Why yes! It is over 100 degrees here now daily. It's not bad, though. Not as bad as you might think. It's probably easier to adapt to than 20-30 below zero. At least we can still go out and not have to protect our entire body against the elements. To that end, here's some of our latest doings in the big city - they include hikes at Red Rock preserve, a birthday stay at Planet Hollywood, birthday parties at Voodoo Lounge at Rio, night club evening at Rok Vegas at NYNY and pool time at M Resort at Daydream pool:

Throw in a quick little trip to Hollywood, and it's weekend getaway!

It was hockey time in Anaheim! Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi-finals, Red Wings/Ducks. Red Wings won the game handily and we had a great time. There were lots and lots of Wings fans present. Though we paid too much for tickets, it was well worth it and I would go again in a heartbeat. We found good rates on a hotel in Huntington Beach, CA, where the weather was mild and the beach was close (as in, out the door!)

We recently went to Death Valley National Park in California, just over the Nevada border, so quite close to us, maybe 1.5 hours drive or less. It's the lowest place in the US with some very unusual rock formations. We didn't get a chance to explore everything, but here's what we did see:

Some recent bike photos, all at Cowboy Trails in Las Vegas, NV:






:

Been a while

I don't post here any more. I've found some use for MySpace, so I've been blogging there, though I have to admit, it's not as good. You can't really add pictures to your blog which for a visual person like me, makes more sense. If I have something cool to blog about with pics, like riding and trips, I'll post those here.

In Vegas news...

New Mexico, that is! I wonder if this would fly in Nevada? Hmmm.....

LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Jessie Vigil's black-and-white car sports a red-and-blue emergency bar across the top and the word "police" painted on the doors. Vigil, however, isn't a cop. Law enforcement agencies say what he's done with his car isn't illegal as long as he doesn't act like a police officer.

Link meet Title

This MUST be true for it's in the News....

PARIS (AFP) - Short people should pray for a return to the Seventies fashion of stack heels, for the power of jealousy depends on how tall you are, the British weekly New Scientist says.

The rest is linked in the title.

Live in Concert

We went to see Live at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. What a great show! It's such a great venue for a concert. It seats only a few thousand - at best - but our concert was all general admission. It was more like a bar performance than a concert but nontheless, there it was. Check them out here by linking the title to their site.

2 Minutes to Midnight

I've grown a new affinity for old music. This one is very poignant considering the times we are still living in. As much as things change, in reality, they never do:


Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
The Golden Goose is on the loose
And never out of season
Some blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death.

CHORUS
The killer's breed or the demon's seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain,
But don't you pray for my soul anymore.
2 minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb.

The blind men shout let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers
The napalm screams of human flames
Of a prime time Belsen feast...YEAH!
As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat and lick the gravy,
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies.

CHORUS

The body bags and little rags of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remain to put the finger right on you.
As the madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song,
To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun.

CHORUS

Midnight, midnight, midnight
Is all night

Midnight, midnight, midnight
Is all day

Midnight
All night

"The Fountain" explained

I saw this movie at the theaters but I didn't really understand it until recently. I think I finally figured it out and if you have not seen it, you may not want to read this first:

So, follow the bouncing ball...

We've been watching this cool new show on Showtime called "Californication" with David Duchovney (aka Fox Mulder) and in that show he has a tattoo on his ring finger to, I assume, demonstrate his dedication to the show's female main character whom he never married. So it got me to thinking that maybe I should do this because as a massage therapist, I never wear my ring anymore. In the movie "The Fountain", after his wife dies, the main character takes an ink quill that his wife had given him and tattoos a ring on his finger. Earlier in the movie, his ring is lost after removing it for surgery. So thinking of all this one day inspired me to dream about "The Fountain" and I solved the puzzle of how the movie ties its three distinct time periods together and what it all means. See, the tattoo is significant because it tells you that the person of the future and the present are the same man and that when he pledges to find a cure for death, he in fact does through ingestion of the tree bark (the Tree of Life). But the tree begins to die and he takes it to Shebulba for, what? Rejuvenation? That's not clear. What's also not clear is the reason for the other tattooing. I speculate it could be for all the wives this man has had or all the ages he's lived. Either way, it's obvious that death is the ending to his "story" but he only realizes it at the end and at the direction of his dead wife whom he is still haunted by either in his own mind or his physical world. The story of the Conquistador is her fictional tale which inspires and directs him ultimately into closing the circle, the ring if you will, of life and death.

