Shifting Seasons....

My first project with Light Room 2...

Hi All,
Well, an interesting Sunday here in Utah. Here it is, only October 12th and 3-4 inches of snow arrived overnight.

Who knew! This kind of storm is much earlier than the usual arrival of the cold weather. Thank goodness the forecast is for 70 degrees by the end of the week. I am fairly sure the higher altitude mountain bike trails will now be closed for the season.
My neighbor's tree, weighed down almost to the ground!
In other news, I have new photo editing software; Adobe Photoshop Light Room 2, was presented to me as a gift from my friend, Joe. He wanted to thank me for all the photo work for his son Jonathan’s wedding. Honestly, he didn’t have to do this, but it is much appreciated! Think of all the hours I will while away working on images when I am supposed to be getting things done.

Joe, all of the photo work and program work was a labor of love from Kathy and I, and we enjoyed working on the projects. As to the new software, Joe; you are most welcome!

No words necessary.....except gosh darn it!

In the cycling department, the Klein is in the shop. A few weeks back, the engineer on the train got a little heavy handed on the brakes, and the Klein fell over, breaking the housing on the front derailleur bar-end shifter. Suffice to say, uncouth words were spoken when this happened. At the time, it was a fitting end to an all-in-all rotten day.

But, all things work out. My friend Pete from Canberra, Australia had a spare housing and sent it halfway ‘round the world to me. Then, while working overnight on the graveyard shift, through the magic of the Internet and Skype Internet phone, Pete helped me take apart the old housing and install the shifter. It was a lot simpler once I understood how it all worked. Thanks, Pete!

Pete Heal (on the left) and Mike Priestly of Canberra, Australia.

And in case you didn't know, Pete from long distance has been a fine mentor in helping me understand distance cycling, and how to fix all sorts of minor issues on my bikes. He built the orange recumbent you see in the picture. I won't even mention the distance he rides every year!
And in the “I can’t make stuff up like this” department, I was at the bike shop on Friday to have them install new cable housings and calibrate the front derailleur. (I had reached the limit of my expertise). As the tech. put the Klein up on the maintenance rack, I looked on the stand next door, and there was the red Peugeot that I park the Klein next to on the train every week. Amazing. I just laughed out loud at the coincidence.
In any case, tomorrow, the Klein returns to me; new cables, new handlebar tape, new front shifter, new pump, and who knows, maybe a fender! Looks good riding weather later this week.
See you down the road.

Jim

I've Got Rhythm...

An Aspen grove on Guardsman Pass...

This last Tuesday I had the chance to take a friend from the U.K. up Big Cottonwood Canyon to view the fall colors. And this year’s crop of colors did not disappoint. To use my friend, Dorothy’s words, they were “staggering.” The aspen and all the other colors were as intense as I have ever seen, and we had a beautiful day to enjoy them. Please enjoy a set of photographs from a gorgeous morning on Guardsman’s Pass.

Looking west, towards Solitude...
This lovely outing got me to thinking about the rhythms of time. It seems like only yesterday that I was posting photographs of fall colors from a ‘bent ride up Mill Creek canyon, and even a faster blink of the eye from when I posted pictures from the same spot only standing on 5 feet of snow! In our house, we have decorations for almost every month, and sometimes it seems that as I help Kathy with the September, October or even the November decorations, that I can remember just putting them all away! I met a neighbor at a wedding last week, and she was amazed that our kids had all grown up too! She lost track of time!

A lovely single track for Pete...

One cycling season leads to the next, and before you know it, the cycle starts again. In January I am all bundled up for cold weather riding. Soon, I'm riding in cool weather with rain and wind; and once again, riding in hot summer heat... and as the leaves turn, cycling into fall. One can look back at all my archived posts and see a certain tempo or rhythm to the seasons.

