May 2009
11 posts
“Keep your eyes on the straight path ahead of you, the path of your own nature...”
– M.A.
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Saving the Giant Green Snake
We rode the Mormon Pioneer Trail Thursday. Somewhere midway up the climb, I saw a giant green snake in the middle of the trail. It was lying straight across the path, and wouldn’t move. I knew it would eventually be run over by a biker, so I nudged it to try to get it to slither into the forest. Instead, it took off directly down the trail. This wasn’t good for its immediate...
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Through The River And Into The Sun
Rode Quarry last night with my friend Rich Varga. He’s a great uphiller and I didn’t see much of him until we got the the top of the trail, two thousand feet above. The downhill was peaceful, but Little Cottonwood Creek was so swollen from snowmelt that it had overrun its banks and turned about one hundred yards of trail into a shallow river. The sun was setting on our way down and...
“The success of any human action depends on two things: will and power. If...”
– Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
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The Pipeline in Record Time
We rode the Pipeline last night. The gate was closed so we had to climb a mile and a half on the pavement to Elbow Fork, which was fine because it turns out that I sort of have to run the Helsinki marathon in August, so I need all the cardiovascular training I can get.
The ride was great fun, but there were a lot of hikers and dogs on the trail. I love the two epic downhills of the Pipeline:...
“If the things which you complain about losing had truly been yours, you would...”
– Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
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Climbing the Wall
We climbed the Wall, cruised down the Rollers and took the high path up Shoreline Trail to another difficult climb to an overlook above Red Butte reservoir. While the uphill was brutal, the downhill was so much fun I forgot the pain I was in and just enjoyed riding through the foothills of the Wasatch. Soon this trail will be too hot to ride and we’ll be forced deeper into the mountains. ...
April 2009
12 posts
WatchThe Bobsled, April 23, 2009
Blunt Force Trauma
Part of the crew rode Dry Creek to the Bobsled after work today. The temperature was perfect and as we rose up out of the stream bed to the shoreline, we watched an afternoon storm roll across the valley.
The video starts as we drop into the Bobsled. I laid the bike down at about 1:20 above. I bounced off the trail so hard I thought I broke my femur for a second, but I’m fine. Spring...
“Everything disperses and vanishes like smoke, both the rememberer and the...”
– M. A.
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Just A Small Part of the Quarry
Rode the Quarry Trail today as far as I could until it was completely blocked by snow. I think I made it about a third of the way. The temperature will be around 70 all week, so with luck, it may be clear before the end of the month.
“Time heals all wounds.”
– Pallas Athene
Winning for Effect
Although waking at 5:45 am to run 13 miles is not my ideal Saturday morning, beating my boss certainly is. I beat him in the half marathon, but didn’t reach my goal of finishing in under two hours (I don’t think). The official results aren’t posted yet, but I seem to have finished in 2:03 [update: I officially finished in 2:01.12]. I broke my record from last year. Nina and...
Running for Effect
I run the half marathon Saturday. I’m not remotely prepared. My boss is also running. I have talked so much smack about how I will crush him mercilessly that I’m not sure I’ll be able to show my face at work next Monday if I lose. My beloved wife pointed out that if I do lose, I can just say I did it on purpose since he’s my boss and it would be better for my career if...
March 2009
7 posts
“Remember all that you have been through, all the heavy burdens you have found...”
– M. A.
The Frozen Gulch
It was a great week. We’re firming up plans to spend the summer in Europe, I probably won’t have to be more than two or three weeks alone in Salt Lake, and I’m coaching one of my godson’s flag football teams this spring.
My ride today was rough. I had to take the pavement all the way to the base of Rattlesnake Gulch. I hiked up most of the gulch because of the snow;...
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A Return to Darkness
Winter has returned. While I love to snowboard and ski as much as the next person, I had hoped we would be consistently riding on a weekly basis at this point in the year. Plus, each extra inch of snow we get in the mountains pushes the opening of the Crest back that much further. On top of that, there’s a good chance I’ll be alone for at least part of the summer. The last time...
“Look into the heart of the matter. Don’t let the essential character or...”
– M. A.
