I’m Off Like A Prom Dress

I’m departing this morning for Rapid City, the Black Hills, and mostly the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. I’ve both the geared, fully boinged Ellsworth, and the single speed, hard tail Karate Monkey in tow.

I shall give a full report, perhaps with pictures, pending my return. Until then ride it like you stole it and don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

Ride On.

Walk About With Atom

Last night Atom and I went on walk-about in Leaders Park. With the first (1st) loop of singletrack very close to complete, it was time to make sure we had a game plan in place for the remaining two (2) loops.

Critters that use the park, mostly deer, seem to pick pretty good lines. Knowing we need to route the trail to hit the bridges we’ve placed and connect in logical places with other loops, we’ve come up with a pretty good idea of where the remaining trail will go. Some of these critter paths will be bench cut a bit and used. After all, if the deer are going to use our trails, we thought it only fair they reciprocate. As of press time, there are no objections from the deer.

The good news – we’ve got a good game plan. The gooder news – there are going to be some very cool areas. We found one (1) particular reentrant that will act as a pseudo half-pipe. That will be very fun to come screaming down banking up one direction and flying down the other.

For those who know what I’m talking about when I mention the asphalt cave, we’re going to go right by this as it’s a great rock garden area to ride. For those who have no clue what I’m talking about when I say “asphalt cave” – you’ll see, trust me.

Another reason Atom and I need to go on walk-about, this will be the first scheduled dig sessions I’ll not be able to attend. I’m heading west Thursday morning bound for the Black Hills and the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. All digging and no riding make for a crabby Snakebite. This will be an attitude adjustment in a positive direction type of trip.

Ride On.

Damn Weather

Lots of rain slowed down the weekend dig sessions on the Leaders Park singletrack project. But, it did not stop progress.

We had rain Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday morning. However, that did not stop volunteers from showing up and digging being done. In addition, all bridge ramps were placed. Saturday morning two ramps were installed and digging was done. Saturday afternoon we started with digging and finished with the last two (2) ramps. Sunday was digging and corridor clearing.

Volunteers came from near and far. Saturday we had a volunteer from Rapid City. Saturday afternoon there was one (1) from Minneapolis. And Sunday we had two (2) from Brookings.

Though much new trail was dug and we connect everything on the easier loop, I cannot say that it is done. There is a bit more corridor clearing that needs to be done. A small portion of trail needs to be widened, flattened, and smoothed. And the last portion needs the last of our corrections.

All in all it was a good weekend. Weather permitting I’m hopeful the finishing touches can be completed on the first loop.

I’m turning over direction of the weekend’s activities to Atom. I’m headed west on Thursday morning for the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. Atom and I are meeting this evening for consensus on what’s left to be done on the easy loop and what’s next for the remaining loops.

Ride On.

Dig, Dag, Dug

Thanks to a group of volunteers that frickin’ rock, much trail was dug this past weekend. If the weather cooperates, my prediction of having a complete loop by the end of next weekend will be fulfilled!

Once the first (1st) loop is complete there will be no waiting around. We’re going to dive right into the remaining loops. And, with the days getting longer, we’re going to add a weekday evening dig.

Starting in June we’ll have a Monday evening dig session. Likely we’ll start up about 6:15 PM and work until its dark. Monday should be a good day since we’ll have proposed trail pin flagged from the previous weekend’s sessions.

On Monday night I went to the park to do the final prep for the bridge ramps to be installed. It was easy work and I was done within an hour. The unrelated cool part of my visit is I saw seven riders in the park. The first loop is not quite complete and we’re already getting trail traffic.

On a side note, when Sunday’s dig session started I walked the trail that was dug on Saturday to remove the pin flags. The night before it rained a bit so the trail was a touch soft. The trail was approximately twenty-four (24) hours old and it had very fresh deer tracks on it. Well, the trail is multi-use, so there you go.

Ride On.

Movie Night!