The odd part is that I figured this all out in a dream. Crazy...

:)

Snowy pix

We got a bit of snow here around 4000' or so and I was able to get into it on the trail. Here's a few shots. It's seemed like spring lately though as it's been raining a lot and the temp has gone up some.

In odd news, there was a fire at the Monte Carlo on the roof. There has not been much forthcoming info about it, but it sure looks ugly! Luckily, no one was hurt and as far as I know the hotel is back in operation. It appears that there is some water damage to the top floors where the suites are, but hey, at least people are still gambling :)

My New Year's Wish

To all my family and friends, near and far, my sincerest wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year! I hope you all find a little grace in each and every day. I hope you all put fear and worry behind you. I hope you fulfill a few more dreams this year and make some more for next. I hope you see new places and meet new people. I hope you hear your favorite song every day, find time for your favorite restaurant and don't miss that big game (whichever it may be!). Remember to love, live and dream each and every day!

Keep the rubber side down!

Some more random pics done while biking

The Grand Canyon

We went to the Grand Canyon in AZ over the Christmas holiday season. Crystal's parents came to visit and we booked a tour that included air travel to the Canyon, land, air and water tours while there. We were hosted by the Hualapai tribe for lunch where they've built the Skywalk (we didn't do the Skywalk-too much extra money. Check that out here: http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/). After that, we took a helicopter tour down to the Colorado river and then rode a boat along the water. It was cold that day, but an enjoyable tour nonetheless. Here are some random pictures from the day. As always, they get bigger if you click on them.

Some random pics

These pics all get big if you click on them:





Tiger Claw!




You mean ME?



Yes YOU!


All dressed up:



Paris Hotel from the Strip at night:

Have you discovered the Morph?

pics of biking in Vegas

Looking north into Red Rock canyon, this is the start of the trail labelled "3 miles of smiles". It's a long downhill run to the parking lot and it is fun, fun, fun.


These Joshua Trees are really cool. Sort of a desert Xmas tree.


Red Rock Canyon


Gratuitous bike shot:


I went back to this area a few days ago and the smoke from CA has settled into the valley. You can hardly see any of these features from these vantage points now. It makes for some cool sunrise/sunsets though.

I got it!

My license was issued by the state on the 25th, for those of you keeping score at home. How stoked am I?

SUPER

New updates

Just wanted to get an update in since it's been so long.

I still have not received my license from the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy. My application was filed in early August. But, I do know that things are moving along; I have received some correspondence from them this week and one of my listed references has noted that he got something from them as well. It shouldn't be long now. At least they have not forgotten about me. It's been a frustrating process and had I known then what I know now, I would have done things much, much differently.

The weather here has turned incredibly beautiful lately. The high temps broke about mid Sept and it's been pleasant ever since. Fall is in the air, even though it still hits about 80* during the day. There has been snow in the surrounding mountains already, up above 11,000'. Too bad for you suckers in CO - it's gonna be winter soon! :)

Finally...biking!

Met up with a guy from MTBR and got a ride in at Bootleg Canyon (http://www.bootlegcanyon.org/). What a cool place. You'll be seeing more of me out there as the weather takes it's turn to "cooler"...you know, like the 90s and, dare I say it, 80s?!!!

las vegas update

It's been a hectic month with the move and all, but we're finally settling in and getting on with life. Probably one of the most harrowing things about moving to a new state is all the change of address and I.D.s that is required. We've had to jump through a variety of hoops in order to acheive any sense of progress. It is frustrating to say the least and living in a city with 2 million people makes offices busier and lines much longer. In order to be a massage therapist, I've had to apply for a state license, which while being $300, takes 4-8 months to receive. They do allow people to work for 90 days on a temp license, but hold that application for 30 days after receiving it (to fill the gap on the 4 month wait). In the meantime, I was offered a job at the Oleans Casino Spa. Currently, I'm waiting for that damned license to come back to start working. On top of that, the state of North Carolina has put a hold on driver's license for tickets I received (and cleared!!!!) over 10 years ago (they want $50 - hey, isn't extortion illegal? Oh yeah, not if a gov't does it!). On top of that, I needed to get a health card to be a CMT (shots for TB and Hep A- $50) and a new Social Security card (haven't needed that in YEARS). All in all, we've spent hours upon hours at various NV gov't offices (and we're not done yet!).

