We are still alive and kicking.  After coming back from vacation in Moab, life changed a little bit-- at least for us.  Fall had arrived and it was time to get ready for winter.  Time to put up the bikes and get ready for snowboarding.  Time to get back to the gym and spin classes.  Time to work on the wood pile we had been ignoring all summer and clean-up the yard.  Oh yeah, time to give the house a good cleaning as well.  We also added a new member to our pack-- a beagle puppy we named Luci.  

 

We also wrapped up our 32 Things to Do in 32 weeks.  We completed 21 out of 32-- not bad but definitely less than we had planned.  So some of you will be receiving gift cards over the course of the next several months-- enjoy!  We learned a lot about ourselves through doing this list of goals.  Sometimes you just like the idea of doing something but don't necessarily really want to do it--- like learn sign language.  Some things prove more difficult to accomplish than what you had expected--- like eating organic foods for 5 days when our local grocery stores don't even carry much organic food.  Some things just didn't seem worth the time and money when it came down to actually doing them-- like getting our passports when we have no plans to leave the country.  Some things we don't have any excuses for like writing a short story or riding the teeter totter. 

 

Now that the 32 weeks is over, we are planning to take our blog in a new direction.  We will still post photos and stories about what we are up to from time to time but we plan to focus more on other topics besides ourselves.  So check back in with us, and we will see what you think.

 

Billi

I never would have guessed that I would be participating in a mountain bike race even so soon as a year ago, much less a 24 hour race, but there we were at the 24 Hours of Moab race venue Friday afternoon staring across at the landscape and mass of tents, campers and RVs.  We were in the middle of nowhere with thousands of other racers, support crews, vendors, race oragnizers, supporters and EMS with the wind howling and the fine Moab red dirt blowing.  While crunching the grit in our teeth, we successfully got our base camp set-up.  The canopy with tarp sides was no match for the dirt.  Dirt was up, down, into, and on everything.  We weren't quit prepared for this kind of challenge.  We managed to get some dinner and headed for the tent.  We tried to settle down for some much needed sleep but the wind continued to push the dirt up the tent fly, through the tent mesh and settle onto our sleeping bags and our exposed faces.  At about 2AM, we gave up, pushed the dirt aside and climbed out of the tent into the pick-up.  Our F350 has proven its worth several times, and this was one of them.  We got a couple of hours of light rest as the wind continued to tear apart the tent landscape outside. 

 

Saturday AM came too soon and the wind and dirt was worse.  A cold front was coming through along with cold temps and a chance for rain and snow during the wee AM hours of the race.  This was the 24 Hours of Moab and the show must go on.  It was crowned the year of the wind (luckily no rain or snow).  After much discussion, Brad decided to start for Team Billy Goats.  The start was a Le Mans start, which meant about 360 starters would run about 1/4 of mile to their bikes and then mount and start the first lap.  I had thought about starting but the thought of 365 riders on bikes battling for position was too intimidating for me.  Brad lined up with all of the other race starters and battled it out.  He kicked butt and posted the fastest lap of our group.

 

Our race order was Brad, Shirley, me, Lynn, Heather & Jeff.  I headed out on my first lap right before 4:30PM.  I was nervous but had a goal of a 2 hour lap.  The 24 Hours of Moab course was known to be sandy, technical and tough for a 24 hour course.  Since Brad and I had never rode it, we weren't sure how tough it would be.  It was definitely challenging and a little more technical than we had expected.  The course was protected from the winds and blowing dirt so it made it much nicer to be riding than waiting back at base camp.  I made it back to the finish in 2 hours and with a smile.

 

The other thing we weren't prepared for was trying to get ourself back up again to ride after the down time.  Brad started his second lap at about 12:30AM.  It was tought to get going, especially in the wind, dirt and cold.  Brad said it was much easier once he got started out on the course.  I started my second lap at about 4:30 AM.  It was really tough to drag myself out of the pick-up.  I was tired-- not so much from riding but more from the lack of sleep and the draining nature of the wind and dirt.  I headed out and wrecked in the sand within the first mile.  Nothing like the adrenaline of a wreck to wake you up.  The rest of the ride was calm-- there was something peaceful about riding at sunrise.  Plus, the other racers were much more friendlier towards one another.

