In Rainbows...

From July 2010

Almost every evening lately the heat of the day gives way to thunderstorms that almost never rain. This storm created a "perma rainbow" which lasted about 30 minutes.

From July 2010

From July 2010

The pictures above and below prove that there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...my new Trek Remedy 8!

From July 2010

From July 2010

Once we were done rainbow gawking we headed down into the light of the Utah bound setting Sun.

Crested Butte..iful

From July 2010

It's hard for me to tell which is taking my breath away when I'm in Crested Butte, the scenery or the extreme lack of oxygen.

From July 2010

I never ride very well up high, as the above pictures can attest. Keith had time to snap four pictures and probably eat a PowerBar by the time I caught him, but it never seems to matter. I have fun anyway.

From July 2010

A quick rainstorm left a pot of gold for us at the end of this rainbow. That pot of gold was Trail 401, CB's most famous. We rode it as a loop on soil that was just dry enough to not still be mud.

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

I rarely ride late in the evening when in the mountains. I guess that the opportunity to ride in the middle of the day is a novelty this time of year, with the desert down below forcing early morning or evening rides.

From July 2010

The afternoon rain forced us to ride quite late in the evening, and I am glad. The light bouncing off of the many peaks was surreal. I was so long getting back to camp, taking so many pictures, that Keith came looking for me in the truck. He found me knee deep in a swamp trying to get a shot of a mountain bathing in light, reflected in a pond.

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

The day finally finished with a flair of pink clouds reflected in a rain puddle. We sat around the fire eating Dutch Oven Lasagna. Happy Dogs, happy people.

From July 2010

Morning came with just as much gusto as evening. The air was chilly and cool. Being raised in Missouri, it is still amazing to me to have nearly numb hands in the middle of summer, and to see my breath.

From July 2010

My legs were torched from the nearly 30 miles of riding the day before. Keith, having a stellar year, went on his own to ride Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman. My training this year called for sitting by the creek and watching the dogs play.

From July 2010

But that got boring so Meeka, Gus and I headed up Deadman Gulch Trail to intersect with Keith on his way down.

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

I'm so glad I did, because that trail ROCKS! I'm not sure how long the climb was, but it felt like 2000 feet. Going back down it felt like 500. Way too short!

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

The wild flowers were in attendance, as well as many biting fly's. Hard to complain though, if these mountains were too perfect everyone would be there. Gotta keep out the riffraff!

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

Dogs are tired, I'm sore, but ready for another week of work, refreshed and ready to go! Thanks CB!

More JRA...

We were JUST RIDING ALONG...

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

An engine won't run on water....

From July 2010

Every year I get really excited about getting back into motorcycles. Motorcycles used to consume my life, like cycling does now, but in the last 5 years the noise and being associated with, sadly, the "rip it up" crowd, I have shyed away.

From July 2010

Lately though, I a have been meeting friends who ride bikes and also ride moto, so Alec and I took a day and headed up on the Grand Mesa. The trails are endless up there. Most would be a terrible bicycle ride, due to the steepness of the terrain. The long range of a moto makes the area perfect for exploring with a throttle in ones hand.

From July 2010

The day was going very well. The trails were perfect and the air slightly chilly whipping along at 40 MPH.

From July 2010

At about 50 miles away from the nearest telephone pole we came to a creek. It was about seat deep. I got across, but Alec dropped his bike and fully submerged it while still running. We kicked until we were exhausted, but we never got it started again.

From July 2010

I had to four wheel the truck in to get the bike, which took some hours. It was about a 12 hour day total. I love moto bikes, but I sure wish you could carry them when something goes wrong.

MOAB 8!! Pretty in Pink...

From July 2010

Our eighth trip to Moab this year was a quick one. Mary is about a week into an elimination diet that doesn't allow gluten, wheat, yeast, dairy...... the list goes to 33!

From July 2010

We needed her mom's grinder so we could turn buckwheat into a form of flour that she can then use to make bread.

From July 2010

Naturally we stopped at Sovereign Trail on the way into town.

From July 2010

The scorching heat relented just enough before the sun set for us to enjoy the evenings color hue of choice. PINK!

From July 2010

From July 2010

Have I mentioned lately how awesome it is to live here????

JRA

From July 2010

In the bicycle industry we have a term known as the "JRA" or "Just Riding Along." The term is normally used by people who have broken a bicycle, specifically a rented bicycle. It is also used by people who have ran their bike into their garage while the bike was attached to a cars roof rack. "I don't know what happened, I was just riding along, when the bike bent backwards and the front fork sheared off."

From July 2010

Or, upon return of a rented bicycle that has the derailleur stuck in the spokes, the renter will say "I don't know what happened, I was just riding along and this shift thingy flew into the spokes."

From July 2010

So what does that have to do with these pictures? Nothing really, no frames were broken, nor were any parts destroyed during these rides.

Lately the riding hasn't been too long, or too epic, we've been kind of just riding along.

From July 2010

From July 2010

From July 2010

The look on Mary's face in the picture above says it all. We sure like just riding along!