"127 Hours"

It's a snowy day here in the FLG;  23 degrees, 15 mph winds, and snow, snow, and more snow.  Nice to be inside surfing the web for a bit before making an attempt to organize the garage.  I finally did some research this morning that I've been meaning to do since shortly after our wedding reception.  The evening of our party, the Warden and I were engaged in some conversation regarding the movie "127 Hours" that he had recently seen at a limited engagement at a theater in Denver.  I had heard in the past that there was a movie in the works based on this true story, but hadn't heard when it was due for release.  I can recall reading about Aron Ralston's near tragic end in a 2004 "Outside" magazine article and being immediately blown away by the story.  A story that is absolutely outrageous, and asks the question, "In the face of death, what would you be willing to do to save your life?"  In a nutshell the story is as follows:  While solo hiking in southern Utah, Ralston's hand/arm becomes wedged behind a rock in a freak accident.  Unable to release from behind the rock and trapped in a slot canyon, he is left with only two choices, life or death.  In order to choose the life option, he must self-amputate his arm.  Once freed from being trapped, he still must hike several miles to safety.  I recommend visiting the link above to the "Outside" article, an excerpt from Ralston's book "Between a Rock and a Hard Place".  I have yet to read the book; but, after doing my research and rereading some of the article today, I'll be making a trip to the Flagstaff Public Library to check it out on Monday.  Released on a limited basis only, it unfortunately doesn't look like the movie will make a debut here in Flagstaff.  Although it's not available on Netflix yet, I've saved it to my queue; and, based on the Warden's recommendation, you should too.  It came highly recommended by the Warden based on the jaw-dropping story, cinematography, and scenery.  After reading the linked story, please comment below:  "Could you cut off your arm in the face of death?"

Poke town pump track

The only person I know who's ever ridden one of these things is Lianna, and she said it was super fun. Notice how the track is built in such a manner that if you do things correctly you don't need to pedal. Supposedly they are good for xc riders too because they teach you how to conserve your momentum. I want one in my yard, but I'm too lazy/don't know how to build one. Might be a good team project in the spring. Have a happy turkey day.

Hipster (Anti)Nation 1.0



The Cutter

 

The Madison



As I sat on the davenport tonight relaxing after a long, hard day of work, I reached out and grabbed the nearest periodical for a quick read before dinner.  That reading material just happened to be Kristina's latest issue of Women's Health Magazine.  After flipping through a couple of pages, my fingers stopped on a section entitled "2010 Holiday Hot List - For Sister".  I stopped, not because I needed a gift idea for my sister Anne, but because of one particular "hot" item on the list.  The Schwinn Cutter for $379, described as a "Carbon footprint reducer, muscle toner, and fashion statement all in one".  It sparked my interest, solely because the bicycle just absolutely screamed hipster scene and was being marketed to the masses (did you realize that Walmart now sells a fixie... scary!).  I couldn't believe anyone could actually recommend this bicycle as a gift... for not just a sister, but anyone.  I did some quick interweb research on this ride at schwinnbikes.com.  To my jaw dropping amazement, Schwinn has an entire line of bikes built for the hipster crowd, all part of their "Urban" line of bicycles...  makes me want to puke!!!  I remember the good old days when Schwinn used to make some classy old rides like the Stingray, the Fiesta, and the Collegiate, all available in what I would call "basic colors", not these pu*sy pastels that hipsters prefer.  These "Urban" bikes are just too much.  Although I still enjoy collecting classic Schwinns, they may have just made "the list" because they are aiding in the advancement of skinny jean wearing, walk your bike and try to look cool hipster mofos.  If you ever see me on one of these bikes, do me a favor and kick my ass.  As always, I love bicycles, but these fixie assholes bother me.

  

Don't Be That Guy
(Pic poached from "TheThrill of Riding" blog, but I don't think he'll mind, as long as I'm pickin' on hipsters)

Video Wednesday

I've been running short on blog material lately. Perhaps I will steal a video off the interwebs on Wednesday's and post it here. Stoled this one this morning. Check it out.

WNR # 35

Attendance: Pete, Benson, Secret Steve (of recent Iceman fame), Racin' Rob, Kevin, A/C, Joe, and Cheryl.

Weather: Dark, but balmy at right around 50 degrees.

Trail Conditions: Excellent.

Another WNR season in the books with a record breaking 35 in a row. I've been trying to think of just one word to sum it all up, and all I've come up with so far is FAST. Week in and week out I've been amazed at how fast we've all been getting. It seems like every time the pace backs off even a little bit, Racin' Rob or A/C is putting the hammer down and shooting off the front leaving the rest of us with no choice but to reel them back in. These high paced weekly rides appear to be paying dividends come race time as well with some of us putting up fabulous results this season (Secret Steve in particular). So we can all give ourselves a proverbial pat on the back for a job well done this season. It's hard to imagine we'll get any faster next season, but there definitely appears to be a trend in that direction. Thanks to everybody for making the commitment to keep the WNR torch lit; I know there were at least a handful of Wednesday's on which I would not have ridden otherwise. Possible WNR extension next week at Avalanche in Boyne City depending on the weather. Thanks again for a great season everybody. Over and out.

P.S. We closed out the ride on Sarge's Trail in honor of his birthday yesterday.

Number 34

Attendance: Pete, Benson, Racin' Rob, A/C, Sarah, and Cheryl.

Weather: Cold and dark.

Trail Conditions: I raked all the singletrack on my property over the weekend, so that was still in great shape. The rest of the trail was littered with a ton of sticks and leaves. In addition, there were a few downed trees requiring a dismount.

Still, we had a good ride. The cold wasn't nearly as bad as we thought, long sleeves and a vest were more than sufficient. And the rain that had been falling off and on all day stopped for the entire ride (it started up again as soon as we were done). We all enjoyed a great meal prepared by Sarah, and we sat around the table shooting the proverbial sh*t for a good long while afterwards. Fortunately I was still able to rouse myself for a much needed dose of yoga before work this morning. WNR # 35 will be @ Boyne next week. Hope to see you next week.

P.S. Plans are in the works to extend the WNR streak into hunting season weather permitting, so stay tuned.