Mountain Biking and more

Summer of 2011

2011-06-15T13:46:00.002-05:00

All I want to say right now is it's HOT out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We're in a heavy rain drought and while out riding on the dirt, it's like a dust bowl out on these trails.
Allergies is only half the issue now, but it is not keeping me from meshing my pedals.
I hope everyone is doing good.

Carry on.

X-Factor

2010-02-01T08:42:00.002-06:00

Going to be a tuff 90-days as I am on a extreme strict diet and going to be doing core body workouts for 7-days a week.

My goal is to go from 198lbs to 157-165lbs and be @ about 5-10% body fat. Going towards a lean, lighter body. I want faster mobility and quicker run times. I am getting rid of the heavier mass and heavy lifthing weights as all it did was make me bulky and strong, but not happy with the end results as I don't want my goal to be the next Ronnie Coleman, even though it is fun to push your self harder. :)

Oh man..... the weight

2009-12-07T07:05:00.002-06:00

After all the Thanks Giving grubbing, I just totally gain much weight. It's been really hard trying to get back onto my bike and even though now the weather is perfect, we're trying to get our land purchased so we can get our home built onto it. All these permits take some time. I cannot wait to be living in Deer (animals) Country and walking distance to Lake Travis :)

What's up all!

2009-09-29T07:43:00.002-05:00

Damn, I can't believe it's been this long since I posted.

Anyways, a lot gone on, but for a quick update, we just sold our home 3 months ago and now looking @ another home builder to build our house. All in all townhome living sucks b/c there is not enough room there :). I really miss the access to a garage from my front door :). Also stairs suck.

Anyways hope all is well for everyone else.

Laters 4 now.

Added to Anthony

2009-05-14T13:43:00.002-05:00

~ I am going to believe whoever was talking to him here and took his picture, they asked where Anthony planned to go in the future. Then he pointed in the direction! God has taken him and he still is in great hands.

God Bless A and live happily towards your future journeys.

GodSpeed!

Rip Anthony Sloan

2009-05-11T14:38:00.004-05:00

Posted above

Anythony Sloan www.anthonysloan.com

Digging up old stuff

2009-04-28T21:56:00.002-05:00

Looking through my old pictures, I remember my old GF Marlin. I actually miss this little HT.

See there is a Rocky Mountain in TeXaS

2009-04-28T21:30:00.004-05:00

Son and I took off the Brushy Creek when he got out of school. We rode about 22 miles.
The RMB was pretty nice, slow as heck w/ the 2.3's and sucks to have 170mm crank arms.

I bet I can shave some weight by getting little bit smaller tires, maybe 2.1.
I'll be happy w/ that around here. :)

This past Sunday. Flat Rock Ranch

2009-04-27T07:20:00.004-05:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Headed out w/ a group of friends from Bike Mojo. We went to Comfort, TX and rode out at Flat Rock Ranch. (more info http://www.flatrockranch.net/news.html ).
I have to say this is one heck of a trail and gave me a pretty good challenge. I loved the 10+ switch backs and it had plenty of drops and steep downhill. I was thankfull that it was cooler weather then expected then the help of the rain which made it much harder to roll over limestone rock. Also as you know, I have yet to see a trail smooth like Colorado, so IMHO this was another techinical trail.

I have to admit that I started cramping very bad @ about the 18 mile marker. Legs just didn't have it. I did complete the whole 26 miles, but it was not fun towards the end. I didn't have my GPS since it did take took a pooh on me last week, so off that went to Delorme. I did ask one of the fellow Mojo's and they comment that one of the climbs was over 7000'.

I meet the owner their; Jimmy. Talk about a cool guy! I highly recommned if you ever want to ride a pretty challenging trail, check out FRR!

Sorry about some of the bad pics, some was taking w/ a digital camera and some w/ the iPhone :)

I had to, just had to

2009-04-27T07:09:00.002-05:00

~ Last year when I visited my Sail-N-Ski store they had this Rocky Mountain Slayer 50that was looking for a home. At the time the bike cost much more then what I expected to spend. Even though I liked riding it, I just could not justify affording it. So that was when I chose my Ibex.

