tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82251395373148553652024-02-06T20:35:55.030-08:00RyanRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-48739378457340977952013-07-16T22:58:00.001-07:002013-07-16T23:13:12.284-07:00Crusher in the Tushar 2013 Race Report<br />
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On paper the Crusher does not look all that ominous, 69 miles and 10,500 vertical feet of climbing. In practice this race is absolutely diabolical. A word of caution if you are thinking about doing this race, it's hard. Easily on par with Leadville 100 and the Park City Point to Point. It is a well oiled machine. Burke Swindlehurst and the volunteers in Beaver do a fantastic job catering to racers needs both during, before and after the race. This was my third year of suffering through this race and certainly won't be the last. I thought I would throw out a couple of thoughts for what it's worth.</div>
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I had three goals going into this race. </div>
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1. Don't blow up and get shot out of the back of the peloton until after the start of the dirt 11 miles into the race. </div>
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This is something I failed to do the first and second time I raced this course as I tried to keep up with the cross bikes on my fat tired MTN bike. (This year I ran 700x35 cross tires which worked much better.) </div>
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2. Don't blow up on the flat through Junction trying to keep up with pace lines. Another thing I failed to do the first two years. </div>
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3. Do not under any circumstances walk any part of the KOM climb. </div>
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For me what makes this race so hard is the sustained effort. Most MTN Bike races have more of a sawtooth profile, shorter climbs broken up with descents. Lots of little breaks to get your legs back. The Crusher has one break at approx miles 25-38 where you descend the washboarded Col D' Crush followed by a short steep section of pavement. These miles are an insignificant portion of the race and before you know it you are back on the throttle. </div>
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The sufferfest starts in earnest when you pass the 20 miles to Finish sign which greets riders at the base of the Col D' Crush. Year one I walked a good portion of this climb. Year two... I walked a significant portion of this climb. The pro's install mountain cassettes on their cross bikes so they don't have to walk sections of this climb. The last mile of the KOM climb is the hardest and longest mile I have ever ridden. </div>
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Year three was good for me. I still suffered just as much as previous years but for a shorter time. Fitness and tire choice kept me from getting chewed up and spit out the back early. I was able to work with other racers in all the areas where it was important. I stayed in the peloton until we hit the first dirt section and then I got into a great paceline through Junction. And finally I cleaned the Col D' Crush, that alone made the race a success.<br />
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For me this is a race against the clock. I get beat by lots of people. This year I was surrounded by friends for the final 10 miles which was awesome and I beat my PR by 48 minutes. </div>
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Finish times </div>
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Year 1- 7:31</div>
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Year 2- 7:02</div>
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Year 3- 6:14</div>
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Year 4- Sub 6???</div>
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Next year I need to focus on the last 20 miles of the race which means I have some big mountains to climb between now and then. </div>
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-81066357991453902332011-10-29T12:27:00.000-07:002016-03-14T18:36:04.720-07:00Rubbin's Racin' The Night We Almost Killed JordanI have a video to share but before you watch I have to introduce it with this background story.<br />
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A little while back Lane had a cracked wheel on his bigwheel so he pulled out a roll of duct tape and made a few wraps around the wheel to reinforce it so he could ride. That night Lane went from a mid pack rider to a podium finisher. The duct tape added just enough extra grip in the corners which allowed him to carry more speed. My bigwheel was faster in the straights and I remember getting out front then every corner Lane would come blowing by me on the inside as I struggled to keep from being flung to the outside and off the road. I would pass on every straight and then get passed at every corner, it was frustrating. I thought I was just having an off night and that Lane was just picking better lines and doing a better job at setting up the corner. <br />
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Lane's conscience got the best of him and the next week he spilled the beans on his new found speed secret. It takes a lot of skill and finesse to navigate the switchbacks of Squaw Peak at high speed on plastic wheels. When my brother told me they were all going to tape their wheels the purist in me was a little offended. I told them that they should just go straight to rubber wheels if they were going to do anything at all. The next week everyone but me in the core group had taped their wheels. I was still holding out. As an added bonus Randy and his race car buddies showed up that night. Nobody said a word about the tape to the race car guys. It had been a while since these guys showed up and our group was looking forward to being able to dominate. <br />
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I got spit out the back almost immediately, there is just no way I was able to keep up, Jordan who has always been the fastest in the race car group was the only one not cheating that was able to keep up but barely. While everyone else was relying on the grip of the tape to keep them on the road Jordan was dropping his rear wheel off of the inside edge of the road and hooking the edge like a rail to keep from sliding to the outside. This method works great on right hand corners but it's not such a good idea for obvious reasons on lefts. Jordan's frustration level was growing. How was it that everyone else was suddenly so much faster? <br />
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After getting beat the first two runs Jordan pulled out all the stops for run number three. This is a long video so if you want to see the good part skip to 6:50.<br />
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I had no idea what happened until I got to the bottom when they told me that Jordan tagged a car. I asked if anyone stopped and the response was. "No... We were racin'".</div>
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-35522041136339444202011-02-16T20:04:00.000-08:002016-03-14T17:22:52.027-07:001938 Schwinn Autocycle Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have an obsession for checking KSL.com multiple times a day to see the new listings for “Schwinn”. Today just prior to leaving work I pulled up the search again and this is what I found.<br />
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<em>I found this 1938 Schwinn Autocycle in my Great Grandfathers Garage while cleaning it out. I Did some research and found it to be a lost treasure. First introduced in 1936 the Autocycle seriously revolutionized the balloon tire field in styling and sophistication. So much going on here that Schwinn incorporated the word AUTO into the title of these bikes. No other bike of the period had as many deluxe features and accessories as the Autocycle. This jewel tanked bicycle is 100% original parts, no aftermarket stuff at all. From the full floating "pogo" saddle right down to the deluxe speedometer crossbar. It has dual Seiss headlights, locking truss fork with original Yale Junior Arnold Schwinn & Co. key, WW Goodyear G-3 Tires and a Schwinn Speedo head. It also features the early Fore Brake and super rare early brake handle with the original cable. NOS Liberty headbadge and a Liberty decal on the downtube. First year for the feather chrome chainguard.</em><br />
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<em>I don't know what to ask for it in it's current condition before being restored but I want it to be a fair price for both of us so if you are interested and have an idea of how much it's worth please call me and lets talk.</em><br />
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<em>Thank You, </em><br />
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I picked up the phone and called immediately because I knew there would be a fight for this bike. The seller said that he had another guy coming to look at it and offered $750. I told him I would do at least $800 and with that I raced off to try to be the first there with cash. Sadly about 2 miles from the sellers house my phone rang, “Sorry I sold it, but thanks for offering 8 I got another 50 bucks out of the guy who bought it.” He then asked me if I knew who Mike Wolfe was, and that he had just gotten a call from him wanting the bike just after he sold it. He was disappointed because he thought that he might have had a chance to be on TV if he had held out. <br />
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I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. I turned around and went home. And to add insult to injury I told my wife about it. Now I am in the dog house with her for not discussing the attempted purchase with her first. Seriously this one is going to haunt me for a long time. I doubt I will ever see another in this good of condition for that kind of money. <br />
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I am still in the market if anyone happens to know someone with an extra Autocycle lying around, be sure to send them my way. <br />
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Damn that thing would have made one hell of a commuter.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-32077909111332147612011-01-30T21:04:00.000-08:002011-02-01T20:09:43.055-08:00Frozen Hog 2011 Last Place Podium Finish<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=177684&id=100001904613825" id="myphotolink"><img height="540" id="myphoto" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs884.ash1/179212_122713237802163_100001904613825_177683_2450752_n.jpg" width="720" /></a><br />
After another December of overindulgence, I started training for the Frozen Hog. I look forward to this every year. It gives me a reason to get out of bed during the grey winter. Usually at 4:40 so that I can make it to the 5:15 spin class followed by a 2-4 mile run before work. Given the choice I would always rather ride outside instead of on a spin bike at the gym but the reality of it is that it's just a more efficient use of time. The running part of the training is entirely new to me, last year I neglected to train for the run and found myself hobbling for a week after the race after my atrophied running muscles got completely shredded. You never know what you are going to get, this race is entirely in the hands of Mother Nature and last year she decided that she wanted us to run. I suppose this may have scared a lot of people off because the numbers were a little sparse this year.<br />
