewhat casual pace. I started out by going up Buck's Trail and Shane's, and then traversed over and dropped down onto Rocky Canyon Road, where I went up and up to connect with Three Bears. There are two extra steep sections of Three Bears which always take an extra effort - - sometimes I make it up them and sometimes I don't. On this day, I failed to peddle to the top of one, but succeeded on the other. I paused at the top of Three Bears to take in the stunning view. This is the time of year when the foothills are particularly beautiful - - with some patches of greenery and desert flowers. I rode down Three Bears, connected to Shane's, and down Central Ridge. I wasn't in my normal wicked downhill mountain biking mood, so I took the downhill rather easy...Indeed, I only did one jump on Central Ridge, where I normally jump off every protrusion in the trail. Yet, it was a fantastic ride. This photo is a view of Rocky Canyon Road as I was dropping down off of Shane's. I always find this view particularly stunning and it always amazes me that this is what I've got in (what I consider to be) my backyard. You may view more photos here. As evinced by this photo, Rocky Canyon Road is spectacular. While I was riding up the three or four miles to the Three Bears trailhead, I found myself lost in thought, thinking about life stuff in the lush and rocky canyon.
For my work, I have been living and breathing these workshops which are designed to give teaching skills to a specific group of non-professional-teachers. It has been very interesting, but kinda overwhelming in scope. One of the topics is teaching to different generations. Within that topic has been discussion regarding the work habits of these generations. Baby Boomers generally feel loyal to their employers, for example, while Generation Xers are loyal to their work but not necessarily their employer. Me, I am on the cusp of the Gen x and Millenial, and while I tend to identify as a Gen Xer, on the issue of work, I generally feel a lack of loyalty towards the whole gammut. My loyalty, rather, is focused on my lifestyle. One part of my lifestyle is being able to live right downtown and work within a five minute walk of where I live. This also goes for my schooling - - as I declined applying to a program which would require me to commute several miles away, and instead opted for the five minute away bicycle ride university program. Additionally, living within a five minute bike ride of mountain biking trails and at a hub of quality road biking is very important to me. So, while I want to have a good employer with coworkers that I like and work that is somewhat mentally stimulating, I don't have any further stipulations on my work and employer beyond their support of my lifestyle. This is evidenced by how I have recently contemplated pulling a 180 turn on my work and doing something completely different just for kicks. I have determined that I could be happy doing pretty much almost anything, as long as it falls within the broad spectrum of "doing good towards others" and satisfying my lifestyle needs.
Several years ago, I took an honors philosophy class on Albert Camus, and during one of the lectures the professor commented that it makes no difference where one lives because life is the same everywhere. At the time, I thought that was the dumbest thing he could have said, because of course location makes all of the difference. This was a few months before I decided to move to Monteral, when I thought that location was important. Now that I've been around a bit, I have determined that it actually does not matter WHERE I am living as long as my lifestyle needs are met. Sure, I've determined that it's handy to speak the language of the other residers of the location - - not being able to effectively communicate with everyone around me has been a barrier to my total living satisfaction. At any rate, I have a greater appreciation for that which the professor communicated about location not mattering as much as one might think, because one is still the same person irregardless of their location. This means that one retains the same level of proactivity regarding their own personal happiness, at least, if you're me. Of course, this assumes that things like individual liberty and freedom remain constant....as, clearly, one would be less happy if one's liberty and freedoms were resitricted in one place over another. So, that turns it upside down, and it DOES matter where you live because of variables enabling a specific individual's happiness. ANYWAY, I've been giving thought to doing random things, like randomly switching career paths to mix things up a bit, and moving to other locations for a higher quality of life. And this was what I was thinking about on my bike ride up Rocky Canyon Road yesterday.
In other news, I have finished knitting the Nantucket Jacket and it is awesome. I have not yet taken a photo of it to share, but Josh has, so you may monitor his flickr postings...if you care. The jacket was a true joy to work on, these past months. I sized it for the small pattern, and even knat it on smaller needles because I have a particularly small torso, and still, it is too big. A bit ago, I realized that it has a crocheted edge, so it was a good chance to learn some new skillz. I must say, I don't see myself becoming a real crocheter any time soon. Sure, it was fun and okay, but I wasn't super into the experience. But maybe I shouldn't judge too quickly. Anyway, maybe I'll post a photo sometime soon, if I get around to it.
