Hello to my people not on vacation, as i sit here in my swimsuit, nursing a sunburn, and a sore bum, from my bike seat... yeah, we all knew it was gonna happen. Even I did. It's been a relatively sedentary winter.
We are here in Moab, enjoying the wifi, the pool, the desert sun and wind, the kick-butt trails that spider- web all over this area. We've hiked to a few famous landmarks, jeeped, mudded (it rained yesterday) and biked. Yesterday evening, I opted out of another five hours in the jeep and went for a run along the river instead, which turned into a climb along an obscure trail up a canyon wall. An unmarked trail, not noticed when one is breezing by in a vehicle, or even on a bike. found a viewpoint an which to sit and take the time to take it all in- the river far below, the green of thee cottonwoods against the red of the canyon walls, the lizards who regarded me suspiciously before giving me a wide berth.
We are here in Moab, enjoying the wifi, the pool, the desert sun and wind, the kick-butt trails that spider- web all over this area. We've hiked to a few famous landmarks, jeeped, mudded (it rained yesterday) and biked. Yesterday evening, I opted out of another five hours in the jeep and went for a run along the river instead, which turned into a climb along an obscure trail up a canyon wall. An unmarked trail, not noticed when one is breezing by in a vehicle, or even on a bike. found a viewpoint an which to sit and take the time to take it all in- the river far below, the green of thee cottonwoods against the red of the canyon walls, the lizards who regarded me suspiciously before giving me a wide berth.
We biked Slickrock Trail today, because the friends who are here with us wanted to be able to name-drop later, considering Slickrock's reputation for being a gnarly ride. We did not do the entire thing, because we
are still far too soft, but we definitely put our bikes through their paces. My new full suspension and hydraulic brakes did not keep me from drawing first blood- a sprocket in the achilles tendon. Oh, well. It is a point of pride with me, always being first... first in the water, first crash, first blood... although B did take a far more impressive crash than me. He was fully committed as he barreled down a steep slickrock face- into a sandpit. He actually achieved a horizontal launch for a moment when his wheel turned and he stopped rather abruptly. But then he face-planted in the sugar-fine desert sand, rolled over, shook himself off, and hopped back up, looking around to see if anyone had witnessed it. We all had, and since we could already see he was not hurt, were laughing. Too bad the camera was not handy.
are still far too soft, but we definitely put our bikes through their paces. My new full suspension and hydraulic brakes did not keep me from drawing first blood- a sprocket in the achilles tendon. Oh, well. It is a point of pride with me, always being first... first in the water, first crash, first blood... although B did take a far more impressive crash than me. He was fully committed as he barreled down a steep slickrock face- into a sandpit. He actually achieved a horizontal launch for a moment when his wheel turned and he stopped rather abruptly. But then he face-planted in the sugar-fine desert sand, rolled over, shook himself off, and hopped back up, looking around to see if anyone had witnessed it. We all had, and since we could already see he was not hurt, were laughing. Too bad the camera was not handy.Ok, our activities for the da
y are not over, I should run along now. Enjoy your lives while not on vacation, all my people. The pictures by the way, are (first one) of Bobby's cousin, who is here with us, on Slickrock Trail, almost to commit to a somewhat scary downhill section, and (second one) of me, on my brand new bike. Not that ya can tell, since they're both fairly distant, but one finds it difficult to fill one's frame with close-ups of ones self and one's friends out here, when there is so much scenery that would be hidden by doing so. I thought both of these were representative of the trail, it's views, it's bigness. The last one is of Delicate Arch, from under a seldom-noticed (and as far as i know, unnamed) arch just a short skip above the trail as one is aproaching the arch.
y are not over, I should run along now. Enjoy your lives while not on vacation, all my people. The pictures by the way, are (first one) of Bobby's cousin, who is here with us, on Slickrock Trail, almost to commit to a somewhat scary downhill section, and (second one) of me, on my brand new bike. Not that ya can tell, since they're both fairly distant, but one finds it difficult to fill one's frame with close-ups of ones self and one's friends out here, when there is so much scenery that would be hidden by doing so. I thought both of these were representative of the trail, it's views, it's bigness. The last one is of Delicate Arch, from under a seldom-noticed (and as far as i know, unnamed) arch just a short skip above the trail as one is aproaching the arch.
