Another new bike for Sean 11/26

I picked up my new Bike!

I decided I wanted to get a hard tail to use for dirt jumping and just to cruise around Interlocken and the bars.

So I now and the very happy owner of a new Black Market Riot. The guys at The Fix did a great job on helping me pick components and putting the bike together.

Frame: Black Market Riot
Fork: Rock Shox argyle 318 Coil
Wheelset: Transition Revolution 36 - Black
Cranks: Shimano Hone 175mm
Brakes: Hayes Hydraulic
Headset: FSA Impact
Seatpost: Rock works 27.2
Handlebar: Easton EA 50
Stem: Black Market Underboss
Seat: Deity DH/FR saddle
Tires: Maxis Larson TT
Pedals: Transition Platform
Grips: ODI lockon
Rear Der: None
Front Der: None
Casette: Cog & Space Kit (Single speed)

Gooseberry Mesa, Utah 11/24

We had long wanted to get done and ride Gooseberry so with snow all over Moab the day before this seemed a perfect opportunity.

The night before we went down and checked out Springdale which is the little town just outside the entry to Zion and very pleasantly surprised at the feel of the town. It was a great little place and where we had dinner was awesome. The bike shop was small but jam packed with stuff and the staff was incredibly helpful.

Gooseberry was just flat out excellent - all of the riding was totally world class and the way the trail was strung together was outstanding. The riding changed style and feel a few times through the trail but always it was fun and challenging.


The riding was very three dimensional. At times it felt like you were in a huge slick rock skate park - which is probably why one section was called God's Skate Park. The views were also excellent with the entry to Zion being visible at various times.


Lot's of ups and down with many of them being steeper than they look. In many ways it was similar to the Slick rock trail in Moab but with the steeps not being as a long, which in my opinion made them a lot more fun.


The trail meandered in and around rock domes and bowls.


It was very well marked and hard to get lost on. This was the end of a nice section of up and down slick rock.


A good example of how you were in bowls a lot.


Amber doing a step drop into a bowl.


Out on the south rim the feel of the trail switched again with fun flowing singletrack combined with steep slick rock sections.


There was also some fun play sections. This is a fissure you can roll over with a pretty back drop.


One of the slick rock sections on the south rim.


The south rim section of the trail has a small out and back to the viewpoint vista and the riding out there remained excellent as well.


Coming back along the north rim you have the option to take a number of spurs. This is in the Yellow Trail section and again the riding was just straight up good times.


The last section we used was the Bowls and Ledges section - yep it was good times as well.


Overall I would have to say that the ride was one of the most enjoyable rides I have ever done. Lot's of variety, lot's of options to play and a great sense of flow.

We need to go back and do some sections like the Hidden Canyon section and also go back and do some of the other rides in the area - there are a lot of them! We may well end up down there again over the Christmas holiday week.

Thanksgiving, Moab 11/23

We didn't get to do much riding in November - this was due to the fact we moved apartments. My job changed offices from Boulder to Broomfield so rather than commute we moved into a new apartment in Interlocken. The move ate up a lot of the weekends in November.

So because of that we were really looking forward to the thanksgiving weekend to be able to head over to Moab. Unfortunately there was nasty weather on the Wed night so we opted to drive over on Thursday which ended up being a really good idea with I-70 closing down for a while during the night.

On Friday we woke up at camp to a layer of snow over everything. It snowed much of the night.

I was very torn as Moab under a layer of snow could be incredibly pretty and it would make the riding "interesting". However it was also likely that the riding might just be less than enjoyable. We decided to pack up camp and drive down to St George, Utah and check out Gooseberry Mesa since we had long wanted to do that ride and this seemed a perfect chance.

The drive was not bad at all and I only got one speeding ticket.

Moore Fun, Fruita, 10/28

Sunday we stopped in at Frutia on the way home and tried the Moore Fun trail. It has a reputation as being a fun fairly technical trail and we haven't ridden very much at Fruita so it seemed a perfect Sunday ride option.

Every year I tell myself that we need to ride Fruita more often and every year we keep riding Moab instead.


Moore Fun has some enjoyable riding in the first hill with it all being ridable but it certainly wasn't easy. Once you were above the first hill the riding was very similar to many rides in the Front Range.


