We attempted to hike a well-known trail, but icy conditions forced us to turn back. Although we managed to capture some great fat biking footage, the experience was more invigorating than being surrounded by summer wildfire smoke. Admittedly, we’re quite behind on sharing our saved media online.
What were you doing today? https://williammartin.com/0000/08/09/
What are your recent highlights? https://photos.app.goo.gl/wQr6FZiW6o3kmsh47
Photos anyone? https://photos.app.goo.gl/NbvTXTi6a8uSdu7x6
Just ride up the road to Jardine, go past the town, and start adventuring.
I mean, don’t park at any turnouts because the local Forest Service Office seems to want to ticket you for camping. Even though you’re just parking for two hours. They think you’re camping will get a nasty note, but if you leave from town, it’ll be fine.
Just go nosing into the woods and you will find wildflowers, Old Mines. Animal tracks some frogs.
Or … just maybe things you wouldn’t think about.
But most of all, you will find Adventure.
Left work but realized I forgot my butter. No worries right? Just stop by Big Sky. Holy Shit! Unbelievable! The place has exploded. There’s like a Main Street and even in Ace Hardware. Movie theaters and the lot. I would say almost 50 to 100 new places. Has it been that long? So that is why we got to the trail-head late. And why only 45 minutes up the trail we stopped to set up camp. Just in time too. The sun set and we hung our food in the dark. Which is why I fell down a slope and cut my hand.
Interestingly enough all the while I kept thinking that I would rather be at home. Is that what happens when you adventure too much? Come home and before you unpack it is time to repack. Getting to the trail-heads late. Working 40 hours in a stress tank. Is this what happens? You start to wish you were home. An unusual feeling for me.
The next morning I was glad to be right where I was and all the end of week work slog bull crap was gone. Ahead lay an adventure.
My good friend Paul from New York visited us in Yellowstone National Park last year about this time. And he brought his son Nikko. I hope I spelled his name right . We only had a day so we did with all the tourist to, check out the Grand Canyon.
As I write this Tracey Petervery and a couple others are storming through Lima Montana on their way to Red Barn Bicycles in Hamilton Montana. Yesterday, at work, I looked at a brief Facebook video of the start of the FitzBarn 2014. A tear rolled down my cheek as I put away the browser and started to go back to work.
Now I am in Canyon Yellowstone National Park and watching track leaders. Waiting for any updates. I’ve missed the 2014 FitzBarn.
To comfort myself I go to all the pretty sights and take pictures. That doesn’t matter right now. It’s not that pretty. What would be pretty would to be on the road. On my mountain bike, just me and the road. Bivying out in unknown locations. Eating at convenience stores in the only two places on the route that you could stop. So far and few between that if you miss judge your food you don’t have anything. But you have yourself and your bike and life is simple. I need to climb out of this canyon.
Late and wary of police, I opt for back roads, cursing my broken headlamp. I ditch the bike, craving a hike instead. I tackle a rocky ridge, tougher than Missoula’s “M” trail, reminiscing about Sentinel’s similar path. I overtake three gasping exchange students, feeling agile. Reaching a larger “M” made of white stones, curiosity strikes at a northward path. I run towards it, enjoying the freedom. The descent offers scenic rocky outcroppings, outshining Missoula’s trail. It merges with the Bridger Foothills Trail, a challenging but bike-friendly route. However, today, I’m solely on foot.
It is the beautiful sun over the mountains that just woke me up. The last thing I remember is leaving work and biking home. Now the sun is peaking over the Bridger Range and the little ‘nap’ after work feels good. As I reach for my camera I realize … why is the sun on the East horizon? Is it really morning?
I guess all the ultra racing and fun has finally caught up to me. Today I will, cough cough, take my car to work so I can restock the apartment with stuff to eat and start rebuilding. Like my racing page on this website … gosh, that has been neglected. My next goal is to look good at the 25 Hours of Frog Hollow in Hurricane Utah on November 5th. Sure thee might be some little events and adventures here and there to keep the legs happy.
Like the MESSS (Josh photos) and the RMVQ. That reminds me, wondering if I have the RMVQ on Labor day who would be involved. Better draw up a training plan to see where I can squeeze stuff in. In the meantime I better start running. My goals this year were to not die at the MESSS and do a off road 50K (super surprise where that will be).
Good for you. I just now read the latest information in a health newsletter I get. Normally I would not post a blog about this kind of thing but since every time I bring up stuff like this around friends they treat me like a minority freak, screw it, Ill post the details here.
