Lewis and Clark Trail, Spokes Instead of Muskets

The route is set. I am riding part of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition through Washington, Idaho and Montana. I plan on leaving from the stellar wine region of Walla Walla, WA, riding into Idaho, over Lolo Pass and then into Montana to Missoula. I will be camping and staying in a couple strategically placed motels (I'm not one to totally be hardcore and rough it the whole way). Total mileage is about 350, which is a bit more than last year. This trip will have about 7,000 feet of elevation gain, which is a little less than last year. I guess that balances things out pretty well. I will travel from the eastern Columbia plateau in Walla Walla, ride through the Palouse, into the Clearwater river basin with an overnight in Lewiston, ID and then over the Camas Prairie to Kamiah, ID. From there, I rejoin the Clearwater river and head up stream to the middle fork of the Clearwater, and start to enter the Bitterroot Mountains (which are part of the Rocky Mountains!). At Lowell, the middle-fork of the Clearwater results from the confluence of the Selway and Lochsa rivers and I turn up the Selway for a few miles for a night of camping. The next day its back to Lowell and with a right turn, I head up the Lochsa river for a long day (70 miles) shadowing the Lochsa the entire way. I will spend the night near the top of Lolo Pass. From there the river disappears and I start to head down hill, out of the Bitterroots into the Bitterroot valley. At Lolo, Montana I turn north and head for Missoula on the last day. In Missoula I will visit the head quarters of the Adventure Cycling Association, tell them what a great job they are doing and then ride off to meet my S.O. and find a tall cool beer to celebrate the journey completed! I still need a name for this adventure. Last year the ride was all about human folly. This year, it feels more like a ride to learn some history of our  distant past. Or it could be a ride from "Vines to Bitterroots". Heck, I'm gonna see a lot of several rivers on this trip, maybe it should have river theme?

Cheers!

Road Hazards - Errant Projectile

Whooda thunk? Almost taken down by a blistering, errant golf ball from 1 o'clock. Direct hit to the face.

I had just finished a quick 15 miles on a beautiful early evening here in the Puget Sound. Rolling quick, slight down hill - past Wayne Golf Course. Bam. Direct hit on the right lower cheek. It definitely jarred me, but I stayed up right on the bike. I pulled over and was bleeding. I was torqued to say the least, but OK. Spun around, tried to find the dimpled, spherical weapon and scanned the course for any person that had this ... oh shit, I just hit a cyclist look on their face. No ball to be found and no guilty golfer. Off I went - a mile to home base, still smarting in the face.

The quickness with which your own time-space continuum can change, is simply unbelievable. Granted, only my ego was hurt and a little blood shed - but it does not take much to send one careening into disarray and chaos. On my last mile home, I pondered my riding and the inherent risks. I won't tell you how my pondering ended up, but tomorrow, I'll hit the pedals and ride out, again. I get so much from riding, there is no second guessing or reconsidering why I do it. It is a forgone conclusion, riding for me will always be.

Cheers!

Riding Season is Open, Slogging To Another Epic Summer

Ok, so it has been a while since I slogged and blogged. Winter was... winter. I did not do a ton of riding. The Burro stayed in its corral and the Seven hibernated through the cold and rainy season of winter. But that was yesterday. Today there is good sign that spring is here. I have been already riding and doing some early training as well. It's almost tax day (why do we use this as some grand time point on the calendar?) and I should be well on my way for some event starting in mid June or so. Am I? Um, yah, mostly. At least this is what I have to tell myself.  I've got the spreadsheet filled in for training goals and have a new training toy (Garmin Edge 500) for GPS training and things are a hummin' and a groovin' as me dad would say. I need to update the blog layout to clean out some of the old details from last years grand tour. So, you'll see some changes. I got a tour plan already bouncing around the cerebral cortex and it will be unveiled soon. 

Below is the snap shot for last year's tour. You may remember it; The 2012 Cascade Traverse By-Pedal Expedition to Save the Endangered Human Folly. This year may not have such a catchy name, but heck, half the fun is naming these silly adventures, so we'll see! The pic below is to immortalize the trip in perpetuity in these hallowed computer bits and bites that make up my blog. A new grand pic of the sat track will emerge soon. Stay tuned.

Blackbox for Cyclists - Interesting Idea

Yes, it can be a jungle out there, on the road, you against the cagers. This could be helpful, for a worse case scenario. But, riding smartly and defensively can go along way to preventing the worse case scenario.

Anyway- have not posted in a while. Consider this post my first March update. Hopefully, I'll be posting up soon, again, with some actual riding.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/25/4029248/helmet-of-justice-uses-cameras-as-a-black-box-for-bicyclists

Fat Bike? - Hmmmm... may be the next CycleSlogger Sloggin' tool!

Just a quick vid from the Seattle Times about a new type of biking. I have seen these in the Salsa website who I think was the first to come up with the concept. And in the vid - they are riding in the Methow valley - which is in our lovely state here - Washington. Anyway - enjoy!

A Cold Run for Vermouth

It was cold today in Seattle. Sunny, but real cold. I got this idea this morning - why not take the Fargo out for a ride? Well... let me look at my list of things to do today. Hmmm, pull up the kitchen floor, clean out the Jeep, put my laundry away, get vermouth, clean the garage. None of that sounds too fun I thought. Wait! I need to get some vermouth. Like a lightnin' bolt straight from Thor's Hammer - it came to me. Hop on the bike and go get that vermouth!

