Saturday, October 11, 2014

Alpine Loop

The Dress Code
  
The only ways in which today’s ride could have been more awesome would have been if all of the PCRs had shown up and it was 5 degrees warmer (temperature plays an important role in this prologue).  Wood, Bruner (it was nice to have a member of the “A” team drop down to the minor leagues), Trabert (it is about time you showed up; it turns out that’s because we extended him the only offer to ride this weekend) and Hale left Lehi and rode their bikes up American Fork Canyon along the Alpine Loop down Provo Canyon and along the Murdock Trail.  It was 55 miles and 3,800 feet of ascent into heaven.  Bike therapy was administered to those in need (mostly Wood), Woody interviews were given and amazing scenery was witnessed (Wood we are talking about golden aspen leaves juxtaposed against stark blue skies and evergreens).  At the beginning of the ride, while at the Suburban preparing for the ride, an extended debate ensued over whether leg and arm warmers, vests, windbreakers and jackets should be shed.  Then Woody shared some of his mother Marilyn’s homespun wisdom.  He said she used to tell him: “you can always take it off,  but you can never put it on”  We are confident that in his youth he might have gotten the meaning of those words a bit twisted.  Following her sage advice, and Hale’s howls that it was going to be colder than his wife’s reception when he gets home late from work, everyone kept their outerwear on.  And it was a good thing because it cold.  So cold that Trabert insisted that Wood go to the back of the pace line because as he pontificated about his week’s events a cloud-like vapor formed as his breath struck the cold air (okay, it looked more like clouds that form during a hurricane) making it impossible to see the road ahead.  Bruner had to give words of encouragement to Wood and Hale to finish the ride in less than a day’s time. 
Afterwards, we went to JCW’s and spent a half hour trying to maneuver around the 9 foot restraint bar at the drive-in (Wood’s bike was on top of the Suburban), figuring out what to order and passing the hat to collect enough to pay for the goods.  On the way home, as we reflected on the appropriate attire for the day, Trabert, who revealed to the group that he lives in the hoity-toity “Harvard” neighborhood, told us of an incident while he was working for the Pebble Beach Resort, another hangout of the rich and famous.  He explained to the Hale, a neophyte in the ways of the world, that there are “dress standards” at the “Resort”.  One day he heard the following plea for help over the “Club” intercom: “There is a dress code violation on Court 2.”  Rushing to eliminate a breach of etiquette, he found a 20 something French woman, who apparently did not have the correct color of clothing, so she went au naturel from the waste up.  She certainly would have not have made it very far on today’s ride.  We wonder how Trabert carefully avoided an international incident over an extended period of time.  The young lady surely could have used some of Marilyn’s coaching. 
Remember PCR’s: keep the rubber side down and your warm autumn clothing on (not the least of reasons being that no one wants to see your bare chests).        

 
 



1st of MANY STOPS... :-)
 


Which Way????
 


 



Picture taker was wearing a "Y" sweat shirt so I showed him Super Man's logo

 

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Fall is Officially Here!

What do you do when you arise early, excited to ride in the fall colors of Utah and it's raining cats and dogs? DO A LITTLE BLOGGING.... The blog has been a little quiet the last month as we all have enjoyed the close of summer. There were a few healing from falls, several triumphing in another LOTOJA, others spending money on bike repairs every week and some that have said, "I'll catch you next time, work is busy and I'm gaining weight and can't keep up any more".....  (REALLY, don't believe that last statement for a second)

Kim, our captain, has seen progress in his treatment and we continue to pray for him. Dave, Tow Truck Moesser, had a PR at LOTOJA and breaks the 10 hour mark as he brings in the A Team. Sexy Legs Trabert, finishes the season as #1 triathlete in the state. The Prez, Hale, is back in form after a year of unfocused riding and realizing the pain of the asphalt. And last but not least, Mr. T. is back visiting the PCRs as he continues to enjoy his retired life.

The photography team has been slacking a bit, but enjoy a few highlight from weeks past.

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 Man, I wish there was snow on these hills....

 3rd annual Snowbird challenge... Ride your road bike to the parking lot of Gadzoom and if that's not punishing enough, hop on your mountain bike and ride to the top of the tram..... CRAZY

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN - Mr. Hawke / 3 pete


Sunday, August 3, 2014

If Your Mouth is Working, Your Heart Isn't

This weeks' adventure could be labeled as "wash rinse repeat" in many aspects because it was much like the hundreds of rides that have occurred previously:

1) Started in front of Briggs/Hale homes with the pre-ride-prayer(PRP) asking for safety on our ride and blessings for Kim and family.  As always the PRP was filled with a slight amount of levity to get the day off as usual  - e.g. early morning banter regarding updates on previous injuries (Wood & Hale).  Pre-ride negotiation on how easy we all needed to go today (Jensen the sandbagger), and eventually onto the pampered bike comments.

2) Cool morning in Coleville, and a beautiful day with friends experiencing the sunrise.

3) Riding together = miles apart.  (Resulting in Little Man repeatedly swinging back to the "social group" (T.Romney chairman) to encourage the social riders to pick up the pace.  Which eventually caused LM to utter the statement, "If your mouth is working, your heart isn't")

4) Jensen pounding out a consistent pace with very little drama

5) Wood finding friends (female +1) along the road to talk with, and finally

6) Little man beating Wood (and Hale) in the finale sprint stage, followed with chocolate milk and post-ride banter.

LM was assigned the TATS at the Wyoming/Utah border.  In spite of mocking, he bore for needing to refer to iphone notes, and unable to quote the book of Isaiah like some (Hale, Jensen) he did manage to produce under pressure the following inspirational thoughts to consider:

- "Life can only be understood backwards, but unfortunately it must be lived forward".

- "My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and in inverse proportion to my expectations"

What was different this week:

1) Someone (Wood) dropping something (a chain) and the other competitor(Lloyd) not taking advantage of this misfortune within sight of the finish line. (Wood has no idea what Lloyd is talking about because he was miles in front of him when the dropping of the water bottle happened.)

2) Finding someone who has a larger gift of gab than Wood. (will remain nameless, but initials are TR)

3) Finishing together with no one getting injured (although Big Man continues to try with the running of that final stop sign).

We look forward to next week for all that is usual and comfortable, as well as the opportunity to discover something new.

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 "There's a Bright Golden Haze on the Meadow"

 Carl Empey, this lady told us A LOT of stories about your mischievous high school days... :-)

 The OLDER you get, the more COLORFUL you become and the need for smartphones to be SMART!


 Really, I have to sit on a beach towel on the way home??? I'm NOT that sweaty!

Masters of GIFT OF GAB University

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Annual July 24th Wasatch Crest


Today the Wood clan et al. journeyed upon their mighty steeds on their annual pilgrimage along the Wasatch Crest.  Long before the crack of dawn the young bucks took off from the valley floor to ride to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon (Max, we now that you hitched a ride on the more difficult part) where they met up with the more sane members of the group who left at a more urbane hour and drove in trucks to the top.   This ride was to be a tribute to the pending nuptial vows of Max and Laura.   But alas, as is always the case, it was not about them, the journey or anything else, just dear old dad (and he is really old).
Dad started the ride by interviewing members of the group, a stunt he uses to make people smile early in the morning (usually a grumpy hour).  Within minutes the “Great Stratification Began”, i.e. the contenders were separated from the pretenders.  The contenders left behind the pretenders and were never seen again until the Jensen’s house.  The contenders were shaven and showered an hour before the pretenders arrived (and made it appoint of telling us).
All along the trail to the place where the TATS was to given Dad recited aloud new lyrics to the melody of “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin”.  The words were intended to give Max and Laura marital advice.  They will not be repeated here because they are not G, PG or R rated.  Let’s just say that the soon to be married couple will not need to study the Kamasutra.  The song went on for an extended period of time and had the group in stiches, partly because of the words and partly just because dad is who he is.

Dad was born with boyish good looks, and all his life he has used them to great effect on the opposite sex.  Many times we have witness him preening in front of a mirror, window or other surface in which his image is reflected.  But the ravages of time, and now the bike trail, have taken their toll on his mug.  Often times he is mistaken for the fossils along bike paths.

Dad and Laura ended up riding the last few miles together before reaching the head of the Big Water trail in Millcreek Canyon.  Within a hundred yards of the parking lot Dad remarked to Laura: “Well another Wood family 24th ride is in the books without incident”.   Seconds later, however, Dad decided to engage in a wrestling match with a tree root.  Suddenly he found himself, to be more specfic, found his face planted among the roots of the timbers.  This stunt, of course, was clearly calculated to get attention from the group, in particular his soon to be daughter-in-law Laura.  Luckily, Max (are you an Eagle Scout?) whipped out his first aid kit.  He and Laura began to perform surgery on the beleaguered, tired old rider.  As he was being stitched up he pled with Laura to perform much needed plastic surgery to smooth out the wrinkles on his tired old face.  When news of the accident was reported home the group heard Jodi exclaim concern for the loss of the good looks that beguiled her so many years ago: “Does he have any long jagged scars, gross deformities; is he going to need radical reconstructive surgery, or a major skin graft? Now the wedding pictures are going to be ruined." Not to worry, there is always Photoshop.

Thank you Dad for another entertaining and memorable July 24th.

 Wheels up.... Let's Rock N' Roll....


 Nothing better than riding with your buds


LOVE is in the air...... Aug 7th..... :-)



 Stay focused at all times and ALWAYS take a Head Dunk!

 THANKS to our GREAT HOSTS for post ride TREATS!
 "Is there a Dr. in the House?"
 Please remove a few wrinkles with this repair....
 "This is what I do"
 Make sure you put ICE ON YOUR EYE!
 It's KEY to get back on the horse and keep SMILING....  

Sunday, July 20, 2014

CHKCOOP or DCKPEN ?

PCRs, as it's been said, "Riding is a Journey, NOT a Destination", and we all need to take time to enjoy the sites, sounds, bumps in the road and pleasures of meeting NEW people. This week we rode along the beaches, mountain canyons and river bottoms. As we all ride, PLEASE keep the FOCUS needed to avoid CRACKS & GREMLINS that want to take us down. (Hale & S. Lloyd, you know what I'm talking about)

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 Is Wood the LAST one to the top ALWAYS???
 
 Trying to ride with the A Team is just NOT in my DNA!
 
 NOW, that's what I call a HELMET
 
 CHKCOOP or DCKPEN???

 Changing a flat with the PCRs is sometimes a lonely thing... :'(
 
 

 
 
"HEY you SALT LAKERS, you have the Mountains, but we have the OCEAN"... :-)

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Utah Has GREAT Mountains!

Today's ride was again to the mountains to beat the valley heat. The A-Team in their effort to train for LOTOJA did the 5 Dam ride, Mtn. Dell, Little Dell, East Canyon, Echo and Wanship. Rode up Brown's Canyon to Jeremy Ranch, where their women met them for lunch. Nice touch A-Team to keep the ladies happy.... :-)

Two of the B-Team went South to Thanksgiving Point and rode the Murdock Canal trail to Provo, up Provo Canyon and up over the Alpine Loop.... WOW, what beautiful mountains. little man was out on medical leave this week. Dr. J was MIA and Dr. Ludlow got a taste of what it's like to ride with the A-Team.  Val, you can ride with the B-Team anytime.... we have A LOT MORE FUN! :-)

YIPPY SKIPPY!

 Always stop to read a little History
 
 Flowing water can give you Power to KILL the Grumpy Riders


 Not sure, but I swear Briggs has taken up fly fishing..... :-)
 




Saturday, July 5, 2014

July 4th - God Bless America

This week was a great week to leave the valley heat of 100s and ride in the mountains. Many did the Big Mtn. to East Canyon and back and those less ambitious, just went to Big Mtn. Saturday a lone twosome left early to beat the heat and ride the Peo loop, and ride they did. The first group of riders that joined them inspired both little man and BIG MAN to pick up the pace. little man was excited to finally have someone that could ride to his pace and BIG MAN had a nice conversation with Loralee. WIN-WIN!

After stopping at the Chevron to refuel, little man was once again inspired to pick up the pace and teach BIG MAN, "don't ever challenge my strategy to win the Peo stage win."

Hope you all had a GREAT July 4th and wherever you rode, hope it was full of adventure.

YIPPY SKIPPY!

Hey, look at those guys, they're wearing matching uniforms like we are.... SWEET!
 
Hale, we found a nice cabin for Kathy's next painting