Moab Training Camp 2012- closing day

Today's ride, exploring Canyonlands National Park and climbing 2800 feet over 25 miles from the turn off HWY 191 marked the official close to Jen and Dave's Moab Training Camp for 2012.

 The National Park "drive through" has never been a satisfying experience for us- the "ride through", however, is becoming a favorite training strategy. Exploring the great paved expanses of the west allows us to create perfectly tailored training rides that satisfy our underlying need to get out in it (the great expanse of the west that is).

These adventures always remind us of how fortunate we are that the thoughtful generations of men and women made up by our parents and grandparents had the community mindset to preserve thousands of acres of magical land for every one of us to find our way into. Had it not happened when it did, it would not have happened at all given our current allure with me, me, me, mine. Had it not happened when it had, these majestic landscapes might still be being grazed into extinction and exploited for the personal gain of profiteers- instead, these lands are ours, all of ours to get out into and find our way.

20 miles into the ride- the bulk of the climbing behind us (all of it into a chilling headwind) Dave takes in the expanse of Redstone formations stretching 31 miles to the La Sals on the horizon. Below us we see Mountain Bike tracks cutting through new snow on the White Rim Trail- we wonder if we know whose tracks they are and try to imagine their offroad adventure.

When Dave posted about my maiden road bike voyage a couple months ago, he said we had never seen any Desert Bighorn in Utah- but today, pedaling into the snapping winds of spring on the high meadows of Canyonlands National Park, we encountered an entire family. 

 This little guy lingered even after Mom, in her radio collar, had shepherded all the other kiddos off into the Juniper scrub.

We rode another 5 or 6 miles into the wind before turning around to start the tailwind fueled rolling descent.

I am not skilled enough to enjoy the landscape during my descents (Dave, on the otherhand, costantly releases the bars to snap photos, adjust his windbreaker, eat a bar all while hurtling down the 2800 feet we have climbed). For me, the 25 miles back to the barn are an exercise in bike handling in the drops (more like mind handling) fighting to relax the neck and maintaining cadence in the rollers.

 A fantastic close to Training Camp 2012...

moab training camp 2012, part II

folding money should be well concealed when traveling through sketchy areas. better yet, use a greenback to facilitate a speedy repair prior to the morning ride.

also ensure that your team mechanic is well-fed and caffeinated prior to making any special requests for some fresh handlebar tape or a Euro-wash, real quick like.

the long, grueling miles of spring training often induce a trance-like state of auditory and visual hallucination. a rider will imagine things that are not really there... a convenience store oasis in the middle of the desert, a relentless headwind when there is none, a weird face on the road- smiling up at them.

and sometimes, these things are not imagined at all.

Geyser Pass road, part of the La Sal Mountain loop, which will be the parcours for the annual Gran Fondo Moab (may 12th) not much traffic out this way, if ya haven't noticed.

but many kilometers farther on, that whack tar-bunny is right there on the road again. seems like the county road crew has a real artisan on staff.

when in doubt, go higher... and ride like hell away from those tar bunnies.

Moab Training Camp 2012- Day I

Summary of Day I of  Jen and Dave's 2012 Training Camp adventure- Outstanding!


We escaped Palisade in the middle of the only great snow storm this winter, headed west as the storm pushed east and arrived in Moab under clearing skies and a sea of stars. A feast of tamales from the Palisade Hospitality Center, a soak in the hot tub in the gardens of StellaRuby and a spectacular night's sleep...dragged out into an epic sleep-in - all part of our plan to allow temps to come up a little before we hit the road. Leisurely brunch of turkey bacon, Dave's hen's eggs, potatoes and Peets coffee...and, finally, off we went...

to put our National Parks Pass to use at Arches National Park. The initial climb up from the visitor's center is all I had ever seen of the park until today. When the climb levels out the views begin- the La Sals showing off their new coat of spring snow in the distance.

Endless crazy rock formations in the park make it easy to forget the discomfort of early season miles and 2500 feet of climbing and turn the pedals in sheer joy- that is the essence of Training Camp Jen and Dave Stylee. If it doesn't make us smile, it is not worth doing.

The Window Arches are the turnaround point for today's ride as the return trip will be into a 'killer headwind'- and the sooner we make it back to the cozy cabana, the sooner we get to roll the townies over to Singha for our favorite Thai Food.
 Tune in tomorrow for Training Camp Day II...

two images for today

two from the vault of old school- documenting a transformation in progress:

apres VTT: Slickrock, Moab spring 1990

above we find the garden-variety, oldschool, Boulder-living, Moab-invading, beer swizzling, fat-ass hippie type lounging in the Slickrock parking lot after the morning ride. readers will know from clues in the image that this was back when the crust of the Earth was still cooling and the parking lot still to be paved... check out the bike, the socks; you know those colors are the top shizzle all over again.




let us very quickly indeed fast forward a couple of years.

first year Cat. 3, Casper Stage Race 1993

the beer and beer-gut are gone, and i'm moving towards road riding full time, really enjoying racing as a 3 and living the life in Boulder. note the full Campagnolo C Record equipped Landshark with the trademark Slawta paint job. that was one awesome bike and i had discovered was able to ride like never before.

