Trail 513 Missoula, a Bear and the Snowline

After this morning's V02 test (see below), I headed out to good old trail 513 to see where the snow line is at the moment. I headed up from the Wood's Gulch area to begin the adventure. Stayed in the middle chain ring to the main Marshall overlook area.What a beautiful afternoon it was to slip in a ride. The above photo of Missoula and Lolo Peak was taken at about 6000 feet early during the climb. It was just after one of the more dangerous switchbacks I'm aware of in the Missoula area. The below switchback is not dangerous because of the turn itself, but rather that it sneaks up quickly on a person during the descent and before you know it you are down among the deadfall with a broken neck. So, keep eyes open during the descent if coming down the main trail and not out the back through the East Fork of the Rattlesnake. I came across a survivor of this spring's turkeyseason as well along the ride up. Just strutted around near me as I snapped this photo off. Marshall canyon is full of turkeys. The trail up was in good condition, normal roots and what have you until the snowline which was not too far below Blue Point. So I decided not to hike a bike at this point and turned around and started down. It was about a 3000 elevation gain to here and probably only four miles. Tough climbing. My heart rate hit 177 on one section I did not want to clip out on and managed to hang on. The sections where the snow is I have not been able to get done in the past without clipping out as I'm cooked pretty well already from the previous work below. I do love this section though. Very quiet. It is only a brief hike over to where one can behold a beautiful sight of Sheep Mountain. So I hiked over and took a photo.Well, I headed over to Three Pines and had a great descent. Was pretty happy about that. Then headed up Sawmill Gulch to ride to Snowbowl Overlook and out the Stuart Peak Trail. Well, what did I see in the Sawmill area? Yep, a small brown (black) bear. He even let me take a photo before he scampered off behind the log and up the hill. He is half behind the log in the photo between the two trees. I did not go too close. This was enough.

I rode past the Grant Creek Turn off to the overlook, considered dropping over to Snowbowl for another climb, but I was out of time and decided to drop out on the Stuart side. I climbed about 6800 feet today in various spots and rode about 5 hours. It was a good day.

VO2 Test

My friend Mike gave me a V02 and Threshold test this morning (May 31, 2008) in Missoua at Peak where he is the fitness director. Mike is a squash buddy of mine from the Courthouse fitness center, which is now closed. When the Courthouse had a fire and temporarily shut down in the spring of 2006, I bought a Gary Fisher Sugar mountain bike and started riding for hunting season in the fall of 2006. I ended up doing the Snowbowl hotlaps race that summer in the sport division and got addicted to the sport. Mike found himself moving to Peak this year. Mike played for the University of Montana Grizzlies football team. You would not believe a 235 pound fellow could get around a squash court, but you should see him move in the court!At any rate, the test went well. My son took these photos and hoped his dad did not have a heart attack. My threshold heart rate is 167. My V02 peak was 62 today. Decent for age 39. Funny my max only went to 173. On the 5 hour ride later this day on a vicious climb up trail 513, it went to 177. Also on this afternoon's ride I photoed both a cinnamon black bear and a turkey! See story above. Mike's a good guy. Thanks Mike!

Crazy Canyon Trail Missoula

Both of my pairs of cycling shoes are soaked from the days of rain in Missoula. Today however, Memorial Day, Toadinator and I decided to go out anyway and work on his technical descents and climbs. We started at the base of the University of Montana Golf Course and rode up the fire road along the face of Mt. Sentinel.There is a trail now that winds along the face which was put in with the support of Mountain Bike Missoula in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation in town. People got tired of Mountain Bikes bombing down the fire road. We wound our way up and he completed most of the switchbacks going up. We then went along a single track into the Crazy Canyon area and worked on keeping the head up and looking "down the trail" rather than down the hillside or at the rocks below (sorta). There were many "go try that again" repeats until things were done correctly.
The above rock was repeated a couple of times as there is a quick little turn following this rock. He eventually made the turn after looking up. The above was repeated. We made the junction where I like to go in the middle chain ring up to the road directly behind the Toadinator. If the lower path is taken, there are a couple of fun switchbacks, but the Canyon road is quicker to get to as the climb is not as steep. Both will eventually connect to the upper road to the Windsock on the top of Sentinel where the hang gliders go off. At the junction, we turned around and called it a day.

