Boneshakerbike

Author: Bill

  • TNR Beacon Ride

    [image]I have not been eating this last week so my ride to where the Thursday Night Ride was starting became quite an ordeal. I headed out after work and by the time I had climbed out of town on the Treasure Trail, I realized that it was going to be a long night. As I approached the group, I tried to clear my head as apparently I was seeing a mirage. I was looking at the largest weekly group I have seen in a long time. Was it a mirage? I have not been eating this last week so my ride to where the Thursday Night Ride was starting became quite an ordeal. I headed out after work and by the time I had climbed out of town on the Treasure Trail, I realized that it was going to be a long night. As I approached the group, I tried to clear my head as apparently I was seeing a mirage. I was looking at the largest weekly group I have seen in a long time. Was it a mirage?

    It was not a mirage, the group was the largest so for this year. With large groups comes the possibility that someone is going to break down and someone did. I was feeling very weak so after the third stop for people having bike problems I decided to keep riding. Moreover, I did! I rode all the way to the first ridge and stopped to take pictures. The group was so strung out that I only saw Larry and Alden, but I was not satisfied with my position. Therefore, I rode on.

    I finally did find a position on top where I caught people as they rode through the wildflowers. On top of University Mountain we all took family pictures before heading down the ridge.

    The ridge is the fun part and beautiful as well. Being as exhausted as I was, my photographic instinct was not as good as required and try as I may, I am not happy with the rest of the pictures. I stopped at the wrong places and did the best I could I guess. The downhill was fun however and soon the ride was over.

    Julie had a post ride BBQ and we all gathered at her house to eat, drink, and watch mountain bike slideshows. Ahh the perfect evening.

    I will be posting pictures soon!

  • Riding The American West

    I was in search of something to eat this morning and thought back to last weekend. Tonight is the Thursday Night Ride and I was marveling at how long it has been since I rode with everyone. Ok, so it has not been a while but that is not my point. My point is that I have been Mountain Biking every day and when you take advantage of the time you’re given and where you are … life seems longer.

    Someone just asked me what I think of something they saw in the news. I felt out of the loop but maybe it is them who are out of the loop. It is nice to sit in front of a publication or TV all evening after work, but you are missing out on life. I am just saying that making the most of life actually does make life seem longer. Its too bad people are missing out.

    What trails have I been riding … well let me see:

    Like I said, I am making the most of life. Now just need to make some money …. hmmmm!

  • Week End Update

    Week End Update

    Well I decided to not starve completely this week but so far I haven't ate. I got up late this morning and haven't had time to make porage. I am thinking I can live off of what I have left from last week. Oatmeal in the morning, a peanut butter sandwich at noon, a can of fruit after work, and a rice and butter after my ride. That should do it! I have $20.00 saved for groceries next week.

    On Saturday my friend Larry and I rode two trails down by Hamilton. In between the rides Larry treated me to the best hamburger that I have ever had. We also stopped at a bike shop to drool over the new K2s.

    Sunday I rode the Beacon Trail with Marcy in tow. She barely made it down as usual. She had fun though and we stopped under a huge ponderosa for the noon peanut butter sandwich.

    I have been committed to a slide show presentation and the hoopla is making me uncomfortable. I don't even think I have any slideshows that will do for a mountain biker barbeque! The email says that I will be presenting my “World Class Cycling Pictures”. I think they have the wrong person.

    So there you go.

  • The Vista Gulp

    Map

    I am up at 3 a.m. because I cannot sleep. My legs are a little achy from last nights little adventure. It was a sunny night and after work, I headed out to the deer creek drainage for some mountain bike exploring.

    As I climbed into the Deer Creek Drainage (the back road to Patte Canyon), I realized that maybe this was a large undertaking for an after-work ride. After an hour of climbing, I still was not in the first saddle between Mitten Mountain and some other range. I wanted to get to at least where Marcy and I got to the weekend before. I did, but after an hour and a half.

