Dave Nice (slowerthensnot)

Panaracer Driver pro 29x2.2

2012-01-30T06:49:00.002-07:00

I was sent a pair about a month ago...

I've put about 500 miles on them. Riding trail around SW Utah, sand, and slickrock and a fair bit of commuting....

This is a very fast, semi high volume tire that sure seems like it can corner well!

It surprised me in the sand how well it floated even without lowering the pressure too much. The side nobs seem to be in the right spot as i'm turning....

its one of the better micro nobby's in that respect, i'd give it a nod over the fasttracks i've been playing with, and far better then a nano in cornering....

2 nits to pick so far it feels a bit odd on the slickrock, may just be pressures i was playing with..25-37psi. feels like your kinna balancing on the nobs and the casing is moving the other way... i got used to it but was kinna odd,

front braking traction has a bit to be desired but i wasn't expecting much there.... throwing back pressure on the tire on the fixed drive train seemed fine

If you like nanos, or fast tracks i think you really ought to give a pair of these a try....

oh and the two tires i received came in at 630 and 611 grams on my crappy scale...

I setup both of my tires on duster rims, one tire with Slime pro and one with stans tubeless, I had to use a air compressor to pop the bead, but no issues with tubeless thus far

I think this is the cats meow for a fast semi agro XC tire or endurance race tire!

exploring close to home

2012-01-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

Some around sand hollow state park. It rained a good bit on Saturday and may some more Monday. Sand hollow has lotsa of sand, DUH! When it rains that sand becomes semi ride-able... And i've noticed some slickrock up there and its cool maze like and some fun moves to be had. However is it worth the deathmarch hike'a'bike to get to it I dunno.....?

I other news check out what I worked on last Friday...

really digging the garmin etrex my grandmother gave me for Christmas and i may even take it on the divide this year Gasp! Speaking of the divide until this last storm the snowpack was looking way weak for the year so I'm still thinking a june 1st start to the divide although Vance mentioned a may 20th start. I so want to get that 2700 miles done in one wack, and its all that I think about on my rides about what ive done wrong, right, and differently.... enjoying the commute but doesn't leave me alot of spare time but sure is great for racking up weekly hours on the bike

pretty awesome!

2012-01-19T22:10:00.001-07:00

First post of the year

2012-01-08T14:42:00.001-07:00

Man things are speeding along in 2012.

It's been awesome 2011 with lots of changes. One of the changes has been Red Rock Cyclery and the opertunies that has afforded me. I'm planning on a June south to north on the divide if snowpack allows and so that appears to be working in my favor.

I'm planning a bit of a ride on the az trail in April or stagecoach 400 as a shakedown for the divide.

So far in 2012 I've cracked a fork and a crankarm so I hope I've got the gremlins are out of my system for 2012.

Also thinking a trip to Vermont for SSUSA is in order.

Here's to an awesome 2012

Mary Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T13:17:00.001-07:00

Have a awesome Christmas and a great new year enjoy your days off with friends and family!

discipline

2011-12-17T21:09:00.001-07:00

training to act in accordance with rules; drill: militarydiscipline.

activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves askill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.

punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.

the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: theharsh discipline of poverty.

behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and ordermaintained by training and control: good discipline in an army.

a set or system of rules and regulations.

From Dictionary.com

I fine myself seemly finding myself with more lately.... Maybe its just age or I think maybe its the 30 miles a day on my bike commute?

Or maybe reprehensibility at work, more hours and such? Dare i say "growing up"?

Been out exploring some, freezing my butt off on early commutes...

Excited for the coming year, excited for Christmas in denver

Always good to get out with my dad

2011-12-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

No rain, no falling, no mechanical issues...

Glad to be getting my dad out and he seems to be enjoying it as well

retro with an old iphone

2011-12-02T21:16:00.001-07:00

Using instagram and the camera on an old iphone I repaired. using it like an ipod with a camera...

Took these pics today on my commute and I only had to work from 9-3 today so I hit the powerline road and grapevine, dino tracks, churchrocks and prospector on the way home.... kinna like a mini camp Lynda day

mucho good times today 6 hours work and almost 50 miles i'm guessing... So nice after the wind we have had in SW Utah the last few days!

Test post

2011-11-28T15:00:00.001-07:00

With the new to me iPhone see how this works.

Turkey day ride

2011-11-26T19:27:00.001-07:00

And it was awesome!

A month in at Red Rock Bicycle Co.

2011-11-20T10:06:00.001-07:00

Man 5 weeks no blog posts....

Oh well I've been posting some over at http://thisbikeisfucked.blogspot.com/

Been somewhat busy learning a new system and such at Red Rock Bicycle Co. and enjoying just buckling down and wrenching with focus. Been fun to have more then 2 co-worker/owners. Nice to have a separate service area sort of like a car dealership. Been a blast working with and getting to know Lukas, Bryce, Dave, Tyrel, Dominick, Doug, Jud, Paul, Ryan, Zach, and Mitch better....

Working on a wide range of stuff from wallmart crapolas to 10k + sworks super bikes

Fun Stuff!

Been also commuting 30+ miles per work day and that's been awesome divide mileage and just more hours in the saddle here's my fav route so far. Some dirt, bike path and city riding... a fun mix already almost taken out by a calf the other am when I rode by it popped out of a bush and ran into me.... I managed to stay upright though. Drivers in SW Utah are very fun to observe their lack of use in the turn signals and whats with runners, running salmon on main drag roads?!?!?! Also have had a few ride half way in via my mom and a few rides home witch has been nice for sure... I dunno why people complain about hour long commutes.... as long as its from a bike seat :)

Starting to make plans for leading up to the divide in June, Perhaps another wack at Trans Iowa? or a wack at AZT? 300 or the whole thing , the whole thing might be cool cause the finish isn't far from home?

