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UltraRob's Adventures
Saturday, May 10, 2008More Owl PicturesToday I took the kids to see if we could see the owls that I saw yesterday. Since they were close to our house, Danielle rode her bike and I took Cassidy in the Burley Trailer. We were able to find them. I was able to get at an angle where I could see that there are 3 owlets. Thanks to The Nature Nut for commenting that the owls look like long-eared owls.   
Technorati Tags: Colorado Springs | wildlife Labels: Colorado Springs, wildlife  
Friday, May 09, 2008Spring is a Time for Baby BirdsSpringtime means more nice days for riding even if we do sometimes get snow in May. Not only was today a good day for a bike ride, it was also a good day to see baby birds. It was also a day for wonderful tree blossoms but I paid for those with my allergies. I don't know birds very well so I don't have any idea what kind of owls I saw. Do you know what kind they are? I'm pretty sure the geese are Canadian Geese.     
Technorati Tags: Colorado Springs | wildlife Labels: Colorado Springs, wildlife
Thursday, May 08, 2008Help Susan Win
  One of the best known cycling bloggers is the Fat Cyclist whose real is Elden Nelson. Not only does he write an awesome blog, he's also finished the Leadville 100 more times than just about anyone else. His wife, Susan, has battling cancer for the last few years and yet they've kept a positive attitude. Last week they went to the doctor because she had lost the ability to focus on anything at all, even for a moment, and her coordination was gone. Although severe depression is common after chemo, they did an MRI to make sure nothing else was going on. The doctor called by the time they made it home. Sadly as the doctor put it, she has tumors spread through her brain like dandelion seeds. The doctor has given them very little hope. They had a talk on the way home from the doctor about what they had to do in the next couple months that Susan is expected to live. Fatty said, "Those of you who have had this kind of talk know what I mean. And those of you who haven’t had this talk think you know what I mean, but don’t." This morning Kenny left a comment on the Fat Cyclist blog on an account he has set up to help the Nelsons. Also the new 2008 Fat Cyclist jerseys from Twin Six will be available soon and will be used to support Susan. Dear Readers of Fatcyclist.com,
Technorati Tags: cycling | mountain biking Labels: cycling, mountain biking
Kane Creek/Harrah Pass/Amasa Back Loop
 It's hard to believe it's been over a month since I was mountain biking in Moab. This post has just been sitting partially written.The final ride I did in Moab was the Kane Creek/Harrah Pass/Amasa Back Loop. This loop was the first ride I ever did in Moab. I had never been to Moab and went out to race the Tour of Canyonlands. My friend was working the evening before the race so we left late. We got to Moab about 3 AM and I got a few hours of sleep before showing up for the race. Over the years since then, I've ridden the loop several times both in racing and just riding. The last time I had tried riding this loop was in 2004 when the Tour of Canyonlands last used this course. I had gotten sick with aches and chills on the way out a couple days before the race. The day before the race, I felt well enough to ride up Amasa Back but was still weak. I figured I'd start the race and see how I felt. Even when I haven't been sick, I often don't feel good before a race starts. How I feel before a race is never a good indication of how well I'll race. Within a couple miles, it was clear I'd be struggling just to finish. I considered just riding it easy but was concerned I'd do my body more harm than good. There had been a big rain a couple days before and the first water crossing that was normally a trickle was flowing pretty good. I hung out with some other people and watched some vehicles get stuck and unstuck. While I was watching, emergency vehicles went by. Then we started hearing that there had been a bad accident with the racers. I would later find out that "Ben" Hall had been killed in a collision with a truck. Although I often saw him at the races and we'd be back and forth sometimes, I never really got to know him. It truly was a sad day in the mountain bike race community.  Although it has been 4 years since the accident, it was on my mind as I set out on my ride. The Kane Creek road is actually pretty boring but makes for a nice warm up. Right about where I thought the accident had happened from what one of my teammates that saw had told me, I saw a simple cross with a chain ring on it.  