I have also noticed a certain rhythm or routine to commuting, too. Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed having the ability and time to regularly commute to work using the train and the Klein Panzer Bike. I logged 12 train/bike rides to work in September. There is a routine to each morning ride. Up at 4:30 AM, on the bike at 5:15, three Kleenex in the pocket, and a quick spin down the hill to the 5:30 train. I always ride in the same car, with the same three bikes stacked together. An orange Gary Fisher, ridden by an engineer for BMW; A 60 cm or so red Peugeot, with a wire basket on the back, ridden by a gentleman who works at an LDS distribution center, and the Klein Panzer Bike.

Now, the routine doesn’t stop there. The tall Peugeot rider is always dozing in the same spot, near the stack of bikes, and I always park the bike and sit upstairs. When the train passes the Warm Springs Depot, the large neon sign always says: “Welcome to Warms Springs, the time is 6:02.” Not 6:03, nor 6:01, always 6:02. At that point I always head down to the bike, and get my helmet. The three of us are always there, getting our helmets, gloves and whatnot. We exchange our usual greetings about the weather and the day, and scatter to the world when the door opens. Funny thing, I never see any of them on the ride north in the afternoon. The other two riders have noticed the routine too. I missed a few days due to working swing shifts, and when I boarded the train this past Thursday, the taller rider asked me: "Where've you been?"

Amazing Aspens...
The ride west to the ARTCC has had some of the same routines too. As the bike riders and commuters scatter, there is this ethereal sight of the red blinkie lights weaving out of the train area, down 200 South in the dark. Some turn up 10th west, some go straight as we all head to work. On 600 North, I always see the same rider heading east on the other side of the street. He rides an oddly configured mountain bike with aero bars, and he wears a reflective vest. I don’t know where he goes, but I see him every morning. Sometimes I feel a little bit like Bill Murray in the movie "Groundhog Day!"
Do you see rhythms in your day? In your riding? Do you often wonder where all the months and cycling seasons go?
I sure do.
See you next week.
Jim

Three, Three, Three Posts in One!

Fall Colors for Amy. (Snowbasin)

Hi all,
It’s been a busy two weeks full of cycling, mountain biking, and work. Throw in a huge desktop publishing and printing project, and you can see why I haven’t had time to write.

Lift testing for the snow to come!

Since it’s been 13 days since my last post, I will now endeavor to bring you up to date on several subjects all in one post. I am going to try for one picture and one paragraph for each subject that could easily have been three or four individual posts. So, this might be a long post. Here goes…

800 riders, ready to go!

The view from where I was at the start...

Sprinting: First off, last Saturday was a fine day of sprinting. I rode my Barcroft Virginia GT in a charity ride to inaugurate the new Legacy Highway. This lovely 10-mile road provides an alternate just west of I-15 stretching from Farmington intersecting with I-215 just west of Redwood Road in North Salt Lake. The ride was a grand affair. Over 800 riders, and several hundred runners, joggers, and walkers enjoyed a variety of events. For myself, I was looking forward to some fun sprinting and to see if I could ride 20 miles in under and hour. 55 minutes later, with an average speed of 22 mph, I was done! Now, before you get the idea that I am great sprinter, I had a lot of help. I enjoyed drafting in and out of pace lines for the last 15 miles. I even took a turn attacking to the front. (I didn’t want to feel like a lazy moocher just enjoying the draft while someone else did all the work!) That Virginia GT can just fly in a paceline! It was a fun morning with perfect weather, and brand new roads with asphalt as smooth as glass.

My new pedals!
Raffles and Ecovelo: For those of you that take the time to read the blogs and web pages on my tab list, take the time to read a new entry; Ecovelo.info. This project belongs to Alan Barnard of northern California, and is a wonderful site that addresses cycling as a mode of transportation, not just as a venue for racing and fitness. The site has wonderful photography, and information about cycling advocacy around the world. Take the time to enjoy this fine resource. Part of Alan’s project was to publish a gallery of “the bikes people ride”. To motivate all readers to submit photos of their bikes, Alan held a free raffle of some very slightly used Speedplay pedals. And, wouldn’t you know it, after 120+ entries, I won one of the two sets of pedals! Amazing! It was such fun getting E-mail from Alan that I had won them. Now, to decide if after 7500 miles, it’s time for a new pair of shoes! Thanks Alan!

