Hikes and Bikes

moving

I'll be leaving for North Carolina this weekend.  I will be reachable via my old cell number for a while.  I'll also be reachable at my old personal email addresses and at <myInitials>@duke.edu.

Hikes and Bikes goes dark

It's bike season and I've got a day job.  Something's gotta give, and it's the blog.

Bobsled PR

Belle and I just did the Popperton Park - Dry Creek - Bobsled loop in 60 minutes.  That's the fastest I've ever done it with her or on the 575.  Considering that water breaks for her take about 2 minutes, I'm pretty pleased with that time.

Belle has been able to keep up the last couple times down Bobsled, which she couldn't do in the past.  I don't know if the new lines are just a bit slower (because they're higher) or if she's faster.  Maybe dogs are like people, with endurance peaking relatively late.

Shoreline fun

I've gotten in a few more rides on Shoreline lately.

Bobsled is better than ever.  It seems like there are higher lines put in every season.  This years new line goes above a 2-foot boulder than had previously limited the height of one of the berms.

City Creek is in great shape.  What a fun ride.

Best of all, a local hobbyist filmmaker is putting together an RC heli-cam.  He's got a miniature remote-controlled helicopter (miniature means 7' blades) with a film camera mounted underneath.  I got to watch the test run at the I-Street dirt jumps.  It's pretty sweet.

backpacking in the San Rafael Swell

We went backpacking this weekend in Utah's San Rafael Swell.  We started at the Buckhorn Draw Road bridge over the San Rafael River and hiked upstream to Virgin Springs Canyon.  It's a georgous but alien landscape. 

Pictures forthcoming.

Bush Environmental Policy

Surprisingly enough, the Big Three think that what the world needs is for them to do what they've been doing for years and form a more formal alliance with the cartel that dominates Presidential primaries.  Even more shockingly, Bush agrees. 

going to Duke

This fall I will enroll in Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment to study environmental economics.

So, looks like I'll be hanging up the skis. 

Unless my powder skis work on water.  They're pretty big.

RAGBRAI

A handful of friends are planning to ride in the 2008 RAGRBAI. RAGBRAI is a week-long road bike race across Iowa. 

A week riding road bikes.  Across Iowa.

They declined my offer to start naming more fun ways to spend a week a bike.  Probably good as I'd still be going.

Ski Colorado!

This weekend I visited Copper Mountain for my first ski trip to Summit County.  It was pretty good conditions for spring skiing, but I'm not used to spring conditions in mid-March.  They had a bunch of terrain that would have been a lot of fun with full coverage and powder, but we mostly just took moderate-angle corn and cruiser runs.  Their Copper Bowl area was a bunch of fun; it's a little odd being up so high that many of the ridgelines have been blown clear of snow. 

Also a bit odd skiing with snowboarders after a couple years at Alta.  While my buddies are at least pretty good snowboarders, I still felt okay making my share of derogatory comments.

It's bike season

Belle and I went for our first ride of the season last night between Red Butte Canyon and Emigration Canyon.  Thanks to an ongoing high-pressure system, south-facing low-elevation trails are dry.  The new bike performed wonderfully and we had a blast.

We bumped into one of the mechanics at my LBS.  He noted that he wasn't surprised I broke the Yeti and referred to Belle as a "meat stick".  I don't know what that means, but I kinda like it.