Bigger is Better

Bigger is Better, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

Tools of the trade.

Wind Slab

Wind Slab, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

Another avy control day.18-20" of new snow sounds great, but when the 100 MPH winds come, all bets are off for a good day of skiing. This is what Denali must look like after a good windstorm. 48 hours of super duper high winds created some great formations in the snow, like this one at Mission Ridge, but ruined the powder skiing. I think all of our new snow ended up in Quincy or Ephrata, about 30 miles to the East. Surprisingly, we had very few results today. The best part of the day was the snowcat ride up in the dark which always provides some entertainment. Oh, and my brothers yardsale at the bottom of Shot 6 near the microwave ;-)

High Voltage

High Voltage, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

Nice work brother Mike. Good form, perfect placement. What more could you ask for besides some powder?

Bad weather where?

Bad weather where?, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

The mountain passes are getting absolutely hammered with snow right now, and even our local ski area just 15 miles away is getting positively terrorized by wind (see photo below). So it seemed impossible to pass up the opportunity to go for a sunny but slightly breezy ride, just because the weather is so contradictory.

I put on my front and rear bags to remember what it feels like to ride with a light load on, and I didn't like it too well. The brevets coming up in less than a month near Seattle are self supported, so you do need some kind of baggage system to carry enough clothes, tools, and food to complete the ride. However, last year I dumped the front bag because it makes my bike handle weird. The Steelman I ride is a cyclocross bike, not a touring or brevet specific design, so it's not really designed to carry a bunch of stuff. That said, it is a capable bike, and is super comfortable.

My brevet partner is trying to convince me to use my carbon Trek road bike this year, but it has even more limitations: No fender eyelets means I have to resort to Raceblades, which are o.k. to an extent, but not up to Seattle Randonneuring standards. And let me tell you, the folks in Seattle will let you know if your fenders are not up to spec. Also, the Trek won't hold a frame pump well, which means bringing a mini-pump. And then there is the problem with spoke breakage on a fancy wheeled machine like the Trek. A roadside repair just isn't going to happen, and so my ride would be over. Plus, do I really want to subject my Dura-Ace equipped wonder bike to all that rain and road grime? The Trek is far more energy efficient than the Steelman, but so what. After 8 hours of riding, I'm going to be wiped out no matter what bike I'm on.

100 MPH

100 MPH, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

This is a view down the mighty Columbia River, just a few miles North of Wenatchee. In the distance, up there in the clouds, is Mission Ridge. For the past 2 days, Mission has had sustained winds of over 70 mph with maximum gusts reaching 116 mph. During one 9 hour period, the wind gusted over 100 for 8 of those hours. With a combination of the wind with new snowfall, avalanche duty is certainly in my near future.

Lunchbreak in Sage Hills

Hunkering down, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

One of my Winter workouts is a quick trip up to Sage Hills at lunchtime for a quick snowshoe. This one was a bit cold, windy and snowy, but still fun. The deer were pretty well snuggled in out of the wind, and not too interested in me. I've seen cougar tracks up on the ridge top twice now, and I keep thinking I might run into one someday. Those big cats are pretty abundant around here, but I have yet to see one in the wild, which is pretty weird.

I made a Survivor Man type video at the top that I thought was pretty funny. I was having a bad morning at home with some pretty difficult teenager issues, so this hike/ Survivor Man parody definately lifted my spirits. Happiness tends to be where you make it I suppose. The problem is, this kind of happiness is just a temporary band-aid to cover the sadness that I feel. Not that a band-aid isn't a great thing, just that when you take it off, the reason for the sadness is still there.

The hike was still a worthy endeavor in it's own right however: excercise, fresh air, beautiful views, wildlife, etc., and it also gave me time to reflect on the events of the day. Not a great day, but tomorrow will be better, and the next day will be beter yet.

Winter Ride

Winter Ride, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

The Seattle International Randonneurs are piling on the miles over in the relative comfort of 40 degree rainy Seattle weather. Over here in Wenatchee, it's a bit chillier, so the miles are barely adding up. The first brevet of the season is quickly approaching however, so the snow is no excuse to show up empty handed at the innagural 100K Populaire on March 2nd. 2 weeks later is the 200k, and then a trip to Moab with my buddies, so the training must go on. I actually really enjoyed this 3 hour ride, mainly because I brought along a change of base layers (wool of course), and had a nice 20 minute stop at the Anjou Bakery for a triple Americano and a pumpkin seed muffin. The tailwind on the way home helped too.

Snow Cat

Snow Cat, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

We ride up in the basket on the front of this cat, unless you get lucky and yell "shotgun" soon enough.

Patrol Shack

Patrol Shack, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

Avalanche control at Mission Ridge usually consists of getting up at 4 a.m., riding in or on a snow cat or wind blown chairlift in the dark, and arriving at the top frozen stiff. Fortunately, we are blessed to have a new patrol shack which was built with money raised from the annual Steve Burchett Memorial golf tournament. Steve was a patroller who died in an avalanche while doing his job. I never knew Steve, but his memory lives on. I think of him every time I go out to do my job, and sometimes my route takes me next to a cross placed on a rock near where he died. It's a sobbering experience every time. The shack is warm and roomy, and has a tremendous view, except at 6 a.m in the winter. We assemble our packs and charges, discuss the weather conditions leading up to the current morning, and then go do our job. Some days the wind is blowing 30, 40, 50 miles per hour with temps in the low teens. Some mornings are clear and calm. Either way, I love it. We can see the lights of Wenatchee twinkling throught the cold clear air almost 600 feet below us, and I think of my wife and kids still sleeping soundly while I prepare my fist charge. Sometimes it seems almost surreal. The sunrise, the view, the beauty of where I am and what I am doing. It seems even wierder when I get back to my day job at the office and mix in with the rest of the normal world. I usually grin all day long. Not too many people get to start the day like this.

New Years Day Yeti Ride

Yeti Ride, originally uploaded by Wooly Biker.

Well it's almost February, and I'm just now getting around to creating this blog. So the first few posts will be catching up on some adventures I've had in January, starting with the Yeti Ride.

2008 was the First Annual of this ride, and it was quite a success, at least by my modest standards. In about 2 weeks time, myself and a couple of friends were able to create the riide concept, get Yeti t-shirts made, and convince 28 riders to show up for a snow and ice filled mini-adventure. The ride was about 20 miles through mixed terrain. One off-road section held a good amount of cold dry snow and included a fairly steep descent, at least for a winter ride. Most folks had cross bikes or mountain bikes, many sprouting carbide studs. A couple of fixies rounded out the group.

The key to the success of this ride was the promise of hot-buttered rum at he half way point, and we delivered. In fact, we even had a Yeti Girl handing out the styrofoam cups of cold busting brew. The shape of the ride was a lollipop, with the Yeti Girl stationed right at the top of the "stick", so we were actually able to indulge twice. Garlinis Ristorante Italiano hosted us after the ride for homemade chili and cornbread, along with a tasty mug of Pike Brewing Tandem Ale. Craig, the proprietor of this bicyclists haven, was also one of the ride creators and participants.

A fun time was had by all, and the Second Annual is already in the works. What a great way to kick off any Winter blues that might be sneaking up on you.