Christmas Day Coverage...

Well, I'm giving a short recap of Christmas Day a few days late. It was our first married Christmas, and we had a good one. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend it with family, but Al and I had a great day with each other here in UT. I spent most of the morning cooking. You never realize how much work grandmas do on holidays until they aren't around anymore and you do it yourself. Wow, they are troopers. Anyhow, we had a great dinner, and then went up into the mountains for some holiday scenery. We went to see Mt. Timpanogos and Provo Canyon, since we haven't seen them yet, and pretty soon we won't get to anymore. (I haven't officially blogged the news yet, but Alison and I are moving to Coon Rapids, MN very shortly, due to jobs. Utah was a short run.) Anyhow, after we enjoyed the beauty of Northern UT, we visited our friends Kelly and Julie, and once again ate. Too much. Pretty normal for the holidays. But Christmas was good , and we look forward to seeing the relatives we missed soon...

Al and I somewhere in the Heber Valley area during our Christmas mountain viewing...














Ducks near the Mt. Timpanogos Wilderness Area...














Mullet showing Alison his Christmas love by licking her glasses while she tried out the new down summer bag my parents and I gave her...














My new Ortlieb rear touring panniers the Hovde's and Al gave me (they also gave me a set for the front, but I don't have a front rack to mount them quite yet)...

Response to comment on 12/16/06...

Thank you for your comment on the issue of global warming. It’s good to hear from you. I hope all is well back up north. As far as your discussion and links on this subject, I will concede now, after spending a considerable amount of my free time lately reading articles and essays on global warming, that yes, skeptics exist in the scientific community. There is not a consensus within the scientific community on the issue to the degree stated in An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore. However, I still feel very strongly from my own study of the subject (which by the way did not start with the reading of Gore’s book) that there is enough of a consensus to merit a change in my own impact to the environment. I will take a personal stance, and every individual must make their own choice respectively. I personally do not believe that the human consumption of fossil fuels cannot have drastic consequences, considering the incredible rate at which it has occurred within a very short time period of our planet. I do agree with you, and the essays you shared from Michael Crichton that science research must be conducted within certain parameters, and should be documented in whole to avoid bias. It is easy to realize that not all deductions that have been made within the scientific community have been correct within the history of mankind. But it is also very easy to realize that we have made incredible progress as well. There will always be skepticism, and there should be in order to prevent mistakes as much as is possible. But there will be progress alongside, whether one hypothesis prevails or another. To reach the conclusion that we as humankind cannot effectively determine and manage a problem because we have faced debate and setbacks is not something I can accept. Setbacks and debate are part of how we learn.

I also feel a strong need to comment on the political ties to the issue of global warming, which by your support of Crichton’s speeches, I have little doubt that you have considered thoroughly. We live in a country of unity, but also of intense division. I believe that since Al Gore was the author of a book on global warming, it cast immediate doubt in many individuals/groups as to the validity of any of the science claims made within his work. It would be no different if George Bush wrote the book. When a man has political ties (and thus very public allies and enemies), he is intensely judged no matter what he says. People already have their minds made up that a politician speaks truth, or is a fool. In addition to the basic political party affiliation issues, the debate over economic implications of the global warming problem cause wild amounts of debate. So once again, it is easy for me to see where people may already have their minds made up based on their desire to protect what they see as the most intelligent treatment of the economy. To some degree of truth, the data you find when searching for information regarding global warming depends on how politically/economically liberal or conservative your data source is. (I think we’re in agreement there already based on some of your comments/links). In my opinion is that politicians, economists, scientists, and consumers alike must be open minded enough to observe the world objectively, and at times challenge their own comfort and beliefs when data merits such actions, in order to sustain our race. And yes, as a Christian, I do believe that God plays the ultimate role in whether or not man succeeds in their ventures, but I also believe he has created in us the duty of being trying as hard as we can to be stewards of the situations presented to us. This means not giving up because at the signs of setbacks or debate. I can go on, but I suspect that will happen anyway in future blogs. Thank you again for your input. I am in no way wishing for my opinion alone to be heard. One cannot understand an issue without hearing all sides.

Winter walk...

I went hiking in Mueller Park today, because I couldn't stand sitting in the apartment anymore. I don't have any snowshoes yet, so it was a bit tricky in a couple areas, but I managed. I had a whole lot of fun, and the winter scenery was spectacular as usual. The photos I've posted aren't the best, as it was pretty much overcast and thus the lighting was poor. Plus, the battery in my camera was at it's limit and died halfway through the hike, so the pix are a little grainier than normal. But you can get a taste of the wintery goodness of the Northern Wasatch. The hike is a mix between tunnels of tree covered trail, and open vistas. There are usually a few other people (some with dogs) on the trail on most days, so the cougar danger is pretty low since they don't like busy areas. Today there was even a really loud guy running the trail with a mid-size pack, which would normally look pretty tough, but he kept falling down, (seemingly because he was so entranced by his iPod), so he just looked comical. Anyhow, enjoy the pix...

Santa Mullet

Last night we heard a ruckus. Something was stuck coming down our chimney!! It couldn't be, yes, it is! Santa Mullet!!!














Actually, there was not a ruckus, and we don't even have a chimney. We've just aparently become the type of people that subject their pets to such uncomfortable situations as this. Although, he wasn't even uncomfortable. He sat around in his outfit for quite some time, apparently enjoying the extra warmth before he decided to regain his dignity and shake it off. Merry Christmas from the world's favorite little awkward cat, Mullet!

Snow venture...

