Pluggin' Away

Today's post is a bit on the boring side and I blame it all on the weather here in Northern Arizona. Apparently it is going to take awhile to get used to the cold in regards to cycling time outside. There still has not been any moisture for the longest time now and I would brave the cold except for the fact that I am getting over a cold and did not do anything for the week after backpacking. I have been riding the trainer for the past couple of days and will continue for the majority of the week and then we will see if it snows this weekend. The Warren Miller Ski Movie is in showing in Flag this Saturday so maybe that will usher in the snow. I said that this post would be boring and I don't have much more to offer.

Back from a trip to the Homeland

I have recently returned home from a two week trip to New Mexico where I was born and raised sandwiched in between the beautiful Jemez and the Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges. While in New Mexico I met up with a good friend of mine Robert and did some backpacking and climbed some peaks on a nine day trip into the Sangres. We started with a couple of days in the Pecos Baldy Lake area where we visited the summit of East Pecos Baldy at 12,529 feet. The fishing in the lake was below average and we made a break for the Truchas Lakes area via Trail Rider's Wall. Trail Rider's Wall was ridiculously windy probably blowing 40+ with a temperature around the freezing mark which made for an uncomfortable hike for 3 miles of total exposure at 12,000 feet. Once a camp was established at Truchas Lakes we were able to make it over to the summit of North Truchas Peak via a chute on the NW side of the peak. North Truchas Peak is at 13,024 feet. The next day we decided not to go up the ridge to the three other peaks due to the weather so we went over for a quick run up Chimayosos Peak at 12,841 feet. The following day we decided that we had to get up the ridgeline to Truchas Peak even though the weather was still not favorable. We made it up unscathed and stood on the second highest point in NM at 13,102 before we proceeded over to Middle Truchas Peak at 13,066 then to an unnamed peak along the same ridgeline that stands just over 13,000 feet before we dropped off the ridge just before dark to head back to camp. The rest of the trip was just taking a very long way back to the truck to make a loop out of the hike where we fished a bit and did some general sightseeing on the Santa Barbara Divide which is an outstanding piece of country that the Skyline Trail traverses all above 12,000 feet. The lack of snow this year and the lighting due to the time of day made this area glow with bright gold due to all of the grass still remaining which explain the abundance of bighorn sheep that we saw. My trip finished with a visit to the family for Thanksgiving which was great to see everyone and to get to play with my nieces for a couple of days. Due to not having my camera charged with me I do not have any photos from after backpacking. I returned to Flagstaff to get to celebrate Thanksgiving again with Anne's parents which was also a lot of fun and food. (The top photo above is taken from East Pecos Baldy of the Truchas Peaks and the second picture is of Robert and me on top of Middle Truchas Peak. Sorry about the fact that part of my head is missing but the second photo I took to correct this was blurry)

Some days you just have to drive

Yesterday I found myself in my car heading for the trailhead at Fort Valley to go for a bit of a singlespeed ride. I just wanted to get to the trail without having to ride the connecting route It was a good ride and the weather is still pretty dialed in the mid 60's. Anne and I then spent the afternoon at the movies watching American Gangster which was very well done and the acting was acceptable. All in all a pretty good day.

A Day of Fishing in Red Rock Country

Today we went down to the Wet Beaver Creek Wilderness for a little bit of fishing. The first photo is of me and a rainbow that was a little feisty on the line but when it was said and done it came ashore at about 10-12 inches. The second is of Anne and her new fly rod which garnered some nibbles but nothing landed. I also received a call from the city of Flagstaff about the job that I interviewed for with the fire department and apparently I was not their man and did not get chosen for the position. I guess more riding and some backpacking are in my future along with keeping my eyes open on the job front. I will be heading for the homeland this weekend with my friend Robert to go up in the Sangre de Cristo mountains for awhile.

Some Brilliant Idea?

I had a brilliant idea about a week ago and that was to supplement my cycling with a couple of days per week of running. My theory was that when it gets cold it will be a good way to get a workout in, keep my legs strong and lessen the wind chill compared to the bike. I apparently did not remember how much running sucks but will stick with my plan and see if it helps with my overall fitness. Anne dragged me down into Walnut Canyon via the Arizona Trail and made me suffer a bit. She took the written boards yesterday and now had a few days off so we ran errands today and went for a run and tomorrow we are going to check out the fishing in the red rock country about 40 miles south of Flagstaff. I am not used to being able to go out for some trout since there was absolutely no trout around Tucson. We'll see if we have any luck.

Back from a weekend in Tucson

Well I made it back from Tucson relatively unscathed today after a good weekend. I went down on Friday with a quick stop in the greater Phoenix area at Mcdowell Mountain Park to ride the Pemberton Trail. I was just checking it out to see if I wanted to register for the Dawn to Dusk race on December 1st out there. I then continued down to Tucson and drank a couple of beers and ate sushi with friends David and Michelle. Saturday held a bunch of packing, a ride at Fantasy Island and a good Beyond Bread breakfast with David, then off to the Bookman's 30th Anniversary Party at Reid Park with Michelle. Bookman's owner threw a free party with a feature performance by Calexico with Salvador Duran and Mariachi Luz de Luna. The show was outstanding and there were at least a couple of thousand people there. Today I came back to Flagstaff and brought the pressure cooker and all the green chile from the freezer up and promptly put it all to good use. Yum Yum. Waiting for me when I got home was my new seatpost for my road bike. Thomson makes some really pretty and strong stuff. This is to replace my crappy carbon fiber post that I have now. My words of advice if anyone is looking for a new post. Go with a Thomson, period.

The Pay'nTake

Tonight I headed down to the Pay'nTake (the best place to drink a pint in Flagstaff) and I took the only seat open at the bar and much to my chagrin I was able to strike up a conversation with Bryce who owns AZ Bikes (a local Flagstaff bike shop) and we proceeded to drink a couple of beer and discuss bikes and bike racing and various local bicycle personalities most of whom I do not know at this time but I have only been in this town for a short while. Keith, who was pouring us beer, is apparently the future of Flagstaff triathletes and I found out that just about everyone who frequents the Pay'nTake rides a bike. As the night progressed my conversation with Bryce took on two main topics. The first was who was better Lemond or Armstrong. Bryce arguing for Lemond and me for Armstrong due to reasons that we both thought out weighed each others. The second topic was that local bike builder Steve Garro is just a bad ass. He has had much more contact with Steve but his sentiments were right on with the opinions that I have formed which are basically first impressions. I am not sure which of the old saying falls into place for the people of this town but it is one of the two. Cyclists with drinking problems or drinkers with cycling problems. Take your pick and have a good night.