 

So to to wrap things up, we finished 44th out of 61 "Just for Fun" teams and overall 278th out of 365 teams.  Not bad considering most of our riders were novice, two of our riders didn't ride a second lap and with the wind/dirt.  Althoough we were humbled by the other faster and better riders, we felt we were in OK shape.  We were not prepared for the wind and blowing dirt or the amount of mental effort to get ourselves back out for the second lap- all things we will be better prepared for next time.  It was an awesome experience and one that I will always remember.  Now if I can just get all of that Moab red dirt out of my nose and lungs, I will be content.

 

Billi

Well Thursday is almost gone and we have loaded up the pick-up.  We have everything and then some, our gear not only fills up the 1-ton pick-up but also a cargo rack off the back.  If we don't make it to the race we already know why.  While pulling the pick-up around, the power steering pump was loud.  We will see how it goes.  We have talked to several of our team members and everybody seems to be getting ready to make the drive to Moab.  It seems that the weather should be really cold and wet.  This will be in our favor since we ride in cold, wet conditions when ever we can.  After the 24 hour race, we plan to do some ridin with a small group then finish out the week by ourselves.  We hope to post some pics of the race while we are out there.  So take a look soon. 

Brad

So I hopped out of the pick-up, caught my finger in the tie down hole and bent it all the way back to the back of my hand.  In doing so, I jerked my body and hurt myself really good.  I was afraid I broke it off but I just dislocated all of the bones and it still kinda works.  On Monday though, my right side of my back and leg fell asleep then went numb.  When it came back, it cramped and was really sore.  So I have been struggling to get around and have had to hold my coffee cup with my other hand.  I think it will be fine by the time we get on the race course. 

Brad 

 

 

Yesterday was my 75th and my last commute to work on my bike.  It was a chilly one and there was a steady breeze out of the north-- both of which I will not miss.  I will miss my commute on Ruby, though.  It gave me time to think about all kinds of things-- Brad, my family, work, mountain biking, life in general.  There is alot to be said for quiet time alone-- time to hear your own breathing, feel your heartbeat, be with your own thoughts without interruption, watch the world go by at a slower pace.  Kind of sounds like meditation.  Maybe that's why I will miss it.

 

Billi

 

Last weekend we camped and mountain biked in Crested Butte with a small group of people.  It was a good time and the trails were nice.  This weekend we stayed home and started getting ready for our Moab trip.  We are excited to be a part of the race, ready for a week off, and happy to be spending the entire week exploring the Moab area on our bikes.  We also rode up with Ben & Allie (Brad's counsin and his wife) to Wolf Creek this weekend to get our season passes.  I don't know about Brad, but after Moab, I will be ready to put the bikes up for the year and get out the boards.  Brad and Ben are going to learn to telemark this year, Allie will be getting in her first full year on her new board, and I will hopefully be progressing on my board.  Memories of sore ribs enter my thoughts for a few minutes but quickly leave as I think about all of the fun we will have.  I am going to try to learn a few tricks this year.  I am sure I won't be catching big air but it would be cool to be able to jib a few things.  I am getting a little ahead of myself-- Wolf Creek doesn't open to Nov. 7th.

 

So meanwhile I am planning on enjoying vacation.  Maybe I will get to finish my book and shop for a couple pieces of art.  Hopefully, I will get a lot of sun before going back to the frozen tundra.

 

Billi

   

We finished our puzzle-- a Bev Doolittle piece-- while I was healing up from my colonoscopy/endoscopy.  We had a good time doing it and might put together a few more this winter.  Meanwhile, we have plenty of other things to complete on our list and only 5 weeks left.  Time flies when you're having fun.  Billi

 

 

Well you may have noticed not much activity last week from the house.  Well, we decided to take our week off and then hit it hard again this week.  I took a strength test to figure out what and who I am.  To much of my surprise, it came out really good.  Billi says it is right on the mark.  Trish, my older sister, gave me the book and the test for a gift, and finally I got around to doing it.  She gave copies to several other people.  We emailed the test results to her, and then she sees if some of us are the same.  After talkin to her about it, we can see already we look at things differently. 

