Happy Birthday to Me!!!! .... from Mineral Basin.

It was my birthday over the weekend, and of course, we went skiing. The kids went to ski school so Jen and I headed to the top and dropped in on the backside of the mountain. It had been a couple of days since the last storm so we weren't expecting much. It was wonderfully sunny on the Mineral Basin side so being the cold day that it was, we headed straight there. Our first run was nothing special but on the way up back up I noticed a couple of skiers going down a section of the mountain that looked pretty good. It took some convincing to get Jen to agree (it looked somewhat dicey to get there) but being my birthday she had to follow.:) The traverse was sketchy and there was a 2' to 3' ledge of windblown snow that you had to jump but once we got to where we needed it looked good. In fact, I was amazed that we couldn't see the tracks of the people who we had seen go down just a few moments earlier. Apparently, the wind was picking up the snow from the surrounding areas and depositing it in a little gully only about 10' wide and we were now standing at the top ready to drop in. The snow was perfectly smooth and so much fun to ski and it lasted almost the entire way to bottom. I was amazed. We excitedly got back on the lift and went straight back. Amazingly our tracks were gone. Time after time the wind kept refilling the snow making for perfect turns. We couldn't stop. The hardest part was waiting in the lift lines at the bottom knowing how good it was still going to be. We ate what was in our pockets because we knew that lunch had to wait. Again and again we skied this line and with each time I felt like the mountain was giving it's own little birthday gift to me. We kept going until finally the wind changed and eventually our little perfect line was skied out. Still, I was very grateful we had found it. Not many people did. It made for a great birthday.

PS I was having so much fun that I didn't have time for pictures and I had left my helmet Cam at home. I was sorry at the time, and I am sorry now as I don't have any pictures or video to post, but in a way, it makes the legend of the day grow bigger in my mind.

It was cold this morning, but sunny and since we'll be skiing tomorrow I decided to take a quick bike ride today. It was so nice to get off the rollers and be back outside again. The roads were clear and there wasn't too bad of a wind from the north so it made for a really nice ride. I road as hard as I could for the 21 mile route as a bench mark for the coming season. I will see now how I can improve as the year goes on.

Some exciting news, we are taking our kids to Maui for a week vacation with the grandparents. The great thing about this, (besides the fact that it's Maui of course) is that Jen and I will get the chance to do a couple of bike tours while the kids hang with grandma and grandpa. We'll bring the essentials (shoes, helmet, pedals, etc.) but we'll rent the road bikes. We're now trying to decide what rides to do. There is of course the iconic ride up the Haleakala volcano. This is the ride I want to do most, but Jen has her doubts. There is also the West Maui Loop which is also famous. The one we can both agree on is the ride to Hana. It looks like so much fun. I will be sure to take plenty of pictures to post here. I'm having a hard time remembering what it is like to ride in warm weather. I'm excited.

First Real Ski Day!

Though we are nearing the end of January, this past weekend was, in many ways, our first real ski days of the season. We finally were able to ski some deep snow, off the white ribbons of death, and since our kids were in ski school we were able to ski alone.

We went both Friday and Saturday. Friday being our celebration of our 11th anniversary we went up in the morning while our kids were at school. It was a warm storm so the snow was heavy and wet on the mountain but when we came back down the valley it wasn't snowing or even wet so we decided to cap the day off with a quick bike ride up Rose Canyon.

Cloudy and wet snow on Friday.

Saturday was our kids first official day of ski school so we got up there early. By the time we got up there the snow was really coming down. I was glad we got up when we did because I heard later that traffic was a mess. We dropped the kids off and headed out on our own only to find that much of the mountain was closed off due to avalanche danger. The snow was still pretty heavy and wet but it got better as the day went along. It was one of those storm skiing days where it got better and better each run. In fact, the best runs of the day were the last 2 runs for Jen and I.

Jen and I on Friday.

The drive home was an adventure. Just getting out of the parking lot was an adventure. My Subaru Outback has been so great thus far in the snow and I didn't really worry about it but once we got to the car the parking lot was so deep that it took getting pushed by some nice people to get out. The ride home took a couple hours as there were several slid offs down the canyon, but, we have ridden those conditions before and we made it down safe so all in all it was a great day. Finally.

The drive home on Saturday. A bit harry.

Last short run of the day.

