Total Recall

Apparently I Can't Have Nice Things

I don't ask for much. A couple of fun ways to get around That's it. Some beer.

Wolf, our VW Golf TDI, the best car we ever had, has been recalled by VW.
Poor guy is now sitting in Casper WY covered in deer blood and organs, not fixed from hitting a baby deer because there was no point to fixing him. Damage didn't affect buy back price.
Would have preferred to keep him. Miss him.

Shrek, my Trek Farley fatbike, has also been recalled. Apparently, the fork and handlebar can come out of alignment, and it's definitely something I've experienced.

So... .. ... anybody for a beer?

York 76 Report

York 76: One of Those
Best Races You've Never Heard About

This race couldn't have come at a worse time for me, but it's a great race, and once things come back together for me, this is a race I will for sure revisit.

York is a great little town. It's like one of those borderline MT backwoods ghost towns. It's in some great mountains, in a cool spot outside of Helena. The Big Belt (&Little Belt for that matter) mountains are often overlooked for sexier neighbors, but when you're there, you always wonder why you don't go back more. They're just really beautiful, wild, remote, and yet accessible. Great mountains.
Driving in and camping was easy.
The depart is super chill. You can leave later if you want, and your time will be reflected as such. This is a really cool idea that more races should embrace. It eases bottlenecks, makes starting, finishing, and even racing easier. You can start alone, or with friends, or whatever, and there is no penalty. The only downside is it makes the finish line somewhat less appealing, because it's less clearcut who is coming in at exactly what time. But at a remote endurance race, this isn't an issue. Spectators are there for friends or family usually. I really dig this idea.
So, right out of the gate, I was alone. It was great. Steep uphill to start. Great county roads. Stunning views. Friendly local drivers. Long climb, followed by a rowdy descent, including a couple miles of rocky jeep roads, and a couple miles of moderately technical ST. They advertise this as a cyclocross race, and I did it on  my gravel bike, but if I was to do it again, i'd go MTB. the descents are really fun, and I wish I had more bike for them. To win or go for the win, I'd go skinny 29er or wide gravel bike, but to have fun, I'd go MTB.
On the way down from the first lap I had a flat. Then I broke my pedal cleat. Had to finish the last 5 miles one footed. Speedplay Zero pedals have zero platform if you're not plugged in. That's when another good feature of this race kicks in. If you're doing the 76, as opposed to the 38, you get to clock out in between laps. I didn't even know at the time; I found out later. But it's effing awesome. Such a cool idea.
Unaware of that policy, I was gonna take my time anyway. I had to replace my pedals, ate a nice lunch, etc.
Took off for a second lap, and I was in last place. The sweep ATV followed me for the 20 mile uphill. That sucked a bit, becasue I would have taken my time more. I was embarassed to stop and pee even, because this nice lady was following right behind me!
Finally got to the nice jeep downhill. Flatted. Of course. Took my time. Really enjoyed the downhill. Powered into town.
Found out that far from finishing last, in between my huge lunch break and my late start, I was actually more towards mid pack! Stoked! Had a huge burger on the house. Enjoyed some beers, and went to a cool cove overlooking Canyon Ferry Lake for a well-earned power nap.
One of the best racing days of my life.
Do the York 76 now. You'll thank me.

MDH Autopsy

So, I'm back. . . . .  
Kind of. .
Way too busy to blog lately. Work sucks (ProStart), and the better half is clamping down on biking, so also not much to write about.
Thanksgiving was great. Turkey three ways, with the smoked whole turkey and the confit dark meat being the stars. We also made Ice Cream in a Bag, & now we're making Kombucha.

