Another Fall Sub-Epic

It has been really nice out the last few days so I have been taking advantage of it by pedalling around the country-side enjoying the fall scenery. Yesterday was no exception...I decided to explore the South Fork Asotin Creek Trail. I was told it would be a cool place to ride, but the person telling me this must not have actually biked up it. After noon (when it was pleasantly warm out) I rode the 23ish miles up Asotin Creek Road to the trailhead. Right after I hit the trail I found a skull, which later I think was a sign to go back. The trail follows the creek bed up and requires several creek crossings. The fall colors were spectacular, but the trail was like riding one long rock-garden....the pic here shows the trail by the skull...yes there is a trail there...

If you need training on how to ride a trail made exclusivly of loose, fist-sized rocks covered with a mat of yellow fall leaves then go there! After a mile plus of riding this jarring, slippery trail (plus two more skull/bone piles) I decided I had enough and turned around. It may have been better on my full-suspension bike and I may try it sometime (probably not).


On the way back I spied a cow trail that traversed the hillside above the creekbed trail so I took it and was back in a flash - I finally found truth in the saying "Beef it's not just for dinner"...Moo!









At the bottom I decided to reward my dissappoinment by climbing up Smoothing Iron Ridge Road for a better view of the world. The road climbs the ridge between on the North and South Forks of Asotin Creek.



The pic here shows the canyon were the Asotin Creek (North Fork) Trail runs...a Cadillac trail compared to the South Fork trail...I was amazed at how rugged it was, something you don't notice riding through the trees on the trail below.









Up on top, late in the afternoon, the views were totally worth the long, steep climb up. I sat an had a snack under this huge old dead tree.

Sun + Rain + Ice + Mud = FUN???

This morning the sun was shining and the air was crisp and cool...another perfect fall day here on the edge of hell. By noon the beauty of the day was calling me to ride somewhere on the dirt. So I packed up Baloo in the Subi and made my way to Moscow Mountain for some inspirational single-track riding. The weather was forecast for rain today, but I bah-humbugged that thought and ingnored the clouds on the horizon as well as the rising winds. I made my way to the top and uncontrollably hit as much single-track as possible including exploration of some unridden trails I had noticed on previous rides. Let's just say that I was having way too much fun to notice that clouds had turned the sky an angry dark gray. What caught my attention was the ice pellets that were stinging my skin...Whoa...instant reality check...time to go down off the mountain now. I was grinning all the way down because there is nothing more thrilling than a fast, twisty single-track decent on wet trail with freezing cold rain soaking you, mud flying in your face, and ice pellets stinging your skin...

The Fountain Grade Epic?

We're going where? All I heard was lots of climbing so it was, "yeah let's go!" It was another SeanMan epic ride into the unknown...Well after we started the SeanMan gave me one eye-popping little detail he neglected to tell me about one of the climbs - As he had put it, "I was happy that I didn't drop below 3mph..." Wow was all I could think...that must be one steep pitch up and it was a gravel road. Well you know hill steepness to bike riders is sometimes like the size of the fish that got away to fishermen. Then bit later as we are pedaling up a 12% pitch (which means steep to you) he says this is nothing compared to what's to come. Just as we top another 12% pitch he stops and points - "The Wall," otherwise known as Fountain Grade.





It can be seen here in the distance (look close and you see the SeanMan riding in the foreground - Click the pic for a better view)












Yep it looks steep and yes it was steep also - the SeanMan said he saw 16% on the altimeter. What a great climb and long (very long) to boot.

Up on top we cruised through some rolling hills and found the ultimate Buba Redneck hangout. There is a place up in the middle of the woods called the Forest Saloon and the parking lot out front was stocked full of Buba SUVs and big redneck pickup trucks plus one Isuzu - I later wondered what happened to the poor sole that drove that one.

We continued our journey in a cool, light rain past Soldiers Meadow lake then home. Total climbing today was 6300 feet - most of that in one stretch.

It as another awesome day of off road riding - beats a boring road bike ride any day. The cheering section at B&L (that would be you Bruce) or anyone interested in epic off-road rides can join us anytime.

Soldiers Meadow March

The SeanMan decided we should ride from his house to Soldiers Meadow and back. Being restless due to lower activity from my recent knee injury (that really means bored out of my skull) and the suggestion that the ride had monster climbs on steep, kick-your-butt-I-want-to-walk-instead-of-ride grades struck my adventure nerve. So I loaded up my trusted old geared Fisher Supercal-29 and met the SeanMan for a climbing fest he almost guaranteed would make me wimper (it takes a lot to make me snivel about climbing). I was seriously thinking about taking one of the single-speeds, but I did not want to push the knee that hard yet.

Up in the shades of the highest elevation there was some of this very strange looking cold, white stuff.



It was remarkably similar to snow...but it's too early for such a thing around here or at least I thought it was until now.





The SeanMan's word was golden - the climbs were super steep and long. The only rest on a climb when it was "less" steep for a short time. The downhills were fast and seemed rather short only because each downhill ended in another straight-up climb. Overall the SeanMan's altimeter said we did 6000 feet of climbing - it seemed like more. It was a perfect day - lots of vertical cycling!

When Bikes Bite Back

Earlier this week I was up on Moscow Mtn trying to get some ride time in away from the smoke here in the valley of hell. It was a beautiful Monday on the mountain with some of the foliage showing its end-of-summer color....








