Stardate 2015.866

We're Baaa-aaack!!

A big change in the weather was forecast for the next few days. Forecasters were predicting 2 to 6 inches of snow overnight. This would be our first measurable snow for the season. I had planned on riding before the storm after taking care of some errands. Unexpectedly, my return was rewarded with the following spectacle.


What a mess. 90 Shilling bubbled down Dieter's chin while Wolfgang slurred an old Beach Boys tune – I think. It was something along the lines of...

...Well East Coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there

I wish they all could be Dieter and Wolfgang
I wish they all could be Dieter and Wolfgang
I wish they all could be Dieter and Wolfgang girls
"Well, well, look who showed up! You two are no better than an old farm cat who makes an appearance each year at the first sign of winter," I chided. "Where have the two of you been?"

"North Carolina," wheezed Wolfgang.

"We've been doing bicycle-related physiology research at North Carolina State, Duke and the University of North Carolina," explained Dieter.

"All three?" I prodded.

"Those are highly rated research schools. So you've emigrated east to become tar heels?" I asked. "Albeit tar head would be more apropos.

"Well, it's kind of nice to see you two again. I have a ride planned, so let's ride, and you can tell me all about your research. I hope you're not too hung-over to ride, are you? By the way, stay away from any Friday night spinster dances for a while. Your reputations still precede you. Oh, and thanks for polishing off what would have been a delightful after-ride beverage," I mused.

Following are some pics of our ride on the eve of the year's first snow. The mad Bavarians easily kept pace with the Pearl.




The Bavarians easily hop from rock to rock.




Both Bavarians admiring veins of pink feldspar embedded in the rock.




There isn't much these two can't ride, especially for their size.




These guys wrote the book on backcountry oak riding.



In my opinion, they earned the beverages they had already downed. It was nice to ride with them again. Moreover, their research sounded like it may become ground-breaking – time will tell the tale. Overnight, the weather gods deposited 4.5 inches of snow. Wolfgang and Dieter didn't miss a beat and were out in the cold by first light.





And the saga continues. Thanks for reading, and occasionally check back for new adventures.

Adios

Stardate 2015.362

Colorado National Monument

What do you do when the forecast is 5 to 8 inches of heavy, wet, May snow? Why, you head west to the land of high mesas, volcanic plateaus, multi-colored sandstone, Butch Cassidy, Doc Holliday and myriad other colorful history. I'm very biased toward the west side of Colorado. I grew up there. I miss living there. You don't feel like a bazillion people are crowding you as you do along Colorado's Front Range (Fort Collins, Denver Metro, Colorado Springs corridor).

Being quite opinionated, I think one of the best road bike rides in the state is Rim Rock Drive through Colorado National Monument. On the other hand, I've yet to meet a cyclist who didn't like the Monument. Hence, I didn't have to twist Snowcatcher's arm much. Since there were no scheduled Friday night spinster dances to maraud, Dieter and Wolfgang, the Bavarian bandits, came along as well.

Hair on fire, we tore into the Friday night. After 4.5 hours of snow and sheet rain we rolled into Grand Junction. Saturday's weather was iffy. Since Rim Rock Drive isn't a good area to dodge lightning, I sagged Snowcatcher's ride just in case Zeus made an appearance. After the ride, we did the Mother's Day thingie with my folks. The following Sunday was almost perfect!



The Colorado National Monument calls home the northern edge of the Colorado Plateau. We began our ride at Wingate Elementary School, at the base of the Monument, close to the Park's east entrance. As we began our ride, Wolfgang and Dieter eyed the climb up Rim Rock Drive. The route would take us through 2-billion year old Precambrian rock, a geologic unconformity (eroded, discontinuous and unknown geologic record), 200 + million year old Triassic sandstone (Chinle, Wingate, and Kayenta formations), 150 + million-year-old Jurassic sandstone (Entrada formation) and mudstone/shale (Morrison formation).



Once in the park, we immediately begin climbing about 1,200 vertical feet at a maximum grade of 8 percent. 4 miles later we reached Cold Shivers Point. Although more climbing was to come, the steep stuff was finished. It's fun to keep track of the clock while climbing to Cold Shivers Point. It took me 23 minutes to get up the beast this trip. My best time is 20 minutes. The quickest time I'm aware of is very fast – 15 minutes.



Columbus Canyon is sporting some new green in the bottom. Small springs dot the area, and some small riparian areas are scattered about.



Fresh snow covered higher elevations in the vicinity of the Colorado/Utah state line.



