Bicycle Sunday

Sunday we rode downtown to Main Street Bagels for breakfast.  The trip was enjoyable enough that we decided to keep on riding around an check out the Colorado Riverwalk.  It runs through most of the Grand Valley and their are plans to have it completed within the next year or 2.  It also makes for an excellent way to get to Palisade, aka wine country, just a thought.

Me! In the background you can see Mt Garfield and to the left of it is a lower hill named Mt Lincoln.  So if your keeping track, the only two named peaks on the Bookcliffs here in Junction are named after assassinated presidents, why is this?

After we rode for a couple hours we headed back to town and had lunch at Naggy McGees, an Irish pub.  Then we went back to Main Street Bagels for more cappuccinos before heading home.  mmmmm...

Locked up outside Main Street Bagels.

Canyonlands N.P.

 Saturday we took advantage of the weather and hopped in the CRV and drove the 2 1/2 hours out to Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

Our first stop was Aztec Butte.  Its a rock rising about 200 feet above the high desert floor that was used by Pueblo Indians to store grain.

Not a  bad view

Old, old pantries

Then we went to the Green River overlook.

The top of the canyon in this picture is about 1000' down, then its about 700' down from there to the Green River.

We took a detour on the way home and drove up into the La Sal mountains which get up to over 12000'.  We made it up to about 10k and saw this marker for the Kokopelli trail which runs for 142 miles from Fruita to Moab.  Ill be doing this over 3 days in May.  I had no idea it made it up this high though. 

Our final stop on the way home was the town of Cisco (like the musician), Utah.  Its an almost abandoned town in the middle of the desert.

The post office is a little rundown.

It was a great way to spend one of the nicest Saturdays of the year (so far...).

Is it Spring yet?

Friday I decided to take advantage of the (relatively) warm weather (28 degrees) and went out and did a few laps at the Lunch Loops.  My back was still sore from my skiing incident but a combination of IcyHot and an inability to be inside all day helped quite a bit.

 I rode a nice little combo of trails that didnt involve too much climbing for a couple hours.  The best thing about these trails are that they are a 10 minute ride out of the door, and they are the only trails that are dry right meow (one of the few redeeming features of trails becoming popular with the running crown).

Well mostly dry.  A few spots on the north facing ledges still had snow/ice but it was packed in and rideable, and nothing spices up a bike ride like ice under the tires.

Monday after class I decided to head out to the desert on the north side of town and try and ride out to the 18 road trails.  It should only be about 9 miles, i think...  But I wasnt too worried about it because it was my first ride in short sleeves this year!  I think it was somewhere between 40-45 degrees and sunny.  Yay!

 After avoiding dirt bikes and people shooting guns I could see the small pass that The Edge trail goes in but I had to turn back because the combination of more shade and runoff as you get closer to the bookcliffs also means more mud.

The best way to get around and not get lost out here it just to follow the powerlines and the road that goes beneath them,  I rode this one for half an hour.  Its easy on a mountain bike and awesome on a 'cross bike.

Now look at the picture above, that was 4 pm yesterday...

This is 15 hours later

6 inches of snow this morning.  AHHHHHH  it was almost all gone.  WHY?????



Powder Day!

Last Tuesday I went up to Powderhorn to get my ski on.  Since I usually go on Tuesdays, I didnt check the ski report, so when I got up there to find 16 inches of powder I was pleasantly surprised.  The only downside was it was -10 (yes, Farenheit) at the top of the slopes.  If you want to feel your face freezing, try skiing when its ten below. 

brrrrrr, actually I couldnt feel anything at this point

I was having fun, getting my whoosh on when on my second long run of the day I pulled a muscle in my back.  It hurt.  I tried to go for one more long run but it turns out you need to be able to turn your body to ski.  So my last run was more of a barely controlled crash down 1800 verticle feet.  At least the fresh snow is soft when you fall in it.

Ridgway, with no E

 The San Juan Mountains on the way to Ridgway

A couple Saturdays ago Kelly and I went to Ridgway State Park, about 90 minutes south of here, and spent the night in a yurt for our 3 year anniversery. 

 The Yurt

We went and had dinner in Ouray (You-ray) about ten minutes down the road.  Its an awsome little town with hot springs and ice climbing.  As we were leaving it started snowing, hard.

 You can barely see the massive rock wall just around the corner, but its there, and its big.

We made it back to the yurt and got comfy and made jiffy pop.

We got a total of about 3ish inches of snow in just over an hour but the yurt stayed a solid 70 degrees making for a nice night sleep.

The view going home...

Skiing

For Christmas, Kellys parents got us season lift tickets to Powderhorn Ski Resort (THANKS!).  It is a short 45 minute drive away, and though it is a "dinky" resort supposedly for here, it is A) Super close and, B) got 240 inches of snow last year.  So, yeah.

This is the only picture I currently have of us skiing (its in the parking lot , someone left there point-n-shoot camera at home (me)) so live with it.

I had never skied before we went there the first time, Kelly on the other hand, is apparently a skiing ninja and made me look AWFUL despite the fact that I had never ever seen her on skis before then.  Everyone has a past...

But she did teach me to ski over the course of 2 days and 50 falls all while being passed by 3 year olds who it seems started skiing in the womb. Stupid outdoorsy folk.  However, I have since moved up to the Blue/Intermediate slopes and am currently sitting on 6 days of skiing.  Having responsibilities similar to a hobo has its advantages, if you were curious the best day to ski is Tuesday, I highly recommend it.

Keep your tips up! (and dont fall in front of the ski patrol)

We're Back!!!

Exciting, no?  After a month hiatus due to Christmas and multiple computer issues it looks like were back to blogging.

Get stamped people.

You know I am.