Looking north, from the Needles Trail at Snowbasin...
Black Blue are Fall colors: This past Monday, I had an extra day off from work, and since the weather was perfect, I snuck away to Snowbasin Ski Resort for some late afternoon mountain biking. Now, I will confess that I haven’t made much time for mountain biking this summer, and my somewhat novice-like skills were somewhat diminished. That’s a very politically correct way of saying I hit the ground a lot, repeatedly in fact. So, although I am publishing some pictures of lovely fall colors here, I will spare you any photographs of the bruises from endo-ing over the handlebars. I will note that Snowbasin has lovely trails, it’s free, and there are very few folks out riding!

More fall colors for Amy!
There you have it, three posts in one. Stay tuned for more fun this week!

Jim

An Early Morning Education

Saturday morning on the causeway, temps reached 90 that afternoon!

Monday morning...snow! Go figure, it's Utah!
Hi All,
Yes, school is in session, both for kids, and cyclists too. As I am sure I have said before, each and every ride brings some sort of education, or something to look back upon. A lovely sunrise, a new route enjoyed, or a learning experience that will add to my knowledge of bikes and riding.

A nice cycling sunrise...
In this case, last Tuesday brought an educational ride. There are many things I learned in my one-quarter mile ride leaving the Frontrunner station in Salt Lake City in the dark around 6 AM. Yes, I said one quarter of a mile. The remaining 3.5 miles were uneventful, but the first quarter-mile was a bit problematic.

Frontrunner, early in the AM...
I had stuck to my normal routine. Up at 4:30, on the Klein Panzer at 5:10, and on the train at 5:30. A quiet 30 minutes reading my book and I was putting my helmet on and getting the bike out the train’s door to ride to work. I headed out to 200 S. and my turn west towards work. There are freight rail tracks to cross, and I have always gone around some concrete damaged areas that butt up against the seam for the tracks, aligned perfectly with the bike lane. Except this Tuesday morning; for some unknown reason I overlooked the damaged area (a nice way of saying large rectangular HOLE) I wasn’t going very fast, maybe 10-12 mph. I saw the large crack too late and tried to swerve the bike. Bad mistake. I was probably better off slamming the brakes and hit the hole head-on.

This is what I hit... not recommended.
No, I am not hurt, really a poor excuse for a crash. No road rash to brag about, no blood, just a badly bent rim. So after a quick recovery, I wobbled the rest of the way to work. By the end of the day, the tube was flat, a victim of old worn out rim tape, and I was tired and out of patience. I got a ride to the train, then subsequently a lovely 2-mile walk home. This walk gave me new appreciation for riding on two wheels. Want to appreciate your bike? Walk home. Really.
My thanks to my friends at Biker’s Edge for fixing the wheel on short notice, and talking me into nice 1.25-inch new tires. The bike rides smooth and fast on smaller tires, and I am back in business. All I lost was a few hours, and a few bucks. So, here is a list of what I learned about bike-commuting this week:
1. Bike commuting is simple and fun, until something happens.
2. Old tires, tubes, & rim tape WILL fail, at the worst possible time.
3. My Klein/commuter was ill equipped for on road maintenance.
4. Dress shoes are no fun on a 2-mile hike.
5. To not leave my water bottle at work.
6. A nice walk is not necessarily a bad thing.
7. UTA’s ticket kiosks only work about half the time.
8. Some of our local roads really suck.
9. People with pick-up trucks will not pick you up.
10. Riding in the dark is an adventure.

15 of the last 18 days on a bike....

Jim

4,000 Miles and Counting...

Thank You, Mr. Cook at Barcroft Bicycles....

Hi All,
Just a quick note to bring you up to date on a few riding achievements. First off, last week I surpassed 4,000 miles on the Barcroft Virginia GT. It’s no big deal, and to tell the truth I haven’t been tracking details and miles very much this year. About the most I get done is to log my rides in Excel, and see the dismal results. Yes, the miles have been a struggle this year, but I have come to understand that every year and riding season is different.

The Great Salt Lake is low this summer!