Then June ITT of the divide south to north (dependent on snowpack) goal is 25 days and yes still on a fixed gear.... So the continued geeking of gear and planning big rides and exploring of SW Utah is happening

It was a blast a few weeks ago at the 25 hours of Frog Hollow and time spent with Bill, Mo, Jill

Also Awesome to get my Dad and friend Shannon on their 1st mtn bike rides!

Been busy working and riding, So blessed to have a great job going, places to ride, and tons of friends and family to share it all with!

2011-10-13T19:32:00.001-06:00

Took my dad on his 1st mtn bike ride! no blood

2011-10-09T06:36:00.001-06:00

Ive accepted a tech position at Red Rock Cyclery. My last day at OTE Hu well be on the 22nd.

It has been an awesome ride with Q & Dj. I have learned alot. Still going to be very involved in DMBTA (dixie mtn bike aso), local rides, races, ect

A big thanks to Q&Dj and all the wonderful customers, partners, and vendors at Over The Edge!

Time for some new challenges and adventures!

I'll be serving up beer next weekend at the Hurricane Mtn bike festival =)

2011-10-02T22:31:00.002-06:00

http://hurricanemtbfestival.athlete360.com/

One week left to register for a killer fun event that well be going down in hurricane in 2 weeks

Divided Again

2011-10-02T22:25:00.001-06:00

June 1st 8am 2012 well give the divide another go subject to change due to crazy snowpack this winter ;)... Time to start jamming on the training again

A 2fer on Sunday

2011-09-19T08:07:00.007-06:00

Got a lovey ride in with Mary and Dave and Brendan watched Mary and Brendan's Son and he dropped us off at little creek and we did a loop up there then rode back to OTE and coffee'ed up then got dropped at the top of the Jem and it was Brendan's turn to ride

here;s the dirt 2 track we used to ride from little creek back to Hurkin although we did tie in the Glouds trail witch isn't on this map.. A ride mapped on 09/18/2011

3 Fav things I put between my legs at Bootleg

2011-09-13T08:31:00.001-06:00

Horsethief was super plush and fast liked to catch air... Yeti SB 95 was a hoot on the downhill and climbed quite well for a 5" travel 29er

all 3 of these bikes were a hoot! But the Surly moonlander was just abunch of giggles

Skinny or Fatty and Courier Careers

2011-08-29T22:21:00.000-06:00

have cyclocross and fat bikes on the brain..... single speed cyclocross in san fran, explore beach in the gulf or mexico in jan....

Lots on the brain....

just finished a 6 day blitz at ote... quite a few wheels built, bike built, and way too much fun for this dude to do solo... Wondering if change in eminent or is it just change for changes sake? Looking forward to playing in the virgin river with the shop's pugs on tues.

Kenton sent me this film to review http://www.careercourierthemovie.com/officially-for-sale-now/

Didn't know exactly what to expect hipster, douchebag, anarchist, bar spinning type stuff or....

Its a interesting peek into the lifestyle some of the close ups were maybe to closeup... but well shot and some music I sure wasn't expecting... Thanks for sharing with me Kenton.

There is a part of me the sure would enjoy that work!

Anyways headed into crazy busy season again but I do have a ride planned from Hurkin to Vegas before interbike...

2011-08-07T18:11:00.001-06:00

Fixie + blowhard a hoot and hard! super few days in the trees. in cedar not sure what way home im going to take

Great start to my 31st time around the sun

2011-08-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

And Paula joined me, off the trail before 11 and too much heat. Time for some food and fun with some peeps... Also an fyi i'l be in denver the 16-22

Dog Days of summer

2011-07-30T17:39:00.002-06:00

MT8

2011-07-29T20:23:00.000-06:00

Is Effen Sweet is the out of the box review, easy to install, cut hose, And the lever feel AWEsome.... so digging this brake.... gonna give er a good shakedown on Saturday up on goose 258 grams total for brake, 160mm rotor, post mount

Fun with a pugs

2011-07-27T06:56:00.002-06:00

Plan Bail

2011-07-24T12:19:00.000-06:00

Been dealing with very sore joints, a seizure, and some pretty gnarly migraines... One trip to the ER

Not at all feeling up for pedaling to Durango and the ct.

Just feeling toast and trying to deal with the fact that my plans this summer have hit the crapper.

My plan "b" is going to be do some riding local and get some more rest and try and de stress. no plans for a destination...

I dunno lots going through my head and wondering whats next, feeling like i'm looking at my front wheel and keep endo'ing, and i need to get my eyes father down the trail...

Summer Salvage adventure

2011-07-19T19:40:00.000-06:00

So I think i'm going to make my way to Durango a week from today and shoot for a early start on monday August 1st and do the Colorado trail and going to just fly back from Denver to Vegas on the 11th.

So that gives me 10 days to get to Denver

I think it well be great to be spending my birthday above treeline!

So looking forward to having some fun! Although that first day is gonna be an ass kicker

The need to expolre

2011-07-11T22:14:00.000-06:00

the need to see stuff i haven't seen before

the desire to see stuff very few others have seen

I find my self somewhat unsatisfied with the way the summer has gone for me. I think I need to just stick close to hurricane and get some bigger loops and exploring done around here. and just do some stuff that been rattling around in my head.

I'm also finding myself looking at fat bikes more and more and thinking of routes and other places i could check out with 4" of rubber under me.... also pack rafts, beaches, boogie boards, kayaks, mexico, backpacking, bikepacking, vibuirm 5 fingers, colorado trail, divide, and just a Hodge poage of randomness...

And reading about guys in the late 1800's pedaling around the world and across the country when nobody else had... It just has captured my attention.

And then there's Lewis and Clarke, Father Escalate, Powel and others i've just been thinking about what was going through there heads when they were exploring...

anyways just fits with my last post of where is my mind..........