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The trail conditions were absolutely fantastic. This was the drag race of winter mountain bike racing. I went into the Le Mans start feeling confident with all the running time I had put in during training, but I just sucked at it. I got passed a lot and got a poor start position going into the first single track section. The first real opportunity you have to make a clean pass is about half way through the lap at the start of the down hill. I did my best to make up time and started passing riders but just didn’t have the power I had hoped I would so the progress was slow. The laps flew by and before I knew it I was riding up the final road to the finish. My sputtering engine finally started firing on all cylinders and I gave it all I had. I wish I would have been able to do that earlier in the race. I ended up finishing <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ao4PwrbDFL99dFhiejlIdnpUSmZTSDdhM1JNNTJoekE&hl=en#">3rd out of 3</a>, yep dead last in my class yet still a podium finish. I doubt that will ever happen again. <br />
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One thing I have noticed that can either make or break a race is the promoter. I think there are lots of race promoters that do a great job at all the behind the scenes stuff but when it comes down to the most visible stuff like having DJ skills to call the race and announce awards and raffles they fall on their face. And then there are the prizes, a race promoter needs to be aggressive and convincing to the sponsors that their donated merchandise and serviced will make good financial business sense. Every time I have been to the Frozen Hog they have given away at least one bike and usually two. This year <a href="http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/mountain/xxix-11/">Raleigh</a> gave away a belt drive single speed and a 24” kid’s bike which were awesome. <a href="http://bikepeddlerutah.com/peddler-mtn-rides/the-blog/">Josh</a> did an excellent job at all aspects of promoting and I look forward to future races.<br />
<br />
The beauty of this event is that it exists, I don’t know what the conditions will be like next year but I can tell you this much, I will train for the worst and hope for the best. To all those who didn’t show up because they didn’t like the conditions last year, it is time to put away the purse. Oh and Josh next year you might want to coordinate with <a href="http://www.2-epic.com/">Lynda Wallenfels</a>.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-56907606938328370532010-11-22T22:07:00.000-08:002010-11-22T22:13:25.309-08:00Trek MOD ified Big Drift Bigwheel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCRy_Xfw3PFBO51H6QzngNv5l8UFvATLtf-vfOiH51qOOTiysKs95VcUJQX6InqxzywRV6FSNe1UZ8Djp_GOAdwqoVLkEbyLzgNXoQfpntKxu20ag3EU97QuIkReLq2zSP73bYUi76dg/s1600/DSC_0178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCRy_Xfw3PFBO51H6QzngNv5l8UFvATLtf-vfOiH51qOOTiysKs95VcUJQX6InqxzywRV6FSNe1UZ8Djp_GOAdwqoVLkEbyLzgNXoQfpntKxu20ag3EU97QuIkReLq2zSP73bYUi76dg/s400/DSC_0178.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Back in September I reported the progress on the search for a new bigwheel supplier. The Big Drifts looked awesome but I knew the rear wheels were going to be a problem and so did the manufacturer below is their response after I reported the results of my test run that melted the wheels off.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WahxFgXfoYdmqxs0hlcxzabxJTMXSjXZTfgrhsRE-Eaz30IzqJiMnUY7oAeBTkPvoRtS9NSdwvdIzFYOwZBLMdUwoxVOwkmEQ7X1TpVeUJ_WdX29c9YMuOVyMrINT8XhjE4EKJCw9uI/s1600/IMG_0811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WahxFgXfoYdmqxs0hlcxzabxJTMXSjXZTfgrhsRE-Eaz30IzqJiMnUY7oAeBTkPvoRtS9NSdwvdIzFYOwZBLMdUwoxVOwkmEQ7X1TpVeUJ_WdX29c9YMuOVyMrINT8XhjE4EKJCw9uI/s400/IMG_0811.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Our legal adviser advised us to tell you that our Big Drifts as is shouldn't be used in such a high speed (30 or even 40 mph) as you said.<br />
As you already know, our structure (particularly the rear wheel) is not made for such a high speed and abuse.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Attached please find our "Assembly Instructions", which includes "Warning", which specifies that the maximum speed is 20 km (12.5 mph).</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>If you go over our maximum speed, please retrofit or re-enforce it enough to endure that kind of high speed and abuse at your own risk.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>We're telling you this for your own saftey.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Thank you for your understanding of our concern.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What is the point of living if you can't exceed the 12.5 MPH speed limit! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Randy had new axles made for the Big Drift that will fit the Trek MOD wheels and now (at my own risk) I am updating the maximum rated speed to brown-out minus .5 MPH. As long as you can control your sphincter feel free to go as fast as you like, you have my permission. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDBs2TRQJBNWACPEFHMNPJnzboiQPA2rbiqj2xtO7W8OLpkDsiBpYdSv1apo8OAKeCHhZe-qXIPAZSMtaOumG9jkbP2-_Y8I22FkmBjePA-sIXtno8I4PEsc-vWTTBTEwAG7zUgVJTaE/s1600/DSC_0181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDBs2TRQJBNWACPEFHMNPJnzboiQPA2rbiqj2xtO7W8OLpkDsiBpYdSv1apo8OAKeCHhZe-qXIPAZSMtaOumG9jkbP2-_Y8I22FkmBjePA-sIXtno8I4PEsc-vWTTBTEwAG7zUgVJTaE/s400/DSC_0181.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I have a limited quantity available in Red, Orange and Yellow they are $350 (Modified axle and Trek wheels included) and I will ship free to the lower 48. If you want one for the kids to tool around in the neighborhood $250 will get you one in the stock configuration (the wheels will only melt off if they go really really fast) </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Be a Hero this Christmas </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Give me a call if you want me to send one out </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Ryan </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">801-787-3188</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-76402402356066868072010-10-13T20:55:00.000-07:002010-10-13T21:20:22.600-07:00Rabbit Stories Part 3 Drive It Like You Stole ItWhile Allyson and I were dating she called and wanted advice on buying a new car. She was at Chatwin Motors in Provo talking with a salesman. She told me that she was going to trade in her Rabbit on a Toyota Tercel. I told her that they would probably inflate the price of the car by $500 and then turn around and give her $500 for the trade. I told her that she would be better off just keeping it and selling it privately if she really wanted to get rid of it. She finished up the paperwork and drove home in her new car leaving the Rabbit at the dealership. Later that night she went back to the dealership after they closed and picked up the Rabbit. <br />
<br />
<br />
A few years later I was cleaning out some old files and ran across the paperwork from when she bought the Tercel. Curious as to what kind of deal she got on the car I started looking through it. One line item really stood out to me. It was the one that said trade in and had a $500 credit for a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit. I added up the figures just to make sure I was reading it right and sure enough the price of the car had been reduced by $500 for the trade in value of the Rabbit. <br />
<br />
I called Allyson into the room for a little explanation. The conversation went a little like this.<br />
<br />
Me “Looks like the dealership gave you $500 for the Rabbit”<br />
<br />
Allyson “Yeah”<br />
<br />
Me “But you still have the Rabbit?”<br />
<br />
Allyson “Yeah”<br />
<br />
Me “But they gave you $500 for it”<br />
<br />
Allyson “Yeah”<br />
<br />
Me “How does that work?”<br />
<br />
Allyson “I don’t know”<br />
<br />
Me “How did you get the Rabbit back?”<br />
<br />
Allyson “I just went and picked it up after they closed”<br />
<br />
Me “You stole the car?”<br />
<br />
Allyson “No I had a key. I just went and got it”<br />
<br />
Me “But you traded it in”<br />
<br />
Allyson “Yeah?”<br />
<br />
We went back and forth with this for a while and in the end we both stood our ground.<br />
<br />
Me “You stole the car”<br />
<br />
Her “No I did not”<br />
<br />
To this day she denies stealing the car. I know that she didn't intentionally do it. It was just a little misunderstanding between her and the dealership. But that being said it’s a fun little story that I will hold over her head for the rest of her life. <br />
<br />
Well it was pretty obvious that the dealership really didn’t want this car and I am pretty sure they never reported the theft to the police. Since then I have been pulled over a couple of times in it and never had any problems so I guess she got away with it. <br />
<br />
Tonight the Rabbit went to a new home, not including Chatwin Motors this is its second owner. This is probably something that I should have disclosed prior to selling it but hey if you can’t live with it being stolen bring it back for a full refund.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh4NXfbF4zIOrlx5GBqgDe4bDEOHYQzt_GhuFUNU9gtE2vz7tCAcLHRW7gMBt1LCxe7HQ4_zNlt9gdTQBZZlr6oT2S7B6pmw6bWvOpco45ECUoNQqJP-eFI3OyFXWb4UjHHec0w6szmA/s1600/Picture+281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh4NXfbF4zIOrlx5GBqgDe4bDEOHYQzt_GhuFUNU9gtE2vz7tCAcLHRW7gMBt1LCxe7HQ4_zNlt9gdTQBZZlr6oT2S7B6pmw6bWvOpco45ECUoNQqJP-eFI3OyFXWb4UjHHec0w6szmA/s400/Picture+281.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Warning not as innocent as she may appear</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Love You Sweetheart</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-80887789879882629722010-10-12T19:52:00.000-07:002011-02-23T22:14:00.670-08:00Rabbit Stories Part 2I worked for Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale California right out of school. They hauled both of our cars and all our belongings down there on their dime. It didn’t matter that the freight bill was more than the cars worth. It was amusing to see the faces of the movers when it came time to load the car. <br />
<br />
<br />
After a year it became obvious to us that we would never be able to buy and pay for a house in the San Jose area so we made the move back to Utah. I filled a moving van and trailer with all our personal belongings and a 55 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. There was just no room for the Rabbit, we left it behind. I thought hard about getting rid of it at that time since I was fairly confident that it would not make the trip home under its own power. It had a blown head gasket and was overheating. <br />
<br />
