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.