Hiking

So the snow finally hit. However, I refuse to let it keep me inside. So this winter I have resolved on a secret (well not any more) strategy to keep me in shape: Use the snow to my advantage. I am planning on using the following off season tactics to help me maintain the appellation "Fast Dan"

• Cross Country Skiing
• Snowshoeing
• Snow Shoveling (I happen to know many widows who pay top dollar for selfless service acts)
• Snow Blowing (I also know many rich widows who own snow blowers and pay even topper dollar to have their drives snow blown)
• Snowman Building
• Snowball Throwing
• Snowcone eating (I like grape)

Any additional ideas are welcomed.

Temper Tantrums, Motley Crue, Dancing With Myself, and Last Ride of the Season

4 Items of Business tonight:

First:
I threw a temper tantrum today. Now you may be thinking it was some kind of modified adult version, but no, it was full on 2 year old style anger management.

The only thing adult about it was the language used. For those of you who know I attend BYU, lets just say I shouted a word starting with "D" and ending in "arnit". For those of you who don't know about my affiliation with the religious institution after the order of Brigham, use your imagination as to what came out. You're probably right.

My infantile outburst came somewhere around the halfway point of my ride this evening. I was halfway up between the rock pile and the top of Dry when I hit a steep, loose rocky pitch that has a tendency to make back wheels lose traction and slip.

It wasn't a particularly technical section, not nearly as bad as parts of upper Frank, but add the following factors up and you can maybe see why it happened: A) my rear tire was practically bald from 4 days of Moab, B) My legs are still burnt out from 4 days of Moab C) I lifted weights with my legs yesterday D) I've been in a semi grumpy mood lately, probably a result of the slow but sure onset of the realization that I am going nowhere with my life.

The moment I slipped and had to clip out and put my foot down I became quite outraged. It wasn't even the hardest part of the trail. The bike was promptly thrown into bushes and I began to weave a tapestry of profanity tight enough to hold water. (Ok so I really just said "dangit" but oh, my thoughts of what to say ran wild) Either way my actions resembled that of a young child, attempting to communicate the disappointment associated with not getting a lollipop. It was bad.

Approximately 5 seconds after the event finished I picked up my bike. I came to my full senses at how silly I must have looked, even looked around to make sure nobody saw my tantrum, remounted my bicycle, and proceeded to ride up the rest of the hill. It was an embarrassing event, but apparently not so much as I am now writing about it to tell both of you who read this blog.

Second:
The night of the Helloween ride, Aaron Smith shocked and amazed us all by smoking the pipe, at night, and in costume. How was this done? you might ask...well, quite simply, he simply sang "Jumpstart My Heart", by Motley Crue. Since that night I have questioned the powers of 80's rock, but it wasn't until tonight that I attempted to utilize the secret power of the Crue. As I came around to the top of Dry Canyon I found the song on my iPod, cranked it up as loud as I could, and began singing along, as loud as I could. When I arrived at the corner marking the start of the pipe I beheld a middle aged couple (probably just done smoking the pipe themselves, hiker style) staring at the pipe.

I paid no attention to the multitude nor did I give heed to what they thought of me. I continued along my merry way, singing "Jumpstart" as loud as I could and bombed the pipe with all the confidence in the world. NEVER underestimate the power of the Crue. Which brings us to point #3

Third
Blink 182 once covered a song "Dancin' with Myself" and while the implied meanings are completely different (I won't go into what the song is about here, but I am sure you can use your imagination to figure that one out) I found some parallels in my newfound ability to sing and dance, even when nobody else can hear the music. My new lifetime hero, Adam Lisonbee taught me this while on our trip to Moab. Dance, even if nobody else can hear the music. And so I have. I also sing. Its kind of embarassing, but hey, my name is Dan, don't you ever tell me how to live my life.

