It was a busy active weekend for me. Starting before dawn on Saturday, I finally grabbed a shot of a view I've always loved. It was dang chilly though, well below freezing. After getting the shot to the left, there, I gloved and layered up, and headed out for the Saturday run.

 I was able to go for a run on Saturday and follow it up with a bicycle ride on Sunday because I have an understanding spouse and kids who'd rather sit inside all day on a beautiful October weekend watching TV/playing computer games. (I know, WTF is up with that?)

Saturday was a reprise of a jaunt I did last year about this time. The leaf colors that year completely overshadowed my recovery from my bicycle crash. As I recall, that run was my first real trail run. It was beautiful, and thought I would share it with others this time around.

The run isn't bad, about 9 miles round trip, and a good, runnable uphill grade without a lot of trip-stacles once you get past the first 1/2 mile.

The colors weren't as vibrant as they were when I went last year, but still very pretty. I'd guess the two week difference in timing of the trip had a lot to do with it. The company on the trail made up for the color though. Great people!

At dinner at a friend's house on Saturday night, I somehow agreed to cycle from Markleeville to the top of Ebbets Pass and back. I blame alcohol. Actually, Chuck was a great riding partner, patient with my fear of downhill speed, and gracious enough to allow me to lead parts on the uphill grind.

And a grind it was. 18 miles of it. The road was really in good shape for an alpine road, and the dearth of cars really made for an enjoyable ride. I think that's what I kept telling my quads as they whined and complained the whole way. Wankers.

The downhill was slow for me, especially on the steeper sections. I've never been fearless on the downs, and since my spill, I'm even more cautious and tight. I'd imagine some of you regular riders would easily hit 45 mph or more, whereas I was happy with my sub 30 mph. I dogged it so much my hands hurt from squeaking the brakes. Hate if you must; I finished in one piece.

Given my recent Close Encounter of the Pavement Kind, I found it interesting that a week later, I discover the existence of what is being called "an invisible bike helmet." What makes it interesting is that it's a collar device that looks remarkably like a scarf worn around the neck, and deploys like an airbag:

I probably wouldn't use it on my next century ride (which will never happen anyway), but for the Urban Bicycle Commando (UBC) commuting to and from the office, it's a pretty great idea. No more helmet-head-hair. It is a bit pricey at 3998 Swedish Krona (around $600.00 US), but think of your HAIR!

For more information, visit the Hövding website. 

This weekend was a whirlwind of outdoor activities for me. On Saturday was the I-580 "opening" - an event that allowed walkers, runners and cyclists the opportunity to get on the new freeway portion between Reno and Carson City. I connected up with a few other cyclists and hit the roads from home to ride the new stretch. All told the ride was a nice 41 miles for me, with some good offshoot climbs in Washoe Valley on the way back. You know, because 41 miles is simply not enough as it is. The freeway will be nice once it opens for realz sometime in the next month. It'll make my daily trip to the kids' school a faster and more pleasant experience with freeway speeds the entire distance, and eliminating a couple of typically long stoplights.

I estimate a few thousand people participated while I was there, and only a few idiots who thought weaving through crowds impressed us all with their biking prowess. I did spot one teen girl wearing her helmet backwards, but couldn't get to my phone fast enough to snap a pic.  I did snap a few other photos though.

The ride was nice, my butt bones didn't hurt as much as in the past when we finished. Must be callusing. The surface was nice and smooth for the most part, but there were a couple of places where the connection from surface roadway to bridge surface wasn't complete. Saw more than one water bottle skittering off across the road when the bike hit the bump!

Sunday was run-day. I didn't expect much in the way of company, since as of Friday afternoon, I had received no responses to the run announcement. Given that, and my propensity for exploration, I loaded up the Nathan with 70 ounces, mixed a batch of Perpetuem liquid with chia seeds for nutrition in a couple of smaller hip bottles, and I was good for a decent length trip.

I had been out to 4th of July Lake a few times, always beautiful, but as an out and back, an anathema to my desire to tread new ground as much as possible. I had seen that there is a possible lasso with only 1 mile of repeated terrain possible and decided that since nobody was coming, I'd do it. 

Turns out, there were a couple of attendees. I left it up to them as to if they wanted to do the lasso or an out and back. Both elected to explore. Boy, was that a mistake on their parts!