    I felt good so I headed off the saddle into Vista Gulch and boy what a vista. I raced down some great dirt roads built for logging but smooth enough for cars. Of course, this road is not accessible by any vehicles and I had to dodge the occasional big rock. Soon I found myself at a beautiful creek deep in Vista Gulch. I wish I had my camera.

    Soon after and up a climb that told me my legs were done for the day, I reached a heli-pad used for logging. From there I saw that I was on the fast track to nowhere and decided to turn around after 21 miles and 6,200 vert-ft of climbing.

    The big task was to get back out of Vista Gulch and I had to dig deep into my climbing skills and energy reserves. With a little patience, I climbed out and headed home. All downhill and through the magnificent Sam Braxton Trails, I got home after 3.5 hours of biking. Whew, and this was a workday.

  • A Case of the Mondays

    Has anyone ever watched the movie “Office Space”. It's a funny movie with a part where an obnoxious secretary says, “looks like you have a bad case of the Mondays”. I guess you have had to be there. Why do I lead off with this … ?

    Well I don’t know. it is Monday and I am quite bored. I wanted to blog just for the heck of it but I have nothing to say. Tonight I hope to go mountain biking before the Friends and Family meeting. I was planning on a trip up Deer Creek but I just realized that I would not make the meeting. So I guess I'll have to do the Treasure Trail or the Sam Braxton Trail.

    Currently I am working on a online tutorial for our online forms at work. Go ahead, check it out. Thats about the most exciting thing that is happening today. I did read one real funny quote. It is by George Bush. Get this, he said ,”The use of federal dollars to destroy life is something I simply do not support“. Of course he is referring to stem cell research but isn't that the biggest contradiction you have ever heard. How many tax dollars are being used to destroy life in Baghdad?

    Yep, a case of the Mondays! On a good note, our Governor is standing up to Bush.

  • Rainy Weekend Makes For New Site

    Deer

    Yo Missoula! Let’s rewind to yesterday: glorious sunshine, exploring Deer Creek Drainage with Marcy, and uncovering epic mountain bike trails. (Disclaimer: poor Marcy definitely got the cardio workout, my mountain bike made it a breeze ).

    But alas, the weather gods unleashed their rain fury, washing away my grand “Around The Rattlesnake In One Day” (ATRIOD) adventure. This self-proclaimed epic involves conquering Arlee and traversing the majestic Jocko Road between the Mission and Rattlesnake ranges. Soaking weekend blues got me channel my energy into a much-needed website revamp. ✨

    Presenting: a sleek new interface to fuel our palaver! The front page sheds unnecessary clutter, showcasing only the good stuff. Quick Palaver gets its own dedicated page, and the cherry on top: the latest blog post takes center stage, keeping everyone in the loop.

    Rain or shine, the show must go on! Now, off to Skalaho Pass for some (hopefully!) waterfall photography. Nothing like adapting to the weather’s whims.

    Wishing everyone a successful and awesome week ahead! Until next time, stay awesome, stay palavering.

  • Grave Creek Growler

    [image]Saturday was a beautiful day so Marcy and I went exploring on Jumbo Mountain.

    The big adventure was Sunday when my friends Alden, Larry, and I embarked on a pretty ambitious adventure. I am naming it the Grave Creek Growler because it goes along the Grave Creek Range. Although most of the party got all bloodied up and the weather turned extreme, the trip was a great success.

    The first half of the ride was typical with the sun shinning we rode up Blue Mountain ans started into the Grave Creek Range. The hill-climbs were brutal and we spent most of your time riding the beautiful terrain from one climb to the other. We would recover and move on.

    The second half of the ride was everything but normal. As we started the loggin road down to Dry Gulch the weather turned bad. We got blasted by high winds and torrential downpours. There was bloody crashes and cracks of thunder and lightening. We made it through and I am grateful to have friends that like to adventure with me.

