Thanksgiving Fun!

What a fun weekend! On Wednesday Jen and I took our kids up to Snowbird to spend the night at the Cliff Lodge as part of a free deal they give season pass holders. We got up there late in the afternoon and skied for a little over an hour before we were able to check in. We had fun with the kids that night and skied again with them in the morning. It was hard to get the kids out on the mountain that morning. The only thing they seemed to want to do was hang out in the hotel and watch t.v. but it was worth the hassle of begging them to come out in the end. At one point Jen and I questioned bringing the kids at all. I kept thinking how lucky they were to be there and as a kid I would have killed to be up in the mountains on thanksgiving but yet they didn't seem to appreciate that we were there at all. It seems to go that way lot and we've learned that if we can just push through the rough parts of getting their gear on and ignoring their complaints and just get on the mountain they always, without fail, have fun. This time was no different.
By the end of the morning there was a lot of laughing and smiling and we had to drag them off the hill to get to Grandma's for thanksgiving dinner.

Friday and Saturday turned out to be great weather for biking. Jen and I thoroughly enjoyed our morning rides. I rode Rose Canyon hard on Saturday in my attempt at placing well in the KOM competition using the cycling app "Strava". I placed 5th on that climb which gave me a small sense of accomplishment.

Sunday night Jen and I went up to Snowbird again to stay at the Cliff Lodge (again free) but this time we left the kids with Grandma & Grandpa. Skied in the morning. It was warm and sunny and the snow wasn't that bad. On days like these we often compare it to going to the beach. Relaxing and warm, getting fresh air, it really reminds us of the beach. I like our beach-skiing days but I still prefer our frantic powder skiing days.

Jen at the top of the tram.

Ski Season Begins! Day 1

I've had a fun summer but it felt so good to be back on snow. But really, it hasn't been that long since we were on snow. Maybe the 4th of July ski day made the summer feel not that long. We took the kids up to Snowbird around noon on Saturday and did a couple of laps on Mid-Gad and Gadzoom. It had snowed the previous night so even though the snow wasn't deep at least it felt like winter with everything all white. After a few runs the kids wanted hot chocolate so while they relaxed Jen and I took turns flying down the few runs they had open. After the past 4 seasons of taking our kids we've learned that it's best to go later in the day, not rush, and enjoy the late afternoon skiing that's available. This is totally contrary to the powder day mentality but with kids it doesn't matter. Skiing at the end of the day is much more relaxed with few lines and the kids enjoy it better. I'm sure that will change someday as they start to enjoy powder. Then, it will be first chair, ski as much as you can as hard as you can while the snow is good. In the meantime we have found this to work best.

On the cycling side of things...I've been riding the past couple of days on rollers. I would much rather be outside but with the bad weather it's the best I can do. They aren't too bad. They took about 15 minutes to learn but are worth the extra effort. So far I have 2 complaints. One is the amount you sweat on these things. Without the air movement that you usually have riding outside you find yourself drenched within a few minutes. I for sure need to get a fan for this. Hopefully that will solve that. Next is boredom. It's mind numbing. This the my biggest complaint. I've got to find a way to occupy myself. I didn't think it would be that bad because of the effort of balancing that rollers take and the fact that bike riding long distances takes mental fortitude anyway, but when I'm not moving and I stare at the same things the whole ride, I'm having a hard time coping. Tomorrow I think the weather will be nice enough to ride outside. I'll look forward to that.

It was a windy ride today, but I figure I better get out there while the weather is still tolerable. It still felt great. Today I couldn't help but think how much I love to ride my bike. I love to ski too. A storm is blowing in and is scheduled to arrive Saturday, just in time for our first ski day. Snowbird opens tomorrow but I have too much work to do so we'll miss opening day, but it will probably be windy and they'll only have 1 lift open so I'm okay with missing it.

So with the bad weather, and trying to think of how to keep my fitness up, I've bought some rollers for my bike. This will be totally new for me but I'm excited to see if it works. They arrive tomorrow so I'll find out then. In the mean time, below is a picture of Utah Lake in the distance. This was from my ride up Suncrest yesterday:

Yesterday Jen had work off so I invited her to come on my lunchtime ride up Suncrest with me. This was her first time up the north side and she had no problems with it. I'll admit she's pretty tough. :) It was beautiful fall weather with little or no wind. The decent was fast and a little chilly. I find that riding in this weather is tricky because going uphill you are nice and warm but if you start to sweat and you can still see your breath you know you're in trouble. You are always worried about layering just right but it's hard on a bike because of the drastic temperature changes between uphill and downhill. Especially in November.

A little video from the top.

Cold Morning Ride

Jen decided not to ride her bike with me this morning because it was too cold. She ran instead. Apparently, running is much warmer than biking. I wouldn't know. But she probably made the right call. It was in the mid-twenties when I left. We moved the clocks back last Sunday so now it is lighter in the mornings which was nice. I know it won't last long because we'll continue to lose light up until December 21st. Then it will begin to come back again.

I dressed with all my warm gear and headed up the foothills of Herriman. The first climb up above Herriman pond felt great. In fact, I was contemplating removing a layer because I was pretty warm. By the time I hit Rose Canyon I began to feel the cold. As I continued to ascend the temperature dropped. I couldn't tell if it got colder because of the gain in elevation or if it was the fact that the sun was almost up and I think it always gets colder just as the sun is about to come up. By the time I got to the top of the road I was glad I had all my layers on. On the decent I felt my feet go numb. I was glad to get back when I did. I may need to rethink this winter riding idea. Maybe I'll look into getting rollers? Tomorrow should be better. We'll try to get out during the middle of the day.This is where the paved road ends up Rose Canyon and the dirt road begins.

As you can see, the snow is starting to stick up here.

The road heading back down.

It's Snowing!

The weather has been so nice and warm lately and riding my bike over the weekend and in the morning on Halloween has been lovely but....Today is the first day of November and it's snowing outside. With this weather I wasn't able to get my morning ride in and I won't be able to ride during lunch either. But that's o.k. I'm not upset. For it is snowing! And it's suppose to snow Friday too. And maybe another storm next week! As much fun as I have had this past summer riding almost everyday I can't tell you how excited I am to ski again. I hope it snows like crazy from here on out. I plan to ride my bike any chance I can but I am so excited to get up in the mountains and ski some powder. Snowbird is scheduled to open November 19th and I can't wait. In commemoration of this coming season I've posted a video of a ski day we enjoyed last season. Hopefully it will get you excited too!