Things went pretty well, I was sharing my water and nutrition with one of the women, who, despite not bringing anything but a hand bottle, decided to do the whole thing. She's an amazingly strong runner, but she was still feeling the effects of the 50-miler from the weekend previous. During the ascent from the pit, I got lots of looks, and at one point they both semi-seriously clobbered me and fired me from ever leading another run. At about mile 9, I gave her the last of the water in my Nathan. It made for a dry finish. I offered to buy her breakfast once we were done. I figured it was the least I could do after screwing her so badly on the run.

Instead of breakfast, we did have a couple of classic Cokes and an order of fries at the Carson City Red Hut. Tasted awesome after the run!

All in all, this was a great weekend. Exhausting, yes, but it's great to be out and about in this part of the globe this time of year. Remind me of that when it's not so nice come January.

It's been a little while since the last post, and contrary to my natural inclination, I haven't been idle. I spent part of the last two weeks in San Diego, where I finally caught up to my daughter who is having the summer to beat all summers. She was there for a week already, participating in a sculpture class with my mother in law, then was taking a week-long surfing camp at Ponto Beach.

When I finally got there, she was finishing up, and we added Spencer to the last day's class (He had been away at a different camp near Susanville for "the best two weeks of my life" before we dragged him to San Diego.) I of course, had to immediately hit the local Roberto's for some awesome tacos. Though I still can't fathom the popularity of the California Burrito they sell - carne asada, french fries, sour cream and Pico de gallo. Really? Skip the sour cream and definitely the french fries and toss in some avocado, and you've got yourself a deal!

We also had time to catch a Padres game. Good seats and great weather turned my kids into Padres fans. Too bad they lost, and aren't doing so well this season. The stadium was spectacular!

While the kids were in their camps (Mikaela at the San Diego Zoo camp - "Don't pick me up on time, I want to talk with my friends!" and Spencer at a nerd camp learning Java coding on the campus of UCSD), Risa and I got some miles and saddle time logged on the bicycles. She is doing a 65-mile ride in September and needs both. I tagged along because before I found running, cycling was my thing and it's hard to beat a ride along the beach! She's doing the Medio route of Levi's Grand Fondo with a few thousand of her closest friends - and Spencer. While they ride, Mikaela and I will be hanging at home doing Dad/Daughter stuff. I wonder if I can convince her to run a few miles? :-)

All in all, a fantastic trip, even with 9 hours in a car each way. Bringing the bikes was definitely worth it. If I ever retire, and can escape, San Diego definitely beckons to me.

Memorial Day weekend was one of exercise for me. Saturday I joined a few hardy souls for a run in Ash Canyon before the frigid rain returned, Sunday was a ride in Washoe Valley with Risa on her new bicycle, and Monday – with the weather finally glorious – a new route investigation!

I had originally thought to run a tenner from Spooner Summit to the Bench and back (actually about 11, but tenner sounds cooler), tagging along with the ccrunners and TMM group run, but still "doing my own thing" at my own pace. 

Then, I recalled the Sierra Canyon trail (part of the Genoa Trail system) was newly completed from Genoa to the Tahoe Rim Trail, and I had never been on it. Round trip on that would have been close to a double tenner — a bit far for me. I thought a bit more about it and contacted the ccrunners group and arranged for a ride back to Genoa, if I could make it to Spooner Summit and didn't mind waiting for a bit for them to arrive after their 25+ mile run. 

That sounded reasonable to me, so I put my end-of-run stuff in Abbey's car, and drove to Genoa to load up my pack and explore a new trail!

I knew it was going to be an uphill climb. Which is good. I've discovered the fact that I am a SUDS runner. Not only do I run for the (beer) suds after the run, but I am a Same Uphill & Downhill Speed runner. It doesn't matter to me if it's uphill for a bit, I can deal. And so I started out, and it was uphill. And more uphill. When I thought it might be done, there was MORE uphill. All in all, it was a pretty steady climb for almost 12 miles. Yikes.

Though it was newly created, the trail was in good shape: pretty well tamped down and not yet rutted from bikes. I assume the bike traffic would be nominally down, and the grooving in the hairpins supported my assumption. Were there a few hairpin turns? Maybe not quite fifty-seven as the post title indicates, but damn, there were a LOT of them!  When I finally reached the TRT, the timing was nearly perfect, as the long-range group of runners was just approaching the intersection. A few minutes of chatting, a photo, and we went our separate ways. Them, to Kingsbury trailhead and back, and me to Spooner by way of The Bench.