Anyways, I went out yesterday to see what other RM's they had, POOF, the same Slayer 50 still sitting there! WOW!! What the heck, still sitting there and also $1K lower then last years price. Guess what I did?

Oh nevermind.... i'll let the picture tell ya. :)

My bad

2009-03-23T11:21:00.001-05:00

Been a while since I posted. We finally listed our home on the market and moved out. So all these past couple of weeks the family and I been busy boxing stuff up and hauling it away to our new place. It is sad to move out of our home, but then again in the long run we're getting money back in our savings account. Yahoo!!

All cleaned up, a new rear tire and.....

2009-01-21T08:33:00.003-06:00

Bike is all cleaned up, I have a new rear tire and I have no idea where I want to go ride this weekend. Maybe Muleshoe, I always have a blast out there. It is about a 35 minute drive (one-way).

Sunday - Rocky Hill Ranch

2009-01-11T19:26:00.004-06:00

This trail reminded me a lot like the trails I been to in Colorado, but without the mountains of course.

The terrain was very smooth and pine cones / needles all over the single track. It has about 16 miles of trails, but you can easily clock over 25 miles.
Also this trail was my first time being on it along with my built up 29'er / Vassago.
As for this 29'er it is amazing! It was actually really nice to be back on a hard tail and even better when it noticed it was much faster then any 26'er I been on; including my FS. Right now, IMHO 29'er is the way to go!

I can't wait to get back on the bike sometime this week again. Take care all.

Little man finally going SPD

2009-01-10T01:25:00.003-06:00

Robert could not wait to put on his new SPD's (these pictures were taken about 5 days ago). He's been practicing around the neighborhood and he seems to be doing really well. So a buddy and I took him out to our local trail and he fell down twice, but that was because he was climbing and refuse to pop out of the spd when he didn't have anymore legs to go. So he just tipped to his side. Pretty funny, but I done way worse. :)

Some pictures to share him wrenching away:

Gotta love REI

2009-01-09T23:22:00.004-06:00

REI had a national sale today and still going (I think till the 19th) and basically you get 50% off item that end's in .83 (cents).

I need to stop spending money and save up for my summer trip to COLORADO!!

29'er almost done!

2009-01-09T08:00:00.007-06:00

Finally got most of her completed. I need to order a new front derailleur because to one X7 I got is not made for the bottom cable pull :(

Some of the spec's:
Manitou Minute 100mm fork
Protaper Carbon bars
Ergon grips
Easton EA50 stem
WTB saddle
POS seat-post
Juicy 5- brakesFront 185mm disc
Rear 160mm disc
Salsa Delgado rims
Hope hub
9-spd sram

Can't comment on the ride since I have yet to rip some trails, but I need to work on the brakes a little more.

Happy Be-lated New Years

2009-01-04T10:36:00.003-06:00

One of my 2009 goals is not to spend anything on bikes. HAHAHA, yea right!!

~ But I want to wish everyone a Happy New Years, even if its a couple days late :)

Pop my trunk couple days after Xmas

2008-12-31T08:14:00.008-06:00

I opened my trunk a couple of days after Christmas and look what I found!

Yep, a 29'er BanderSnatch by Vassago.

I been debating for a while on getting and 29'er because I could not find one that fit me right, I then met heaven! :)

I plan on taking off a bunch of my components from my Ibex FS/XC bike and putting them on my BanderSnatch. My rims and front fork are coming in the mail as I type :)

Time to start running again

2008-12-13T07:49:00.002-06:00

My son and I went out got each a new pair of Asics running shoes. Since the weather his is now cooler, I wanna run!! It has been a while since I been jogging, so any tips please post.

