The Adventures of Lori and Monty

We decided to head West for the T-Giving weekend. We loaded up the BRAND NEW Santa Cruz Blur LTc bikes and hit the road. We started in Moab, UT with a ride on the Klondike Bluffs and Baby Steps trails. There are dinosaur tracks embedded in the rocks, too cool.
Klondike Bluffs / Baby Steps

Next we rode in the Monitor & Merimac area. There was a ton of very fine sand and it made the trip in pretty tough. The buttes look very muck like the ships they are named for. There was a very fun slick rock playground behind the buttes.
Monitor & Merimac

After riding around Moab, we headed for Fruita, CO. This area has a multitude of trails from desert to slickrock. The first morning we rode in the Kokopelli's area. This is the start of 146 mile trail between Grand Junction and Moab. These trail are fast and fun as the track along the Colorado River.
Kokopelli's Trails

In the afternoon we headed North to the Bookcliffs Area. These are very dry exposed sedimentary cliffs. The rides here are mainly loops or laps. Climb up for 2 miles, then ride down very fast. Great fun.
Bookcliffs Trails

The last day we rode the Tabeguache Trail s near Grand Junction. These trail are know in GJ as the Lunch Loop trails. It is very close to town and lots of folks do lunchtime rides. Here we started in the valley and rode up to the top of the Ribbon trail. Then it was a fast descent on slick rock, then back onto the desert trails.
Tabeguache Trails

What a great weekend and perfect way to break in the new bikes!

We had a great snowstorm in Denver overnight. So it was a perfect day to head to the park for some Cross-County Skiing.

Here are the photos.

We went to Austin for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. They had 8 stages with 130 bands playing 1 hour sets over the course of 3 days. We were fortunate to be able to use Trinity Ranch as a base camp. We met up with Nancy & Bill and Michael & Missy, and they attended some of the show with us.

Day one was awesome, no rain and great music. Day 2 it rained all day long, but the music didn't suffer. We actually think the Trail of the Dead set was the best concert we had been to in a long time. Day 3 was a mud fest, but the music was still great.

Here are the photos.

Monty's first trip to a Velodrome was very awesome! It was a great chance to put the new Fuji Obey bike to the test. No crashes, just lots of speed and fun. Here is some info about track cycling:

-- A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights.

-- Bicycles for velodromes have no brakes. They employ a single fixed rear gear, or cog, that does not freewheel. This helps maximize speed, reduces weight, avoids sudden braking while nevertheless allowing the rider to slow by pushing back against his pedals.

Here are the photos.

We woke up really early on our first day in Kauai, because of the time difference. We decided to take short hike on top of the lithified cliffs close to our hotel to watch the sun rise over the ocean. The light and the colors were amazing! We spent the rest of the day snorkeling the sunny south shore. We had a great time exploring the length of beach stretching out in front of our hotel in Poipu.

On Monday we headed to the west shore, to Waimea Canyon. The views of the gorge from all of the lookout stops were spectacular. We went to the Koke’e Museum to ask about trail conditions. We decided to hike the 11 mile Nu’alolo Trail/ Nu’alolo Cliffs/Awa-‘awapuhi Grand Loop. Our guidebook said: “This is a great hike! It takes most of a day and is strenuous, but you’re treated to views that will stay frozen in your mind for a lifetime.” The guidebook was right! We were treated to incredible views of the Na Pali coast (that we would kayak the next day). We saw beautiful birds and black Hawaiian mountain goats, and we heard feral pigs. On the way home, we had our first taste of rainbow shave ice … with macadamia nut ice cream. Awesome!

We spent Tuesday in kayaks, paddling 17 miles across the spectacular Northwest coast. After checking-in at the guide’s headquarters in Hanalei, we were shuttled to Haena beach park / Maninilolo, the put-in spot. That’s where the fun began. National Geographic magazine selected kayaking the Na Pali Coast as one of the top adventures in the nation, and it was(!) … but … it was also a long time to paddle! We travelled along the base of 4000 foot cliffs, explored sea caves, and passed the incredible scenery of the Kalalau and Honopu valleys. At our lunch spot (after paddling a mere 4-5 hours) we saw an endangered Hawaiian monk seal sunning itself on Milolii beach. The final leg of the journey was to Polihale, the largest beach in the state. What a day!

