Thanksgiving 2011

Moab, UT Fall 2011 - Such a Relaxing Weekend

Sean driving the new FJ up Top of the World, carrying my DH bike on top.

Sean on his way down Lazyman DH

Top of the World

Since we needed to try out the four wheeler, and Sean was still recovering from a crash sustained on a recent weekend biking outing, we decided to do some relaxing riding as well as some four wheeling out in Moab, Utah. First, we headed over to Lazyman DH and did a couple runs down that. After it started to snow, we headed over to Top of the World to drive up to the top. We strapped my DH bike to the top of the four wheeler and headed up. Sean drove down, and I rode my DH bike down. We ended with a fine evening at the Moab, Brewery enjoying some of their food. On Sunday, we headed over to Mega Steps and EKG for some fun times riding our Ibis XC bikes. The weather was sunny with blue skies early on, and then darker clouds started roll in as we finished the ride. Bishop, our speedy dog, came on the XC ride with us and seemed to have an excellent experience sprinting around.

This is the area we rode in on Sunday.

Amber enjoying some singletrack.

Amber heading up the trail.

Sean heading down the trail.

Amber riding beneath an amazing Moab sky.

Amber having fun going down a section.

Sean looking for the next corner.

Bishop watching Sean come around a corner.

50 Days in Whistler, B.C.

50 Days

Amber
24 Whistler Mountain Bike Park Downhill Days
2 Cross Country Mountain Bike Days
5 Dirt Jump Days
1 Airdome Day
8 Allergic Reaction Sick Days :-(

Sean
20 Whistler Mountain Bike Park Downhill Days
1 Cross Country Mountain Bike Day
9 Full (unavoidable) Work Days in CO :-(

Whistler, B.C. August 8th

A Little Bit of Everything Fun!

Today was an excellent, relaxed, fun-filled day of riding with Sean. We played on some Blueseum with some roots and wooden features. Then we enjoyed some B-Line with some corners, and some Heart of Darkness with some speed and jumps. Additionally, we hit up a bit of Fantastic along with some drops and some Crank it Up. The sun shone all day and we smiled quite a bit!

Sean flowing through Blueseum, smiling all the way.

Sean enjoying some roots in Blueseum.

Sean having a great time with some corners on Blueseum.

Sean enjoying gliding through the woods as the sun shines through on Blueseum.

Amber enjoying the exit of Wednesday Night Delight.

Amber just about to hit a steep rock roll, surrounded by moss.

Amber practicing some drops at the Joyride Drops.

Amber having fun on Heart of Darkness just after Crank it Up.

Young Lust, Whistler, B.C. August 1st

This is a ride that has a thrilling descent, but it is mandatory to first do the ups, downs, switchbacks, and some fairly steep climbing amidst giant green trees, rocks, logs and moss. There are several fun wooden features for amusement in the forest, as well as some steep rocks and roots. However, the best part of the ride is definitely scooting down the technical descent. I often don't change my seat height for descents, but on this one today I lowered my seat quite a bit. Overall, it was a happy day outside on the bike, and the dog was stoked!

Bishop and I started off at the beginning of Comfortably Numb, which is the place to start in order to connect to Young Lust.

I rode, and Bishop ran, up and down rocks and roots for quite some time.

Then we went over some wooden features in the dark forest.

Bishop was happy to get to this point where she could drink some water.

This was an exciting section to ride with some features that felt steeper than they look in this picture. All of the descending sections were way too much fun to stop on. I only stopped here because I had hydrated extensively and needed to relieve myself urgently.

This was a fun wooden feature to ride down to a steep exit.

Finally, we came to the key intersection. Bishop was happy to take a break at this point.

We took the Young Lust trail, which is a super fun, steep, rocky, root-filled, descent that results in a super big smile.

While we paused at the intersection of trails, I tried to get Bishop to do a self portrait with me.

Bishop spent a fair amount of the time with her tongue way out as we sprinted down the trail with her on my wheel as much of the time as she could keep up.

It was a superb sunny day, which was perfect.

When we were done with the ride, back at the river, Bishop took several gulps of water.

Coffee and Scenery

Yes, the mountain biking in and around Whistler is awesome! However, there's also some excellent coffee and tasty pastries around this massively scenic area.

Nairn Falls in Pemberton, B.C.

Nairn Falls

Bishop and Moab hanging out at the lookout on Nairn Falls.

Nairn Falls

Nairn Falls viewed from the lower overlook

Bishop and Moab hanging out on the deck of the upper overlook of Nairn Falls.

Amber in front of Nairn Falls

View looking down at Nairn Falls

Bishop looking through the fence at the lower overlook of Nairn Falls

Information about Nairn Falls

Trees on the path on the way to Nairn Falls

The path to Nairn Falls

Lily pads on One Mile Lake in Pemberton, B.C.

Favorite coffee spot of the trip so far...Blenz! Loving the lattes, dark chocolate mochas, mango rooibos hot tea, ham and swiss croissants and cinnamon rolls.