Day: July 29, 2023

We all know why I live in Gardener, but sometimes in Livingston. If you don’t, I would give away too many details and in this day and age with all the haters out there. You don’t want to like, let anybody know your schedule right. I’m in Livingston right now on my morning walk. Kind of Cloudy.

I was like, walking by the… don’t know what Livingston people call it. I call it the moat, but I guess it is not exactly a swamp. I don’t know, anyway. I’d like to think about the variations between the two towns.

Obviously one town is on the border of Yellowstone National Park where Snuggles works. But Livingston is about an hour and a half away. Our little apartment is a studio and downtown, which is cool if you like city-dwelling. Let’s be honest. It’s a tiny town. So in Livingston my day usually includes going for a walk and/or doing some kind of work-out, so I don’t age so fast. Sometimes I stop by Town and Country to find out that all the meat has been bought up by somebody in town. There’s an investigation on that. Usually early in the week I have a chili making project which will sustain me throughout the week. Afternoon excitement includes knocks on the door from the UPS and USPS people delivering me nice little cool bike parts to update our rigs. And then there are the Buttons projects that are always ongoing, in which today I installed a stainless steel valve in which we named B.

This is turning out to be a total ramble, so I will stop myself right there. I could have written an entire blog on why we name all our inanimate objects. Maybe later.

I would say that today I am just relaxing and not getting involved in the race. I am just floating on. To see what it is like.

In 48 hours from this very moment of writing I will be riding with Tinker and company through Elk Park and preparing to plunge into the Nez Peirce Trail. 

The first year of the Butte 100 it was just a few of us riding along at a easy pace. The second edition had some frolicking at the beginning of the race. Last year many folks converged into the course going full tilt and I was not up to the challenge. This year will be mayhem as 50+ will be racing and I suspect there will be no loly gagging. I hope I am better prepared.

Most of the day yesterday was spent thinking about the Butte 100. There is so much talent this year and just so many riders that it becomes more competitive.  I am sure that is what it will be like until we all hit the wall and wish we were not going so fast in the first 50 miles. The rest. The ones that still have it will ride away and get to stand on the podium.

I want to ride the course. I want to push my limits against the terrain. But now I have to share it with 50 others. No so much fun.

Today is the weekly Thursday Night Ride and it is out at the Rattlesnake. There is a lot of the people that are doing the Butte 50 so we will split up into the Thursday Warriors and the Taper Parade. The Taper Parade will loly gag around and then head to a plate of pasta while the Warriors will do something more Thursday Night like.

UPDATE^new: Read the post or watch the video!

My race sucked! But that was all that sucked.  The trips was great; and is up there with the many great trips of this summer. I just phosted photos in my Photo Gallery.

The first night we camped alongside the road in between Salmon and Challis Idaho. The next day was great.  We did not have to hurry at all.  we had traveled half way and were only two hours from our destination with the entire day at hand.  A far cry from my first trip here this year. So Friday we spent checking stuff out and pre riding the Grinder course.

We camped the second night up the drainage from the start line.  It was perfect and our friend Garland joined us. We talked race strategy and went to bed early.

The next day was great too. After the race we went into Ketchum and had a burger and beer at lefty’s, played in a city park, then slipped on into a Starbucks to soak up some of my card balance that the Brown’s had sent me for Christmas.

The next day Sten and I hit the Fisher Trail and I can not even begin to explain that trail.  All I can say is that you have to ride it to believe it.  For me, the best trail I have ever ridden.  It was spiritual.  Then we drove back to our homes.  I got home at 6 … our plan to get going early paid off. Great trip, great times!

I just posted new photos of a Thursday Night Ride that we had two weeks ago. The Snow Bowl Trail was awesome and we all had a great time. In the end we enjoyed some Trout Slayer and enjoyed Montana’s delightful evening. If you don’t know what a ”Trout Slayer“ is then you have definitely not visited Missoula I just posted new photos of a Thursday Night Ride that we had two weeks ago. The Snow Bowl Trail was awesome and we all had a great time. In the end we enjoyed some Trout Slayer and enjoyed Montana’s delightful evening. If you don’t know what a ”Trout Slayer“ is then you have definitely not visited Missoula

Last night started out as a possibly boring ride but then one must remember that our rides turn out awesome. Last night was no exception and we have it all to the enthusiasm of our friend Alden. Despite having an injured shoulder he prompted us to go a little further that we would of normally gone.