Reimers Ranch

2008-12-13T07:34:00.006-06:00

Had a blast at Reimers. This was my first time out there. Over 18 miles of track and some even rated at double black diamond. Kind of far to get to, but it's worth it!! Even my 11 year old boy completed it and wants to do it again here very soon.

Dinner 2night @ RUDY'S!!

2008-12-06T19:04:00.004-06:00

Yep.... been a while since we hit up Rudy's. So tonight, it was on!!

YUMMY brisket. Now tomorrow we're hitting up Camron Park to rip off some of this lean meat! :)

A clean bike is a happy bike, even @ $1 dolla'

2008-10-30T08:54:00.005-05:00

My baby girl said my bike was yucky. I offered her one-dollar if she would clean it.

After about 20 minutes or so, here are the end results for one-dollar and I did head out to Walgreens and got her some candy. Smiles & memories are forever!

Need that workstand...

2008-10-24T07:57:00.003-05:00

My next purchase; A bike workstand!
Been needing to get one of these for a while. I was even looking to making my own, but time and size of it w/o folding would be a complaint issue with the wife :) .

But I been searching and I know that you can never go wrong with a Park workstand, but dang they are up in price. So now I am looking @ the Sette's workstand. I found one review on it and it seems it can hold a AM bike easily weighing @ 40 lbs (stable), which all 3 of my bikes are not that heavy. SOLD!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Check out the picture above. Not bad for all that for little over $100.oo's, but with shipping its close to $150.oo.

Laterz

These hangers.... I swear!!

2008-10-24T07:44:00.003-05:00

Totally forgot about uploading these pics from a past trip about 6 weeks ago. Was out at Lake Georgetown, about 8 miles into it and was about 103 degrees, my dang hanger snapped! Yes.... I didn't have a chain tool to make my bike a single speed. I had to walk it back, yepper! Oh and did it suck!! 8-miles sucked. I did however lower my seat post and when I can upon a hill to go down, I was rolling down it.

So yea... now I got one of these:

(lesson learned / got it at REI)

Got it today

2008-10-17T20:22:00.003-05:00

Went to my LBS and swooped up my roady. Got a new carbon fiber seat-post and just ordered some road shoes. Hope to see there here @ my door step in about 3 business days.

Look what I got from PEARL today

2008-10-17T20:20:00.002-05:00

Can't wait to put my cleats on.
Plan to hit up "The Nut" in the AM tomorrow and
try these new shoes out.

Projected plan.....

2008-10-16T21:05:00.004-05:00

..............

Got new tires

2008-10-16T20:41:00.002-05:00

Pulled off my old WTB Exiwolf tires (XC) and got some new Kenda Nevegals.
This tires sure do grip and move pretty fast on the loose dirt. Now crossing any roads, boy.... these tires sure do drag and roll slow. Of course I know these are only designed for the dirt. Love them so far!!

Miss'in Colorado

2008-10-16T20:32:00.004-05:00

Since leaving Colorado @ the end of July all my son and I been doing is talking about when our next trip will be out there. I think next year, we're going to head out in June.
~ For now, it's time for some Walnut Creek, Reimers Ranch, Barton Creek Greenbelt & Lake Georgetown for my trail riding.

I will also soon be riding my roady. Looking to start off weak @ about 40 miles a day and moving up to 75-100 miles bike rides. I know plenty of friends from work that does this normally, or are they normal? haha (kidding).

Here are some pictures from The Nut over last weekend Oct 12, 2008 w/ my friend Frank and my son.

Today.......

2008-10-16T20:29:00.001-05:00

Pay day!!
I will be picking up my Roady tomorrow.
~ Still waiting for my new carbon fiber seat-post to come in the mail.

I can't wait!

Pictures of it waiting for me, more soon to come:

Off to Golden Gate State Park (Wednesday 7-16-08)

2008-07-16T01:11:00.000-05:00

Info: More than 12,000 acres of dense forest, rocky peaks, and aspen-rimmed meadows laced with miles of trails await the hiker, horseback rider, mountain biker and winter sports enthusiast at Golden Gate State Park.