Maah Daah Hey Post Mortem

Perfect example of the problems I had biking in 2016.
Wednesday before MDH: 3 hours sleep, 1 hour drive to billings, two flights to get to DC, Two days straight of 12 hours working. Friday morning before MDH: 4 hours sleep in a rat-infested room, two hour commute with the worst Uber driver ever, 2 flights to Billings. I had to walk with my luggage, a five mile hike, across the top of the rims, to the office. Then we piled in Wolf and headed for a five hour drive to Williston. We got there around six, and I still had to get all the food ready, the bike ready, take care of the family, get us dinner, get Yokie her instructions for the Sag Wagon drive, etc.
I didn't slow down that night until about midnight, and had to get up at 4am.

The race itself was actually great, considering the aforementioned troubles. It was nevertheless a DNF. Shredded a sidewall and had no tire replacement. You bring so many things to these races, and it's always the one thing you don't bring, especially when you're too busy beforehand.

Beary Good Day

Since Tatanka, I've been mostly busy at work. Slammed at work.
So, I've been on a lot of small training rides lately. Fairly anonymous. Lots of local stuff. 2016 has been my most local year ever.
But, a few days ago, on Saturday, I had a classic Red Lodge ride. I parked at Fox Creek, and did Palisades to Willow and back. It was a spectacular afteroon, and the trail was in great shape. I bagged a KOM on a fatbike, and placed 12th on a DH section used in the MT Enduro series. Not bad for a fattie.
I also had two cool run-ins. First, on the way up Willow, towards the top, maybe 500 metres below the lower lot at RL, I saw a nice, shiny, healthy teenage griz. By the time I noticed him, he'd run almost into the forest up ahead, probably scared by Kip and my music. Kip went wild. No barking, just total excitement, like chasing a squirrel on crack. Must smell amazing, griz.
I stopped and howled like a wolf.

Then, on my way out, on the Fox side of Palisades right above the switchbacks, I ran into a beautiful blonde lady, like Lady Galadriel beautiful. The type of lady so beautiful you kind of wonder if you imagined it.

Great day on the Beartooth front.

Post #200

200th Post!

My first post was on 4/20 (hehe) 2014: a eulogy for Randy, the bike that sparked my derailleur invention, and subsequently saw more prototype derailleur technology than just about any bike outside of SRAM's testing facilities.
A week later I'd picked up Shrek, my current fatbike, at RMS in Spearfish.
In May, I had my first snow ride.
By June, both Yokie and Rose had new bikes.
The post which still has the most views came from the time when Bunny McBunns hijacked me and Shrek and took us for a bike ride before shooting into the sky.
Found a secret paradise.
Also in 2014,  a bird came and landed on our frisbee and hung out.
Ratso, one of the coolest dogs ever, paid us a visit.
The times we used to study for Yokie's citizenship test.
I compiled a list of my annual favorite trails.
Rose rode as one of the queens in the Absarokee Days parade.
Kip came into our family.
Rose did her first backpacking mission.
I almost died on Spirit Mountain.
Softball joined the family.
We moved back to Malaysia, and had some good stories from there, like the switch, and the po po.
Rose and I kicked ass at our M'sian Sports Day together.
I rode in my first Malaysian bike race.
Rose cooked me an amazing fruit buffet, her first meal.
Shrek was featured on one of my favorite sites; bikerumor.com.
I got so sick from food poisoning that I lost about ten kilos.
Rose and I saw the Disney Orchestra and she dropped one of the most hilarious kids lines ever on me.
I had one of my best rides ever, one of my best days ever, when I took Shrek to the beach in Desaru.
Won my last race in Malaysia, which was one of my biggest victories ever.

Then?
Been a great year so far. One of my favorites: two state champs in one family!

Worst Race Ever (lessons)

The Tatanka Epic has a special spot in my life. When I first raced, in 2014, it became a seminal race for me. I came in more fit and more prepared than ever. Then, I got really sick, and then, weeks of rain. Buckets of rain. Biblical rain. That was an epic Tatanka year. It was the last year at the old course, and more than 50% of entrants DNS'd. I beat Tinker Juarez and most other riders before my sidewall was absolutely shredded outside of Nemo. I DNF'd after 47 miles.