In the meantime, we've been going out to the local hotspots a lot and have learned how to work the system, getting in free just about everywhere and often drinking with discounts, coupons or other such charity (bartenders love to share!). We went to one show, La Reve at Wynn. It was FABULOUS! Highly recommend it. It's been too hot to really get out into the mtns and trails yet, but it's starting to slowly cool off. It makes the pool a popular destination. So far, we've gone to Studio 54 at MGM (2X), Light at Bellagio (2X), Caramel at Bellagio (2X) and House of Blues at Mandalay Bay (2X). This really only scratches the surface of what's here, but it's a good start, IMO. Here's some random pics from those evenings:







Recently, we took a trip up to Rachel, NV, the famed home of Area 51. It's a remote place and the entire town is populated by only 98 people. There's not much to do there, but it's a novelty, kinda like Leadville in Colorado. Here's some pics - sorry, no UFOs on this trip!



Check out the City of Loveland sticker on this sign! How funny! We didn't do it, though :)



Any kind of alien souvenier you can think of is sold at this place. It's the town hotel/bar/casino/restaurant/camping site. They do it all!



Nothing but blue sky in Nevada.

All packed up!

Well...mostly anyway. It was a busy day of packing and spending one last day with friends and neighbors. We'll be off for Las Vegas tomorrow, with a night stop in UT, just to minimize over travelling and being too tired to function once we get there...

:)

Recent weather pics

Recently...Hiking!

A trip from the Poudre Canyon

Birthdays!

Last month we celebrated our birthdays. Crystal got some flowers from my Mom. I got some sweet bike shorts by Oakley...and we went out and partied.

July Updates

So, in June, we were going to announce our moving to Las Vegas, but I'm behind (as usual) and we really just told everyone in April at my sister's wedding in Ohio. So, the cat was out of the bag a long time ago (sorry, Jen, I know you were hoping for some "other" news!).

So we're well on our way and with only a week left before we move, the house is full of boxes and there's hardly any food left to eat or clothes to wear! The best news is that I passed my National Certified Massage exam, so now I'm ready to work in Vegas as a therapist. Jobs there are plentiful (maybe because it's 111 degrees! Who can say?).

Next update will be from Sin City where we'll be frantically trying to find an apartment. Don't forget to make plans to visit!

On the agenda:

March 11th - Daylight Savings Time begins! We're getting about a month extra in 2007 which bodes well for "after work" riding.

In April, we're heading home for Lynde's wedding (hopin' to get a ride in!). Crystal has not been back since we went for Thanksgiving, the year we moved to CO (five years ago).

Also, in April, Me and Ivan and some of his friends are going to Fruita for some riding - maybe this will happen in May, nothing is set in stone yet. Ivan, if you read this, we need to nail down some details! :)

Something big is coming in June, but I'll leave it as a suprise for now...

Wings over Denver

We did catch a Wings game in Denver in January. More photos linked in the title:

They've changed the Blogs now so that you can click on a photo for a larger version. Very cool...the photos always were a bit disappointing.

It was a good game...scoring was back and forth, we had excellent seats, right on the glass near the penalty box. The Wings won in a shootout. It's amazing how many Detroit fans live in and around Denver. You'd think Detroit and Dever were in the same state! I lament for my hockey days and miss it a bunch.

Back from the Wilderness

Man, winter is the pits, huh? We all that snow in the beginning and now it's just been cold. I have not been able to ride in at least two months (I think it's more like three). The good news is that a new Gold's Gym went in in town and Crystal and I have been working out there 5-6 days a week since late Dec. It keeps me sane...luckily, too, I've been able to attend Spinning (though that's proprietary, so it's just "cycling") class to keep up the bike muscles!

Some recent pix for your perusal...

About Bo Schembechler and Michigan Football

I suppose I should mention something about all the goings on, now that it's been two weeks and I'm over it. The holiday in between was a good distraction.

I was very sad about Bo's death having watched him and Michigan football for years growing up. It's really an ingrained part of my life.

So we watched the game with anticipation and it was a classic battle. Michigan really held their own and I think could have won it (they only lost by 3 points). I'm kinda bummed that football season has almost come to a close. In our home, there are two teams, the Wolverines and the Razorbacks, so we still have hopes for Arkansas winning the SEC against Florida. After that, we'll just be waiting for the bowl games like everyone else. Either way, It was a good season for both teams and the first year I've watched so much football in a long time.

