Tour of the white mountains, 2011

So it was time for the big race. I love the "Epic Rides" races. Specifically because they aren't really races. They are more like a gathering of people. Like-minded people that want to go and ride to see who will finish first.

So, I wanted to do better than last year, but life has a way of... getting in the way. I tried to ride as often as I could, but once a week was about as good as I could do. In the weeks leading up to the race I turned up the riding a bit. (This is contrary to what any pro would do as most of them tone down the riding in the weeks before a race so they are nice and strong.) I however, couldn't resist the foolish urge to try and make up for a lack of training.

I went out the Saturday before the race and spun out 55 miles on the single speed. Doing a similar elevation gain to the race course. I felt pretty good at the end, but my legs were sore and I took 2 breaks during that ride. On race day there would be no breaks and I'd be at elevation!'

The week leading up to the race I took it easy and just did one final ride 2 nights before for about 14 miles. I just wanted to make sure the bike and I were in working order!

(Side bar: about 4 weeks before the race I was riding my rigid single speed bike in Telluride. The allure of riding their "downhill" course got me to take the chair lift up. After a couple of runs and lots of fun I wrecked my rear wheel. Oops! Those are expensive so I took some old American Classic wheels the bike came with, taped them with Gorilla Tape, inserted some valves and made them tubeless.)

Needless to say, the test ride went well and the "new" tubeless wheels held air! Woohoo! Ready to race!

I headed up to Show Low and found a nice campsite right near the start line. I saw a couple of Toyota trucks so I knew it was a good neighborhood. As I pulled in the person parked next to me yelled "Hello, if you like beer and barbecuing feel free to come on by." Alright!! I knew this was a good camping neighborhood. I pulled over closer to my new neighbor Jesse.

No matter what kind of race I never sleep well the night before. Tonight was no different and I just laid there for the night.

I did notice this great Ecamper! I love these!

The morning of the race I walked around and checked out the start line. I was oddly calm. Funny, how no sleep will do that.

I was standing at the start line a bit early this time. Normally I start towards the back of the pack so there is less pressure and I can pass people as I go. For once I decided to start near the front of the pack. I let the pros all queue up in front of me and then found my friends Matt and Jeff who I've raced with in the past.

I asked Jeff and Matt who was going to win the race for Single Speed. They both pointed to two guys. One of them was standing next to me, Tom Ament who rides for Vassago. All of a sudden he said "Shit, I gotta get out of here." He started moving to the side of the starting gate and lifted his bike over the fence. He said his front fork blew. A seal or something must have gone. Doh!

I looked around and didn't see any other fully rigid bikes... Hmmm. Oh well. (last year I raced on an easier gear and a front suspension fork so this was going to feel pretty new) BAM! Off we went from the start line.

Matt was gone from sight right away and Jeff was pulling away. Yikes! I spun my gears as fast as I dare without generating any pain this early in the race. Finally about a mile in everyone started to settle. A few riders dropped back fast. I caught back onto Jeff's rear tire and we started weaving through the pack.

As we climbed I couldn't stay seated and pedal with my harder gear this year so I stood and pedaled past Jeff. I was hoping we'd fall back in line together when it flattened out. It was a weird feeling not hearing him behind me. At the first near 180 degree turn I looked back and didn't see him. The difference of 2 cogs on the rear sprocket made enough of an impact that we weren't going to be riding together.

When that realization hit it sort of well, sucked. Riding 60 miles together last year was a blast. It made the miles go by fast and feel like a big touring ride. I decided right then that if it wasn't going to be a ride with my buddy then I'd better make it count. I picked up my pace a few RPM's and got to it.

Eventually, I saw Matt's jersey. I hooked onto his rear tire and followed along. Again, it was the hill that helped me. He was spinning fast, but on the hill he was able to stay seated and pedal. I had to stand, but that made my pace a bit faster so I went for the pass when it was open.

Off I went solo. I hammered through the singletrack and the long road section. On the road I wished for a couple more teeth on my rear sprocket. I spun to keep up with geared riders and I tucked in behind them on the down hills.

I kept this up with some see sawing thrown in. (I pass them on the up hill, they pass me on the down hill) Eventually I beat out a couple of geared riders and came upon a fit looking riding with "chain suck." Right as I passed he yelled "Got it! See you in a minute single speeder!!" DOH! Haha, I love the good natured challenges of other riders.

Sure enough in a few miles I heard him ride up behind me. Off he went in the section of the course that looked like a cabbage field. The only problem was that the cabbage were really rocks. This section was about picking good lines. Miles and miles of it. Thank goodness for caffeine.

I was eating caffeinated "Gu" packets like candy at this point. Trying to keep my mind focused on picking perfect lines.