Where is my Mind?

2011-07-05T07:54:00.000-06:00

Pretty much sums up where my head isn't or is.... playing to mellow to think about whats next

Oh - stop

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
But there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself

Where is my mind [3x]

Way out in the water
See it swimmin'

I was swimmin' in the Caribbean
Animals were hiding behind the rocks
Except the little fish
But they told me, he swears
Tryin' to talk to me, coy koi.

Where is my mind [3x]

Way out in the water
See it swimmin' ?

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
If there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself

Where is my mind [3x]

Oh
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Oh
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Oh
Oh

2011-06-29T13:34:00.001-06:00

Made it back to hurkin. i think my big toe is broken. my computer is toast. this has been been a rough june! cant put pressure on right foot

2011-06-27T19:52:00.001-06:00

Beatrix is back in my hands

2011-06-27T18:00:00.001-06:00

Beatrix is in tucson and that is where my bus is headed. yay

2011-06-27T14:41:00.001-06:00

Was holding on to slight bit of hope. still no bike. so get on the bus at 5 to tucson then fly to vegas. im so tired.

Exit Time

2011-06-27T09:54:00.000-06:00

Still no bicycle, tues well be a week sence i left hurricane....

I'll be taking a free ride from greyhound back to tucson, then flying out on tues to vegas

A week with no bicycle... crazyness!

Really hope beatrix is found soon!

2011-06-25T00:19:00.001-06:00

West bound and east bound buses drove on past lordsburg. still no bike! time for eagle rare on the rocks time. lame!

2011-06-24T14:29:00.001-06:00

Yay! it went to el paso then driver didnt take it off in lordsburg so it went back to phx. so i know its in transit. just a question of when it well it well sho

2011-06-24T14:14:00.001-06:00

Not sure its a good thing im on 1st name status with 3 diffrent bus drivers. 1 more bus till midnight

2011-06-23T23:49:00.001-06:00

This just bites! still no bike. mentaly fried and i havent started.

2011-06-23T15:32:00.001-06:00

Great strike out on 2nd round of phone calls. just got questioned by one of lordsburg finest. yippie.... i guess if it was ez everyone would do it.

2011-06-23T14:47:00.001-06:00

Im not in a happy place. another round of calling stations.

2011-06-23T14:01:00.001-06:00

Strike out on 1st one through at 2. another supposed to be through soon. hate this mental drain. good golly its warm!

waiting game!

2011-06-23T08:22:00.002-06:00

So talked to the gal who prob somkes 3 packs a day at the greyhound counter, nothing she can do officaly for 24 hours.... left the tracking number and my cell number, fingers crossed it shows on the bus at 2:50pm aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! late checkout set up for noon at confort inn.... hate spending money with no forward progress and camping stuff is with bike

who knows when I well start!

2011-06-22T15:31:00.001-06:00

Fingers crossed that bike shows on midnight bus. man i hate travel hiccups. if it doesnt show tonight may have to delay my start.

2011-06-22T14:22:00.001-06:00

Crap! beatrix is not on my bus. hopfully it shows on next bus. blah always fun after being charged $25 for the bike it has to be in phx

2011-06-22T07:51:00.001-06:00

In phx they have a very nice station. have read jill h new book be strong be brave. its a must read. getting excited and fired up.

2011-06-21T18:25:00.001-06:00

In sin city! fingers crossed that bike makes it on same bus as i do. looks like i have 3 hours to kill till bus to phx

2011-06-21T15:47:00.001-06:00

Bus is an hour late good thing theres a 4 hour layover in vegas

A very big thanks!

2011-06-20T19:05:00.000-06:00

To Eric Barr, Quentin, DJ, Monte, Tae, My family, Jason Coble, Melanie, Facebook peeps, Bloggers, Mtbr'ers, ground up, slasa, topeak, lezyne, uvex, magura, panaracer, and many others i'm forgetting..... and a wicked big thanks for Scott M, Matty Lee, Joe Polk for all the lovely tracking stuff!

Bike is packed, I catch the bus around 2:30pm in stg and should be in lordsburg around noon on wends stay the night, build bike, pedal to Antelope wells on thurs... shooting for an 8am start on friday....

Time to GIT ER DONE!

A video rundown of the divide rig

2011-06-19T23:04:00.000-06:00

Spot stocking

2011-06-06T18:57:00.000-06:00

Here's the stuff to start stocking me starting June 24th

Dave Harris's super sick blue dot program works on smart phones http://bluedot.mobi/tl/tourdivide/tourdivide.php

The tour divide Leader Board
http://tourdivide.org/leaderboard

And then another cool tracking deal from Dave G
http://eatsleepridegreatdivide.com/

Then there's my spot page but it wont show the route
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0odisxfgcjgi3FoeVSX32K2F0Zfb0JYs2

And my dot my seem to be off route in NM as i well be trying to hit all the dirt in NM vrs the paved alt routs unless its raining....

I'll be posting a few updates on the blog here via txt messages and i well be calling into Mtbcast as well

http://mtbcast.com/site2/2011/05/23/tour-divide-2011/

Just picked up a used kindle with 3g at the local pawn shop so i'll have something to listen to and fall asleep to . put abunch of Mark Twain and Sherlock Holmes on there not to mention some Jules Vern .... also put pdf's of my cheat sheets and cues on there as a backup its a pretty slick gadget!

Divide rig 2.0

2011-06-01T06:53:00.000-06:00

I think this would be easy to carry over snow drifts and ford rivers with?

Chicken Out

2011-05-27T20:10:00.000-06:00

Well i've decided that i'm going to delay my start due to snow and mud, Dave has some great over lays here

I may be out there by my self but i'm not interested in post holing any longer longer then i have to.... And want to give myself the best chance of finishing this beast up and enjoying the hot springs in Banff

If you started south right now looks like 200 miles+ of snow and that isn't going anywhere soon with the temps up north.

