Let's just skip to Summer shall we?

This crappy wet weather even make the multicrap, ummm... crappy. Dirt. I need to ride on it.

Sunny Arizona

I came out to Phoenix to spend some time with my folks & prepare for some new responsibilities as I help them with a fund raising project for their ministry. The time has been great as I have been able to also catch up with old friends and coworkers from when I used to live out here.

I also had a chance to ride a little as well. I shipped a bike out here ahead of me and rode a trail at South Mountain called the Desert Classic. It's been a blast. I chose to use the 1x9 while I was out here & it was a good choice. Tons of guys were riding singlespeeds, but the short climbs & rocky terrain made me happy to have a few inches of travel up front & the ability to gear down for climbs.

I unboxed the bike & rode about seven miles on the first day. It was a fun experience, the trails are WAY different from Illinois, as you might expect.

I got a chance to ride on four out of the five days I was here. The landscape is really different, and I wish that I had been a mountain biker back when I lived here.

I was supposed to fly home today, but the winter snow storms in Chicago are giving me an extra day out here. The bike is boxed up already so I won't be riding today. Soon I'll be back to cold weather riding on my rigid SS. I'll also be back to family. Whoo Hoo!

Riding trails again.

We've had a wet summer. Really wet. I've been able to piece together some trail rides over the past few months, but we've got bad wet spots on every trail around here so we get few decent trial rides in, unless you're a ninja or something. That leads to tons of limestone & road rides. Boring, but at least your cranks are turning, right?

There were some highlights though, like the dirt jam at the garden. That was fantastic & the marketing folks really got the media out there. The day was amazing.

So, after settling for the occasional KK ride, I tried Palos on Sunday. The trails were too slick so we bailed and hit the multitrack. Lame. I went out to SWK for the first time in ages today and had such a good ride. The trails are mostly in good shape. There are two trails in the park that are unridable due to water. It was so good to rail singletrack again and have to actually think about each turn as it comes up in order to not crash.

We've got the Meltdown and PBP Dirt Jam coming up and I hope we'll have a dry autumn. I want LOTS of riding time on dirt.

Sweet Sweet Spring.

The trails have been so sweet. Looks like rain is coming soon. Get out and sneak in more riding time if you can.

In a funk

Bad weather is rolling in so a ride tomorrow is unlikely, and I've only been riding sporadically as it is. It was a good day though. Spent time with the extended family, then my wife successfully managed a meltdown from the lil'un. He was right as rain by the time we were three minutes into our drive. Not bad.

Did a little riding...

We had great weather over the weekend, so I headed out with Baudler and Jake to shoot a few pics in Lemont. I see how folks can get into this photography thing. These are the best out of my pile of lousy shots. Now I want to get back out and take better ones...