Sacred Numbers

If you want to know what they mean, ask. It is important, though that they be here.

The numbers and identification symbols are as follows:

447689001: six silver bands of light surrounding a golden egg

380905224: a blue lotus flower suspended in the starry vault of Orion

105802291: a white rose as seen from directly above the center point of its full blossom, containing 72 petals with a diamond at the point of each petal

778540211: the Emerald Tablet of Thoth radiating fire letters of gold from the polished surface of the emerald stone

America: Freedom to Fascism

Watch this video befoe they yank it off the web! Very thought provoking, very well done.

Ever wonder why the defecit matters? Every dollar collected in taxes pays for the intrest on the National Debt. The payments are collected by the Federal Reserve - A private group of banks! Every tax dollar goes into the pocket of private bankers! The bigger the debt, the bigger the interest payment, the more the bankers make!!! Man, I need to open a bank...

Voting, the election and the 14th Amendment

Well, I'm glad that the Democrats won so many seats in the Congress. This country has become a scary place of late, so maybe this will help. We'll see.

Did you vote? I didn't. I've come across some info about voting and the 14th Amendment (which was never ratified by the States, which makes it invalid to the Constitution) which I find interesting. I recommend this site:

http://www.deprogram.us/

There is also a link in the title.

World Series disaster

Did y'all see that Series? Man it was disappointing...the errors killed us, the Tigers weren't even competative. I was all stoked about it, but man it was less than satisfying. Maybe next year...geez.

Two months off

So it's been a while since I posted last. I was intent on using that new Mac to create new pages with cool pictures and graphics. I even bought the expensive software to do it: ".mac". Alas, it's so hard to figure out, that I gave up on it.

With the weather of August and Sept. being so fabulously warm, I spent a lot of time riding, as usual. I finally got a photo of the elusive Zebra at Devil's Backbone...he might as well have been a dragon or unicorn. No one believed me that he lived there...



Now it's October and fall is in full swing. It's football and hockey, Halloween and our 1st Anniversary! October 15th will be a full year since we got married. It's gone by quickly and it's been a good year.

Tigers, Red Wings and Wolverines, oh my!

So it's been since 1984 since the Tigers won the World Series. In fact, I can't remember a time since then when they were even in the playoffs. Not since Sparky Anderson, Alan Trammell, "Sweet" Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish, Tom Brookins, Chester Lemon, Kirk Gibson and the gang were playing at the old Tiger Stadium has there been a World Series hopeful team...we went to a lot of ball games that year.



Meet the new Captain! Game On!



And whooooaaa nellly, how about those Meechigan Wolverines! They're on a roll, just like butta.

The Captain Retires!

Man, that face says it all...

Link is in the title.



"Steve Yzerman was a tremendous hockey player who epitomized everything good about our game. He loved the game and played with passion every night. He was a winner who led Detroit to three Stanley Cups and was always there for his country to represent Canada on the international stage. He was the face of the Detroit Red Wings for the past 20 years and will be remembered as one of the best players and leaders that ever played the game of hockey. It was a pleasure to have worked with him.
-Wayne Gretzky

"Steve was a great ambassador for the game of hockey and will be sorely missed by everyone associated with the Nation Hockey League. Steve was a great leader, a great teammate and most importantly is a great person. I was fortunate to play at the 2002 Olympics with Steve and we won a gold medal together. It was a memorable experience and something I'll always cherish. I wish Steve the best of luck."
-Mario Lemieux

My New Toy

What's the best accessory for the iPods? iMac (or Mac Book as they're now called)!

I like Apple's style...simple, yet powerful. Sleek and refined, yet capable. If it's good enough for Forrest Gump, it's good enough for me!

The link is in the title.

Cool pic of Crystal riding at Lory State Park

Riding the Epiphany

We went up to Steamboat Springs last weekend (6/17) to go to the Ellsworth Demo they were having at Orange Peel bike shop. It was also Mustang Rally weekend - lots of very nice cars driving around. I wish we'd have gotten there earlier, we would have gotten some good photos (at first we thought it was Mustang horses, y'know, Colorado and all...).

Anyway, I didn't get to ride the bike long. It took about 30 min or so to get set up and what not and I had to talk about bikes - it was like a trip to Poto with Ivan and Diann, basically!

