Winter 2010/2011

My Snowbird Season Pass was a great purchase this past summer. I had a great winter season, enjoyed some great friendships, made some new friends, and skied a fair amount as a "Full Time Employee" of one of many public companies in our struggling economy.

The winter re-affirmed that I don't necessarily love having to work, but that with some creative time management I can get a few extra days on the hill.

Yes, Snowbird is still open on the weekends through the end of May and possibly into June with the record snowfall totals, but I think I'm focused on riding my bikes instead of skiing. Who knows, maybe I'll get another day or two of skiing before the year is done.

Winter 2010/2011 totals maintained by Suunto Wrist Top Computer:

Days: 66 (21 powder days; 4 days on the Snowboard)

Runs: 616

Vertical Fee: 911,100

Backcountry Tours: 3

Ten things I appreciate from this past winter:

1. Get up early and beat the traffic on a powder day.

2. Have patience on a busy powder day while the canyon is closed and traffic is at a standstill.

3. Manage your fear and use it to your advantage creating greater focus and confidence.

4. Be creative and ski lines that do not immediately look interesting.

5. Have courage, and speak to the local attractive females at EVERY opportunity.

6. Have MORE courage if those females in #5 are rippers.

7. Straight line to get out of a tough line.

8. Know when to say, "Ten More".

9. Rocker skis are awesome for the Wasatch Front.

10. Snowbird is a big place with plenty of future opportunity to explore more skiable acres.

This past winter was great. I had a fantastic time and hope that my knees will hold up for several more years to come. I do not know what I will do if I can't ski; I love it way to much! Thanks to all who made this season a great one!

December 2010

December 2010 has been the 3rd greatest snow accumulation December in history for the Salt Lake City, UT area. In other words: It has been a great start to the ski season.

The weather forecast looks promising for the next several days. I have 14 days of skiing in this year already, and am only working 4 more days for the rest of this month.

I'll be staying in SLC for the Holiday's......skiing is great here, so why leave? Besides, home is where you lay your head at night.......Snowbird is where I call home for now! Down the road of time? Well, who knows where I'll call home!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Cycling Season Recap

This past Spring, Summer, and Fall have been good as far as cycling goes. With today being much warmer than normal for December here in SLC, UT I felt much inclined to dust off the road bike and go pedal. Excuses aside, I didn't go today after all.

With warm temperatures, and 10 days of skiing already in the bag, today my thoughts turned to biking vs. powder faceshots. Oh how I wish I could ride!

Snow is in the 10 day forecast, so my thoughts may drift back to the "White Room" before long. As such, I'll hold off from reading the latest Bike & Mountain Bike Action Magazines that arrived last week and try to maintain the correct seasonal perspective and keep turning the pages of Powder Magazine instead!

The information below is tracking from April 1, 2010 to today for Road & Mountain events.

Bikes, Drivetrains, & Impressions

I recently completed the custom build of a 2011 Specialized Enduro S-Works frame. I decided to build the bike with specific products of interest. My build is similar to the spec bike made by Specialized. It's sweet: 2011 Specialized S-Works Enduro

The people at Specialized are awesome. I was missing a needed part for the headset. In a pinch & on a Friday late in the afternoon, I was able to go visit them at their warehouse in SLC and pick up the needed part.

Major shout out to Don of Customer Service at Specialized....he is smart, helpful, and super nice. Ironically, when I shook hands with him I recognized him from a conversation we had one evening on the trail. I remember it specifically because he was riding the bike I would soon be building. We talked about it, and he raved how awesome it is....turns out that he speaks the truth!

I will always ride products made by Specialized and have for many years. Their products are the best, they have always been helpful, and they stand behind their products 100%.

My build ended up very similar to this, but with a few key differences.

Everyone in the biking world has heard about Sram and how awesome they are. I've ridden on their products for over a year now, and was so impressed that I'd build the new frame with an entire set up of XO which is new for 2011. My initial impression is excellent. Strong breaking power, clean & swift shifting, and strong but lightweight parts.

The guys at Binghams Cyclery in Sandy, UT have suggested a few times that I should try a Sram 2x10 drivetrain. I wouldn't say that I was skeptical, but I'm not always a big fan to move away from what I've grown comfortable with in the typical 3x9 drive trains we all have ridden on for years. It works, it's reliable, and proven, right?

Let me be honest. I thought to myself that if I didn't like 2x10, I'd sell it off and go back to what I was comfortable with given years of riding. No big deal!

Well, the boys at Binghams Bicycles in Sandy, UT really know what they are talking about. The 2x10 set up is AWESOME! Lighter, faster, and the ratios make much better sense.

For the first couple of rides on the new build, I intentionally rode trails I have ridden many times. The idea behind doing so was to work out the gearing ratios, compare lap times, and dial in the suspension, and work out any other fit related kinks common to a new bike.

Yesterday, on the maiden voyage ride, I rode the Corner Canyon trails in Draper, UT. As I was climbing up Clarks Trail, I felt like I was a lot slower than normal. Once I crested out, and hit the lap button on my computer, I found it was the fastest time of the season.

Maybe it was because I was excited to ride a new bike. Maybe it was because I didn't ride the day before. Maybe it was because the gear ratios were better for me and as a result I could push a larger gear without noticing it as much compared to the 3x9 set up. Obviously there is plenty of room for discussion surrounding these ideas, but I think it was because of the 2x10 drivetrain primarily.

Today's splits showed the same improvement, and on a different trail system here in SLC.

The Crankbrothers Iodine wheels are great and a bit of a risky purchase. Spendy, $950 MSRP, and totally different than most wheels on the market. The wheels are super stiff, are quick to roll, & are true after a few downhill sessions on the Bobsled trail.

