Baby calves

It's calving season and I'm bummed I didn't bring my camera on my ride at lunch today. I got about 5-6 miles outside of town where there are lots of small ranches and I came across some baby calves out enjoying their time in the sun. So CUTE! The weather was amazing and I got a good hour of steady riding in with short sleeves and plenty of sunshine, and...hardly any wind!

I've been experimenting a bit with my freestyle swim stroke because some shoulder pain started to develop. I figured out I was crossing over my body's centerline or coming very close to it on my arm sroke. I think I have that fixed now...we'll see.

We've been planning our summer mountain bike trip to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and it has come down to picking trails now. Thumbing through a trail book the other night I was a little skeptical on the trails labeled "grizzly country". I've seen bears before on the trails in Kernville, CA before and they were giant! We have chosen one trail in MT that basically guarantees you will see one. Let's hope it is from afar. I have no desire to let a bear maul me while I curl up and protect my neck like the book suggests.

Last night we met with some other riders at Deschutes Brewery to talk about the Oregon Endurance Series. Another Webcyclery racer, Steve, is organizing it and these low key races should be a good addition to the events Central Oregon offers.

Tri

Since I had skate skied hard Saturday, I decided to switch it up and give my knee a bit of a respite. Sunday after the snow stopped and melted a bit, I rode my bike to the pool, did a half hour of deep water running, swam a little over a mile, and then rode back home. I only wish the group ride I was going to do had started a bit later. We have all day, why did it have to start at 9AM? The ride home from the gym was really nice actually!

No go

I woke up early to get ready to ride since today is the annual Hutch's Bicycle Wet-n-Windy 50 mile ride. BUT, it was 25 degrees out and had snowed a bit overnight. Still, I ate breakfast and got my riding clothes ready. The sky got grey as the minutes ticked off. It started snowing, then snowing harder. Derek went out to check the iciness of the street and after coming in to give me the prognosis, my cycling clothes went back in the closet and we checked the ski report instead. No ride.

Ice Crit

I forgot to post these pictures earlier! After our ski Saturday evening we helped set up for the Ice Criterium and then stayed to cheer everyone on, warm by the fire, and drink beer of course. It was great fun!






The costume podium. Actually, the dude on the far left won because he did several laps NAKED!

3 Days of Outdoor - lots of pics

Amazing 3 day weekend! I just can't get enough of being outdoor. Saturday we had a lot to do around the house so we ended up going for a twilight skate ski. Conditions were flat out fast. So fast that on the long downhill I was 90% out of control and feared that if someone happened to be coming up I would not have been able to get out of the way. It's that feeling of being so close to the edge that if a butterfly landed on your shoulder you'd plunge off the cliff.

I swear, there is no color manipulation whatsover in these photos, the sky was that colorful.







Sunday was sunny as forecasted so we grabbed the mountain bikes and headed to Horse Ridge. I'd heard rumors the night before that it was rideable since they don't get as much snow out east. Sure enough, the dirt was tacky all along the fence line heading up. We hit the section of paved climb and pushed on further, skeptically looking at the increasing amount of snow clinging for dear life to the shaded side of the butte. Sure enough, the trail offshoot was too gunky to ride.



I'm not a stranger to mud, and the soil at Horseridge sure isn't in much danger from being ridden while muddy, but I knew it wouldn't be that enjoyable. So, we turned back and headed to the lower loop which was dry. It felt so great to get out in the crystal clear air with the sun shining hot Riding my bike is clearly where I belong and it brings me so much joy. The fast swoopy downhill singletrack through the canyon, had me twisting, turning, and grinning.





Monday we rode along the Crooked River Canyon. That canyon is one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Central Oregon and I'm pretty certain I've been on ever stretch of road in this area. Giant dramatic rock walls stretch up from the road and tower high above. The fly fishers were out in full force and a couple waved to me from the river as I spun past. Clearly they enjoy this area as much as I do. How could you not? We rode about 25 miles up past the reservoir and then turned around and came back. After 2.5 hours and about 50 miles we were back at the start. It's good to know that after pretty much not riding for a couple months and spending time skate skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, and rowing instead, that my legs are able and available for whatever I want to do.