Well it was a great day that is until my bike decided to rip the skin off my body....
This is what a knobby tire does to a knee at high speed...I can't easily explain what happened other than speed was over 25mph, I was railing around a sharpish corner, there was a stick across the trail, a hole just beyond it, and my mind was thinking about other things. All I know is that my front end slide out on the stick then hit the hole before I could recover and my knee was acting like a brake on the knobby tire as my whole body was a friction mat on dirt and dead pine needles. It was the most spectacular wreck I have ever had and I feel fortunate that I could actually get up straighten my front wheel and ride off the mountain. My biggest worry was the grapefruit sized lump on the side of my knee and my knee was numb. After getting back to the car, drinking a cup of java, and eating something I decided I should have the lump on my knee looked at....grrrr
So I made a visit to the local emergency room in Moscow (at the hospital where I just so happen to work). I found out that there was no major tendon, bone, or knee damage. The swelling was most likely a hematoma and should resolve on its own. Well it did go down in 24-hrs the problem is that much of the fluid compartmentalized in my lower leg and has been slow to absorb back into by system. I'm sure it did not help that I worked three 12+ hr shifts this week at the hospital. Today I'm thinking a bit of light spinning on the bike may be feasible. We will see...

Slacker

So I've been slacking some...for the month of August I rode what I normally do in a week to a week and a half. Shameful? No way...I have excuses like I was studying for my RN boards scheduled near the end of the month, learning a new job at Gritman Medical Center, and there has been some serious smoke in the area from localish forest fires in SE Washington. The smoke is the big reason for not riding later in the month and now...I don't find pleasure inhaling 50 packs of cigarettes worth of smoke during a short 2-hour bike ride. Riding in smoke is not for me so I grump around, tinker with my bikes, work on the money pit (the house), and do other "stuff" waiting for the fall rains to start. In other words I'm going insane right now waiting for the right wind shift to ride.

I did get a short break once this week when the area was clear of smoke... Of course I powered up the steepest stuff I could find on my shamefully new LeMond Poprad cross bike...Hmmm. I found it to be tough duty though climbing 3000+ feet up 10-18% grades on gravel with170mm cranks and a 38x27 for a lowest gear. Let me just say that the initial 2000 feet up was a real two leg burner.

After reaching the high point of the ride some 30 miles into it I was not happy to see a massive plume approaching from those worthless, inconsiderate field-burning spud-heads. I could see the Idahole smoke plume drifting on the horizon throughout the day, but a small wind shift brought it right towards me. I hoofed it towards home in a hurry once I realized the Idaho smoke monster was coming to get me. I was too late though in my homeward assault and got swallowed by the smoke plume 17 miles out. Even with soft pedalling and mostly down hill efforts I was overcome and puked by the time I got home. Yuk! So shorter trips are in order for anytime the smoke clears again - if it ever does that is.

The RN boards? Let's just say that now I am an RN! And please remember...Nurses are here to save your ass not kiss it!

Trans What???

OK...Is it insane to ride a loop around Iowa in April = Rain + Mud Yuk for 300 miles? I've had some weird thoughts that this could be "fun" but I am not sure I want to drive all the way to Iowa just to ride in potential bad weather. Hmmm...maybe we (that really means me and my continuously talking inner-self) should make an unsupported off-road ride across Washington at the same time as the 2007 Trans-Iowa III (a show of solidarity if nothing else). It could be called the TWA. It could be a race, a challenge, or a just a damn long ride. The John-Wayne Trail could be a good option since it theoretically spans the state. But I am not yet clear on whether it can be ridden the whole way. Just a thought...and yes you have to take into account that this thought from an insane, bike obsessed geek.

Riding the Cave

I knew I would have a wee bit of spare time today (like half the day) so I packed Baloo (that's my Lenz Sport Leviathan 29er - a true mountain bike to you) in the Subaru this morning. After working half the day doing more orientation yuk at Gritman Medical Center (a fabulous place to work) I cruised up to the Pond-9 area on Moscow Mountain for some delicious singletrack riding...talk about attitude adjustment - there is nothing better than riding singletrack under a canopy of pines. Lately I've been doing some road-toad stuff for some quick stress relief, but all between the cars driving too close, the (cough, cough) SUV exhaust, and the lovely carcinogenic smells (which I'm told smells like money) from our neighborly, sharing, stinky-assed pulp mill....oh yeah the point - well between all that bunk I sometimes think road riding is more stressful than stress relief.

Up on Moscow Mtn. I took Headwaters Trail up and headed for the Cave Trail on the backside for some real fun.

Getting there...

Cave Trail...
The singletrack was soooo good I decided to ride it all again in reverse (which made for 20+ miles total)....

I got home and for some reason thought it would be fun to do a club time trial on my old road bike. It turned into a real fiasco...in the order of occurrence - rain, lightning, major gusty winds (of course it was totally calm when I started then 100 yards after the start I got blasted), a sticky front shifter (I was stuck in the small ring for about 2-miles spinning real fast), and finally a tumbleweed decided to commit suicide in my rear derailleur (that means I had to stop and pull it out...yeah it was dead). The overall idea of a time trial is not to stop but go as fast and as hard as you possible can to improve your time - it's only you (me that is) against the clock...needless to say I was a bit crabby after the tumbleweed incident...I finished in 25:40 not bad considering all the time sucking events that happened in that 10-mile stretch...my starting goal was to be in the 24-minute range...maybe next time...

Salute to Adam Lisonbee

Adam Lisonbee (a mountainbike endurance athlete) has said it all with this extraordinary writing about the "you's and me's of the world." Dang, his words hit my biking soul down deep.

He's right that we spend too much effort putting pro athletes aloft when it is ourselves we should be admiring - to heck with those drug infested, cheating pros and the crappy fiefdom they have built for all of us to both love and hate.

It's not about them anymore - it's really about you and me, the lowly want-to-be-fast cyclists...those of us with a real passion to ride just to ride and be a bit better tomorrow...where winning or placing is glory and loosing is inspiration to fight harder...Thanks for the redirection, Adam.