So, although I have not logged near as many miles, I have been commuting more, gotten more house projects done, and traveled all over the country. So, I have nothing to be upset about. I rejoice in every good ride I get.

There it is...

Now, back to the 4,000-mile odometer reading. It is actually, pretty cool to note. Only in that I can look back two and a half years and be proud of the cyclist I have become, and enjoy all the fond memories of the places I have ridden.

Sue's lovely bike, and an old Trek I borrowed for a fun 15 miles with Sue....

Also enclosed in this blog is a picture of my sister Sue’s new Giant bike. She bought it to compete in the Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon, and the report from yesterday’s event, is that she was successful! She set a goal back in the spring, and after many months of training, she made it! (That’s the next post, as soon as I get some pictures from her.) It is a truly momentous achievement when you step back and look at the big picture.
Watch for a detailed report later this week…
Happy riding, all.
Jim

I'll Fly Away...

Twilight in Terminal 2; SLC.

Hi All,
This past year has involved a lot of traveling around the country for Kathy and I. We have been to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, and California. A lot of these trips involved partaking of commercial aviation, in other words, propping up the airline industry. However, I have learned that there are more enjoyable pursuits in flying other than spending an evening of radar and summer thunderstorms, or a three-hour delay at O’Hare.

Looking east on the Elwood Bluffs...

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of zipping out to Santa Barbara, CA, to join Kathy in celebrating her birthday. We had a great time spending her special day at the beach with her best friends and family. The weather was great; the beach was peaceful, a great time had by all. If anyone who reads this blog needs suggestions on how to spend a birthday, relaxing at the beach is the way to go!

There were lots of bikes at the beach!
Also, on Sunday I had the pleasure of a wonderful time at the Elwood Bluffs, near my sister Sue and her husband Dana’s house. Sue and Dana are expert remote control glider pilots, and they rejoice in an on-shore wind, a nice sunny day, and gliders to fly.
\

Gliders in flight! Enjoy some video!

Dana at the controls...

Now, for you RC neophytes out these gliders are powered only by the wind, and controlled through servos for the control surfaces. They look easy to fly, but trust me, they’re not! I have tried twice to fly one of these, and the longest time I have maintained safe and controlled flight is about 3.5 seconds.

Sue, showing off her prized glider....

Dana demonstrates the proper launch technique...

On the other hand, Dana has become quite skilled, demonstrating snap rolls, and loop-de-loops. I will say these gliders are one thing: FUN. Nothing better than enjoying the glider’s silent flight around the bluff with nothing but the fresh breeze and sea air to enjoy. The quizzical looks from the beach walkers 80 ft. below us are funny, too.
More news about riding in the next blog…
Jim

A Panzer in the Garage

The view from the Ellwood Bluffs, Goleta, Ca...

Hi All,
Sorry for the lag in posting. We have been traveling, and just plain busy. I would like to take this moment to introduce Bike #3! I guess now that three bikes constitute a fleet! But, it’s no matter. Bike #3 was brought into the garage purely to serve one purpose; Utility. It’s not a racing bike, it’s not a mountain bike, (well, a long, long time ago it was), it’s not a long distance touring bike, it’s a commuter. It’s a bike for commuting to the train, to the store, to the neighbor’s house, something to throw in the car when I need a bike.

The Klein "Panzer"...
Bike #3 is a 1989 Klein Pinnacle. Kind of an interesting story on this bike; my friend Art rode this bike for about 15 years, primarily commuting 22 miles round trip from the east side of Salt Lake City west to the ARTCC where we both work. Then after the bike had become worn down and tired, he gave it to me to fix up and refurbish for a friend. I put about $60.00 into it, replacing a shifter, front rim, tires etc. and presented it to my friend, Mike so he could start cycling. Mike used the Klein for commuting 27 miles each to work for about a year and a half, and even completed the Seattle to Portland Ride riding this well-worn soldier! 2 years ago, Mike died of a massive heart attack while trail running, and sadly, the bike was hung in the rafters of his garage.