I got my touring bike really sloppy for the first time. I my last post I wrote of the latest storm to sweep the Salt Lake Valley. I did in fact go biking since I have no skis. I wanted to ride the base of the mountains behind my apartment in the snow, so I buckled down and climbed 400 N, an outrageously steep road leading up into the hills from our place. I don't know the exact grade, but Kelly and I agree that it feels much worse than the 12% grades by his house. Steep. I did have an easier time on my touring bike than I usually do on my race oriented Lemond due to the added gearing, but it was still intense. Once up the main climb, I rode along Bountiful Blvd, which parelles the base of the mountains, and headed up to Mueller Park. I was pretty sloppy up there, where as the roads down lower weren't holding the snow. I chilled up by the creek at the mouth of the canyon where Mueller Park is nestled for a while, then returned back down to home. Good ride, but the cleanup was terrible. It's one thing to get the old Surly 1x1 all slopped up, but with a full-out touring machine with tons of gears and fenders, there are a lot of nooks and crannies to dry out. My air compressor did a good job of blowing everything dry. When cleaned and relubed, I retired the 520 back to the rack until it's next journey. I need some panniers so I can use it for what it's actually for. Camping by bicycle will be great!

The wall that is 400 N, seen here in the midst of the snowing...we're looking up, mind you, so it's steeper than it looks in the photo...



















Are we in San Francisco?? Nope, there's snow all over...














The 520 literally chillin' at Mueller Park...

stormin'

So aparently the local news here in Salt Lake calls about any amount of rain or snow a storm. I don't no how many times they've anounced to brace for it, and I've watched as little happened. I guess they have to factor in that it does actually get bad if you go up in elevation just a bit, so it's intense in the mountains, but down here in the valley it's pretty tame. So most storms aren't much to watch here at our apartment. However, last night, parts of the Salt Lake Valley aparently got 12" of snow, and it's dumping more up in the mountains. Our place didn't see much, but it's coming down now and we can't even see the mountains out our window. Sweet. I think I may jump on the touring bike and pedal in the whiteness for some excercise, since I am still too poor to buy skis and become a real citizen of this state. Anyhow, it finally seems to be winter here....

An Inconvient Truth...

So I just finished reading Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I was aware that humans are not the most likely creatures to go easy on their environment, and that a whole lot of daily practices we have can be destructive, but I didn't realize how intense our climate issues have become. What struck me the most while reading his book was his comparison of how smoking was originally seen and how global warming is now seen. Smoking was never considered safe by medical science. Hardly anyone who knew anything about lungs felt that it was ok. The medical science community thought it was safe, but it was debatable among others and thus became a part of our lives when science signs pointed to it being quite stupid. Global warming, and the data collected about it points to a very grave situation presently, and the science community is in agreement that we must change the way we live to stop it from posing a serious threat to humanity. However, other interest groups outside the scientific community seem to think there is no problem, and their words cause doubt as to the seriousness of the issue. People need to know what the experts have to say. Smoking caused all sorts of fatal health problems in people, but it was limited to those who took part in it or where indirectly exposed to it. Global warming has the potential to completely destroy the environment we are dependant on. Seriously, how the hell can we ignore that for that sake of conveniently keeping our current habits??! For many, it's simply disbelief that there is an issue. It requires looking beyond our narrow view of our personal daily lives to the rest of the world. But I don't think it requires looking all that far anymore. The effects of global warming are getting more and more potent. Read An Inconvenient Truth for yourself and check out the data. And yes, it's by a politician, but no, this didn't all come out of his head. It is data found all over the scientific community from years and years of research. You don't have to read Al Gore's words; you can find the same thing all over. He's just done a great job of getting the word out. So anyhow, PlEASE look into the issue of global warming for yourself. You'll be surprised at how much we're hurting ourselves...

A bit early...

Alison and I broke down this week. We've had some bad luck with jobs, and to make ourselves feel better we reverted to childlike methods of cheering ourselves up, and we each opened a Christmas present very very early. :) We're not sorry. :) She bought me a very cool present: a backcountry espresso brewer, by GSI. I am so set up for java in the woods. I tried it on my stove top this morning and it does a great job. I'll have to swing by REI for a little steel shot cup for it. I think they sell for a couple bucks. Anyhow, I'll have to get some pictures of it in the field sometime. Merry really early Christmas.

Being unemployed, you spend way too much time not knowing what to do with your time. As a result, you end up wasting a certain amount of time. This morning, as I was trying to make a plan for the day, I flipped on the TV to occupy my mind a bit, and I immediately witnessed the birth of a sucktorian! If you don't know what a sucktorian is, it's a microorganism that dwells in pond scum. Yes, this was on my TV, and I watched it. Life sometime reduces you to such moments. However, I guess I did learn something, albeit knowledge that will not earn any rent money. The world moves on...

The first of many trees

Alison and I are spending our first married Christmas together this year. Last night we went out and bought our first tree for our home. She used her decorative skills to make it look good after I used my cheap skills to talk down the price of the tree at the lot. :-) And now Mullet is using his domestic pet skills to try to drink all the water out of the tree stand. :-) He hasn’t tried to eat any ornaments or knock anything over in tree climbing ventures that many cats participate in during the holidays, so I think we’re doing ok. Anyhow, here’s a couple shots of our Christmas-ness:

Ride.

Put yourself here: the weather forecast is calling for a snow storm to hit in about an hour. You wanted to go road biking. Do you stay home and eat leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, or do you press your luck and sneak the ride in anyways. Oh yes, you ride. It started out pretty easy, with rain and 36 degree temps (I’m from ND, so yes, this is actually not bad if one is dressed appropriately). Light winds, so no big deal. I rode north towards the weather for a half an hour, then turned around to return home to my warm apartment. The rain got heavier, then turned to heavy wet snow, then ice pellets. 700x23c road tires are not the ideal choice for such conditions, but they do work in the absence of any ice on the road. Luckily, there wasn’t any as the roadways were still warmer than freezing. After getting used to the conditions and riding cautiously home, sporting the crazed smile a cyclist wears when pushing the envelope and discovering what he can do, I enjoyed a light and sound show as well. Thunder and lightening had also made their way into the mix. Novara, the REI in house bike brand, sports the motto that “There’s never a bad time to ride.” This may not be 100% true, but pretty close. I had a lot of fun, and it was a great time to ride.