Prineville Reservoir:

Get out the sunscreen!

Another few warm days ahead of us. It will be a multisport weekend with both cycling and skate skiing...hell, I think I'll throw in some swimming too. Saturday night is the ice crit up at Swampy Snopark. Ride your bike in circles around the parkinglot and try not crash. Or, stand and drink beer while you watch others try not to crash. Either way, I'll probably have some pictures to post of it.

I made a batch of truffles for Valentines Day. They turned out more dry than usual, but still very good.

I watched Sicko the other day. I'm not laughing. Has anyone else seen this movie? What did you think? After having to pay a few thousand out of pocket for my knee surgery I wasn't laughing. I'm not usually political in this blog, but seriously...it's sickening.

Wrap Up

Here are some pics from this weekend's Bend Winterfest event.

Winterfest photos

This week is bordering on spring weather but never fear, this happens every year and then winter returns. I'll probably end up riding at least one of the days this weekend just to shake it up.

Another cyclist is dead in Oregon. A Trimet over in Beaverton hit a cyclist. Sigh, how awful.

Hell's Belles

Last night's Winterfest Concert was completely awesome. The crowd packed in tightly for warmth and pumped their fists in the air in unison while rocking out to a great band. Hell's Belles came out with a ton of energy and performed all the great AC/DC songs you can remember. I really had a good time as did everyone I could see around me. The mosh pit was tame/nonexistent which surprised me. It was a very civil rockin crowd. I'd gladly pay to see them again.

Are you kidding me?

I came home from my workout to find a big package waiting for me. Wow, is this a gross case of over packaging!





I was pretty certain after pulling bundle after bundle of paper out, that there wouldn't be anything in the box. But there it is all tiny and alone.



It's the new LCD screen for my digital camera since the other one cracked.

Team Brunch & Ski

I'm racing for Webcyclery again this year and the team had a big brunch this morning before we went skiing. Some went up to Bachelor, but a small group of us decided that since it was sunny in town and we had so much snow that we would just ski out in the Phil's trail complex. So glad we made that choice because it was awesome. We parked just off Skyliners by Summit High and skied out past the chicken (locals will know what that is). We detoured up the ridge so we could bomb back down it and then proceeded back. It was a bit over 2 hours with a picture stop or too, and a couple snowball fights. Enjoy the pictures.

Elise on a little huck session. It might only be about 5' but remember...we're on xc skis!



Of course, Pearl had to follow.




Part of the team gathered at "the chicken"



A giant Tetherow house...yes, that's one house.

February Already!

The LCD screen on my digital camera is cracked so picture taking has been put on hold somewhat. Apparently you can order just the screen for about $30 and then replace it yourself. We'll see how that goes.

Last night was team buy night at Webcyclery so we headed down and restocked our supply with stuff like brake pads, cables, chains, new cleats for our shoes, some wheels, and some brake adapters so I can swap the cantilever brakes on my cyclocross bike over to v brakes (they stop better). They hooked us up with some more free team clothes too! I can hardly think about riding season when the snow continues to fall.

So what is on tap for this weekend? Skiing of course. I BADLY need to wax both our classic and our skate skis so I'll be spending some time doing that one of the afternoons I imagine. I'm not that jazzed about the Superbowl because I don't like either of the teams so the only real draw would be the commercials. I think I'd rather spend the time outside. We'll see. I can't shovel snow many more times...there isn't anywhere to throw it now because the piles are so high. Our little beagle gets lost when she goes outside because the snow is taller than she is. She hates it with a passion and is completely annoyed this time of year.

I better wrap it up for now and get on down to the bar for a drink. It's Friday!

P.S. If you're a LOST fan (I'm a huge one), then this blog will entice you even more.
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