I was feeling lucky and had a fool-proof backup plan in the form of a 1988 Bianchi road bike strapped to the back (It has downtube shifters how can you go wrong with downtube shifters?). I figured between San Jose and Salt Lake there are no towns farther than around 100 miles from each other and knew if I needed to I could abandon-car, ride to the next town and buy a Greyhound ticket. The perfect plan…<br />
<br />
I bought a one way plane ticket and headed out. From the airport I took the train to the station nearest our old house and walked the last few miles. We still had a couple of days on our rental contract so I slept on the floor and woke early to start preparing for the trip. I bought seven gallons of water and a roll of duct tape from the grocery store and a couple new coolant hoses and hose clamps from the parts store. My last stop in San Jose was Taco Bell. I always order a 7-Layer and a bean burrito. I try to stay away from the meat there. <br />
<br />
One eye on the road and the other on the temperature gage I made my way East. Slow and steady. I left the cap on the coolant tank loose to bleed off the excess pressure that was blowing by the head gasket and filling the coolant with exhaust gasses and oil. I had to hit the sweet spot on the cap not to tight and not too loose kept the coolant in and let the pressure out. I played a mechanical balancing act with the car until the temp gage approached the red line at which point I would pull over and refill the radiator with the life giving water (approx every 40-50 miles) and resume. It was like we were working as one, I was intimately connected to the car I could feel its pain. I could feel where I could push, where I needed to ease of and when I needed to give it a rest. It was a mentally exhausting trip, instead of listening to the radio I listened to the motor. I refilled my gallon jugs of water at every town as we limped our way through the Sierra Nevada’s and across the Nevada desert. When I couldn’t take any more we stopped at a rest stop and I spent the night sleeping in the driver’s seat. <br />
<br />
When the sun rose the little diesel miraculously sputtered to life. I was like Cramer driving on empty; never had man pushed the limits of a machine as far as I did that day. As we passed through Wendover then across the salt flats I got a little misty eyed as the Wasatch came in to view. This is my home and I had been away far too long. I felt whole again, everything was going to be ok. <br />
<br />
Tonight prospective Buyer #2 came to test drive the Rabbit, I like this guy, like me he enjoys working on cars and knows and appreciates the beauty that is just a little more than skin deep on this car. While he was out on a test drive I got a call from a lady who found the car on KSL obviously by searching by the maximum amount she could afford. She had no clue what it was. She asked if it would be a reliable 50 mile a day commuter. My response, “Absolutely not, one thing that I can guarantee is that something will always break on this car.” And that was the honest truth. The good thing is that it is cheap and easy to fix when it does and all the hard stuff has already been done. <br />
<br />
Buyer #2 returned with a smile on his face. He took it to a buddy of his who is a professional Volkswagen mechanic and told him what I already knew and that it was a JEM worth every penny of the asking price. He is going to come and take it tomorrow. <br />
<br />
I think I am going to be ok. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JTOgddoKVtj4oFYbHcQMni7BRQbfHDw0B_hfg0GwBIavKMWt9LRkDH2JdyW3d_4gRguV8PmHhQEiYVraqRVACG19iUpSw9wHR99rFJ-HjEVU41JsyoVZZpf0O03pZtjKCjg2mzpxhzk/s1600/DSC_0150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JTOgddoKVtj4oFYbHcQMni7BRQbfHDw0B_hfg0GwBIavKMWt9LRkDH2JdyW3d_4gRguV8PmHhQEiYVraqRVACG19iUpSw9wHR99rFJ-HjEVU41JsyoVZZpf0O03pZtjKCjg2mzpxhzk/s400/DSC_0150.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-78524465539589491602010-10-11T21:05:00.000-07:002010-10-11T21:05:12.168-07:00Rabbit StoriesWhile I was in college I saw a guy who ran his Diesel Mercedes on waste vegetable oil from restaurants. When it comes to cars dull normal is just not my style. I bought a book and spent a month gathering parts from eBay and the hardware store then assembled everything together to make a second fuel tank and heat exchanger system for my alternative fuel system. <br />
<br />
At the time it was a $500 car if I broke it by running doughnut oil through it I would just haul it off to the junk yard and collect my 50 bucks. No big loss. <br />
<br />
The problem is that it worked. How much simpler would my life had been if it had seized on the side of the road never to run again.<br />
<br />
I started working early one afternoon putting all the parts together. Everything was going great I was in the zone. After working for a month on the project I was buzzing with excitement. I finished and looked at the clock, 2 AM, I couldn’t not try it out.<br />
<br />
I pulled out of the neighborhood and headed down the road to heat up the heat-exchanger. After about five minutes I determined that old doughnut oil from the Provo Bakery was ready to run through the engine. As I flipped the switch I thought “Allyson is going to be pissed when I give her a wakeup call to come get me because I blew up her car doing something stupid and spent a bunch of money we didn’t have doing it”<br />
<br />
I drove up the Alpine Highway, turned on to the Highland Highway and headed for the freeway back to American Fork. When I got to the 5th East exit I got of and headed back home. I flipped the switch back to Diesel, drove home and went to bed. <br />
<br />
This is the first in a series of posts entitled Rabbit stories. I just posted my <a href="http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=3200657">baby up for sale</a> and this is my way of coping with the loss. I know it is a little off topic for my blog but hey it's my blog and I can do what ever I want here. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7p2n095fu72MxgToRLy75ZSeYf0tegZ59iONrQ2_BdhVI3ywgoDIdD1XNGD6fYbz45QXxAjrR5m7dWnsRJR9pX1F5UGJeybqcCPZwZ8-7oqjo95TQOCoI9srU8OAY4Ms9WAoDAm5WM7g/s1600/DSC_0144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7p2n095fu72MxgToRLy75ZSeYf0tegZ59iONrQ2_BdhVI3ywgoDIdD1XNGD6fYbz45QXxAjrR5m7dWnsRJR9pX1F5UGJeybqcCPZwZ8-7oqjo95TQOCoI9srU8OAY4Ms9WAoDAm5WM7g/s320/DSC_0144.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-47339219146972901612010-09-02T22:09:00.000-07:002010-09-02T22:09:57.797-07:00For Your Own SafetyI have been working with a new supplier of Bigwheels and I must say that they are very promising. I ordered four of them in to see how they would work out. On the fourth run down Squaw Peak the rear wheels melted off of the axles and fell off. <br />
I reported my findings back to the manufacture and got the following response back. <br />
<br />
Hi, Ryan:<br />
<br />
<br />
Our legal adviser advised us to tell you that our Big Drifts as is shouldn't be used in such a high speed (30 or even 40 mph) as you said.<br />
<br />
As you already know, our structure (particularly the rear wheel) is not made for such a high speed and abuse.<br />
<br />
Attached please find our "Assembly Instructions", which includes "Warning", which specifies that the maximum speed is 20 km (12.5 mph).<br />
<br />
If you go over our maximum speed, please retrofit or reenforce it enough to endure that kind of high speed and abuse at your own risk.<br />
<br />
We're telling you this for your own safty.<br />
<br />
Thank you for your understanding of our concern.<br />
<br />
James <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qqDWqyCg11uYvjl6Ocof-WLQ3aRFOb_LqCXr7d58ezkO4QPQBHK6nXWb8_5w3NgaandhAiNc9lPBJMGnryfuA1A3zh_rbVGnJIO-ZP9tM-Wi9OknHhb2Ec2xJRGBhdVhTs-B5y0ThoQ/s1600/DSC_0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qqDWqyCg11uYvjl6Ocof-WLQ3aRFOb_LqCXr7d58ezkO4QPQBHK6nXWb8_5w3NgaandhAiNc9lPBJMGnryfuA1A3zh_rbVGnJIO-ZP9tM-Wi9OknHhb2Ec2xJRGBhdVhTs-B5y0ThoQ/s400/DSC_0021.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The good news is that they if we can get through the language barrier they are pretty good to work with and are actually going to work on making rear wheels with bearings to solve the whole melting the wheels off of the axle thing. With bearings in the rear wheels these things are going to kick the Trek Mod's trash. I have a work around for the time being to retrofit the mod wheels on it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Three left $250 any takers?</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-76286472378842049602010-08-22T22:51:00.000-07:002010-08-22T23:01:03.025-07:00Leadville Trail 100 Race Report 2010 Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All About the Family</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZXNd3rPkaBZmfVWUAC_IRpaH8dH4JDzb1k6yC-ykJpWzCaIzStXEx22gBiNN_ZN6or_PKWSPFIhj9mziJjZ6Gv1ynD5xY7m2vxNMJQmiehkU4TRXRk6R6u8NhFPF50ujXx8A3Y4CVlw/s1600/DSC_0092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZXNd3rPkaBZmfVWUAC_IRpaH8dH4JDzb1k6yC-ykJpWzCaIzStXEx22gBiNN_ZN6or_PKWSPFIhj9mziJjZ6Gv1ynD5xY7m2vxNMJQmiehkU4TRXRk6R6u8NhFPF50ujXx8A3Y4CVlw/s400/DSC_0092.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This year I talked the family into spending the summer vacation in the little town of Leadville Colorado. Early on there was a little grumbling and a reminder or two that we still have not made it to Disneyland so my main goal was to do my best to find things that the family would enjoy doing. I didn't want this to be the vacation they talk about in 20 years, "Remember when dad drug us out to that podunk town in Colorado for a bike race instead of Disneyland". <br />
As it turns out I have an the best family on planet Earth. We spent the week in a 100 year old cabin with crooked floors, no TV, computer, swimming pool, or hot tub, and if you wanted to turn up the heat or cook you had better be prepared to start a fire. <br />