It left me more pissed off and pumped up than ever before. Pumped up because I felt great during a hellish race, and could feel the hard work paying off. Pissed off because I DNF'd.
That race really ignited my racing passion, and I was determined to take a streak of 8 podium finishes into Tatanka and continue it, full circle style.

I worked hard on that goal. In December 2015, I started slogging out frigid, wind-scowled Stillwater County miles. My miles were more thoughtful and purposeful than before, focusing on long, slow rides in the winter and spring, and then adding in the hills and intervals as the summer approached. My long term planning for 2016 was unparalleled.
Short term: problems.
My new job took over. Super busy two week run-in. Also, in Malaysia I got hooked on 100+ for my biking hydration. When Tatanka started approaching, I needed to get a replacement drink lined up, since. I used to drink Tailwind, but lately I have a hard time stomaching it. I drink Skratch sometimes, but it's hard to get here and expensive, and I was running low. Never did dial in a replacement.
Then I took a really hard fall on my road bike on Wednesday before the race. That injury, plus weeks of searing daytime temps & gusty, noisy nights made my sleep schedule all messed up.
Day before the race, I had fried cajun food for lunch, and mexican food for dinner. Shitty mexican food. If you're thinking of that big fancy Mexi joint in downtown Rapid City, don't. It's terrible. Pretty sure it gave me food poisoning that would kick in at a perfect time: about 2pm on race day.

Long story short, my 6 month training plan was A+. My two week run-in was F-.
Result: trouble. About an hour into the race, I didn't feel good. I couldn't think of anything to eat. None of my usual treats looked palatable. It was so hot, my food was so dry.
My Tailwind tasted like tears. The Skratch was hot, and undrinkable. I kept pounding 7up. Good for water and sugar, terrible for sodium, potassium, hydrating. I started to cramp.

This was my intro to cramps. I never understood cramps. Never had them before. I though it was like a sideache in your muscle. Fuck. No. That's not what it is.
My cramps: throbbing muscle pain, then complete contractions to the point I had full lockjaw of the legs.
The worst came around the top of the hills between Aid stations 2 and 3, where both of my legs locked up completely. I tipped over, off the bike. My upper body was fine, but both of my legs were locked, fully extended, down to ballerina toes. I had to roll on my stomach and jab my ass up in the air, forcing my knees to bend. One of the worst moments of my life.
The remaining seven miles or so were probably my worst ever. My whole body was in pain. My muscles were still cramping on and off. I was sick. Hot.
When I got to the aid station, I broke down. DNF.

So, what have I done with these lessons? Cancelled my racing career.
Seriously.

Tough lessons: it's not even about the bike. Everything else has to line up just right, and with some debt, and a young girl we have to raise, it's just not in the cards anymore.
Sucks.

Race Report: Tatanka Epic

Tatanka Epic 2017: 83 Miles, 10,000' Vertical

Mostly Single and Double Track

Second time here, in addition to the 2014 edition.
Overall, it's a great race.The old course had world class doubletrack. The DT alone was worth the race.
It's all gone now. Bad call. ST looks good on Instagram. DT races better IRL.
Aid stations are very well-stocked, at good intervals, with plenty of volunteers and support.
Competition is a cool mix of national dudes, like the two winners this year, and Juarez in '14, plus the best regional riders, like James Meyer of Quarq,
Starting at MT Rushmore was special. Finishing in Sturgis is special. The Black Hills are awesome. If you haven't been, go, now. Rapid City is amazing (don't eat at that mexi joint downtown though, although the margaritas were great). So, there's a lot of great things to say about this race. My last posts on the race, in 2014, were all glowing. So, it's a great race; do it if you have a chance.

