Not Enough Dirt

This pretty much sums up the past 2 weeks.  A lot of time on pavement.  Not enough time on dirt.

Nice helmet by the way.....

Ripe

By about 3pm, I will start to smell very ripe and will need large amounts of Diet Coke to keep my eyes open.  And I'm good with that because things are finally back to normal.  I'm back on the early morning backcountry schedule.  We finally have good snow and stable enough conditions (on certain aspects) that make it worth getting out of bed before work and skiing.

Today's tour was small and fast.  I met Ben at the base of LCC, and the two of us made good time up the south side of Flagstaff.  Not a lot of talking and not a lot of tinkering.  That's what the drive up and down the canyon are for- Talking and tinkering.

The snow was way better than I expected.  Especially for a south facing shot. It was so good, it would have been unacceptable to not lap it.  So we did.  Lap 2 required we put in a new skin track as we were skiers left by a couple of gullies from the original track.  Breaking trail in deep snow hurts but the reward is well worth it.

2 laps, a quick change of clothes in the car, and then straight to work.  I skipped the shower.  As much as I tried to not sweat on the climbs, I haven't figured that out yet.  So by about 3pm today (just in time for the team meeting when we all cram into a small conf room at work), I will be nice and ripe.

Eat Up Kids

Wife is out of town which means the kids are in charge.  The kids want breakfast....Pffft.  Easy. Breakfast is served......

Stay tuned for lunch.

Testing Grounds

There is a lunch ride in Orem/Provo that we refer to as the "standard lunch ride".  It has a great mix of short, steep climbs and rolling sections.  It's the closest thing to a mountain bike style ride I've found.

It's also the testing grounds to see who has good fitness.  No way to hide on this ride. 

Today was the first group lunch ride on this route (of 2012) and an Alpha male was established.  Jon R. showed his cards and it's clear he wasn't messing around this winter.  No maple bars in his diet.

I knew I had some work ahead of me to get into racing shape but today was a reality check. I'm behind the curve.  Time to buckle down. The first MTB race of the season is 3.5 weeks away.

Winter Riding

I really like living at the top of a big climb.  It's a great way to end a ride (most of the time).  But I hate having to drop down Suncrest in the winter to start the ride.  Here I am about to freeze.  Maybe it's time to buy some winter bibs with a wind guard in the front instead of stuffing newspaper down there.  Anybody have some recommendations?

Trail Building

Later this year, I will be working at a new fancy office at the Point of the Mountain.  I'm trying to figure out a way to commute to the new office on dirt and on as much single track as possible.  Here is the map.  Does anyone know of a way to connect my start point to my finish point?

If not, maybe I'll call my trail building buddies down in Utah County to help me "find" the trail.  They seem to be pretty good at that.