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<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqgrGlVLGEZfnsXTbdqP1bMQdt-_hJCi2ODSp5_GnwqSv3WezsSphQdVf0JVD_vXm9Uw7FCElnW6BnCPdL4EqtV90UWcE6p454KDO6Y-W00sQWvWG073cldI7VR-9kN0eNJM7EeNnL1Y/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkqgrGlVLGEZfnsXTbdqP1bMQdt-_hJCi2ODSp5_GnwqSv3WezsSphQdVf0JVD_vXm9Uw7FCElnW6BnCPdL4EqtV90UWcE6p454KDO6Y-W00sQWvWG073cldI7VR-9kN0eNJM7EeNnL1Y/s400/DSC_0067.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUlkBQtm1-07G-Z6y6MT2qHgKVSiKd79sjZWk5B0JA0RnVVTLiBLUSxv2o4JwZ1YsZOo9ZHm0gusWGNTZVPic-up-IaeXtCAhgiLZ2eLuzMoZiCELo2o8DbjhbG_jSVRmqlSWgzWL4Ak/s1600/DSC_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUlkBQtm1-07G-Z6y6MT2qHgKVSiKd79sjZWk5B0JA0RnVVTLiBLUSxv2o4JwZ1YsZOo9ZHm0gusWGNTZVPic-up-IaeXtCAhgiLZ2eLuzMoZiCELo2o8DbjhbG_jSVRmqlSWgzWL4Ak/s400/DSC_0032.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It forced us to unplug and spend time together it was perfect. Prior to the race my work and training schedule were all consuming. We needed some time to decompress and smell the flowers.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtTUHY8LFL24tYSCEEivpvd7ddgm4zGsPEayRKEFEFvBh5ry7oCoCkYgj_0RSZSCP9ex2f6TD4tYkL_B5trgFpVto8yZKU3Stvgc1M1IiEduxOhGTjCrXbfm28UM7f3uY0TKwJhS3Sz0/s1600/DSC_0069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtTUHY8LFL24tYSCEEivpvd7ddgm4zGsPEayRKEFEFvBh5ry7oCoCkYgj_0RSZSCP9ex2f6TD4tYkL_B5trgFpVto8yZKU3Stvgc1M1IiEduxOhGTjCrXbfm28UM7f3uY0TKwJhS3Sz0/s400/DSC_0069.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Shortly after arriving Calvin and Maizy started exploring, Calvin found some nails and pulled a hammer out of my tool bag, he quickly whipped up a sail boat.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ2rGiX1lQDVhT8UxSb3nnXy1L5Wfzgk5NZr0JcSpzjqHtC46QfmDHqBrDoJ480zGkynLOqrFnn_rfbV-ZKyK9217zBM6DfaXyb_Ok0JwEGM6Qvbzhwp59ljRByubSzHGAnequFkGT58/s1600/DSC_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ2rGiX1lQDVhT8UxSb3nnXy1L5Wfzgk5NZr0JcSpzjqHtC46QfmDHqBrDoJ480zGkynLOqrFnn_rfbV-ZKyK9217zBM6DfaXyb_Ok0JwEGM6Qvbzhwp59ljRByubSzHGAnequFkGT58/s400/DSC_0045.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>One sail boat lead to another and pretty soon they were in business Maizy set up a desk with a phone and started taking orders. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia55-jXzeBfmKIKsqymhirBujg1KgQN1Su5xpyTCXKdXngHxI0tW6Dxlc63nz0AB8UB61XeozXCZraEwlzo8kDGg17OUkiuZLYxCmixWGa1-WF3OoXt5SKk6XbqWuTMl5gYfe7jHUCUq0/s1600/DSC_0065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia55-jXzeBfmKIKsqymhirBujg1KgQN1Su5xpyTCXKdXngHxI0tW6Dxlc63nz0AB8UB61XeozXCZraEwlzo8kDGg17OUkiuZLYxCmixWGa1-WF3OoXt5SKk6XbqWuTMl5gYfe7jHUCUq0/s400/DSC_0065.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No respectable business man would ever let his product out the door without rigorous testing so we drove over to Turquoise lake to shake out the design. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLjrc14KofNz7d-OZdP10scQYBaVPL0XfACGBS16WArYPvJ0s0UD5SnN492gsCU4uWyY4NL7B8lgU_k-CFoRpnYVvG4_m0Kon1fI-k0VMVOqg_h1Pqpsbi6PXgvhXq7zLPfrkD208xf8/s1600/IMG_0814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLjrc14KofNz7d-OZdP10scQYBaVPL0XfACGBS16WArYPvJ0s0UD5SnN492gsCU4uWyY4NL7B8lgU_k-CFoRpnYVvG4_m0Kon1fI-k0VMVOqg_h1Pqpsbi6PXgvhXq7zLPfrkD208xf8/s400/IMG_0814.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxkONe0xlS3hbPTQ4-90J_PB0VOnZN13qeLsun4YHVf13aRmeeXU56gKKU-LC6STSlTJovIlFSRLMlAhe1LhcuGstXcDv3spBIrLUGMicMHacL3aoJv7t-RZrudSxO0ZoNHB9rPSlnoA/s1600/DSC_0105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxkONe0xlS3hbPTQ4-90J_PB0VOnZN13qeLsun4YHVf13aRmeeXU56gKKU-LC6STSlTJovIlFSRLMlAhe1LhcuGstXcDv3spBIrLUGMicMHacL3aoJv7t-RZrudSxO0ZoNHB9rPSlnoA/s400/DSC_0105.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The boats sailed fantastically the business took off like a rocket and the kids tried to keep up with orders but quickly had to start reporting to customers that it was going to take a couple of weeks to get to their order. Life was good. <br />
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We spent some time looking through the antique shops on main street and had a great time custom painting mugs so that we would have something to remember the trip by. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFAdwUAw65mAWt0EQj4WHEklv_l9iO85vmQp85UHCKKmrnEuDzvV06HYFNjTR6QobGZeuJrg7FbSD-Mi3nt2aYc79NsU3-zakeGTPhKtDQadAdIEBuGNY67vsrm_E5vGyKmU4IIRLRTI/s1600/DSC_0059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFAdwUAw65mAWt0EQj4WHEklv_l9iO85vmQp85UHCKKmrnEuDzvV06HYFNjTR6QobGZeuJrg7FbSD-Mi3nt2aYc79NsU3-zakeGTPhKtDQadAdIEBuGNY67vsrm_E5vGyKmU4IIRLRTI/s400/DSC_0059.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>We went to the store and bought pre-made cookie dough, then went to the cabin and started a fire in the oven. It took about an hour and a half for the oven to preheat to 350 degrees. My cookies were either burnt or doughie but I still consider my first experience with a wood fired oven a success since we ate the cookies anyway. Sure made me appreciate my oven at home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaAElE6I79zLq37LT4UM8jfT0roGWqlr1g9vyScm0UHBn5jnuN7KXdGuZJjUNoOKGnY_VeSnqepE_k2Di9480PYbkD_CbdCAksCnzGSK0BtH1x4sN6YD6HbAQiIL_LwebY-h-Y8EBymE/s1600/DSC_0063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaAElE6I79zLq37LT4UM8jfT0roGWqlr1g9vyScm0UHBn5jnuN7KXdGuZJjUNoOKGnY_VeSnqepE_k2Di9480PYbkD_CbdCAksCnzGSK0BtH1x4sN6YD6HbAQiIL_LwebY-h-Y8EBymE/s400/DSC_0063.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We went to the Pasta dinner before the race, Calvin and Maizy had fun posing for the camera.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2nVJBsO2mgttu0KLeVv1PVvpVaynmD78QkX5XTThBRv9YFg-el-y0xEh5u2CoifS8qIYYYxiBi9o6-cUlgdi5y-kxQBtw-VvwPHcP-eScEEDKnNhVpieuc0o3rApFgHUYNGCP-IHWlY/s1600/DSC_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2nVJBsO2mgttu0KLeVv1PVvpVaynmD78QkX5XTThBRv9YFg-el-y0xEh5u2CoifS8qIYYYxiBi9o6-cUlgdi5y-kxQBtw-VvwPHcP-eScEEDKnNhVpieuc0o3rApFgHUYNGCP-IHWlY/s400/DSC_0008.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5ZVAUJHz-vOB32uC8XofZ-HJUrqv6kNDXevh3md6YjEpoi3cjPUZguV7koPwVNfK7NZlcr9GkPmNXC0YdNL9VWZgRIkpow7Ip0lDmDkUzSoCvNgAa4fnhizXGC9uZC450fCilzJepvs/s1600/DSC_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5ZVAUJHz-vOB32uC8XofZ-HJUrqv6kNDXevh3md6YjEpoi3cjPUZguV7koPwVNfK7NZlcr9GkPmNXC0YdNL9VWZgRIkpow7Ip0lDmDkUzSoCvNgAa4fnhizXGC9uZC450fCilzJepvs/s400/DSC_0009.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am so grateful that they all had fun, even Allyson said that she was looking forward to going back out next year. I don't know how my luck will be next year with the lottery, regardless of whether I get in or not we will be back to race or volunteer and to be honest I don't think I even care which. I have had great experiences with <a href="http://ryanthomspon.blogspot.com/2009/08/leadville-trail-100-report.html">both</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stay tuned for the actual race report.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-2885212104548971342010-06-10T19:11:00.000-07:002016-03-14T17:47:33.269-07:00The Spots Are In Place<div style="border: currentColor;">
Every spring I watch my favorite sporting event which consists of a bunch of spots racing across my screen, it takes a month for them to get from the top of my monitor to the bottom. I watch riveted all month long. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XkGbswe8CSJKM1JSs3yYsh8UsoiA18s94vCScjy9erA-H_IlUyZT2BU1qpR3auX7LkhC6rBO1LTDjxzE7EaeYHW6iOb8k1tDF6KGqzv48ubCyNKBZUq-Q5ASjA7D_fjuEeypQjc0u5g/s1600/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XkGbswe8CSJKM1JSs3yYsh8UsoiA18s94vCScjy9erA-H_IlUyZT2BU1qpR3auX7LkhC6rBO1LTDjxzE7EaeYHW6iOb8k1tDF6KGqzv48ubCyNKBZUq-Q5ASjA7D_fjuEeypQjc0u5g/s400/Picture1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Tomorrow morning the <a href="http://tourdivide.org/leaderboard">toughest mountain bike race in the world</a> commences. 2700 miles from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells New Mexico, 200,000 feet of elevation gain and completely self supported. I love pulling the race up on my monitor and stalking the racers from a distance watching their spots travel insane distances across the map each and every day and listening to the daily racer call-in reports. </div>
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Good Luck to all the Divide racers you are going to need it.</div>
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Here's to loads of junk food and saddle sores.</div>
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Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-13321271902964645412010-05-10T22:33:00.000-07:002010-05-10T22:33:28.162-07:00White Rim 2010 Version 2.0<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiCwpFQrkmu1TIpvvHBOVYFnsitwIi9_yGPBIlbdl0AqSgkGNEwhdiyQRscKdUUOPAjVt4szwxkKPHwJpOaTnheSIiwmHpYNb2yC2220n5STWXzDagCzClXF6FRnEtFnqOn-yFNOe9eQ/s1600/IMG_0554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiCwpFQrkmu1TIpvvHBOVYFnsitwIi9_yGPBIlbdl0AqSgkGNEwhdiyQRscKdUUOPAjVt4szwxkKPHwJpOaTnheSIiwmHpYNb2yC2220n5STWXzDagCzClXF6FRnEtFnqOn-yFNOe9eQ/s400/IMG_0554.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div>My wife has the ability to get a life story out of complete strangers in a matter of minutes. It’s not uncommon for her to come home and make a batch of cookies for the checker at Target because she is going through a difficult divorce. So when she came home from the doctor and said, hey Dr Bell said that they are going down to ride White Rim this weekend and said that you could go down with them if you wanted to it was no surprise. Over the three years Dr Bell has been my doctor I have been in to see him twice, once for a scout camp physical and once for a broken ear drum. If it weren’t for my wife I would have never known he even rode a bike. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7eG3aNQqbh3_CXmWbXPi1RFpRmaX5q0aEPEQYO71vMZ1hE8uiD27RusxiLRWbJw5LyQdgSpLSFCyEMGXYmqFyxZHITDYq5_kkhiG1aeb3rFMrs-1-YfWQHRNIcBQgnJ5uQQYjd1h8V8/s1600/IMG_0558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7eG3aNQqbh3_CXmWbXPi1RFpRmaX5q0aEPEQYO71vMZ1hE8uiD27RusxiLRWbJw5LyQdgSpLSFCyEMGXYmqFyxZHITDYq5_kkhiG1aeb3rFMrs-1-YfWQHRNIcBQgnJ5uQQYjd1h8V8/s400/IMG_0558.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
A couple of days later I got an email from Dr Bell telling me that he had arranged a ride down for me with his neighbor. Shortly after that said neighbor called to arrange the logistics of picking me up and driving me a total stranger down to Moab to ride the White Rim in one day sight unseen. What I would give to have been a fly on the wall in the doctors office that day and heard exactly what my wife said to convince Dr Bell that I would even be able to handle such a ride. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOt-zK__3W-dExXBqcgv4rBAOeyBsD-y1SU82dIyt-l_9YuklJ2oRxTYwip0fdkm_NLDdwNfOy8o4tiHZzPTbfsRq701RhaAfQH009Ts6mauSeRsnpABiW0x0xAmugZvEtdf04c-fiaQ/s1600/IMG_0552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOt-zK__3W-dExXBqcgv4rBAOeyBsD-y1SU82dIyt-l_9YuklJ2oRxTYwip0fdkm_NLDdwNfOy8o4tiHZzPTbfsRq701RhaAfQH009Ts6mauSeRsnpABiW0x0xAmugZvEtdf04c-fiaQ/s400/IMG_0552.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The first time I meet Steve was at a park-n-ride, I threw my bag in the bed of his truck, loaded my bike on the rack and we were off. Steve introduced me to his brother Mike and said we have two others to pick up. We drove to Kaysville to pick up Lane then to Salt Lake to pick up Jeff. These guys were willing to pack five in a truck in order to accommodate me, a total stranger. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGuweYxC5G8bVAuz9Jeg4cmOIW0m-MNkFMW_ILUvGCEMHKMQm_ABMLi9XivXf8yJv3FmUR4Pli0e9dhF6Cq-qHXxUkzoBTlt9QheoyPLfq2AorcjmGrVhkIi7kymqJbtU7blZPSS3scY/s1600/IMG_0556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGuweYxC5G8bVAuz9Jeg4cmOIW0m-MNkFMW_ILUvGCEMHKMQm_ABMLi9XivXf8yJv3FmUR4Pli0e9dhF6Cq-qHXxUkzoBTlt9QheoyPLfq2AorcjmGrVhkIi7kymqJbtU7blZPSS3scY/s400/IMG_0556.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
From the conversations going on I could tell instantly that these guys were tight. After about an hour of listening to all four of them talking and telling stories I knew that there was a special bond between them , then I heard a sentence that helped put it all in perspective, it went something like, “Remember when Dad did …” Then it all made sense, Brothers, they were brothers. Never in my life have I meet four brothers who got along as well as these guys did and all four of them get were willing and capable of riding their bikes for a hundred miles through the desert. This is really cheesy but man that is special, I am not sure that they realize how unique their family is but I would really like to meet their parents and take notes cuz you know they have done a few things right.<br />