We have been going through a lot of miles and are getting ready for more riding in Crested Butte.  We are leaving Friday night and hopefully we will ride all weekend. 

Brad

To add to Brad's last email about good trails & maps.....

 

We traveled to Dolores last weekend and did some camping and mountain biking.  The local map was excellent and the trails were some of the best we have ever rolled the tires on.  The singletrack was well maintained, easy to follow even on our night ride, and offerred just about everything you might ask for.  The people of Cortez & Dolores have some nice singletrack and they want people to ride it-- how nice for us.  We rode Phil's World Saturday afternoon, Boggey Draw on Saturday night and finished it off on Sunday with Maverick Loop-Italian Canyon-Bean Canyon with a couple of other riders from Alamosa.  On the way home, we stopped by Steamworks Brewery in Durango and had a delicious and filling dinner.  It was a great weekend-- we posted a few pics.

 

Billi

 

 

We decided to go and ride South Boundary this weekend.  After talking to several people and finding a map, we were off.  As we were riding and trying to figure out how the trail and map work together, wich we never did, I started to think about trail maps.  It seems that most everywhere we go ride, hike, fish, climb, or sight -see, there are great trails and attractions.  What seems to be the big difference between having great trails and enjoying them?  I think it has to do with the community.  Most of the time, local shops and people get together and make maps for the people coming in.  South Boundary had a bad map and everybody always complains about how hard it is to follow the trail.  So what happens is that we had a great trail but a bad vibe all day.  The best places have really nice local maps that flow really well.  I think this helps with everything.  Maybe one day we can get some local maps around here.  Seems like some of us bikers still can't find some of our own trails. 

 

Brad.

I was sore and bruised this week.  I didn't ride to work and didn't go on the Thursday group ride-- I even missed out on Heather's 7-layer bars.  I can't say that the break from the daily commute wasn't nice-- the morning temps have dropped--- but I did miss riding my bike.  We had planned to ride South Boundary, a 40 mile mtn. bike ride between Taos and Angel Fire, this weekend but I had my doubts.  I was still pretty sore from my endos and while I was making some progress, I still had a ways to go to normal.  Finally Friday, I decided I would give it a go and the plans were made.  With the help of a couple of Aleve and some coffee, I got ready early Saturday AM and we headed off to Taos with our friend Heather.  We picked up trail map from a local bike shop in Taos-- they had left the map in their mailbox so we could pick it up before they opened.  How's that for service?

 

We got on the trail and started climbing right away.  I was twitchy and steering all over the place and my right rotater cuff muscles were feeling the movements.  I wasn't sure if it was because we lowered my handlebars or my sore muscles.  I thought it was going to be a really long and painful day.  We made it to the top of the climb, and I decided we needed to take my handlebars back up.  Brad set-up a mini-shop beside the trail and he went to work.  We also discovered my brakes were way too squishy-- maybe a contributing factor to me finding endo gear so easily.  What a difference!  I was able to steer again and not twitch all over the place and my rotator cuff muscles were able to relax a little.

 

It turned out to be a nice ride.  The sky was blue, the sun was shining at that nice fall angle, and the trail had quite a bit of nice single track.  I shied away from any rock drops, did not find endo gear and didn't re-bruise any bruises.  I added to my already existing soreness but I was glad we rode.  Hopefully all will be healed for our rides next weekend.  Sometimes you need to get sore to know what muscles you use.

 

Billi

We did go ridin as Billi points out and had a blast.  When we got home, I walked over to see are whining and excited dog.  WOW, he must have gained in the area of ten pounds and could barely waggle his tail.  So we had to put him on a diet.  A couple days later, he is looking back to normal.  I also had to repair some more of our bikes.  My bike is making a small squeek that I took apart the dogbone to correct.  On Billi's bike, I lowerd the handle bars and greased the headset.  The SS will come in the days following.  While out on our trip, Ben called me up and we did talk snowboards and that got us talking about winter.  Seems there is a little bit more riding to do, and I hope it only gets more epic.  We are getting our legs under us and should be ready for some long rides this fall.