Not Bike Related

This morning I was having breakfast and searching the internet for porn interesting stuff. I was over at Boing Boing and wanted to share two things. The first is an essay by Michael Moore and his final thoughts on Osama bin Laden:

For nine years I wrote and I said that Osama bin Laden was not hiding in a cave. I'm not a cave expert, I was just using my common sense. He was a multimillionaire crime boss (using religion as his cover), and those guys just don't live in caves. He had people killed under the guise of religion, and not many in the media bothered to explain that every time Osama referenced Islam, he wasn't really quoting Islam. Just because Osama said he was a "Muslim" didn't make it so. Yet he was called a Muslim by everyone. If a crazy person started running around mass-killing people, and he did so while wearing a Wal-Mart blazer and praising Wal-Mart, we wouldn't automatically call him a Wal-Mart leader or say that Wal-Mart was the philosophy behind his killings, would we?

Yet, we began to fear Muslims and round them up. We profiled people from Muslim nations at airports. We didn't profile multi-millionaires (in fact, they now have their own fast-track line to easily get through security, an oddity considering every murderer on 9/11 flew in first class). We didn't run headlines that said "Multi-Millionaire Behind the Mass Murder of 3,000" (although every word in that headline is true). You can say his wealth had nothing to do with 9/11, but the truth is, there is no way he could have kept Al Qaeda in business without having the millions he had.

Some believe that this was a "war" we were in with al Qaeda - and you don't do trials during war. It's thinking like this that makes me fear that, while bin Laden may be dead, he may have "won" the bigger battle. Let's be clear: There is no "war with al Qaeda." Wars are between nations. Al Qaeda was an organization of fanatics who committed crimes. That we elevated them to nation status - they loved it! It was great for their recruiting drive.

We did exactly what bin Laden said he wanted us to do: Give up our freedoms (like the freedom to be assumed innocent until proven guilty), engage our military in Muslim countries so that we will be hated by Muslims, and wipe ourselves out financially in doing so. Done, done and done, Osama. You had our number. You somehow knew we would eagerly give up our constitutional rights and become more like the authoritarian state you dreamed of. You knew we would exhaust our military and willingly go into more debt in eight years than we had accumulated in the previous 200 years combined.

Have you ever seen the show on the Discovery Channel called "Dirty Jobs?" Mike Rowe goes around and tries jobs that no one else wants to do. They are almost all manual labor type jobs. Recently, he testified before the U.S. Senate committee on commerce. Here's what he said:

A few months ago in Atlanta I ran into Tom Vilsack, our Secretary of Agriculture. Tom told me about a governor who was unable to move forward on the construction of a power plant. The reason was telling. It wasn't a lack of funds. It wasn't a lack of support. It was a lack of qualified welders.

In high schools, the vocational arts have all but vanished. We've elevated the importance of "higher education" to such a lofty perch that all other forms of knowledge are now labeled "alternative." Millions of parents and kids see apprenticeships and on-the-job-training opportunities as "vocational consolation prizes," best suited for those not cut out for a four-year degree. And still, we talk about millions of "shovel ready" jobs for a society that doesn't encourage people to pick up a shovel.

In a hundred different ways, we have slowly marginalized an entire category of critical professions, reshaping our expectations of a "good job" into something that no longer looks like work. A few years from now, an hour with a good plumber -- if you can find one -- is going to cost more than an hour with a good psychiatrist. At which point we'll all be in need of both.

I came here today because guys like my grandfather are no less important to civilized life than they were 50 years ago. Maybe they're in short supply because we don't acknowledge them they way we used to. We leave our check on the kitchen counter, and hope the work gets done. That needs to change.

These were just two (2) thoughts on some things that I thought you might want to know.

Now, back to you regular scheduled programing.

Ride on.

Dead Batteries

I need to move a few deck planks on the bridges in the park in which we’re building singletrack. Though I charged the battery packs on the weekend, I didn’t get around to this task until Monday evening. When I got to the far bridge, I had only enough juice, between two (2) battery packs, to adjust one (1) end of one (1) bridge.

Oh well. I’ll get to it this weekend. Speaking of which, my weekend will again be spent in the park directing the work and doing some of the work. We’re closing in on having that first (1st) loop complete.

Looking forward, the next two (2) loops should prove fun to construct. Yes, there will be more digging. But, we’ll be incorporating more obstacles both natural and man-made. Atom and I walk the likely path for the first part of the next loop to see how to finish the first (1st) loop and how they’d tie together.