Thanks Adventure Junkie for pic of the iditabike

I do not envy those who are starting up in Banff on June 10th and the tough choices that well have to be made about route to take and witch way to go ect..

At the very least this is gonna be a fun year to follow the race http://tourdivide.org/leaderboard

I think this cold is out of my system finaly... Enjoying the new house my folks built in hurricane check out the shots

Shuttle monkey

2011-05-09T19:44:00.000-06:00

Was a great weekend of racing at the 18 hours of fruita! I did 4 laps, The team did a total of 29 so that was good for 5th place out of 15 teams! and the last one really put the hurt on me then on Sunday was at lunch loops and I even took a shuttle with Desert Rat Tours to the top of the ribbon with monte and jake.... And Dave w and Sarah R had us over for dinner....

Such an awesome weekend, cool to be a Fly on the wall of the discussion of 4 people who are getting local mtn guide services going Monte (utahmountianbikeadventures.com) Sarah&Dave (dessert rat tours) and Jake Weber (Adventure Earth)

I think going with a Local guide is the way to go and all these folks know the trails in their backyards, Jake in Salt Lake, Park City... Sarah and Dave in Fruita/Gj... and Monte in SW Utah....

Only a month left to go till the divide!!!! Excited!!!

2011-05-07T18:21:00.001-06:00

5th place 29 laps yay hurricane over the edge i think ote fruita only 18!

2011-05-06T19:42:00.001-06:00

7 folks here ready to rock it at the 18 hrs of fruita. its been a bit sense ive last seen eric and hilliary

Slacking on the blog....

2011-05-05T15:41:00.000-06:00

Busy riding, working, getting ready for the divide.... Going to try and get some more content on here but i've been swamped with work at the shop...

Rob Kristoff did an bit of an interview with me check it...

I first heard about Fixie Dave in an article that Outside Magazine did about the Great Divide Race. Perhaps you've heard of this endeavor? You start at the US border with Canada, and you end at the US border with Mexico. And you race down the spine of the nation- from one side the water goes East, and from the other, West. The Divide. Lots of people had their full-suspension, disk-braked bikes pictured. And then there was Nice. Rigid fixed gear mountain bike. As in- if the wheel moves, the pedals are moving. As in, one gear.

Was this guy nuts? I liked him already. I could go on about what happened in that race, but if you're interested you can google Dave and the GDR. The rest is in the questions below. My Q is the bullet points, Dave's A is in bold.

Why fixed? Single speed I get. Rigid, I understand. But off-road fixed- why?

I really enjoy the connected feeling I have with the ground. I have to focus and it becomes almost a sort [of] meditation.

Tell us about your cooking credentials. just how serious a chef ARE you?

Cooked on and off at a few places growing up. Went to cooking school of the rockies in 2000 and spent a month or so in France cooking and have worked in a few other places on and off since then.... Too stressful for me now and I prefer to cook for friends and family and be more creative. Pitched an idea to Food TV in 2005 for a camping/travel / adventure cooking show. Never heard back.

Top 3 favorite bikes you've ever owned. Include at least one you no longer have.

Ti GROUND UP built by Eric Barr is current fav, Followed closely by my steel SIREN John Henry..... hummmm...- then a Tie between SURLY Crosscheck and VASSAGO Jabberwocky. Currently only own 2 bikes...

As of today, 37 days until you ride the GDR, this time from South to North. Why hasn't it worked before, and why is it going to this time? :)

It hasn't worked for me before, due to freak injuries, getting sick, and having gear stolen (outside of my control?).

[In] 2009 I started south and got to my folks' place (their land in Colorado, the route goes right through it) well in 2009 i was solo TT'ing it and I recently had a friend named Anthony Sloan, that I felt was a very kindred spirit, die in his sleep. And then I was guiding a ride on Little Creek Mesa near Hurricane, UT and had one of the guys I was riding with get separated from the rest of the group and we found Joe unconscious a few hours later- and then he stopped breathing and his best friend and I performed CPR for over an hour till SAR [Search & Rescue] showed up... He was pronounced dead by the Flight For Life medic... It was a lot to mentally deal with being alone on the bike, so when riding by my folks place, the bike just steered itself to a warm bed and Mom and Grandma cooked meals. As it was, I got very close to getting 1400 miles done in 12 days..

Feel much more mentally prepared than I've felt the previous attempts. Outside of that I've trained better, and have my gear/setup more dialed.

I've often written about mens' relationship with pink, and was personally pleased when my daughter brought a little father's day questionaire home from preschool about me, saying that her dad's favorite color was pink. I know at least one of your bikes is pink (the Siren)-- care to tackle the whole men and singlespeeds and pink thing? Your thoughts?

Purely to provoke a reaction? ;) Because you can't be slow riding a pink bike? I dunno its a color and i like it =)

Back to GDR- how do you train for something so long? Is it even possible? Is it just a matter of making sure you're prepared, and the fitness coming along as the "race" happens? How much is physical endurance even a part of this? Or is it all mental?

Ummm get this one a lot.... Ride A lot ;P

I think it was one of the Brit finishers who said his way of knowing he was ready for the divide was to do back to back gravel hundies [100 mile rides] on the weekend and have a spring in his step at work Monday... I think that's a good way of telling other then I say camp out all those nights as well...

Not owning a car helps tons, i think, as well...

I know you have endless time to think on the GDR- what are you thinking about while you're out there?

I think a better question is what do I NOT think about?

What do you NOT think about, then?

I try not to think about food or how much it hurts.

Why South to North (the traditional race is from Canada to Mexico)?

More light , less snow, and less crowd at the start.... also I like the desert start

Finally, do you ever get 'rider's block'?