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We got to Moab late, pulled off the road and slept in the dirt. The next morning we got ready and headed up the road to meet up with the rest of the group. I made my best guess as to which one in the group was Dr Bell, (it had been nearly a year since I had last seen him for a broken ear drum, I was in and out within ten minutes and had only seen him one other time a year prior to that) I remember my wife telling me that he rode a Scott and thankfully there was only one guy on a Scott. I am pretty sure he didn’t recognize me either when I approached to thank him for inviting me down and finding me a ride. A couple minutes later we were off and riding. <br />
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The first 10 miles went by in a blur, I pulled a #2 out of the hat which meant I would be driving the support truck from mile 10 to 20 which happened to coincide with the Horsethief descent. Shortly after Horsethief I rolled up on our first mechanical, rattled loose and missing chain ring bolts. We were able to steal bolts from the middle ring to make a complete set for the big ring and removed the middle ring completely. I sure do like the new designs of cranks and bottom brackets, back in the day we would have needed a crank puller to get the bike up and running again but all the new design needs is a 5 mm allen, easy. The ten miles in the truck went as quickly as the first ten on the bike and I was off and peddling. I knew the mechanical had put us quite a way back from the main group so I went out hard to catch up. It was comforting to know that if needed, there would be a truck that I could jump in to at the end if I bonked. I figured I would see how long my legs would hold up if I pushed the pace and after a while I had closed the gap and caught the lead group. A few minutes later after taking his turn driving Jeff caught up and I rode with him for most of the day. He is a really strong rider and it was challenging to try to hold his wheel. It was really nice to have a pacer who pushed me harder than I probably would have pushed myself. There were a lot of strong riders in the group, I had a blast riding paceline style through the dirt with a fairly equally matched group of riders. I love the hollow sound the tires make on the dirt when you get a large tight group together at high speeds.<br />
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We made a few stops for lunch and breaks which was nice. I packed all my food and water and only cheated slightly by pulling a diet coke and water bottle from the truck during lunch. I just really wanted to build my confidence and experience in long self-supported rides. I was happy with the food and again my energy level only dropped slightly a couple times during the day but came back quickly when I stopped to eat. We finished strong, there was quite a bit of pain and suffering but it was tolerable and overall I would have to say that I had a really good time. I am really happy with where I am at, I owe my wife a huge thanks for bending over backwards for me this year so that I can get in as much riding as possible and even setting up a White Rim trip with relative strangers. Also thanks to the Caldwell’s and Dr Bell for rolling the dice with me and allowing me to join their group for the trip, hopefully this will be the first of many. It was really nice to find some good riders in Davis County, finally! Thanks guys.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAJt1etguQFg3367hiptYF8O0F23cDSbm38Sk0SPZ4HSkxm-yPuh-r4GqC_Fgmq_scPZC5qeMPzReDZJFmyTNjSmwbVN75ssd8lCUKZ13UDW1sw8NbYieWpAlVCPl_Lw59CCrnAky8As/s1600/IMG_0566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAJt1etguQFg3367hiptYF8O0F23cDSbm38Sk0SPZ4HSkxm-yPuh-r4GqC_Fgmq_scPZC5qeMPzReDZJFmyTNjSmwbVN75ssd8lCUKZ13UDW1sw8NbYieWpAlVCPl_Lw59CCrnAky8As/s400/IMG_0566.jpg" tt="true" width="300" /></a></div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-1986306575706240922010-04-24T17:47:00.000-07:002010-04-24T22:11:48.034-07:00RAWROD TT 2010 Trip ReportIt is hard for me to put words to paper that even come close to expressing what riding the White Rim is like. I will make an attempt but I am sure it will be inadequate. <br />
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At 8:00 everyone lined up on an imaginary start line and headed out. That was the last time I would see Kenny or any of the other fast riders. I was still standing by my car when they left and headed out less than a minute after the main group. I rode most of the day solo which turned out to be a good thing. Sometimes it's nice to just be alone.<br />
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The White Rim is an enormous place with absolutely breath-taking views. I felt extremely small against the towering cliffs and trail that disappears on the horizon in both directions. I don’t listen to music while I ride so I am left to live in the moment. There's the sound of tires on dirt and the occasional motorcycle or Jeep but for the most part silence. The trail has many smooth flat sections where you can just cruise and allow your mind to wander but there are also sections that go for miles and miles where the trail firmly holds your attention. Your world stretches to the horizon one minute to the 10-15 foot stretch of dirt and rock in front of your tire the next. <br />
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I passed a lot of riders going the other direction, but there is one that will be hard to forget. It probably has something to do with the banana hammock thong and pink halter top he was wearing. I just wonder in a situation like that do you just smear the shammy butter directly on to the saddle? I didn't stop to ask and sorry I didn't get a picture. <br />
My bike ran flawlessly throughout the ride. The only mechanical I am aware of was on Elden’s step-son’s motorcycle. Just after coming by me at the 50 mile point he threw a chain. Luckily he had the tools needed to fix it, the 50 mile mark is the absolute worst spot to break down. Really it was just like an overgrown bicycle and we had the chain back on and running in no time. I'll have to be honest it really scared me at first and the pit in my stomach did not go away until he fired it up and took off. Since he had the proper tools it turned out to be a very minor issue. <br />
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Here is the view looking forward at the 75 mile point. The Shaffer Trail snakes up the cliffs to the top of the mesa. <br />
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It is true that for the most part the trail is flat, but there is still a substantial amount of climbing to be had. <br />
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At the top<br />
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The final 20 miles consist of smooth road, 10 miles of pavement slightly uphill followed by a buffed out 10 mile slightly downhill dirt road, a perfect way to finish when you're tired. The perfect ride, thanks to Kenny for pulling it together.<br />
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<strong>Lessons Learned</strong><br />
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I like real food. I ate white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies and Pringles which was a perfect choice as far as my stomach was concerned. The only problem with this food is that every 15-20 miles I had to stop and get it out of my Camelbak. The time it takes to stop this often really adds up over the course of the day. It makes me wonder if I should start looking into and experimenting with gel or shotblocks which take up less volume and would be easier to access and eat while riding. Anybody have any tips on this?<br />
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I wish I had more time to explore and take pictures. Everywhere I looked was a picture, I had an almost overwhelming urge to stop and take pictures or just stop and take in the views. For the most part I resisted in favor of pushing through and trying to make a good time. I wish I would have been able to stick around for the slower paced group ride. <br />
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This was a good confidence builder, my first self-supported White Rim trip. I still have a long way to go but I think things are going in the right direction. It is going to be a fun season. <br />
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</strong>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-15933033901182217732010-04-18T22:43:00.000-07:002010-04-18T22:46:57.440-07:00RAWROD TwentytenA few weeks ago I got an invite to Kenny’s RAWROD (Ride Around White Rim One Day) ride. I did this once with him back in 2001 and it kicked my trash, took me 11.5 hours to finish and I came in dead last. There were about 10 of us riding that year and it has grown exponentially since. I was planning on doing this ride last year until I found out that my son’s Pinewood Derby was scheduled on the same day. The decision was obvious, I stayed home, a decision I will never regret. We had the fasted car and won the "Best Design" award. Apparently they don't give awards based on finish time to avoid hurt feelings. <br />
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A few days after Kenny posted the details of the Twenty Ten RAWROD I got a knock on the door from my son’s den mother with a flyer and a Pinewood Derby Kit, and of course across the top of the flyer was the date, April 24, 2010. They did it again. I am out for the supported group ride on Saturday but there is another option. Here is a short expert from Kenny’s email.<br />
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<em>With such a large group, the ride tends to spread out with greater and greater distances between the faster and the less-fast-but-still-awesome riders. Some people act like this incredible group ride isn't a group ride at all, but is instead a race. </em><br />
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<em>THE FAST RIDE</em><br />
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<em>To address this problem, I've added a non-supported, ride-at-your-own-pace-and-at-your-own-risk ride on Friday, April 23rd, for people who want to see how fast they can ride the loop. You must carry everything you need for the entire 100 miles, including everything to repair basic bike failures and all the food and water that you will need to finish the entire ride. The ride takes me between 6 to 7 hours. I carry two tubes, a patch kit, a pump, a chain tool, and a multi-tool. I need a 100 oz bladder and two water bottles and about 1200 calories of food. You should know your own needs and plan accordingly. </em><br />
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<em>Pain and suffering will occur. </em><br />
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<em>THE SUPPORTED RIDE</em><br />
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<em>The supported ride will be on Saturday, the 24th of April. If you choose to come on the supported ride, you are accepting the fact that this ride goes slowly. We will stick together. We will only be as fast as our slowest rider. I do not want to discourage people who want to try to complete this ride. Many riders, myself included, have started a 100 mile ride not knowing if they would be able to complete it. That's one of the things I love about endurance riding - pushing yourself to discover what you are physical capable of doing.</em><br />