I’m looking forward to having this project done for many reasons. One (1) of which is to finally ride this. It’s going to be nice to have some urban singletrack I can ride my bike to instead having to load up the bike on a car and drive somewhere.

Ride On.

Diggin’

I spent three (3) regularly scheduled work sessions digging trails in Leaders Park this past weekend. Volunteers showed up to lend a hand.

The Saturday morning session was spent widening the trail where it was dug too narrow. The Saturday afternoon session was spent digging new trail. The Sunday session was again fixing trail.

Falls Area SingleTrack is fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers. They show up and make this project happen.

I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my in-between-Saturday-dig-sessions visit to the FAB bike club kick-off. I met that crazy MinusCar fellow there. We dined and then had the floor. I took the opportunity to explain how I was handling the South Dakota portion of the US Bike Route System. I also threw a plug in for FAST.

The weekend was made complete as the sunburn I acquired in Colorado was in full peel. Every spring I am the dumb ass who neglects to use sunscreen the first few times the weather is nice enough to bare some skin.

There are some things coming up. On May 19th the FAST movie night will take place at Monk’s House of Ale Repute with the first (1st) movie starting at 6:30 PM. The second (2nd) movie will fire up shortly after the first. A free-will donation goes directly, and one-hundred percent (100%), to FAST.

At the end of the month I head west to attend this year’s Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. I’m sure that will be great fun.

Ride On.

Diggin’ And Bailin’

Sorry, Buckshot, but I am bailing from the Almanzo 100 / Royal 162. I attribute this to lack of training and much trail building calling my name.

Instead I’ll be in Leaders Park directing the digging and doing some digging. That particular weekend I could be installing bridge approach and departure ramps.

Speaking of the ramps, I finished them Wednesday night. They are complete and ready to install. I shall do so and post pictures. They are very solid and, therefore, I’m hoping very long lasting.

Speaking of the park, those around here and interested in helping out, we’ll have three (3) digging sessions this weekend – and likely most every weekend until it’s done. The first (1st) Saturday session begins at 9:00 AM and ends at noon. The second (2nd) Saturday session begins at 2:00 PM and runs until 5:00 PM. And, the Sunday session begins at 1:00 PM and ends at 4:00 PM.

For those interested, you do not need to attend all sessions. Just pick what you want and that will be fine. The sessions are intentionally set up to be flexible within individual’s weekend in an attempt to attract more volunteers.

If you plan to volunteer there are some things you should note. No experience necessary. We’ll gladly train you. Close toed shoes are required. Gloves are a good idea and we’ll have some loaner sets if you have none or forget yours. Another good idea is to bring a water bottle.

For this coming weekend we’ll be tweaking the existing trails some, continuing with the first loop, and doing some bridge deck prep to receive the ramps. Volunteers may pick their task. Or, if you don’t care, I’ll assign duties.

As mentioned in earlier posts, I’m fairly confident the first loop will be one-hundred percent (100%) complete by the end of the month. I’m excited to have this one (1) done and be able to ride it.

If you’re in my neck of the woods and would like to help out, meet me and the rest at the corner of E 6th St and Leadale Avenue, Sioux Falls. I’ll be there to check you in, conduct the safety meeting, and direct the whole sordid affair.

Ride On.

Fruita And A Bail?

I departed Sioux Falls last Tuesday morning after dealing with some last minute things at work. The drive was long and made longer by an isolated snow storm essentially from the Eisenhower tunnel to past Vail on I-70 in Colorado. I arrived, intact, at 11:30 PM local time.

The next morning, Wednesday for those scoring at home, I took the single speed and made my way to the Kokopelli riding area. The Karate Monkey, with its big-assed 2.5” downhiller tires, performed wonderfully. I did two (2) laps on Rustler’s loop and then made my way to Mary’s loop.

Mary’s starts with a big climb. I horsed it up and made my way to Horse-Thief Bench. After Hose-Thief and resumed Mary’s to the tight, twisty, rocky, technical section. Again, the bike did so well. After completing Mary’s I made my way back to town for lunch and to wait for the usual suspects (the others from Sioux Falls) to arrive.

Once the boys did make it they were road weary. There’s nothing to knock some weary off a dude like two (2) laps on Rustler’s loop! And that is exactly what we did.