 

"And that's when I was faster than my wife"  ---Some guy

Brad

We had a busy, busy week.  We decided to do our first camping/mtn. bike trip of the year.  So I took off Friday and started off by shopping for the grub and supplies for the trip.  After Brad got off of work, we loaded up and took 5 of our bikes to Salida for maintenance and repairs.  The Yeti was in the worst shape-- you could have had an aquarium inside the frame there was so much water.  Thanks to Anton and his 5 hours of work, the Yeti, Stumpy P, Louisa, Ruby and Thelma were ready to go.  Loiusa was stoked as she got Stumpy P's crank set-- she used to have a crank set with 175mm crank arms, which were way too long for my short legs.  Stumpy P got the royal treatment-- since her crankset went to Loiusa, she got a new crankset, new grips and some lube.  The Yeti was drained free of water and got lots and lots of lube-- thank goodness, no more squeeks.

 

So with the bikes tuned-up, a dog sitter lined up (Tucker is not a mtn. bike kinds of dog), and finally all of the camping gear loaded, we head out to Gunnison to ride Hartman Rocks and camp in the nearby KOA.  We got out of Monte about 15 miles and Brad pulled over.  It took him awhile, but on the way back to the house he admitted that he had forgotten the front wheels to Thelma and Loiusa.   Good thing we came back-- he also forgot the bike locks.  Oh well, trial run and time to think about anything else we might have forgotten.

 

We got into Gunnison, got some maps, got our base camp set up and took the SS out for our first ride at Hartman Rocks.  It took a little while to figure out the map and loops of single track, not to mention for me to warm-up to my SS, but once we did, we had a blast.  The next morning after some pancakes and sausage, we headed out again on the SS.  It rained a couple of times and got lots of mud on the tires but it cleared out to sunshine in between.  The trails were fun and challenging, with plenty of curves, sand, climbs and rock slabs.  After making our way through several trails, we headed back to the KOA just as the third bout of rain clouds opened up and poured for the rest of the night.  We had planned to go on a night ride but the rain kept coming down so headed for the tent instead.

 

The next morning we packed up base camp and headed towards Taylor Reservoir to ride a trail called Doctor's Park.  It was an awesome ride-- lots of climbing in the beginning, sweet flowing single track in the middle, and a tough descent at the end.  I had a tough go on the end and found endo gear not once, but twice.  Stumpy P had a badly bent rear rotor but otherwise was OK.  I fared a little worse but didn't neeed any doctor visits.  We stopped by the bike shop on the way home to get a rotor for Stumpy P, and I will take off a few days from the bikes.

 

I can't say that we labored much this weekend but we had fun.

 

Billi

My bike seems to be fallin apart faster then I can put it back together.  I think I have bent another derailluer hanger, ruined another chain, my head set needs some lube, and cut more sidewalls.  Oh wait, there's more.  I may need a new shifter cable, have to take out my main pivot- regrease, clean up my bottom bracket, re-adjust my front brake, and re-tape my seat stay soon.  That seems to be the life of my Yeti.  Once I get it back workin, we go out and trash it all over again.  I could only imagine what would happen if I had a more entry level bike.  One more thing, I had to replace another hub spoke nut.  On the other hand, my SS bike with no gears, no hangers, and no cables, has ran smooth no matter how hard I have pushed it.  Maybe next year it will begin its demise. 

 

Uncle Lee had sent Billi and I four pounds of some kickin coffee that we have been sippin on.  It has been a nice change from the coffe we had been drinkin cause we were buyin all organic.  Since we have been shoppin around here, we were starting to buy the kinds we did not want just to meet the list. 