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Looks like I will be doing the Fast Ride on Friday. I have to admit that I am a little scared. If something goes wrong I could fairly easily find myself in a life threatening situation. White Rim is about as remote as you can get, no cell coverage, no water, no food and no shelter. Once you start the loop you are fairly committed to finishing it, there are no shortcuts or pull out points. I thought about doing this ride last year but did not trust my bike or my body enough to take the risk. This year I have a new bike and I feel much stronger. I think I will be able to pull it off without too much trouble. <br />
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The last time I rode the White Rim was a supported trip, I didn’t have to carry all of my food or water and I knew that if I had to I could just hop into the Jeep. Something about knowing that if you are ill prepared you could die has helped me be a little more motivated to prepare this year. I have been riding a lot and have a few high mile rides under my belt this year with good results. <br />
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On Friday I took a practice exam to see how I would do on the final. I loaded up the Camelbak with 100 ounces of sugary syrup, and dropped two additional bottles of water in my jersey pockets. I packed a large bag of peanut butter M&M’s, four granola bars and headed out the door. I rode out to Antelope Island and did the same loop I did last week, ran into four Buffalo that scared the crap out of me and another rider named Mike (I think, I am really bad with names) seemed like a pretty cool guy, I invited him to the group ride I am starting on Tuesday nights. <br />
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After the ride I was planning on doing it again but was too freaked out by the Buffalo so I rode up to the BST in Kaysville. The BST in Kaysville is only 3.5 miles from one parking lot to the next, it seems so much farther. I rode 21 miles on this trail and passed the same hiker six times it was a little maddening. I was running short on daylight so I cut the ride a little short and made my way home with a total of 90 miles for the day and a pretty good representation of the White Rim trail. <br />
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So how did I do? I wanted to focus on keeping my stomach happy and the energy level up so I was very cautious about how much and when I was eating. I had to force myself to eat and drink and for the most part I was successful. My stomach was happy until I finished and my legs stayed with me the entire time, no bonk. It was a fun day. I think I will be able to pull off the Fast Ride with out too many problems and still make it back to the Derby on Saturday if all goes to plan. <br />
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Wish me luck…Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-81654025570671844462010-04-12T20:45:00.000-07:002010-04-12T20:59:07.093-07:00"Short Ride"I worked a half day on Saturday and wasn’t really planning on going for a long ride. Since the mountains to the East are still muddy from our snow storm last week and I didn’t have much time I decided to head out on the road toward Antelope Island. I had three hours and ten minutes, my plan was to turn around after 90 minutes giving myself a ten minute buffer.<br />
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Did I happen to mention that I was on my new <a href="http://ryanthomspon.blogspot.com/2010/03/ryan-gets-new-bike.html">bike</a> and that it’s <em>FAST</em>? I rode for 90 minutes at which time I was exactly 25 miles from my house and exactly ½ way through the figure-8 single/double track loop on the island, the natural turn around spot. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrxCZ2B0LHL-1vyP7nQscqbI0O7DPrv4yVqyVLbXyu1aXFQHz5bVV0rgUzcspr5aaB1Wx5dMZyAsqzQf1O0zh-6tEJSm08qBF1VfGg7eTic8YUT_3G10qEa_4H44G_oP86mRZFN-8tb0/s1600/m-antel.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrxCZ2B0LHL-1vyP7nQscqbI0O7DPrv4yVqyVLbXyu1aXFQHz5bVV0rgUzcspr5aaB1Wx5dMZyAsqzQf1O0zh-6tEJSm08qBF1VfGg7eTic8YUT_3G10qEa_4H44G_oP86mRZFN-8tb0/s320/m-antel.gif" wt="true" /></a>My wife has been incredibly understanding about letting me get out and ride lately and I know that making her late for a dinner appointment with one of her girlfriends would not go over well. To make it home on time I would have to travel the same distance in the same time plus my ten minute buffer. </div><br />
Everything was going smoothly until I hit the east side of White Rock Bay Loop where I had a bit of an <a href="http://ryanthomspon.blogspot.com/2010/03/when-buffalo-attack.html">incident</a> a couple of weeks ago. Four Buffalo were grazing just off the side of the road. Normally I would have just blown by them but for some reason that just didn’t feel right so I took a little bushwhacking detour up the hill and just out of sight. As I crested the top of the bluff I ran right into the rest of the herd, so I split the difference and took the middle ground between the two. As soon as I felt I had gotten enough distance I made my way back to the road without incident. I picked up a slight tail wind and drained the tank on the causeway and farm roads leading back to my house.<br />
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Total ride time was 3 hours 16 minutes. I was 6 minutes late, but after many years of short rides turning into long ones 6 minutes was a very acceptable margin for my wife. Thanks Sweetheart. I felt like I was going to vomit a lung for the rest of the evening. <br />
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I think I found my new favorite "training" ride, a couple of laps and it comes out to a cool 100 from my front door, if only someone could do something about those pesky Buffalo. <br />
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When I was a kid I had a terrible fear of dogs. I got over that. I now know when faced with an angry dog there are three options, out run, punt or make friends. I have never lost employing this strategy. As an adult I have a well founded fear of Buffalo and I think I need a new strategy for dealing with it. Any ideas?Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-35256565963308501192010-03-25T22:07:00.000-07:002010-03-26T11:14:11.479-07:00Trek Top Fuel 9.8Thanks to Randy at <a href="http://maddogcycles.com/index.cfm">Mad Dog Cycles</a>, I am getting my first <a href="http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain_full_suspension/top_fuel/topfuel98/">new bike</a> since 2002 possibly tomorrow. It is a 2010 Trek Top Fuel 9.8 and it shipped out on Tuesday. I mentioned that I was getting a carbon bike to some of the Composites Engineers that I work with and they all wanted to know if I was nervous riding a carbon mountain bike. I am not. This will be the second carbon Trek for me and the last one held up to lots of abuse with no problems what so ever. <br />
I remember the Trek reps would brag that most of their engineers came from the aerospace industry. It was an excellent selling tool; after all it doesn't get any better than aerospace, right? Fast forward a decade I find myself working for one of the leading aerospace composites companies as a Quality Engineer and I am fully convinced that Trek has the best Composites Engineers on the planet. <br />
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The funny thing about aerospace is that the price for failure is often in the billions of dollar range and in many cases results in loss of human life. In this type of environment failure is simply not an option. Designs are overbuilt, conservative and rarely cutting edge. The mantra is build it exactly like we did the last time because the last time... <em>it worked</em>. Pushing the envelope of a design in aerospace is taboo. Don't get me wrong the accomplishments that have been made in the aerospace industry are quite simply amazing, especially considering the complexity of the systems when compared to a bicycle. But there is a big difference when designing a product where failure is not only an option, but in some cases can be desirable. My guess is that many of Trek's designs are built to fail under the most aggressive or abusive riders. Riders that are able to induce the type of stresses that would cause a failure are few and far between. The vast majority of riders will never put the frame through enough cycles to cause a fatigue failure and don't have the cahones to push the bike hard enough to induce catastrophic failure. The benefit for the rest of us is an extremely strong light weigh bike that performs flawlessly for 98% of us, for the other 2% Trek has an excellent warrantee. The best way to find a flaw in a design is to see someone break it, a luxury we do not have in the aerospace industry. <br />
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*note I have no science or data to back up my numbers this is just a WAG. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCappMEzdGc4ojBCqh2J6x8kXI1CkM8q7HGF4fgM7eYSXrsX6qurXOS-jCvKiIURaVtas3PvAtRHOD7-HgU1mvELBHsZ26KiTk_JA4NbXOBuT8X_1LLODGSym1YsiOm2V8UhgmJesh1xg/s1600/topfuel98_onyx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCappMEzdGc4ojBCqh2J6x8kXI1CkM8q7HGF4fgM7eYSXrsX6qurXOS-jCvKiIURaVtas3PvAtRHOD7-HgU1mvELBHsZ26KiTk_JA4NbXOBuT8X_1LLODGSym1YsiOm2V8UhgmJesh1xg/s400/topfuel98_onyx.jpg" width="400" /></a> <br />
A little less travel and a lot less weight than my current bike, this thing should scream. I can't wait to get it dirty.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-43738430076177463912010-03-21T22:24:00.000-07:002016-03-14T17:44:52.914-07:00When Buffalo AttackSaturday morning I decided to go for a longer ride than usual so I left from my house and rode out across the causeway to Antelope Island. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6z-lRv3WpdcGFvJ9PQw46pt6-bjnQmXHvtIdlWVYZbEsoeaFC-Ti2d4zAnZwPH2yRAMs_z-EcQGxHqsIBXDjnK4UjHuc7LmVQG1IhtfDzNIzZRaEeyhMLZcK4cUoClfsxD3iFq8tpqg/s1600-h/IMG_0406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6z-lRv3WpdcGFvJ9PQw46pt6-bjnQmXHvtIdlWVYZbEsoeaFC-Ti2d4zAnZwPH2yRAMs_z-EcQGxHqsIBXDjnK4UjHuc7LmVQG1IhtfDzNIzZRaEeyhMLZcK4cUoClfsxD3iFq8tpqg/s400/IMG_0406.jpg" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have talked about this road before, look at the size of that shoulder, perfectly flat and very few cars. Put your head down and go.</div>
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Once you hit the Island there is plenty of wide open space to get your tires dirty.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHTbfasIhG081yXT7_lIy8bJqb6lz5q4tO6o-min3t7fJ8kVfW8Qo4F0UYjx8GVMGKuhP9w1u54SLnnSwUmkBURAJhYXbuJZEGqXXRqdSG3GyOIwbI-iRMfxKfFvmJ9J8w2YjpdNjXNs/s1600-h/IMG_0408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHTbfasIhG081yXT7_lIy8bJqb6lz5q4tO6o-min3t7fJ8kVfW8Qo4F0UYjx8GVMGKuhP9w1u54SLnnSwUmkBURAJhYXbuJZEGqXXRqdSG3GyOIwbI-iRMfxKfFvmJ9J8w2YjpdNjXNs/s400/IMG_0408.jpg" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Island has a good balance of hills, flats and technical double and singletrack</div>
