17 inches

The way it's been snowing I was dying to ride today. Luckily it snowed enough that Ash got school off since the canyon was closed all morning. After class I hit up Sundance and had amazing boarding all afternoon. 17 inches of fresh pow-pow changes the entire face of sundance. What's more, is the high winds kept blowing the snow over into bishop's bowl, making for fresh tracks almost every ride. The highlight was cruising down Bishop's with the sun to my back, watching my shadow disappear as every curve sent 50 foot dust trails behind me. Amazing, picturesque day up at Sundance. Knee to thigh deep powder won't make me complain.

Killed by the hill

I daresay that I may no longer be the killer hiller. I know, it hurts me too. I weigh more now than I ever have, and I've been on, like, 5 serious road rides in the last six months. The only justification that I have is, that, at least I haven't been sitting on my couch all six months. I have gotten some sweet downhill biking in, raced 4 cross races (no I didn't count those as the serious rides), and learned to rip it on a snowboard.

That said, last weekend I was down at Brian Head with my family. We had a swell time in a chill cabin, and Ash, my cousin Jeff and I had a sweet day of riding. We found this cliff that appears below in video. Keep in mind that this is about the worst angle possible of it and makes it look kinda lame, but this was a 5 footish drop to 60 degrees from horizontalish landing. We rode it all day.


I had a great time, finally feeling comfortable and good at snowboarding. On the last run of the day however, I got eaten alive... by the mountain.

Ash and I were cruisin down and ended up in the terrain park. Ash took off and hit a nice 3 foot step-down kicker and sped away, leaving me up at the top, debating what I should do with the rest of my life. Should I hit the jump, and die a terrible death? Or should I skip it, and live my life out as the world's biggest wimp? Of course, I chose the first, and unfortunately for my bum bum, did not die. I hit the jump at a good speed, at least I thought ( I had no clue, I've never hit a jump before), and next thing I knew, My butt was below my board and my board was sideways. Oh, and I was falling from the sky six feet above the icy sheet of snow. Ouch. Pain shot from my bum through my leg. I limp-boarded to the lodge and was glad it was time to go home. I sat on the couch the rest of the day and watched X-Games athletes make my jump look like a little anthill.

Anyway, just so everyone who misses me on Saturday group rides knows that I'm not just sitting on the couch, here is proof that I'm not just making this snowboarding thing up. Try not to laugh to hard.

Commuting to Work

For about the last month I have felt guilty of not bike commuting. It doesn't matter that it's only 15 degrees when I leave in the mornings, or that it has been 15 degrees or snowing when I leave school. I rode in that stuff last year, and now for some reason, "having class" is a reasonable excuse for not riding. Well, yesterday morning, I felt like biking the 8 or so miles to school. It wasn't that cold, or that far in the cold, for that matter. But I drove. Walking outside and turning a key and riding in a warm car is so easy. Well, in possibly the most guilt-striking moment of my life, I saw a fellow cyclist/friend/rival/bowling instructor/only one who reads this blog riding to school as I parked my car. Wow, I thought, That looks cold. Good thing he only lives 4 blocks from campus. And that's what I told him. His reply was, and I quote: "Not to split hairs, but its actually 4 miles..." Oh crap, I thought, during the second most guilt-striking moment of my life, he just moved... So that afternoon, I decided that I would not be outdone...

I decided I would commute to work. And this is how, fellow cyclist, I outdid you:

1. You were on your XC 29er. A nice, efficient bike. I rode my 35 pound, inefficient downhill bike. I even switched the propedal off. My tires weigh more than your tires and wheels.

2. Your bike has an efficient body position. My low seat position is comfortable, but far from efficient. It is also bad for my knees.

3. I was wearing more clothes than you were. I had no less than 5 layers on the top. More layers equals more weight. Plus, being so bundled up and working so hard on my inefficient bike made me sweat a lot.

4. You probably only had the books you needed for the day in your messenger bag. It looked pretty empty to me. I had all of my textbooks, and my laptop in my bag.

5. You were riding on the road, where the snow had cleared. Friend, that is what road bikes are for. If you commute on a mountain bike you should be willing to ride in the snow crud on the side of the road. I did. In fact, I aimed for it. I also took a trip through the park and 8 inches of snow on the grass.

6. Okay, rival, do you see that I'm tougher than you now? My commute was so difficult. Of course I'm going to leave out the fact that my commute to work is 1.1 miles long. We will leave out the fact that you have probably ridden more this week than I have in the last six months. We will leave out the fact that you could crush my body with your bare hands, and leave it on the side of the road, bloody and mangled, and of course that you could shove my face into your cogs and then use my teeth as decorations on your bike. We will leave out the fact that you have more bikes than I do spokes, and that you somehow figure out how to ride them all. It would be neat if you could ride them all at once.

Yes, fellow commuter, you are tough. And you have inspired me. I am going to commute to school too. Then my commute actually will be tough. I'm going to train. And lift. Then, if I'm lucky, I may be quick enough to eat your dust, instead of lagging so far behind that it has already settled.

P.S. Friend, I am saving my pennies, one at a time, so I can someday own a 29er too. Then I will be a little bit more like you.

