A quick trip to Sedona

Went down to Sedona to let the desert soothe my soul. Decide to ride the Hot Loop and Woods Canyon Trails to see what they were all about. Good stuff for the most part. Last night we went to a shower thrown by some of Anne's coworkers and received some great gifts including a large combo gift from a bunch of people that turned out to be a B.O.B. jogging stroller which is really pretty awesome.

No explanation necessary

Quick trip down to Sedona

Anne and I took Yampa down to Sedona yesterday for a bit of excercise. We decided on the Dry Creek area. Anne took Yampa out on the leash and I headed out on my bike. Shortly after I snapped a photo of Anne and Yampa I took off on my bike for a couple of miles. I slowed for a minute and heard some heavy panting behind me and realized that Yampa had ran off from Anne and tracked me down. I assume that she had to run full speed for a long time to catch up to me. When I stopped she was gagging a bit trying not to throw up but after a quick break she was ready to go again. I rode back up to where Anne was and then continued with my ride. It was a nice day with temperatures in the 60's and nice trail conditions. A couple more weeks to go and we will have another family member to take down to Sedona.

The progression of things

I know that it has been awhile but that's the way it goes. Here is the situation. Flagstaff has received some season ending snow so I have been riding the trainer a bit and skiing. I have not made it down to Sedona this winter but plan to soon. Anne is doing well and continuing to grow little Tor Tor inside her belly. I captured her and her Mom at Thanksgiving after we put up the tree and again today while she was doing some holiday baking. We have one more month and then things will be a changin'. We went to New Mexico for another whirl wind holiday trip to see family and for Anne to go to a surprise shower/luncheon. On the way to Los Alamos we stopped by the Kokoman Liquor Store in Pojaque to peruse the fine beer selection. The funny thing about Kokoman is that it was always the place to get beer for people under 21 years of age while I was growing up. I never thought of it as a place for great beer only as a place to get as much cheap alcohol as possible. Recently upon my return to Kokoman I have discovered that the selection far exceeds just about any of liquor store I know of as far as their craft beer selection is concerned. This go around I purchase a Marble Brewing (Albuquerque) Red Ale, A Big Sky Brewery (Missoula) Biere De Noel, A Full Sail (Hood River) Wreck the Halls and a Left Hand Brewery (Longmont) Smoke Jumper Smoked Porter. There is one more beer in the picture that is worth mentioning separately as it is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head breweries. The beer is called Life and Limb and it is made with birch and maple syrups and is a lofty 10.2% ABV. I will be sure to update the activities mentioned above as headway is made.

A day in the life

Yesterday I decided that the east side of Elden was calling my name so I took off headed for the AZT via Forces of Nature. The weather on that side of the mountain is seemingly always five degrees or so warmer and it proved to be so yesterday. Recent moisture has the trail conditions in pretty good shape and the AZT was super fun all the way back around to Campbell Mesa. Once I got back into town I rode the ol' FUTS to the new Revolution Bicycles to grab a t-shirt from Randy and check out the space. The shop is on Mike's Pike in a really cool old warehouse. Many bigger cities that I have been in have warehouse districts that are being converted into different businesses such as housing, retail, etc. such as Bend, Kansas City and Denver. Walking into Revolution felt like walking into a shop somewhere else with a new, good vibe (although there is very little currently in the shop). Randy and C.J. don't have a specific date to open yet but are starting to dial everything in and are finishing the last bit of construction. Hopefully Revolution does well and can break into the Flagstaff bike shop market by offering a different better experience.

Guess what I did today

The other day the doorbell rang and when I threw the door back it was the Gnome bearing gifts. He had in his hands a book entitle Lance and a couple pair of Drunk Cyclist socks which were gratis courtesy of DC. Today I decided that I would wear a pair of the socks for the first time and to show my appreciation I headed out for my favorite section of trail in the Flagstaff area and snapped a photo of said socks. I then headed out to do some exploring and found a sweet little used single track and followed it down hill. I soon realized why it was little used. It doesn't go anywhere! I hopped off the bike and started hiking in the general direction of Jedi and soon I was atop a hill where a tree with a bizarre fire scar was looming. Realizing that I was probably a short distance from the trail I pushed on and low and behold Jedi. I started pedaling again and some fun downhill later I was back at home. The little bit of winter we had last week is a distant memory due to the high 60's we've been seeing this week. I'm glad to be fending winter off for just a bit longer. The weather looks like it will hold at least through the weekend so get and enjoy it. It is a sure cure for the blues.

A day at Estrella

Anne and I loaded Yampa and the Niner into the truck at 4 in the morning yesterday and headed to Phoenix. The Dust Devil Series Estrella race was the destination. I signed up for the Cat. 2 race which consisted of 2 long loops at the competitive track. I haven't race anything in Arizona except marathon and single speed races so I didn't know what to expect. What I experience was pretty much the norm. Go out hard and try not to fall off (and hope everyone else fades). This is pretty much what happened. I picked my way through about six or so people in the first couple of miles and then settled in to a good pace to try and chase down the four folks in front of me. I pulled in one person before the course tilted down and then had to wait for the second lap to try and make up some more ground. Midway up the climb on the second lap I caught and passed one guy and could see the next about 200 yard in front of me. I reeled him in close to the top of the climb but he passed me on the first part of the descent. He then flatted and much to my dismay did not have anything to fix his tire with. I have noticed this phenomenon more in Arizona than anywhere else in races. Why don't people carry their own shit to fix their bikes with? I threw the guy my CO2 and took off knowing there was a guy in front of me that I wasn't going to catch but I didn't want to get caught from behind. Of course I never saw my CO2 dispenser again but what can you do? So I ended up holding my position and finishing 2nd in the Cat 2 class but 1st in my age group. I was pretty stoked and really happy with the new bike. The prize was a water bottle, 2 gels, and a 15 percent off coupon to REI. I won't get into what I think about that but I will say at least MBAA gives certificates good for a portion of the fees for future races. It doesn't really cost anything but it is as good as cash for people that might race in the future. All in all a fun trip with a fine Chipotle burrito, some beer and the great fortune of watching the Notre Dame game and the World Series at the same time (well changing back and forth anyway).