Man, 4 months since we got back from Newfoundland. One editor has already made plans to go back this year too. - I'd consider it, but we're going MTBing to the UK. Just finished our 6 or 7th winter nightride in town last night, -12 when we got back. Nice thing about crashing in winter is the landing is soft and fluffy (and cold & wet).
Sea Kayaking, hiking the East Coast Trail, hanging out with the locals, Fogo, Twillingate and Fred the guide, lighthouses. Totally a Summer to Remember. GO. TO. NEWFOUNDLAND.
When I got back from 16 days of scrunchies in NL, I had to go to Venezuela for 10 days (for the day job). That was interesting too. My digestive track is just starting to forgive me.
Get off airplane at 08h30. Stagger around airport (hmmm, maybe redeye wasn't a good idea after all). Get cab, forgetting in my stupor to get free shuttle from hotel. To make matters worse, dickwheed the cabbie shafts me, charging over the set fare.
Go for a walk, find StarBux, thank you Lord.
Wander around downtown, then over to the folk music festival. Day's getting better. Nap under tree before 1st act. Day's getting much better. Stay until end of afternoon acts, exceptional! Wander back towards hotel, find exceptional Indian restaurant.
See trailpeak is on the front page of the St. John's Telegram (newspaper) w00tt !!1. Buy 6 copies for my Mother.
A few of us went for a ride on Nose Hill (Calgary) today, 13.3km and 420m of cumulative climbing (and descending). Generally pretty dry, didn't chew up the trails (well maybe 5m in the very bottom of a couple gullies) +13C and sunny !
6 Months??? Crap. I'm not sure this blogging thing is gonna take off.
Lessons learned in the past 6 months? Don't wait to buy that new MTB, you never know what's gona happen in 6 months. Or in 3 months. My buddy that came with us to Rossland (subject of my last post)? Has since been diagnosed with and died of Liver Cancer at ~42 years of age. As of the writing of the previous post he didn't even know he had it. RIP Peter, We miss you.
Made the drive to Rossland for the 1st ever Fat Tire Festival. That town can party (and organize things too!!). All except the weather. Rain for the 7 Summits but we started anyways, then hit snow about 2100m but got through it and down the 1st summit but they called the Poker Ride off at the 3rd checkpoint due to hypothermia concerns. Still the burgers and beers in the Lions campground afterwards made up for it. GREAT JOB ROSSLAND!
Last weekend we did a new variation on Flat Creek. In to the cabin but out via Wileman Creek to Grass Pass. You HAVE to see the views at Grass Pass, particularly Fir Creek Point. Stunning !!111! It was 34km with 700m of cumulative climbing but could make it much shorter if you don't go all the way in on Flat first.
Just back from a great weekend in Golden (Moonraker system and Canyon Creek Canyon trail) and Revelstoke (Keystone Basin). Both great rides and as an added bonus, long weekend traffic was just fine. I usually hate driving through the Golden area but some of the hiway improvements are complete and have really helped.
The biking has been good, no adverse effects after being away. 10 rides in 21 days. Scared up a couple white-tails while MTBing down some urban singletrack yesterday evening. Only problem? They weren't deers. They were em bare assed though. Off to Golden this ong weekend, 7 Summits next (Sep) long weekend.
Back from latitude 33 degrees South and winter (a nice +12C winter, but winter none the less). It's good to be home. Not looking forward to my first MTB ride in 32 days though - and in a cruel twist of fate, it's been raining every afternoon since I got back.
17.3 km walk around downtown Bs As today (not working Sat), very light drizzle for most or the day, but warm enough (& humid). Flying to Mendoza tomorrow for the next week.
Sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to South America where I have 4 weeks of buiness training & meetings to do (2 weeks each Argentina and Peru). So posts might be a little slow.
To be honest, I'm not looking forward to seeing the shortest day of the year again, especially since I'm leaving before I got to see the longest one here. And missing 4 weeks of riding and the long sought after summer. Oh yeah, and my wife... missing her. (with a bit of luck she'll be down for a week in the middle.)
