I don’t, but I wind ways to deal with it. Our recent spat of near 100 degree temperatures has given me a good excuse to get out and enjoy the sunrise while the temps are still in the low 60′s. I find it quite pleasant and a great way to start my summer days.
Here’s a few shots from this morning’s ride on Holy Cross.
I took the boy to climb on the new kids boulder on the newly remodeled Main Street Mall in GJ. He took naturally to it and at three feet tall, every problem is a highball! Super Fun!
I just had a great eight days of climbing and biking with tireless Pat Murphy of Toronto. In spite of the 100 degree heat in the desert, we were able to complete a number of classic climbs in area including the Kor/Ingalls route on Castleton Tower and the never ending Ground Control to Major Tom in the Black Canyon and the historic Otto’s Route on Independence Monument. We took early starts every day to avoid the heat, which worked well in the cool of the high desert mornings. We even managed a day of bolt clipping and edge crimping in Ouray.
Our biking adventures saw us road rippin’ across Colorado National Monument and single trackin’ in Fruita and Crested Butte. The mix of short, hard climbs, longer, easier ones as well as both road and mountain biking made for a good “alpine climb simulator” over the eight days. Rest and copious beer was in order on the ninth. Sounds a bit like some new religion? I know that we found salvation. Seriously, this mix of activities really is a good way to train for a “the big routes” and focus on a variety of muscle groups, energy outputs and types of mental focus, AND without much objective hazard. It’s a lot of fun, too!
Here’s a some photos of a few of the highlights.
I spent the morning riding many of the fine loops around the start of Kokopelli’s Trail in Fruita with Pat Murphy. It was a great way to take a break from the desert towers we’ve been climbing.
I had a great Memorial Day weekend by way of the classic tradition of a family camping trip. We hit the road in our camper to the Four Corners region: Cortez and Durango. The whole affair was fun for all, rife with some great mountain biking, hiking into the ruins of Mesa Verde, hot dog gilling, making s’mores, swimming, canned beer and even and impromtu appearance at a trailer park party with a live band! Everybody had fun, nobody got hurt AND we’re all still on speaking terms.
The riding at Phil’s World, near Cortez, is everything it is rumored to be: fun, fast and easy. It is like skiing high speed groomers with a nice half pipe section in the end (i.e. The Ribcage). It is defiinitely worth the visit. Also, the Dry Fork-Colorado Trail-Hoffein Connector trail loop outside Durango is a similar, but less rolling version of this: one big climb followed by one fast descent. Although short, we found it to be “more fun” than the nearby, more bumpy (and more famous) Hermosa Trail.
Phil's World