Trail Use When Muddy

March 30th, 2010
Muddy Spot on Trail

Spring on the Colorado Front Range often means snow or rain. In fact in the last week and a half we’ve had 3 snow storms. With the snow and rain comes muddy trails. On Sunday I waited until afternoon to go mountain biking but still hit a few muddy sections.

Hiking, running or mountain biking on muddy trails can tear them up. The best thing is to avoid muddy trails and wait until they dry out. We’re fortunate to have some locals trails that are gravel and don’t get very muddy. If you aren’t sure in your area, contact a local bike or outdoor shop to find out which trails get muddy.

If you’re on a trail and encounter a short, muddy section, the best thing to do is go right through the middle of it. As you can see in the photo above, going around the edge widens the trail and creates an even bigger mud section. Most of our lower snow has melted but on trails that are snowy, it’s best to go early in the morning before it warms up and they become muddy.

Colorado Springs trails that get muddy

  • Palmer Park
  • Red Rocks Park
  • Section 16 – the east side by the hogbacks
  • Cheyenne Mountain State Park
  • Garden of the Gods
  • Parts of Ute Valley Park
  • Parts of Stratton Open Space

Most of the trails in the Cheyenne Canon area are gravel and don’t get too muddy. These trail include Captain Jacks, Buckhorn and Columbine. Palmer Trail from High Drive is also good but dropping down Section 16 isn’t advised when it’s muddy. Other than a couple short sections, Barr Trail also is good when wet.

UltraRob

Peak Region Cyclist Bike Show Video 2010

March 26th, 2010

Peak Region Cyclist created a nice video of the 2nd Annual Peak Region Cyclist Bike Show. I knew I didn’t see everything but there’s several things in the video that I didn’t see. They used several of the photos I took of the bike show in the video.

UltraRob

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Race Across the Sky DVD Available for Ordering

March 26th, 2010

Race Across the Sky, the movie about the 2009 Leadville 100, is now available for pre-ordering on regular DVD and Blu-Ray. They’re saying it will ship on March 30th. It is $29.95 on DVD and $34.95 for Blu-Ray.

I saw the movie when it was shown in theaters last fall. I wrote a review of the Race Across the Sky movie back then. I thought it covered the race well although I think it makes the race look a lot easier than it actually is.

UltraRob

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Check Your Gear after Storage

March 24th, 2010
Broken Tent Poles

You took good good care of your gear at the end of last season. Now whether it’s the start of camping, climbing or skiing season, you can just grab your gear and go, right? Actually it’s not the best idea.

I’ve found this out the hard way a few times over the years. Obviously I haven’t learned my lesson since the latest was this last week. We went to Big Bend National Park and camped for the first time this year.

We were busy before going and just grabbed the camping gear that we last used last fall out of the garage. We got to the campground late at night. When I pulled the tent out of the bag, the poles fell out in individual sections instead of corded together.

Just touching the cords in places was enough for them to fall apart. We found out quickly that without the cords to hold the poles together it was impossible to slide the poles through the sleeves. They just kept falling apart.

Fortunately the cords are just needed to hold the poles together to put the tent up. Once the poles are under tension they aren’t needed. By taping the joints together, we were able to set up the tent.

We were fortunate that not checking our gear ended up not being too bad. It was a reminder though that gear should be checked after storage.

UltraRob

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Snowy Manitou Incline Photos

March 19th, 2010
Snow on Manitou Incline

Spring is almost here and that means big weather extremes here in Colorado. Yesterday I got a nice lunch time ride in 60 degree weather. This morning the snow is coming down.

Going hiking or cross-country skiing in a snow storm can be beautiful. Just be prepared and know how to navigate. It can be easy to get disoriented even in familiar areas.

Here are some photos from a hike I did on the Manitou Incline about a month ago. If the snow keeps up, it should look about the same in a few hours. It is still trespassing to hike the Manitou Incline and they’re spending $100k to study how to make it safe. As with hiking in any weather, you need to pay attention and be safe.