We started out up Marshall Canyon and then headed up the logging roads on the East side of the drainage. Eventually we passed over the ski area and headed up the drainage to just a mile or so East of Blue Point. There we ran into a hike-a-bike section and I fully expected to turn around and cruise back down. That is where Alden suggested that we try the hike-a-bike and check out what was above us.

We did and kept going. It was a beautiful ride and we made our way over to Mid Tower and then cruised down that trail. Wet in sections, it turned out to be a great downhill … even with hundreds of those pesky water bars. So the life in Missoula goes on and the weekend is before us. Possibilities!

Good morning.  Today I head out for an adventure into the Rattlesnake Wilderness. I will bike into the wilderness and then hike up to my destination.  I am trying something new today.  I bought a water purifier so I don’t have to carry so much water.  Last night I enjoyed a summer picnic at Carla’s house.  I have a feeling we will be good friends because she likes to hike and bike.  Her friends do as well and that should be good. 

If not for the long winters, the northern Rockies timber town of Missoula (population 57,000) would certainly keep company with Moab and Crested Butte as one of America’s fat-tire epicenters. But the rolling and steep terrain, bisected by well-maintained singletrack and logging roads, is ridable only from June to October, a short enough season that obsessives don’t live here and itinerant bikers haven’t caught wind of it. The result is blissfully empty paths — in spades. “If you include logging roads, there are thousands of miles of trails,” says local rider Sam Schultz. “There’s a lot of variety, a lot of really fast, hard-packed, and smooth rides.” The 18-year-old Schultz, who is the youngest member of the U.S Under-23 National Mountain Bike Team, divulged his list of the best trails in Missoula.

For a warm-up Schultz suggests an easy spin up the main drag of the Rattlesnake Wilderness and National Recreation Area, a gravel road along Rattlesnake Creek that turns into a rough doubletrack. By the time you’ve pedaled to Franklin Bridge you’ll have covered eight miles. From there you’ve got multiple extension trails to choose from, including Woods Gulch Trail, an epic ride with a 2,500-foot elevation gain in 22 miles. “It’s the longest climb in Missoula, a good four-hour ride with three hours of uphills,” Schultz says. Heading northeast from the trailhead, located on the east side of the Rattlesnake road, you’ll slog up toward 7,650-foot Sheep Mountain. Snowbowl Overlook Trail starts at the main Rattlesnake trailhead, 4.5 miles from downtown, with a seven-mile climb up steep but ridable singletrack to a ledge above the Snowbowl ski resort and views of the slopes. After that? “A superfun descent from slow, steep, technical, and rooty to really fast with gradual turns.

Sam Shultz in a article I cant remember

I have just posted pictures of my trip to the Elks Run Mountain Bike Race. I did not race. I started out just before the begining of the race. I decided to ride the corse and take pictures. I ended up racing to the finish before they caught up to be. I got to within 1 mile of making it before the top riders started to pass me. I was also squandering in the heat. the course consisted of real fast dirt road sections, paved road sections, and of course great but crewl EFTA singletrack. I tell you what; when you finished this one, you were finished for sure.

I just posted hiking pictures from this weekend. Kostia, Lilia, Monica, and I did Bear Mountain here in CT. It all started out with a great breakfast by the Routeski’s compliments of Lilia, and Kostia. After that and a little treat at McDonalds (ice cream) we headed up Bear Mountain. All of the pics posted were from the hike on or near the top. We had a great time and the hike went by fast. That evening we relaxed to some pizza from Bartucci’s and some Apple Martinies made by Monica. She made the best alcholic beverage I think I have had. This drink was so yummy and at the same time pure alcholol. I had a great time. The night ended when as I arrived home my friend Ed Smith from Plattsburg payed a visit. We sat up and watched the Tour of France and then prepaired for the mountain bike race the next day. Stay tuned for that story and pictures.