We’ll be heading out to Golden Gate State Park tomorrow, so my blog will stop since I will NOT have Internet access out in the wild.
Until then, thanks for looking and hope you enjoy what I had to show since I been here.

Thanks and take care!

Mike & Robert

S. Table Mountain, Golden, CO

2008-07-16T00:39:00.001-05:00

Meet up with Andy and his son TJ.
We got off great with them and TJ was asking when we were going to be moving. HAHA

The bike ride was scenic for being in town, not hard at all (was actually one of the more relaxed rides, but maybe it was because we stopped more for pictures and BS'ing along the way). We saw another guy going down the trail as we were climbing up. We saw him flip (flash back), but he was ok. Those rocks; They’re always in the way (hehe).

Pictures below:

Betasso Preserve / Boulder, CO

2008-07-16T00:25:00.000-05:00

~Betasso is a quick smooth loop through forested hills, with plenty of tight turns and speedy downhill sections. The climbs and descents alternate enough to allow even a beginner to have a good time on this track. In some places the trail is cut right into the side of the mountain, so you are looking at a serious drop off if you're not paying attention. The trail has some nice views and is well maintained.

3rd stop: Red Rocks

2008-07-15T01:10:00.000-05:00

Red Rocks Amphitheater – reminds me a lot like Garden of the Gods out in Colorado Springs, but since Red Rock does have an amphitheater it makes it something very special. Foo-Fighters was suppose to play, but luckily they didn’t because I would of not have been able to take these pictures today ;)

Love to hear a live concert one day out here. I hear from others out here that it’s a must do (check-out).

Maybe next time, right Eva? ;)

2nd Stop: Mt. Evans 14000+

2008-07-14T23:13:00.001-05:00

Mt Evans, one of the highest peaks in Colorado. It was a blast to ride up and down it. Plenty of crazy cyclists out there riding that road.

It’s well over 14000 elevation.

While heading up, we saw plenty of wildlife. Isabella and my lovely wife would have loved it. As soon as we got to the peak, it started to snow!! Yes.. Snow in JULY!! It was about 20 degrees colder too. I had to put on my jacket. Once we headed back down and got to about 12K elevation it was warm. It was wild; jackets off!!

Pictures below

Next will be Red Rocks!!

1st Stop: Idaho Springs, CO

2008-07-14T22:13:00.000-05:00

Heading out to Mt. Evans and coming down I-70, we had to put in for some gas out in Idaho Springs, CO. After filling’er up (fuel), we saw a BBQ joint called "BBQ Smoking Yards". We decided to go in and check it out (yes I was warned that BBQ in Colorado is weak Kung-Fu!!) as soon as we walked in, I asked “How’s the BBQ out here?”. He said, better then RUDY’s. What the heck?!?!?! How did this guy know about Rudy’s, did he see Texas or Central Texas on my forehead? So I asked and he said he saw my plates and assumed (guess Rudy's is known well out in these parts). HAHAHA!!

~ But really, he was saying anytime he’s out in Central Texas, he gets some RUDY'S and a lot of his customers are from Texas / Austin, Houston & Dallas area. So I took it as if he was serious about his BBQ was better. Robert and I got brisket sandwiches. It was auh… OK!! Compared to Rudys, not even close!!!! Compared to my BBQ, not even close!! It was average 79%.

After finishing up the food, we heading out down the hill from the restaurant and checked out the river and public park (see pictures). Robert then spotted a old gold mine which he really, really wanted to go check out. Kids… ya know!!!!

Idaho Springs was really nice. The people here in my honest opinion are awesome. Very polite and full of life!

Next coming up….. MT. EVANS!!! Yea!!

Click pictures to make them bigger.

2008-07-14T11:03:00.001-05:00

Just so that you know, you can view the pictures much bigger if you click each on individually.

Ok we're off to Mt. Evans!!

Yea!!!

Blue Sky and more @ Ft. Collins / Meet up w/ Austin friends.

