You know, I’ve been thinking – wouldn’t it make sense to slap a tax on fireworks? Let those who buy ’em contribute to fixing the havoc they wreak. There’s a silver lining to the recent blaze on Mount Sentinel, despite the chaos: we’ve got a shot at breathing new life into the mountain. Previously, it was a battleground for noxious weeds, but now, there’s hope for rejuvenation.
Julie Huck, from the comfort of her back deck, managed to capture the unfolding drama like no one else.
Last night, while updating my mom about life returning to normal and my racing plans, she mentioned their upcoming visit next week. I adore having visitors, but it does complicate my racing schedule and adds stress.
Then, chaos struck. My landlady burst in, yelling about a fire. Rushing outside, I saw Mount Sentinel ablaze, the fire cresting over its peak around 11 PM. The news had a vivid account by Tristan Scott from the Missoulian.
He described the fire’s relentless climb, consuming everything in its path. A hiker on the “M” trail recounted seeing black smoke and calling a firefighter friend for advice, leading to a hurried descent. Amidst this, some residents felt the mist from firefighting helicopters, a surreal touch during the escape. Wildlife also scrambled for safety, a stark reminder of the fire’s indiscriminate threat.
Observers from across Missoula watched the firefighting efforts unfold, from concertgoers in Bonner Park to baseball fans at Ogren-Allegiance Park, all fixated on the battling against nature’s fury.
For further details, Scott’s full coverage can be found on the Missoulian’s website.
References:
Check out this article! And friends think I am fibbing when I say someone tried to kill me today.
Today finds me in a state of profound fatigue, the sweet aftertaste of last night’s monumental ride still lingering. The journey was not just a test of endurance but a step closer to realizing my Vision Quest—a quest that led me to chart a new leg aptly named Holloman.
The Route to Holloman
The adventure began with a ride out to Clinton, taking the road until it met with Schwartz Creek Road. The climb to Holloman Saddle was both a challenge and a promise of the vistas that awaited. From the saddle, I pushed northward, running the ridge to Miller Peak—an ascent that tested both my resolve and my appreciation for the rugged beauty of our landscapes.
Journey Back Home
From Miller Peak, the return was marked by a descent into familiarity, following the Solstice Ride route with an added twist of single-track riding in Pattee Canyon. This part of the journey, while physically demanding, offered a solitary peace, a moment to reflect on the miles traversed under the twilight sky.
The Numbers Tell a Story
Last night’s expedition was a feat by any measure: a 4-hour journey stretching over 58.5 miles, with an elevation gain that soared to 4,500 feet. It was an adventure that pushed the limits of my endurance and deepened my connection to the trails that weave through our wild landscapes.
Resources and Reflections
For those intrigued by the paths taken and the trails conquered, here are the maps that charted my course:
As I sit here, muscles aching and heart full, I’m reminded of why we ride—not just for the physical challenge, but for the stories we gather along the way, the landscapes we honor with our passage, and the personal quests we inch closer to completing.
In the quiet of today’s recovery, I’m already plotting the next ride, the next challenge, the next chapter in this ongoing adventure.
Until the trails call again …o/o
Here is a photo of my friend Paul enjoying his new Leader in our top secret riding loop. Any guesses? I went into hiding on Thursday and even my dog did not know where we were. She was being held in a fence in Lolo Montana being interrogated by skunks. Really, my entire house smells like skunks now. She did not give up our location and the feds could not find me or my friends Sten, Paul, and Ronnie.
In all we covered about 90 miles of the greatest single track known to man kind. The only other people that ride this area is some Bitterooters and 3 martens that cant get enough of earth biking. I had my doubts early on as a secret plan to unravel our weekend was hatched by brain washing Sten into believing that a big storm would ruin our weekend. The plan did not work and we stayed in seclusion.
When we were not honing our mountain biking skills on some real technical single track and scree piles we were hitting the camping scene hard. I had my hammock up and sten brought some fire wood (along with other play toys). We sat, bitched about roadies, did some market research on some new team slogans, ate about six thousand pounds of meat, and swam in a custom ice cold Jacuzzi.