Not really sometimes iI don't wanna go all day but rarely do i ever not wanna be on a bike

2011-04-25T20:34:00.001-06:00

Last cell im guessing on hwy 89a so pretty. have fun spot stocking time to find place to crash out of the wind and crack open a 1554

2011-04-25T16:59:00.001-06:00

At mary wives cafe took the dirt route most of the way to avoid the plig 500. Found co city treatment plant! smelly eww

2011-04-22T23:42:00.001-06:00

Another txt test on the blog. man it was a great day to be on a bike in hurricane

Beatrix is in my paws

2011-04-19T22:56:00.000-06:00

Here she is.... also spot unit is up and tracking check the link in the top left hand conner of the blog or here

Time for bed....

2011-04-10T08:28:00.001-06:00

Txt message test on blogger. may use this as a divide updater.

Beatrix is almost done

2011-03-23T21:06:00.000-06:00

Beatrix is the name of the new bike Eric is building me.... some last little bit of finish work and the fork getting powder-coated.

The name is an Ode to the Kill Bill movies... So I guess that makes Eric, Hanzo from the film

Anyway this is some what of a copy of a singular gryphon but with a bit longer stays. Non suspension corrected, 3 bottle mounts on frame 2 bottles on the fork legs... Track ends, no rear brake

Really looking forward to getting it built =)

Wheels: Philwood laced to Bontrager duster rims, wheelsmith DB spokes, red dt swiss nipples
Crank: Square Taper Duraace 170mm, ring well be a Homebrewed Components
Butt Interface: Moots seatpost, WTB SST
Hand interface: Surly open bar, fsa stem,ergon grips, siren fred bar, clipon profile TT bar

just some of the highlights...

Tires..... still think well be ether wtb nanos, geax aka, conti race king still kinna on the fence here... but inclined to go with nanos cause I know they work

Sleeping bag update. The Sierra Designs Nitro 30 flat out rocks! I'm going to be so much warmer this year on the divide! I've had it out in some very dewy frosty am's and kept me very warm without adding lots of clothes and lets me toss and turn and stretches around and lets me move around!! Love it!

Well be using my diva end from REI and 20% coupon the end of this weekend to order my spot2

new gadget

2011-03-21T17:54:00.001-06:00

Got a New Computer in the mail to use on the divide Thanks Cateye and Bill! So far not any more complex to program then other cateye units i've used .....

Well post some more thoughts on it as I get it on the bike and start playing with it. Looking forward to playing with the altitude and temp features as well as the countdown feature witch well be esp handy on the reserved cues..... Anybody who has driven in a car with me knows i'm a dyslectic direction giver (i point one way but say the other way) so reversed cues work well for me ;)

I can order one for yah at the shop

Balance Issues

2011-03-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

I'm glad to know i'm not the only one...

Work, riding, relationships, checking in on a winter mud season house being built for my folks, SLEEP.....

Todays errand ride before and after 11 hours at Over the Edge today... Forgot to put in 3 hill repeats on hurricane hill

makes for a tired dave

I'm in Love with broken mesa

2011-03-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

Chris, Erin, Cameron and myself rode up and did broken mesa trail today. I so adore the herky jery single track that is up there. Its difficult but not impossible. Chris seems to be taking to the fixed offroad thing quite well... So there are 2 yahoos in SW utah attempting to rock it fixed. Chris has 2 bikes currently a Vassago Jabberwonky and my old singular swift... He been riding about 7 months and he has lost 60 lbs! hes been fixed for about a month... before that just rigid ss... Super stoked he's digging bikes and still somewhat in shock that someone seems to like riding fixed as much as I... Check out the facebook album

been getting the hours in on the bike and busy season has hit the shop for sure. Some big news is that my folks bought a small peace of Utah and are building a winter/mudseason place in hurricane! I'll be moving to it once its built and being care taker and such... my commute well be a bit longer but very excited =)

I'll also be at times helping Monte out with some guiding. Check out Utah Mountain Bike Adventures

So its shaping up to be a very busy Spring

Divide bottle opener

2011-03-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

And its Ti! and well be attched to one sweet 29"er!

Thanks Eric!

GroundUpDesigns

Vegas is better when

2011-03-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

You go to see a screening of Ride the Divide

And then go mtn biking out at Blue Diamond

A great few mellow days away from Hurricane

Put a fork in it

2011-02-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

Eric sent me these 2 shots! excited to see my Ground Up come together

divide sleep system

2011-02-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

Chris W got me hooked up with a few items from Sierra Designs... 1st up is a Sleeping bag, Nitro 30. I had thought I was allergic to down feathers. Turns out i'm not. I have been sleeping with a down confronter for the last year and a half without any issues.... Maybe grown out of it or???

So looking forward to having a bag that packs small and is rated to 30 degrees, while only weighing in at 980 grams =) Let the overnighter season begin!

Pad well ether Big Angus or rei house brand short on ether....

2nd Item that was sent my way was a Navassa Bivy. I'm not really a fan of bivy's but I well be doing some testing with this wide cut very waterpoof bivy...seems to have lots of vents and zippers and seems big so hopefully I wont feel to much like king tut in it

Its been about a year!

2011-02-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mucho thanks Brendan!

mini year review on Mtbr.com

Hike a bike with Kurt

2011-02-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

I am smoked tonight after 40-50 miles of riding! Thanks for exploring with me Kurt! Explored a trail i've been meaning to hit.... well theres a reason i haven't heard about it....

About 5 miles of bike carry/push.... socerball sized rocks, overgrown trail, and what was ridable very soft due to lack of traffic

But it was fun! I think

Good to ride with Kurt and chit chat about Divide stuff among other things.... Map is a small part of today's ride now for 2+?? days at the shop....both bosses are out of town and they are flying standby....

View Larger Map

Hardcore??