Salt Lake Cat Camping

So one of the funnier things you can buy with a dollar is a tent for your cat...

Flyin' in SLC

Well I finally went flying again yesterday after three months of being on the ground. Alison has a student who ownes a 2004 Cessna Skyhawk SP and lets her borrow it for only the price of gas. Not bad. We took up her dad out of Salt Lake International and tooled around in a nearby mountain valley. It was really nice to fly again. I've decided that flying for a company is no fun at all, but weekend general aviation with the family is great. Here's some pictures:

North end of the Oquirre (sp?) Mountains, during our departure out of the Salt Lake Class B airspace:
















Shot of the panel in the 172 we were flying; notice the all the terrain and water on the Multi Function Display (colorful TV lookin' thing). Yeah, we're not flying in Grand Forks anymore. There's stuff to run into here.














The required husband and wife shot with the airplane. Ah, aren't we adorable...
















Another required husband and wife shot. Yes, my glasses are turned up on purpose...they hurt under my headset...















Dave enjoying the ride around the mountains...

The past couple of weeks have been pretty routine. Look for work. Do it again. Ride. Do that again. Not too much. This weekend should be a good time though, since Alison and I have family coming down to visit us here in SLC for Thanksgiving. I've never hosted a holiday meal before, so I had no idea how big of a bird to buy for the four of us. I bought one that weighs 19.5 lbs. Apparently, that is way to big. :) Oh well, Thanksgiving leftovers are ultra tasty, so it wont be so bad having the extra food. I have to admit though, I pansied out when I brought the turkey home. I had plans to bring it home on my touring bike since I'm such a commuter bike nerd, but I was having a bad day and drove. Maybe I'll punish myself and ride it up 400 N to thaw it out. :) I'm sure there'll be many more heavy items to prove my commuter diligence with. Anyhow, they're be more to write when more happens....

Road climb of the season

Since moving to the SLC area, I've been working my way through becoming a climber on my road bike, as there are so many steep grades to tackle here. There are four major canyons in the vicinity of where we live, and up until this week, I'd tackled three of them- Emigration, Millcreek, and Big Cottonwood Canyons. The only one left was Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is a ten mile climb that features over 4,000 feet of elevation gain, the same amount of gain that Big Cottonwood holds (but BCC is 15 miles up- so you see how steep LCC is). I figured it wouldn't happen this year, as winter temps are creeping in and the canyons are becoming too cold and slippery for roadies, but the past couple days held record high temps. I had no excuse. I called up Kelly, and although he informed me of how much this idea was going to hurt to make a reality (he'd ridden LCC before), he was actually quick to jump onboard for the painful trip up. I got pretty excited as I drove towards the hulking granite forms that make up the scenery around LCC- they were jeering me on. We actually started our ride from the mouth of BCC, a bit north of the LCC canyon mouth, so as to get a bit of a warm up before hitting the steeps. The climb started really well, and Kelly and I both thought we were tearing it up in good form. But then the steep stuff kicked in. Still doable though. We were both in lowest gear, grinding away endlessly with a super sluggish cadence (felt like singlespeeding on the knees- don't do it everyday). Kelly of course pulled out from me, considering he was pushing a higher gear on his Specialized Tarmac Comp which sports a double front ring, and I was on my steel Lemond Buenos Aires with a triple, allowing me to ride a slower speed with the same cadence. Well, after several miles of the ultra steep with no breaks, both of us started to crack, right about at Snowbird ski resort (very close to the top). I had a Clif Bar in my pocket, and went straight to chewing. I had a goal of getting to the top without ever putting a foot down, so it took me about ten minutes to eat the bar while riding and breathing so hard (I made my goal). The Clif Bar saved me after about ten minutes. It's crazy to actually feel the effect of great quick nutrition after bringing yourself to depletion. Kelly was not fairing so well, as he left his ride food in his car. Whoops. He was still way out ahead of me, but apparently had to get off his bike twice for fear of blacking out. Yikes! He's got an intense degree of determination that most people don't have, however, and made it to the top anyway. I was quite impressed. I met him there shortly thereafter, and we rested for a bit, getting ready for the descent. It took an hour and fifty minutes from our starting point to the top. After we pulled ourselves back together after the exhausting climb, we started down, which only took fifteen minutes to the bottom! Faster than I've ever gone on a bike! 48.6 mph with the brakes on at one point! The road is really smooth and flows great, with lots of stable cornering through the whole descent. If you can make it up the climb, the trip down is a whole lot of fun. But be way careful, those kind of speeds can do you in if you take chances. Ride smart! Anyhow, we pulled it all off and it was a great cap on the big mountain road ride for the season. I think my favorite moment was while reading some of the road grafitti (there's a big event ride earlier in the year, and they paint on the road). Halfway up, someone painted: Quit whining: Go big or go home! :) Nice. You'd think reading that would be a smack in the face in the midst of a painful climb, but it actually put a huge smile on my face. I think I'm ready to settle my grudge with the La Sal mountain loop in Moab. :) Anyhow, here's a shot of the bottom of LCC looking out to the Salt Lake Valley. It does nothing to show the steepness of the top, but I didn't have time to grab a picture during the effort.

Once and a while, like most cat owners, we let Mullet get into some catnip since they love it so much. This time I sprinkled it on the top of his scratching post. It was not my intention that he eat half the fuzz off the top, however. :) I think the litter box will be more colorful than usual tommorow...



