We have decided to do some trail travelin.  We got out to Salida last week and have a Moab, Crested Butte, Gunnison, South Boundary, Cortez, and maybe a Fruita trip planned.  We rode hard last weekend and it shows.  It seems to be the case that I had been preachin the whole time.  People will show up with there bikes when the trail is long, hard, and epic enough to challenge and tire people.  Sometimes the group plans a ride down the rode on a Sunday and no one comes.  We plan to do 35 miles of techy trail-- 12 people ready to endo, bleed, sweat, cramp, wreck, and limp back to the pickup. 

Thanks for readin

Brad

We got in some good rides this week.  Thursday we went on the weekly mountain bike group ride and finished it off with some goodies and beer.  Saturday we got in some nice road miles, met another cyclist and fixed a flat tire on Brad's bike.  Sunday we joined the cycling group for a 35 mile ride on the Monarch Crest.  Brad could hardly sleep the night before and was ready well before the meeting time the next morning.  After a few comical errors and bathroom breaks, our group of 12 finally started up the trail around 9:30 AM or so.  Brad and I have ridden this trail once before, last year not too long after I got Stumpy P.  I struggled through it last year and was anxious to see how my riding would compare.  Brad had a blast.  I had an awesome ride.  Despite several wrecks, a little hail and rain, a couple of flat tires, and many stinky riders, everyone in the group had smiles the entire way.

 

Except, there was one rider that was not all smiles the entire way.  All started well for this rider until his chain broke.  No chain tool, no spare link and no knowledge of how to fix his chain, he quietly stood by the trail looking at the broken chain in his hand.  He wouldn't ask for help so he waited until one of the riders stopped and offered.  The single speeder of our group fixed the chain for him and got him back on his way.  So the guy continued down the trail, tried to hammer, cramped up, whined to anyone that would listen, went straight to his pick-up and left.

 

Meanwhile, the fun had just begun for the rest of us-- the descent down into Silver Creek and onto the Rainblow Trail.  It was twisted, up and down, thru creeks, across meadows, down the creek and flowed along the hill sides.  It was fast and fun but still with enough climbing to keep you satisfied.  It was an epic ride.  The pizza and beer at Amica's afterwards wasn't too bad either.

 

Billi

 

I was riding to work on my bike a few weeks ago and had a bee fly down into my jersey.  The bee stung me twice times on the chest before I could stop my bike and grab hold of it, and then stung me again on my finger as I flung it away.  As I was digging the stinger out of my finger, I thought about whether or not I was allergic to bee stings.  I have never been stung by a bee so wouldn't know.  I waited a minute for the stinging to subside a little and my throat didn't close up, so I got back on my bike and continued on to work.  I guess I am not allergic to bees-- good to know.

 

I went to an appointment with a new doctor last week and learned that the appendix does have a purpose.  Although still debated somehwat, the appendix holds the blueprint of your intestinal microbes.  Everyone's intestinal microbes are different and unique to the individual.  So when you take antibiotics and kill alot of your good microbes along with the bad ones, the appendix tells your body how to get your good microbes back to original.  I am sure it is a little more complicated than my explanation, but that is my reduced version. 

 

Brad was grumpier than usual and really tired the beginning of last week and he couldn't come up with any reasons why.  The grumpiness and tiredness went on for several days, until he realized he had not taken any allergy medicine any of those days.  He took some allergy medicine and was back to normal within a day.  We now know that the allergy medicine does work and Brad can get grumpier.

\ 

Even though learning something new is good thing, it doesn't mean that it doesn't come with a learning curve.

 

Billi

 

We went out to see some 24 hour racing.  Heather (that's for Trish) entered the race as a solo woman rider and rode all the way into second place.  The race seems to be not so much about speed but being able to stay on your bike for a full 24 hours.  The way this race worked was at noon they said go and the contestants rode 13 mile loops untill noon the next day.   Anton (some more names for Trish) was riding by the pit we were hanign at, and he was on a old 1940 or so schwinn cruiser and was showin off by riding some wheelies, well or what he could on a 40# bike.  All of the people were havin a good time and the cow bells were ringing every time a rider would fly by.  There are many ways to enter and one of them is as a duo, which is probably how Billi and I will be racing the events.  Taking a name from a group of snowmobilers, we are thinking of using the Rue Crew.  We might go into next year racing SS or geared-- we have not decided.  Sunday we headed out to the trail and threw down a ride that went by too quick.  We enjoy cruising and laughing a little more then the pacers wanted to.