2011-02-08T12:22:00.002-07:00

http://www.dirtbagdiaries.com/what-is-hardcore-

Give me Shelter

2011-02-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Really dig this little tarp lots of tie downs can set it up with bike or without and well under a 1lb with guyline and stakes and packs to size a bit bigger then a soda can those who are bothered by creepy crawlies might not dig it through. Good 7 hours on the bike today at divide pace other then a few hot laps on Babylon trail/little purgatory Did a bit of testing with the tarp and rigging it without trees, without fence ect... Wondering if i'm going to haul a bivy as well?

making the divide my Bitch this year

2011-02-06T22:09:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna scissor kick it and go at the divide like a spider monkey!

All kidding aside, preparing to get the 2750 miles done, and had a nice chat with Lynda and Dave

Discussing how you train for the divide ect... I dunno =) is MY short answer

The longer one is stacking up hours in the saddle, fiddling with packing gear on the bike different ways and practicing overnighters.... doing 6 hour stints in the saddle every day of the week... waking up early and getting out when its cold... riding in the dark (early am rides and rides in the dark are not my fav!)

Dave asked if i get bored and i do... so this year i'm going to have an mp3 player of some sort and it well prob be a touch. I dunno you have to have a state of just enjoying where you are at and taking things in. find i get overwhelmed if I start thinking big picture =)

This is what i'm observing about myself your mileage may be different.

I think Eric well be starting in on the Ti divide rig next week ! Very Excited!! My Old boss Jason from Pedal Pushers hooked me up on a deal for a Moots ti seatpost =) Thanks Jason!! I think the small degree of flex and the WTB SST saddle well keep my Butt very happy this year =)

well thats some random sunday thoughts

Camp Lynda 4.0

2011-01-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

Only got to do a 1 day this year at camp Lynda was a blast to see some old friends and meet some new ones....

Really have been slacking. on the blog... about 80 hours this month on the bike though

Weeks ahead gonna start going through my non bike gear for the divide this year...

Spent some time hanging with Marshal (oldest, fastest finisher on the divide?)

Anyway had a blast and so looking forward to making the divide my Bitch this year. Very glad to start in AW vs Baniff. 68 starting up north this year..... worried about large groups of people doing stupid stuff!

Going to be alot more systematic this coming year while on route, alarm clocks, my own cues. start with hopefully more cash for food, also going to limit my time in towns.

was reunited with an integral designs poncho/tarp... so starting to figure out witch way i wanna go for the tarp shelter MSR e-wing or the poncho deal

Then My ray way quilt is starting to show its age... Time to have mom sew me another or maybe something like this? Well time for a beer

Divide wiki-leaks

2011-01-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

Joe (mtb cast GURU) posted this on a Facebook post after I had put up a link to this..... Handlebar mustache

This is just too funny!

A GDMBR retort:
Matthew Lee: A concierge to pass him a chocolate milk as he rides by...he won't be staying.
Jan Kopka: A beer on the night stand at all times. Periodic checks through the night by staffers is suggested.
Mike Curiak: A/C Temperature set at 30F.
Alan Goldsmith: Cucumber Facial before bedtime.
Kent Peterson: A car parked next to his bike with its hood up when he leaves.
Jeff Kerby: Tin foil covering all windows, jammed in the cracks of the door, and completely covering his pillow.
Jay Petervary: A 16oz Elk Steak ready on his arrival at 11:30pm that night and a 3:30am wake up call.
Tracey Petervary: The same but add a large cup of coffee at 3:31am!
John Nobile: An engineer's table, a box of pencils and a Texas Instruments TI-92 Plus Graphing Calculator. No wake up call needed, he won't be sleeping.
Pete Basinger: A bear-skin rug for a blanket and 6" of snow blown into the room to cover the floor.
Jill Homer: Same as Pete but with a picture of a bear.
Deanna Adams: Fresh hemp sandals for the morning and 12 different incense representing the 12 signs of the zodiac.
And last but not least...
Fixie Dave: 5 shots of Stranahan's on the night stand with a chicken chipotle burrito at bedtime. A 6am wakeup call with a pint a Moose Drool and a breakfast burrito.

big things for 2011

2011-01-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

#1. http://tourdivide.org/

#2. stage race in SW utah! hells yes! http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=493346548966&id=1495678430

#3. Thinking about this.... maybe its cuz some cool kids are taking up running (jill h) but thinking hard on this http://www.facebook.com/sandhollowmarathon

#4. Some other very big things in the works that I can't quite make public yet =)

Marry Christmas!!

2010-12-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rMcRJVY1-0&feature=related

Just finished this book...

fun read

tour divide in 2 min

2010-12-07T22:04:00.002-07:00

Reflection and whatnot

2010-12-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Had a super day with Ron&Kay (my folks) today. We started the day off at Main Street Cafe. then it was a quick trip to the shop to inter-duce my folks to Q&Dj.....

Then off to Zion NP. We drove up past the tunnel and did a quick hike on the canyon overlook trail. Sat 6 mtn sheep! then we drove up to the end of the road to see if we could get to the narrows.... we were stopped due to the trail being closed. then we had a late lunch at the lodge. was only about 2:30ish so we drove over to grafton (ghost town) and then the cemetery. On the way in my Dad say a lot for sale and out of curiousness he stopped to check it out...

And it got my folks thinking about a winter place? has the snow been that bad already, near gore pass this year??=)

Then it was up Kolob road with the last light of the day and another very cool bit of land for sale.

then drove out around sand hollow to Samurai 21 great hibatchi!

And that got me thinking about the whole desertrat thing and how i've really enjoyed Hurkin with its rip roaring night life and singles scene ;) And what i really do enjoy around here the riding, hiking and just having so much to take in with the eyeballs!

And it got me reflecting on how blessed i've been the last few years and I really do dig were i'm at =)

An awesome day that didn't have a bicycle involved

A reminder!