This is the scene that followed, and lasted most of the afternoon...it's sad when they become nip junkies...

treading north

Well North Dakota got to see me for most of last week. Kelly hooked me up with cheap airfare at Skywest to get home for annual FAA medical certification. It’s easier for me to go to my old doctors up there that know me, since I’m on a special issuance medical certificate due to occasional migraines. That’s the short of the long. I spent a whole lot of time driving across several parts of the state, and during all that time, I realized even more what a tough place ND is to be a fan of mountains. :) Yikes, I’m already spoiled here in UT, and I want to stay. One moment in particular stood out to me in ND of how hard it was to be an outdoor recreation addict while living there. I was stepping out of my friends apartment at 6 in the morning to drive to Fargo to catch my flight. On my way to the car, I looked down at an extremely familiar sight that really brought back my winter commuter days in Grand Forks. I was having to step carefully down the sidewalk, because it was covered in lumpy patches of ice, that were illuminating yellow under the light of streetlamps. I don’t know how many hours I stared down at sidewalks just like that one carefully commuting along in the frigid temps on my old Surly. I know I love cycling to have put up with those conditions for so many years, and it was nuts to think back on it. Now I’m back in the Salt Lake area, and it’s in the sixties. I’ve been riding sweet mountain roads in full spandex uniform as a roadie should. And there’s not a patch of yellow lumpy ice to be seen. I think I earned it. :) But for all you northland winter riders- keep it up! I’d be right with you if I was back in that part of the country, for sure.

As for the rest of my recent ND trip experience, it was great to see friends and family again. That’s the one downfall of finally getting to live in the big hills. It’s not as easy to see everyone. But I suppose if I ever do the airline pilot thing that can all change. We’ll just see how it all turns out…

Routeslip.com

So I discovered a sweet resource through another cycling fanatic's website this morning. It's called Routeslip.com, and is a great route planning tool for biker's to find/create road routes. You just follow an online map and it displays your routes distance and climbing information. For example, I worked up a very detailed climbing loop to work me crazy... Local Pain Route
Sweet.
Routeslip.com
Use it.
Ride.

Fun fact for the day:

The distance a cyclist can travel on 100 calories:
3 Miles

The distance a car can travel on 100 calories:
280 Feet

Sissy cars....

-Taken from the San Francisco Exploratiorium, published in Bicycling Magazine

Smack!

A friend of mine whose name I'll not disclose recently had her screensaver changed to something unwanted by a coworker. Most people, to get back, would return the favor with the same prank, but she did something much better. She went into this coworker's word processor and altered the spell-checker function to always replace the word "the" with "your mom". Pretty funny... :)

Well I'm getting slightly more confident on Little Cottonwood Canyon granite. This past weekend, our good friends Casey and Sarah Grove from St. Louis visited, and Kelly took Casey and I out climbing. We did a 5.7 crack system, and then dropped halfway back down the face we were on and jumped on Green Adjective- a 5.9+ finger crack with a 5.10a variation start that was featured on the cover of Climbing magazine last year. Since the climbs in Little Cottonwood are usually lower than they should be (meaning they feel harder than they are rated, and usually give me a healty spanking), I thought I wouldn't have a chance. But I managed to pull it off and had a great time on a famous Utah trad climb. Sweet. Here's a couple shots:

Kelly on lead...



















Me, not on lead... :)

Last night I found Mullet laying as pictured in Alison's backpack. He'd apparently gone in to investigate the contents and then promptly fell asleep. Smart. Hopefully it wasn't from lack of oxygen. He was easily woken, so I think it was just laziness and no physiological danger was present.... :)

Well yesterday was the first time I've ever transported shrimp on a bike. :) I've recently rigged my own rack-trunk set up for my touring bike, cuz I don't have the $100 it would cost for a real one. Mine consists of a $3 on sale basket from BigLots, a $5 on sale bungee net and $1 webbing clips from REI, and some spare nylon webbing from my climbing arsenal. Works fairly well. I ran all my errands with it yesterday, which included hauling another load to recycling, and bringing home groceries from SuperTarget (Wild Oats is an hour ride each way, so that still gets done in the truck most times). So yes, it was the first time I transported shrimp on a bike. It was accompanied by a gallon of milk, two containers of orange juice, and lots of little stuff. I don't know what the load weighed, but it was decent and the bike handled exceptionally. The new fenders also did their job, as about of mile of the ride was following a street cleaner on wet roads, so I'd have been pretty spattered up without them. It's so nice to have a beast of burden bicycle in your stable....


I'm pretty sure Mullet looks like he wants a ride.... :)

For some time, I've had trouble getting Mullet to excercise, but I've discovered now that dental floss will throw him into a rage, thus burning calories and making him feel like he's ferocious and not just a pillow on our couch all day.




















Giving it his all..... :)

Yes, fenders are still cool

A trip to REI last night for some window shopping revealed quite a deal on some very nice fenders for my touring bike, so it ended up being more than window shopping. They were practically giving them away, so I broke down and bought them. 14 bucks for a great set of fenders is almost unheard of, but I've found a lot of deals here in one of the outdoor capitals of the world. I like it. :)














Anyhow, installing them proved to be a bit of a project, since like most new frames, there was quite a bit of paint cover the eyelet threads where the fenders attach, so I had to do a little frame tapping. You can see in the attached photo how much crud came through.















All in all, it was a needed addition to a true touring/commuter ride, and I think it clearly increased the bike's sexiness. :) Silver with black pinstripes. Nice!

Yeah, so it's been a couple hours since my last blog and I am patching ANOTHER goathead puncture. It was apparently from my ride home last night after I patched all the other punctures. So that means I suffered four punctures in one day!

Of flatting bike tires...