The bike is a beautiful piece of art in it's own right. And the price reflects that ($2395 frame only). The one I rode was a med frame with Fox Talas and RP3 suspension bits. It was built light - carbon cranks, SDG saddle/post combo, 2.1" Kenda Cortez tires on Crossmax wheels, similar to what is shown in the above pic from Ellsworth's website. The bike was vastly lighter than my Moment.

So, on the trail, it climbs well and feels very stable. Going down it was solid and fast. All in all, a bike I would be happy to ride frequently!

I spoke to the Ellsworth rep at length about the frame and the way I might build it up if I had one (Rock Shox Pike 140mm, 2.35 tires). She stated that the bikes geometric sweet spot was actually 110mm-120mm of front travel and that successive drops over two feet or so would seriously damage the frame with a tall fork on it (an issue not covered under warranty!). So instead of a hard charging 5" travel bike, I think what you get with the Epiphany is a long legged Truth, designed more for endurance racing and smooth trail riding (of which there is a lot in the US, even Colorado, but not really where I ride). I was a bit disappointed with that.

Overall, I liked the bike, but I wouldn't trade my Moment for it. The Moment is more versitile and makes a better "all mountain" bike as it can be built as a 5" travel trail bike or 6" travel light free ride/all mountain monster. The Moment frame uses a thicker tubing than the Epiphany which allows one to run a bigger variety of rear shocks and front forks. The draw of the Epiphany is it's light frame with magnesium rockers and shaped and swagged tubeset. A lot of work has gone into designing and building that frame, no doubt. In the future, the Moment will get much of the same treatment, though it's not really going to lose much weight overall.

It was cool seeing all the bikes that they're making, including new Truths, Rogues, Moments and Epiphanies. We also got to see a Witness, the full suspension tandem bike - HUGE! Maybe one day Crystal and I will get one...I bet they are fun to ride!

Colorado National Monument

A really cool area preserved between Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado:

Going Home

Went back to Michigan for a few days to see some friends and family and well, ride, of course!

Boy was it nice...65 degrees and sunny each day I was home. I couldn't have asked for better weather. We went to a baseball game on Fri (thanks Lynde and Mark!)and then Ivan and I rode Sat, and Ivan, Diann and I rode again on Sun. Good times!











Next time I come home, I bet Diann will be riding this log pile!



Happy trails! Thanks for a great time everyone - Mom, Dad, Lynde, Gram G, Gram H, Greg, Kathy, Ivan and Diann!

A few Trip updates - Moab

We went to Moab over the Memorial Day Holiday for some riding. Moab just rocks (ha! It's moslty rocks!) - for the outdoor enthusiast, there's a lot to do: Mt biking, hiking, canyoneering, rock climbing, kayaking/canoeing, MX-Jeep/ORV trails. We even saw handgliders on cliffs - crazy cool. There's a lot of evidence of history there: dinosaur tracks and native American drawings.

There are two National Parks in Moab, both of which are vastly different: Arches and Cayonlands. Furthermore, Zion and Bryce are close, which makes this area of the country heavily concentrated with fabulous rock outcropings and formations so unique that they became National treasures. I'll steal a few pics as mine never do justice...

So...onto our pics. We rode White Rim, a 20 mile long downhill tour through the Canyonlands down to the Colorado River where we picked up a jet boat back to town. Great trip! Then we did a jaunt out at Slickrock and on to Klondike Bluffs, Crystal's favorite.

Looking into Arches National Park from the Klondike Bluffs trail:

The bookcliffs of Utah, on I-70 driving between Fruita and Moab:

Musselman Arch in Canyonlands National Park on White Rim:

Riding on White Rim in Cayonlands:
We stayed on the beautiful Colorado River:


At the top of Klondike Bluffs:

At the top of Klondike again (this shot is from a previous trip to Moab -same spot!):

Riding the river back to Moab:

I-Pod mania

Crystal and I have been working out like crazy people lately and we thought that maybe adding music to our workouts would help. So we began to covet those people who had MP3 players and wanted one.

Well we looked around for about a week and decided that iPods were the best, or best for US. It seems that there are other more durable units out there as the iPods are designed to fail so that they sell more updated versions year after year. I guess that's why there are 5 generations of iPod. Anyway, the Creative Labs stuff looks good, but at 8 GB for $200 it's just not as economical as the 30 GB iPod for $300. Crystal really liked the Sony Bean, too, but again, not much capacity for too much money. Overall, the iPods really are the best deal.