Bikes on the Train...
A month ago or so, Kathy and I were walking with Mike’s widow, Cecilia, when we got to Ceci’s house I noticed the old Klein still hanging in the garage. Ceci said: “Take it home with you, please!” and as I was in need of a commuter bike for riding back and forth to the train station, the prodigal bike has returned.

Parked in luxury parking at work...
So, I ride the Klein 1.5 miles to the new Utah Frontrunner train station; ride the train to Salt Lake City, and ride 3.5 miles to work. The bike meets the needs of a commuter perfectly. Sturdy, (look at the square chainstays!) Built to take a beating. The bike was originally a mountain bike, but was reconfigured for commuting, and has truly been a commuter bike for almost twenty years.

Notice the odd position of the brakes?
So, now I own three bikes. My beautiful Barcroft Virginia GT, the Cannondale F7 Mountain bike, and of course, the Klein Panzer!

See you on the road…
Jim

Someone is One Year Old!

Hi all,
Last weekend, Kathy, her mother, Kit, my nieces Christie and Samantha, and I had the pleasure of traveling to Illinois to help celebrate my grandson’s 1st birthday. Yes, the little fella is a year old. Time sure flies…
This blog space is usually utilized to write about cycling, traveling, and landscape photography. BUT, I know that all of you “Brian Groupies” would rather see pictures from last weekend!
So, in honor of Brian’s birthday, here are some pictures of the special day for all you Groupies out there. Please enjoy these pictures. It’s the only way I can bring the little guy closer to you…more news about cycling and Bike #3 in a few days..

Presents are fun at any age!

Even Dad's share the fun..

A lovely birthday cake for all the guests...

Brian gets his own little cake...

Christina helping the birthday boy...

Mmm Cake is Good!

As I just said, Cake is Good!

The tattered remains...

The Train! The Train!

I shot this video on a nice 'bent ride on Monday...
Another summer goal achieved. No, it’s not a 200-mile double, nor is it the mountain bike ride to Desolation Lake. Those challenges still remain on my list. This latest riding goal is more related to commuting and the price of gas.

On time, too!
As the price of gas climbs closer to that of all the other nations in the world, many people in this country are changing their driving habits. I see more and more cyclists on my rides to work, and today I took my next step in changing my routine too.

Kinda hard to screw this up...
I finally worked out all the schedule issues, and this morning I commuted to work using the Frontrunner commuter train. Right off, I can tell you that it was an excellent experience. It’s only a mile and a half to the station, and a mere three and a half miles to the ARTCC where I work. So, logistically it was really pretty simple. I did not however ride the Barcroft Recumbent to the train. Why? Well most importantly, UTA (The Utah Transit Authority) has not really provided for bikes on the trains, and the ‘bent simply will not fit in the small entryways where bikes are allowed.

My little MTB waiting for the train...
So, I rode my Cannondale F7 mountain bike. It is most assuredly not designed for this type of riding, and I found myself quite slow on the road. But, it will suffice until I either complete the Peugeot project, or find a low-end beater road bike to use on the train. Anyone reading this blog who has the bike I seek, drop me a note!

Some weird irony here, passing one of Utah's many oil refineries...
Back to the train; punctual, clean, quiet, efficient, a very nice ride to Salt Lake City. I plan on riding the rest of the week! My first impression is that the system is being well used. I had a great time doing something new, not that I didn’t learn something along the way, too. Let’s see…
Things I learned:
1. One must actually wash out a rarely used water bottle.
2. Riding in 90+ degrees in dress clothes is hot.
3. UTA most assuredly has to fix the problems of bike access on the train.
4. Using the train and bike was simpler than I thought.

5. Watching the normal 5 PM parking lot on I-15 from the train was immensely satisfying.
6. More people can use the train and a bike.
7. I had forgotten how to ride without my rear-view mirror
8. I saw more bike commuters today, than in any other day this year combined!
9. My ticket is transeferable to TRAX, too!
10. And most importantly: The FAA will reimburse me for my train passes, making the whole adventure of using the train for commuting free!
See you on the road on a whole variety of bikes
Jim