Switzerland!

This place is amazing. We have been to Geneva, Sion, Kandersteg, Interlaken, and now we are in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. The mountains are ridiculously beautiful and the trails are just as steep as you could possibly imagine. We have done several fabulous rides that are unparalleled in the states. I can't post any pictures until I get home, but believe me, they will be worth the wait. Today's ride involves some 10,000' of climbing up to see the Jungrfrau Mtns. The sky is totally clear and there isn't a cloud in site so it will make for some GREAT views.

ps. The chocolare and cheese are good. :)

As planned, Derek and I rode Flagline. The perfect loop is up North Fork and down Flagline, but I've climbed North Fork a bazillion times already this year so we went a different way, leaving from Swampy SnoPark and climbing up Dutchman. The ride we did was around 2 hours. Flagline isn't very long by itself, but it sure is a joy. The darker dirt is refreshing compared to the dustiness of the lower trails in Bend this time of year. Here are a couple pictures that highlight our evening.




Derek heading up into the forest.



West Nile pond



Just a bit of body English.



Steeper than it looks!





That was the last ride Stateside. I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this for the rest of August while I'm on vacation. There won't be any pictures until I get back either. So, it will be a surprize everytime you check in!

Take Care

GULP

So I'm sitting at work, analyzing numbers and such when I get an email from Derek. It says, "This is the trail we have to take up from Leukerbad. HAHAHAHAHAHAH" Here is the picture he attached.



I'm guessing we'll end up taking the gondola for $15 but you never know.

Let's be honest, my road bike is second fiddle. I hardly take care of it and almost never clean it. Well, I paid the price for that yesterday on my ride when I got a flat tire. The rims should be silver, but they're black...same with the spokes. I think it's time for a good bike bath.



Derek and I went down to Deschutes for happy hours last night - our last time in a few weeks! It was rough getting up this morning. I faintly remember some guy buying everyone beer.

August 15th in Bend means the elk are done mating and Flagline trail opens up for mountain biking! WOOHOO! I know what I'm doing after work!

Ribbit. I spy with my pretty little eye.



My legs are covered with scratches and cuts from the brush; they itch today. I did my official test pack of all I intend to take with me for our ride around Switzerland. Good news, it fits and I can go.

Check out this photo from the fish hatchery in Oakridge. JAWS!!!!!!!

Insane

That sums up Saturday's ride. The ride we did was around a 25 mile shuttle ride that had 4200' feet of climbing and 8000' feet of descending. It was an extremely primative trail in many areas, not a solid singletrack surface and no trail that you could see in a lot of places. Sometimes the bushes and flowers were so tall that you absolutely could not see the trail...if there was one. Rocks, logs, roots, bunchgrass, dirt, moss, bark...anything was possible. There were hills so steep that all you could do was hike, and switchbacks down so steep and sharp that all you could do was walk. There were sections where my chest was on my saddle and I was so far behind the seat just barely holding on, and there were sections where I was so far forward just trying to keep the front tire on the ground as I grinded up hills in granny gear. We went from high elevation riding, through forests, into meadows, through burn areas, down hillsides, along mountainsides and into old growth. I can't think of a better, harder ride. Seriously. I will be back for sure.

The 5 best pictures I took. I regret not getting one of Diamond Peak but the lighting and sun was such that I could never get one.

Friday at last. Can I get an AMEN! Last night was Chandra's birthday get together at La Rosa. It was a surprize to her and I sure wish I had a picture of her being led blindfolded to our table while EVERYONE on the patio watched. Good fun. Derek and I ate and drank too much and I'm still full this morning. Never fear though, I'll be down for a black bean, rice, and cheese buritto at noon as usual.

Since Mt. Hood is burning, our plans have changed and we're going to Oakridge to ride tomorrow. I don't know exactly what trail because we're meeting a bunch of other people. I'm hoping for the Alpine Trail because it is truly worth the climb. Pictures should be plentiful.

No pictures today, just words.

Here's to sunny skies, warm weather, riding your bike, and swimming.



It's exactly one week until I leave for Switzerland and I have a lot to wrap up. I can't wait for some new insane singletrack, glaciers, the Alps, cheese... Until then I'll pound out some singletrack here. This weekend we were planning to camp up by Mt. Hood, but now that is on fire because of lightening strikes. So, if that doesn't die down, we'll head to Oakridge for some enticing epics. I already feel the sweat coming on.

Oh, Happy Birthday Chandra!!!!!!!

Sunday we did a 35 mile epic with around 5200' of climbing out at the Newberry Caldera. We started by riding Peter Skene Ogden trail up to the Lodge. It's pretty sandy and climbs basically the whole way along the Paulina Creek. Paulina Falls was very refreshing.



Paulina Peak is almost 8000' and the climb up to it sure felt like it. You are rewarded with great views that make it worth it.