    Now it is Monday and time to recouver. Brutal Mondays … is it time for luch yet?

  • The Big Weekend

    The Big Weekend

    I Left town on Saturday after making a stop at Bernice’s Bakery for some goodies. Went up Rock Creek to find the Grizzly Campground sold out. Not only had that been a bummer but the spaces cost $6.00 a night. Screw that, I just keep going up Rock Creek until I found a free campground. I asked a person that was currently at a large site if he minded it if I camped next to him. They did not care so I set up camp.

    I was a little rusty getting the tent up but soon camp was ready for a serious weekend. My first ride of the day took me north back up Rock Creek in search of a trail that was mountain bike-able. I could not find one so I turned around at the swinging bridge. I came back to camp and enjoyed some chips and salsa before crashing in the hammock for a nap.

    I awoke wanting to ride some more so I went South up Rock Creek for about an hour. Did not find any bike trails so came back to camp again for another nap in the hammock. Ahh the life! In all my riding of 30 miles made me hit the sack early. The night was great and I slept like a baby.

    In the morning, I cooked some cheesy eggs and made some coffee. I took off for my big ride of the weekend around 10am and did not run into to much traffic. That is important because of the dust the jeeps and trucks kicked up. I started up Brewster creek and started passing an ATV. The person told me to slow down. Slow down on my bike, he was on an ATV, give me a break.

    I climbed the jeep trail and almost did not make it without dismounting. I rode down into Willow creek to an awaiting beautiful scene. The Pintler Mountains graced the skyline and the green valley was breath taking.

    I barely got my sore ass to the car after 5.5 grueling hours in the saddle. I noticed that I got sun burned pretty badly. The night at camp was painful and with the sunburn, kicking in I managed to fall asleep for the second night.

    It was a good decision the night before to ruff it out because I woke up Sunday refreshed and badly in need of coffee. After breaking down camp and downing the rest of the coffee and rolls, we set out to go home. We had one more stop at the footbridge to Welcome Creek. Marcy and I were off on our last adventure of the weekend. We climbed to the top of a ridge and said goodbye to the Rock Creek Area.

  • A River Ran Through It

    Missoula RunnerThis morning I decided to go to Bernice’s Bakery for a coffee and cinnamon roll. When I arrived, the city was a bustling with activity. Today is the Annual YMCA River Run here in Missoula. Good thing I brought my camera.

    As the sun started to shine and warm up Missoulians the race started and I grabbed a few shots of some racers huffing and puffing along. My favorite is of the winner as he runs to the finish line and the ”M“ in the backdrop. It would be a good news pic. Well since I am not a news photographer, why not blog it?

    Today I am relaxing with the biggest project being my hair. I need a cut. My plan is to get some clippers so I can do my own and save a butt load of cash for good things like groceries.

    Cycling is going well with my mountain bike having only brake problems now. I am going to fashion some return springs from some old spokes. My ex-roommate Pat did a wonderful thing and sent me the mountain bike I left in CT. I am so glad to have It back, it is a blast to ride. It is my K2 Proflex that I was sponsored on 10 years ago.

    Well for me it is out the door to hunt down some clippers … Have a great spring all!

  • I Need A Haircut

    Its all over the news, Lance Armstrong is going to ride in one more Tour. Frankly I am surprised he is going to ride again. I thought he was going to take a tour off and race in other races that he has missed out in the past 6 years.

    Its all over the news, Lance Armstrong is going to ride in one more Tour. Frankly I am surprised he is going to ride again. I thought he was going to take a tour off and race in other races that he has missed out in the past 6 years.

    You know he is probably thinking that there is more to life than racing and he just wants to have fun this year. In my opinion he is disillusioned! He thinks it will be fun but in fact he will strangely be feeling more failure because as everyone gets into the racing mode he will feel that he too should be there, but by that time it will be too late. The rest of the Tour he will struggle to put on a smiley face. In the end he will lie to himself and the press that he is happy with his career and that he is excited to be leaving it to explore the rest of life.