Can you say JUNGLE HIKE? That’s how we spent the next day, one of our coolest Wednesday’s, ever! The Makaleha hike was a real thrill! The trail started at the end of Kahuna road in northern Kapa’a (on the east shore). We hiked (through) (on top of) (along side) lush, lush, lush foliage, thick bamboo, fast-flowing water, trees, branches, rain, and lots and lots of mud. We followed machete notches in the trees (Hawaiian cairns ☺) that marked the way to a confluence of three streams, laid before a stunning vista of waterfalls, cascading over a limitless green in the distance. Wednesday was a day of music. We also bought Monty his first ukulele that day. His ukulele was made completely in Hawaii, out of Koa wood (which is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands). It sounds very sweet and beautiful.

Our goal on Thursday, before heading to the airport that evening, was to see sea turtles, while we were snorkeling. And, boy, did we! Monty was sooo close to one, he could have kissed him/her! We spent our last day on the south shore, just having fun enjoying the water and the beach. We’ll really miss this place!

Here are links to the photos:

Sunrise Photos

Koke'e Hike Photos

Na Pali Kayak Photos

Jungle Hike Photos

Snorkeling Photos

The gang all headed to Golden to cool off in Clear Creek. It was a great day for a float!
Here are the photos.

Lori, Grace, Brian, Sarah, and Monty hiked the steep trail to the top of Mt. Belford. It was a perfect day for a climb! The views from the top were fantastic. We could see most of the Collegiate 14ers. The flatlanders were winded and everyone was tired, but it was a great hike anyway. Possibly the best part was soaking the tired 'dogs' in the creek at the bottom of the trail. Check out the photos.

Once again, we took a trip to climb some mountains for Lori's birthday. And, this 14er climb was a big one! Check out these photos.

Chicago Basin comprises the upper portion of the Needle Creek watershed in the San Juan Mountains. It lies within the Weminuche Wilderness, part of the San Juan National Forest. The upper portion of the basin is surrounded by three fourteeners: Mount Eolus, Windom Peak, and Sunlight Peak.

The standard route of access to Chicago Basin is somewhat unusual. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, driven by a historical steam locomotive, runs through the canyon of the Animas River. It makes a stop (when requested) at Needleton, a location near the confluence of Needle Creek and the Animas. Visitors to Chicago Basin typically ride the train from Durango or Silverton, get off at Needleton, and hike about 7 miles up Needle Creek to the basin itself.

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Lori bought me a new bicycle as an early birthday present. The Fuji Obey was designed for Fuji by Shepard Fairey, and he did a great job. The frame is lugged double butted cro-moly steel, and comes with a lugged threaded fork. The bike is spec'ed well with lots of gold anodized parts, and a Brooks Swift saddle. This bike not only looks good it rides well. Here are the unboxing and assembly photos.

Features:

Crankset Custom Miche Primato, 144bcd 48T

Bottom bracket Miche

Pedals Wellgo Track pedals w/ custom gold anodized cage, steel toe clip, & Leather Double Toe Strap

Cog 18T Fixed Track

Chain KMC Z410, gold

Wheelset Formula Hubs w/ Alex Crostini Rims & black stainless spokes w/ gold nipples

Tires Continental UltraSport 700x23c

Tubes Kenda presta tubes

Brake set none

Headset First Gold Anodized threaded

Handlebar Custom Fuji Gold Anodized Track bar

Stem Custom Fuji Gold Anodized quill style stem

Tape/grip none

Saddle Brooks Swift Leather w/ Cro-Moly rails

Seat post Custom Fuji gold anodized

We travelled to Ellis to attend the Groff Family Reunion. There were about 40 family members at the party. We had a great time playing games, shooting fireworks, and just getting back in touch with folks we only see at the reunions.

Check out the photos.