I jumped out of the cracked vinyl office chair and ran to pick up the box:

Pulp Traction. From 1994. (*not my thumb)

Featuring sexy gripshifting, shameless wide-ons and “boss sounds” by Seal. I started giggling with excitement. I popped the tape in the VCR, propped the little flap open with a q-tip and rewound the tape.

Then the movie began. With a public service announcement, and a man pooping rocks.

The public service message ended and the boss sounds started. Guys with mullets, fanny packs, and white t-shirts started crashing:

And crashing:

Then this chubby guy appeared. He claimed to be riding around the world from Austrailia. He had just ridden down from “Canadoo,” and already pedaled 200,000 miles.

Then an F-16 pilot with a hairy stomach threw a Shark Cruiser:

And a woman with an un-hairy stomach made love to a Shark Cruiser:

After that, the Alien Sprocket Sniffers rode down some bumpy hills:

Canti brakes squealed, back tires were locked, and ruts were carved into the dust.

Then some panties flew:

And a baby was born:

The movie suddenly ended with a phone number. I’m really temped to call it:

It was over too soon. So I watched it two more times. And it was just as awesome the third time.

posted by Montana

And the foot uglifying feature built into camo muck boots.

posted by Montana

For this job, you’ll need a small philips or flathead screwdriver and a 5mm hex wrench:

The brakes are adjustable at the lever and by the wheel. Start by winding in the barrel adjuster, which is the little threaded thing where the cable enters the lever.

The barrel adjuster is used for quick adjustments while riding. Winding the barrel out pulls the cable tight, which tightens the brakes.

But since we’re going to tightening up the cable by the wheel, screw the barrel back into the lever. This is the starting point.

Now take the hex wrench and loosen the 5mm bolt on top of the brake arm that holds the cable. The cable should slide freely.

Loosen the 5mm bolt that holds the brake pad onto the arm on both sides. Squeeze the arms together, and line the brake pad up with the rim. Re-tighten the bolt. Make sure the pads won’t touch the tire. The pads should be centered and even:

Squeeze both arms of the brake against the rim again. Then pull the cable tight. Let it out just a tiny bit, so that the brake pads no longer touch the rim. Then re-tighten the 5mm bolt.

Grab the screw driver, and look for the little screws at the bottom of the brake arm. These adjust the tension on the springs  that pull the arms left or right. Tightening the screw will pull the pad away from the rim. Loosening it lets the pad be pulled towards the rim.

Use the screws on each side to center the brakes. There should be an even amount of space between the rim and the pad on both sides.

Spin the wheel. The brakes shouldn’t rub at any point. If the wheel is rubbing in one or two spots when you spin it, it might need to be straightened out, or trued. In that case, just drop it off at the shop.

When you squeeze the lever, it should stop when it’s about parallel with the handlebar:

posted by Montana

I’m on my second Princeton Tec EOS Bike light, and I’m perfectly happy with it. It’s bright enough for trail running in the dark, lasts a long time on three AAA batteries, and is tough enough to be occasionally dropped. Sadly, it won’t survive being run over by a car (I tested that when I left my first EOS in the Pub parking lot.)

Car smooshing aside, Princeton Tec lights are really solid. Here’s mine after two years of helping me find my tent:

This year’s models are the Remix, Fuel, and Byte.

Brightness, which is measured in lumens, is the main difference between the three. Since a lumen is a meaningless measurement for most of us, I took a couple pictures in the change room (don’t get too excited) to show the difference. The EOS (70 lumens) is on top, and the Princeton Tec Pulse key-chain light (10 lumens) is on the bottom:

Looks like I need to clean those mirrors.

Anyway, the Remix (100 lumens) is the brightest of the three, and brighter than the EOS above. I imagine that it would be bright enough to completely wash out my beautiful face in the change room mirror test.

Like the EOS, it uses a single maxbright LED for it’s main light. The maxbright is basically just a bulb that’s magnified by the shiny stuff around it. So it throws narrow, focused beam. That’s great for things like running, where you need to see far down the trail. The single maxbright also gives the Remix the longest run time (200 hours on three AAAs)

For around camp, the Remix has a cluster of three ultrabright LEDs. They aren’t focused, so they give off a soft wide beam:

The Fuel (43 lumens) uses four ultrabright LEDs.  Although it has less than half the light output of the Remix, it has a much wider beam. This little light is the best choice for digging for crap in the back of the car or hiking, where seeing far ahead isn’t as important as lighting up a big area. The downside is that the row of four LEDs sucks up battery power faster than a single maxbright.