    Lance there is no more life. What it is to other people will not feel the same to you. You have beaten cancer and won the Tour more time than any other human. There is nothing better than that. Keep racing man, it is what you are. Your bike is your wings and if you have them clipped to experience life in the cage … well, that is just something that some have regretted the rest of their life.

    But then again I do not believe he should go on winning the Tour. It would be so cool for him to go to the Tour to help the next big racer win. What if he goes to bat for Tyler? The Tour in fact needs to find its own identity again or it will collapse in the future. Its time for more drama, more heroes, more suspense, and more Phil Liggett.

  • Chewed Out From Both Sides

    [image]Today I rode from Florence to Stevensville and even though the day warranted a four hour ride I was only able to do 1. I am trying to recover still from Thursday's ride. I am also recovering from getting my ass chewed out today as well as yesterday.

    Yesterday I was driving my car and pulled into the bank. A biker was in my blind spot and was cut off. I did not cut across a bike lane or anything. When I stopped the guy attacked me trying to break my drivers side window with his fist. The only thing he broke was his fingers (hopefully). He called me a buch of choice names and freeked out for 15 minutes straight.

    Today I was comming out of a parking lot and merged onto a road. Suddenly a pickup truck rounded the corner and caught me crossing the road. He slowed but gave me a dirty look. I gave him a hand gesture (no not the middle finger). He chased me down the road and pulled up beside me cussing me out and just before he could finish me off and drive me into the ditch (hopefully not run me over), a state trooper pulled up behind us and he was forced to drive on. Wat upset me is that the trooper saw everything and didnt do anything, just followed the guy for a quarter of a mile. Thanks for the help buddy!

  • Killing Bears

    Killing Bears

    Ok, well maybe that title is misleading; but it is the way I see it. The University is bulldozing its golf course to make way for a apartment complex, the state is banning smoking in public places, and the state is also outlawing drinking while driving. I do not believe that a person should drink beer and drive and I do not believe that I want to hang around a bar to breath in cigarette smoke. That is my choice, not the government’s.

    You see I believe that we are making it a place for people to move to … People that do not agree with the Montana lifestyle. I moved back here after being away out East and now live back in Montana … now I am pissed off. Just because stupid people want to come here to live, but not take on the responsibility to live with bears or others that may do things they disagree with … we are killing bears and making laws. I think it is wrong!

    When an bear went into the Greenough Park recently, he headed to a nearby apartment complex and it’s garbage cans, it’s bird feeders, and even walking up some stairs. The bears kept residents out of their homes. The ”Fish Wildlife and Parks“ department killed the bears.

    They had issued a warning letter earlier and the new residents directly ignored them. The result … a dead bear, but residents that feel more safe. Screw them, it is the new residents that move here which have never been around wildlife. This resulted in this and other bears deaths this spring. Wow, way cool place to live!

    I guess we are willing to give our wildlife’s life for more people and more dollars. What else can we do …. Hmmm! Lets make laws like they have in other more populated states, so people will move here. Bottom line; some people that move here do not want to take any responsibility for others around them. Also they are not willing to live with each other and they are selfish. We should not sell out to the evil dollar. Believe me the society outside of Montana has nothing to offer, so why bring it here. I want to be free … I am not an American … I am a Montanan!

  • The Big Freeze Out

    [image]Today is supposed to be a dandy. Well not to mention that I better get out the door to go pick up the paycheck from Work Force. Yes, it’s PAYDAY! Since I am a little overcooked from last night’s ride I am taking two days off to do some recovery activities.

    Too bad last night was as today is supposed to be! I rode my bike from the intersection at Lolo to Lolo Hot Springs. After 21 miles, I gave up the ghost and rode home. It was brutal, high winds and bitter cold had me battered and dreaming of a warm bed as I rode the slight downhill return route.

