Heading to Utah?

Better call ahead and make sure it's open. Or at least not on fire.

These are images of two different massive fires I saw from the plane on the way back from Vegas. I haven't seen anything on the news about them but they weren't near any population centers. Nothing out there but scrub and drilling platforms for oil and natural gas wells.

Oh Nevada

A one-legged Vegas pigeon, living the good life.

I'm back from Interbike, or as I like to call it "5 days in the unhealthiest city on earth." Only in Las Vegas can you carry a mixed drink down the street, smoke inside, watch dancing fountains of water in the desert, see giant billboards advertising surgery to remove your sweat glands, and watch people choose the elevator over the escalator. You know, because an escalator is too much effort. Two things make the trip worth it; great food and the annual climbing trip afterwards.

This year none of the usual culprits could make it except my lovely wife Leah who flew in Friday night after working all day. A recuperative night's rest in the hotel and we hit out for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. I promptly lost the guidebook somewhere in my gear (boo!) and we discovered Saturday is free day so no entry fee (yay!) Without a guidebook we stuck to old and familiar haunts like the Black Corridor and Panty Wall in the Calico Hills. Temps were sizzling so finding shade was key. Some locals gave us the lowdown on a newly bolted wall of moderates at the First Pullout called Hamlet. The routes were named in a Shakespeare theme but no one seemed to know what the names actually were. Nameless but quite fun.

Our little Yaris was a mobile base camp for the weekend

The Red Rocks campground was closed for renovations so Leah and I drove over to the west side of the Spring Mountains and pitched our tent in Lovell Canyon for two nights. Unrelenting sun and 100 degree temps drove us out of the desert and we drove up to Mt. Charleston just north of Vegas. Gaining 5,000 of elevation was enough to cool us down and provided some great hiking opportunities.

Bristlecone pines march up to Mt. Charleston

Leah posing against the aspens on our hike. The colors were amazing, too bad the iPhone does such a poor job of rendering them. Next time I'm bringing a real camera.

Leah had to head home on Monday so after dropping her at the airport I drove back up to Mt. Charleston for the night and had a campground all to myself. It dropped drown to 40 that night and I slept out under the on the ground. Or at least I slept until the field mice started waking me up by running across me and sniffing my face. I don't know if they were after the salt from the dried sweat on my face, the warmth from my body, or just thought some feathers from my down bag would be a nice addition to their mouse condo but it was annoying for me and potentially lethal for the mice (I don't like to be awoken).

The next morning I had some excellent oatmeal with almonds and cranberries than hit the North Loop hiking trail towards the summit of Mt. Charleston. It was 12 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain from the trailhead to the summit so I didn't have time to make the top before my flight left but it was a great hike along the north slopes.

Welcome to the wilderness, please enjoy your stay

Obligatory self portrait

The map said 3.2 miles to the juncture, this sign says 4. It only took me 60 minutes so I think they both lie.

A perfect lunch spot, being enjoyed by a group of four retirees

A view south looking down the switchbacks and towards the where Leah and I hiked through the aspens.

The wind-stripped bristlecones made for great photos, even on a camera phone.

You can faintly make out the "B", but it works both ways

Alpenglow lighting the western slopes of the Spring Mountains

A great trip and a great way to relax after working the tradeshow all week.

This will go down on your permanent record

Breakin' the law, breakin' the law...

Paul Zeigle and I were pulled over by the police in Hyland Park on the way to work Tuesday morning. Apparently those tiny toy stop signs between bike paths are fully lawful and legally you need to come to a complete stop. I am always extremely conscientious about obeying stop signs, stop lights, and any other road signage on my bike if I'm in the street. I act like a car to keep myself safe, to earn respect from motorists, and to set a good example for other cyclists. So getting pulled over on a bike path, 2 minutes from work, made me a tad upset with myself. But I also felt a little bit of pride in my uncharacteristic "lawlessness."

The little sting operation the police had set up caught a fair number of Q employees including our very own El Presidente Steve Flagg so at least I was in good company.

Out with the old...

...and in with the new.

We replaced our old water heater this week, or more accurately Leah replaced it while I texted encouraging words from work. The old Montgomery Ward heater is the same age I am but was still working. Figuring we were living on borrowed time we decided to replace it with a new high efficiency heater before it broke down. We had hoped to put in a tankless heater originally but the added cost of upgrading our meter and gas line to handle the higher flow put them out of reach. Maybe in our next house we can go tankless.

I took the scenic route to work this morning...