I knew one wrong move, literally less than one inch off and I would have a bent wheel and a long walk.

I felt strong right up until the finish physically, but mentally I was fading. I think the lack of sleep made my mind wander. My legs were spinning as fast as I could, but my lungs were hurting too. Damn asthma. I had my inhaler, but the second half of the course is so technical it doesn't leave much time for eating let alone inhalers.

I saw riders for Pivot and Form bicycles which was a boost to my mind and ego. I hung onto their tires and we had a good group of three bikes rallying along. Passing the 35 miler's was the toughest part. Most of them got right over, but a few refused to move over. It took some time to find room to pass, but eventually we all made it through to clean air.

About a mile from the finish I felt so light headed I thought I might pass out on the bike. Yikes! Just keep spinning!

I made it. 7th place in single speed and 23rd over all. MUCH better than last year and much better than I had planned.

Woohoo!

I saw Tom walking by with his bike. Turns out he pulled off a 6th place finish with the blown out fork. A rigid is one thing, but a blown fork will lower the bike and cause you to hit the pedals and frame on lots of rocks. He must have had a bumpy 60 miles!

At the finish I saw my buddy Jon and we partook in some free beer thanks to Epic Rides and New Belgium!!

Jeff and Matt finished strong a short time later. Here Jeff comes across the line.

We hung out with old friends and new. The rain never showed and we enjoyed a perfect day.

Toyota Camp.

A free tree from Todd at Epic Rides!

Future racer.

We watched the rain fall around the area, but none for us thankfully.

I was so jacked up by the good finish and the immense amount of caffeine that I didn't sleep much at all, again!

What a great day!

The next morning we woke up to rain and a muddy field. After a giant coffee we headed back home. Another great weekend.

Custom Handmade Leatherwork

I'm so excited!! My new knife sheath is here.

I am a big fan of anything handmade with skill. It's such a rare commodity these days.

Whether it be fabricating with metal, leather, wood or anything else I think it's amazing how style, hard work and a bit of art mix together into something that is one of a kind. It can't be duplicated by a machine. Something that is truly hand made has the personality and the skills of the maker built into it.

I am so excited to finally have something that is custom made just for me. A good friend of mine has been a fabricator of metal and leather for many years. From the good old days where he fabricated Trophy Trucks during the heyday of Ford's Rough Riders desert racing to the leather work he does for cowboy action shooters, motorcycle seats etc!

I've had my Helle Eggen knife for many years, but the leather sheath that it came with fell apart after a short couple years of hard use. Thankfully the knife is made to last a life time or more. I hope to pass this knife down to my children some day.

If you need any leather work I can put you in touch with Dennis. Here is his facebook page, but shoot me a message and I can send you his phone number or here is his email: ruff 79 bronco at gmail dot com. (It's spelled out funny like that so the address doesn't get picked up by the folks who love to send tons of spam email! Use your noggin and it should be clear what his email is without the spaces and items spelled out.)

I apologize for the bad pictures.

Of course this sheath will get a lot of use over the next few years!

The detail work is my favorite part.

Here are a couple shots of his other work, but the list of items he can make is much longer than what's below. I particularly like the custom motorcycle seats he's created. Some day when I have the right bike, I'll be placing an order.

CO. Day 9 and 10: Stoner Ski Resort, Mancos, Cortez, New Mexico, Greer, to Beehive Springs, Phoenix

We woke up late and took our time descending the mountain. It was the last 5 digit elevations we'd see for a while.

I had to grab a driving picture of the Stoner Ranch. Behind it are the still cut in Ski Runs and the chairlifts. I wonder if they keep it running to go and hit up some turns for their friends in the middle of winter.

As we headed through New Mexico I was struck by how ugly this part of the state is. The towns are dirty and the people all seem angry. This is from three trips through this area, all on different highways of course. I hate to say it, but that's what this particular area seems like. I think it's more a product of poverty than anything else.

A resounding feature was Shiprock. It's absolutely impressive. We didn't drive into the park to avoid tourists, but it was great to see such an amazing view.

As we traveled south we entered the New Mexico I know and love. It was gorgeous! It reminded me of the areas near Taos, but albeit at lower elevation. As we drove through New Mexico we drove along a desolate highway that was under construction for about 2 hours worth of driving. They were widening a highway that almost no one uses. About another hour south we turned onto a highway that was on my GPS and map as paved. About 100 yards later it went to dirt. I was happy, but it was funny that one that was supposed to be paved a decade before was still dirt. On the other hand, one that had no one on it was getting a 25,000,000 American Reinvestment act face lift. Oh well, such is government.

