Night Snowshoeing

Not a bad picture at night from my camera phone of  the South County.

I went out for a little night snowshoeing late last night.  There was enough light that I didn't even need to use my headlamp.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=211906635335552263163.000498bd7101a2716ebf9

Feels good to get out and do something.

Happy New Year!

One step closer to backcountry touring

I picked up a splitboard from a friend of mine.  I need to put a little work into it before its ready to ride.  I need to order a new sliding pin and some t screws for the bindings.  It could probably use a waxing as well.  And since I am "goofy footed" I need to change the stance on the board.

Almost there.

Christmas Surprise

My wife surprised me this year for Christmas, with a very large box full packing material. The packing material consisted of newspaper, cardboard, bubble wrap, tape, foam padding, etc. What more could you ask for? Thoughtful, very thoughtful.

Of course that was not all that was inside this very large cardboard box, but something better. Much better.

A 2010 Yeti 575 Carbon Race!

It seemed like it took me forever to unwrap the bike. Every part was wrapped in bubble tape, protective foam, or cardboard. Of course you don't want to take a razor blade or scissors and risk damaging your new ride, so I carefully unwrapped the bike.

I even took some time to put some protective clear tape on the carbon seat and chain stays to help with possible debris deflection.

My oldest boy was so excited for the new bike. He got the first ride in around the living room while I held the bike up for him.

And here she is. What a beauty. I am so excited to try this bike out. The travel is 150mm (5.9") for the front and 146mm (5.75") for the rear.

Fork: Fox Float 150 RLC Fit 15QR

Headset: Cane Creek S3

Crankset: Shimano XT 44-32-22

Front Der: Shimano XT

Rear Der: Shimano XTR SGS Shadow

Shifters: Shimano XT

Cassette: Shimano SLX 11-34

Wheels: DT Swiss 340/4.2

Tires: Schwalbe Fat Albert 2.25

Brakes: Shimano XT / 160mm rotors

Handlebar: Easton Monkey Lite

Stem: Thomson X4

Grips: Yeti Lock On

Saddle: WTB

Seatpost: Thomson Elite

Thank you Erin, so much for making this happen. Thanks to Mom and Dad as well. A great Christmas surprise.

Now I just need some dry dirt to ride. I can't wait for the downhill!

No 4 wheel drive

This morning was the first time I have really missed my truck.

Usually I have access to my wife's Chevy Tahoe if I want to go down a dirt road or something, but it was blocked in the garage by my mother-in-law's vehicle last night.  So at 4:15 am I had to take my Honda Civic out in the 1 1/2 - 2 ft of snow to go snowshoeing.

I was not able to make it down and snowshoe with Jesse as the roads were just too covered in snow.  I tried to go in the foothills close to my home, and got my car stuck. 

The snowshoeing was deep, nice, and fluffy.  My little mini Australian Sheperd had a hard time in the deep snow.  She kept getting snow balls stuck to her legs and under body.

We didn't stay out too long as my dog was getting tired.  I also didn't know how long it would take to get the car out.  With a little effort it was clear of the snow, however the new fallen snow had it completely covered.

Snow is still coming down.  Better luck tomorrow.

Local Snow, air time

Very cool to see some of the local peaks from the air.

(I ran into this video from a link on twitter)

Superior, Speed Fly from Marshall Miller on Vimeo.

Ice Skates and Snowshoes

Last night I went ice skating with the youth from our neighborhood. I really forgot how much fun it is to ice skate. The last time I went ice skating was the first date with my wife around 11 years ago. I like gliding into the turns and leaning down as far as you can cutting sharply into the turn. Weaving in and out of people, skating backwards, etc. its all fun. My skates were a little dull but were sharper then rental skates.


Since South Utah County had a good 6-7" to a foot of snow it was time to break out the snowshoes. Yes I realize I could have gone snowshoeing after the storm a couple weeks ago, but I just wasn't ready for winter yet. There were too many bike trails to be ridden.

Here is a link to the trail we snowshoed this morning. If you clink on the "end" link it shows elevation, distance, etc. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=211906635335552263163.00049789a02ea59b72bd3

It felt good to get out and snowshoe again. I couldn't help but thinking as I was climbing up the trail, I wonder if Dug got up this morning and is skiing somewhere? I sure wish I could board down the hill after I climb this hill.

I also wanted to try out the camera on my phone to see how the picture would look taken in the dark.

"Clark, her eyes are frozen. She'll see it later."

Can't See The Line Can You....

The past two days were a bonus locally to the Mountain Biking year of 2010. Never would I have dreamed to be riding my mountain bike on the local Timp Foothill trails at 5000 ft - 6000 ft in short sleeves.

Any riding at all I expected to be like the Frozen Turkey.

55F weather was perfect for riding. Arm warmers for the descent was the only extra gear needed.

Were the trails muddy?

Can't see the line can you....

That tire looks fairly clean. And yes I do like riding old school 2.1 IRC Mythos tires

Oh check out a little app I found for my phone. Here is a link to my short, but very worth it ride yesterday. Click on the "end tab" for ride details.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=211906635335552263163.000497794c22d4c81bf30

I really forgot how steep it is to ride up Ireland. But with every climb there is a great reward for the downhill. Nice fast and tacky.

I am not sure about you but there was a good 6"-7" inches of snow at my house this morning. Time to break out the snowshoes.

I really need a splitboard/backcountry gear.

A Taste From The Past

A couple years ago I spent two years living in Buenos Aires Argentina as a Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  In Argentina their "candy bars" are called alfajors.

A co-worker brought this into me today. 

Oh the memories.  I forgot how good alfajors taste. 

The package even smelled like Argentina to me.

So good.

I wonder?

So last Saturday I went out for a nice road ride. The air quality wasn't the greatest as you could see the white smoggy air sitting low in the valley. But I wanted to get outside and do something, since it had been so cold earlier in the week.

I wonder if riding my road bike in the thick smoggy air has anything to do with coming down with a sore throat/coughing up junk a couple days later?

December Road Ride

(About 9 bull elk in a field close to my home. Usually in the winter the whole herd comes down to winter)

I really can't remember the last time I was on my road bike.  It seems like it was forever ago.  As I think back maybe my last road ride was an early morning summer time American Fork Canyon ride before work with everyone? Maybe it was a bike commute into or home from work?

Either way we are talking about before the Park City Point 2 Point in Super.

It felt good to be out riding the road again.  Wow, you sure can ride fast, and the temperature was not too cold at all.

I rode for an hour covering 19 miles with 838 feet of climbing.

During November I made it out for a few lunch mountain bike rides and of course "The Frozen Turkey," but I already feel out of shape.  Maybe I just feel out of shape riding on the road, because there were muscles being used on the road bike that felt like they had not been used during mountain biking.

Who knows, maybe its just me.

Either way, here is to the next couple months of road ride Saturdays in the South County.

The Frozen Turkey 2010 Video

In case you missed the writeup of the 2nd Annual Frozen Turkey, click here.

Of course my memory card ran out of space right before the dowhill. Figures, doesn't it?

The Frozen Turkey 2010 from South County Ciclista on Vimeo.