On the flip side:

Started a half hour late. In the hot sun, 6 already would have been better; 7:15 was too late.
On the track, the first problem was that a lot of people got lost this year. The organizers were quick to point out there were thousands of course markers, and I'm sure there were, but many were in the wrong places. You'd see ten in a row on a long stretch with no other road around, but then you'd be bombing down an open road, and the trail sneakily cuts away back up the hill, surrounded by tall grass, and at that junction there's nothing. Up top of that same hill, where the trail is the only place to go, you're fenced in everywhere else, there's a guy directing traffic. He's directing traffic where there is no turn, but fifty meters down the hill rider after rider are going a half mile down a steep hill and back up before finding the mistake.
There's several people flagging traffic on a deserted forest road, but where you plummet off a steep, rolling, fast downhill right onto the highway, there's nobody for us, and no signs for the cars.

I still think the Malaysians have this figured out. They take bag after bag of shredded paper, and put it on the ground, right where your eyes are looking, at all the intersections and occasionally on the straights. Now, with PETA and whatnot, we can't do that here, I get that. But perhaps we could do something similar with Certified Seed Free Hay, or with an approved ground spray.

As the race wore on, the OTV dudes became a problem. It's a mixed use trail, and they are going to be there, but in my first Tatanka we saw two or three groups. This year, I had to get off the road quite a few times, sometimes for large groups, like a dozen ATVs or more. Then you have to wait longer, because of the noise and dust and fumes.
And the equestrians! There were three ladies in particular that made me wait probably ten minutes behind as they walked down the road. When I shouted at them (politely asking hadn't worked) that there was a biker behind, they wheeled around on me and gave me a big lecture about how to handle a horse.
I think better signage could have prevented the riders from being there. There's an abundance of trails in the area, and the ladies did seem genuinely surprised when a local homeowner finally intervened and told them I was right, there was a race in the area. They finally seemed to process my number plate and attire; it didn't help their treatment of me, but it did make me think that if they had known, they'd have gone elsewhere that day. At many MT races, the course is plastered with "Bike Race In Progress" signs. These would really help a race like Tatanka.

And then there was the overall quality of the first half of the race. The second half, basically all the DT, is great. The ST is simply not ready. There was no mowing, and the grass and overall growth was over the top off the handlebars. Down below, the trail is maybe 6" wide, and there are big nasty square rocks hidden everywhere. Two people went to the hospital with injuries in the first thirty miles or so, and I'm not surprised. You have to hit a course like this with a mow. When I mentioned it to the guy riding behind me, he snapped at me . It turned out he's an organizer for this race and for Dakota 5O. He lectured me up the hill, in awkward, sweaty, huffy breaths, about how hard it is to mow for races like this, how hard it is to do rock replacement. How hard it is to work in the Black Hills. How hard this. . . How unappreciative that. . . . . . How little I knew. . . .
The whole time I was wishing he would pass me and shut up, and also thinking about Maah Daah Hey, where they very effectively mow 107 miles just for the race, or of Nichols which we recently built, and how hard it is to work on the Beartooth Plateau, all due respect to the Black Hills.
He finally did pass me, and not a moment too soon. But his attitude was a fitting final blow for the race that day.

For me, it's kind of a Rapelje - Maah Daah Hey rule (MT pronunciation tip: those two words rhyme). Tatanka presents themselves as a rough and wild race, where getting lost on crazy trails may happen. In that situation, you have two choices.
Rapelje went full PBR / counterculture vibe: low cost, low reward, fuck your complaints, you're probably gonna get lost, this is Mantana, so Man up, kind of attitude. Rapelje didn't sign shit. Fuck you for asking.
Maah Daah Hey went the other way. They raised the entry fee, raised the quality of the website and prizes, made it easy for family to attend and get involved, they make every effort to mark the trail thoroughly, do lots of trailwork in the offseason, and help if there's a misunderstanding on race day.
You don't get to do both though, and that's kind of where Tatanka is now. They have the fuck your complaints, you're probably gonna get lost, this is Stur-fuckin-gis, so Man up, kind of attitude, but the aspirations, entry fees, and hoopla of a more serious race.