Well, it is over and we are back. I got my dog out of hock and now I am trying to fit back into civilization … which sucks!
Last night I set a new milestone in my mid life racing career come back. This also marks the point at which I have recovered from my stint at the time trial circus where I specialized in head stands and top tube pummel horse. My ankle still looks like a big spud and I still take naps but my form and power on the bike has returned (unless grilling braughts at lunch are a new form of secret performance).
Now for the chest beating! I climbed University Mountain in 27:17.5 at an average of 169 BPM. Keep in mind I am ten steps from a retirement home at 42 years of glorious age. In my stud days I could say that 179 was my anaerobic threshold. The climb is 1,500 vertical feet in 3.69 miles, a recepie for putting on the hurt. Here is the map ==> http://tinyurl.com/6pqt57
Now I am leaving town! I must go underground before the US Government finds out about my special powers. I will be hiding out at Painted Rocks Lake, camping, and riding epic single track in the Bitterroot. I am planning on taking a couple dudes and riding Blue Joint, Porcupine Ridge, and other trails near the Lost Trail area.
Have a great weekend and keep the tread in the dirt!
My friend Paul and I have been back for a few days now but I am finally getting to uploading the video and photos. It was truly an epic trip and we rode pretty much all the trails at the Galena Lodge. We discovered that we only touched the tip of the sword though as there are so many opportunities to ride new trails in the Galena Valley that it would take someone three years riding pretty much all the time to cover them all. A return trip is needed I am afraid.
Last night I did Leg 11 and Leg 12 to CP 12 (Swinging Bridge). I took some shots for my Photo Gallery and for the map and even started a page. I left late and got home around 10 so I am dead tired today. Turns out Leg 12 is 11.7 miles and all downhill. I can not believe all the hairpin corners on the Woody Mountain Downhill (backwards). The swinging bridge was much more scary that I remember. Specially with the high water. I saw the bear that belongs to the tracks that the Thursday Night Ride saw last weekend. My first bear sighting for 2008.
Tonight is the Thursday Night Ride and I am super excited because Paul rides his new rig for the first time. Better take my camera. Anyone want to go?
It is sunny out and in the 70s finally and it looks like the snow will melt before my friend Paul arrives for his visit to Missoula.This weekend I was out “training” for his term here. We will be camping and biking a lot so that is what I did. After pre riding a race course at the Discovery Ski Area it was evident that the weekend was a wash so I showed up at my friend Garland’s cabin door looking for adventure. First, though, I had to wait for him to get back from fishing!
A couple beers and some in depth discussion about 24 hour and endurance racing we were all dozing off to single track dreams. The next morning we headed out for Moose Creek Road over by Skalkaho Pass. We parked and went up every trail we could find. We started out with some single track to a Wilderness Boundary. then we discovered that the other trail heads in the area were posted as no mountain biking. So we hit the Jeep Trails.
We found this one that went skyward towards the west and, well, that one has to be finished later. As we found out the day before when you climb up a little you hit snow. Deep snow!
Towards the end of the day we discovered the motherload. It is a trail with many opportunities off of it and it appears to be a main snow machine trail. We had to give up on it though as we ran out of time. I now have in mind some exploring in the Pintlers. I’ll be back!
I assumed it did not happen until I got results in my inbox this morning. I can’t believe the promoters put this thing on. It is not only dangerous for the racers but for our relationship with the Forest Service. I met with the two promoters (Pete maybe)(one of which was riding a sweet “Fatty Bike”), Garland T, Zephanie Blasi, Rich Chandler, and a guy I think named Thadeus. We racers decided it was too dangerous for bike and body. We recommended that we get refunded and that they consider canceling the race. None of us (Garland, Zephanie) showed up the next day because we assumed that it would never be held. If anything racers would refuse to race. I guess, at least for me, I was wrong. Like sheep going to slaughter. Stay tuned for footage on Sundays mountain bike adventure.
