The Adventures Never End

OK, so I've been a bit slow at putting anything up here, but that doesn't mean I've not been out playing hard on 2-wheels. Mountain biking up on Moscow Mtn has been at least a weekly if not more...

From 20080813

Here's a typical profile for a few hours of riding Moscow Mtn...

From 20080813

I've been on numerous other semi-epic explorations in the surrounding area and have seen plenty of cool things while out-and-about either on a bike or a horse adventure with Donna...

From 20080824_Sheep

From 20080824_Sheep

From 20080824_Sheep

To my amazement I've had 2-rides with the SeanMan in the last several weeks. The first on was a ride home from Pullman where I got my behind kicked by the SeanMan quite easily (although not justifiably an excuse, I was riding my Gunnar cross bike with fat, knobby tires on the pave while he was on a speedo-like roadbike).

The next ride we did was on the mountain bikes up in the Giant White Pine area. The rain had stopped just before our ride which made for wet, firm trails. We were soaked though in the first 10-minutes of riding from the heavy, wet brush along the trail. Being wet was not a problem and the fun-o-meter was pegged all day along the awesome trails in this area.

From 20080827_WhitePineRide

Some of the trails were a bit steep and we felt the burn several times to say the least...

From 20080827_WhitePineRide

The maximum climbing grade % was only 28.4%...the rest was easy...

From 20080827_WhitePineRide

From 20080827_WhitePineRide

Riding Boise

From 20080809_Bois...

I was in Boise for some family happenings and I just happened to bring one of my mountain bikes along for the just-in-case riding adventures that are always tempting in that region. Since I did not know how secure my bike would be during our stay I brought along my SuperCal-29er since I would not cry as much if it were stolen vs. my Ellsworth, but believe me I would wimper plenty if the Supercal was lost. The Supercal was great to ride up there and performed well.

From 20080809_Bois...

My ride started in the lower Foot Hills area at Camels Back Park then proceeded up, up, and away to Boise Peak and beyond before I turned back for several thousand feet of steady decent on a single track trail.

From 20080809_Bois...

Anticipating the need to be back at a 'reasonable' time for some 'mandatory' family business (actually playing some odd games, I'm not lying about this)and the rather warm temps predicted for the day, I started quite early in the crisp, cool morning air.

From 20080809_Bois...

I came across several other people on foot who for the most part were not friendly at all, but I did not really care since I was blissfully climbing up. Above the upper 8th Street parking lot after nearly being run over by some very out-of-control off-road motos I continued up on trails closed to those psycho-motoheads (actually the last guy was cool and apollogized for his ignorant buddies). From there on I saw only a few people like some freak runners that think 20-miles of trail running a day is hip...hmmm?

From 20080809_Bois...

I rode way up and beyond my planned return time to the family business, but I could not seem to get enough. Eventually I did turn it around after being in close proximity to Bogus Basin. I went way back down and took a screaming single track trail down...

From 20080809_Bois...

By this time many others were making there way up the trails sweating their butts off now that the temps had climbed quite a bit. One person commented that I must have been up pretty early to be coming down at this time...a big smiling "yep" was all I could get out before passing them and continuing down, down, down...

Slowing Down

There's way too much beauty to see out there and at times I have to slow down my internal need for speed mechanism so that the small, important things in this world don't pass by me unnoticed (like driving the steering wheel I found mysteriously on a hillside - now this is living life!).

From 20080706

Sometimes it takes someone to slow you down a bit...to make you realize life is about more than one's selfish desires to ride a bike constantly (that's me most of the time - a biking obsessive-compulsive-obsessive). When I do slow down I find I really enjoy many other things in life and that getting from one place to another with ultra-biking speed is not necessarily always fun (needed for stress relief, yes).

From 20080706

So this last week I've backed off the constant 80+mile rides to much slower 40-mile or less rides with some always-interesting exploration adventure along the way. I was even named Trail-Boss on a ride recently where I guided two very happy horse-crazed people on some ultra-fun trails I happen to know of. Donna (my ultimate soul-mate and forever companion) and Niki (a young, fun-loving person borrowed from a Michgan family, thanks Pat and Patti) both had a fun day as did I. Curiously though the horses could not seem to keep up with my Ellsworth super-ultra-endurance bike (the only choice of knowing trail bosses everywhere).