Rapelje died last year.
Maah Daah Hey added a new event this year.

Deer Creek Goodness

I've been working on a mapping project this year for IMBA / USFS. We're looking at increasing ridership in the Deer Creek - Bridger Creek area. My neck of the woods I've been saying for  years that I never thought I'd say it, but it's an area that could use more traffic.
Anyway, as part of that mission I had a great ride out there the other week. Check it:

The best sections of Deer Creek for riding are the ones from around the cabin down to the junctions with the Placer Gulch Trail, which, btw, is back to a really good ride after a lot of rehab.
These are also some of the most scenic, amazing sections of the creek too. When it's hot and dusty out, as it often is, this creek is home to some of my favorite, albeit small, swimming holes.

Not sure what they were, but this flower was in bloom in such a major way, it was occasionally overpowering, like biking through a Yankee Candles mist.

That section of the trail isn't called Tire Shredder for nothing. Last time I try it down. It's a great up though.

Time of Plenty

It's our time of plenty right now in the garden. What a great summer!

Tattoo Regrets

I regret getting my tattoo. . . . . . .
in a spot where I never get to see it, that is. I have to resort to snapping terrible pics at awkward angles with my cell phone:

Schooled by Icy

So, on Sunday morning, I'm getting Shrek ready for a big bike ride, test everything out for my big race next week. It was a beautiful morning:

"There's a statistical certainty I'll accompany your veloventure today."
I had no idea who was talking to me. I looked around. Didn't see anybody. "Excuse me?" I said.
"I repeat: you're taking me biking today." There he was, at the doorstep: Icy, one of Rose's Nations. He's a baby seal. He claims he genetically hacked himself to not age so as to preserve the ideal brain to body weight ratio. Think Sheldon, from Big Bang Theory, in the body of a baby seal.
"I'm not taking you biking." I replied. This was a serious ride. A training ride, very important for my biking season.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"What makes you think I'm taking you today?"
"Simple," Icy said, "I've stated it as a fact, so now you have to argue with me. I've simulated an argument with somebody of your intelligence almost ten thousand times, and never lost. Simply put, you cannot win an argument with me, ipso, ergo, facto, I'm biking with you."
I argued with him for ten minutes. Twelve minutes later, we left to go biking. Together.

He conducted a pre-ride meeting before we left. Kip and I didn't understand any of it, but we pretended to. He used a lot of words like topographic consequences, vehicle inertia parameters, and unfortunate but unarguable innate inefficiencies of the homo-sapiens musculoskeletal structure.
Finally, he let us leave, but only if he got to guide at first. He said I had "navigational untrustworthiness." When I asked him what he meant, he said: "You don't know where you're going!"

On the way up he kept taking notes. He said he was "conducting an ecological analysis using statistical extrapolation census methodology." I've got no idea. He seemed to be studying the plants. He said I wouldn't understand.
He then saw his flower, and got really excited:

"The good news is: it's my only weakness. The bad news is: there's thousands of them!!!!!" Then he laughed for about an hour. He kept saying it was "the most etymologically taxonomically correct joke you'll ever hear!" I looked it up, and it's called achillea millefolia. I still don't get it, but at least now he was in a good mood.

He "analyzed the aesthetic appeal of the area" whatever that means, and said: "I reluctantly admit, you chose an amazing destination." Aww. Nicest thing he said all day, at least until:

When he saw this field of wild roses, he swam around in it like a fish. Then he sat still. When I asked him what he was doing he said he needed time. About ten seconds later, he said:
"I just combed through all the poetry in my databanks, and determined: Hugo was the best poet ever, and you did really well naming your daughter Rose."
Awww.
Then, things changed quickly. About halfway up the huge mountain climb, I got really hungry. I didn't bring enough food, and I din't bring any for Icy. He was furious:

He jumped up in my face, and took over the bike. He took us to a stopping point, and put me in time out.