Three Pines Redux

Spent some time working on this area today with the roots, wet rocks and mud. Hard to understand this looking at these shots, but it is a mess of a descent. Fun to get down a few times.

Three Pines Trail Missoula

Was supposed to do a three hour spin today in the small chain ring. Talk about next to impossible. I stayed in the small ring for 55 minutes, including along the Kim Williams trail and then over to Marshall Canyon, where I could not take it anymore and moved into the center ring for some more power. Prior to heading up the upper end of the canyon I took a few shots of these flowers, Arrowleaf Balsamroot, while the rain was coming down. The field went on forever with them. While taking the photos of these flowers I also turned and took a shot of the Deer Creek road and Rifle Range and a new Golf Resort in East Missoula. Man, I've been here since 1990 and boy have we seen some changes in this valley. Can't quite tell, but the Clark Fork is way up! When I got to this overlook, I spooked two nice mule deer. One was just starting to grow his horns and did not seem the least bit concerned about me. Then I ran into another guy on a bike and he said this was his first time up the Lower Sheep Trail and had read about it on Bill Martin's web page. I laughed and said I wrote the story on Bill's epic page at williammartin.com for the Sheep Mountain ride and that Bill was a friend of mine. His name was Adam and he backed off and headed down because he has an iron man race in two weeks he said. Nice fellow. It was soaking wet now and I had to stop to put on my windbreaker and pants for the Three Pines descent and then out.Coming down this decent can be technical in a few spots and I knew where they were and what to expect. However, I still bought it two times. Once was due to a root which was in the middle of a turn and was small and almost unseen. It was wet and my front tire slid before I could lift it and down I went. Not with speed fortunately, as I always back off a touch if alone. Then, near the end of the descent there are a few rocky areas. Today, however, they are also a little slick. I was clipped out of the left clip and still basically fell over. It's all good.

Retriever Club

We are flooding in Missoula. The annual Western Montana Retriever Club Memorial Weekend Field Trial is going on. The grounds are flooded and so is the Linda Vista Golf Course right next to the grounds. Both are situated along the Bitterroot River which is swollen due to heavy winter and spring snow fall, recent warm temps and non-stop rain.

It is interesting having the guns go off not too far from the tee boxes next door during this traditional annual event. Unfortunately, the club could not arrange the funds to buy the full grounds in the area prior to the golf course being built. It is great the Retriever Club is still in town. People come to this trial from all over the West. Huge time commitment training water dogs. Can't do it all.

Deer Creek Slop Slog

Yesterday's ride was brutal. God, I loved it! Rain, rain, rain! We now have Lake Missoula once again, and it is getting worse. First the warm temps were bringing down the snow melt, and then came the rain. It has been raining non-stop in town and there is no sign of abating anytime soon. I saw one other rider yesterday, on a road bike heading up High Park Road as I was coming over to the final Hillview climb from Pattee Canyon and the bottom of Deer Creek Road. It was a jungle down there. As I was blasting up from the bottom, a red BMW and a Subaru came flying down in the mud and slop and were clearly having a European Style off road race, wipers going full blast clearing their windshields of the mud they were kicking up in all directions. They slowed a bit, cheered and gave crazy waves to the nut riding his bike full tilt up the slog.

China Earthquake Relief Fund

The American Red Cross is involved with the relief effort in China. Consider a donation at Earthquake Help

The situation in China and in Myanmar keeps things in perspective - orphans, thousands dead, millions homeless.

Missoula Mountain Bike Photos

Tons of new pictures posted to the right of this page. Enjoy. Lets try to keep as many trails as possible open to mountain biking. This is a major U.S. challenge as the government is gradually eliminating mountain bike access. Get involved and write letters if you love mountain biking. Support I.M.B.A. at IMBA, Montana Mountain Bike Alliance at Montana Mountain Bike Alliance and WildernessBicycling.org.

