Tour of Utah

A few weeks ago, I was mountain biking in Park City with my brother and some other friends. While on the trail we met Morgan Schmitt. Turns out Morgan rides professionally for the United Health Care team. He is a very talented rider, and one of the nicest cyclist I have ever met. It was fun keeping track of his performance throughout the Tour of Utah. http://www.tourofutah.com/

Morgan himself:

This year's field was world class. George Hincapie was there, but crashed in the early stages and abandoned the race. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hincapie-in-first-phase-of-recovery-after-tour-of-utah-crash

Levi Leiphimer, the eventual winner of this years race, was also there. True to form following the Leadville 100 MTB race where he set a new course record, he won the "Toughest Stage Race in North America". http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/08/news/leipheimer-versus-the-world-at-tour-of-utah_134583

Taylor Phinney of the Trek/Livestrong Development team was also there. He is much bigger than many of the other riders.

Well, another year has come and gone. The Tour of Utah is just another reminder. Memories of Park City Main Street will remain vivid as an enjoyable venue to watch the Criterium. I captured some great photos, and enjoyed meeting up with an old friend from college.

Riding

Spring has been pretty good so far. Only a few days of rain, and a pretty good 10 day forecast coming up. Thus far, for April I averaged 3 days per week of riding. May was a little better at least up to this point. A few motivators that help include the following.


First I bought a new road bike.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=45812&eid=4951&menuItemId=9257


My old bike is nice, but this one is super nice and I figured it was an okay gift to myself for tough times of past.

Second, I love riding with my new GPS. Garmin Edge 705 has some fantastic abilities and it's fun to connect to the website and keep track of all the statistics.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=160&pID=10885#

Lastly, I want to ride a century ride this summer. One I've considered in the past is the called the U.L.C.E.R. It's a ride around Utah Lake, and it would be fun to do. I've tried to recruite some friends, but at this point, I may go it alone. It is scheduled for August 7th this year.

Other motivators include some good friends that are fun to ride with, developing new friendships surrounded by riding, fitness, & mountain bike racing.

The most motivating of them all is: kicking Derick's, Tate's, Mike's, Scott's, Dennis', and the rest of the crews' butt AGAIN while riding up Puke Hill and the entire Wasatch Crest Trail.

SLC Supercross 2010

The AMA Supercross stopped in SLC for round 16 this past weekend. It was another fun Supercross experience. Hanging out with family and friends made this cold and wet Saturday evening memorable. The weather for the pits was cooperative, and as racing began, the weather turned to rain and didn't let up the entire night.

My nephews are well versed in Supercross. They know more of the riders than I do. I couldn't help but laugh when I asked Tragun who the riders were by their numbers.....he knew them and would correct me if I was wrong. Great times and fun memories!

http://www.supercross.com/race-results/ama-supercross-race-results/round-16-amafim-supercross-series-2010-salt-lake-may-1

Bike Trip & Zion NP (Spring 2010) plan

I will be venturing out on a solo mission as a weekend warrior to gain some introspection this spring. I've done many solo trips, and I always come back with a clear focus and renewed determination.

I'm putting together tentative plans for a mountain bike, and hiking trip in the Zion NP area of Southern Utah.

Bike Ride 1:

Bike Ride 2:

Bike Ride 3:


The plan is to ride in the morning and early evenings. I'll ride these trails a few times while I'm in the area. During the day, I'll do the scenic hikes in Zion NP and visit all the 'must see' sights that are easy to access from the road. I've never been to Zion NP, but from what I hear it is quite the place. I'll post pictures to prove the areas I visit.

Following this trip (since the main focus is to bike), I'll be coming back a couple weeks later and backpacking the West Rim in Zion NP. It will be a weekend trip, involving a commercial shuttle unless I'm lucky enough to hitch-hike a ride (or have a friend in the area to give me a lift to the trailhead).

I will post photographs along the way in Blogs to come.

This is only the beginning of the adventures that await me this summer. Others will include more biking, peak-bagging, backpacking, and whatever else I decide to do. This summer will be making up for lost time, and attaining adventure goals I've had for a couple of years. Should be fun!

Skiing, White Rim Trail, Life's challenges, and the unexpected

Okay, yeah I know, it's been a long time since I've posted. A lot of things have happened in the past several months, but only some of them are worth posting.

This winter has been the poorest snowfall year since I moved to Utah 7 winters ago. However, I'm still trying to make a dent in the number of days spent on the hill. I miss the days whereby I was skiing 100+ days a season. However, the cost of the "American Dream" limits the number of days I get to ski. So far this year, it's not been too many but I've made the best of what I've had.

New this year, I thought I would keep a log of the days I ski with the information recorded on my Suunto Wristop Computer (watch). Here is what I've done so far. Keep in mind I have about 5 to 6 more weeks of skiing at the resorts until places close for the winter; and most importantly and the highlight of the season, Snowbird with the Peart family is still ahead. I have the entire week off, and plan on skiing everyday!

I road the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP, Utah. It was a blast. Great company, and fun memories. I guess trips really are "once in a lifetime". Not because I can't do this trip again, but the company probably will not be the same given many reasons. Nonetheless, it was a great trip; one I'm happy I was able to participate in.

Someone once said, and as cliche' as it sounds, "The only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty". I have come to understand this more than any other time in my life. I suppose I'm okay with it, but to be honest, I just wish it wasn't this way.

However, I know the uncertainty in my life is what deepens my character as a person. I'm a good man, with tremendous talents, incredible kindness, and remarkable courtesy. Someday, people that once knew me will look back at life and recognize their mistakes.

As baseball players do, I too will stand in the batters box of life and continue to swing at the curveballs that life can throw. I'll go down swinging!

As Tom Petty sings, "It is Time to Move On".

George Strait

Last night was fantastic. I went to Usana Amphitheater to see George Strait. It was great! Over the years I have seen a lot of different performances, but I have never had the chance to see him. They played for nearly 2 hours and it was a great show! It was fun to see his band members; most of them have been with him nearly the entire time he started his music career in the 80's. For a man born in 1952 to put on such a fun concert, it was worth the cost.

Sold!

As most of you know, my house has been up for sale since January 2009. This past week, it finally sold. Considering all that is going on in my life, I suppose that this is fantastic news. It seems that things are just working out and falling into place. I have mixed feelings about selling my home, but it is the right thing to have done and I'm relieved that the stress of doing so is over.

Onto a new chapter in my life!