Utah has too many goatheads! Let me explain. I don’t mean actual heads of actual goats, but in fact a thorny little plant that is bent on letting the air out of your bike tires. I picked up one yesterday while riding my touring bike, and it left two tiny little pinholes, which I was only able to locate by putting the tube in the tub and watching for bubbles. After patching those, I plucked the goathead thorns out of my touring tire (which advertises a Kevlar weave built in for puncture resistance- a load), and went out mountain biking, since it was a beautiful fall day. I road the Mueller Park trail, as I often do now being as it’s so close to the new apartment. I had a really good climb, making it to the top in a very respectable time, and then sitting for awhile to enjoy the view of the mountains and the Great Salt Lake. I then took my descent back down somewhat slower than normal, since, like I said, it was a beautiful fall day, there were a whole lot of people using the trail and I didn’t want to grease a hiker. However, there are a few places on the way down where it is simply irresistible to go fast and get some air under your tires. In one such jump, I heard the huge bang associated with a blown tube right as I lifted off the ground. Front tire from the direction of the bang. So, this gave me a some undetermined amount of time (time moves slowly when your flying through the air on a bike) to think about how if my front tire was flat, I would have next to no directional control upon reconnecting with the ground, because flat tires like to roll sideways on rims. Wisely, I had told a friend where I was going to ride, because I don’t like to be out in the mountains without someone knowing. If something like, say, a bike crash happens and you are solo, it’s no good to be on your own. So I was covered, but it was still going to hurt. So the landing finally came after all the slowed down thinking time in the air….and no crash. No flat! My tire was fine, except I’d ripped off a whole tread knob on the rock I had jumped off, and the huge bang was exactly that. Nice. I rode the rest of the way down happy that I had not crashed, and that I didn’t have to patch another stupid flat. But when I got home, I did indeed have to patch another stupid flat. Apparently I didn’t get all the goathead thorns out of my gimmick super puncture resistant touring tire, and it was flat again! One more time in the tub and third patch now has it holding air again. Enough. No more flats for a while I hope…

Boy, I must be mistaken in my ways...

A friend of mine just told me of an article he was recommended to read that explained how enviornmentally concerned individuals come out being harder on the environment than people who are not. Brace yourself, someone's digging deep here. :) You see, the article states that environmentally concerned people are often times outdoor sport enthusiasts, and thus are typically more in shape physically than other individuals. Therefore, they tend to live longer due to good fitness, and in the extra time they spend on the earth, they use up more natural resources than someone who would already be deceased. Like I said, someone's diggin' deep. :) I guess I should hurry up and stop living to help out the planet. Or at least feel very guilty about riding my bike while countless SUV's pass me on the road, containing one person only, while burning gallons and gallons of gas for the sake of convienience. Whoops, I stand corrected....

quote of the day...

My wife, after framing our wedding pictures and hanging them in our living room:

"Look how good I like it!"

I love you babe.... :)

Xtracycle

Every once in a while I catch up to something that has been out for a long time, but is new and cool to my eyes. The Xtracycle is the latest example. Can't believe the amount of stuff people are putting on their bikes, making cars almost unneeded for local errands. Pretty swell. I was referred to them by the Surly bikes website, as they've created a new frame to work specifically with Xtracycle's creation, without any converting of parts. I was particularly amazed to see that people are mounting things such as kayaks or lumber on their bikes! They have pictures and videos for those interested...

Zero Emissions SUV...

Well unfortunately, UT is way to0 rough on singlespeeders, and I've gone and sold my 1x1. No more Surly in the herd, but I wisely replaced it with a sweet commuter/touring machine, a Trek 520. It's cool enough to ease the pain of parting with my custom 1x1 flatland commuting workhorse. This is a shot of my latest trip on the new steed, to the local recycling drop off. I don't have rack trunk yet, so some cardboard and twine held the load down. It was a wonderfully awkward ride. People looked at me with that "this is what happens when people don't go to college" look. :) Little do they know I have an degree from an aerospace college. Anyhow, it's a great mountain country commuter, and some day it's going to be ridden accross the country (yes, by me.) Edward has already said he's interested in a trip of the sort, and we've just got to figure out when it's going to happen. I sure have the time right now, but the whole money thing is the current tour-block. Careers.

Wasatch Rainy Day

Well, I spent the entire morning attempting to get things done regarding renewing my flight instructor certificate and figuring out how I'm going to go about the process of getting a new airmen medical certificate, all the while running into the endless tormenting roadblocks involved in any amount of aviation related paperwork. So, after enjoying enough of that, I decided that a rainy hike in the mountains was in order to bring things back into the not-super-frustrated category. Works every time. I returned to Donut Falls in the Mill D South Fork of Big Cottonwood Canyon- this time with Ty. And this time, we decided to scramble up the rock face to the side of the falls and travel cross country to a parallel trail for our return. We also eyed up Kessler Peak, which loomed over our whole route, discussing how it needs to be climbed at some point. Apparently the local USGS topo maps cover a couple good routes up it, so we'll have to check them out. Anyhow...

Moab is now a weekend venture!

Since Al wasn't starting her new (yes second new) flight instructing job until Monday, and I'm still trying to be patient and not crazy waiting to hear back on my interview, we decided we should get our mind off jobs and go to Moab for the weekend. Four hours later, this was the panorama around our wonderful Nissan. This particular shot was taken in Arches National Park. Notice how our bikes are no longer laying down in the truck bed as in times of old- I used some of my time off to build a very sweet bike mounting system in the truck bed, and it works very very well. Four bike capacity; anything from road bikes to mountain bikes with 2.5 inch tires. Not bad.



This shot is of Alison and I riding Potash Road, which follows the Colorado river just outside of Moab. It's the only place you can ride 33 miles on in the area without really big climbs along the way, so it was a great weekend relaxing scenic ride. Not to belittle the distance though, it was Al's biggest ride yet- congrats babe! And thanks to Ty for taking the picture...