Once on top, Rim Rock Drive is a sinuous drive along canyon rims. Grand Junction, as seen from upper Red Canyon, sits at the base of the Park. The small protrusion in the ridge behind Grand Junction is Mount Garfield. If you visit the backside of Mount Garfield, or anywhere along the long ridgeline known as the Bookcliffs, you have a very good chance of encountering wild horses. The high flattop mountain in the right background is Grand Mesa, rising over 10,000 feet in elevation.



Here's another view down Red Canyon into the heart of Grand Junction. Mount Garfield is out of view to the left. Grand Mesa will play host to day two of Ride the Rockies. Riders will ride about 100 miles to Hotchkiss, Colorado. However, riders will have to scale Grand Mesa first. The climb is 5,000 feet of elevation gain over 20 miles. Grand Mesa, by most accounts, is considered the third hardest mountain pass to ride over in the state. I've ridden it a handful of times, and it hurts.



Take a big breath! Can you smell the sage? There has been a lot of rain and snow, and the scent of sage weighs heavily. This is a Piñon-Juniper ecosystem, providing wildlife forage and domestic grazing. Similar landscapes may be found in New Mexico and Utah.



Wolfgang and Dieter are into herbs. Here they've found a grove of Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata ssp. formosissima). This flower is a member of the Phlox family and is biennial. During year 1, food is stored in the taproot. For year 2, the stored food is used for fast growth and to reproduce. This is a very prolific flower in western Colorado.



At the sign, we're more or less halfway along Rim Rock Drive. There is one more little climb, followed by all downhill. There also is a third road taking off from here into the ranch and graze lands of Glade Park and Piñon Mesa. The high summer pastures of Piñon Mesa offer a nice temperature retreat when Grand Junction temps are triple digit.



The lower portion of Monument Canyon is shown in the above photo. There are numerous difficult towers to test aid and free-climbing skills. Two popular towers are Kissing Couple and Independence Monument.



The herb masters are at it again. They've discovered a stand of red Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). These flowers are members of the Figwort family and also are found in rose (pinkish) and yellow.



"Hey, Snowcatcher, watch this."



The Bavarians are ready for their big descent.



Our route back took us along the base of the Monument. Even the return was geologic as we paralleled the Redlands fault line. Earlier I spoke of a geologic unconformity. It can be somewhat seen here. Notice where the black rock meets the dark red - that's it. Several hundred million years of geologic information is missing between the black Precambrian formation (several billion years old) and the red Triassic Chinle formation (200 + million years old).

That's it for now. Later gator!

Adios

Stardate 2015.263

Home on the Front Range

Once again, the Black Pearl and I hit the trail (we do this a lot). The Roxborough Loop Trail was on the day's docket. I had a feeling the majority of snow lingering on the trail probably was gone. March, usually our snowiest month of the year, turned out to be a bust. We'll probably pay for it in April, which is okay, because I still have two ski passes to use up this year.



Gasping up a small, root-bound incline, to the start of the loop, I was overcome by a "follow me" whisper. Spellbinding, eh? Maybe I should become a trail whisperer.



Better yet, Dieter and Wolfgang are quickly getting their early season legs under them. Not only can they ride singletrack, they can style while riding roots.




This loop has a lot of flowy singletrack. It's even a bit mystical in places. As for the forest itself, it was warm; the vegetative under-story was about to shift into high-gear with spring growth. Moreover, I just finished watching the third installment of the Hobbit, and I was letting my mind go wherever it so desired.



The majority of the snow was gone, just a small patch here and there. In the above pic, I was just beginning a 50-foot portage down a steep section of snow, ice and mud. I ran into one other small portage of snow and ice. However, it was actually rideable.



This loop has one very small creek crossing (more of a brook). It was already flowing at its summer level. I've seen this creek crossing at bank full discharge; it can make for an exciting crossing. It's kind of hard to see, but bank full in the above picture would cover about half of my rear wheel, where it sits now; the front wheel would be in the water too.



D and W made it look easy. I think they like to play in the water as much as the snow. This is good for them, as we're expecting two to four inches of snow over the next several days.



It's easy to get turned around a bit in the forest. But, directional hints abound. The Strontia Springs Reservoir dam is at the base of the peak in the background. Most of the trail intersections are marked. Then again, some intersections deeper into the forest aren't.



At the end of the loop, I showed Dieter and Wolfgang a little tidbit I learned in grad school - way back when. If you stick your nose in between the bark of a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) tree, it smells like vanilla. They both were quite impressed. "Something cool to show the girls," they happily declared.

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Adios

Stardate 2015.214

Spring is Spring'n

Spring is on the horizon! The Canada goose (Branta Canadensis) is arriving, and deer are laying around the yard scheming ways to raid Snowcatcher's blooming bulbs and bird feeder. I'm also getting in some rides.