April 14, 2007
~ the edge of civilization ~
On Friday, there was a random moment of gloriousness which Josh and I seized after I got off of work to go on a mountain bike ride. We rode some of the trails around and behind Table Rock, which I have scarcely ridden before. To summarize the ride, it was rad! I was feeling particularly energetic after a day of sitting in front of the computer, and utilizing my muscles in the fresh air felt so good. The trails had a good mixture of hard climbs and technical areas to make it interesting, but it was a very doable and fun ride. One of the great things about living in Boise is the immediate access to amazing outdoor recreational opportunities. Now, I'm not sure if my non-Boise readers truly understand my use of the term "immediate." To clarify, by "immediate," I mean that I can exit the front door of my downtownly located apartment and be mountain biking within three minutes. If you take a moment to examine this photo to the left, you'll notice me relaxing on a pile of rocks above the city, after having riden my mountain bike around some very awesome trails. One of the spectacular aspects of mountain biking outside of Boise is the view of the city that may be experienced from a variety of altitudinal perspectives. It consistently provides me with a renewed appreciation of where I live.
After our ride, Josh and I consumed several glasses of cheap vino at a local drinking well which has recently come under new ownership and has turned non-smoking in the process. I cannot quite find the words to express my impressedness with the fact that we now have a few drinking establishments that are non-smoking. This means that I can go out and spend the evening at a bar, but I don't have to worry about reeking of cigarette smoke or having a sore throat the next day because of inhaling second hand smoke. It is wonderful! What is more, Penguilly's (the non-smoking), is known for being a venue for good live music. Last night, Josh and I enjoyed the tunes of this rockin' "bluegrass" band and it was so awesome! The bar has this fantastic "Western" (as in, the Old West) feel to it, with the dark wood paneling, huge photos from old Boise days, and mounted Jackalopes!, but now I don't have to experience it being engulfed in a plume of cigarette smoke.
After drinking much more than I've drank recently, I hopped onto my bicycle cruiser and headed home (a nice four minute bike ride - - another great thing about my current living arrangement). On my way, I had to navigate the numerous drunk pedestrians congregating around the downtown bars and I was the receiver of numerous intoxicated comments about my amazing bike handling skillz in a crowd of drunk pedestrians. Call me anti-social, but I don't understand why so many people feel the need to comment out loud to strangers about stuff that isn't their business. Like, for example, my ability to safely and skillfully navigate a bicycle through a crowd. There was a group of drunk dudes sitting on a bench shouting out "Easy!.. Easy!.." as though they didn't think that I could slow down to almost a full stop while navigating the crowd. pfft! Piece of cake. ...even if I was slightly intoxicated.
Anyroad, I've finally gotten around to uploading my photos from the Zoo which we visted a few weeks ago.
March 12, 2007
~ sunshine ~
As you can see from this photograph which I snapped on Friday, a small snowstorm thwarted my plans for going on a mountain bike ride. Snow is good, however, for another outdoor recreational activity: snowboarding. If you examine the photo, you will note that it was taken from about 1,000 feet elevation on Bogus Basin road. On Friday, instead of mountain biking, Josh and I went snowboarding. The snow was an interesting consistency - - a combination between slush and snow with a skiff of fresh powder. It was by no means the funnest snowboarding, but it was pretty fun...and much better than being down in the valley where it was raining.
On Saturday, the sun was out and it was glorious. After enjoying some morning coffees, Josh and I went on a big walk to absorb some vitamin D. We went a little bananas in the photographing of things with sunshine, but sometimes it's nice to be overly-enthusiastic about nice weather. That afternoon, we went on a big road ride out to Kuna and back. It was about 40 miles which we rode in three-ish hours. I know that the idea of riding a bike out to Kuna doesn't sound like the most appealing activity, but it was lovely. And if one has an open mind about the concept of beauty, I would say that I experienced many beautiful moments on the ride. I will say, however, that I was getting pretty tired and feeling a lot of pain by the end of the ride. I'm not exactly in optimal riding shape, and I was ready for the ride to be over about 45 minutes before it was. That evening, my energy crashed and I was not good for much except for reading about the hijinks of celebrities and receiving an update on spring fashion.
On Sunday, I spent most of the day trying to work on my two research papers which are due in one week. Incidentally, one is going well and the other is not. The one that is not going well, however, is for the class which I received the highest grade in the class on the last paper, so I am not all that concerned. I was still exhausted and without energy from the road ride of the previous day, and my mind didn't want to think about anything. So, I spent a lot of time sitting in front of my computer not accomplishing much. I did have a lovely intermission during the afternoon when I met some friends for a picnic - - and after sitting outside with them for two hours, I discovered that I received my first sunburn of the year. That evening, Josh and I made it on a mountain bike ride. We rode Freeway, which is a very mild beginner trail, but as I was leading the way downhill, I decided to fly down Red Tail, a more advanced downhill. It was an incredible amount of fun. This trail had become extremely rutted, which posed some interesting challenges on some of the steeper decents, but I found plenty of humps and bumps to launch off of. This photo to the right depicts one of my more hardcore moments (and I say "hardcore" ironically...as it is not hardcore, but I felt a twinge of bad-assedness). 
