Little Creek

The first day I ever rode a mountain bike was the same day Princess Di cashed it in. August 31, 1997. I was with the two guys who got me into the sport, Dusty and Chris. We were in Durango CO with our wives visiting Mesa Verde and camping out. We rode a 30+ mile trail in named the La Hermosa trail. I completely destroyed the piece of junk bike that I had bought, cramped up so bad that I still have bad dreams about it and had a great time.
We met our wives at Pizza Hut for the apre ride meal where they told us about the unfortunate passing of Lady Di. We still talk about that day every year when the news starts to remember the anniversary of her death but we remember it for a different reason.
The three of us are rarely able to get together to ride, neither one of them has kept up with the sport the way that I have but with some not so gentle coaxing from me we made it happen last week at Little Creek Mesa.
None of my pictures turned out very well, what I really need is for Racy Straw to just follow me around and document the minutia of my life. Every thing looks better thru her lens.


Dustin hiding in the shade.



Looking north towards Little Creek Mesa and Virgin



I wanted to get a shot of the huge area of slick rock, this doesn't do it justice and you have to look really close to see Johnson bringing up the rear. In his defense, he forgot his shoes and rode the whole day in running shoes on clipless pedals....ridiculously hard.


Another shot of Dusty, this time on his bike.


Probably not this year due to the sudden increase in my families proportions but next year I am going to plan a trip with these yahoos back toDurango at the end of August. I hope no one dies.

Lost and found

Last week I was just getting back to the pavement after a mt. ride when I was stopped by a Santa Clara police officer. He told me that another officer in the dept. had lost the a fully loaded clip to his gun somewhere in the area and was hoping maybe I had found it. My first thought was, "sure it was another officer." I didn't find it but I'm sure some socially unconscious, juvinile delinquent probably did. They seem to only hire the best and brightest to be Santa Clara's finest.

That got me thinking about all the stuff I have found on the trail or street while riding. Here is a list of some funny things I can remember and where it was;

Cell phone by the Santa Clara Cemetery.
A huge ring for Top of the Mountains Bowl. Which is apparently a junior college thing. Snow College won it that year and I found it on the side of the hiway by Quail Creek reservoir.
Water bottles (3) La Hermosa trail in Durango CO. Bearclaw Poppy trail St George and Porcupine Rim trail in Moab.
$5 Ivins city cemetery
Small silver Mag-light, Ivins city by the firehouse.
A pair of Addidas running shoes, just my size. The hiway in Moab as you cross the Colorado River.
Sun glasses, gas station junk brand. Veyo Utah
An insulated camo vest. Anasazi trail STG

It's a veritable garage sale out there so keep your eyes open.

Gone baby gone

Yeeehaaa! The big house I had for sale in The Cliffs is gone baby gone. We closed on the 19th of June.

Now my kids will have a Christmas.

1x9 chain love

It's official, I have removed the front derailler from my bike making it a 1x9 speed scooter. In layman's terms, I no longer have the option of shifting between the 3 chainrings up front. I removed the biggest ring about 4 years ago and have been hanging on to the "granny gear" for reasons that I can't explain. I never really used it so I removed it.


Secondly the devil has again used the internet for his own evil purposes. May I present chainlove.com. One killer bike deal available at a time until it is gone. If I had any money I would have spent thousands since they opened the site on last Monday. I must check the site about 30 times a day, I would hate to miss a single item.
So if you are looking for a good gift for yours truelly you can find everything I want at one place and it's cheap too.