Since it's supposed to snow tomorrow (in JUNE !!!) I decided I'd better go for a ride last night. Did our new trail reroutes on lower 1/2 of Sulphur, up Pneuma, down Race of Spades. Back to the parking lot at 7PM and IT WAS FULL! On a Thursday night. This mountain biking thing just might take off. (haha)
Did a day's trail Building with Calgary MB Alliance (www.cmbalink.com) on Saturday near Station Flats on Sulphur Springs. 6 hours with a mattock, but hey! I was the first person in history to ride the new trail. 2 passes, very twisty, very fun, very dry (unlike the bypassed part).
Note to self: REMIND EVERYONE TO HELP BUILD & MAINTAIN TRAILS !
Rode 32km at Book Cliffs yesterday. Rode 27km at Kokopelli (Rustlers, Horsethief and Mary's Loop) today. Now we're sitting at the laundry room picnic table playing assole & drinking Malbec. It doesn't get much better.
WiFi from the tent in Fruita (next town East from Moab) w00tt!!1!. Late season snowstorm, but it's only getting warmer from now. Rode Gemini Bridges yesterday aft
Did a XC ski to the Ink Pots via Moose Meadows a couple weeks back on the Alpina Control Edge skis I got last year. They were the most freaking *perfect* skis for this trip! Great control downhill. Climbed like Sir Edmond uphill. By the end of the trip I was way less tired then most other appeared because they worked so well.
I made notes in the calender all last year. i did 119 outdoors events including 22 tennis (many after supper), snowshoes, XC, a couple DH skis, and 47 MTB rides. Virtually all with the Calgary Outdoor Club.
Out for shorter rides both days this weekend; Saturday out to Jumpingpound Loop at the last minute (getting dark) and in town on Sunday (pre-Grey Cup of course) w00tt!!11! STAMPEDERS !!!!
Back from 15 days in Brasil & Argentina on a business trip. It went well. But it wasn't a 'foreign' as I'd hoped. The world is getting smaller, there was a WalMart Supercenter in the city I was in (Campo Grande, MS, Brasil)
A mostly free trip to Moab! w00tt!!11 I had to go to SLC for a bit of work and decided to drive down & take my Trance. I drove over to Moab for a couple days and on to Fruita, CO for another couple. Nice ridin'
Ran across a young Griz a couple weeks back on a ride - McPhail Creek (Lake of the Horns). We were about 3km before getting back to the cars & he ran across the trail between us & the parking lot. So we (8) bunched up & rode back in a tight group making a lot of noise. He was standing about 25m off the side of the trail as we went past. No pix, one hand on the handlebars & the other on the bear spray.
Off to Sheep trail this weekend with a stop @ Black Diamond hotel for a birthday burger & beer.
Did 1/2 the 7 Summits last weekend. It's all it's cracked up to be as long as you're up for it. Shuttles & Lattes & Bagel breakfast sandwiches from the same place. It doesn't get any better than that.
Taking a couple weeks off as I have 7 relatives visiting Cowgary from Rejkavic (or however you spell that), Iceland. Went on a pack trip with 4 of them, saw a Griz. Introduced one of them to disc golf this afternoon.
Getting caught up from the May Long Weekend. Rode all 3 days, Saturday @ Sulphur Springs (only 12km but lotsa up - 450m total cumulative climbing) then both Sunday & Monday did Lake Minnewanka to the cabin (32km return) Super flowey, had a great time. Broke a chain 13km out there but 5 mins it was back on. No injuries.
Saturday felt strange though, only 12km but it kicked the crap outta us. I think it was because no one was used to the +29C weather yet.
I have been so slow to start this blog thing, but I had.
GREAT winter, been DH, XC, SS many times and now a couple light-duty, n00bie back-country mini-excursions with the great Alpina B/C skis I got to try out. It's a lotta work. Bought a waxing iron, that went OK, but I think I need to start doing it in the garage, it was a bitch to clean up all the scrapings.