Blue Mountain and Snowbowl Overlook Trails - Missoula

Left the house at 6.30 this morning to do a 6 hour ride. Headed to Blue Mountain on a beautiful day in Missoula. Finally, it feels a bit like spring around here. The snow is starting to melt in the mid elevations. Took the above shot of Missoula's valley and the Mission Range next to Snowbowl.
It was pleasently quiet going up Blue Mountain, though I decided to ride mostly the gravel Blue Mountain road going up in the interest of time. Blasted down the single track which is always loose as the motorcycles hang out in there too. Not too bad though. A large herd of whitetails was in part of the trail at one point. I then blasted out to the Highway and over through the university campus area and up the Rattlesnake to hook up with Max and Rafael, two mechanics with the local store the Bicycle Hanger which carries Gary Fisher Missoula Bicycle Hanger.
When I got to the parking lot at the Rattlesnake trail head, I found Rafael but no Max. He said Max would be a little delayed. No worries. So we hung out there from 9.30 to about 10.00 working on my bike and Riding Rick's test. Then we headed up to the Snowbowl overlook. We went up the non-traditional route, preferred by most as the descent that ties into Stuart Peak. Pretty good climb though! The ticks were out and I pulled one off my leg. We got to the top no problems and enjoyed the view of Snowbowl and TV Mountain. One funny thing I noticed about these birds is that neither one of them had a pump or a spare tire! So, I hung out with them through the pull and gave them a hard time about being mechanics and not having any tools! It was a great ride and I made it to the soccer field in time to catch the game at 1.00. Climbed about 5,500 today and still have my legs with many new miles on them from today and yesterday!

Curry Cabin Trail Ride - Missoula

LR's (Little Rogue) little turtle died today when his little sister took her (Arya) to show and tell for her 3rd grade class. Both were very upset. We buried Arya among the daffodils in the back yard so she can be remembered each spring.Friday's are LR's mountain bike ride with dad days and today was not to be an exception. So we headed out to the Rattlesnake to get in a ride. We blasted up the corridor and then turned off to head up to the Curry House Junction and then down through Spring Gulch and out. Heading up to the above junction, we ran into Ben walking down, a total stranger whose pump was broken from the winter Missoula road grime. Ben said he rode his bike all winter and thinks the grit ruined his pump.

Well, I let him use my pump, only to discover that his spare tube was bad too. Yet, Ben did have a patch which he applied to his tube. He finished his ride down a happy man and we headed up to the junction. The brief rest was most welcome by the Sheephead in the Sponge Bob jersey. After the junction, we decided to go on up to the Curry Home which LR had never seen. Not much left there but a few remnants of the place. We took a few shots and then headed for the switchbacks down. Now that was fun! Scoob was ripping down. Back tire off the ground in many places. Made me a little worried in a few spots, but it was GREAT!

Coming down through the single track next to the Sawmill road, a young fellow crashed quite a ways ahead of Scoob, but when we got to him he was in full recovery. Also, the kid's dad was close at hand too. We blasted out to the Rattlesnake main parking lot and headed to the single track over to Lincoln Woods where I left the truck.I took the Sugar full suspension out tonight and man is that a sweet ride! Felt like a Cadillac versus the Big Sur, fast too! Very balanced. We topped off the night with a trip to Missoula's Taco Del Sol, where he had a beef taco and I had a burrito! Life is ok by golly. Tomorrow early for me is a three hour blast, followed by 6 on Sunday.

Sheep Mountain Trail Missoula Photos

I posted a link to the site (on the right) of my photos of Sheep Mountain from my various rides over during different times. Enjoy them.