The next day we were back to the Kokopelli area. I was now sporting the geared, full suspension Ellsworth (29’er, of course). We took off on Mary’s loop and also did Horse-Thief. We finished Horse Thief and made our way through the technical section intent on adding Steve’s loop to the mix.

We began gathering at the start and waited for Ant. After a short wait Ant comes up walking his bike. Rear triangle structural failure. D’oh! The rest of the boys launched into Steve’s while I raced for the car to perform the rescue. I drove as close to the trail as I could and we headed toward town. It was time for lunch.

The good news is Ant works for a Specialized Concept store. The gooder news is Specialized was in town with demo bikes and Ant was able to score some very sweet rides.

Friday the group was off to Bookcliffs area to ride. We readied and made our way up the hill on Prime Cut. At the top I suggested Joe’s Ridge. Right then! Joe’s Ridge! After a bit more climbing we were on the trail.

Joe’s Ridge is exactly that – riding on a ridge. To each side are steep drop-offs. The trail itself is marked with huge, very steep, drops. The boys were duly impressed and wide-eyed. Joe’s doesn’t get a dude all the way back to the parking lot. Instead we dropped in on Kessel Run at about that trail’s half-way point.

Kessel is not very steep, but mostly downhill, with many ups and downs and many banked corners. Once the boys found this, there was no getting them off it.

To facilitate not wearing ourselves out we opted to shuttle bikes from the main parking lot to the top one. That eliminated much slow climbing and enabled us to get in many more runs.

Kessel did finally wear us out and we made our way back to town for showers and the welcome party.

The welcome party is held at this cool Mexican place. The food was outstanding and once the margaritas started, we had a very difficult time finding the “off” switch. Once my snoot was full I ambled back to my hotel leaving the other boys to deal with their own poison.

The next morning I could not reach Atom on his phone. It went straight to voice mail. I was able to get in touch with Jason. Evidently Atom was the last dude standing, sort of, as he was the last one home. Between the cool Mexican place and their hotel was this empty lot with the exception of several sizable mud holes. Atom found one with this whole body. He was escorted to the hotel by two (2) cops. The next morning his hotel mates found two (2) inches of mud in the entire shower. When they went outside they were able to locate only one (1) of two (2) of his flip-flops. When two dudes saw him from their hotel window they started cheering and took his picture shouting, “That’s the dude!”

Saturday we were going back to Bookcliffs. Our intent was to ride the IMBA Epic Edge Loop. However, the night prior it snowed just enough to make Edge Loop too muddy. No worries – we’ll just do Zippity Do Da. Zippity is a very scenic, though very adrenaline rushing type of ride. It makes Joe’s Ridge, with all its drops, seem, well, a bit tame. All I can say is you have to ride it to get what its like. There are huge drops and there are straight down off the edge of a cliff corners. It has, as the guide book says, “pucker factor.”

After Zippity and a few Kessel’s we were back to town for lunch. We elected to skip the Clunker Crit for more riding. Back to Bookcliffs for a couple of Joe’s Ridge runs and some Kessel Runs. As we were on our last run of this trip it began to snow pretty hard. Just as we were finishing, the trails began to get greasy. Perfect timing.

We made our way back to town, showered up, and dined at a very nice pizza place. Our evening was not complete. Post digestion we ambled over to Troy’s for the after party. The party was fun in a weird mountain biker way. But, we did make contact with two dudes from Boulder. Not only had they heard of the new bike park there, they were directly connected with it. A long conversation regarding it, mountain biking, and trail building ensued.

After a late night Sunday morning came right on schedule. There was nothing left to do but load up and drive home. It was a great trip with some great riding.

Unrelated, I have mentioned I’ve signed up for the Royal 162 bike race. Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to train for this as much as I’d like. Right now, as I type this, I’m on the fence as to whether to gut it out or stay home and dig trail.

We’ll see what the next few days bring. The weather is getting nicer. Maybe if I cram for the exam in training, I can still pull this off.

Ride On.

Back!

I've made it back, albeit exhausted, from the 2011 version of the Fruita Fat Tire Festival. Rides were ridden, mud was worn (not what you think - more on this in a later post), skin was sun burned, more rides were ridden, and more than a few beers consumed. The fuller version to followed (after some needed sleep).

Ride on.