I ventured to Mackay for the White Knob Challenge Mountain Bike Race, an experience I’ll cherish forever and plan to repeat. It was an incredible weekend filled with camping, racing, and unforgettable rides. The photos are a testament to the adventure!
I deeply miss Marcy, the circuit’s queen. Soon, I’ll be picking up her ashes, carrying a heavy heart.
I just heard a rumor of a 24 hour race that includes the Sheep Mountain Loop. It will be called Counting the Sheep I believe. I for one am as excited as all of you granny gear mashing freaks. I cant wait.
Last night I abandon the TNR and picked up some comfort food. Self destruction at its finest. Larry D stopped by to add to the carnage.
Good … day … where did morning go? I seem to lose time and space lately. Along with no motivation I find that my memory is shot. I cant remember names or what I just did. I am glossed over and in auto pilot.
I think it is like a movie that you take certain scenes from until it doesn’t make any sense. My companion Marcy has been taken out of my movie and nothing makes sense. I cant believe she is gone.
There is hope as I smell a BBQ coming up this weekend and a epic ride as well. Just what the doctor ordered, a race, BBQ, and singletrack weekend. Contact me for details!
Last night I set out aimlessly to pre ride legs 5 and 6 of the RMVQ. I rode from work to Check Point 4 (point six road gate) which is about 12.3 miles and took me almost an hour due to a beast of a headwind. I did not feel comfortable and wished I would of just went home.
Leg 5 runs up to the Snow Lodge on top of Snow Bowl in 6.8 miles and 2,903 feet of climbing. I figured about 45 minutes but soon I found myself in difficulty and struggled to make it in an hour and 15 minutes. Now I am thinking that the RMVQ will take longer then I thought. Maybe not even possible.
Leg 6 is the decent down to the lodge via the Beargrass Highway. It is a sweet trail and I started to regain my mojo. Finally I wanted to be there riding … just where I needed to be at that time. I started to look forward to this weekend and my friends. I descended to the Ravine Trailhead (check point 6) in a little over 44 minutes for the 11.4 downhill trek.
Not feeling very good any longer I pedaled my aching body Z(I think the loss physically beat me up) back to town and was home 10.8 miles later. In all I had trekked 41.3 miles and climbed 4,000 feet in 3.5 hours.
Tonight is TNR and this weekend is a mountain bike race (the muletrain is reportedly coming) and friends. An epic to Sheep is on tap for Sunday … who is in? Stand up and be counted!
Keep an eye out for this bike! Here is the message from Julie H.
Be on the look out for a silver Specialized Expert Mountain Bike. It was stolen yesterday from our garage sometime between 10am and 9pm. We have another report of a stolen bike from a garage on Hastings street in our neighborhood too.
Contact Me and I’ll let you know her contact info (not posted here for obvious reasons).
I would like to thank everyone for your kind words. KCooper, my sister has posted something well said and I am so impressed of her insight and choice of words. Lynn, Bob, Mom, Ronnie, Pablo, Sheepy, and all of those of you that sent me emails. Thank you for your kindness.
It is freaky to always expect to have Marcy at my feet. When I accidently drop food crumbs I have to pick it up. I don’t have to come home for lunch, but I do. It is habit, but when I get here I feel lost and don’t know what to do. When I wake up I head for the door but no one to walk.
Tonight I tried to force myself to ride. It took me until 9 PM to get going and I got in a nifty little night ride. Big Deal 14.2 miles! I have no motivation. I went up the Rattlesnake a bit and up towards Jumbo Saddle. Hopefully tomorrow I will have more motivation.
Hello from City Brew where I am feeling very alone in this western town that suddenly seems foreign to me. Today is hike day to recover from the weekend but where do I hike? Even more scary is the fact that I have not hiked alone in over 10 years. My hiking buddy has always filled the position of trail companion. Not only that and inspiring companion. We both wanted to be at the top of some mountain and we wanted to be there before the other. Without a buddy like that what is the point of even hiking at all?
Imagine the active and energetic friend in this photo, tongue white, lying limp, moments from death. Do you continue to try to help her continue to breath? Even though you don’t know what to do (maybe I could of opened her up and drained her lungs???). Or do you just hold her and look into her eyes so she will have companionship as she dies? I hope I picked the latter in time for her to be with me and not alone on the side of Interstate 90 at exit 197. Marcy has been every stretch in every state from Boston to Idaho on I90 and at 11:30 I said goodbye to my hiking buddy.
So here I am in Missoula and hiking is not in my book of things I want to do any more. Besides every trail has memories that I just cant face. The only thing I do alone is biking so I guess that is what I will do. Really, I wonder what is the point of anything?
Time to run home to find my old copy of Sim City. I know I can get lost in that game and don’t even need the outdoors. Time to leave behind reality and exist in fantasy. Who wants to be out there any way, its raining!
Thank you all for your thoughts. What is everyone doing today?
Marcy has died! At the Butte race she fell onto some stairs from above at the lodge we were hanging out in. I knew immediately something was wrong even though she walked a bit. Everyone at the lodge called frantically on the phone to find a vet but every one in Butte was gone for holiday. They called Anaconda and nothing!
So I set out for Missoula. I felt she would be just fine once we got to a doc. She started having difficulty breathing so I pulled over. She shit blood and started suffocating. I held her in the ditch trying everything I could think of. She died on the side of the road and I just got home. I wish I could go with her.
If Roland of Gilliad were here he would say, “Come come comalla! Come on down to the halla! And do 8 hours of labah!”
It’s at the clearing at the end of the path, say true. Tomorraw at 10 of the clock in the Bethany of Butte. Say true! Say true!
The mule in black fled across the great divide, and the gear slingers followed.