We opted for an out and back again so that we could taste the ride in both directions and to avoid the road that makes the loop.


So, to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed. To much of the riding felt like I was riding in the Front Range but it may have also been because it was a very hot day and the climbing was not that much fun. I like and enjoy technical climbing but this ride had more sections that just were not fun compared to sections that were enjoyable.

Moab - Flat Pass 10/27

Finally catching up on old posts before the year ends.

This weekend saw Amber and I in Moab again. We got away late Friday night and rather than camping in our normal spots we camped up Onion Creek.


I love some of the views you get to wake up to in Moab. This camping spot was at the top of the creek section as the valley opens up.


We decided to head over to Flat Pass as we had not done it since last year and I was curious on how it would feel after riding so much over the summer.

Unfortunately it felt really nice and that means not a lot of photos. We did it as an out and back to get full value and to avoid the road which you have to do if you do it as a loop. We did it as a loop the first time we did the ride and I just think it is a better (although harder) ride to do it as an out and back.



Flat Pass is anything but and has lots of fun ledges that you get to climb or descend.




It was a pretty warm day and with Amber and I both riding pretty quickly our dog Moab kept seeking shady rest spots.


It was a fun ride.

Moab - Porcupine 10/21

Sunday we decided to shuttle porcupine again since it had been so much fun the last time we were here. Unfortunately we didn't get the early shuttle and would pay for that on the drive home. We also forgot to bring the camera so no photos at all for this one.

But as usual the riding was awesome, we got off at LPS even though the shuttle was going up to Kokepelli. This was because there was already snow everywhere at the LPS drop and it was cold there. The riding was still great and the snow had very little effect and would have been gone by the afternoon.

The sad part of the weekend was the drive home. Once we got to Vail pass the roads were crap and they actually closed Vail Pass for a while due to the number of accidents. Eisenhower was even worse with cars and suv's stuck sitting unable to get any traction at all in the snow.

Moab - Amasa Back 10/20

We headed back to Moab this week.

But I was out of town in Chicago for work for the last part of the week leading into the weekend and didn't land back in Denver until Friday night. We were still super motivated to head to Moab again so we got up early Saturday morning and drove to Moab. The original plan was just to drive to Fruita and ride there but as we often do once we were that close we just kept driving and ended up in Moab instead.

Saturday afternoon we headed over to Amasa back as it looked like there was weather coming in and Amasa is very forgiving in that you can just turn around whenever you want. We also had a pretty slow start as I had sent my Mojo for a full strip down to the frame overall and at the same time pulled the Coil shock of the frame to send it to Push for their factory system upgrade.

I also needed to put back on my maveric speedball seatpost after taking it of the bike for the prior weekend so that I could drop the seat as low as possible for the training camp.

I had a few kinks to work out as the RP23 I put back on hadn't been ridden in over 9months and boy did it feel different. The entry to amasa just felt terrible - it turns out it was because I hadn't checked the rebound on the shock and it was in super slow rebound for some reason and the shock packed up near instantly in that rocky starting area. Once I tuned it properly it felt like I remembered and all was good.


The ride up amasa felt the best I can ever remember I cleaned everything except the rocky section out of the creek and I felt strong and energetic - Amber didn't as she had a cold.


As usual the views on Amasa were very nice, particularly with the storm front coming in.


Amber working on a steeper section near the two step up play sections.


Near the top of the climb. You can see the clouds moving in. It was really starting to coming in a noticeable temperature drop encouraged us to turn around at the top of the climb.


But we headed up a small side jeep road to get the views on top of the ridge.


Getting photos on the way down amasa is never easy as you don't want to stop. This is Amber as we are heading back down from the top of the climb.


Storm clouds add nice colors to the desert.




Just as we got back to the car the temperature really dropped and the winds started. It was a windy night but both Amber and I slept well since we were both so tired. (her from being sick and me from traveling the week prior).

Learning to Mountain Bike. Nathrop 10/13-14

So this weekend was something completely different. I have been very interested in getting some coaching and it so happens that the guy that wrote the book Mountain Biking Skills happens to live in Boulder and was having a training camp on the weekend of 10/13, 10/14.