2010-12-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

"The beauty of any long trail has nothing to do with the route, nothing to do with your bike, your gear, your food. Rather, it is an opportunity to look at your soul, to give you a totally unique perspective into what matters in your world" John Stamstad

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

Lots to be thankful for this year!

Job at Over The Edge, Thanks Q and DJ!

A few new friends in town and old ones

Thanks to Singular, Ergon, Siren, for supporting my Don Quixote style of riding

For being invited to 4 different thanksgiving dinners!

For a great new roof over my head

And finally for the lovely machine that is the bicycle, my escape, recreation, drug, therapist,

So nice!

2010-11-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

You know its awesome when a bike company goes way beyond the normal scope of customer service... A mega big thanks to Marty and Sam for keeping my Gryphon rolling without much downtime after my bad crash at 25 hours of frog hollow. Mucho Thanks guys!

Been down this past week due to a cold.... man post race letdown always seems when something gets me..

gonna be doing the recon for the turkey burner on sun/mon and get out for an overnighter =) may try some wicked light gear ideas...

Goofing with map my ride

2010-11-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

beta route for turkey burner.... still have to get on the ground recon

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/az/mohave-north/621128953321459543"&amp;gt;11/11/2010 Route turkey burner&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/az/mohave-north"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Mohave North, Arizona&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

Doh!!

2010-11-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

So had a blast this weekend! Great to see Jill and meet Beat. Good meal shared with old and new friends and shared what I think is one of my Favorite lap races...

Was ticking along at a pretty good pace. Had 7 laps in the bag by 10pm.... Had a pizza delivered by Tae, super guy! took about an 1 1/2hour nap... Then it back at it... well coming down the Jem Drop i crashed hard... dented a fork leg, blew front tire, bruised shin, hip and kinna jammed my right wrist...

So pretty sore today....

Stoked to meet Bill Martin and he killed it as a solo 20 laps! also the Church of the blue dome team... Lyda, Heather, Dave, Kenny... you guys killed it!

Very soon i'll be finishing up the recon for this ride "Turkey Burner"

Adventures in tubeless

2010-11-03T21:09:00.000-06:00

So This is my 4th time attempting to setup a 29er tubeless...

Been pretty much a Yes Tubes kinna guy with a bit of sealant...

Blown tires off rims, sliced sidewalls, had trailside adventures that look like I was apart of a gay porno flick...

However everyone seems to have this sort of holy conversion and go gaga over it....

So I trolled alot of mtbr threads and fount some tips to try on the mavic TN719 rims.... So Gorilla tape, several old school rubber rim strips and a stans strip ie make the bead fit super tight... also using steel bead nanos so I lost 1lb of rotating mass

So i'll be riding the 25 hours of Frog Hollow thurs and getting some miles on them before racing on sat and i'll be bringing an extra wheelset ;)

Gonna run it a bit higher then with a tube about 35psi and it has a different feel on the road and trail so we well see if this works for me.. really would like the lack of wight for the divide ect...

Never been a fan of stans rims due to the lack of eyelets... I'm a few weeks from ordering up some Crankbrothers Cobalt 29er wheels so they should setup easier Crank Brothers Cobalt Wheelset - 29in...

happy hallowween

2010-10-31T23:39:00.000-06:00

This is a fun hallowween read if your into zombies and such... Good weekend and gonna try and keep it chill this week before the 25 hour race next weekend.

Thats about it for now...

In the new dave cave and it seems to be a good fit so far

Flea-bay

2010-10-24T20:58:00.000-06:00

Have some stuff from the shop that time to time we blow out.... here's one of the gems ;)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220687639626&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_949

Excited for the 25 hour race feeling good on the bike...

been busy hunting down a new Dave Cave. The Current one i'm out nov 1st.... really sad cancer/ house i'm renting is getting foreclosed....

So moving about 2.5 miles away from the shop. It well be my first roommate adventure in 8 years. So that well be an interesting change.

Been really enjoying my time up at little creek mesa and have been doing some exploring on foot and bike. Meeting new folks and seeing old friends as the busy time of the year has been rocking. Eric Barr is going to be starting to weld the Ti drop bar 29er in Nov.... I've been offered a deal I can't refuse on some Crankbrother's cobalt wheels and other blingy CB bits for the ti super beast...

May even give tubeless one last chance for the divide rig!

Read a great book and if you have any interest in "Green" energy you should check it out

Race report!

2010-10-10T11:25:00.000-06:00

So had a blast riding 52 miles yesterday. Four laps in 6 hours 20 minutes... A bit short of my goal of 5-6 laps.

However very pleased with how I rode and how my nutrition, bike, and such worked.

Lap one: Lemans start, was hanging with a few other single speeders and found a grove to ride in... near the top of the Jem there's a barb wire gate that was layed on the ground.... It wasn't that way on Friday when I was marking the course ect... Didn't see it till I ran it over... =( turned around and pulled it off the course before anybody else ran over it. At the bottom of the switchbacks I had lost most of my air and only had one tube with and one big air so nursed the rear tube and put in a new front... had sealant in both.... had to ride gentlely the rest of that lap. Got to the staging area sealant seemed to be holding in rear topped off my tubes with floor pump got another tube... changed out my bottle

2nd lap: went smooth I think it was my fastest, changed bottle in pit

3rd: pinched rear tube after it lost some air changed it out at sheep bridge road just as the Jem crosses it... was trying to hustle still thought I might be able to get in a 5th lap... grab another tube and change bottle get to timing tent and i know I couldn't get a 50 min lap in so I started in for a mellow lap

4th: was just chill and said thanks to all the course marshals and volunteers and got everything done in 6:20...

At the start it was decided that the cutoff was gonna be 2pm for last lap... if it was 3pm I think I could have squeezed in another maybe... So bummer about the double flat but happy about how I kept the wheels moving for 6 hours... no breaks just kept er rolling...