And in case you all are still wondering if you should visit us and our beautiful new state, I'll leave you with this shot of Double Arch. It's just sittin' out here for you to come look at, and it's pretty sweet...Come visit! :)

Pix of our new area...

Well I’ve got some more UT pix for all to enjoy.

First up is the view out our balcony window. It’s much improved from our last balcony view, which of course did not exist.

The second couple shots of another ride up Emigration Canyon, this time with Alison and Julie. Julie was kind enough to take pictures of the Jensens mid-climb, and then at the top. In the climbing shot, it appears that Alison is turning to attempt to climb directly up the embankment, but I’m pretty sure she’s just swerving to miss a rock. :)

Third, we have a shot of our backyard hiking playground, Mueller Park. Also included in the picture is Alison’s very cool present from her wonderful husband, a Gregory Iris ultralight daypack. Nice. This is also an excellent mountain bike ride for those equipped with fat tires.

Fourth, you may be interested to see some sweet fall fringe weather hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Donut Falls in the Mill D South Fork.

To finish off, we haven’t had many good Mullet pictures lately, so I’ve included a couple for all to catch up to the fact that he is still not very smart. J He is first attempting to drink water from my glass, almost getting his head stuck, and second battling with an non-living item, his nemesis, our hand vacuum, “The Shark”. It was not running at the time of the battle. Mullet thought he might be able to kill it in it’s sleep…

Bye bye for now...

We have internet!

We have internet access at our place now, so I shouldn't be so slow at update this blog. A lot has gone on in the past few weeks, and I haven't written about much of it, but in time I'll try to get everybody caught up. For now, you get to enjoy a little piece of our new area in this picture of a recent road ride up Emigration Canyon, located right by the University of Utah. A lot of the rides out here consist of climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing, and then a really fast trip back down. :) I dig it. The views during these rides are paying me back for years of pedaling past endless rows of corn and soybeans while dodging crop duster spray in the summer, and slogging through piles of snow and darkness in sub-zero temps in the winter. I like UT. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike ND, just Grand Forks.
On another note, I had an interview that went very very well last friday, and I'm in the waiting process to see if the company will bring me on or not. It's a small charter company that is looking for someone to mainly manage, but also fly right seat a bit, so it's perfect for me. The guy that interviewed me said he'd love to hire me, but the position hasn't been officially created yet, so I'm waiting for now on that job while I still keep me eyes peeled elsewear just in case. I'm also going to try to work at Wasatch Touring, a local bike shop that a friend of mine works at. It would be fun part time work, and would provide discounts on gear I use all the time down here. Anyhow, more later, but enjoy the picture of sweet sweet UT...

Young Jensen Frenzy...

Yikes, it's been 10 days since last bloggin' session! Must have been busy. Yes, in fact I was. Alison and I have learned a lot about stress lately with our move, as it takes some time to get settled in a completely new place. Her new job is ripping her off quite a bit, and I still don't have one of my own, so it makes things rather hectic to say the least. We love UT, and as soon as our careers ever take off we'll love it even more. Good news is we have met some great people here in addition to the Paasch's and Ty, and have been going to a church that we are sure liking so far. Our sunday school class has been covering apologetics, with issues discussed such as "why bad things happen when there is a God", "science and religion", and "the issue of historical (and modern day) Christians doing horrible things in the name of God", to name a few. It's all motivated me to dust of my C.S. Lewis books. :) Anyhow...
So I still have no pictures for you all to view, and that needs to change. We're still looking for the software for Al's new camera to upload the pix to my laptop. Soon, I hope. The view out our apartement balcony was worth moving here. Instead of ugly brick UND apartment buildings, we see the Wasatch mountain range. Yes, that is good. There is a (state I think) park called Mueler Park a couple miles from our door, and I hear the hiking, mountain biking and road riding is excellent. I'll be up there soon. Anyhow, I need to get back to unpacking and figuring out where all the details of our lives are. :) More later, hopefully before another ten days passes...

This is the sound of settling...

So settling in a new town is pretty crazy. Al's been spending the days getting trained in a OK3 Air, and I've been a "stay at (somebody else's) home husband". I've been spending pretty much all of my time searching for housing and jobs. I applied at a place today that sells New Pipers, as well as being an extensive aircraft parts dealer. We'll see if that turns out. We have had time for a bit of fun though, and I've been enjoying/struggling through some of my first rides out in mountain country. Kelly of course broke me in hard on Sunday morning, taking me to a place called "puke hill". I walked. Wasn't quite used to the altitude yet, but I'll have to give it another try soon. Road biking in around the Paasch's neighborhood is pretty challenging as well, being equipped with several lengths of 12% grades. I think I'll get tough quick down here. Nothin' like going 5mph on the way up and 42mph on the way down. :) Fun. Anyhow, we'll try to get some pix posted someday soon, but for now, more searchin' to do...

We're sort of here!

Well there hasn't been any time to update this blog as of late. Alison and I have been on one very long adventurous drive, and we are now at our temporary home with the Paasch's in North Salt Lake UT! It is both exciting and nerve-racking, cuz Al's starting her new job, and I don't have one yet. So I'll be spending quite a bit of time sending out more resume and cover letter combos, and looking for a place to move into. Should be crazy. Anyhow, I'm going to have to write more at a later time with more trip details, cuz for now I have to start doing something with all our stuff....

they said it couldn't be done...

Well it finally happened. Alison and I are moving! She just accepted a new flight instructing position in Ogden, UT, and we will be moving to the northern Salt Lake metro area next week! It happened really suddenly, and we're still catching up to the whole idea. Lots of details with our move still need to fall into place, but it's happening! Next weekend we should be in UT temporarily living in the Paasch's guestroom while we find a place of our own (and I find a job for myself...yikes!). We are very excited, and will be even more excited when the actual process of moving is through with. More later, but I probably won't have the most time to be bloggin'. Packin' time....