From 20080706

We even saw a bear this day not to mention a stubborn rattle snake that blocked the trail for the girls. I never saw it and may have simply rode over it unknowingly...wouldn't be the first time.


We've also spent some time together hiking a viewing the wild flower shows around this area.

From 20080706

Yesterday I just explored a new area on the Tucannon River side of the hill (after I climbed over the top that is) to find new areas to ride and just to see what existed out there.

From 20080708

From 20080708

To say the least I was not dissappointed in anything except the desire for more daylight and time to ride a few new areas I seem to have found, but it will be waiting for me another day.

From 20080708

From 20080708

From 20080708

Exploring Single Track

My rides exploring at higher elevations continue as I try to escape the 100+ temps here in the valley. The temps are bad enough that I have actually driven (gasp!!! yes, I know it's so not me to drive the 20 miles up the inferno like canyons here) to the lower reaches of my favorite riding areas. I've been exploring a few of the many trails I have long ago (last year or more) marked on my GPS as "need to follow"...trails that don't exist on any map except the one in my brain and a few on my GPS.

So far all the trails have paid high in the fun-factor and huge smiles. On the "down-side" each new trail has presented additional need to explore more trails discovered along the way (oh darn). I stuggle with to stay focused on exploring one trail to its end when there are so many new, highly tempting adventures to be followed along the way. I am finding a huge network of trails and old (very old) narrow roads...which are essentially single-track trails now. Many of the trails are prime single-track (very rare around here) that are amazingly fun to ride. The trail makers are those amazingly stupid cows that have long been summer pastured in the area. They actually make some of the sweetest single-track trails.

I've had some some crazy thoughts that I can map some of these trails out and interconnect them for a long single-track ride...hmm imagine a long ride on real trails around here...a paradox to say the least. I may share my mapped out trail network with other people (if I get it done)...maybe I won't take the time to map them at all...maybe these trails will never be known to others...here is a small peak at one of the trails...oohhh yeah, the WOW factor is huge here!

Escaping the 100+ Heat

It's amazing what a week of warm weather will do to a snowfield that was over 100 square yards and 5-6 feet deep...just compare this pic with the one of my previous post (yes this is the same snow field). I did run into one huge snowfield (6-8 ft deep and well over a 100-yards long) that kept traffic to zero (and I like that) since it was impassable by most motorized vehicles...which means I had the entire place to myself for the most part.




On this trip I was able to finally complete a loop. I traversed 38-miles (all up hill) to the top of S. Fork of Asotin Cr. Rd (aka Smoothing Iron Rd) for a spectacular, clear view of the Grand Ronde Canyon and the Wallowa Mtns in the distance. From there I took the rolling ridge line past the headwaters of Asotin Cr. (all three forks of it) on one side and the headwaters of the Tucannon River on the other side. Very eye-pleasing stuff that lifts the spirits. Total climbing today was about 9K for the 84-mile trek.



I'm still looking at doing a "day-ride" to Joseph, OR (~130-miles I figure) on the back roads, but the road is not quite as fast as I'd like it yet. It still has some snow on it and plenty of downed trees which don't bother me that much, except when I'm putting time constraints on the ride. I will continue to be patient...maybe.







Temps on this day were 100+ in the valley which made riding up at elevation highly desireable. I saw plenty of wildlife enjoying the cooler temps up higher and signs of others that maybe did not want to be seen...like this small bear track (very small by what I have run across in Montana). Even with the nicer temps above, it was still rather warm and I ended up stopping a few time to filter some of that sweet, cool water from of my favorite spring sources.







I've had a few local inquiries as to where I ride and it seems that me pointing in the direction I ride is not enough info for anyone, so I decided to provide a profile and 3D-maps here just to clarify (or maybe confuse) the issue of where I've was on this ride.




I produced these images with a program called TopoFusion, a rather cool software developed by a mountain biking fanatic out of Arizona. I simply download my GPS data directly to the program and it produces maps and more data than I will ever need with ease. You can view his stuff at TopoFusion.com. (click on the map images for better viewing)

Yes, There's Still Snow up There

Amazingly, the snow is still hindering my exploration progress up in the higher country. It's hanging on at 6000-ft elevation and I can see an end to it soon so hopefully the snow will no longer be an epic ride stopper in the near future. For this ride though I was slogging through snow fields trying to make a complete loop back home. I had to re-route and back-track numerous times and eventually finished a higly modified 82-mile loop (9000-ft climbing) with a muddy bike and a smiling muddy me (the mud was from the melting snow fields of course).