Finally
I think today may have been the last good ride of the season in Utah County. Snow and rain are expected the rest of the week, and once the trails bog down its tough to find them dry till spring. I rode everything I could tonight, (and on a side not woudl strongly recommend a light slightly larger than a MiNewt if you plan on doing much single track in the dark) and just soaked it in, not knowing when the next time I would be able to hit all my favorite trails in the same day again....soon...I hope...

Well, that's all I have to say about that.

Still New to Me

I still consider myself a new mountain biker. After all those years as a roadie, I got used to picking my favorite roads and routes to ride on the road. Now, however, I get to pick from a whole new assortment of trails.

I am still finding new trails, new ways to ride trails, and new ways to connect them. The first year I started calling myself a mountain biker, I rode 4 trails: 1) The old race course 2) Dragon's Back to Frank to the Alter then straight down 3) The Big Springs Lolipop, and 4) Bonneville South at Bridal Veil across Squaw Peak road

That was it. The only 4 trails I rode last year. By combining those 4 routes I rode all I could ever want. I even did multiple 10 hour+ rides on them in preparation for the 12 hours of Sundance race last year by riding the same trail 4 or 5 times, then moving on to the next.

Mountain biking was still so new to me I was fine with it. In fact I loved it. The thrill of bombing down sweet single track was a feeling impossible to capture on a bike with skinny tires and drop bars limited to paved lanes. I could have ridden the same trail every day and still gotten a kick out of it.

Well, over a year later and I'm still fining new trails. It seems like every week I find a new favorite ride. I try new trails I hear about, meet people on trails that show me new places to ride, and even explore a little on my own. And its a blast. This month, up Rock Canyon and down Squaw has been my new favorite ride. I've only done it a few times but am getting better at that stupid rocky climb up Rock Canyon, and faster down the descents. The views are awesome (title picture on the blog is looking out over Utah lake from the Squaw Peak road) and the riding is just the right balance between hard and fun.

Overall it is definitely the ride of the month...until I find a new one next week...

Moab

Stole this from Adam. I believe this says it all about the Moab trip this weekend. However, I will write a bit more...later...

So much for secret training rides

So after an entire summer of riding at night, riding alone, and riding on secret trails, routes, and hills, all for the sake of nobody knowing my super secret training rides, I find out this last week that every single ride I've been on, is posted publicly on garminconnect.com.

I thought the web based training log was great, at first. Until I realized that every workout I've done over the last year is posted for every one of my competitors to see. Not only the ride, but my heart rate, lap times, and interval sets, all there for anyone to see.

Talk about your all time back fires

Thanks Aaron for the heads up. I'm currently tracking all your rides on there too, so come spring, we'll see who has the edge on who....

Intern Dan

This week marked a turning point in my life. I finally got to go on a lunch ride with the big kids. The corporate professionals with real jobs, families, and a little thing I like to avoid known as "responsibility", all go ride mountain bikes during their lunch breaks. Well, on Friday it finally worked out that my school schedule allowed me to go the same time they all went.

I was excited to get my chance to show what I had. It was a much appreciated internship with the who's who in utah county.

And it was magical.

We even invented a new term, "Toking the Pipe" referring to riding up the pipe on Dry. None of us actually managed to Toke the Pipe, but we all gave it a fair shot.



We even resorted to full on time trial start attempts, with Kenny and Rick holding Aaron upright so he could get a strong start. Still, no dice.

Tonight's Why

I never really know what to title these posts. Halfway through I always end up writing about something completely different than I started.

Tonight, I just got back from watching "Race Across the Sky", and believe it or not, it has made me think a lot about life, where mine is going, and what I want out of life. (yes, this will probably end up deeper than I originally intended, and who knows if I'll even post it. It's likely fate is to end up saved as a draft, like a good 90% of the other posts I write)

Either way, the movie got my brain spinning about life, the purpose, and what really matters. Its funny to think that a movie about endurance mountain biking has got me so spun out on what really matters, but it has. Everywhere you look you can see and hear different voices trying to tell you what matters in life.