    Overall, it was a good ride bit I got excessively cold and did not enjoy it as much as if the sun was out and the temperatures were at least 50. The ride totaled 42.71 miles and I reached a maximum elevation of 4,109 feet. I did climb a thousand feet on a slight grade of about a three.

    BIKELOG 2005

    [image]Miles This Week: 67.99
    Miles This Month: 186.77
    Miles This Year: 422.84
    Climb This Year: 13,003.06 ft

    This marks the first ride this week that I didn’t have a broken spoke problem. Last Tuesday I went riding on the Big Flat Ride and just about completed the 18 mile spin when I heard that all to familiar “Ping”.

  • My Current Projects

    My Current Projects

    I currently work for Work Force Inc. which has me at M.A.R.S. Stout Inc doing XSLT and XML using PHP work. I am hoping to become an employee at M.A.R.S. Stout Inc but in the meantime I am working on other projects in return for asistance in paying my bills.

    On This Day
  • Big Cedars and Cold Waters

    Big Cedars and Cold Waters

    What started out as a disaster turned out to be quite an adventure. Everything I hoped for, I found. It started out bad though as I arrived at the Lee Creek Campground ready for my ride into Idaho. As I suited up, I noticed that I forgot my gloves. Any summer day this would not be a problem but the temperatures at 10Am were 35 degrees, no way would I go road biking without gloves. Therefore, I threw a fit and headed home.

    As I headed home the Excedrin I had taken before I left home due to a headache started to kick in and I was enjoying a spring drive in my Beetle. But alias, how would I afford the gas. I worried that when I got home I would have to stay because I had no more money for gas. I decided to use my credit card for gas and headed back out for my ride. By noon, I was climbing Lolo Pass on my road bike.

    I crested the pass and started to descend. All the sanding during the winter rendered the road a marbled mess. I descended with extreme caution and at time feared for my life. It was exuberayting and I hope that my tires would not puncture due to one of those little sharp rocks.

    After the decent into Idaho my first rest stop to get water was at a big cedar forest. I could not help but to take some pictures of these giants. About 20 minutes later down the road, I heard a ping. I looked down and knew that at once I broke a spoke. I did some real handy work to fashion another one and got the wheel back in working order. I headed back to the car from Papoose Creek (20 miles in).

    I had been thinking how hard the climb back out into Montana would be but as I approached the pass I realized that I overestimated the climb. It was not easy but I did motor up it in 35 minutes from the chain up area. The rest was downhill and I screamed back to the car. In the process of descending, I noticed a waterfall.

    Once back at the car I grabbed my tripod and headed over the Waterfall that I noticed coming back. The waterfall is called Snowshoe Falls and I spent some meditative time there sitting on a large boulder photographing the falls. The pics will be online soon. So there you have it, I made it back and seemed to avoid all those logging trucks.

    In all the road bike ride on Rte12 was 41.38 miles in which it took me 3 hours to ride. I did a total of 2,428 feet of vertical climbing on an average grade of 5 topping out at 5,250.97 feet.

    On This Day
  • Lolo Pass 2 Idaho Ride Today

    Lolo Pass 2 Idaho Ride Today

    Hey, folks! Bill here, ready to share my biking plans and a few adventures from the saddle. Today’s plan is to hit the trail and ride out to Lolo Pass, venturing into Idaho as far as these legs can pedal me. I’ve got my trusty camera gear with me because you never know when a photo-worthy moment might pop up.

    I’ll be kicking off from Missoula around 9ish, aiming to get on the bike by 10AM. My starting point will be the Lee Creek campground just past Lolo Hot Springs. Unfortunately, Marcy is sitting this one out; I don’t expect to be on the road for more than 5 hours, and I’ll be covering around 50 miles in total. My legs are feeling a bit worn out after a week of road biking, so that’s my sweet spot for today.