August 27, 2006
~ Le Tour de Fat and other bicycling experiences ~
Yesterday, to put it mildly, was kind of an epic day. I was experiencing a hangover at 9p.m., had had my fill of silly costumes, wanted nothing more than to ride a bike with an extra pivit or with automobile tires or with wheels winding about my head, and was feeling embarrassed about my performance in a dance competition, not to mention my various wounds (such as a stubbed toe and lacerated leg). But before yesterday, came other sets of epic experiences. I have spent the past six weeks studying for the GRE, so as to apply for graduate school. I refer you to my previous post on how I felt about that. After taking the exam on Tuesday morning, I slumped into a depression for the rest of the week which was in no way related to the GRE. I had been feeling very blue. So, both of the items, the GRE and the saddness, contributed to my lack of posting for the past month.
On Friday, Josh and I rode Hard Guy. I had intended to make Hard Guy it's own post, but it leads so well into this post, serving as the nexus between my depression and the fact that today my facial muscles are seriously sore because I smiled too much yesterday. So, the air quality in Boise has been unhealthy at a pretty consistent rate lately, which has made me felt disinclined to do things (such as mountain biking) which incline me to breath heavily while outside. That, and also the aerial spraying of pesticides which "they" say isn't harmful to humans (my allergies have been going crazy since they began spraying). A wind storm came through on Friday and seemed to clear the air a bit. Josh and I seized the opportunity and rode Hard Guy. Neither of us had ridden for a while and we both observed a lack of feeling at the top of our game, yet the ride was fantastic. Additionally, I'm still timing myself on this ride, and on Friday I rode it faster than at any other time before, exactly five minutes faster, which made me feel incredible. Also, because there is so much pollution in the air, the sunsets have been stunning recently. Josh and I took the opportunity to take photos of us riding, in a vain attempt to photograph us "catching air".
This brings me to my main thesis: I feel that bicycling, in all its forms, is good for the spirit.
Yesterday, Josh and I attended Le Tour de Fat. It started with a cruiser parade in the morning. Josh and I donned our silly halloween costumes of a duck and dragon (which are good stock costumes to have on hand, you know, on the off chance that we need a costume for something but have no money to invest in costuming) and met about 500 other costumed cruiserers at the Rose Garden. We rode in parade style through the Greenbelt, down Warm Springs, and made a loop around downtown. It was a lot of fun. Many people went all out with their costuming and many of the bikes themselves were wonders to behold. Thus, I took many photos of the parade.
After the parade, Josh and I abandoned our costumes and got some lunch. We returned to the festivities around 2:00. We began by enjoying some beer and trying to ride some very wonky custom bikes. The bikes were so fun. There were two with wheels that wound all about the cycler, one which had an extra pivit on the frame so that the frame would swing around itself, one with big automobile tires, a two person bike in which the stearing was controlled by the peddling, a trike positioned backwards, a recumbant with the wheels that would wobble around, a bike with uneven axles and full suspension, one in which the frame was a huge spring and could pull apart and back, along with many others. I found that my ability to ride the wonky bikes increased proportionately to my intake of beers.
We met up with Sara Turbo and her friends Amy and Jeff, and had all kinds of fun talking, imbibing, riding bikes, hulla hooping, listening to the bands, throwing a frisbee to a dog, and the like. At some point, during an intermission in the music, there was a request for some volunteer contestants. Josh and I ran up to the stage, unaware about our role as contestants. Thoroughly inebriated, we learned that we would be participating in a dance contest. As the dude with the microphone gave us instructions, we discovered that we would not be dancing with eachother. I looked across and noticed that my dance contest parter was not the apple of my eye, but some other dude. I then proceeded to make a complete fool of myself along with sixteen other people, in front of several hundred.
At 7:00, we went to a locally-owed theater and saw Little Miss Sunshine over some turkey sandwiches and chips. By the end of the film, Josh and I both felt like we had hangovers, and it was 9:00 in the evening, presumably before most parties even get started. I went to bed at 9:30 on that Saturday night after such an epic day. A day which was filled with so much joy and fun that today my facial muscles are sore because of all the smiling. For more photos, a good 119 to be exact, please see my flickr page.