The day was spectacular, warm, and was full of those automatic-mood-lifting flowers blooming everywhere. Everywhere I looked there was a jaw-dropping field of flowers that made me say "WoW!" all day long. How can it get better than this???








Someday (soon hopefully) I am going to ride a mountain bike on dirt road ride to the far distant mountains here (the Wallowa Mtns)...to Joseph, Oregon. I'm thinking that I can do it in a single day, but I will make a plan to overnight it if necessary. Right now my thoughts are to go light and fast since I estimate the trip will be over 100-miles and I have no idea how huge the climbing elevation will be. And that is only part one of the plan...part-2 involves returning by another route to make a loop of it the next day. Can it be done? Hmmm...time may tell.


The Ellsworth super-endurance bike with the 650b wheel up front is still the most amazing and comfy ride I've ever put together. I've got some serious mileage on it now and still I can not seem to get enough of this bike. I'm thinking a 2nd Ellsworth built in a similar way may be in my future for a back-up bike...hmmm think pink?

24-hrs Takes its Toll

Riding a mountain bike over a bumpy course for 24-hours is an annual challenge that I seem to enjoy since I do it every year. I can not find a sane answer as to why I like torture myself with this 24-hr race. But every year I am enlightened with something new about myself and how my body fuels, hydrates, and reacts to extended riding time.

This year I rode only for 16-hrs of the 24 for a total distance of 190-miles. Not good enough for fame and glory, but I am satisfied that next time I will be better prepared. I started the event not well hydrated and my body let me know it by making me sit out after every 60-miles or 4-5 hours of riding to rehydrate to a minimal amount to again start riding at my desired speeds.

For the first time ever I had a support crew helping me (in the past I did this unsupported which I found difficult, but attainable). A support team makes a huge difference since I no longer had to fill up my own water bottles, get my food, or maintain my bike throughout the race. Plus they provide encouragement a push me onward when I was getting mentally tired. Overall it was great to have the both of them...my wife, Donna, and Scott my friend and race mechanic. Finally there was Scott's son, Everest, (aka Master Yoda), who schooled me in using my internal Force to achieve greatness within and speed on the bike...very advance words of wisdom coming from a 4-yr old, words that I continue to use.





After the race I traditionally eat dinner with a group of friends from Sandpoint then breakfast the following morning and we top off our fun with a slow ride around the race course picking up racer trash (used gel packets, energy bar wrappers, and typically some lost rider swag like tools, lights, etc.) I am not sure why some of these piggish racers feel it is necessary to throw their used wrappers on the trail instead of back into their jersey pockets, and I have an ill feeling about them after I've personally picked up 50 or 60 of these (just as everyone else in my post ride group has). Part of their race fees do not include litter pickup off the trails and I personnally think any racer found littering purposefully should be disqualified.


This is the funnest post-race ride I've done simply because Donna decided to ride the 15-mile course with us. She is not a traditional cyclist, but you would never know that by the way she climbs the hills and rides over things many beginners would walk. I put her on my Ellsworth for the ride and afterwards she announced quite forcefully that my Ellsworth was now her bike...hmmm. There was also several people from the Sandpoint crew that were trying to recruit her onto their 24-hr race team next year. So the end story is that Donna may start racing...she's got her co-workers at the Wound-Care Clinic fired up to make a local team...Warriors Over Wounds or WOW! Hmmm...I'm excited even if it mean I will need to share my bike(s).

I have a few more planned outings for self torture tests this year, but much depends on the expense of fuel to get there. Otherwise it will be local backcountry outings of endurance that will satisfy my insane desires to ride all day on a mountain bike.

Predictably-Unpredictable

With restless needs to explore I am continuing to test the snow depth/elevation...which means I ride as high up as I can until I hit impassable snow. On my last re-con mission I found the snow level at 5100' was the end of the ride...much improved over just a few weeks ago. I anticipate that this weekend's high temps may put a final end to the over-abundance of impassable snow for this year. The cool thing on this trip was finding flowers growing right beside the snow at elevation. The snow seen in the back ground is 3-feet deep which also just so happens to be the road I was on...it's like someone just drew a line and said, "The snow will end here!"