Hunting for bear ground that is. Last nights edition of the Thursday Night Rides included some dirt, some mud, and a lot of slushy snow. We have been enduring winter weather and last night we entered into the aftermath with determination and dedication to … well, I don’t know what. Maybe the loop just had to be completed this time around and by god we did it!
It all started out innocent enough. I send out an email in hopes no one is interested in the ride. I get back responses that, hell yeah, we are riding. So I show up thinking that maybe it will be ok. We head up Marshall Canyon Road and it is not long we take our relationship to the comfortable logging road climb. We mozy and we chat … well everyone else did. Some comments as I passes a few folks … “I have never done Lolo Peak, how high is that?” … “where do I get one of those?” For me, I was trying to keep the heart rate down and rest up from some kind of cold.
I trudged on so that I could measure the “Leg 11 : Marshall Ski Area” of my vision quest. So I kept the death march to the top of the hike-a-bike. It was almost impossible to keep the front tire moving because the snow was very sticky. My plan was to get to this point, get the stats off my bike computer, and ride back down to the group. To my horror I looked back down the trail and saw the group hiking there bikes up to me. Shit! Looks like the troops want to finish this loop.
While waiting for them I meet up with a grizzly who was just as grouchy as I was. It asked, “aren’t you the grizzly man?” I acknowledged and struck a deal with it to scare everyone back down the trail so as to avoid what I knew would be a cold and sketchy decent down Mid Tower. I gave it one of my cliff bars as payment and then it just up and ran off. Dirt bag ripped me off!
I awoke face first in the snow as I heard Josh’s laughter down the hill. I sat up disoriented. It all came back to me, how I gone anaerobic pushing a bike through heavy snow until I topped out and passed out. I quickly gathered myself just as the troops caught up to me. We would now find our way down Mid Tower. On our way we found some bear tracks …. hmmmm.
The ride down was the worse. Cold raging water, no brakes, and slippery slush kept things interesting. I think Josh was one that found themselves on the ground. I crossed the little stream at the bottom of the decent and my feet came out in blocks of ice. Brrrr. I was so cold the rest is a blur. I some how drove home and soaked in the tub until I could feel my feet and toes. Just another hypothermic Missoula ride. Where is summer? Where is the bear ground?
It seems my energy drink mix might not be the culprit for my struggle two days ago. Even with plain water last night, I couldn’t push past an hour of pedaling. It felt like the longest hour ever, especially since I was riding indoors due to the relentless winter weather in Missoula. It’s unusual for Mount Sentinel to have snow in June, let alone snow that accumulates over three days.
Despite the cold and rain this Thursday morning, it’s group ride night. I checked in with everyone, and it looks like some are up for our scheduled ride. So, I’ll be there too, with my snow bike, prepped for snow, mud, and raging streams. Hoping I don’t bonk after 45 minutes like last time. My heart rate data this morning seems promising.
Now, the question is, who gave me this cold? I’m on a mission to find out!
I recently tried a new energy drink called CarboRocket. It worked pretty well and what was so appealing was the simple list of ingredients. Maltodextrin, fructose, and sea salt. One day I was in the Good Food Store and saw a bin for Redmond Sea Salt, which is one of the ingredients. Just for kicks I looked for pure fructose and maltodextrin. I found them and had purchased them in hopes of playing with my own formula.
I mixed two to one maltodextrin to fructose and a dash of sea salt yesterday and headed out for a 1 hour spin. Just a recovery spin, nothing special. Well folks, lets just say that we should leave the drinks to the pros. My concoction messed up my blood sugar so bad I bonked 1/2 hour into the ride and nearly passed out. I barely got home before passing out on the couch where I slept until I got a phone call later last night.
So my next move will be to get some more CarboRocket and leave this sort of thing up to Brad Keys and his new drink. Oh yea, I am not ready to give up on Cytomax with its lactic acid buffers and all.
Greetings from Missoula, Montana, where I’m diving back into routine after a fantastic weekend filled with all my favorite activities: camping, campfires, racing, and road trips. Coming off an injury from a bike race accident in Great Falls, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it all turned out great.
