Still Watching for Falling Cows

Falling Cow Wine...I'm sure this was named after the cow that fell off a cliff landing mere inches away from my rear tire April 10th 2011.

Hey this was not funny, it nearly killed me...I've got PTSD from that near death experience but now I can't get any disbility bcaus Billary didn't win. Whhhaaaaa...

Think I'll buy a bottle of that wine and celebrate the beefy life!

Orange?

Orange is one of favorite colors, black is the other. Hmmm....

Fatback Titanium - The Adventure Continues!

This has been a great snow year in North Central Idaho which means continuous adventure on the Fatback titanium. Getting out in the back country during winter is so incredible, it's simply amazing. Trying to describe what I see is not possible without taking you there. I've been a back country person all my life and winter experiences are my most memorable in both fun adventure and hard learning experiences. You learn what works and what to do in a hurry by putting yourself in survival training every time you venture out. 

Can you survive overnight with what you carry with you? I can probably survive many days without issue. Be prepared to pay for the unexpected and keep it in your mind at all times (even in the summer). 

Get out and enjoy the world around you, go on an adventure!

Chillin'the Fat

Chillin' the Fat today. Temperature was a tropical 11 degrees up on the mountain. I was warm enough and good for 20+ mile fatbike ride. It's a great time of the year to get out and play...Go do it!

The Last Day

This was the last day of 2016, but my first ride in over a month. In the latter part of November a fuel container exploded next to me lighting me up. For the most part I was miraculously OK. I did have severe burns to my left hand, minor burns to my face, left side and right hand. Plus a few of my favorite outdoor jacket layers were charcoal. The good part is that I'm alive, I didn't have to go to a burn center, or need anything drastic. But my left hand was a mess.

A month later and I can finally ride. My hand is sensitive to cold, but otherwise nearly new except for the very pink color.

I'm so happy that we have snow (and lots of it) and that I could end the year Fat!

Mentattude Adjustments

A bike ride always seems to give me a positive "Mentattude" (Mental Attitude) adjustment.



On this late Friday afternoon on a sunny fall day  (amazingly between chronic rains) I was taking the maiden voyage on a Lynskey ProCross I had just built up as a single speed. Yes, single speed. I have some strange addiction for riding single speed bikes since they oddly make me giddy when I ride one...I am not sure why, but riding gears is never as much fun (Ever!!!).

This ride started as a "simple" torturous (I'm really out of shape) 7-mile climb to the top of the mountain to test the gearing ratio, but I was having so much fun that the miles kept clicking along once I hit the "top" at 2K of climbing. Before I knew it I was 30-miles into the mountains. The views were simply amazing with color everywhere I looked. The return trip was just as good if not better and I finished the day at dusk, cold, smiling, and with a new mental attitude.

I felt a rolling thunder start within after this 60-mile ride.  I know this feeling well from my past and I must say that it's been gone for a very, very long time. Too long! I'm hopeful it will stay for awhile. 

Get out and ride your bike (before I catch up with you)!

Fall Riding

It's been almost a year since I put something on here. The reason is that I have had very limited internet access for a very long time so uploading anything was beyond difficult.


Anyway today I ventured out on a late afternoon fall ride on my Trek Stache. In my opinion the Stache is the perfect bike for exploring and riding in unpredictable terrain that always draws my curiosity.

This time of year I have a hard time trying to see everything, the colors are so bold and the best annual eye candy one can enjoy.


Get out an ride your bike!

The Fall Coming and Going

More time seems to have slipped by me. I looked at my last post date and realized it's been several months. Well life has been busy and the electronic world is not my primary place of habitat. I have too much to do and too little time to ride it seems. But the snow has come (finally) and I seem to have a few moments to look at some of the pics that have accumulated on my camera.

Fall has been long and incredibly beautiful this year. I took every opportunity to peak at the colors...even into the night.

The days have been glowing with the golden fall Tamaracks...simply amazing to see.

Then came the snow (finally!). I was still riding my cyclocross bikes since it was not really enough snow to get the fatbike out. Anyway I had way too much fun on skinny tires this day and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Then just last week we got a good dump of the white stuff, well enough for me to get serious on the Fatback. About a foot of snow here and oddly enough about 48-degrees out. Warm and fun on the snow...a strange combo and I took it for 26-miles of total fun pedaling the Milner Trail.
 

The smirk should tell you everything about the fun I was having. Too bad there are not others around to enjoy this. 

I'm Here, Where Are You?

So where are you? I'm right here...testing, riding, enjoying every pedal stroke I can get in.

Fall seems to have come and my preferred gravel bike (it's a Lynskey Ridgeline) is getting a workout on the gravel and forest roads as well as on some local trails.

This bike was inspired by me after doing too much drooling over the new Trek 920 disc. for the first time ever  I started having issues with buying a new bike (I simply was not sure I wanted it). So I picked up a used titanium frame for next to nothing and built this bike up from my parts bin. It's not a Trek 920, but it is similar and it's a pretty cool bike. Plus a huge bonus is that is rides incredibly well and I like is quit a bit. For now I am greatly enjoying it.

On a recent back country fun ride I noted some new white stuff on the mountain tops, which makes me dream of riding the Fatback on snow once again. However, neither the Farmers Almanac nor the El Nino forecast is predictive of much snow again this year. I am patiently waiting for the outcome since either way (snow or not) I get to ride.

No cyclocross racing again this year, just too far away to the races and lack of fitness. Yeah I'm in kind of soft right now, but I can still kick my 16 year old son's butt any day of the week. I'm starting to get a racing itch again Maybe next year I will dabble in some mountain bike races or maybe a gravel race...got bike, need legs!