We got them at Circuit City and they were "open box" items, so we saved about $20-$50 per item. I got the 30 GB video iPod and Crystal got the 2 GB Nano. We're actually thinking about getting a Shuffle too, just for riding and working out. The compact profile of that player is ideal, though I don't find the others to be bulky or not useable - especially the Nano, which is so light and small that it's barely perceptible in a pocket or armband.

We went to Mike's to upload some tunes (which takes longer than you'd expect) and we were in business! There's still a learning curve there, but I think MP3 is the way to go. I'm thinking of selling all my CDs and just arranging my life around MP3 - home, car, mobile. It's great! I totally recommend it.

It's May

I was thinking last night about the month of May. May in Colorado is different than May in Michigan. Last night the temp. was around 40-50 degrees and I was reminded of cool fall days and high school football games. In the day, it will be 70 and sunny, with an occasional rain shower that will last 5 minutes. More typical spring weather reminiscent of April in Michigan...life at 5000' is different indeed.

There's May Day, the international day of the worker (and Immigrant Boycott Day in America) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day, Cinco de Mayo (not a holiday for Mexican Independence. You should read the history . It relates very much to our own history): http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm. May 14th is Mother's Day (quite an ancient holiday, actually). And of course, the official start of the American summer, Memorial Day, which has it's very own website: http://www.usmemorialday.org/. Astrologically, if you're born in May you either a Taurus (5/1-5/20 http://astrologyzone.com/forecasts/monthly/taurus.php) or a Gemini (5/21-5/31 http://astrologyzone.com/forecasts/monthly/gemini.php)

The entire city of Memphis celebrates the month with "Memphis in May", begining with the Beale Street music festival. We almost went this year, as Cake is playing (their famous lyric..."I don't know much about Cinco de May, I'm never sure what it's all about...I was bound for Mexico"). Early in our relationship, Crystal and I went to this Festival and had a great time...Check out this lineup: http://www.memphisinmay.org/site.asp?cid=113.

Near and dear to my heart, May is National Bike Month. What more needs to be said about that??? Oh, May 19th is Bike to Work Day, so get the rig out and ready to ride! Bike Month in Colorado is held in June, though, because the higher elevations are still snowed in - they'll be skiing until July 4th!

In May we have the height of NHL (and NBA)playoffs, but I don't want to talk about that this year (except the Pistons)...it's also Clean Air Month (not if your President is "still looking into the science" and your EPA is eliminating the need to supply gasoline with clean-air additives), National Salsa Month, National Barbeque Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (I guess that's why May first is Lei Day in Hawaii).

The origins of May are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May. Enjoy - it's finally Spring!!!

The Demise of the Red Wings

Well, four years in a row now the Wings have bowed out of the playoffs in the earliest of rounds...four years in a row. Despite a fabulous season, they couldn't get past Edmonton...sad. The real sad part is, will this be Steve Yzerman's last season? How could anyone want to go out like that... ?




Go Pistons!

Big Oil Rules!

I don't want my blog to get too preachy about politics and such, but this post was pretty good. Read it if you will. No pressure! Really! No, seriously!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/george-bush-foreign-poli_b_19791.html

"And what did they get for their largess? According to Public Citizen, the top five oil companies have pocketed over a quarter of trillion (that’s with a “T”) in profits since Bush took office. Talk about a return on investment. That’s a gusher!

Little new news

Not much has been happening in the bike world, but a few events I can report on...

We just got back from Vegas last week. We met my parents out there for four fun-filled days. We went to a show called "Mama Mia" at Mandalay Bay. It's based on ABBA songs:



Yeah...it's like that!

We stayed at NYNY. It's nice, a lot smaller than most places, like MGM, where we usually go, so it's easier to get around. They have lots of different varieties of food - much of it simple and cheap, where you don't have to sit down. Perfect for late night snacking or a quick meal on-the-go. You don't see that at a lot of other casinos. Il Fornaio was one of my favorite places to eat. Check it out if you're in Vegas.

And for the fifth time in Vegas in the recent year or so, we didn't take any pics of us. Only camera phone stuff...! Pics never do justice anyway...

Greeley

The best place to view the mountains is in Greeley. Primarily, because it's 30 miles away you get the most expansive view. Alas, we moved out of Greeley three years ago because it smells like cows and, well, it's 30 miles from the mountains.

Winter pics

Winter is over for us (it will be 70's up to 80F today, 4/5), but as it transitioned, I got some shots of this phenomenon they call "frozen fog".