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The soil on the Island is porous and drains extremely fast, great ride in the early spring when everything else is soggy. </div>
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View of the Great Salt Lake, you get a feel for its size once you are out there.</div>
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The starting point, you can see my house from here.</div>
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Here is where the ride gets interesting. As I am riding toward this herd of Buffalo a wide-eyed runner passes me going the opposite direction. He stopped me and said "If I were you I would turn around and go the other way. The Buffalo are agitated by something; they ran me up a rock and tried to kill me." I have ridden within a few feet of Buffalo lots of times. They usually respond the same way cattle do, in that either they just stand there and look at you or they run off, no big deal, but in the back of my mind I was a little scared. There was another way out but this was the quickest and funnest way and I really did not want to miss a fun super fast downhill so I rolled the dice. </div>
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Two things of note in this picture Buffalo and rocks</div>
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Turns out when someone tells you that they just got chased up on to the top of a big rock by a herd of Buffalo you should listen to them. He is a picture I took from the top of the rocks after I ditched my bike and ran from the charging herd. I pulled my camera out only after they had backed off a little and had quit pawing at the dirt and snorting at me from the base of the rocks. The two in the picture were the most aggressive; they looked to be adolescents to me but still weighed well over 1000 lbs. I could feel the base from their grunts and snorts bouncing around in my chest cavity and the musky smell of their breath was equally as intimidating. I was pretty sure that if they really wanted to they could have scaled the rock I was standing on. Luckily they didn't and after a minute they started to back off. </div>
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These rocks saved my life.</div>
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I waited for a while and when they had backed off the trail a little ways I climbed down, grabbed my bike and walked ten feet when the herd charged for the second time. Back up on the rocks, <em>fast</em>. Three Buffalo charged to the base of the rock and again started pawing at the ground grunting and snorting. I stood there and <em>tried</em> to look BIG. This time I gave them a good solid 20 minutes before climbing down from my perch and when I did come down I circled down off the other side of the hill just out of sight to make my pass. I was terrified as I was bush whacking the long way around the herd. I was afraid that they would come charging over the hill and this time there would be nowhere to hide. Luckily they didn't and when I got a safe distance past the herd I circled back around and picked up the trail. I had been riding for three hours by this time but with the adrenalin pumping I stood up on the pedals and got the hell out of there. As I picked back up on the pavement I was tempted to swing by the restaurant on the Island and order a big fat juicy Buffalo Burger, instead I just put my head down and hammered my way home. </div>
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Here is a <a href="http://possumblog.mu.nu/documents/Buffalo%20Encounter.doc">link</a> to another story of a guy who was not as lucky as I was.</div>
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-7947607840105301652010-03-19T21:18:00.000-07:002010-03-19T21:18:23.282-07:00Leadville Training Plan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BqHqt0DaUWzmeB2o0iWXX4DF4haIEy4zXEbOd7_QGAjQVUMGOATCCrSTZXpJYeR4TriqYQslCevTO9nXaUJOqRzgCmwIAgvebdwYJTXsXr3c-tj64LdAOjoc_Zlqxe9_E7JFPs4HUig/s1600-h/Leadville+Belt+Buckle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BqHqt0DaUWzmeB2o0iWXX4DF4haIEy4zXEbOd7_QGAjQVUMGOATCCrSTZXpJYeR4TriqYQslCevTO9nXaUJOqRzgCmwIAgvebdwYJTXsXr3c-tj64LdAOjoc_Zlqxe9_E7JFPs4HUig/s400/Leadville+Belt+Buckle.jpg" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
On August 14th I am going to race my bike off -road for <a href="http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/news/10-03-09/Animated_Video_of_the_LT_100_Race_Course.aspx">100 miles</a> in the high altitude town of Leadville Colorado. A fairly ambitious undertaking to say the least, I will need a training plan and probably should have some goals to go with it. So here is my plan. <br />
I am going to ride my bike where and when I feel it. I plan on logging a lot of miles but I am not going to focus on the miles, the focus will be on my body, the flow of the bicycle and having fun. I am not going to wear a watch, computer or heart-rate monitor. I am going to completely wing it, listening to my body and letting it tell me how fast or slow I should be going. I will not let the preconceived notion that riding your bike long distances is hard or should be tiring. From now on long rides just mean that I get to play in the dirt longer than I normally would. I will not allow my training plan to become regimented or feel like it is a chore that must be done. I am not saying that it won’t be hard and that I will not suffer, I will, but from now on I will enjoy the suffering. As the season progresses the suffering to fun ratio is shifting and is already heavily stacked on the fun side. I fully anticipate this trend to continue as my fitness level continues to increase. <br />
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<strong>My Expectations</strong><br />
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I will ride as quickly and smoothly as my body and mind will allow. I want a belt-buckle. And in my opinion as far as belt-buckles go bigger is always better. I don’t know if I will come in under nine hours but regardless of my finish time I will work the crowd at the finish line with the most spectacular <em>wheelie</em> Leadville has ever seen. And there you have it, a goal is not a goal unless it is written, right?Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-78597329060459124202010-03-15T22:37:00.000-07:002010-03-15T22:37:45.902-07:00Bike Peddler Spring St George TripFeeling less than confident in my mechanical skills I opted out of driving 300 miles on an engine that I had just finished rebuilding. I made a call to <a href="http://bikepeddlerutah.com/2010/03/2010-spring-trip-report/">Josh McCarrel</a>, feeling like kind of a looser I asked if he knew if anyone who would be willing to let me tag along to St George with them for the annual Bike Peddler spring trip. Turns out he was riding down with Nick, a buddy of his from the shop, and they had room for me in the truck. This was a good move, I am sure I would be dead on the side of the road near Scipio if I would have attempted to drive the Rabbit. <br />
It was really good to get to know Josh and Nick, we know a lot of the same people and had a great time trading stories back and forth. The riding in St George was phenomenal. Friday we rode Barrel Roll and another trail right next to it that I forget the name of. Both trails were fun mostly smooth single track that would be great for novice riders. Saturday morning we rode the Slickrock Swamp trail, had a great time playing around on the rock. Around lunch time a storm blew in so we stopped by Dairy Queen loaded up on some grease and headed to the hot tub to wait it out. After the storm blew past we headed out to ride Prospector followed up by worship services at the Zen trail on Sunday morning. All in all it was one of the best road trips I have ever been on. Great riding, caught up with some old friends and made lots of new friends. It doesn't get much better than that. <br />
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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtWxXnBiKhqTFS3c3s_AkmffwH9hRSj_s6KXn7B_psRfPENdHuppTpCXbsAhJSgRjvGduRvLGBrkYfjquSYNKSROsKRpi6s3lG4UeGpEb0irX5hBsVvhXXfCWxCXJs9fm06C_G5ZU0fo/s400/IMG_0404.jpg" vt="true" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1SIOn8QlfQS5PCHYaSNJ4SmL8Z45M_WwMqTW-kE32lXoF-6j-mWIc06UCcFjwZ_fQ3BUTi16LA0ZHpP2xddpo02hllwa_qHy3B9fG-xseH9zSi2xYA0K8arrBmbxjQEw71MDTe9wY3I/s1600-h/IMG_0405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1SIOn8QlfQS5PCHYaSNJ4SmL8Z45M_WwMqTW-kE32lXoF-6j-mWIc06UCcFjwZ_fQ3BUTi16LA0ZHpP2xddpo02hllwa_qHy3B9fG-xseH9zSi2xYA0K8arrBmbxjQEw71MDTe9wY3I/s400/IMG_0405.jpg" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yep it Rocked</div>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-51923202287539930212010-02-12T21:55:00.000-08:002010-02-14T20:33:11.927-08:00Frozen Hog Race Report 2010Last Saturday I drove down to Alpine for the <a href="http://bikepeddlerutah.com/2010/02/frozen-hog-report/">Frozen Hog Race</a>. My calves got completely shredded. A full week after the event and I am still sore. I keep having to explain to the guys at work why I am walking with a limp. <br />
It started out with Josh explaining the LeMans style start, he even mentioned that if you didn't want to run you could just go to the staging area and wait for a signal to go after most of the field had passed. In hind sight that is really funny, after the LeMans start we grabbed our bikes and started running, and running and running. <br />
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This was the highlight of the race, fifty feet in Chris Fox tempting us with a hand full of ones, (is it worth a dollar to loose a position?) I should have grabbed a buck. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_6GXECKyiWw6nxxTfFKM3QmFVKNVMsoYv0DW3_GpEzqF9ciGdID7mjvQBa0tt3wL89TyjVgMG-jwl4LmoVH079voW4tC2WUe0rffw9IvR8xjmLBhJ8sIKkEbPBgsTb3dqIe1r7ojysA/s1600-h/Frozen+Hog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_6GXECKyiWw6nxxTfFKM3QmFVKNVMsoYv0DW3_GpEzqF9ciGdID7mjvQBa0tt3wL89TyjVgMG-jwl4LmoVH079voW4tC2WUe0rffw9IvR8xjmLBhJ8sIKkEbPBgsTb3dqIe1r7ojysA/s320/Frozen+Hog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can see me behind Chris running.... and look Stuart Goodwin can run too </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9XqsxhUEAbZmLjEcFeQyu4buIL_IpHEMjHWrdJvx3ZQOTIwz-tZKodRoVbPLkSWnA9ueNhOH-tFahGM56T2IAfJoroeEpI9QC6vg4n-cFuYR4nyW5mUWkUQZ0ls4LRqludh_wXiG6B0c/s1600-h/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9XqsxhUEAbZmLjEcFeQyu4buIL_IpHEMjHWrdJvx3ZQOTIwz-tZKodRoVbPLkSWnA9ueNhOH-tFahGM56T2IAfJoroeEpI9QC6vg4n-cFuYR4nyW5mUWkUQZ0ls4LRqludh_wXiG6B0c/s400/Picture1.png" width="316" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The course was a 4 mile loop, to the right of the stars is the singletrack where you gain all of the elevation. NONE OF IT WAS RIDEABLE. 40 degree temperatures turned the snow into slush, there was absolutely no chance of riding this section. 1/3 of a mile into the race I told myself I was going to do one lap and drop out. After two miles of suffering we hit the top of the course and mounted our bikes for the downhill. It was squirly but ridable and my riding legs were fresh so I jumped and tried to make the most of the section of the course that you could actually ride. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">As I finished the first loop I saw a familiar face standing on the side of the road spectating, Stuart Talley. By this time I was back to running with my bike and could tell that he didn't recognize me. I ran off course directly at him and gave him a sucker punch to the gut. I don't know why it just felt right. Anyone that knows Stuart I am sure will understand. Stuart and I have a bit of a history. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The first time I met Stuart was in Moab through mutual friends. We were going out to ride Flat Pass and on the way to the trail head Stuart informed us of exactly how fast he was, to paraphrase it went something like this, "You may beat me up the hills but I got this here new full suspension bike and I will kill you on the down hills." He was right about the uphill part, and all I have to say is that right before I knocked my front teeth out on a rock I was in front of him on the downhill as well. Seeing Stuart sealed the deal, there was absolutely no way I could drop with him standing there. I kept running. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Don't get me wrong I really like Stuart he is what I like to call a very likeable Ass Hole. Many a good time have been had with Stuart around and since he introduced me to my wife I guess he can't be all that bad. His son Noah had a stellar race and finished first in his class. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I finished 4th out of 5 against a group of really fast guys. I am happy with the finish. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Expert Men 30-39 </div><br />