After thirty eight minutes of time out, one for every year I've been incompetent, his words, he called a "team meeting".

He took over driving Shrek, and said that he'd help me out this once, because I was Rose's dad.

We rode for a bit, and he took me to a field of these flowers. He said "the alkanity of the soil is sufficient to maintain an edible horticultural delight this spring fit for even human digestion." I looked at him blankly. "YOU CAN EAT IT DUMBY!!!!" He screamed. Ohhh. Got it. He was right. It was really good. Then he took me to a spring to drink.

I felt much better. He allowed us to continue. Somewhere he wanted to go. He dragged me all over the mountains looking for it. Up and down hills, through forests, on top of the highest mountains in America, until finally:

He manged to find snow. In July. Almost killed me doing it, but he found a big patch of snow and spent an hour or so skiing on his belly.
Finally, I said we had to go, rain was coming. No go, He ran away and hid in a meadow. It took me forever to find him.

Finally, I explained to him that rain was coming, we had to go. He said he knew, it was "inside that cumulus structure looming to the North-East."

"If you knew that, why didn't you warn me?" I asked.
"I've been telling you all day."
"When!!??!!"
"Consistently throughout our venture."
"You never once said the world rain."
"I said: there is meteorological inclemency imminent."
"What does that even  mean!?"
"And then an hour ago, I switched to: meteorological inclemency incipient."
"Is that English?"
"Precisely. It means, rain is coming, and rain is starting, respectively."
"Why didn't you say that!?!?"
"I did, repeatedly, why are you not listening, again?"

Frustrating, talking to Icy sometimes.
No choice now, haul really fast down the mountain through the rain. I put Icy in my back pocket, and we left. He remarked that I "emanate malodorous malevolence." "What?" I screamed back at him.
"YOU STINK!!!!"
He was right. I pressed on, fast down the hill, Kip lost in the rain up the hill.

After a while, I heard Icy yelling at me. I couldn't make it out. Too many big words. "You're exceeding the manufacturer's recommended vehicle parameters!", or "Insufficient tractional coefficient." When I didn't listen, after a while, he just jumped out. I skidded to a stop, and hiked back up to get him.

Before he got back in, he gave me a lesson in determining loss of tractional co-efficiency factor, and excessive application of thermal velocity reduction devices, and other such topics. Whatever. I didn't get any of it, but it gave Kip a chance to catch back up.
We rode slowly back to Obelix in the rain.
When we got back to the truck, he found a can of sardines. I found some chocolate milk. Kip found some cheesy dog treats. In the end, I'm glad he came with, it was a great day together. I learned a lot.

I think.

Beast of a Trail Dog

He's done 50 miles, chasing a fatbike down straight gravel roads for hours. 35 miles and 6000' of climbing. Through cow, antelope, elk, deer, and turkey, through rivers (which was super hard for him at first, he was afraid of the water, I used to have to drag him across like a mother bear with a reluctant cub), through deep snow, and through crazy storms, he's always there for a ride, and nothing makes him happier than riding with me. All he asks in return is permission to drink water. Seriously, he still asks for permission to go drink sometimes, because he doesn't like to let me get ahead, so he'll only drink if I stop with him. I have so say "Go drink Bud!" He's awesome. I'm a lucky guy.

Road Racing a.k.a. State Champs!

Had two races in a week with PJ, the new bike. They were both crit races, on  a NASCAR style course around a rectangle park in downtown Billings. The road is blocked off, excellent course and event management. The surface is surprisingly bad. It's super lumpy, uneven pavement, with quite a few prominent potholes and manhole covers. And on turn 4, the pavement on the entry especially is new, and it gets super soft in the hot summer sun, so going into turn 4 your rear wheel tends to slide around quite a bit, which is always fun.