 
Oh yeah, right now on xm radio they are runnin Manditory Metallica.  I have been jammin it every where we go.  Listening to all those songs bring back a lot of thoughts.  I still remember borrowing my friend's Killl Them All album back in the 6th grade and have been a loyal disciple ever since. 

 

Well we will be riding the Crest this weekend and that should be very entertaining since that was some of are best stories from last year.  Oh yeah, we have been walking Tucker and he was bored one night, so I got out the Haro, my BMX bike, and hooked him up to a long leash and he really enjoyed running all over town. 

 

Brad

I received some cold, hard bank for my B-Day to buy some more biking products.  The dollar bills went towards lights and a brand new tire.  The lights are designed to fly down some sweet, single track at night.  I got a handle bar mount lamp and a head mount lamp.  They run off a battery that connects to the bike or rests in your bag.  I have not tried them out, since we have been so busy with just riding hard in the day time.  Soon the days will get shorter, the evening rides will run out of sun and then the lamps will come out and fill the the void.   My tire I will have to buy has not yet gotten here due to the fact I have not purchased it yet.  My old tire has three holes in it and the tread is almost gone.  The new tire I am thinking about getting is the Big Earl and has a scary, aggressive tread pattern.  My cousin runs them and really likes the tire.  I also broke a spoke this weekend, so I may have to put on my old wheelset for this weekend rides.

Yeah one more thing, Trish and her family gave me a book that tells me what my strenthgs are.  Probably will mention my exceptional social skills and my love for the phone.

 

 

 

This past week, it rained and rained some more.  We decided to on the weekly group ride despite the dark clouds all around.  The ride was nice but the rain finally caught up with us to soak us for the last couple of miles.  Thanks to Mick's camper shell, it wasn't enough water to keep us from enjoying a few of Heather's cookies and a beer after the ride--- who says we aren't social people?

 

The rain continued and the forecast was rain for sure for the entire weekend.  Brad and I posted our weekend ride invitation anyways.  We actually got a few responses, most of which were warnings.  We got the warnings about how much it had already rained, how much it was going to rain, about the muddy trails, about bringing our raincoats, and about how we might should re-think our plans.  Of course, all of the warning emails came from the people that weren't actually interested in going.  We ignored them all and four of us took our chances.  We must have somehow managed to please the bicycling Gods because the weather was great, sunshine with some clouds and no rain, not even a sprinkle.  We rode our mountain bikes Saturday and rode again on Sunday on the road bikes.   

 

We didn't have any rain but we did have good company and som fun.  Heather wrecked while trying to sneak up on a marmot to take a photo (see photos) but other than that everyone came out OK.  Just a reminder that the weather forecast is just a prediction--- get outside anyways and enjoy the ride, rain or not.

 

Billi

We did a group weekend ride for the people who wanted to.  Seems funny how many people can't ride when the trail gets hard and long.  Anywho, we were working are butts of when Billi said " I think that's the top", She was talking about the need not to hike the bike no more.  Well it wasn't, and every chance me or Heather got , we would say "hey I think that's the top".  Well the top never showed up cause I think we rode 20 some odd miles and climbed around every corner.   We had a great time though.  One rider ran out of water halfway and was drinkin some iced tea out of his bag.  The other three of us made it with our water, barely.  On days like that, I will wake up and start to drink water right away.  The weekend group we have found is filled with riders willin to do anything for a thrill.  We hiked a bike, tore soles of two shoes, fell down and sliced a leg with a cherry about 6" around, blisters on our palms, hid under trees from rain, wrecked going up, endoed going down, 5 flat tires, two brake adjustments, and tons of laughs.  I am sure glad we have met some really neat people through cycling that we can go have fun with. 

Until next time, take no organized group photos.

Brad