The book is simply a must read for anyone who loves mountain biking and that wants to improve their skills but I wasn't sure what it would be like to get coaching on riding a bike so had never looked seriously into it.

But this weekend Amber had work commitments so we couldn't go out of town so I signed up for the camp. It seemed a bargain to get 2 days of coaching for only $200.

So when you go to a tennis coach they tend to tear you down and show you how terrible your basics are. Well with Lee it was a little bit like that except that with the tennis example a new grip just doesn't feel right for quite a while after. With the stuff Lee was showing us it just felt right and more importantly it felt better immediately!

We were taken through the basics from how to "ride" on the bike, to braking, to cornering, to pumping and even to dirt jumping.

Simply the best $200 I have ever spent in mountain biking and I will certainly be spending more time with Lee in the new year as he has a great coaching program where a few people can share the costs.


Here is Lee part way through a rhythm section showing us how to pump both sides of the bump. It was great being shown something, trying it and then getting instant feedback on how to improve or even get shown again in a more exaggerated manner if it seemed hard to really feel what he was teaching us.


The other cool thing about the camp was the mixture of skill levels of the participants and even with that everyone was getting stuff out of the coaching and you could see improvement in everyone.


One of the fun challenges on the first day for the more experienced guys was to try and just pump the rhythm section here into a table and to clear the table without any peddle strokes for extra speed.

The end of the first day left me really sore and tired as it felt like I was learning to ride all over again and was using muscles that I have never used riding before. But the day was really great and the number of new things I got to learn still amazes me as I think back.


Saturday night I decided that sleeping on the summit of a nearby (easily accessible) peak might be fun. So I drove up to Cottonwood pass which is just over 12,000' and hiked up a hill on the south side of the road. The views from the top were incredible but it was to dark to take any photos. This is a shot from the parking lot.


There was snow predicted over night so it was not a surprise when I woke up to a couple of inches of the white stuff all around me. I camped in a rock shelter on the summit with my Bivy Sack and sleeping bag and slept really well except for when I had to get up during the night to pee - it was really cold out of my bed.


Walking back down the slope the next morning was not as easy as the night before as there was enough snow around to make things sketchy but not enough to actually be able to kick steps.


Looking back up the mountain. This was at about 8.00am Sunday morning.


The road actually was pretty crappy to drive back down as the surface was unplowed and untreated. Add the fact that the tires on our FJ Cruiser were pretty worn since they had 30K miles on them and you have a potential recipe for disaster. I actually went into a full skid on one of the corners and banged into a guard rail. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic and the bumper of the vehicle took the impact. Could have been a lot worse and we have since put new tires on the FJ.


Sunday didn't look as promising as it was raining instead of snow, but ever the motivating coach Lee got all our slow moving asses into action and Day 2 was even more fun than Day 1.


We spent a lot of time on cornering and turning and it was another one of those "how have I not known this before" skills sessions. So much of what Lee taught us was stuff that you look at and think that riding any other way just seems so much harder.


Here is a short video of the rhythm section into the tabletop on Day 1.

Overall it was a great weekend, the people were fun to ride with and Lee's coaching is simply world class. If you are thinking about racing or you are racing and haven't spent time with Lee I can only recommend that you give it serious consideration - it will be money well spent.

Oct 7th - Porcupine Rim

Sunday morning we got up early to get the first shuttle for Porcupine so that we could get it in before driving back to Boulder.

Not a lot of photos as it is just to hard to stop and take photos on a ride as good as this one. Amber and I shuttled to the top of LPS. We had hoped to shuttle all the way up to Hazard but the weather the previous day had dropped a lot of snow up there and the shuttle decided not to take people that far.

I was really happy with how Amber and I both rode and we never saw anyone else from a full shuttle load of riders by the time we left the overlook. I found that somewhat surprising as one group was a big bike, full face helmet group and I thought for sure they would catch and pass us. I guess they must have taken to sessioning some of the play options along the way.


Amber on a steep roller up in LPS.


Riding along the rim with Castleton Tower visible in the background.


Scenic view as you head down the jeep road.


Near the end of the Jeep trail before starting out the single track.


Single track making its way down to river.


One of many fun technical sections.


Amber's turn.


Cruised it.


Heading on down.