Meet Dieter and Wolfgang. I met these two miscreants on my last ski trip to Copper Mountain. They were on the lam from a Friday night Spinsters Dance, over the divide in Leadville. Banned from ever returning to the Bavarian Alps — I can only imagine why — I've kind of taken them under my wing for some sort of altitude rehab. They're so small, their "small man syndrome" is at times too much for them bear.



I'm getting some good road rides in at Chatfield Reservoir. It's mostly flat riding, and easy to cruise fast while soaking up rays of sun. Moreover, the reservoir ice is quickly disappearing; in time the reservoir will be full of ski boats.



"Hey Lee Zardo, wait for us!" Wolfgang hollered.

"By the way, Wolfgang thinks your handlebar tape is girly," quipped Dieter.

See what I mean? "Bite me, Wolfgang! I hope you impale yourself on a fence splinter. Better yet, perhaps a hawk will swoop down to see if you have enough meat to make a meal," I badgered back.



Deer Creek Canyon to Pleasant Park Grange is another ride I like. It's a bit hardy and eats up 3 hours or so. The route climbs from about 5,800 feet to 8,500 feet. It's a guaranteed lung-buster this early in the season. During the riding months, locals keep a cooler or two full of water and Gatorade at the Grange. Actual home-baked cookies are feasted upon too. A blue room (portable outhouse) is provided by the same generous people. As riders, we all throw in a few dollars throughout the year to enable this treat to continue.



I can't keep these two out of the snow drifts. I'm not sure what they will do come summer. I'm not sure I want to know. How about you?

See ya next time.

Adios

Stardate 2015.271

Silence

Hair on fire, the Black Pearl and I sped back into the forest. As we started into the trees, everything became still and silent. So still, you could feel it. You could almost cut it. There was no wind, no rustling of branches, no leaves swirling, no squirrels dropping seed cones and chattering at your presence, no squealing mountain bike brakes, no equestrians, no hikers, no trail runners, no fishermen, no bighorn sheep, no bugs, no rattlesnakes sunning on trail rocks, no small pebbles pinging against my bike's frame, no politicians, no unions, no yuppies, no dinks, no deer, no bear, no anything else - just my breathing. I had the Roxborough Loop, in its entirety, to myself. Silence! Even Dieter and Wolfgang - silent!

Being a big fan of silence, I dedicate today's blog to silence. If it's too silent, perform a mouse-over for a caption and read aloud. ;) Enjoy!








Silence is golden!

Adios

Stardate 2015.321

A Frosty Surprise

The white stuff came back for a visit. I rode Waterton Canyon and the Colorado Trail several days after the storm. I turned around just below upper Lenny's Bench because I was carrying my bike more than riding it. (There is a lower Lenny's Bench too.) However, less than 48 hours later, most of the snow had melted and the trail was mostly dry to upper Lenny's.



Bear Camp...
I named this Colorado Trail camp-site Bear Camp because I have greeted bears in this area. The first time was several years ago during the fall with about an inch of snow on the trail. I stopped where this photo was taken, then continued on for about 50 yards before deciding to stop again. When I looked back down the trail, a sow and her cub had just crossed where I had stopped. They had to be right above me while I was doing whatever. Had I seen them up close, I would have become quite excited, I'm sure.



No sooner than this spot had melted out, it filled in with snow again.



Just 44 hours later, the snow is on the fast track out.



Ewe hoo! Up here...
The sheep are out and about. The rams are in a bunch roving around, and the ewes are likely looking for birthing ground. Lambing season is just around the corner. The Canada Goose is paired and nesting too. Down covered goslings to dote over are not far off. So I imagine a cat or two are prowling around.



The Bavarian speedsters were along for the ride today as well.

"Help Dieter, help!" cried Wolfgang.
"You een trouble Wolfgang?" yelled Dieter.
"Ja, ja, I'm caught een a white hole!"
"You strong man, Wolfgang. Just think Jens Voigt and Spock; you can get out."
"Ja, okay, shut up legs and pedal, pedal, pedal," a grimacing Wolfgang cried out.
"Shift down, Wolfgang!" Dieter hollered.
A relieved Wolfgang panted back, "Ja, ok, dat helped. Don't tell Lee Zard; he'll give me hard time about not watching for white holes. He might not share cookies and guacamole dip anymore."
"You guys can't outmaneuver me!" I snickered. "I saw the whole spectacle. Live long and prosper, you two hooligans."



Despite the snow, spring is everywhere!



Upper Lenny's Bench is the intersection where Trail 800 and the Colorado Trail part ways. I did not know Lenny, nor what type of hiking accident claimed him. It looks like some afternoon weather may build, so it's off to the barn I go.

Adios