I didn't dally at The Bench for more that the time it took to snap the photo and park the camera. It was a bit chilly with the wind blowing and the temps only in the low 50s at that point. The view was spectabulous, though!

At that point, the trail trended down, gradually dropping to the Spooner Summit south parking area. I was lucky enough to hitch a ride with no waiting around. I was glad for that, since I had a collapsed garage shelf at home to deal with, and I hadn't brought along reading materials to tide me over for an extended wait. 

All in all, a great Memorial Day weekend of being out and about.

This was another overly busy weekend. I guess I should just accept the fact that they are all going to be over the top until either the kids' sports seasons are done and gone, the weather turns south, holidays stop occurring, or, more likely, all three at once. 

The weekend started on Friday night with a Mikaela soccer game. They ended in a draw, which is unfortunate, since they went into the last minute with a 2-1 advantage. Mikaela scored one of the two goals, so on a personal level, it was a good game. From the sidelines, I am seeing such an improvement in her skill level over last fall. She and her teammates are all getting this whole "team" thing going. Now if they can just get a formidable stopper in the goal!

Saturday morning was a double header. I went for a run and Mikaela played with the younger girls (she usually plays up an age division, only playing her "real" division when they need a guest player), and she scored another goal on the team's way to a 3-0 win. She was happy with both the result and her play. I was a proud papa, though I didn't get to see the game, I deferred to Risa to let her watch. :-)

I went running on Saturday morning and wasn't sure if anyone else was going to show for the scheduled run. I am firmly convinced most of the runners show for the scheduled runs because of who schedules. Abbey? Full trail. Me? Not so much. :-p At the scheduled time, it was me alone. Joe showed at his usual 7 minutes late with Gino, and as we were about to leave, Melissa and Lindy appeared. They had called Abbey and she guided them. I guess she pitied me the poor turnout. 

The run was warm in the absolute and HOT in the relative with temps in the upper 70s at the start. It's finally starting to get wa We did the V&T Lasso to start off and swung back by the vehicles after 4 miles, then headed up Ash Canyon for 9 more. Melissa had better things to do and split where her run would total 8-9, and Joe, Gino and Lindy powered their way with me snacking on the copious dust their feet kicked up. DFL! DFL! It didn't matter, it was a finish.

Sunday was Mom's day. I did yard work, and prepped the bikes for a short family ride. Since my bike is in the shop, I did a short run while Risa and the kids did a ride. It's good that everyone is getting comfortable on the bikes. We are going to be doing some rides this summer and the more comfy Mikaela gets, the more fun the rides will be. 

We closed out the weekend with a visit to the all-you-can-stuff buffet (early) then watching Ghostbusters on Netflix. A nice weekend all around.

Don't forget the eclipse next weekend!

This weekend was an amazing  flurry of activities, ranging from an early morning soccer game in the north part of Reno, schlepping kids to an fro a variety of activities to getting out myself and running - with people this time - to bike shopping. All that folded into the usual (and boring) stuff like shopping, sprinkler repair, laundry, cooking...

The weekend started with a Moonlight Lunarcy run under the almost-Super moon on Friday night. It was beautifully clear, though a bit chilly I wore shorts, and at the end decided splitting quickly rather than chatting was the better part of heat-retention valor. Though I looked for wererabbits and weremice under the full moon, none were to be had this time (No werewolves either, for that matter). I went with were-Bret, were-Kari (both fresh off their tremendous performances at the Eugene Marathon) and were-Joe on a relaxed and spectacular jaunt through the lower parts of Ash Canyon. 

The moonlit landscape was surreal and calming. It would have been a totally chill run (both temperature and mood), if not for the doofi (the plural of doofus) in the truck trying to get out of the sandy wash. Loud, obnoxious, but entertaining. Sounds like a wine review. 

Saturday morning was soccer. Mikaela had a great game, except for when she fell on her bum, directly in front of all the spectators. What made it funny, is she was walking backwards, and play hadn't yet resumed after an out of bounds ball. She just fell over. Hilarious. Even she thought so. Afterward. 

The game ended in a draw. Mikaela's team had a perfectly executed long pass and breakaway, but the goal was called back on a dubious offsides call. Regardless of the call, the play was beautiful.

Saturday night was a fundraiser for the kids' school. An open bar opened the wallets for both the live and silent auctions. From what I could tell, the event was a success. I met a very interesting man from Zimbabwe. He is the kind of person you want to have to dinner - and not because he's a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, though that is a definite benefit!