Snow on Manitou Incline

Snow on Manitou Incline

Snow on Manitou Incline

Snow on Manitou Incline

UltraRob

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REI Nodder +25 Kids Sleeping Bag in for Review

March 17th, 2010

One thing we learned pretty quickly about camping with kids is they get cold easily at night. Even in the summer here in Colorado, we’ve had it drop close to 30 degrees when we’ve been camping close to 11,000 feet. Once the kids are cold, no one gets much sleep. The last couple years, my wife and youngest have slept together in cheap, bulky sleeping bags that zip together. D, our nearly 7 year old, has been sleeping in one of my old -10 degree winter sleeping bags that has become more of a 30 degree bag.

There have been some drawbacks to D using my old sleeping bag. Because it’s too big for her depending on how she lays, a lot of cold air can come in around her. It is a mummy bag so pulling the drawstring tight helps. The problem is she has trouble adjusting the drawstring herself and can end up tangled up in the extra when it is pulled tight. We’ve also had problems with her unzipping the bag all the way and having trouble getting the zipper started.

With camping season almost here, we’ve gotten her the kids 25 degree Nodder sleeping bag from REI. It’s kid sized so it’ll fit her better. Also the hood uses elastic rather than a drawstring to keep it snug around the head. There’s also Velcro for adjusting the opening.

It has a zipper down each side and they only run about half way down the bag. The stuff sack is attached to the sleeping bag so there are no worries about it getting lost. The stuff sack also can be used as a space adjuster allowing you to shorten or lengthen the bag as child grows.

She hasn’t used it yet but it seems that it will work well and solve the problems we’ve had. I plan to do a follow up post once she’s slept in it some.

Currently the REI Nodder sleeping bag retails for $69.50. REI dividends for members become available next week and along with that will be a 20% off one item coupon. The coupon will be good from March 22nd to April 18. If you buy from REI much, the one time $20 cost for membership is well worth it. I believe buying the membership now also gives you the 20% off coupon.

REI Nodder +25 Sleeping Bag – Kids Specs (from REI)

Specification Description
Temperature rating (F) 25 degrees Fahrenheit
Temperature rating (C) -4 degrees Celsius
Average weight 2 lbs. 8 oz.
Average weight – metric 1.13 kilograms
Shell Ripstop nylon
Fill Polyester fibers
Lining Nylon taffeta
Fits up to 5 feet
Shoulder girth 52 inches
Hip girth 48 inches
Stuff sack size 10 x 16 inches
Stuff sack volume 20.6 liters
Sleeping bag shape Mummy
Gender Kids
Insulation type Synthetic

UltraRob

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Peak Region Cyclist Bike Show Report 2010

March 15th, 2010
Team The Shack Bike With SRM Cranks

It’s been over a week since the Peak Region Cyclist Bike Show and I’m just now posting about it. It was a fun weekend between the show and the parties before and after.

There were more booths than last year and I didn’t see everything. Of course that was partly because I saw so many people that I know. Attendance was up from last year although not as much as Peak Region Cyclist had hoped for. The weather may have been partly to blame since it was such a nice day to be riding.

Of course there was plenty of high end bike eye candy. AngleTech was there with their recumbents and other bikes like the Zigo Leader. Matthew Hoke was there with a bike made out of recycled bike chains. It will be going on the awning at CS West Bikes.

Colorado Springs Bike Month was there with the 2010 City of Colorado Springs Bicycle Transportation Survey. Locals can also fill it out online to let the city know what you think the city needs for biking. If you complete it today, you’ll be entered to win bike gear from Pro Cycling.

WMBA of COS also had a booth.  They are a great group for women that are just getting into mountain biking or are experienced.  Their group rides start in May and their group ride schedule is online.

The bike show kick-off party at Carmichael Training Systems was good although people didn’t stay long.  The SRM post show party on the other hand was still rocking when I left an hour after it was scheduled to end.  They cooked brats on the patio and had lots of other yummy food.  It was cool to see SRM’s service area.  Another cool thing at the SRM party was Eric Barr lit up the night with his flame thrower bike.

To see more of the show check out my Peak Region Cyclist Bike Show photos.

