A Cowboys Prayer

An email from Jaime,

"When I was in Austin, all alone in the Driskill hotel, dreaming about Fruita and the Black Bike, missing family and friends, I recieved this prayer on the pillow of my turned down bed.


Oh, Lord, I reckon I'm not much by myself;
I fail to do alot of things I ought to do,
but Lord, when trails are steep and the pass is high,
help me ride it straight the whole way through,
and in the falling dusk I get the final call,
I do not care how many flowers they send,
above all else the happiest trail will before you to say to me,
"Let's Ride, My Friend"

Roy Rogers, 1911-1998

I thought that was pretty cool- enough to share it with you guys. So the next time we all ride together you'll understand the stupid grin on my face. J F R""

The Decemberists at The Paramount - 11-14-06

The Decemberists are just one of those quirky bands you really, really like but you just don't know why. This was my 2nd time seeing them and again amazed me with their performance. Colin's voice was gone from the start and the show ended after an hour cause Colin just couldn't sing anymore. Nonetheless these guys sounded great. The Crane Wife isn't my favorite album by The Decemberists but the songs they did play from it came off really well. I guess maybe the album is growing on me or maybe its just the fact that their live show just captivated me.

The Decemberists are highly recommended so go check them out.

11-18-07 - Marshall Mesa

Jaime, Pete, and I got out for a short but fun ride over at Marshall Mesa late Saturday afternoon. It was the first time I've had to wear the winter pants. This was the first time I've ridden MM since the work was done. Its a little wider than I was expecting but its a hiking trail too so share the trails. The trail out to 66th Street was fun. I hope this gets connected someday.

After the ride, we headed over to the Old Louisville Inn for a few beers. Nothing like a half & half and a burger after a ride. Good stuff!!

Goals...and the journey towards them.

I've decided that I'm going to do the XTERRA triathlon at Buffalo Creek on June 16th, 2007. Any chance to ride beautiful Buff Creek is enough reason alone. But to me its alot more. I did a sprint tri in September and that was fun but feel I can do much more. XTERRA should be a good test. A 1 mile swim, 20 mile mtn bike ride, and a 5 mile run should test my limits. I'm excited to start this training journey. The journey there is what its really all about and the race is just icing on the cake. I mean a 1 mile swim...fuck yeah!!1 That should be in itself a great test of my limits, then add in 20 miles at Buff Creek. I'm gonna have a blast, folks.

11-4/5/6-06 Fruita: kokopelli trails

Pete, Jaime, and I loaded up Pete's Millenium Falcon and headed west to Fruita. We made a quick stop in Downieville for a view of this year's last ski fashion. Folks, brown is this year's black (just in case you wanted to know). Then we rolled into Fruita a few hours later. If you are headed into town, check out the Boneyard Brewery aka Fruita Brewing Company or whatever they are gonna call the place. Good local brews and good burgers. We were fortunate enough to catch some live bluegrass.

Saturday morning we headed over to "Over the Edge" bikeshop for a looksee. Peter ran into his best buddy, Tater Tot. In case you've never met Tater Tot he's known around town as the mayor. "Buddy"! After Pete got a few hugs and a few "you're funny!!" from tater we were off to the Loma exit.

Since this was my first time to Fruita I didn't know what to expect. Here's a few pics of what the scenery and trail system was like.

Horsethief Bench was by far my favorite trail. Fast trails!!! We did Mary's and Steve's loop and the handcuffs(???). I ran into some what would seem not so technical bike trouble but it almost ruined my day, literally. I was having trouble getting in and out of my pedals. And I had a slow leaking front tire. Then it happened. I was unable to get out of my pedals trying to get over a rock and I fell towards the exposure. Feet went up and over my head. Luckily a big rock enbedded into my back and stopped me from rolling. I was more scared of going over the edge than anything else. What's a few bumps and bruises compared to a 300 foot bellyflop into the Colorado River, right? Nothing a few Boneyard Brews couldn't cure.

Sunday we headed over to the Bookcliffs. Rode up Prime Cut and then down some trail more suited for BMX bikes than mountain bikes but it was some fun shit nonetheless. After the ride we headed back into town. Out of nowhere Tater appeared and gave Pete some more hugs and kisses. I'm laughing as I write this.

So what's the deal with all the females in Fruita? Why is it that there are as many female riders as males? Why can't this happen closer to home, folks? Ladies what's up?