The Byte (35 lumens) is the smallest, cheapest, and prettiest of the three. It’s like the Fiat 500 of headlights:

It uses one maxbright to put out almost as much light as the fuel, but in a much more focused beam. It also has single red ultrabright, which is about as bright as that key chain light in my change room shots. It runs on two AAAs instead of three.

We also have the EOS II and EOS Bike in stock.

And they’re all made in the US of America:

Posted by Montana

Actually, it’s the best jacket I’ve ever worn. I bought mine five years ago, and I’ve worn it on almost every chilly day since then.

I run in it, mountain bike in it, then fall asleep on the couch in it.

With five winters of wear, the only place it’s looking mangy is on the elbows. The result of long hours in front of the keyboard:

It looks a little like my cat before he licks himself:

I’m sure I could get the elbows back in good condition if I could just stretch my tongue a little farther:

When I headed out for a run today, it was about 15 degrees. I wore a light wool base layer with my monkey jacket, and I was comfortable the whole time.

The high-loft fleece is light, fluffy, and breathable. In snow or light rain, the fabric takes a while to feel wet.

Under a shell, the fur helps wick away moisture. I’ve never felt sweaty like I do in less fluffy fleeces.

And it’s almost compressible enough to fit inside a turquoise wicker cowboy hat:

But if you wore a hat like the Boss Hog, you could probably squeeze in two Monkey Jackets:

He takes that hat off for one thing, and one thing only.

Anyway, this year’s color is silverback gorilla grey:

In girls, we have the Monkey Woman Lite, which has some more breathable side panels and a hood. Fall through spring, they’re the best jackets out there.

posted by Montana

Town is pretty deserted this time of year, and the snow definently ads to the isolated feeling.

But that’s not a bad thing. Now I have time to do all the things I could only dream of over the summer. Like organizing all our hangers by size, material, and usage:

And making sure the shoes are staggered correctly:

Then finishing the staggering process, and realizing my coffee mug is gone.

And searching all the usual spots (on top of the t-shirt shelf, under the sunglasses, and next to the open sign)  for almost an hour, then finding mug displayed next to Venice H2s. Right where it belongs:

We don’t have enough snow to make the trails un-ridable yet, so last night I went out for a quick night ride on a trail that definitely wasn’t in the State Park (because the park is closed at night time.)

The trail that shall-not-be-named was in pretty nice shape. I might have to head out for some more snowy miles today at lunch.

I don’t mind a little bit of winter riding, but I wouldn’t want to be this guy:

He’s on his way to New York City from Cleveland. Brave soul.

According to Google maps, that’s 666 miles. He bought lots of Clif Bars.

posted by Montana

Doing the leg work and research to design a new trip is very difficult and taxing…..

Bill & Chris at work

We hope you will join us to enjoy the fruits of their work

2012 KATY Trail Bike tour details

for full details on our Colorado Fishing trip  

This story is from the Post Independent Newspaper of Glenwood Springs

REDSTONE, Colorado — Chuck Ogilby has long eyed the hot springs located along the Crystal River about a mile upstream from his Hell Roaring Ranch, wondering if some of the many veins of hot springs that run through the area might lie beneath his property.

That speculation eventually turned to reality, resulting in the official opening of the new Avalanche Ranch hot springs just after Memorial Day.

“We always knew the potential was there,” said Ogilby, who with his wife, Meredith, and their family, has owned Hell Roaring Ranch — hidden behind thick vegetation on the hillside above the river and Highway 133 — for 35 years.

“We had wanted to buy the neighboring Avalanche Ranch property for a long time, but it wasn’t until we were able to do that in 2006 that we started getting more serious about finding the hot springs,” he said.

So, about two years ago, with help from their geologist son, Kayo, and a group of his students from Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, they pinpointed a spot to drill a test well.

“He had brought some of the CRMS kids up to study the area, and found several vents along the highway that were melting the snow,” Ogilby said.