Sprint to early and you crack

I came extremely close to becoming the new owner of a Surly Cross Check (sweet cyclocross bike- excellent for commuting, touring, cross racing, whatever you fancy) on eBay recently. I figured I could place my bid with 30 seconds remaining and no one would have time to counter. While, someone had the same idea around 8 seconds left, and I couldn't recover. Bummer. However, it was a loss and relief at the same time, because if I would have bought the Cross Check, I'd have to sell my singlespeed, because my bicycle herd would be a little too large for me to justify. I built the 1x1 myself, and I would sad to see it go, so all is still well. Anyhow. Alison and I are going to go hit the highway on our road bikes for a bit. The radar's been lit up all afternoon with thunderstorms, but there appears to be a break for now. Gotta ride...

For those interested in touring:
www.crazyguyonabike.com
Sweet.

So I was just planning on going on another easy road bike ride now that it is again possible for me, but guess what. I live in Grand Forks, and the wind is currently blooooowing at 30mph, as it does quite regularly. Normally I'd go anyway and suffer through it, but not with a 3 inch incision still healing. Out of curiosity I looked to see what the weather is currently like in our desired home of SLC, and it is 80 degrees with calm winds. Huh. Wonder if we should move? Huh.

Back in the saddle, for the most part...

Well I just returned from an easy paced 10 mile road ride with Alison. It felt really good to get back on the Lemond after all this sitting around. We probably would have gone further, as I was feeling ok, but as is quite common around here this time of year, the afternoon thunder started calling. Nothing spectaculor so far on the radar, but it's supposed to light up later this afternoon.
I was sporting my new Clif Bar jersey this afternoon, my "I had to have surgery- again" present to myself- sort of a motivational item to get back to normal life. As for the rest of the day, I'm not quite sure whats on the menu. Plenty to do, except for go to work of course. There's next to nothing to do out at the airport these days, and it will probably stay that way until the fall mad rush starts up. The fall was our deadline goal to get outahere. We'll see if we make it. Alison has a couple possibilities in SLC, so hopefully one solidifies. We'll keep everyone posted...

Longing to return to real MTB'ing

I miss riding dirt and rock. I haven't been on any mountain biking trips, much less ridden the few local trails in quite some time. There was once a time when bike buddies and I piled into one of our modest but trusty (read dying) vehicles and made a trip cross country to fine riding. Sleeping in tents at the cheapest (if not free) campsites, waking to hit up as many mountain miles as we could handle before dining on the local specialties (green chilie) or campfire food, then retiring again exhausted and smiling to our sleeping bags. If Edward didn't have too much gas we'd usually sleep pretty well. We'd repeat the process for as many days as we could barely afford until needing to return to the prarie. My latest return to the prarie has lasted awhile in regards to my mountain bike. We've certainly gotten outdoors more this year (minus my recent surgery recovery days), but I sure haven't used the fat tires. I think as soon as I'm healed to 100 percent (mountain biking is anything short of jarring (good mountain biking)), I'm going to have to dust off the dirt machines and dirty them properly. For now, we'll just have to enjoy memories until the next big trail trip...












A sample....At the top of the grueling Porcupine Rim ascent, overlooking Castle Valley, UT, 2003.

Just dropping a quick note to recommend another book. I'm working on finishing Let My People Go Surfing, the Education of a Reluctant Businessman, by Yvon Chounaird, the owner and founder of Patagonia. It's about sustainable and ethical business, and the environmental issues that pair with it. If anyone thinks we can ignore these issues, they're living in a cave. Actually, if you lived in a cave I'd say you'd be pretty in tune with environmental issues. Anyway, I believe we all need to make some changes (starting at an individual level- it's way easier to change one at a time than to ask large entities to change) regarding the way we go about life as usual, and this book highlights some major issues to attend to. Patagonia has sure pioneered some excellent initiatives, and I hope they keep being a convincing example of what they preach.

I finally downloaded the pix from the family trip to WI. Here you see my beautiful wife and I before our rent-a-cabin on Big Bearskin Lake, just north of Wausau. I've spent enough time in the northwoods region lately to be pretty sure that I could live there. Yes, there is definately a lack of large mountains, which are of course very desirable for outdoor adventure, but the northwoods holds enough opportunity to stay consistently interesting for a guy who never grew up and just wants to play outside. The cycling scene and backpacking ventures there would keep me smiling, I would imagine. There is still the problem of the North's frigid winters, which keep most people in a state of perpetual fattening inside their warm homes, but I'd just have to build up a Surly Pugsley and pedal the snow.
For now, I am still not pedaling. Thinking about giving it an easy go tonight or tommorow; I've been feeling pretty good the past couple days. I'm going pretty bonkers considering I basically have no work left for the remainder of the summer, and I can't ride very much. Soon.

a blur of two weeks...

Well Alison and I have been on the road for most of the past two weeks, and all the while I've been healing from my surgery. It was nice to get out; sitting in our truck was no different than sitting on our couch, so I was able to travel for the most part. Getting around required my walking staff that I use when backpacking, so I had an old man ora to me, but I got over it. Overall, I'm going to have to say that this surgery was a lot more painful than my last.
As far as our travels, I'll have to elaborate more later, but for the quick update, we spent most of a week with Alison's family in WI at their lake cabin, and then spent a day at the EAA fly in at Oshkosh, where Al had to push me around in a wheelchair. We then spent a couple days in the cities (we bought a dishwasher there! no more washing forever everyday). The back to GF for a couple days, and most recently we made another quick trip out to the north woods of MN for the wedding of a couple friends. Now we're back in GF working on finding jobs in SLC as usual. More later, hopefully to include pix....