The camping trip was incredible, with my friend Alden and Garland, who secured our spot. Our adventure began with a visit to a Brew Pub in Salmon, followed by setting up camp in the snow. Despite the chilly start, the campfire warmed us up, setting the stage for a memorable evening.
Waking up with a sudden sore throat, likely from allergies, I felt out of place as my friends prepared breakfast and I stuck to my usual pre-race meal, sipping coffee to ease my throat. That day marked my first pro race since moving up a category.
The race felt different this year, initially leaving me disappointed. However, once it began, the fast pace challenged me, especially since my heart rate was lower than usual, indicating my health wasn’t 100%. Despite this, I managed to stay with the lead group.
As the race progressed, it became clear I couldn’t catch the leading Trek rider. I struggled on the descents, losing ground but managed to maintain third place, constantly checking for competitors behind me.
Entering the second lap, I focused on defending my third-place position, but surprisingly, I closed the gap on the climb. Although I was passed again on the descent, I kept up, learning to navigate technical sections faster.
By the third climb, I had overtaken Dave and gained a significant lead. My climbing form was excellent, and newfound confidence on descents helped me secure second place.
Determined to close the gap to the leader in the final lap, I climbed well and descended quickly, finishing just over a minute behind the first-place rider—a result I was thrilled with.
My friends also had a successful day, with Larry, Alden, and Joe each taking first in their categories, and Garland finishing strong. It was a weekend of overcoming challenges, learning, and sharing victories, complete with matching medals for Todd and me.
Tonight I went out on a training mission on the Trek (my mudder). The bike has crap parts and a cheap $99 fork but it climbed like a goat and descended with confidence. I was so taken back by how great the bike felt I had to do some comparison riding when I got home. Lets just hope I am in good shape because there is no way I can afford a Trek OCLV frame. I cant use this frame because my current parts specially the Stan’s wheels would not transfer to a non-disc brake frame. For now I will chalk it up to good form and a wait and see attitude. I will be able to compare if I EVER get to ride my leader. I mean it has rained almost every time I have been outside for a long long time. I have rode my good bike maybe 4 times this year so far.
Good morning Hello from a rainy, cold, and “see your breath” day. You know days like this make everything seem dismal and the mood is awful. Drivers want to run over cyclists and the cyclists don’t even want to be out there, drinking in the grimy road water spraying off their front tire. And … when it is wet and rainy, there is no room for a flexi-cast wrap thingy on my foot. If I get it wet I must cut it off and have the doc re-work another and that cost $65 bucks. So why not cut the damn thing off for good?
Its day 2 without my cast and last night I went Hiking with Marcy on the Orange Street Trail. Tonight I plan a mud-fest short track mountain bike bru-ha-ha. Tomorrow is the Thursday Night Ride with the annual post-moab biker party at a friends house. Hmmmm …. what should I bring?
Hey, today is Out To Lunch and Fat Tire & Sean Kelly’s Missoula Cruiser Tour!
11 hours, 111 miles, 11,000 feet of climbing in two days of epic mountain biking. Can you say hell yea! Thinking today is a good day to take off (need laundry bad) I am blogging to you today from a sunny Missoula. Last night I embarked on another mountain bike journey and it did not disappoint. I posted photo in my Photo Gallery.
I took off from work around 5PM and at first I felt a little fried so I stopped by a friends house to try and gain a riding mate. Attempts failed and I set out on my own. By the time I got to my first destination the Ravine Trail Head (or CP 6 on my vision quest) I was feeling randy and I was enjoying the ride immensely.
I rode over to the Rattlesnake and down the Curry Cabin Trail. From the Rattlesnake I climbed up to Jumbo Saddle and did the Sidewinder as well. I finished off the night climbing towards Blue point on the East side of Marshall Canyon (the ski area).
I arrived home to record 5 hours for 45.1 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing. So the last two days have been a test, a test to see if I still had the endurance it takes to do long races. I say yes, say true … 11 hours, 111 miles, 11,000 feet of climbing!
Boneshakerbike 