The First Race was part of the summer Crit series in Billings. There are four of them. I missed the first because I was up in Red Lodge with IMBA building a new trail. This was the second.
Not many people. Maybe the heat? Maybe the lack of advertising? It was smoking hot, well over 90. When the race started, the first lap was brutal, they set a tough pace. After that I settled in. I wasn't trying to win, only to finish. I knew that setting a goal of winning my first race was unrealistic. So, after a couple of laps, I took the lead. It's always a bad idea, if you're trying to win the race, but this was more of a training ride for me, and I figured it would be safer for me too.
As it turned out, I ended up leading the majority of the race, at least half. Yokie and Rose were there, and some other fans. It was really cool.
With three laps to go, I tried a long breakaway. No go. I was pretty much toast. I grabbed on to the group again. When the last lap bell rung, I tried a breakaway right away, at the start of the last lap. Again, no go. I was toast. Hung on for 5th overall, 3rd Cat 5 men.

The Second Race was a few days later, and it was the State Championship Race, and Rose joined me. The kids race started first, and it was only a one lap race. Rose raced it with Darla, her Dragon Nation, as her coach, riding in her tank top, shouting instructions. She hung on, cruising, for the first half lap, and then she took over, shifting properly, and powering ahead. The dude who was serving as a pace car / security dude, had to ask her if he needed to speed up. He did.
She ended up cruising in, almost coasting down the finish strait. 1st place overall, and 1st place U-10 Girls State Crit Champion! You go girl.

A few more people for my race. Better temp, cooler. There was a pro rider there this time, a Cat 2 dude from Billings with a serious aero Cervelo bike. Regulars were saying the pace would be a lap or two quicker, and getting lapped was a concern.
Right away, after turn 2 of lap 1, the pro and the young kid from Wyoming who won my first race took off together. It turned out he would match the pro for the whole race. Good on him. Hell of a racer. I never saw either of them again.
We settled into a group of five or six for a few laps. Then a few got a way, leaving me with a few guys trailing me.
At about lap 4, I noticed nobody was going as strong as me on the uphill section, between turns 3 and 4, so I jumped there and in by lap 6 or so I'd bridged the gap up to a Cat 4 dude from Bozeman. Tough rider. I didn't want to do a free ride, so I took my turns. I don't know why, but he was uncooperative. He sped up and ditched me. I let him go. It was a good call. We reeled him back in as a group later.
For most of the rest of the race, I settled into a group of three mostly. We reeled back in everybody in front, except the kid and the pro. I tried to not lead too much, like my first race. When the group slowed down, I'd pull, and I often pulled on that uphill stretch too.
When we got into the last lap, I faked an early sprint, right away again, before turn 1. Everybody followed me. I slowed way down, and settled onto the back of a pack of five. Two went early on the far stretch, the Bozeman guy and the Wyoming dad. We couldn't match, so now it was three again. I went into the home stretch in last place, and was patient with my sprint. I went last, and just pipped a nice sprint at the line. It was super fun.

Road Riding

288.1 miles & 2 races so far with the new bike: a Specialized Diverge "Adventure" style road bike, my first road bike after a lifetime of MTB riding. Having never gotten into BMX bikes, I've been a MTB rider my whole life before this.

Road Biking

About road biking: firstly, it's awesome to be able to go fast, to cover a lot of ground. I've been stubborn & stupid, about the fattie and stuck it out for huge distances. But with a road bike, riding to Red Lodge, for example. is now easy; it's a 2, maybe 2.5 hour jaunt.
The Pedals are awesome. Stiff soles and cleat to pedal power transfer make for a great direct connection, yet the pedals float a lot, so it's super comfy and loose at the same time. And, you get the added bonus of totally comical duck-like attempts at walking.
Brakes suck. The wide contact patch of a MTB tire lets the brakes really hook up. I can stop on a dime on pavement with the fatbike. The road bike, holy sheet, it's a different story. I almost had a full fledged incident in Red Lodge the first time I noticed it. The brakes have a lot of modulation, firstly, so it's tough to grab a handful like you can with MTB brakes. If you do manage to really lay down some power, the tires just let loose anyway.
It's an amazing workout. I never realized how many little breaks and breathers you get mountain biking. On a road bike, you can pedal upwards of 40mph, so the DHs are not an excuse to stop pedaling. And the main thing that slows you down is wind resistance, so you kind of just have to keep trucking. It's a different sort of endurance it builds up than MTB riding. It's more like a diesel engine.