I always enjoy the views while riding up Harrah Pass. It's also an enjoyable climb for me since it's not too steep and I can power up it. I took a short break at the top before the fun, fast descent down the back side.It always seems like it's farther than I remember from the bottom of Harrah Pass over to Jackson Hole and the base of Jacob's Ladder. I actually enjoy being back there so it's not that I'm not having fun. Less sand would be nice but it's not all that bad. Even though I did a lot of work on my bike the first day in Moab, I didn't change my chain because I didn't have a new cassette. I also didn't think my chain had that much wear on it. I was wrong and my chain broke. I carry the Crank Brothers Multi 17 Tool and I really like it because it's small and has almost everything you could need on the trail. I do find that the chain tool can be bit difficult to use but it's still much better than not having one. I had trouble fixing the chain and apparently didn't get it right. About 15 minutes later it broke a 2nd time. That time fixing it went smoothly and it didn't break again.  The first time I raced on this course I had no idea what Jacob's Ladder was. Before the race I kept hearing people talking about it. I asked my teammate that had raced the course before what it was like. He pointed to some high cliffs and said, "It's pretty much like those cliffs except there's a broken section you scramble up."  I only half believed him and thought he was just messing with me. I would find out soon enough that his description was pretty accurate. Unlike most of the other racers, I always liked Jacob's Ladder because I always made up quite a few places on it. It's no harder than doing the Manitou Incline except that you're carrying a bike on your back. It's much easier than doing Gray's Peak in Montezuma's Revenge.Once at the top of Jacob's Ladder, it's just a quick descent down Amasa Back. The short steep section back up to the Kane Creek road always seem brutal after descending. Related Links: 7 Mountain Biking Confidence Killers | Saltwash and Sovereign Singletracks | Gold Bar Rim and Portal Trail
Labels: Moab, mountain biking, Utah
Tuesday, May 06, 2008Glowing Green Eyes in the Dark
 Tonight my wife and I left the kids with the grandparents. After dinner we hiked a ways up Ute Pass Trail. On our back, I spotted a bright green glowing spot in the light of my headlamp. I got a little closer and could see it was a spider that was a little over 1/2 inch long. It was brownish/gray and the back part of it's body was hairy. We ended up seeing several of them before we got back. I think they were wolf spiders. They have 8 eyes and I'm guessing that they were reflecting my light back.
Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, wildlife
Friday, May 02, 2008Manitou Incline Busy Season Has Begun
 Although several people hike the Manitou Incline on nice days during the winter and even on nasty days there generally are a few people. I hiked it on a cold, cloudy day a little over a month ago and saw 3 people. Once it gets warm, a lot more people start hiking it.  Two Sundays ago it was sunny and in the 70's. I saw hundreds of people. I did it with my 5 year old so we had lots of people passing us. I did it last Sunday afternoon and parked the farthest I've had to down Ruxton.Along with the warm weather, people have been coming to UltraRob.com looking for information on the Manitou Incline. One thing they are looking is for directions to the Manitou Incline. I think because it crosses private property there aren't many directions to it. The directions I've written to the Manitou Incline are a bit vague for that reason but should be plenty to get you there. Hopefully the access issues will be resolved soon.  Another question people have is how long it takes to hike to the top. On the Incline Club page, Matt Carpenter's fastest time is listed as 18:31. That page doesn't have any new times since 2000 when the No Trespassing sign was put up. According to an article in Sports Illustrated, Mark Fretta has done it in 16:42. I wonder if that's from the bottom or from where the trail from Barr Trail parking lot meets the Incline. My best time from the bottom is 29:30. Last Sunday I did it in 42:30 but that was from the trail from the parking lot. At that pace it's about 4 minutes from the bottom. Of course how long it will take you will depend on your fitness level and how hard you want to push yourself. I've seen quite a few people the last couple weeks that appeared to be on a pace over an hour. The time back down will depend on whether you go back down the Incline or take Barr Trail down. People also want to know how many steps there are. I'd never thought much about that. 2,000 vertical feet in 1 mile with the steepest grade at 68% tells me all I really need to know. They really aren't steps but old railroad ties and some of them are missing. But in case you want to know, somebody has written numbers on some of the ties. I'm assuming that they are a count of the number of ties. I'm not sure what was done where ties are missing. 2744 is written on the top tie.
Labels: Colorado Springs, hiking, Manitou Incline
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