We had a great time on the dirt and eventually dropped right on to the US60. The 60 took us right into Arizona. We drove around Greer and quickly ran away with all of the people playing "weekend camper" at the fancy resorts! They were everywhere. It felt like attack of the Scottsdale Zombies.

We found a great spot with no one around for miles. I was surprised we were able to with so many campers around. As I got out of the truck I felt a sharp pain! Again and again. On my arm the first couple times and then on my leg the next 4 times. Yikes! I was dancing to make sure it was out of my clothes before I jumped back in the truck. We saw several angry bee's buzzing outside the front window trying to get at us. Yikes!

As I pulled up the map and GPS to find another place to go I noticed we were smack dab on top of Beehive Springs... DOH!

As funny as it was we soon realized after traveling several miles that Beehive Springs was no more bee populated than this whole area. We careful set up camp and got a nice and smokey fire going to deter the bees. Once they went to sleep we had a great night reading and eating a chicken stir fry.

It struck me how amazing that on our 9th night camping we were eating food this fresh that had been brought along the whole adventure. Wow, I love my freezer/fridge!

Moooo! And good night.

The next morning we got up nice and late. Our subconscious not wanting to head back down in elevation to the heat and responsibilities of real life. We drove through Show Low, Heber, on to Payson, Sunflower, Four Peaks and then Phoenix. The great trip was done, but many more would follow. It was hot, but as we drove through town I knew it was a great trip because we felt like foreigners in our own town.

Hope you enjoyed it.

T and D

CO. Day 8: Kite Lake, Stony Pass, Silverton, Purgatory, Colorado Trail

So, we woke up and drove down from Heart Lake towards Highway 550 after spending a while heading down roads that the Forest Service had closed. Several showed they would go through and cut down to Stony Pass, but never did. It's all part of the adventure.

As we headed towards Stony Pass we saw this sign.

The handlebars of the bike it swing back and fourth. That was cutting it close!! This section before Stony Pass was actually a lot rougher than the road to come. We saw two trucks with flat tires that had it under control, but I could tell they were in over their heads. They both insisted that help was on the way so we kept on cruising.

Heading along Sweetwater Creek. I think that signs been there for a while.

Stony Pass is pretty, but it was Friday before a huge holiday weekend and so it was what we were calling crowded. Sure it was only 15 or so trucks, but it was enough to make D and I hurry out of here.

Coming down the west side of Stony Pass there are some amazing remnants of Ore tramways.

I wonder how many more years these buckets will hang up there.

This building was the lower tramway building. The wires from the ore buckets went right into it. Even better I could see that the windows were of a newer era and there was a For Sale sign on it. We had to walk up and grab a flyer. For the price of a normal home in say Orange County you could own a 100+ year old piece of history and live in it!

Wow!

The holes are sealed up, but this is part of your new home. I can just picture the rich ore dumping out.

There is even a fire escape, if the fire is bad enough to trust 100+ year old wood!

Not a bad back yard!

This tramway building is down in the main valley on the way to Silverton. It's on the property of a modern mine. Hopefully the newer roof keeps the rest of the building preserved for a long time to come.

Perfect for a ride to work or to take ore down the mountain!

We dropped by Silverton very briefly, but the crowds had come to town. We found a brief respite at the city park and then we headed out. First we had to drop by the steam engine.

The perfect grocery getter for the San Juans!

As we drove up and out of Silverton I saw a 3rd generation 4runner heading my way. It's funny that we both instantly recognized each others trucks. As he flashed his lights I flashed mine. Haha!

I turned around and we chatted for a bit. It was Jake Quinones of New Mexico Backroads. He was headed up to Ouray for the long weekend to do some exploring and photography. His pictures are just amazing. Have a look at the link above.

We drove down the highway and turned off on Lime Creek. I've heard that this side road that parallels the highway is really pretty. We had a good time being on dirt, but considering the mileage we traveled the day before I was ready to be off of this particular side trail. I was exhausted. We didn't see a lot of mine buildings so we just kept cruising and listening to Jason Ellis on Sirius.

Once we were back on the highway we headed to Purgatory (Durango Mountain Resort, but I refuse to call it by the new name) and up the Hermosa Trail that I mountain biked the week before. We raced up in elevation until we were at a spot that we found a week before but deemed "too high" in elevation to camp after just coming from Phoenix. We were more than prepared since we'd been camping at 11k to 12k feet.

Tonight's camp was amazing. We were sitting at 11,800 feet right on the Colorado Trail. The view to the left.

The view to the right.

In camp.

Not a bad view. What a great night!!

A great night for reading! And smores, gotta have smores!

I had the first tinge of sadness that the trip was coming to an end. We had a night or two more, but considering how long we'd been traveling that was a very short time.