Patched up

Well surgery went well yesterday, and I am healing on the couch at home. This surgery definately has more pain involved afterwords when compared with my last one. The incision was quite a bit larger this time. Ouch. It feels better this morning after I've gotten some sleep, and the Doraset they gave me to control the pain seems to work pretty well. I'll probably be loopy for a couple days because of the medication, but loopy and relaxed sounds better that sharp, aware and in pain. Alison has been taking very good care of me. I owe her a fancy dinner out after all of this. I've gone and ended up in the hospital twice in our first year of marriage. Habits to break, I guess. Anyhow the Tour is on, so I must use what little attention I have while on pain dope and see what is happening. Just wanted everyone to know I made it through ok so far...

Apartment fever...

My previously blogged about gimpery is already driving me crazy. The ND winters smite much of the outdoor activity I enjoy, and now that summer is ticking away...hernia. Ouch, literaly. I'm hoping the healing time will speed by and I can get back to riding and hiking soon. I did however pick up a book that should pass a lot of my upcoming handycap time. Edward reccomended the story of Clif Bar- Raising the Bar. It's about good business ethics and taking care of your employees, as well as sustaining a great outdoor recreation company. Nice. Obviously, any company that was thought up while out on a 175 bike ride is automatically ahead of the pack. :) I've got to heal soon, cuz I haven't ridden any centuries this season. There's something about distance riding that has always been addictive. Alison said she'd ride to Fargo with me before the season is over, but I don't know if they'll be any husband/wife centuries this year. 75 miles is pretty close though. She's proved to be pretty tough during that past couple outdoor trips we've been on. My wife is cool. :)
Back to the couch for more sitting and not aggrevating injuries...

Are you watching?

2006 Tour de France

It's been pretty different this year since TX left the race. You actually don't know what's going to happen when you watch a stage this year.

My return to gimpery...

I don't get paid very much for my skills. I have, however, been quite grateful for the insurance my employer provides. Earlier this year, I blogged about having to have my apendix out. I had to lay around for a week on painkillers (which also kill your ability to do much of anything at all, leaving you very bored and confused all during your recovery). It turns out that I will again get to repeat this process of losing some amount of my time to healing, as I now have a hernia. I guess you can ride your bike too hard, cuz I did. I go in for surgery Tuesday. Also a repeat is the fact that I have a big family event immediately following being cut open. Alison and I are supposed to leave to visit relatives in Wisconsin the day afterwords, so we'll see if that happens. At least it's not our wedding this time.

Sunday afternoon...

It's been hot lately. Today has been the first cool down in quite a while. It's only supposed to hit 70 degrees today, which is fine with me. I had one of the toughest Red River Valley road rides ever on Friday because of a combination of heat, wind, and riding solo. The wind was gusting close to 30mph out of the south, along with a humid 92 degrees. I did 40 miles, and it felt like a century. During the first half of my ride (of course into the wind), I kept thinking that it would be quite easy at my turn around; that I could just ride the wind back to town, but by the time that happened, I was pretty pooped from the first 20 miles, and the tailwind section hurt too. It was sure nice when I had all my old road riding buddies around, but they've heeded the call of the west, for the most part. Anyhow, it was a great ride from the standpoint of fitness. It just hurt a bit. I may return to the road for a bit today. I was suppose to give a stage check to a private pilot student today, with another flight to follow, but it's too cloudy for these particular students, conviently giving me some more time off today. We'll see what I end up doing with it. I have lots of projects going on, alongside endless resume and cover letter typing (still trying to find work west), and trying to stay fit. I better get back to it all...

Hike the Superior Hiking Trail!

Well my usual bloggin routine as of late has been to disappear for a while, and then post a blog having to do with something sweet that I’ve done outside. Here we go again. Alison and I, along with our good friend Chris went backpacking along part of the Superior Hiking Trail this past weekend, and man, it was fun. Really sweaty and difficult, but fun. We hiked from Beaver Bay, MN, to Hwy 1 north of Tettegouchi State Park, which took us through some of MN’s best scenery. I had no idea of how cool the backpacking can be on the SHT until this trip. Previous trips have been enjoyable, but I know now why it is rated consistently within the top 10 long hiking trails in the country. There’s something about going for a long backcountry walk, living for days on the trail and seeing places that you wouldn’t ever see without putting forth the effort to haul a loaded pack that is soooo rewarding. It’s so simple and so fun. You just walk as far as you feel like walking during the day, seeing all sorts of crazy backcountry details, and then hang out at your secluded camp and have a dinner that tastes 100 times better than the dinner at home you did not have to work so hard to earn. I hope to someday through hike a lengthy trail such as the SHT. It may not happen for a while, but I hope to do it. Along the same lines, I hope to road bike across the US at some point in my life. People sometimes make these crazy dreams a reality, but most get lost in chores and duties. I hope I can make it work. With as many months that are in a person’s life, you’d think there’d be a couple to be crazy and meet a goal such as those. Anyway, I have to go home (I’m just finishing at work and am taking advantage of the free internet- it’s once again not working at home- the reason I haven’t blogged as much lately). I’ll leave you with some more SHT pix to dream about:

1st backcountry campsite, at the south Beaver River camp...

One of the many sweet woods sections, good for catching your breath after the steep rocky sections...

Near 2nd backcountry campsite, Bear Lake. Very good swimming. Washes the stink off. Sorry that my nipples are so viewable in this picture. :)

Mt. Trudy overlook. I was pleasantly surpised to find such a view in MN. Thought for a minute I was out west. Very cool place, but you've got to work to get there...

If you hiked the SHT, you'd be as happy as this guy, and as smelly...