Get Off My Trail
The skies kissed the mountains with a bit of rain over the weekend leaving the trails in perfect, sticky shape. With the mud gone but the moondust packed into smooth trails I and Ripmo set off for a wonderful morning together. Focusing less on handling and the details of a new bike I let the Ripmo take the big hits and we managed to dance
We’re headed to the Tetons today. When leaving town I frequently am required to skip the daily ride because something about not helping with packing and getting ready. I went to bed resigned to that fate. Then before the sun awoke my eyes opened. The Ripmo was restless. Worried that my garage could not contain its energy I could ignore the beast no longer. Slipping
The wind giveth and the wind taketh away. Usually it takes away all my speed and gives me a lot of grief and agony. Last night the air was thick with smoke but the wind was blowing. This morning the wind giveth us cleaner air so we can be friends. It’s nice to ride and not gasp and cough. After a road ride on the
After a late Friday night of binging on s’mores I was sure my body would want to sleep in. Instead, I woke up drawn to an early morning ride on the Ripmo. The orange light of the early morning sun a sign of smoke filled skies telling me somewhere the West is on fire. The rising sun beautiful in the east distracted my mind from
Cloud cover and morning AC blasting my body was fooled into believing that the morning Utah air would be cool and perfect for a ride. Instead the clouds withholding even the slightest drop of moisture instead populated the air with stifling humidity. I climbed through rock and dust roasted dry by drought and mountain sun all the while dripping as if I had just emerged
I used to ride without music. Then I rode with ear buds. Then I started scaring hikers and runners because I couldn’t hear them and since they usually have ear buds they couldn’t hear me. Even when the hiker/runner doesn’t have earbuds, mountain bikes are remarkably quiet. On a lower traffic trail it’s easy to slip into Zen mode. The noise of the world fades
The Ripmo was not happy that I left it in the truck yesterday and went road biking so when I woke up at 6 a.m. this morning I was like what the hell am I doing awake so early?! Then I woke up at 8 a.m. and remembered the Ripmo was waiting. I proceeded to get ready. When I started biking, getting ready meant walking
Riding the Ripmo is like taming a wild pony. It comes with a set of opinions, secrets and approach to navigating the mountains. It is the job of the new rider to discover these secrets. I’m gradually unlocking the bikes capabilities one level at a time. I still find myself breaking out of the perfect flow from time to time, surprised at the bike’s handling
Continue readingThe Demonic Stones Rise From Their Dusty Hell
I added a speed and cadence sensor to the Ripmo last night with the intention of gathering a few more stats on the morning ride. Then I rode to the top of the trail, glanced at my cadence which read nothing and then remembered I never added the new sensors to the Garmin. Oops. I set up the Garmin to search for the new sensors.
It’s July 5th. After a night of celebrating our freedom to BBQ and blowing stuff up it rained. In Utah a bit of light late night rain means get on the trail as fast as possible before the sun bakes the dirt back into moon dust. I want to give the Ripmo another chance. This time I’m expecting the heavy front end and I deal