2008-07-14T01:04:00.000-05:00

Meet up with Garry and his son out in Fort Collins, CO. Which are originally from Austin, TX.
We had a blast basically riding in their backyard. The Park was beautiful and took off at the trails. We put a totally of 11-miles. Elevation was ruffly around 6K. Not as bad at Chimney Gulch (no way), but the single track and switch backs were pretty hard. I find it that inclining is most important here and that granny gears are your best friend. The reward is going down. WoW that was a blast.
It was a pleasure to meet Garry and his son Max. Robert had fun!!

As for trail, not sure what the names were, but from what Garry told me, we rode 3-different trails.

Chimney Gulch

2008-07-14T00:43:00.002-05:00

INFO: Chimney Gulch has seen a fair amount of trail work, and sections of the trail have been relocated. The trail is now a little friendlier for mountain bikers. The climb is still hard and technical and will require strong legs and lungs. Tread: 7.0 miles on single track.

Lookout Mountain & Buffalo Bills Grave 7-14-08

2008-07-14T00:07:00.000-05:00

Buffalo Bills Grave and Chimney Gulch =)

At first we were planning to head out to Red Rocks, and miss the exit on I-70. So we just kept going and saw an exit that said: Lookout Mountain / Buffalo Bills Grave.
So we took the exit and rode up. Lots of road cyclists all-over the place. We took a look at Buffalo Bills grave. We then heading down the steep road and came to a hike / bike path. I stopped and asked an local MTB’er that was in the area and asked where this tails leads out to. He said it was "Chimney Gulch" and he said once you make it up to the top that I would be at Lookout Mountain (which you can also make it hiking or by vehicle). I asked how hard the trail was and he rated it about 8 (pretty advanced).
With a grin on my face, I unloaded the bikes, put on our gear and headed out. First, let me just say that not even 300 yards into it, Robert and I was totally tired and had to frequently stop for breath of AIR!! About every 100 yards or so, we had to stop.

I looked on my GPS and it said we were at 7700' elevation! Compared to Austin 500' elevation, we were getting weaker by the second (not minute). As I kept inclining up the trail my head started to get very, very lightheaded.
It was very rewarding once we got to the top.
Below are pictures. Hope you enjoy!!

More info on Chimney Gulch (pictures on other post)

INFO: Chimney Gulch has seen a fair amount of trail work, and sections of the trail have been relocated. The trail is now a little friendlier for mountain bikers. The climb is still hard and technical and will require strong legs and lungs. Tread: 7.0 miles on single track.

Quincy Reservoir / Aurora 7-12-08

2008-07-12T23:13:00.000-05:00

Pretty lake, which has a dog park and fishing which is free. No bikes, ATVs or horses allowed on the trails. You are more then welcome to hike it. I talked to a guy that fishes there and said that lake is about 3-4 miles to walk around. We went half way and jogged the rest of it. Take care,
~ Mike

Denver: City Park 7-12-08

2008-07-12T22:56:00.000-05:00

Here some pictures of City Park:

Not a bad park, but was pretty bland. All these ducks crapping all over the place and the park maintance guys do not maintain this park very well. I rate this park ** out of ***** starts

Denver .... we made it!! 1000+ miles later!!!

2008-07-12T22:38:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Denver about 12:30 noon’ish and was extremely tired. It took about 18 hrs to get here. I will NOT ever take the Dallas, Oklahoma and Kansas route to Colorado ever again!!
I do have to admit the Oklahoma gas prices are the cheapest I seen. Around Austin the average price of fuel is $3.93 a gallon. In Oklahoma City it was $3.78 a gallon (7-11-08)

As for rest, I only slept a total of 3 hours. Once I arrived in heaven,, oh I mean Denver my son and I took off to check out some local public parks.

First one was Washington Park. This park was amazing and people all over the place. Exercising, riding bikes, jogging, chillin and just lounging around. The weather was awesome! It was about 90, but it was not even hot!! Not like Austin @ 90 with humidity!!