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1 501 0:57:55 Greg “Chucky” Gibson <br />
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2 529 1:00:06 Steve Wasmund <br />
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3 520 1:03:47 Cameron Smart <br />
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4 566 1:04:19 Ryan Thompson <br />
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5 574 1:32:58 Aaron Moulton <br />
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I have to say Josh McCarrel did a great job of organizing and promoting the race everything ran very smoothly. Mother Nature just had other plans for us on that day.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-18164989807435999572010-02-09T21:57:00.000-08:002010-02-09T21:57:54.101-08:00LeadvilleDear Leadville Trail 100 Family,<br />
<br />
CONGRATULATIONS! Your entry into the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race has been accepted. Get ready to "Dig Deep" and challenge yourself to the highest and biggest mountain bike race around. Gear up to race with the world's BEST cyclists at the nation's highest quality athletic experience with the utmost degree of safety, medical care and racer support.<br />
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We would also encourage you to consider entering the awesome 50 mile "Silver Rush" on July 17. It's a tough, demanding and incredibly beautiful ride in Leadville's historic east side mining district. Also new this year is 24 Hours of Leadville on Sept. 4 & 5 - for when 100 miles isn't enough! Try it solo or grab some of your friends and sign up as a team. More information about this event and the entry process will be on our web site soon.<br />
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Last, but certainly not least, we always need and welcome volunteers to assist the mountain bike and running events. Whether you will be traveling with your own crew or plan on arriving early or staying later, it is very rewarding to help other racers achieve their goals. In addition, preference in the 2011 entry process is also given to those who fulfill the volunteer requirements for any of our 2010 races.<br />
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We are working hard to make this "Race Across the Sky," the best ever. Our good wishes to you for safe and satisfying training. See you at the start line on August 14, 2010!<br />
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Dig Deep,<br />
<br />
Ken Chlouber Merilee Maupin<br />
President, Leadville Trail 100 Race DirectorRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-89641250711089224922010-01-31T22:16:00.000-08:002010-01-31T22:16:09.199-08:00Frozen Hog PracticeDid a little bike practice on Saturday for the <a href="http://www.frozenhog.com/">Frozen Hog Race</a>. I decided to play around with the video function on my point and shoot and ended up with this jem. A short little clip I call perspective, given the choice I'll take two wheels.<br />
<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9121582&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9121582&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9121582">Snow Biking on Bonneville Shore Line Trail in Kaysville</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3082124">Rocket Ryan</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-51220795284375661852010-01-22T17:07:00.000-08:002010-01-22T17:07:15.400-08:00Big Wheel Video 2Here is a little video that we shot last fall in Boulder City Nevada followed by a couple of runs down Brian Head Canyon. In my opinion not as good as our first video on Squaw Peak but still worth watching. <br />
<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3owtX6XO9e0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3owtX6XO9e0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-40597480008094001752010-01-06T21:28:00.000-08:002010-01-06T21:38:54.054-08:00Diamond Fork Hot PotsEvery year Kenny organizes a New Years ride to get out have a little fun and raise a bit of money for his <a href="http://seattle2010.livestrong.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=330114&lis=1&kntae330114=4BB56AB51753428385861FDE43FEF6C4&supId=279587968">Livestrong page</a>. This year’s destination was the Diamond Fork Hot Pots. If you have never been there you need to go. Due to the heavy foot traffic it is more or less ride-able year round. <br />
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In the winter the Hot Pots are incredibly inviting, they are located approx six miles from where the road is closed up Diamond Fork Canyon. Trail conditions were fair for Kenny’s ride recent snow and cold weather made for semi-consolidated snow conditions on the well traveled road and trail. It was all ride-able just with considerable concentration and effort. The reward for this effort was Mother Nature’s hot tub complete with temperature control unit (old dirty pair of underwear that you could either plug or unplug a hole allowing cold water to mix in). It really was the perfect destination location for a winter time ride. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXuUvYJIuvTxFeTiKllTMCREIHAoD1H5kqu8C6BOl7b7DcL8T_yFUfe1hqAzBAgg1AyUrrgl7KwVfKUsKeslcu27Mj4OKa0i_1UUUoD9xo3p0SCHpXrHhBT0yS7DCMiG6HPcvHft4Kcw/s1600-h/IMG_0373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXuUvYJIuvTxFeTiKllTMCREIHAoD1H5kqu8C6BOl7b7DcL8T_yFUfe1hqAzBAgg1AyUrrgl7KwVfKUsKeslcu27Mj4OKa0i_1UUUoD9xo3p0SCHpXrHhBT0yS7DCMiG6HPcvHft4Kcw/s400/IMG_0373.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From the pictures the trail looks totally un-ride-able which is the best part of riding in the snow, I just love cleaning sections of trail that at first blush look impossible.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-bTjVR2zDp1ZsZblaHlM0nPK18uLUWRZEDrpyb99pSOoda-8z4HEEzpeH8LN00ZEaFTXs3Qky_eSyndjuvmkHXjtjb1bpOTMYNC8AgKfKcHyUnKhMqBnrVZGW0RTiGgIuLHsM0Bo0Us/s1600-h/IMG_0376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-bTjVR2zDp1ZsZblaHlM0nPK18uLUWRZEDrpyb99pSOoda-8z4HEEzpeH8LN00ZEaFTXs3Qky_eSyndjuvmkHXjtjb1bpOTMYNC8AgKfKcHyUnKhMqBnrVZGW0RTiGgIuLHsM0Bo0Us/s400/IMG_0376.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>And my favorite picture of the day... me walking in the background with my gut hanging out. You can also see this picture where thousands of others have seen it at <a href="http://fatcyclist.com/">fatcyclist.com</a> Thanks Elden. <br />
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</div>Photo credit: Naked DudeRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8225139537314855365.post-90835750125502323202010-01-03T21:11:00.000-08:002010-01-03T21:11:48.366-08:00Magic and the Three Step ProcessI feel like I have been getting away with something that I shouldn’t lately. I have been riding my bike off-road in the middle of the winter on mountain trails, both snow covered and in balmy mid 70˚ temperatures. <br />
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There’s an easy explanation for the fair weather riding and that is due to the fact that I just happened to find some spare time during a business trip to the LA area. Instead of booking a flight out in the morning, I booked one of the evening flights and rented a bike for the day. I was only able to find one shop in the area that rented bikes and it turned out to be a ’93 Diamondback with a second generation Manitou fork on it (if you thought the elastomer bumpers were bad when they came out try aging them a couple of decades). I did my best to subdue my bike snobbishness. The bike actually climbed great and we will just leave it at that. The riding was good and I will never complain about that.<br />
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The snow covered trail riding is a little more difficult and the only explanation I have is Magic. Magic keeps the tires above the crust. Magic propels you forward at a speed similar to that of summer time riding. Magic makes it possible to ride in places nobody else will venture out to (at least on two wheels). The Bonneville Shore Line Trail above Layton and Kaysville gets a fair amount of foot traffic and has had great riding conditions lately. I’ve ridden that section of trail four times in the last couple of weeks. I love getting the looks from hikers, runners, snow-shoers, and skiers as I pass them.<br />
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I generally try to be polite when making a pass, here is my routine.<br />
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Step one, Follow quietly for 30 seconds assuming they heard me come up from behind and are just looking for a spot to pull over.<br />
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If step one fails I move on to step two, “Excuse me mind if I get by here” this almost always works.<br />
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Step three although the most fun of all trail passing techniques is reserved strictly for Ipod listening oblivious to the world trail blockers. The rule for deploying step three involves completely exhausting all techniques in step one and two. Just for good measure I repeat step two three times prior to deploying step three. Here's how it goes, I start looking for an opening just wide enough that I can manage to make a pass without actually making physical contact. One extra inch is all I need. As soon as the opportunity presents itself I pounce, with gusto and flare. The end result is always the same, I succeed in making the pass and trail blocker dude usually ends up jumping into the bushes. <br />
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I love step three.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235377321624257771noreply@blogger.com0