May 31, 2006
~ Hard Guy ~
Tuesday has become, and will continue to be I hope, the day when I ride Hard Guy. Last Tuesday was my first time. I was experiencing a surprisingly high level of energy and rode the entire trail in under three hours. Josh has a few photos of the ride on this entry of his blog. Hard Guy is located in the area called (by Ridge to Rivers) Crane Creek / Shingle Ridge. Refer to the trail system map shown below and note that the highlighted area indicating the approximate location of Hard Guy. According to the Ridge to Rivers website, Hard Guy "is a long and winding route to the Boise Ridge. Due to long site lines and wide tread it's a good option for horseback rides by staging out of Miller Gulch. If you make it to the top you are rewarded with great views and a first hand look at the transition between high desert and forest ecosystems. Watch for raptors soaring the ridge during fall migration."
Yesterday I rode Hard Guy for the second time. On the way up, I decided that I would track my fitness using this trail. As this is a new trail for me, a longish trail, and a challenging trail, I determined that Hard Guy would be the ideal trail to track my improved fitness based upon the length of time it takes me to ride it. For a variety of reasons, Josh and I decided to have a time check from the trailhead, disregarding the ride up Bogus Basin Road and part of Corralls, tol the point of stopping, either the "halfway point" or the end.
Last night I rode to the "halfway" mark. This point is well past the halfway mark, however, I do not intend to bring along my GPS equipment to determine that which is exactly the halfway point. Plus, the point which I am calling "halfway" has a distinctive tree which is a good spot to rest and refuel, so it is likely that I won't forget where "halfway" is. It took me precisely 56 minutes to ride from the trailhead to "halfway" last night. My energy was at medium, I hadn't slept more than two hours that night, and I hadn't had much vigorous exercise in the days prior to the ride. All variables which I feel are important to take into account when tracking my progress. Please refer to the following sample spreadsheet to get an idea of how I intend to track my progress on Hard Guy. This is a draft and I will most likely be modifying it to make it more specific. Josh and I discussed how it would be interesting to track a whole slew of variables, such as amount of social interaction, stress load, fun-having, etc., and have a guage for happiness, but that would require more thought than I am willing to put into the project at this moment in time.
Anyhoot, the ride. Hard Guy is a fun trail. In Josh's guide books to mountain biking Southwest Idaho, Hard Guy is listed as an "advanced/expert" level trail. Since I am neither an advanced nor expert level bicycler, I have determined that the trail is only as hard as you make it. Granted, I feel that it is too difficult for a beginner rider, but for a solid intermediate such as myself, Hard Guy is good fun challenge. The trail, incidentally, winds through a large plot of land that is currently being used for the grazing of cattle. I am not entirely sure, but my guess is that these are free range cattle. Yesterday, this particular variety of livestock was everywhere, grazing, taking naps on the trail, and Josh and I had to carefully navigate our way through and around. At one point on the decent, I was flying down this steep pitch (which Josh had earlier described as a part of the trail he likes "to go really motherfucking fast on") and I had to slow down drastically because there were four calves walking along the trail with their mommies and a bull hanging out on either side. The calves, noticing my approach, began running away from me along the trail. How does one herd cattle on a bicycle? It was an amusing experience, though a bit terrifying. Josh, meanwhile, was way behind me and apparently caught the end of this scene. There were quite a number of instances in which I was approaching several large cows and bull(s) and, because I didn't want to startle any of them and induce them to girate right into my person, I made a point of calmly calling out a friendly "Hello" to alert them to my impending presence.
At some point early on in the trail, there is a "creek crossing". It comes at the bottom of a dip and is rather unpleasant due to its lack of actual water. Considering the quantity of cattle in the area, the consistency and smell, I have deduced that this particular "creek crossing" is kinda gross. I mean, well after riding into and out of it, being dried off by the heat and wind remnants, I was still noticing a distinct cow piss smell about my person. Unfortunately, there is no way around this obstacle and my creek crossing skillz aren't good enough for me to emerge without it splashing all over me.
Another shitty thing that happened to me last night, pun intended, was when I was riding home through the North End neighborhoods and I felt a conspicuous splat upon my leg. At first, I thought that Josh had thrown some projectile object at me. The impact was strong and it stung a bit. Then I looked down at my knee and I realized I had bird poo on my leg. A bird had defecated and it landed on me! I wasn't feeling so clean and fresh at this point, what with being splattered with cow piss and bird excrement. Here's a lovely photo of my lower half post-bike ride.