I actually did not sweat nor did I use to AC in the car. People are very friendly here as I compared them to Austin folks. So far my 1st day here has been a blast.

Oh, for dinner we at ate DEL TACO it blows Taco Bell out of the water. Food was actually really good. Hot sauce,, well….. was very HOT!! J

Here are some pictures of the three parks we went to along w/ some sunset pictures!

Washington Park:

Packing up and heading out to Colorado 7-11-08

2008-07-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

Heading out to Colorado this evening and we should be arriving around 9:00 am on Saturday.

Look at the weather I am coming up against; BOO-HOOO!!!! (Click the image above to make it bigger)

;)

July 10, 2008 -

2008-07-10T23:34:00.000-05:00

Stitches are healing fine (day 4).
Got one more day until my son and I head out to Colorado for a whole week.
Please stay tuned, as more pictures are soon to come as we arrive in Denver.

I had a little down time so I cleaned up my bike.

July 6, 2008 / BCGB (Barton Creek Greenbelt) Austin, TX

2008-07-10T23:26:00.000-05:00

Headed out to Barton Creek Greenbelt.
Very fun trail with a lot of wet SLIPPERY sharp rocks, rocky steep inclines and hills that is really hard to climb. The rocks can easy cut a sidewall of the tires.
Today’s ride was a blast, till it came to the end of the trail as I can down a steep “Z” type trail and flipped over the bar and getting a bad cut to my left knee. Still had to ride back to our vehicles and had to ride about 8 miles away. Bleeding and all, it took about two-hours to get back. Had to go to my local emergency room and get some stitches on my knee.

=)

June 29, 2008: Lake Georgetown / Georgetown, TX

2008-07-10T22:56:00.000-05:00

Man this place was brutal! My son, Frank and I headed out from Jim Hogg. We rode about 16 miles. We all ran out of h20 coming back. We still had about 4 miles to go. We were hurting bad. Glad we made it back safe to our vehicles.

Some pictures:

GAME OVER!!!

Lakeway Green Belt 6-22-08

2008-06-23T12:51:00.000-05:00

I meet up w/ Frank that rolls a DH'er KONA and we took on Lakeway Green Belt.
Over a very shady and smooth transition track, but at some points very rocky and cool switch-backs. At one part where it was extremely rocky and actually got to close to the cliff side edge that I hit a rock and feel a good 8' and my bike went the other way.
Luckily I removed the SPD's and with my luck the bike would of gone with me. My leg got bruised of very bad. I did however finished up the ride. We headed out to McDonald's and ate some Big Macs. It's been a while eating a burger and even Mickey D's burger tasted good!
My leg swell up pretty bad. I rested it w/ a bag of ICE on it. It's going down slowly as I am now walking much better today (6-23-08).

Lakeway Green Belt Trails:

Brushy Creek Lake Park (6-21-08)

2008-06-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

June 21, 2008

Son and I rode our bikes for 18 miles out at Brushy Creek Lake Park. Nothing fancy, just a little
bit of cardio, climb some hills and pop some wheelies!

It was a pretty hot day. I think it was around 101 degrees.

And to all a good night :)

6-15-08 / Walnut Creek Park (Father’s day)

2008-06-16T02:13:00.000-05:00

~ Second time out on my new Ibex Asta. I finally got the steer-tube cut lower and the handle-bars shaved down to 25". Thanks to Spinner Cycles out here in Austin for doing the cutting.

I hooked up with a friend and headed out to Walnut Creek Park. We had a good time and the trails were smooth and was rolling very fast. I almost hit a couple of trees to be honest (close call). ;)

We took couple of pictures along with my busted Giro helmet (end) after a pretty hard crash. Don't worry, I am OK (my fault for being very aggressive).

Some pictures below:

Packing it up and ready to go!

Me pulling some air.

John getting some air also:

The Ibex's:
Cracked Giro Helmet: