That's what I'm talking about

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog silence to bring you the following:

That's what I'm talking about.

In case you were wondering

I made the season's first attempt at the Alpine Loop with a couple of friends early Saturday morning. In case you were wondering, it's still blocked by snow at Pine Hollow.

There were tire tracks in the snow, so someone more intrepid than me decided to try it anyway. Maybe it clears a little higher up? I'll have to find out once the legs are ready to climb a little more. I was pretty much spent by that point.

Glad things are warming up, though. LOTOJA registration opens Tuesday morning, so I've got lots of climbing to do over the next few months.

Here's hoping I get in this year.

Devolution

I've been wondering what it would take to draw me out of blogging retirement. The answer is apparently facial hair.

Lo, the Christmas beard! This is the longest I've ever let it grow (just over a month), and it was awesome. Gotta do this more often.

But it started getting too itchy, so I'm slowly deconstructing it. Below is a photographic detailing of its devolution.

Good times, man. Good times.

The beard at its peak.

Tried shaving just the chin - kinda old school style - but that wasn't really working.

Went with this solid look for a couple of days.

Shot of the 'burns.

Moved to the cop moustache.

My dad pulls off this look much better than me.

Whittled it down to this dapper option, a la...

...Clark Gable, or possibly...

...the Dread Pirate Roberts. I think the resemblence to both is fairly obvious, don't you?

Levi at the finish

I have returned! Lots to catch up on, but here's a quick video from the finish of Stage 2 at the Tour of Utah - Levi Leipheimer winning atop Mt. Nebo.

Watching a race in person is so much fun. I love that the Tour of Utah gets a little bigger each year.

Hipsters, here I come

So, I really want to get a commuter bike that I can use to run errands and hopefully ride to work...when work presents itself to me.

My desire for cheapness has me looking at the Windsor Clockwork, or possibly the SE Lager. I've never ridden a singlespeed before, road or mountain, so I'm gonna stop by Urban Downfall today and take one for a spin.

Am I on the verge of becoming a hipster? Are skinny jeans, canvas shoes, and v-neck t-shirts just over the horizon?

Time will tell.


Post script: Two pics from last week. The Utah Lake shot is from a ride last week, and the Manti Temple photo I took after my friend Manny's wedding on Saturday.

Vineyard TT

Since early last season, I've been thinking I should make a time trial out of a portion of one of the routes I often ride.

I tried it out on Monday afternoon, and it turned out to be pretty awesome (minus the wind).

I've dubbed it the Vineyard Time Trial. It's an 8-mile loop along the east shore of Utah Lake, out by the sod farms in Vineyard and the marina in Lindon.

It's mostly flat (just 200 feet of total elevation gain), lots of straight stretches, and virtually no traffic.

I put in a time of 23:53, giving me an average of 20.1 mph over the 8-mile course.

It's a good benchmark for this year's training efforts. We'll slowly whittle that down as the season progresses.

Spring is coming

Don't let all this snow fool you - Spring is actually on the way.

Behold, the ice melts on Utah Lake!



I took Rumbi for a walk yesterday morning around 10:30. It was so warm outside, I decided I'd suit up and get out for a ride. But by the time I'd changed and pulled out of the garage, the sun had ducked behind a cloud and the wind had started to blow.

While some choose to sit inside sipping soup, others saddle up and plow headlong into the oncoming storm.

Still others - admittedly less brave and likely less intelligent - ride out thinking it's going to be warm, only to end up battling stiff headwinds and bits of freezing rain.

But my burning legs confirmed to me that I had made the right decision. Regardless of weather, it's always worth it once you get out there.