Sunday dawned bright, and reasonably warm: time to run!

Had a good-sized group appear at 8:00 on Sunday for the run. Nobody did the 3 mile option, a couple did the 5, a couple did an unadvertised 6-ish, a couple more the 11 and a few pushed the middle part of the 11 route to make a 16. Angela, Adam and Puff disappeared up Shotgun Canyon early on to do their own thing. We didn't encounter and snakes; sheep only in the distance, and no injuries to report (a jammed toe while wearing Vibram 5-fingers, doesn't count.)

After the run, for me it was off to the bike shop. Chris Huber (who set the land speed record on a bike in 1992) has recently opened a new shop in town. We've known Chris for a while, so we patronized his place, looking to get Risa a bike so we can start doing some family-related physical activity. She test rode a few and will be getting one by next weekend (I think). I dropped my Rocky Mountain Rail for some much needed maintenance and tuning. Then it was off to Mills Park, so Mikaela and a friend could do some low-key riding. I chilled with my Kindle (reading Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man, if you're interested), finally relaxing.

I hope you all had as interesting and fulfilling weekend as I did!

This past weekend was spent pretty much outside. The weather was spectacular, and the clan was active. Mikaela actually had the weekend off from soccer, which worked out well for her, since she could lounge at a friend's house to the wee hours of Saturday morning. Apparently, this house has a small lake on the grounds. She had a great time with her friends from school. She was the early riser and got to establish the morning menu: French toast, pancakes, eggs and bacon. The early bird in this case not only got the worm, but got to decide exactly how it was prepared. Saturday night she had a violin recital. We thought we would skip out for a speedy dinner beforehand, not realizing it was Prom Night in Carson City. Luckily we did get seated at Garabaldi's for a quick in and out, benefiting both parties, since we needed to be off to the recital, and the restaurant needed our table as they were booked solid with high schoolers all dressed up.

On Saturday, I was a volunteer at an aid station for the running of the Escape From Prison Hill Half marathon and relay. I had a great time, and was able to sneak in a run before the runners started arriving. My run was four miles, and 1000+ ft. of elevation gain. Wow, what a climb! All I will say is I ran it without walking. That's good enough for me. 

Once the runners started coming through, I was able to snap photos, since the aid station was staffed with the experienced and gracious Carols! They didn't need me for anything other than four-wheeling them and the supplies to the location. If I had known I would have the opportunity to snap shots, I would have brought a back up battery for my camera. As it was, I think I got about 80% of the runners. If you're interested, the pics are here.

On Sunday, I was able to do a longer run (14 miles). The highlight of which was my discovery of a new trail going in. This bad boy is so stinkin' new, the crew was still out there working on it, and I was able to put the very first footprints on a stretch of it. Woo Hoo! I was asked to not reveal the location until the trail is tied at both ends to its linking points, so no more information is forthcoming, yet. As for the overall run, it was pretty good. I didn't get calf  spasms or cramps and my endurance is returning after a long, bleak winter. I am getting more and more sold on the use of Perpeteum Solids for in-run nutrition, too. Good stuff, Maynard.

Spencer spent the weekend with friends doing the Chico Wildflower ride. It was his first organized bicycle event, and to be honest, I was nervous about it for a few reasons. (1) Due to where we live (on a good sized hill with no flats anywhere around), neither of my kids has had a lot of experience cycling. They are both proficient and not subject to crashing, but they haven't spent nearly the time I did at that age on two wheels. He was doing the ride on a brand new road bike, that he had all of 1.5 miles of riding on. We picked it up on Friday night, got it sized for him, and off he went to  ride it to his friends house to be packed for the trip. Reason (#2) is that a road bike handles much differently than a mountain bike - his only other bicycling experience. A road bike is much more responsive, and there isn't a lot of rubber meeting the road, so side-slides are a lot more common. Reason (#3) was the distance. He and his buddy were signed up for the Flatflower, which was a 30 mile ride. He hadn't been 30 miles on a bicycle in the last 5 years combined. My butt hurt thinking about it.

Despite all the parental worries, he finished in under 3 hours, and is firmly hooked on doing more rides. For future rides, he just needs to focus more on remembering the important things... like packing his bike shorts.

Happy May Day, and pay no attention to the parades of missiles in Red Square. Wait, that hasn't happened since the Soviet Union dissolved. I guess that means no reason not to enjoy it!