A couple of discoveries

I found a few new things these past couple of days. As is usual, what is new for me may very well be old for everyone else.

First, I was on a quick afternoon ride on Friday on the portion of the BST hat starts just below Bridal Veil Falls. After trying a few trails to the left that didn't really go anywhere, I took the main fork to the left that starts after crossing Squaw but before you start the descent. After the first few steep switchbacks, I took a sharp left (rather than continuing straight to the clearing), which turned into a pretty cool trail that traversed the mountain and had some interesting rocky sections. It looked like it had some really good potential, but I had to head home before I fully explored it. Anyone know where this trail goes?

Second, this past Thursday evening, I had the choice of watching The Office or going on a night ride. Of course, I opted for the latter. The next day, after listening to my wife laughing about the episode I missed, I decided I wanted to watch it after all. We don't have a DVR, so I started searching for it on the InterWeb. I expected my options to be: 1) pay $4 on iTunes; or 2) download a pirated version from some nefarious website. To my surprise, I found that nbc.com allows you to watch every episode for free. Ya, I realize that I'm the last person to find this out. You do have to put up with a couple of 20 second commercials, but nothing too bad.

So for the past while, the only time I watch TV is for The Office and for sports. The Office because it's pretty funny, and sports because it offers instant entertainment with no long-term commitment. Most of the other shows these days seem to require a weekly commitment, which I'm just not willing to give to a TV show. Now as the days get shorter and colder, I'll probably eventually succumb to an occasional ride on the trainer down in the basement. Every year I tell myself I'll occasionally ride through the winter, but that's easy to say when it's a balmy 40 degrees outside, but tougher to do with it drops into the 20s. So while riding the trainer, I think I'll try out some of these shows I've heard about by watching them for free on the networks' website.

The problem is that it's been so long since I've watched anything, I don't know what is any good. I've heard about a show called Heroes and another one called Lost. I don't know what either of them is about (although I'm guessing that "Lost" is about someone who got lost), but I've heard people say they are pretty good, so I'll probably give those a try. Any other recommendations for what else I should watch while suffering on the trainer this winter? The options are pretty wide open, because it looks like nbc, cbs, abc, and fox all have posted full episodes. My only stipulation is that I won't watch any of the reality shows/competitions.

Vernal Roundup '08 - The Walking Park Criterium

In my previous post, I alluded to the main highlight of the Vernal Roundup. The "Vernal Roundup Walking Park Criterium" was an event that will likely never be matched, at least in terms of the sum of its awesomeness and stupidity.

A bit of background is required here. Mark (the local host of the Vernal Roundups) has a quirky hobby of converting his little kids' thrift store bikes into "kick-A" chopper bikes. We'd all take turns riding these bikes around his garage while tinkering with our big-kid bikes. A couple of Mark's creations are nearly impossible to ride without breaking out into laughter.

Chad decided that the bikes were so "kick-A" that we needed to put them to good use. And of course, there is no better use for a bike than to race it. The best place to race these bikes was in the neighboring "walking park", which included various options for a short criterium loop. In order to level the playing field (since some of the bikes were much faster than others), the crit would be a four-lap time trial, with each lap being ridden on a different bike.

Ryan raced first and recorded a respectable time. Here he is on the lap-2 bike. This bike obviously has one distinguishing feature. That's right, it has some sweet full suspension (Click on pics to enlarge):

From Vernal Roundup 08

Mark, the local kid, set the new best time. Here he is, also on the lap-2 bike:

From Vernal Roundup 08

I went next. The lap 1 bike was a pretty standard kid's bike, and was also the fastest:

From Vernal Roundup 08

Here I am on lap 2:

From Vernal Roundup 08

Here is the lap 3 chopper bike. The lactic acid is building by this point:

From Vernal Roundup 08

An finally lap 4. If you look closely, you'll notice that the training wheels are still attached.

From Vernal Roundup 08

You have no idea how blown I was coming down the home stretch of lap 4 on this bike. It's physically impossible to sit down on this bike, and each revolution of the pedals propels you approximately 1/2 a foot. Try as I might, I could not quite match Mark's quick time.

Finally, Chad was up. He went out of the gates quick, setting a new best time after lap 1:

From Vernal Roundup 08

He was on his way to a new best time split at lap two...

From Vernal Roundup 08

... when our night was cut short. If you look closely, you'll notice a set of headlights just to the side of Chad's left hand. That would be a police car coming to break up the party. The gig was up, the fuzz was onto us. The most disappointing part about our run-in with the cops (other than not being able to see Chad ride the training wheels bike) is that we didn't get a close-up picture of the expression on the officer's face when he got a good look at the shenanigans we were up to. It's been a while since I've been "busted" by the fuzz, but for some reason, it seemed like a fitting end to the Vernal Roundup Walking Park (i.e., no bike riding allowed) Crit.

Vernal Roundup '08

Since I can't ride due to a cold I'm nursing, I may as well write about riding. A few weeks back, the annual "Vernal Roundup" was held. When all was said and done, we went out on 10 separate rides, logged 300 miles (100 per day), and had 10 inches of rain fall on us (all stats have been rounded up, of course).

Here are a few of the highlights:

Here's my first experience riding over a teeter-totter, which was scarier than I thought it would be. I felt like I was about at the end of the 8-inch-wide plank by the time it started coming down, and then it all came slamming down at once (click on each pic to enlarge):

From Vernal Roundup 08

Red Fleet Reservoir:

From Vernal Roundup 08

Chad paid for this yard sale for the rest of the trip:

From Vernal Roundup 08

A lot of good 1-track in Vernal. Ask the owner of Altitude Cycles for details on how to find it:

From Vernal Roundup 08

When the trails are too sloppy, the roads around Vernal offer some good riding as well (good for a road ride, that is):

From Vernal Roundup 08

As with any group, we were prone to doing stupid things that we would never have done as individuals. Like riding the Rojo trail in a torrential downpour, for example. Fortunately, the stupidest rides have a way of becoming the "kickassiest" (term coined during the '08 Roundup) rides:

A lot of the Rojo trail quickly turned into a river...

From Vernal Roundup 08

... some of which was deceptively deep:

From Vernal Roundup 08

The water on the lens for this group shot pretty much sums up the trip:

From Vernal Roundup 08

The only way to wrap up the kickassiest ride ever is with a sequence shot of Chad headbanging to AC/DC during the drive back from Rojo:

From Vernal Roundup 08

From Vernal Roundup 08

From Vernal Roundup 08

From Vernal Roundup 08

...And you haven't even seen the true highlight of the trip yet. Check in tomorrow for that.

That's my girl!

I know I haven't posted for a while due to life getting in the way, but sometimes, an out-of-shammy experience happens that simply must be documented.

My 4 year old was saying her prayers tonight, and out of nowhere, things got irreverent really quick as she let one rip, rather loudly and longly for a four year old.  She paused in the middle of giving thanks for her trampoline, and then she says, "sorry, my butt wanted to say something."  I lost it.  Couldn't help myself.  Who could?  She lost it too, and we laughed all the way till "Amen."  

More posts about some ShammyTime to come (hopefully).