Cummon tet, it is Khef that we meet. Help me beat an-tet. It is ka, and ka is a wheel.
“For, what with my whole world-wide wandering,
What with my search drawn out through years, my hope
Dwindled into a ghost not fit to cope
With that obstreperous joy success would bring,
I hardly tried now to rebuke the spring
My heart made, finding failure in its scope.”~Robert Browning’s Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came
The race will be held at Homestake Lodge Cross Country Ski Area. The course is a 7 mile loop of double track and single track. It will be fast! Register at 8 AM and the race begins at 10 AM. It is only $40 bucks and you can race in teams or solo … say true! Still not to late to register [sportsbase online].
Roster as of this morning:
Oh man, I’ve gotta share how Marcy’s summer’s been going. She’s been tagging along to almost all the events, camping like a champ—probably more than most dogs could dream of. But, you know, I think she’d be over the moon if she could just run wild, feeling the breeze in her fur like I do during my races. Poor thing doesn’t get the freedom she deserves… Yet, that photo of her, absolutely love it. Okay, brace yourselves, ’cause I’m about to dive into the “8 hours of labor.”
And before you jump to conclusions, nope, I’m not actually clocking in to work. The “8 Hours of Labor” is this killer endurance mountain bike race happening in Butte, Montana this weekend. My head’s spinning with excitement, racing against time before winter makes its entrance.
But hey, that’s not all on my radar. The Mule Terra Vision Quest is just around the corner, in three weeks to be exact. It’s about time I rally the troops, calling out for volunteers and daredevils willing to take on this epic adventure. It’s gonna be one heck of a ride.
This weekend marks a milestone for me—getting back to my 24-hour solo endurance glory days. After a year of ups and downs, like totally bombing the Galena Grinder and facing setbacks in the Butte 100, I’m set on just cruising and actually enjoying the ride this time. I’m betting it all on Carbo Rocket, hoping it lives up to its rep as the nectar of the gods.
So, who’s in for this weekend? Who’s up for the vision quest? Let’s hit the trails! I’m off to grab some essentials—more meat, campfire gear, opting for a lawn chair this time… Hmm, what am I forgetting?
Feels like the clock’s ticking louder than ever with so much to get pumped about before the snow hits. Let’s make every moment count!
As the Blasi’s head off to Brian Head for the National Series Final we all want to wish Zephanie good luck in her pro race. Latch on to Georgia Gould’s wheel and don’t let go! Zephanie is currently sitting in 16th. Good speed! Have fun Chad!
Last weekend riding with everyone at Big Sky was a blast and this weekend is setting up for the same. I have three days off and plan to camp at the 8 Hours of Labor race and spend the weekend with friends camping and enjoying the mountain bike outdoors. Winter is coming folks. Ride! Ride! Ride!
Speaking of ride, I have been obsessed with this.
Boy, that was a good hike last night with Marcy, she loved it. It was nice to get out, relax, and watch the dog frolic in the woods. Who is going to tonight’s race?
Morning from Missoula, Montana! Just updated our team site with my latest race report and shared photos from a fantastic camping weekend. Pabby swung by the lodge too – hey there!
I competed in the Lone Peak Revenge at Big Sky, snagging 4th place. Kept a steady pace throughout, making it a genuinely enjoyable and solid performance. It’s been an upward trend since the Butte 100. Next up, I’m tackling the 8 Hours of Labor in Butte this weekend. Can’t wait!
The weekend highlight? Camping with awesome friends and hitting the trails on Garnet Mountain. The single track there is a blast.
Had a bit of a mishap though – my hammock snapped, sending me crashing onto a rock, back first. Let’s just say, I wasn’t quiet about it. I’m feeling the aftermath today, moving a bit slower than usual.
Who else is hitting the race this weekend?
Got a nostalgic surprise from a former ROAR teammate and friend today – a blast from the past!
While I don’t have a photo of our buddy Charles, here’s a snap of us back in our Team ROAR days, tearing up the trails and racing in Vermont. We might have looked muddy and wet, but we always had a hankering for some adventure.
We are out of Carbo Rocket … oh no! No that is not the reason for this post. Brad keys has some more on the way.
I just want to say that you are not freaking out. The web site has changed styles and colors. I had to upgrade the server side software and it broke the current theme. So this is the Drupal default.
Who cares though! Right! Its the content that counts, and what matters to me most is that I get a public place to air my shorts!
TIP: Do you want the old theme back? Log in and go to your account. You should be able to choose the old theme but be aware! Things may start looking a little funny.
So yea! There I was, cycling home after a recovery ride with my friend Garland. The air had cleared and we took a jaunt out to Miller Creek Valley. Mr G went on to do a longer ride and I headed home for some recovery when it happened. [Photo Gallery]
I hit 39th street, one of my favorite streets. I like it because it has a divider and big bike lanes. Its more like a boulevard. Champs de Higgi! I was riding without thinking, just relaxing, then something brought me out of my stupor and also the bike lane.
It was all automatic. I saw some parked vehicles and so I went around them. What I didn’t know was that I was entering the anti bike zone.
It seems that motorists hate the bike lane so much that when they see a cyclist come out of the lane they figure that the son of a bitch is fair game. So I was assaulted and at one point I thought I was going to get beat to a pulp by a bunch of angry motorists. What happened?
The Good Shepherds Children Center. 2321 39th St. 829-3404 apparently had some sort of meeting and all those rich shepherds (deduced from all the SUVs), being above the law (won’t say anything about a religion organization), parked in the bike lane. They thought, “wow, a lane just for me”.
I wonder how many cyclist put their lives in danger because of these jerks? Save the children, kill the cyclist! If these are shepherds I sure would hate to meet the wolves.
Boneshakerbike 