It was a great place for some lunch amoung the little purple flowers, with a wind-block provided by a sizeable ponderosa pine, and just enough sun making it through the thin clouds to provide some warm comfort. Aaaaa...this is the life! After contenting my self with wild-flowers, fresh-air, and the green of pine trees I headed back to the wastelands below.

Knowing that snow still blocks my desired routes I turned to my next essential life need...Pizza! Yesterday morning I decided it was "Eric Needs a Slice-of-Pizza Day" in Pullman and promptly found myself drooling with anticipation on what became a hungry sprint ride to Pullman on my mountain bike...taking as much dirt road as possible of course. Coincidentally there is a Pizza shop that sells by-the-slice that is remarkably close to B&L Bicycles in Pullman.

My mouth was watering all the way up Stepto Canyon in anticipation of that Pizza slice and I was making great time even with the increasing strength of the crossing-headwinds to full-on headwinds. The sky had been cloudy since I left and did not look threatening, plus the mighty National Weather Service-Disney-fantasy-weather-machine said there was only a very slight chance of rain...hmmm that should have clued me in a bit more. About 3-miles from Pullman I could smell not pizza, but rain! The winds were suddenly much colder and stonger, which dissolved my Pizza hunger in a hurry.

Then a sinister smile appeared on my face and the self challenge had changed into a 34-mile race home to see if I could beat the inevitiable rain, now on the immediate horizon. I turned the SuperCal 29er around into another (now changed) headwind and started my sprint home...I was sickly happy, chuckling all the way. At Johnson I was being hit with some very fine little sprinkles which made me tap additional power to speed this endeavor along (Note: At this point I was riding down the road at a tilt to compensate for the huge cross-winds). Down Stepto Canyon the sprinkles turned into a fine mist...not enough for a rain jacket, but enough to mildly dampen the outer layer. On my doorstep as I was getting my key out the clouds let loose which started a gentle, soaking rain...(smiles)

Experience has shown me that weather and seasonal predictions are incompetent wizardry at best and seem to be more of a whimsical brain fart than a science. The fantasy computers used to predict weather and seasons I'm sure were programmed by Disney characters on psychotropic, mind-altering la-la drugs. So what this means is when the National Weather Service predicts there is a "very slight chance of rain" it really means it's going to pour on you while at the farthest point from home...."sunny" means cloudy, warm can mean either cold or blood-boiling HOT, a mild 3-5 mph wind means gail-force wind (a 10-15 mph wind means hurricane force winds) and the wind direction is always in your face no matter what they predicted.

Flower Power

I took the Ellsworth ultra-cross country MTB bike out for another mid-length (77-mile) cruise yesterday, which I must say was nearly a perfect day (temps high 70's) except I had headwinds in 3-directions of travel. Can anyone explain to me how that is possible? Maybe God has a sense of humor watching me or maybe He is just providing me with some additional resistance training (but we all know I don't train because that would be work). Anyway I just put on a smile and rode into the wind happily because it was a great, sunny day and I was happy to be out pedaling.

My ride was on dirt and gravel roads since there is still too much snow on my favorite trails. Some of these "roads" are far beyond rough compared the the smooth trails I ride. How bad can some of these roads be? They are so rough that your butt screams for mercy even on a full-suspension ride, your hands go numb from continuous jarring, you look at your ultra plush front fork often to see if it is even working anymore, your teeth rattle if you don't keep you jaw clinched, you pray you can continue to maintain 20-25mph speeds to help smooth out the ride some, and ultimately these roads fatigue every part of your body to a point of full-body exhaustion which makes you realize what suffering is all about. Good thing these sections are not too long (5-miles or less).

It was great to see the flowers are finally blooming up at the mid-level elevations - still quite late for around here, but they are always an uplifting sight. If fact I think wild flowers have special powers that stimulate and elevate my inner soul...it seems I can never get enough of them.








Hmmm...what's this stuff? I'm still finding many of my routes blocked by snow. I rode and trudged through some and had to back-track out on most. Again very unusual for this to go on so late in the year around here. I have no choice but to be patient and wait for the melting to be done.