=)

I spent about 4 non-sleeping hours inside from Friday mid-afternoon until Sunday night.  It felt SOOOO good to be out and be warm.

First, the Shimano Fairy, Trek Fairy, and Enve fairy made their deliveries over the past month.  The bikes this year are outrageous (in an awesome way)!

Next, I had to get the bikes finished up...reports coming.  Tyson at Freewheel once again did some of the critical stuff like internal brake routing.  Every time my bike comes back from FW, it is perfect!

Then I set up shop outside.  I was too nice to hole up in the mancave for the final build on the dually.  That new Kuat NV rack I mentioned has a bike stand option, which works awesome!  It will come in super handy at the trail or at races.

Finally, Snow Tuesday to DIRT on Sunday.  Yes, the trails with sandy soil are mostly dry already.  I have been doing this long enough to know=)  The iron curtain won't be lifted on the mainstream trails for a couple weeks (I would guess).  Just remember this spring, or any time really, if you are making more than a tread print in the dirt on the majority of the trail, save the token muddy/wet spots, then you are doing damage.  This is the CAMBA rule (Chequamegon Area) and it is the best and easiest to follow that I have found.  Below is how my bike looked Sunday after following these rules.

Next up is a Bacon Sandwich...


Cheers!

Last chance...

I have tried to be patient with the weather, but I am starting to lose it.  My pedaling has not diminished, but it is full of anger, which is good for fitness but bad for morale.  My kids are going nuts bouncing off the same wall they have been for 5 months.

People often say "oh well, there is nothing you can do about the cold horrible weather."  That is false, as we can move.  If next spring is even close to this horrible, Jen and I will be looking to leave this state.  We are both marketable enough to move pretty much anywhere.  So Cal, NC, SC, and So CO will be on our short list.  I hope it doesn't come to this, but I don't like cold and can't take 5 months of suck.
Then you hear "the grass isn't always greener".  That too is false.  Based on the physics of light, our area cannot be less green with 5" of white snow on it.

Record lows this morning, more snow tonite, and more snow tomorrow night into Monday...it has to end sometime right?  And how about 2 dry days in a row, or normal temperatures, or heck, even temperatures within 5 degrees of normal.
Throw us a bone mother nature.

The equipment this year is more exciting than ever, but even that isn't cheering me up because I can't use it.  I will share more when I can actually ride the stuff.

Rant over.  Back to the pain cave.

The SW

Our Moab and Fruita adventure is over.  It ended at the right time, as I missed my family and my legs were on "E" after 5 days of riding

Things I learned on the trip:
1.  Amasa Back is now my favorite trail out there.  Hands down.  The brand new (opened weeks ago) upper and lower Captain Ahab in addition to Pothole, Rockstacker, and Jackson make it the best out there IMO.
2.  The Rumblefish was like an "easier button" downhill, but you pay for it on the uphills a bit with the heavier bigger wheels.  The suspension on the bike is spot on for having fun and staying fresh in the rough stuff.  The new bontrager XR3 TLR (tubeless ready) tires held up great in the super abrasive conditions.  The TLR tires now have additional sidewall protection...don't leave for the SW without it.
3.  There is still stuff that scares me too much to do out there.  I try a little more each time I go.
4.  Fruita is fun.  The Kokopelli trials are much more fun than the 18 road trails.
5.  The Hot Tomato in Fruita is the place to eat if you have one night.  If you have more than one night, eat there more than once.
6.  The Moab trails are still more fun than Fruita trails IMO.  Some argue the opposite, but to each his own.
7.  Watching off road vehicles, mostly Jeeps, do wicked thing on the edge of cliffs is super fun.  This was the second time of the 1/2 dozen that I have been there where my trip has coincided with "Jeep Week".  I am glad it was not my $50k super modified Jeep making those crunching sounds while rock crawling.
8.  The trails marked "Easiest" in Fruita's Kokopelli group were on par with the toughest at Mammoth.  Everything is relative out there, but there are some easy trails that I would take my son on (Bar M in Moab and 18 road in Fruita)
9.  I remember this every time I take a bike trip, but it is relatively easy to get really fit when all you have to attend to is your own needs...

 

Really hard stuff.  This one took me 5 tries to clear.

  The new Shimano hydration packs are really nice.  I highly suggest them if you are due for an upgrade/update like I was. 

The Porcupine descent is still a gem!

 Yes we had "Moore" fun.  This climb put the hurt on me like no other out there.

 The playground that is Fruita (Kokopelli Area)...yes those are trails all over the hillsides

Racing starts in a while.  I have some different plans for the year and as I mentioned in another post, some different equipment.   For now, I am concentrating on suffering in the cold=(