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Waking the Dragon
Yesterday I kicked off the 2009 season riding the Shoreline trail from This is the Place momument to Red Butte Gardens. I rode up ‘the wall’ and down the Rollercoaster. It was a great ride and I trail-tested my camera for the first time. The video is above (just the exciting parts), and the technical details are here.
December 2008
2 posts
“Look then on how soon everything is forgotten and gaze into the abyss of...”
– M. A.
Into the Unknown
Yesterday I took a late-season ride on the Quarry Trail. The whole way there I wondered if it would be completely impassable, and if I would freeze to death and hikers would find me later in the winter looking like Jack Nickelson in The Shining.
Turns out it was snow covered but very rideable, and I cranked to the top with Pallas Athene as my inspiration and my MP3 player’s shuffle mode...
October 2008
3 posts
“Nothing is miserable unless you think it is so.”
– Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
Autumn on the Quarry Trail
The world has no use for men who have lost their nerve. I remember this on top of the pipe ramp, which I walked up and rode down. But let’s face it, the last time I actually rode over it I nearly broke my femur. Riding the Quarry Trail yesterday on a beautiful fall evening, the leaves brilliant amber and gold restores the will to live I had lost weeks ago when I caught a cold that...
September 2008
5 posts
Millcreek Canyon
The simple beauty of Millcreek Canyon is reason enough to ride the Pipeline trail over and over. But there are a lot more, too. The crew and I have ridden it both of these past Thursdays. Both times were standard and well-executed. Arielle accused me of being a mountain biking bourgeois because of a comment I made about my abilities in the Gulch. As much as I admire this woman, she...
At Dusk in the Land of the Moose and her Calf
About halfway up the Big Water trail this past Thursday, with Dave and Tom Quinn somewhere up ahead, and Julee lost behind me, I ran into a giant female moose and her calf in a small meadow about twenty feet away. She looked extremely annoyed with my presence. I couldn’t decide if it would be safe to continue up, so I waited awhile for her to move along, the whole time wishing Sarah Palin...
Ground to Dust
As of last Thursday, northern Utah trails were in pretty rough shape. I rode with Dave and two of his friends, all outstanding riders up Big Water to Dog Lake and then Down Little Water back to the end of Millcreek Canyon. The way up was fine, but on the way down, unless you were the lead rider, the trail was hidden under the dust thrown up by the rider ahead of you. When you could see, the...
August 2008
12 posts
“Examine the history of any people or time. See how hard they strove and how soon...”
– Marcus Aurelius, The Emperor’s Handbook
My Personal Apocalypse
I re-road the Quarry Trail Saturday morning with my friend Monica, after getting back from Ouray, Colorado the night before. It was a pretty normal uphill ride, with Monica destroying me the entire way, until we got to the footpath over the giant pipe. I’ve had psychological problems with this obstacle before, but this day I was simply planning on riding over it without thought. I got to...
“We live only in the present, in this fleet-footed moment. The rest is lost and...”
– Marcus Aurelius, The Emperor’s Handbook
The White Pine Trail
This trail was actually more of a trial. Someone from work encouraged me to ride White Pine. I looked for information online and in my Utah Mountain Biking Guide, but couldn’t find any mention of it except as a hike. And I saw plenty of hikers, but I was the only rider on the five mile, 3,000 foot grind to White Pine Lake. My ‘friend’ from work said that he climbed it,...
“What is evil? You have looked on it often, so whatever happens, remind yourself...”
– Marcus Aurelius, The Emperor’s Handbook
The Ravages of Time
Dry Creek and the Bobsled are not the same rides they were earlier this season. Time has not been good to them. Departing from the JCC parking lot, struggling past Black’s Peak to the top of Bobsled was hot, dusty, and demoralizing because Dave and his friend Matt blew me out the entire way up.
I rode down the upper Bobsled at a reasonable, if not casual pace. The wounds from my last...
Be True and Unswerving
I always thought the pipe obstacle on the Quarry Trail was a mental block only; not a real challenge to my skills. It’s only ten feet across, and while narrow in width, it only rises about three feet off the trail. But going over it last Thursday with Dave, Arielle, and Julee, I came off the far side on the way up. I didn’t crash or anything, but then on the way down I rode over it...