Why was vermouth the motivation to ride today? Sometimes, yes I admit, you gotta dig deep for that spark that will get you on your bike. I have not done much on any bike for about two months. Last significant ride was when I was in Sedona mountain biking. But let's get back to vermouth. I have taken a hankering to Manhattans recently. And part of this new "hobby" for me is enjoying a great bourbon mixed in the perfect cocktail. This has been my sort of "Manhattan Project" lately.

I've spent a fair amount of time finding and enjoying good bourbon. Here is Washington state, there are micro distilleries popping up that are making GREAT local bourbons and whiskeys. One I really like is the Woodinville Whiskey Company. But- why do I take my prized bourbon and mix it with standard fair vermouth? I dunno. Just because I've always done it that way? Nobody told me any different? Because I like to say "Martini and Rossi on the rocks?" Remember that jingle?

Ok, so, time to up the ante on my drink's congeners. Queue the internet.

Vermouth, as it turns out is quite a wine. What!? It's wine? Well, technically it is a fortified aromatized wine. The fortification comes from... extra alcohol. Brilliant! The aromatization comes from various roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs and spices. Hey Guiseppe, we need more bark! Apparently... Italian distiller Antonio Benedetto Carpono is widely credited with creating the first vermouth in 1786, when he blended white wine with herbs and named his new creation after a similar drink in Germany, which was infused with wormwood, for which the German word is “wermut.” The drink was a huge success, and soon began to be exported all over Europe where other countries began to make their own versions. 

Ok, so I know what it is and when it started. But, what is a good one? Well, this guy Carpano must make an OK one - since he came up with the drink. But where does one get good vermouth? I thought I must be able to order it on-line. Click... Amazon.com

Yes, you can get Carpano from Amazon.com. But, there is some fine print on the Amazon site that says something about legal limitations of shipping alcohol to certain states. And you know what? I really would like to get some vermouth soon. See, we are having a party next weekend and each and every one of our comrades at the party will want a manhattan - I'm sure! Oh wait... maybe they would want Vodka since they are comrades?  Anyway, I need some Vermouth soon. Stat!

Well... if it's wine... perhaps some of Seattle's finer wine purveyors may carry it? I make a few calls. Hit Google maps and head out.

The burro needed about 40 PSI in each tire. I bundle up and pedal south. I'm on my way to McCarthy & Schiering - they have Carpano.

So, I walk in. My cleats clicking on the wood floors and proclaiming I'm not from these parts. There is some wine tasting going on and some heavy accents and there was seemingly 1000s of bottles of wine on display. I better ask somebody where the hell is this Carpano stuff. Out it comes. Hmmm, man, that is a nice bottle. Fancy. Comes in an outer tin. Seems legit. Turn bottle over - $42. That seems high - but what do I know? Well, I rode all this way - it would seem silly not to bring some sort of reward home. I stick the tin in my Fargo frame bag and it fits! How cool is that?

I head north. The sun is going down... and the moon is coming up... and long ago somebody left with the cup. Wait, that is a song from Cake's album Fashion Nugget! How did that get in here? The cold must be getting to me. 

A few miles north, I bonk. This has not happened to me in some time. There is nothing worse. I whip into a Starbucks and grab a bite. 

By the time I pull into my driveway, I am quite cold and tired. But, I got that durn vermouth and I got some exercise to boot.

So what did I get for vermouth?

Carpano Antica Formula

It's getting late here in the blogosphere and I have not yet tried the stuff. I understand it it truly an aperitif and can stand on it's own. I dunno. I'm not an aperitif guy I think. But, yes, this stuff will be going in my manhattans. Supposedly, it has hints of vanilla spices, tobacco, dried fruit and orange rind. even though it seems like it is, this is not a blog about booze, but cycling - so I'll close out pivoting back to the ride.

I paid a little trick on myself today. I needed to ride, but somehow I managed to make it fun. Maybe you can do the same. Heck, if your thing is pork and beans and you got this crazy craving - why not hit the bike and and have some fun trotting down to the store for yer Van Camps! 

Mountain Biking in Sedona

Let me start with the premise bicycling is fun. Right? Now, hang with me alright? I have written about this idea in this blog - um, not specifically I suppose, but have certainly insinuated that... by God, this silly, almost perfect machine that moves one, is quintessentially fun. Plain and simple. Now, if you take this simple, blissful, meditative, therapeutic, giddy, physical motion state and do it on the dirt - oh my.

Had the opportunity while on vacation recently to do dust off my mountain bike skills. Jen and I met some family in Sedona, AZ for Thanksgiving week. This is what they call Red Rock country. I have ridden mountain bikes since 1981 when I got an original 1981 Specialized Stumpjumper. I was living in Vacaville, Ca about 30 miles from Marin county, the primordial epicenter of the genesis of the hallowed Mountain Bike. Say it... Mountain Bike. Feels good. I'm gonna go ride my Mountain Bike on that there mountain and be a mountain bike man.

Tuesday arrived, two days before Turkey day and it was off to ride the Red Rocks by our vulcanized knobbies and buzzing, pent up excitement. Yee haw!

I went with my brother-in-law, Dave and the S.O. Our plan was a 2-3 hours on the local trails, Dave guidin', me and Jen following.

We spent almost five hours boppin' and bombin' around the Red Rocks. We started on Bell Rock Pathway, went up Little Horse Trail to Chicken Point and then on Broken Arrow back to town.

It had been a while since I mountain biked and I was thrilled to be doing it with my side kick. Jen did awesome and I was so proud of her. I'm like yah babe... now it's time to get us some mountain bikes! Of course, I'm always looking for another excuse to get another bike.

So Sedona is beyond belief. The vistas, the mountain biking, the desert... um yah, upper 60s weather (Seattle had record rains while we were gone) - a great place to see!




Me, Jen and Dave.