Pedro Bastos, a world expert on health problems associated with milk has written the following reasons that milk sucks (in my own words):
If your one of those people who critically thinks. Screw you first of all and second if you read up on all of this you would already know. Freak.
Just do a search for Pedro Carrera Bastos and his latest.
Didn’t get much done today but I did try. One thing I did get done was to rebuild my Turner. All the bearings and pivots were froze up. I went to pedal it on the stand and it required tremendous force because of the derailleur pulleys and bearings in the wheel all gummed up. It was from squirting lube on the chain for a 24 hour race and then the Butte 100
Paul Bardis and me, we hit the road to Glen Pond, tucked away in the Bitterroot Mountains near Saint Mary’s. Me and Paul? We go way back, sharing a thick book of adventures.
Barely awake in Missoula, Montana, I’m attempting to recount last night’s mountain bike race—a venture that didn’t pan out as planned. Overlooked the importance of rest, especially after a 100-mile race and some surgery.
Kicked off the race alongside two speedy competitors, tackling an 1100-foot climb. It’s tougher than you’d think. My heart raced at 173 bpm, but soon, my lungs were on fire, leading to a coughing fit. My body hit its limit and forced me to slow down, letting riders I usually outpace easily zoom past, making me look like a newbie.
The second lap went somewhat better after expelling a good deal of phlegm, thanks to the dusty roads of the 100-miler, and I reduced my pace to 160 bpm. The climb felt smoother, and I nearly caught up. However, the treacherous downhill, more suitable for a downhill specialist, caused a few errors, and I crossed the finish line feeling defeated.
![[image]](https://i0.wp.com/williammartin.com/wp-content/uploads/migrated/image94.jpg)
The sun is shining this morning and the wind has shifted to the East. The air quality really improved last night and I was able to really ride well on the Trail of Tears. Tonight I hope to ride Point 6 and Snow Bowl but what happened last night might prohibit that. In any case my car has the bike on the back and after work I am ready to go on another good ride.
Last night I took my sheets off and comforter from my bed to discover a spider. To make things worse I found another shortly after. I sprayed the bedroom top to bottom with the only thing I have that sprays, Lysol. With the bedroom fumigated I sat up and watched TV until the room cleared out. When I could go into the room I could not sleep. I was up till 5 AM and after two hours of sleep I am at work.
Boundaries come to mind all of a sudden. Having and setting good limits is connected to all aspects of regaining control over well being … growing in self-esteem, learning to really love, and self-value.
Boundaries emerge from inside our own minds. They are connected to being able to letting go of unhealthy items like guilt, shame, and deprivation of needs. As my thinking this morning about this is put down here in my blog, this all becomes clearer and so will my boundaries I hope.
I believe boundaries are connected to a higher power and when I set a limit, Ill do it when I am ready. Let go let “higher Power”, right? And … so will everyone else.
So I am hoping for some kind of magic about reaching this point of realization about setting limits. I should stick to it too so that every one else will know that I mean what I say and will take me seriously. I think this may be an issue of importance to me. Things will change, not because I am controlling others, but because I will control myself with some healthy limits.
Ok now I am getting lost in my ramblings. For today I am going to trust that I will learn, grow, and set the limits I need in my life at my own pace. When I am ready, at my own pace.
The Crazy Mountain Range is reported to rise dramatically some 7,000 feet above the Yellowstone River Valley and the surrounding plains 15 miles northwest of Big Timber. They cover an area of 136,547 acres in which my friend Paul and I plan to explore a small chunk of it. It is a road-less area and we will be accessing it from Big Timber Canyon Road from the East. The Crazy Mountain Range is reported to rise dramatically some 7,000 feet above the Yellowstone River Valley and the surrounding plains 15 miles northwest of Big Timber. They cover an area of 136,547 acres in which my friend Paul and I plan to explore a small chunk of it. It is a road-less area and we will be accessing it from Big Timber Canyon Road from the East.
These formations stimulate the desire to reach a higher place but also geologists who say there is an abundance of trapped gas. I think Ill climb around a little before technology is used to ruin this remote wilderness wonder. In the past nineteenth century railroad land grants, now mostly passed on to other parties, make coherent resource management difficult. Efforts to preserve this place as a wilderness have failed in the past, but conservationists have once again proposed wilderness designation for the Crazies. I am in support of such efforts but for the moment, however, the Crazy Mountains remain the most spectacular alpine range in Montana without wilderness protection.
Boneshakerbike 