The Diverge

Peter if an effing tank. He's a beast. He likes to keep on trucking, and holds his line. I got driven off the side of the highway between Red Lodge and Absarokee by a gravel truck, when I was going about 35mph, and he just tore through the off camber pavement chunks and gravelly hill before powering up the side of the highway and back on to the tarmac. He's got these inserts on the fork and the seat stays that soak up vibrations and big hits. They work. You can hear them. One of the reasons for the John name is Masterchief 117, John, the Spartan from Halo. His armor suit makes the same sort of hydraulic sounding thud or thunk.
With a massive BB area, sculpted in neon yellow carbon, and stiff Praxis cranks. power transfer is amazing. The seatpost does seem to provide the claimed 20 mm of suspension; it's very comfy.
First real ride was right up Beartooth Pass, into an ear-searing wind. Awesome. I've since climbed it again with Peter John, all the way up and over, down to Beartooth Lake, and back. I'm in love. What a bike. He reminds me of the old school bikes, before the extreme categorization of bikes; he can do it all. Light ST duty, long road rides, gravel grinds, commutes, touring, road races, it's a bike I'm planning to turn to a lot of the time.

Picture Randoms from a Busy Spring

Haven't been as active on the blog. Part of that is because I'm very active elsewhere online lately.
Most readers here also check out my Strava account from time to time. That's where a lot of my good biking pictures are lately. This ride, from the other day on Beartooth Pass, is a good example, with 12 pictures of different lakes on the pass.
For work, I have an Instagram account now. It has pictures of food, classrooms, and road trips for work.
I'm on FB much more than I used to be, though I try to only post once a month or so.

Lots of my better pictures from the year can be found above. But there are a lot of randoms I found backing up the files today, some fav's:

Wind River Canyon in WY is a gem.
On this trip there had been so much moisture, erosion was gouging all sorts of new channels in the canyon walls. 

On road trips, I like to find cool, out of the way spots to get out and stretch.
One of my stash spots in WY.

Love living on The Beartooth Front

Long, windy training rides get psychedelic sometimes. 

You've been organic gardening for a while when morels volunteer in your paths.

North Derby Gulch 

Joining Papa at work

Staging fake arguments with Papa at work after a long day at the FSA food show.

MT Air Freshener

Saw some wild things in Drummond, most of all this scene.
This dude was silently, doggedly marching out a perimeter patrol of the HS campus very early in the morning.
With a box on his head. 

Price of Progress

An actual gallows from back in the day

A favorite stash spot from my Bozeman days, revisited with Rose

Speaking of Rose. . . . . 

Speaking of Bozeman. . . . 

River Party in Reed Point

Gotta love Homeschool classrooms

Johnson Divide

Derby Pond

On the Border of Sweetgrass & Stillwater Counties

Big Sky Country: up on North 191

New addition to the garden this Spring.

Say my name.

Oh, wait, you don't have to say my name. It's now on my shirt. 

Working with the IMBA Trail Crew and Pedal United volunteers.

Nichols Creek Trail will connect the sweet ST over at RLM with the ST network @ Silver Run XC Ski Area.
It will make for upwards of 20 miles of connected ST, all recently build to modern MTB standards.
These trails will really cement RL's status as a destination MTB town, especially with the pump track being built in town. 

The last picture of Lucy. May She Rest in Peace. 

The first picture of the new guy. Still working on the name. 

The 1st ride with the new guy was BTP, at sunset. It was great. Love him.
Thinking of an American name maybe. He's a burly bike, for a road bike at least.