UltraRob

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Google Maps Now for Biking

March 12th, 2010

Earlier this week Google added a Bicycling option to directions in Google Maps. Now in addition to getting directions By Car, By public transit and Walking, you can select Bicycling from the drop down below the 2 locations. Bike paths are shown in solid green and recommended bike routes on streets are shown as dotted green lines.

I used it to get directions between my house and work. Except for a couple blocks, I can ride the whole way on bike paths. Google had most of the bike paths but they missed a key section. Because of that they ended up using a couple blocks of a busy street. It was still the best route without using the missing bike path.

From my house to work it is all uphill and obviously downhill on the way to home. I was happy to see that they do take elevation into account in their estimated time for bikes. They showed it taking 27 minutes to get to work and 18 minutes to get home. I ride a little faster than that but those are reasonable estimates.

As another test, I checked from my house to my parents house. It choose a busy street up a 9% grade hill instead of a much flatter route on quiet streets. The route I take is slightly longer but much safer and easier. I don’t find it surprising that they wouldn’t be able to find the best bike route. I’d just caution you to use the bike directions as a guide and not totally rely on on them.

To promote the new feature, Google is giving a $2,500 voucher to one lucky Twitter user. One winner will be randomly selected to receive a voucher for $2,500 USD to be used at American Cyclery. Entries must be received through a tweet which includes the hashtag #bikewithgoogle by 12 PM PST on March 19, 2010. See official rules for more details.

UltraRob

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Free Indoor Climbing This Weekend

March 11th, 2010
City Rock Climbing Gym

City Rock is having their Grand Opening this weekend and climbing will be free Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. They will provide a harness and will have people available to belay if you aren’t with someone who knows how to belay. If you don’t know what belaying is, don’t worry but it involves keeping you safe. You can climb in your sneakers but if you want to try out the rock climbing shoes, rental is $5.

The main wall at City Rock has been open for a couple months already but until recently the bouldering wall wasn’t finished. I saw it when they first opened but haven’t seen it since everything has been finished.

In addition to free climbing, they have membership specials this weekend. The initiation fee for monthly memberships will be waived and there’s also special pricing on annual memberships. See their rate page for more details.

With free climbing, it could be busy so you may need to be patient especially if you don’t have someone to belay. City Rock is at 21 N. Nevada, which is right across from the downtown city bus station.

More Goodies

Mountain Chalet will be giving away coupons for 20% off any one item which must be used this weekend. They will have other giveaways and put anyone who joins their mailing list in a raffle for gift cards ($100, $75, and $50).

ClimbAxe will be present and will give T-shirts away to the first few folks that sign up for memberships that weekend.

Friends of Red Rock Canyon and Friends of Garden of the Gods will be registering climbers for free outdoor climbing permits.

For a minimum of a $5 donation, you can “Buy a Piece of the (City)Rock” and go behind our wall to sign your name by a t-nut. Donations will go to local climbing-related non-profits.

UltraRob

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Rampart Range Mangement Meeting Tomorrow (Wednesday)

March 9th, 2010

Pikes Peak from Rampart Range

The 3rd public meeting for the is tomorrow evening (Wednesday, March 10). There’s a summary online of the October meetings. It takes some reading and I still didn’t have a very clear picture of what changes might occur. An article in the Gazette has a summary of possible changes.

There are some new trails proposed for mountain bikers and hikers which would be nice. They would include some good connectors to popular hiking areas. Some roads used by dirt bikes and ATVs would be closed but there would also be some new trails and areas for OHV users.

Overall it sounds pretty good for mountain bikers and hikers but things can change. In other planning meetings in the area, vocal groups have been able to get changes late in the planning at the expense of less vocal groups.

Meeting Details:

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Workshop from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM (presentation at 5:30)
Leon Young Service Center (Colorado Springs Utilities)
Pikes Peak Room (2nd floor)
1521 Hancock Expressway
Colorado Springs, Colorado

I would like to be at the meeting but doubt I’ll make it. To keep peace in the household, a home improvement project is currently higher on the priority list.

UltraRob

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