Who the Hell is maadjurguer?

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I like to ski, mountain bike, drink beer, cook and listen to any jam band I can get my hands on; all while making a complete ass of myself. Hopefully this catharsis is as interesting to others as it is to me.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Lollipop around the Peaks

I did a CCW spin around the peaks this Friday with the goal of roughly 60 miles and about 6 grand in elevation gained.....















....wound up rolling 59.4 miles according to TopoFusion (my GPS says 60.1) and 5940 of elevation gained on the day.




Upon reaching the last bit of single track back to Schultz Pass from Snowbowl road, I ran out of water due to the 93 degree heat on the day. I thought hard about pushing on the last 7 miles to Schultz with another 10 miles beyond that point to return to home...rationalizing that I could probably make it....but would be singing show tunes in the vein of Ethel Merman by the time I got home. So I decided to bail on that last section and head down the road to find some water.

However, it was still a great day on the bike...






















saw some wild turkey....






















nary a soul seen except for the crew in the IB carving out some sweet new singletrack in the aspens....

















had some excellent wildflower viewing on the west side off of the new AZT section south of 418.....


















Only complaint from me was it seems the horses have had their way with the AZT in that area while the trail was muddy.....























It made for a rough ride given my wicked case of monkey butt....but then again....monkey butt hurts sitting in my office, so I should not complain.

Monday, July 13, 2009

4th of July "Out There"

I had a pretty short turnaround from our 4th of July week and my business trip to Monterey, hence the delay in posting the pics from our time up on the rim. The previous week, I scouted out on bike an isolated area off of the eastern portion of the cabin loop trail where we could pitch camp, be isolated from the hoards of idiots lacking any respect for peace and quit, and be close to a fresh water source. The recee trip was worth it.










After setting up camp and kitting out my bike with the requisite refreshments, I promptly saddled up and rode out to the spring to filter some water and to introduce the family to our new neighborhood for the next few days.....

















Judging by their initial reaction, I think I did OK...one note to the Mrs' beverage choice....."Mic-Ultra".....really?






















For every wild rose that I found the week prior, there were 10 more blooming along the spring....






















The wild strawberries were starting to come out as well....we ate two, and left the rest for the birds.....

















Or frogs.....

















The glassy surface of the water reflecting the angled bedding surface of the Coconino Sandstone proved too irresistible for just one picture....

















Or for a German Shepherd dog named Stella Blue......






















....or for that matter, a normally water and camera shy Swedish Vallhund named Graham.






















Noting the growing thunder-bumpers in the sky above and the darkening of the path home, we turned around to avoid the coming deluge.....






















Mo Nature did not disappoint....






















This cycle repeated itself each day, with refreshments taken with a wonderful pairing of the sound of rain, smell of ozone and a good read underneath the day shelter.






















.....just because we shit in the woods, does not mean we have to drink PBR.






















Stella Blue, however, took no part in these daily rituals due to a hatred of rain and thunder....so she beat a hasty retreat each afternoon to the tent vestibule where I had built her a bed of fresh pine needles to avoid the tracked mud and Wookie like odor caused by a wet dog in my tent.

















Some afternoons, I did not feel like filtering water, so I applied the lazy mans technique.






















In typical high-country fashion, the rain stuck around for a few hours and moved on down into the sweltering heat of the low deserts to delight and tease the parched city folk. We, were left with cold temps and tired dogs.

















Mornings were clear and halcyon with the sound of my stove the only man made interruption amongst the wild turkey calls in the canyon to our east and the coyotes in the canyon to the west.






















When I look back at it, I rode every day; with no goal other than to ride, drink and eat. Personal bests were not challenged, and complications were avoided. Lately I've become so fixated at getting miles in that I've nearly forgotten to seek daily, the inner peace which has forced itself upon me at this place. If my sense of complacency and relaxation during this trip could be summed up by one picture, it would be this.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Busy

I've been off and away at a business offsite, so I have been unable to post some recent pics of our trip to the rim over the 4th. Those are forthcoming, but for a chuckle; check out some of these emails which a friend sent me....got me laughing in the middle of the night while taking a break from working away.

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