Pine Cone Crusher

I'm taking the Pine Cone Crusher on a weekend of trail-riding and camping this weekend.  Fresh singletrack, a cold mountain lake, and sleeping in the back of my car.  What could be better?

But this post is not about the trip.  This post is about the bike.

The PCC is a Salsa Woodsmoke carbon hardtail with a 120mm fork.  **Yawn**  Oh wait, it's got 27.5X3.0 tires tucked into sub 16-inch chainstays.  For my friends who care about this kind of stuff- I have your attention.  For the rest of you- read about the camping/riding trip in my next post...

It's a tight whip, yo.  This bike made it's debut on a weeklong trip to Sedona and it was so much fun!  I rode pretty-much all the green and blue singletrack in Sedona and about 1/3 of the single-black trails.  No double-black.  It rocked.  This thing moves to the sound of Metallica's Ride The Lightning all the time.

MISSILE TIME!!

Fresh Singletrack

There's nothing like rolling on fresh singletrack.

Get connected.

"Oh, Hell No!!"

Bernie Mac is one of my favorite actors of all time.  I can't watch his stand-up b/c it's too dirty but I like his characters in movies and TV.  I think he truly is acting when you see him in a movie- acting on his best behavior.  He used to say "Oh, Hell No!!" a lot.  God rest his soul.

I was thinking about Bernie as I rode Hell Canyon today.  I also had Hell is Coming by Phish playing in my head. And Hell, California, Pop. 4 by Love/Hate.  Hell's Bells by AC/DC.  Hell Is For Children by Pat Benatar… I think that was it...  I'm simple-minded.

Well, the good news is that Hell Canyon is a complete blast!  There is no bad news.  I'm not sure if it was designed as a MTB trail or if it just turned out really well, but it absolutely carves.  It's a short loop at just over 5 miles so a couple of laps are in order if you make the trip out there.

I rode it both ways and I prefer it counter-clockwise.  In this direction you start out with a long gradual incline through the canyon.  At the head of the canyon you turn a 180 and grunt up a steep climb that takes you out of the canyon.  Then it's all fast and flowy across the upper canyon wall and it finishes off with a fast, relatively tech-free, decent back to the TH.  It's a helluva good time!

I should've snapped a pic but I didn't think about it.  It was one of those rides where I forgot about everything but the ride.  Hell yeah!

4/19 and counting.....

I spent a good part of the day yesterday buffing out some local singletrack.  Kickin' pine cones.  Throwin' branches.  Cleaning off the mess from recent logging.

It's not one of the more popular trails in the area but it's a real beauty.  It's one of the oldest true purpose-built MTB trails in The Hills and it's always puzzled me why it hardly ever gets ridden.  Maybe it's *too hard* or maybe it's b/c it's not a loop.  Pa-shaa- there's nothing wrong with a fun out-and-back.

Anyway, I was excited yesterday evening at the prospect of riding super-clean, super-awesome singletrack the next day.  And then I woke up- literally, woke up this morning and looked out the window to the sight of three more inches of fresh snow.  #whenwillitend

I didn't ride today.  Instead I went and hiked Hell Canyon.  I've never been there, so I figured snow/rain/sleet/fog was a good way to see it.  As I hiked the trail, I daydreamed about riding it.  Then I started thinking about all the other trails I want to hit as soon as possible and as often as possible.  It's a pretty long list.

Always Love

There is a lot of fear, anxiety, threat, and darkness right now.  The whole world is waiting for the next bad headline.  The Darkness has come on us silently and secretly.

Now is the time to find something you love and embrace it.  Roll around in it and be ridiculous with it.  Cover yourself with it.  Live it.  Give it life and let it bring you life.

Depression is a horrible thing.  Worldwide Depression is Great.  But it can be overcome with Lightness.  If each of us turns a tiny bit of Darkness into Light soon the entire Planet will radiate with Brilliance.

How?

Love.  Always Love.

I'm going to ride some fresh singletrack.  Peace be with you and yours and Godspeed.

C'mon little tomato, let's Ketsup!

Thought I'd get everyone up to speed with what's happened here in the last 3 or so years.  Here goes...

I got a brand new truck with all the latest whiz-bang features.

Then it snowed...

So I went to Colorado and rode my bike.

That was nice.  I took my Fatty b/c I was in Canon City and wasn't sure if I'd see snow or not.  I didn't.

When I got home, it snowed again.

So I went to Oregon.

I rented a bike and rode it up and down the beach.  Many times.  And in many different ways.

I also rode in Hood River.  Super cool town and super fun trails all around.  I could live there happily.  Then I went home.  Guess what- it snowed.

So, I went to Arizona.

I couldn't live there.  Well... maybe.  Okay, I could.  So much super-furry singletrack.  Better than Moab.  Did I say that?

That's about it.

It snowed again today.