I can turn on the TV and hear the media tell me I need to dress or act a certain way to be important in life. I can look at ads telling me I should buy their product in order to be cool and have any kind of self worth. I can even feel pressure from those around me to do what they do, believe what they believe, and value what they value. (While this pressure is very much unintentional and inadvertent, it does exist)

But I ask again, what really matters in this life?

After watching that movie, a few things are starting to solidify. To this day, the greatest words I believe ever spoken to me came from one of my best friends, Calvin Cahoon. Those of you who know Calvin know he likes to talk. A lot. So it only makes sense that eventually some of the most profound words I've ever heard a human say came from his mouth. Earlier this year while driving back from Leadville he made the comment "All you need in life are friends and family. If you ain't got that, you ain't got nothin', but if you've got that, you've got everything"

I'm not sure why that hit me so hard, or why it sunk so deep when it was spoken by Calvin, but it did. Maybe because Calvin knows life. Maybe hearing it from someone who has seen as much of life as he has made it all the more real.

Not long ago I was 100% positive all I needed in life was my own house (with a spacious garage) and a large "family" of bikes. I could live close to trails and open road, go riding every day, road or mountain, train, get fast, go to work, go to bed and be the happiest man alive. I was 100% positive I didn't need friends to slow me down, girls to waste my money, or family to waste my time. All I needed was my self. I lived like that for a while. Dreaming of the day my ideal life would come true.

Well it turns out I was 100% wrong. Over the last year or so I have seen Calvin's prophetic words come true. The more I think about my friends and family, the more I see a reason to live, to ride, to exist. This life is about people. Not about beating them in races. Not about getting them to buy your product and make money off them. And not even about how you can get them to do what you want them to do. But about loving them. Its about getting to know people for who they really are, and genuinely appreciating that.

I think about all my friends in the cycling world. Every single one has left an imprint on my life, just as much as every ride I have ridden has built me into who I am. It's the casual weekend rides with Mark, Kevin, and Larry, the intense training rides with Kyle, the sweet times around the fire at 24 hour races with some of the best people whose company I've ever enjoyed. Its about watching Racer smile, cause he gets to ride his bike in Moab (despite having 58 dislocated ribs) watching Craig come in after cranking a sub 1:20 on a beach cruiser, and watching Karson rally 6 inches off the ground on our homemade dirt jump.

Its about watching dear friends reach new heights, ride harder, have more fun, and being there to share it with them.

Its about doing what we love to do, with the people we love doing it with.

That is what matters in life.

Family and friends.

I am 100% confident that even if I never got to ride a bike again (heaven forbid) I could still die a happy man, from what I've learned, and who I've met.

After watching "Race Across the Sky" this all hit home. As I sat in the theater full of members of the Utah County cycling family I realized something. One thing had brought us together, and while the exact activity doesn't matter, it was a common ground we all shared, and it made us a family.

As I sat there, listening to story after story about participants in the Leadville Trail 100, people coming back to the sport after getting hit by cars or having both knees replaced (Larry, you're still my hero) and what hit me wasn't that they were back racing a 100 mile mtb race, but what knocked me over like a ton of bricks was the response of their loved ones. Watching a man tear up when he talked about his wife getting hit by a car, or watching little kids scream "go dad!" as their beloved daddies finished the race, or hearing Dave Wiens go on about spending time with his family and how supportive they are. That right there is what life is about.

Cycling is great because it gives us all something to work at, an area to improve ourselves in, and a huge sense of achievement. However, what is any of that worth if we don't have someone to share that with? What is the point in getting faster and stronger if we do it alone? What joy is there in riding our guts out, only to go home to an empty house?

As the movie ended, it showed individuals finishing who weren't in the top 10. However, by the looks on their faces, the hugs from family, and kisses from loved ones, you'd have thought they were on top of the world. And that, my friends, is what friends and family will do for you. Put you right up there on top of the world.

So thanks. Thank you to everyone who has ever let me ride with them. Thank you for sharing your conversation and thoughts, and allowing me to share mine. Thank you for being some of the best friends anyone could ever have. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family.

Now if I could just get the lousy ball rolling on getting a family of my own...