It took 8 minutes for the entire train to pass by

...unfortunately so did this train. There were over a dozen cyclists lined up on both sides before the last car passed. As a consolation prize it was July's Bike to Work Day at Q and there were pancakes, blueberries and bacon waiting for me when I got to work. Mmmmmmm, bacon.

It's a 90's day

First gravel of the day.

The weather wasn't looking promising for a ride this weekend but with thunderstorms forecast for Sunday, Saturday seemed like the best option. I headed out early and rode from the house to Stillwater where I refilled on water before crossing the St. Croix river into Wisconsin. I then worked my way north towards Osceola, WI on some great gravel and paved roads that climbed in and out of the valleys feeding the St. Croix.

I couldn't stop for long, the mosquitoes were thick and hungry.

Despite plenty of water and food the heat took it's toll and I felt like calling for a ride home when I got to Osceola. I spent 20 minutes in an air-conditioned gas station, refilled on ice water and ate a sandwich before calling Leah to meet me back in Stillwater. I felt refreshed for all of 3 miles but the heat radiating off the fresh black top on Hwy 95 took the figurative icing off my cupcake. I was in survival mode and just needed to push the pedals to Stillwater the most direct way which meant straight down 95. There are more scenic routes to get there but I didn't have the luxury of exploring them.

Two hours later (I told Leah it would take 90 minutes) I made it to Stillwater and our friends Pete and Jen's Life is Good store. Leah and Jen were waiting with cold water, a towel, fresh clothes, and the glorious chill of A/C. That ended 90 miles in 92 degrees and what felt like 90% humidity. Definitely a 90's day.

Vail Pass

Travelling for work can really interrupt a training schedule, especially when it is on a very compressed timeline like I am facing. Luckily my recent trip to Vail, CO for the Pearl Izumi Spring 2011 Line Preview worked out in my favor. Jeremy and Matt at PI were kid enough to hook me up with a rental road bike so I got up at 5:20 each morning to ride before breakfast. With Pearl being a cycling/running company there was a group of mountain bikers heading out each morning at the same time and employees about to hit the running trails stretching in the lobby. Luckily it was just Jeremy and I on the road the first morning or I wouldn't have been able to keep up.

This road only goes up...

The trip up Vail pass is steep and hard even if you are used to the altitude. I was breathing hard and looking for an easier gear even before we got to the start of the "real" climb. It was also cold, about 50 degrees or so, but I was working hard enough I didn't notice. We followed the frontage road next to I-80 up to a little park where a gate prevented cars from continuing but cyclists could follow the old pre-Eisenhower paved road up to the pass. I was moving pretty slow and Jeremy had to hang back a little to keep from dropping me. We had hoped to make it to the top but were only about halfway when we had to turn around to make breakfast and our first meetings in time.

Wednesday was the last day of our three day meeting and Jeremy was determined to make it all the way to the top of the pass. He had ridden up the other side on Father's Day and wanted to recon the Vail side in preparation for the Copper Triangle Ride he was doing later in the summer. Our attendance wasn't needed at the first morning meeting so we met in the lobby at 5:45 along with George, the New England sales rep, and headed out. George is a big guy but plenty strong and set a fast pace along the main road on the approach. Maybe a little fast for me because I could barely hang on. I thought once the road turned uphill I could catch back on but he kept a steady twenty foot lead on me even on the steep sections.

When we got to our previous high point George had to turn around so Jeremy and I stopped to stretch. From here the road turned into a bike path following a short twisting descent through the trees and under the interstate to the south side of the valley. A sharp left turn and the path took us on the steepest part of the ride. Did I mention it was even colder this morning than yesterday? Mid-40's today and Jeremy's hands were numb. My toes were cold but I had warmer gloves on and wasn't suffering too badly. We could see sunlight a half-mile farther up trail and that was great motivation to keep the pedals turning.

Finally we rode into the sun coming over the pass and the road leveled out enough to shift out of my easiest gear. We pedaled past a couple of small lakes being stalked by fishermen and then there was no more "up". We were at the top.

Jeremy and I at the halfway point

The descent was fast and fun but with some sharp corners I tried to keep my speed in check. It isn't hard to get over 50mph in the mountains if you tuck down to cheat the wind but on an unfamiliar bike with questionable stability that's just asking for trouble. Eighteen minutes from the top back to the gate (over an hour going the other way!) and then an easy roll back to the hotel.

The mountains in Oregon might be this steep but at much lower altitude so this was great training for the RGR. I'm getting ready!

A double rainbow with a storm moving in over Vail to end the day