    Yesterday, I ventured out towards Frenchtown, but boy, the winds were giving me a hard time. The terrain was flat, but I was riding under my training heart rate to give these legs some well-deserved recovery time. Managed to squeeze in about 18 miles – not a lot, but it did the trick for a recovery ride.

    Now, I’m looking forward to the weekend, and if you don’t hear from me by the end of Monday, well, send out the state troops on ol’ Route 12 because I might be hitching a ride on a logging truck. Just kidding, but you never know where these adventures take us!

    And for those curious about the stats, here’s a quick look at my biking log:

    • Miles This Month: 118.78
    • Miles This Year: 354.85
    • Climb This Month: 8,445.06 ft
    • Climb This Year: 10,936.06 ft

    If you want to check out the route or some photos from today’s ride, head over to my website. Until next time, keep the pedals spinning and the adventures rolling!

    On This Day
  • No Flats … Death Possibly

    No Flats … Death Possibly

    Miles This Year: 336.78
    Climb This Month: 7,586.67 ft
    Climb This Year: 10,076.67 ft

    Last night’s ride marked the first time I have gone riding this year on my road bike without getting a flat. I rode to the Arlee area and back. The entire ride was 33 miles with 2,100 vertical feet of climbing and took me around an hour and a half.

    Starting at Merault’s Travel Plaza, I traveled north up the Evaro Pass and down what turned out to be a rather dangerous road. There are no shoulders, and the “death crosses” (road markings indicating high-risk areas) were all over. Additionally, I have heard of the many drunk drivers that frequent that stretch of road, which terrified me. The one thing that put my mind at ease and coated my eyes with beauty were the Mission Mountains. The air was clear, and the views were beautiful.

    On This Day
  • Fixing Flats

    Fixing Flats

    I have had the worst luck since last Friday. Friday night I went running and felt so tired I had to walk back to my car. I decided to take it easy on Saturday, maybe go with some friends on a easy ride.

    Saturday I woke up and decided to go on a ride with my friends here in Missoula. I fixed up my road bike into a Cyclo Cross Bike for this one ride because i knew there was going to be a gravel road section. Long story short, we rode up and over Deer Creek Pass via logging roads and singletrack back into town through Pattee Canyon. What is so bad about that? Broken spokes front and rear with a broke free hub body to boot.

    After bumming out all evening Saturday I decided to take Sunday off and fix the bikes up the best I could. I found a freehub body and spokes at Open Road and went to work on the bikes. The TREK frame is ruined so I made it into a singlee speed (a good climbing gear). The road bike I was able to fix completely. I found some extra time in the evening to go for a ride up pattee Canyon. Why is this bad? Try a brutal down-pour.

    Monday after a rough day at work and ate chocolate all day. Why is this bad? I went home and fell asleep … missing my hike with Marcy. Marcy would make me pay a little later.

    On Tuesday I went for a small ride to gear up for the season. I rode out towards Rock Creek and the ride was flat. The day was beautiful, a much needed break from the cold. Why is this bad? Try flatting and having to use thee credit card to get a new tube and c02.

    That brings us to last night, Wednesday. I decided to take a long road bike trip up the Blackfoot. The day was qwesome and it definately felt like spring. What is wrong with that? I can say that the rest of the evening will explain! I got to about 45 minutes out and realized that in my rush to get going from work I left the key in the door of my car and my laptop was just sitting in the front deat waiting to be stolen.

    I tried to rush back only to get anouther flat tire. I was able to finally get back to the car and took the same trip to the bike shop that i took the day before. To top of everything I got home to find that Marcy had ripped apart my $40.00 fleece slippers that I had bought last year to camp with. And there you go … she got back for not getting to go hiking on Monday.

    B I K E L O G 2005

    Total Miles This Month: 67.47 miles
    Total Miles This Year: 303.47 miles
    Total Climb This Month: 5,434.67 feet
    Total Climb This Year: 7,924.67 feet

    On This Day