the frame is still in my shed long since the life crashed out of it, waiting for another to befall a similar fate. then off  to Andy Gregg at bikefuniture design for an extreme makeover consignment.

you could even have him do one with all of those wrecked treasures still taking up space in the workshop at home. tell him that ABANDON YOUR CAR sent you over, and you will receive valuable premiums from us with every purchase from Andy.


happy road and trails, everyone. keep the rubber side down.

mud season is road bike season

there is no arguing that this blog is well-marbled with images of mountain bikes and cyclists riding them in various locations, conquering heroic, technical moves, and generally having fun. we have also been known to do the occasional trail report from our home base in Palisade (which is a pretty good indicator of conditions in the surrounding area). we help build and maintain sustainable trails in our region, sanctioned by the BLM and constructed by the volunteers of COPMOBA.
but there comes a time most every winter (and spring) here in western Colorado that the MTB's are best left hanging in the shed and the soggy, muddy trails be left well alone. riding on snow in sub-freezing or thereabouts temperatures is one thing, but complete Euro-wash and overhaul with every ride is another. let the mud dry out and ride the roadie for a few days.

we finally got Jen's new Soma built up and on the road. here's a few images from the shakedown run- a flat and leisurely 65km recovery ride the day after 4+ hours of tough Moab trails the day before. let's begin with a few from the prep/build up, just because i think they are cool. a feature on the bike and rider impressions will be forthcoming.

all pro builds begin with the specified frame prep using the correct tools. Campagnolo calls for the bottom bracket shell to be reamed. and so it shall be reamed.

facing the bottom bracket shell with the Campagnolo tool.

a bike that will provide many years of reliable service must assembled with the best available components (within all budget requirements, of course,)

these NOS Campagnolo Record hubs have been out of production for 10 years or so. laced up to a set of DT Swiss clinchers- with their Revolution spokes and alloy nipples as well. they roll endlessly and will last forever.

the red sandstone backdrops and low traffic volumes of Potash road make for both an enjoyable and scenic first ride.

several signs along the route called our attention to something called "indian writing". we were looking for some kind of Sanskrit grafitti.

Indiana Jones- pointing in the wrong direction this time.

actually, there are several large panels of excellent quality petroglyphs.

Jen provides scale for the ancient artwork high on the wall above.

ancient artwork along the Colorado River near Moab.

desert bighorn sheep also inhabit this area. we haven't actually seen any in Utah, but we have seen them a few times here in Colorado.

passing by the Jug handle arch on the way back to town. i am very pleased that Jen has a new roadie in her personal fleet- and that we will be cycling in many more cool places together.

have a great weekend everyone.

your attention please

here's a link to a great resource or cycling events- mostly in the Pacific northwest, but also in Colorado, Idaho, etc.

best coverage of Colorado events is to be found at BIKEPAPER.COM

tell 'em ABANDON YOUR CAR sent you over.

happy cycling.

Oakland Composite Group Ride - 1/15/12

So, for those of our dedicated readers that don't know, I did a high school mountain bike race last season with a team called Oakland Composite under the Team Oakland halo. It was created several years ago by an O'Dowd student named Ryan Potter and is coached by former California state TT champion, Dave Gane.

Anyway, long story short, the team almost didn't happen this year, but boy am I glad it did. Our riders show an intense amount of promise, and we've all come a long way in the past two months.

So, our ride today was in the confines of an hour, which is usually half the time we ride, but our coach's daughter had a soccer game. To make the most of the time we had, I was told that we'd be upping the pace and challenging people on some gruesome local climbs out in the Redwood area.

I was surprised this weekend with my abilities compared to last weekend. In crits, I feel helpless when it comes to surges and when I try to jump my legs fail. But on the trails today, I was off the front and keeping our pace right around 15mph, even on the climbs. When on the road, I feel sluggish and a wee bit hesitant on descents, but today the conditions were just right at the top of our new favorite climb to let loose on the downhill - a dense fog of mist at the the top created some really tacky trails below, and I felt alive on the bike for the first time in ages.

Within the time constraint of an hour, the new recruit on the team (but no novice by any means) and I had taken our "A" group through our normally-planned 16miles. And we wanted more, but the sky finally opened up a bit here in California and gave us a nice cold rain.

Unfortunately, no pictures from the ride today. But, it felt really good, and the Mexican Coke as a treat at the end wasn't too shabby either.

It also feels nice to be back in the ol' SRV kit. Keepin' it alive on the West Coast, yo!

To anyone that reads this blog and is in the area, all riders are welcome on our group ride. We're trying to spread the word about our team so we can gain more legitimacy in the league. We depart from the Grass Valley/Skyline trailhead at 11am on Sundays. Heavy rain cancels.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more!

NorCal Early Birds

Well, I'm a bit tired and with the added puzzle that is my homework for the evening, I'll keep this one short.