The trail from there is too good to be true. You traverse the caldera on winding singetrack that is rip roaring fun. You really get flying down the switchbacks. I snuck ahead a distance so that I could pull over to take this. Derek never even saw me to the side and so I had to spend the next few miles chasing him down. He thought I was still out in front and I scared the crap outta him when I rode up on his ass a few miles later.



Fun, fun, fun...look at that grin!


Last picture - right before our lunch break and right after the hill of death. It just kept going and going up.



TOTALLY sweet ride and so close to Bend!

Saturday we rode Lookout Mtn with Linda and Stu. It was plenty hot for the 11 mile climb up to the top, but not 100's like last time.

What can I say, it is Oregon.


Linda and Derek on the nice shady section in the woods.


The last part of the climb to the Lookout is a brute, obvioulsy pics don't do it justice.





Stu is cranking away on his Nomad.




Again, no pictures of the downhill. It's just too fast and fun to stop. SIGH

What better way to finish off a good long ride, than a stop at Artic Circle in Prineville. It's tradition now.

I rode to the pool and swam for an hour last night. On my ride home I was following a hippy. He had his headphones on EXTRA loud because he couldn't hear me, even with my overactive, deeply in need of a tune up rear CK hub. He was singing along to his Marley tracks, groovin and jivin. I actually turned down MY mp3 player so I could listen to him sing. hahahaha

A thank you goes out to the guy in the lifted white Tundra pickup with California plates from Escondido Auto Park. YOU ROCK! I was really tired this morning but saw him entering the roundabout and sped up to get right on his bumper. I was watching him in his rear view mirror, saw him look up and give it a little gas. I had to stand and sprint to keep up with him and then he must have realized I just wanted to draft because he pegged it at a steady 35 and I sat on comfortably. When he blinkered to turn left he looked up in his mirror and gave me a thumbs up. What a great start to Friday!

Plans are in the making for some sort of riding this weekend. I want to do something I haven't ridden yet this year and there are so many options around here. I'll be sure to post some pictures of whatever we do decide upon.

Have a good weekend!

Oh yah, I found out yesterday that my sister and brother in law are having a boy! I'm going to have another nephew.

Last night started innocently enough with a ride up COD to Grand Slam. I made all the rock sections no problem and was rounding the last corner...not going terribly fast, when my rear derailleur scratched by the side of a tight rock section and pushed into my spokes, breaking my hanger on it's way. I knew the sound and pulled over, sickened. We had just put a brand new SRAM chain on so I didn't want to break it to make a singlespeed. So, after assessing the situation, I just took the chain off, duct taped the derailleur to the bike, and coasted/skootered/pushed the bike back who knows how many miles. It reminded me of the time quite a few years back when I was riding in the Toads Festival in Orange County. The route was a ride up to Main Divide, I think up Holy Jim and down Trabuco. Anyway, there were two guys doing it on chainless bikes. Only, I wasn't stupid enough to be doing this on purpose.

A pic of Derek riding. The lighting is weird back in the trees so this one isn't great.



My poor hanger.



Luckily, I have a spare that DEAN sent me with the bike. So, I'll be back up and running, er, riding in no time!

While Derek taped up my derailluer I practiced with the zoom.






I arrived back at the car with tired arms and legs with sweat dripping down my face. At least I got a good workout.

I rode home at lunch so I could switch to my mountain bike, then I took the river trail back to work so I could try out my new camera. It has a few more functions then the old one, but the clarity seems to be the biggest improvement. My old one had years of dirt, sweat, crashes and some blood too! So, without further ado:

A small glimpse of the trail along the river.



Last weekend I watched a group of kayakers paddle these sections, really fun to watch.

I met Sami for a good road loop - about 2.5 hours by the time I rode home. I'd told her I would meet her at 5:20 and then had to time trial it all the way there to make it in time. It was fun to see her again and just an odd set of circumstances that she now lives here! We'll be riding again soon for sure.

As promised, my new camera arrived yesterday and I went for a ride at lunch today along the river trail and tested it out. I'll try to get pictures up this evening of the results.

Derek did a trial run of the packing for Switzerland last night and was successful. Everything we need fits in the backpack and bike bag we plan to take. Phew! We're looking for stuff to do on our day off from riding in Chamonix and came across these things called Devil Karts. The description on the website: "Devil Karts are simply go karts that have steering and brakes and are designed to be pointed downhill and raced at speed! You take them up the mountain on the ski lift and at the top, simply follow the course down. They have oversized tyres and beefed up brakes." Intriguing!

Good news-I sold my SID race fork and used the money to buy a new digital camera. The tracking says it should be here today so starting probably tomorrow I'll have new improved pictures!!!!!!!

I'm going riding with Sami after work today, though I'm not sure where we'll go. Last night the smoke started blowing into Bend and kind of burned my lungs. I hope these dang fires get put out soon. It's perfect riding weather out this week. Well, perfect for most people...I like it hotter than hell so the 80's are a bit under my perfectness scale.