Students were given an assignment to determine, if they were to build a well to try to tap into the hot springs, where on the Hell Roaring Ranch property would they drill, explained Ogilby’s daughter, Molly Jacober.

At the location they picked, the students estimated they would have about a 70 percent chance of striking a hot spring, recalled Jacober, who co-manages the historic Avalanche Ranch cabins and antique store with Mark Braendle.

On one try, less than 200 feet deep, they struck their liquid gold — a vein of underground water running at about 93 degrees Fahrenheit at the time.

It wasn’t quite as hot as they were hoping for. By comparison, the nearby Penny and Filoha Meadows hot springs enter the Crystal River at about 127 F.

But the find was enough to proceed with developing the spring — part of a master plan to build a series of hot springs pools for Avalanche Ranch guests to use, and to eventually heat the ranch house and 13 log cabins at the resort using geothermal technology.

Molly, her husband Tai Jacober, and the Ogilbys had been working on design concepts involving a series of pools cascading down from the upper end of the property.

Working with landscape architect Ric Fields of Avon, Jacober Brothers Construction and others, the result is a beautifully landscaped area with rock walls and three pools with concrete floors, each at a different temperature.

The hot springs have already become a popular new attraction for overnight guests and day visitors at Avalanche Ranch, Molly Jacober said.

Interestingly, after they built the pump system running some 3,000 feet uphill from the well through super-insulated pipe, they turned on the water on March 12 to discover that the temperature of the water had risen to 93.5 F.

The water temperature continued to rise steadily over the next three months, peaking at about 100.1 F on June 12 and remaining there ever since, Ogilby said.

The upper pool where the raw spring water enters is now 100.1 degrees. The middle pool is boosted using electric heat to 103 degrees. A waterfall pours into a larger lower pool that typically runs from 92 to 94 degrees.

“We haven’t really advertised it much, but word’s getting around,” said Jacober. “So far it’s worked well to have day users come up during the daytime hours when our other guests are out doing things, and reserving them exclusively for our guests in the evenings.”

The cabins and other overnight guest facilities at the ranch are usually booked solid through the summer season, she said.

“One of our goals in building the hot springs is to boost occupancy for the winter months,” said Jacober.

The ranch is also making use of the geothermal energy to heat the flagstone deck around the pools during the colder months.

This fall, the larger ranch house, which is available for larger groups and retreats, will be heated geothermally.

Ogilby explained that once the water runs through the pools, it is captured in a tank and pumped to a separate facility where it is heated to 120 degrees.

Eventually, the plan is to pump the hot water through all the cabins and remove the current propane heating system. The propane cooking and heating stoves will remain, he said.

“People still like the ambiance of having an open-flame stove when they’re in a cabin in the mountains,” Ogilby said.

jstroud@postindependent.com

Dear Bill, Travis, Gary, Heather and all the other staff members who were part of making my bike trip so special,

 

Journey Completed

Just kidding. Today we’re actually in the middle of another summertime heatwave! T

Happy in the July Heat!

f happy paddlers out on the water:

After your whitewater rafting trip,  you might be surprised to find that there are a lot more to do in Ohiopyle than rafting the Yough and browsing the sale racks at Wilderness Voyageurs!

If you’re feeling adventurous, try checking out the miles and miles of superb mountain biking trails in the area. Or take a spin down the Great Allegheny Passage – Just make sure you’re a little more safety-savvy than these guys… wear a helmet!

Or if you’re into a solo adventure, you could spend your day hiking around the park. The hiking trails provide a wide range of difficulty from moderate to intense – just don’t forget your bugspray and sunscreen!

Hot and tired after all that cardio? Take a dive into the river or head down the Natural Waterslides for some cool river fun.

Or if you need to chill out in some good old fashioned A/C, pop into the State Park visitor center for an invigorating game of checkers:

If you need to decompress, Ohiopyle even offers a fantastic hot-yoga class on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. You can even find the full list of classes online here.

At the end of the day, it’s probably time to reward yourself with a sweet treat from the Ohiopyle Bakery & Sandwich Shoppe! Or perhaps better yet…..a delicious beverage from Falls City Restaurant & Pub

Happy Trails! Have fun in Ohiopyle!