1000 Miles and Glacier Lilies

Crossed over 1000 miles year to date today. Replaced the front shock with a SID Race last week and am sending the fox back to fox as it is only a year old. Also, just replaced the crank. Not completely where I want to be with the miles to date, but I'm going to get over this hack if it kills me! Went over 200,000 meters on the rowing ergometer to date last week as well. Following the Watson's ride this morning, I went for a three hour ride in the Rattlesnake to check in on the trail conditions. Still plenty of snow around, but able to do some climbing too.Started at the Lincolnwood area and rode to Rick's little test site below the lower Rattlesnake parking lot along the creek. I clipped out once which meant going again until I got it right. Second time I got it. Can tell I've been off the bike. Then decided to do a blast up the corridor to Franklin Bridge to see how the Lower East Fork of the Rattlesnake is looking. It was cold and I was wearing a lot of cloths. Seems crazy to be May and next month the race season goes into full swing. I took a few shots of the area including the sign for the turnoff to Sheep Mountain and Mineral Peak and the East Fork above. I rode past this sign many times in the past before I realized there was an access there. So I started up the East Fork realizing this was going to go nowhere. After two portages and only about a half of mile, I stopped with snow covering the trail and turned around. Decided to head to Walman Trail which should have better possibilities of no snow issues. Flying down the corridor I hit a major rock and the new SID rolled over it no worried, but the rear tire went down immediately. So, had my first flat this year. Tested a cartridge for the first time and realized I better keep my pump along, because the pressure from the cartridge was enough to see me through, but not enough for a serious ride.

Ate a cereal bar and a gel and headed to a painful climb. Knew it was coming. Not too bad. Got a new surprise on top however as the upper climb has been eliminated and now there is a loop around the top and down. I say new because I'm not sure I remember spending too much time on it last year and the trail looks recently built. Major switchbacks coming down. Should have taken a shot of them, but was too busy paying attention to where I was and hoping I did not accidentally cross over to the Snowbowl overlook area and Grant Creek. Came out in the right area and stupidly put my foot down in the creek at one crossing (should help my cough tonight!). It was dark in there, and the trail was set up actually very nicely. Grippy, not too wet.

Felt good to get out today. Did not get the tempo up to where it needs to be, but I'm still in recovery mode for a bit. Happy Mother's Day!

2008 Devil's Slide - Lewiston Idaho

Drove over Saturday morning, April 12th, to Lewiston from Missoula with my 10 year old son. We stopped along Route 12 to fish the ponds along the Selway river going over. For those of you who have never travelled Route 12 along the Lochsa River, you should at some point in your life attempt to do so. Perhaps the most beautiful highway in the US. The fishing did not produce, but it was a sunny Saturday to relax along the Selway. We got to Lewiston late in the day and scouted out a camp site along the Snake River near the Jack O'Conner Memorial building which would serve as the starting area for the race Sunday. It was hot! High 80s and then some. It took a while, but we figured out where the course was and pre-rode most of it. LR did not ride entirely down the Devil's Slide as there was real potential for trouble there. We sat on a bench along the course that was literally along a cliff without a fence overlooking the Snake River. A little scary thinking of my son riding along this single track above the river. We pre-rode the whole course, about a 5 mile loop. Then met up with the Browns and Bill Martin in Missoula who were camped not too far away. We cooked hamburger helper with elk burger from an elk I killed last Fall in the Big Hole. It was hot at night and I could not sleep at all thinking about my son on the beginner course (for adults) above those cliffs. We had reviewed how to get off of the bike on the UPHILL side to let the other racers come around BELOW him during the pre-ride Saturday night. Well, he must have figured it out (walking the bad sections) because he got the race done on his own without any help from the promoter or otherwise. His dad was very happy! I pre-rode the course again prior to the race that Sunday morning with more speed. The evening pre-ride I had two thorns in my front tire which I had removed Saturday night and expected a flat front tire Sunday morning which oddly enough was not the case! At any rate, my first expert level race began after a night of absolutely no sleep and all worry. It went fine. Only one crash. Front tire bogged in the sand on a turn. I got 3rd out of 7 overall expert riders. There were quite a few pros. Bill got 1st in expert and the Browns all had a good race. Ross got his first sport 2nd ribbon and was very happy. Lots of swag was had by all and it was a ball. On the drive home, I was so tired I actually drove 45 minutes on 12 West of Lewiston towards Walla Walla until I asked myself, Where is the Clearwater river? Pretty crazy. The drive home was beautiful along the Clearwater and the Lochsa. Sun and shadows the whole way. The Little Rogue crashed in the back the whole time, but I let him sleep. He needed it. He got 2nd in the Under 14 beginner level.