Nutrition: A ran CarboRocket Half evil formula 2 scoops for a bottle and used 5 bottles and an Elette electrolyte tablet every lap... no cramping at all....And wasn't crazy hungry after the event.. This stuff well be used on the 25 hour race for sure!! has a few odd back spasms think i need to be doing some more yoga.

Bike: The Singular Gryphon and Salsa Woodchipper were perfect for this course! hands feel fine today!

A big thanks to Cimarron for putting on a great 6 hour race! looking forward to the 25 hour race!

Mega Badassery!

2010-10-08T18:28:00.000-06:00

I met Trish a few years ago when I was working part time at Turin Bicycles in Denver... Her husband was my boss... she has followed all of my divide attempts. And i kinna keep track of her..... well on Saturday she well be attempting Ironman again.... The Kicker she has no use of her legs!

So as I'm pedaling a whimmpy 6 hours on my mountain bike i'll be thinking of her....

Follow her progress here

whats next...

2010-10-05T21:19:00.000-06:00

6 hours of frog hollow is this weekend....

trying to make it to so cal later this month...

Looking for a new dave cave in hurricane/la verkin..

just busy, a bit stressed, and still wondering what i wanna be when i grow up

folks are coming through in Dec to visit so i'm excited about that.

Golly back to the grindstone... and a very full plate

2010-09-17T10:19:00.000-06:00

So Park City point to point didn't go as planned, pulled out at the 57 mile aid station after missing the cutoff... However very stoked how I rode.... If anybody can pull off that course on a fixie i'll buy them a bottle of whiskey. I don't think that course is doable in the time alloted..... Super rad and brutal race!!

June, 10 2011 high noon i'll be starting from antelope wells, NM to give the divide another go. not sure weather i'm gonna do a spot or not among other various gear choices. Maybe others well be starting with me i donno...

My camera died.... =( so i'm looking into what to replace with....

Kinna broke after a month and a half of vacation and cruising all over the place

This is getting into Hurricane's 2nd busy season. of the year.. Interbike is this coming week.... Then its OTE Hurkin's Afterbike

Then on the 30th Ride the Divide in a big outdoor amphitheater

Then Red Bull Rampage and i'll be covering the shop alot so Q can play with the huck monkeys

then 6 hours of Frog Hollow, shooting to do 5-6 laps still plenty of room if you wanna get some more racing in this season!

and then it well be the OTE Hurkin fat tire fest Halloween weekend

Then the 25 hour race.... so its gonna be a full month =)

A very fun read is this!

Back In Planet Mormon

2010-09-03T08:34:00.000-06:00

So sitting in a starbucks sipping on coffee and waiting to pick up my packet for the park city point to point...

this is kinna my last hurrah before i'm back to hurkin...

and maybe its being offered a few different jobs.... Or spending time with fam..or seeing a ton of old friends.... or what i donno.... feeling like I need another change of venue.....

maybe I was a nomad or a trapper in another life??

Maybe stuff well be nice in fresh when i get back to Hurricane?

So very excited for the sufferfest i'll be partaking in starting 7am on Saturday..... 78 miles and 14k of up! witch also means 14k of down for this fixie rider =)

Also happy to have cool digs provided for tonight and after the race! Thanks Park City Crash Pads!

Good trip so far!

2010-08-14T09:01:00.000-06:00

checkout my facebook vacation album

Man its been good to see family and friends on this trip! so good!

water is nice

2010-08-05T10:37:00.000-06:00

a swim and paddle around the clark fork river was a blast yesterday! Thanks Dave C for making me want a pack raft and starting to think of some different adventures I could pull off with one...

Was a good night

2010-08-04T16:05:00.001-06:00

Good times had by Dave C, Jill, Casey, and Myself.... Jill even tried some beer but she held to her favourite stand by Diet Pepsi...

30

2010-08-03T07:22:00.000-06:00

well some fun well be involed.... thanks for the facecrack and email wishes!!

vacation

2010-07-31T04:46:00.000-06:00

Alternative Bar junkie

2010-07-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

Ie not what you typicality see on a mountain bike...

I like playing with different bars... just got some surly open bars in stock at the shop..

Right now my favorites are the Salsa Woodchipper and the Groovy luv handles...

#1000 Post

2010-07-25T11:13:00.000-06:00

So with this post it makes it 1000 random and not so random thoughts posted.... And been doing this for 5 years on blogger...

Always fun to look back on what I was thinking ect....

With that I'm formally throwing this out there... Friday Noon, June 11, 2011 I'm gonna be pedaling north on the divide route. Check out the thread on Bikepacking

Here's to looking forward and making scary hard plans =)

Content or content

2010-07-25T10:40:00.000-06:00

Been boiling in Hurricane, hasn't got below 80 in the am ether... So looking forward to getting out of Planet Mormon in less then a week. Packing the Singular tonight and the bikepacking gear that I dont wanna haul on the plane.

So the plan so far is almost a week in Missoula with Jill, Dave, Meridith to ride, hike, drink beer... then Pedal to Butte and visit the Outdoorsmen and get a ride in with Rob. Then greyhound to Ft. collins Hang with Carney and Sarah then maybe swing by Redstone... Maybe Chris p's, then on to Denver... Leadville perhaps?

Spend some with the bros and niece and then the 21-22 well be spent up at buff creek riding and hanging (my semi late 30th birthday party)

Then maybe some time with my folks and make my way to park city for the Point to Point Kinna thinking about pedaling it

then back to Hurricane.... although right now i dont even wanna think about coming back! I seem to start getting antsy after being somewhere for a few years... ?? Is my urge to explore so strong that it overrides all else? Maybe its just mid season bike shop burnout

Cute!

2010-07-18T23:46:00.002-06:00