Many opinions surround these wheels, but my initial impression is a positive one. I read many reviews where people would complain/cheer about the hub noise. There is no secret, it's a loud hub. In fact, it's louder than I thought it would be. I suppose I will not notice it after a while, and when I do it will serve as a reminder to pedal.

Perhaps my riding buddies will get a pair of their own, or learn to ride faster to get ahead of the noise; either way, I like the wheels.

The 2011 Fox Talas 36 RLC fork is sick! Nothing more to say because years of quality products speak loud enough.

Lastly, I'd like to give a huge shout out of appreciation to Mike at Utah Mountain Biking for taking time on Friday evening to help complete the build. For any purchases you need, buy through him & support the website and the brick & mortar shop in Lehi, UT.

Mike, thanks for helping me out with the parts order and the build! Much appreciated buddy!

Mixed Weather of Emotion!

The weather is changing here in SLC. This weekend has been rainy, cold, and windy. All 3 combinations don't add up to very good riding weather. I have to admit, I have mixed feelings to the change in the weather. Yes, on one hand, I'm excited for the change because it means skiing is right around the corner. No, on the other hand, I'm not excited about it because it has made for a long weekend of being inside and NOT on the bike. The next few days do not look very promising either.

Early this year I made it a goal to ride at least 4 days per week until the fall when the weather change makes it difficult to ride. I'm proud to say I kept my goal. Between road and mountain, I did it. Some days I'd get home from work and would not want to ride because I was tired, bored, or something else. However, I stayed motivated by the goal which I set early in the year. For every ride I left the house feeling not up to it, I returned with fantastic feelings of accomplishment and was ALWAYS happy that I got a ride in.

This is the data from the year thus far for both road and mountain combined.....so those of you that are roadies that read this can think I'm slow; and the mountain bikers will think I'm pretty fast; regardless of what you like to ride, it makes little difference to me. Fast, slow, crash, jump, downhill, XC, dirt jumps, lift served......it's all good to me! I just like the feeling of riding regardless of what discipline.

When I'm not able to ride, I find myself scrambling for things to do. Of course there is always something to do, but I find myself feeling a bit out of place if the weather beats me to the punch and keeps the wheels from rolling. The weather this particular weekend has been a challenge. I've caught up on some sleep, done needed things around the house, caught up on errands, and a few other things which is good. However, I caught site of my mountain bike this afternoon and felt really bummed out that I haven't been riding since this past Friday. Yes, some might think that is silly because it has only been a couple of days but if you are one of these, then you just do not understand.

Riding is my way of dealing with life's challenges. I hope that I will always be able to ride my bike....it keeps me young in several ways! Some friendships are surrounded by the sport, others have been failed by it, but regardless it's something that I love!

Park City Dirt Jam-"It's gonna happen"!

Today was the Park City Dirt Jam. The weather this past week was a bit rainy and cold in Park City. However, with the help of a committed team of people the event was able take place.

I went up last night and helped Tate, Derick, & Bryce pump out standing water, push dirt around, and mash in the mud. My first thought last night upon arriving at the jumps was: "There is no way this is going to happen.". In fact, I said this to Tate, who had been working for his 3rd consecutive night and had already been working for 3 hours before I arrived. He simply replied without lifting the rake off the ground, "It's gonna happen".

I arrived at the dirt jumps early this morning. Tate & I started setting things up, hanging banners, & placing tarps along the entry way (still too muddy). A short time later, Derick and Bryce showed up with some plywood to place in the transition zones between the jumps. Shortly after that, several other friends, parents, pros, PC Employees, kids, and riders appeared.

It was amazing how many people grabbed shovels, rakes, brooms, plywood, and voluntarily helped prepare the jumps after the wet conditions. It was really cool to see how a free community event brings out the best in people. The feeling of determination was in the air! The weather wasn't going to prevent this event from taking place; "It's gonna happen".

The sponsors were in full force: Red Bull, Brother's Bikes, Bern, Park City Municiple Corp., Skullcandy, White Pine Touring, Mountain Trails, Haro Bikes, and several other businesses (sorry, I can't remember all of them because there were so many). Their generosity in providing SWAG to accomodate nearly all of the 200+ that were in attendance was impressive.

Local Pro who rides for Haro Bikes, Eric Porter, was there in full support of the effort just like the past several years.



Chris Van Dine, a Cannondale Factory Rider, was also on site. He was recovering from the participation at the Red Bull Rampage held last week. Check out the video's of him at: http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Chris-Van-Dine-at-Rampage-2010,3984/bturman,109

Thanks to the sponsers, employees, and everyone else who helped make this happen! "It happened", Tate, and it was awesome!

Super Sick Saturday's (SSS)

I wish that every day was like this Saturday. I woke up early and loaded the car and headed south to meet up with my buddy, Mike. We joined up and drove into American Fork Canyon. It was a cold start, but the ride was great. We had planned on riding a new trail in the area called Mill Canyon to Mud Springs:

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/trailguides/mud-mill-lp-tg.htm

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50494052

The ride was awesome. We climbed right from the car which helped warm us up. Then, a little pressed for time, we descended down Tibble Fork Trail back to the car. Somewhere along the way, I broke a spoke on my rear wheel. No big deal, so on my way back home I stopped at Binghams Cyclery in Sandy, UT and they totally hooked me up, and quickly got me on my way.

So, I started driving home and I thought to myself: "Why am I going home...it's in the middle of the afternoon, and nothing is waiting for me at home." It was at that moment, instinct took over and I quickly made an illegal U-Turn, and headed to Corner Canyon for another ride.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50494048

I wish everyday was as good as today was!