Further the Pink Passion

Got some new bits on the bike...

New Thomson X4 Elite stem, 90mm and zero degrees of rise. It's the new 31.8mm standard diameter which is supposed to be stiffer for the same weight. Either way, it looks great.

Also added the pink Chris King spacers. Proceeds from the sale of the "pink stuff" go to Kommen Breast Cancer foundation.

http://www.chrisking.com/prettyandstrong/index.html

Race Face Dues XC bars, low rise, silver. This is about the only silver bar I could find. It is marginally wide enough with the grip shifters on. I had to trim the grips just a tad. Sweep and rise feel great.

All matched up to the pink hubs:

Trail Day

Did some trail building on Sat. We're finishing up a 7mi connector from Devil's Backbone (my favorite trail) to Coyote Ridge. Here you can see the backside of CR, where the trail will join in. The new trail is called "Blue Sky".



Not on this day however...it was overcast, a rarity for Colorado, but warm enough anyway.

Smooth and wide...the soil on this trail is so much different than any other trail in the area. It will be a great, fast ride when done.

Ron Saito, a founding member of Mountain High Trail Association. We started this group over trail closure issues associated with the opening of this new trail. The more exposure we have now, the more influence we'll have later. I hope!

There's Dave in the red shirt, black hat. He's always up for volunteering on trail days. We had about 34 people total and worked about 1/2 mile of trail.

I'm packin' up my bags and gonna move out West

'Cause I wanna be a cowboy, babee!

Disassembling the AM 1

So my fork needed it's first oil change, as all forks do during their break in period. The ETA function has never worked and I felt that it had some performance issues that hopefully an oil change would cure.

I looked through several sources of info on oil types and viscocities for Marzocchi forks. I know they use Golden Spectro 7.5wt, but I couldn't find any of it locally and I didn't want to order it. But, I found this on MTBR posted by DGC:

product cSt@40c cSt@100c
Torco RFF 5 wt. 10.75 4.00
Silkolene Pro RSF 2.5 wt. 13.60 5.83
Torco RSF light 14.50 4.70
Racetech (motorex) light US 1 (Manitou??) 15.20 4.40
Maxima fork fluid 5 wt. 15.90 3.51
Torco RFF 7 wt. (Rock Shox) 16.10 5.05
Golden Spectro 85/150 2.5 wt. 16.90 3.82
Honda Pro HP fork oil 5 wt. 17.00 3.80
Bel Ray fork oil 5 wt. 17.10 4.10
Elf syn moto fork oil 2.5 wt. 18.00 4.00
Redline light 18.40 7.10
Torco RFF 10 wt. 19.90 5.70
Spectro fork oil 5 wt. 21.60 4.40
PJ1 fork tuner 2.5 wt. 26.10 4.90
Golden Spectro 125/150 7.5 wt. (Marzocchi) 26.10 5.25
Silkolene pro RSF 5 wt. 26.70 9.46

Maxima fork fluid 7 wt. 26.70 5.36
PJ1 fork tuner 7.5 wt. 27.50 5.10
Bel Ray fork oil 7 wt. 29.00 5.20
Redline medium 30.40 10.80
PJ1 fork tuner 5 wt. 31.20 5.40
Fox fluid and Torco RSF medium 31.82 9.57
Maxima fork fluid 10 wt. 32.00 6.28
Torco RFF 15 wt. 33.00 8.40
Redline D4 ATF/Mobil 1 ATF 34.00 7.50/7.60
Castrol synthetic fork oil 10 wt. 42.00 7.50
Torco RFF 20 wt. 42.80 10.40
Maxima fork fluid 15 wt. 46.00 8.48
Motorex semi bath-Manitou 5w40 90.90 Syrup..!! 14.60
PJ1 fork tuner 30 wt. 116.90 gooo..!! 15.00

Also, this is a great website with some really good info on forks, springs and other bike and motorcycle stuff:

http://www.peterverdonedesigns.com/bikesuspension.htm

Not to get too winded, I chose Silkolen since it was close in viscocity to Golden Spectro. It was cheap, too.

The disassembly went fine, no problems. When all was said and done though, the ETA wasn't fixed, but the fork action is much smoother than before. I will have to send it in to Marzocchi to have that tweaked. All in all, after having been disappointed with this fork initially, I'm liking it more. It does need a 20mm thru axle upgrade, though and now that I'm comfortable taking it apart, that shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.