Bagels and Slim Fast

Now if that doesn't sound appetizing I don't know what does. How did I ever discover this delicious combination? It all started in 2006 at the Utah Summer Games Stage Race. My best cycling friend, Dan, and I headed down there for a great time. Anyway, after the hillclimb Thursday night we went for some food. We were camping so we decided to get some bagels for breakfast. Then one of us came up with the great idea of getting slim fast for some extra calories. Well, it worked. That next day we traded off wins and second place finishes in the crit and time trial (And yes, I outsprinted Daniel Nelson! I will never forget this moment since it was the first time it ever happened and the last time it ever will). However, Dan puked at the TT while eating a bagel. Gross. Next day at the road race both of us bonked. Slim Fast is gross.

Anyway, fast forward to 2007 12 hours of sundance. When we were registering a couple weeks before the race, I joked "I'll bring the slim fast" The joke was on us, because by the end of the race, most of the slim fast was gone. In fact, a case minus one can of slim fast was gone. No wonder I felt sick the entire day.

Well this morning, as I was running late for class, I realized I was starving coz I had only eaten a bagel for breakfast. I wouldn't have panicked but we were doing group work and I didn't want to be the hungry group grouch. I saw the one remaining can on the fridge and guzzled it down. Now I don't feel good. Slim Fast is gross. Very gross. And it doesn't get you skinnier, especially when you supplement your diet with it. Just don't buy it. Avoid those old tin can shakes!

Yuck.

Helmets are good, great, and wonderful

Helmets save lives. If anyone doesn't believe me, they should be shot. Or allowed to ride until they find out firsthandedly that helmets really do save lives. Either way they'd die.

Let me tell you about my history:

1- When I was in 2nd grade I crashed on my 70's style bmxer going down the wordperfect hill in Orem. I was trying to keep up with dad. I broke my jaw, got stitches across my chin, and had 3 inch square road rashes on my elbows and knees. Luckily, I was wearing a kiddie helmet and the top half of my head... and more importantly the grey stuff inside, came out unscathed.

2- I was riding on the road when I was 18. A big, lifted pickup stopped at a stop sign, and I had the right of way(it was a 2 way stop). The driver "thought I was going slower than I was" and went, right as I crossed in front of him. Luckily for my body, his front wheel got to my rear wheel right as I hit the grill of his truck. Lineman style. (Football and bikes mix like oil and water). Unluckily for my head, his front wheel got to my rear wheel first and whiplashed my head to the ground. Helmet cracked in two, I walked away unhurt.

3- Wakeboarding, post mission - crashed head first, board came around and caught the back of my head. Stitches. Also happened to my sister and my cousin within 1 year. Helmets are cheaper than stitches.

4- Sundance Spin, Intermountain Cup 2006 - I was leading the sport category. Endo-ed on a sketchy descent landing on my head. Finishing second with a cracked helmet is better than a bloody concussion (as in a concussion and a lot of blood, not as in "I'm English").



Which brings us to now. I know, I know. By now you're all thinking that I should be a rep for Bell, or at least a spokesperson. Before I go any further, I'm not saying helmets are for every occasion. One time I went golfing with my cousins and my aunt made one of my cousins wear a helmet ( he was suffering from a very serious concussion). Now, I don't think that's necessarily necessary, but a lot of times helmets are good. Biking, wakeboarding, longboarding, motorcycling, racing cars, playing football, snowboarding, etc. are all good sports to wear a helmet during. This brings us to...

5-Now, I wouldn't have imagined wearing a helmet snowboarding, but my wife insists. Good thing too, since I avoided two concussions this weekend by wearing one. First, I caught an edge at Sundance on rough snow that was underlying the 3-4 inches of nice smooth powder. And landed on my head. Second, I hit a sweet jump at Park City on Saturday but the tail end of my board caught a branch during takeoff, whipping, again, my head into the ground. The second one hurt worse than the first, and I almost decided to walk down the mountain. I didn't. I boarded the pain away. I still thought I had a concussion, even when I got home. Which reminded me again of why helmets are good.

Helmets are good. If you still don't believe me, well, then you should. Helmets are good. Do you believe me now?

If I had a $1,000,000

Ya know that old Barenaked Ladies song? Do you remember the BNLs? They were the type of band that would have been really cool to BYU students back when the Counting Crows were cool. (CC still are cool. These guys aren't) Anyway, I had this song stuck in my head when I was searching for The March by Kymani Marley on iTunes. I didn't know who Kymani Marley was either until he opened last week at the Van Halen concert I went to. End's up he's Bob Marley's son, and he rocks it reggae style too. Anyways I downloaded the million dollars song and it comes on shuffle every now and then. Here's what I'd do with my million dollars:

1. Buy a Look 595, and a Look 986 and a Yeti 4x.
2. Buy my wife a Felt Redemption and a Bianchi Lei Silvia
3. Buy a pair of Mazda 3 hatchbacks.
4. Geez, that's like only $150,000 tops. I'd definitely give 20% of it to different charities(one of which would be the Charity for Dan Nelson going Pro)...
5. Help fund an indoor velodrome (it's cold outside and I would be riding right now on this track), and buy a track bike
6. Invest the rest so I could buy a house when I know where we want to settle down.
7. Hire a coach so I'd feel bad about not training.

oh yeah,

and I'd be rich.