With this warm winter we've been having we've been able to both bike and ski on the same day the last few Saturdays. Though I'd rather it be just snowing like crazy, I'll admit that our Saturdays have been fun. In any normal January we wouldn't be able to do this on a regular basis but this winter has been anything but normal. Next Saturday marks the beginning of ski school for our kids for the year and I'm hoping we get something in the way of snow to freshen up the slopes. Because of ski school we won't be able to do anymore bike rides on the same day. I'm okay with that. We've had fun while it lasted.

A Little Snow.

Very little skin showing.

The hardest part of the ski day....Getting the gear on.

Saturday morning we woke up to a little bit of real snow. The resorts were only expecting a couple of inches but they were reporting 8 by 9:00 a.m. That's not a lot but we'll be grateful for anything at this point.

With the storm brought colder temps. This always concerns me with the kids because at their age they tend to be more of the "fair weather" type of skiers. But I was amazed at how well they did. The hardest part about our ski day is always getting the gear on the kids. They often cry and yell and sometimes scream that something hurts or they don't like the layers feel or something but not today. On the mountain I think they both skied better then I've ever seen them ski before and this is saying a lot because it's usually harder for kids to ski in deeper snow. They did their dad proud. Looking at the forecast for the rest of the week it looks like we're going back to the dreaded high pressure/inversion for the foreseeable future. I hate this weather pattern. Praying for it to change.

So we tried my idea to go up Butterfield Canyon. It seemed like such a great idea since the road was closed to cars for the winter and it's been so mild I thought it would be a perfect ride. Well it was great until at about mile 2 up the road we noticed that is was getting remarkably colder. I couldn't tell if it was just the shade of the trees or if the temp was actually dropping. I was hoping that it would get warmer as we got higher due to the inversion but it was not so. Finally at mile 2.5 we hit this.....

As you can see the road was impassible with our skinny road bikes. It looks like we'll have to wait till spring. It was still a great ride.

Jen tried to get a picture of me as we looked at the snow covered road. She must not like my face.

Is This Really January?

With the new year I guess it is customary to reflect on what has been accomplished and in turn, make goals for the future. Ask those who know me, I'm not big on new years resolutions but I do have some specific goals for this coming year. My big cycling goal for the year is to ride Lotoja 2012. I'm currently fascinated with the idea. When I first heard of the race I couldn't believe people road for over 200 miles in 1 day. Now that I've ridden over the year I can see myself totally doing it. I can see myself doing it, but at the same time, there is that lingering doubt whether or not I've got what it takes. I think that is what is so fascinating. Is it possible for me? There is a lottery to get in but I'm totally committed until they tell me I can't. As part of this commitment I have the goal to improve my fitness. Since finding my bike last spring I've lost about 13 pounds so far. A lot less than I thought I would have by now. But I feel great and I only think I want to lose about 10 to 15 pounds more. I currently weigh 180 lbs. and I think I want to be around 165 to 170. It's funny to me because before I was married I couldn't tip the scales over 150 no matter how I tried. Now I'm trying to go the other direction. I've cut sugar out of my diet and we'll see if that helps. We'll also see how long that lasts. So far I've gone a total of 3 days.

Yesterday, the day after new years, was such a beautiful day for riding our bikes. Mid-40's, no to little wind, and sunny. I felt guilty that I was enjoying it so much when normally I would be skiing. I guess you just do what you can with what mother nature gives you. It was so warm that I could comfortably wear just my arm and leg warmers without any jacket or additional layers. This gave me the chance to sport my new jersey that I had made up for my company. Say hello to the new Hidden Peak Cycling Team. Currently membership is only 2 people. It's very exclusive. :)

We road our old Daybreak route along with a ride up Rose Canyon. So much fun. My legs felt good and my bike felt fast. We got to thinking after the ride that we should have ridden Butterfield Canyon as I think the road is closed to traffic and with the weather as warm as it is, it should be clear of snow. We would have our own personal road up the canyon. We'll try to ride it sometime this week since it doesn't look to be stormy for a while yet. One thing that was interesting was how much warmer the air was as we climbed up the canyon. It's not like it climbs that much in elevation but just that little bit made a real difference. Looks like another inversion setting in.

There were lots of people riding yesterday too. You could tell everyone was glad to be out. Now it's back to the grind of work and school and normal life. Until next holiday!