The NorCal race season started off today with the classic Early Bird training criteriums. I competed in the Cat4 Men and the junior races, and to put it lightly - I wasn't in my best form today.

Started with the 4's earlier in the morning - the official split the field in half and started us on a 1.5minute interval after the first group. The field ended up completing something like 12laps and around the 7th lap a break went off the front, which left me - formerly sitting comfy in about 8th position - suddenly at the front, with gents in front and behind me wanting to chase them down. So, I went, took my pull, helped bridge the gap and then completely gassed. Needless to say, with three to go, I was done for the remainder of the race and watched the finish from the side lines.


An hour later, the junior race rolled around. The only picture my fantastic photographer, my brother Taylor, acquired of the junior race was right after the start - where I was positioned behind the youngins' from the Davis Cycling Club. You can see me on the outside moving up...junior starts are the scariest of them all, and the goal is to get up and out as soon as possible.

With a nice "warm up" (aka the suffer fest) already under my belt, I was able to hold down the junior squad rather well and rolled in after the sprinters for a solid 10th place. Of course, none of it matters because places aren't recorded and they're just training crits, but it was still a fun day.


So, a couple things I learned today:

1. I'm absolutely horrible at coping with surges around corners. Constantly lost position and even exploded in my first race because of this fact. Need to work on some sprint intervals.

2. Little kids don't know how clipless pedals work, so don't line up behind them (really the junior field should be split up because it's just not safe for the little tykes out there with us).

3. Not crashing is really cool.

4. Racing is fun...homework, not so much.

winding down 2011

In saying goodbye to the adventures and challenges of 2011 a collection of images from late fall and early winter...

As the weather starts to turn cold and the days grow shorter, every trail rides just a little differently. Bundled up for a dusk assault on the Lunch Loops, Melinda, gets after this nutty mind over matter maneuver made all the more of a psych out by the added gear...

Down to Moab to stretch the season- the La Sals are fully plastered, but the desert stays rideable. Dave braces for the sunset temp drop as we ride in the long shadows of the witching hour.

Up to Steamboat before the snow flies for a meeting of minds with the master mind himself, Kent Eriksen. We compiled ideas from 3 already built 650bs- 2 of Katie's hard tail race rigs and my trusty all 'rounder dually- to design my new hard tail race bike. I see only a fraction of what Kent sees when he is imagining a new bike- but I expect it will be an amazing and beautiful machine. Check back for build up details!!

Even Bok Choy spends more time indoors these days...oooh DT Swiss stainless steel spokes and red alloy nipples. My road bike is going to be quite the retro hotty.

The wheels are built and Dave gets busy in the shop building up my first ever road bike. 2 new bikes in one year- it is almost too much to fathom!

Well planned, sustainable, appropriate trail building by the BLM and COPMOBA  just keeps adding Sa-weeetness to  life as a cycling enthusiast in the Grand Valley.



The Brilliant new Palisade Rim Trail opened up in our backyard just as fall rolled in. The final trail work days were cold and frenzied- all of us hoping to gettur dun in time to be ridden before the mud and snow. And so we did-at least as far as the Petroglyph meadow. This trail is awesome going up and awesome going down- awesome hard...and awesome beautiful.

Dave spent 2 months literally laid out on the couch this year- lost 14 pounds of lean muscle, missed all but his earliest pre-season races, had his back operated on and was still able to get back after it in time to hog it up hardtail singlespeed stylee on our new trail  in its inaugural season...what a year it has been! It is good to be healthy.

The extended fall weather allowed some serious progress to be made on the  long fantasized Mack Ridge - Troy's connector.

By this time in the season, these guys are well oiled trail engineering, rock moving machine just hoping to get one more day in before the weather changes.

This will not be an easy trail to climb or descent when it is finished- but it is bound to be a 5 star addition to the Loma Loops...the views won't suck either.

I cannot thank the folks who make contributions to sustainable trail building enough- but I sure try to do my part by getting out and swinging the old pick-maddox or pulaski a few times a year, sending my annual check to the rockstars at COPMOBA, paying my taxes without snivelling and spreading the word about trail stewardship.

  We are glad to be healthy, surrounded by excellent bike people (and dogs) in such a beautiful corner of the world! Here's to the madcap adventures yet to be had in 2012! We'll see you out there.

trail ride for december 25

with temperatures hovering right around freezing and not one cloud in the sky, Jen and i ventured forth to the far west end of the valley for a rare treat of holiday trail riding. here's a few images from the Kokopelli's trail at Rabbit Valley and the Western rim as well.

Jen breaking trail on the way out

winter conditions make for some additional effort on the climbs- but the scenery is well worth the sufferin'.

single track on the Western Rim; the arid conditions of the high desert causes snow to evaporate directly to the atmosphere, rather than melting and forming puddles of standing water on the trail.

the overlook above the Western rim appears much different in the winter as compared to what we usually see in the summer

the rigors of winter training often call for special hot embrocations or sometimes a "little buddy" filled with a cold-resistant beverage for the back pocket of the jersey. happy holidays from ABANDON YOUR CAR