Firetower..........almost.

Well, today was spectacularily lame. After planning for months to spend the night in a firetower with our friend Tomas, who is visiting from Chicago, we failed to reach the summit. The deep snow proved too much for our expidition specific, wide track, wide ski, monster torque snowmobile. I am guessing that most of the fault lies with the operators of said vehicle. After making it 9 out of 10 miles, dumping and recovering the sled 6 times and totally digging out twice we were turned back by the untracked, deep last quarter mile. The last time the sled bogged we spent almost 45 minutes just turning the thing around in waist deep snow.

I am not really sure what we were thinking when we set out on the adventure. The plan was to load down the sled and Tomas and I would ride up first with the dog and drop off the supplies. I would then head back down, pick up Mulv and head back up for the evening. Needless to say Mulv was a little shocked to see us both return two hours later. We should have known better seeing as 1) I have never used a snowmobile; 2) Tomas used one ten years ago in his Grandpas yard; 3) Our destination was high in the remote back country; 4) Mulv has never used a snowmobile; 5) It had been dumping snow for the last week and all good trails had been buried under new snow.

This could have been a cheesy montage in a Sledneck movie about the idiots who want to go snowmobiling in the backcountry and think it's as easy as watching a video. I was a little embarrassed about calling the rental place back three hours later and telling them they could come pick up the sled. The nice thing is that the guys were super nice and made us feel better by telling stories of their past failures (I think they were lying). They refunded our second day and the owner even said to call back if we got the tower again and he said he would get us up there on the shops dime. Something he didn't have to do and he will definately get my business again.

I think the next attempt at the tower will be in the summer with ATVs.

Check out the shot of the overly optomistic idiots with their dog on the snowmobile. (We were also running over our water supply for the weekend. IDIOTS.)

New Dog Owners........Sappy and Pathetic

This update is to let everyone know....again....that we love our new dog and he continues to show a little more personality each day. I promise that I won't make dog pictures and poop talk the only thing I blog about in the future.

New Family Member

Picked up Mario from the animal shelter today. Mario is his kennel name and we are not yet sure of a new name. Mario is a border collie / Lab mix and is about three years old. He is super calm, wags his tail a lot and is really interested in checking out every corner of his new home. I will check back in in a few days once I am over my shock at actually committing to taking care of a dog (besides me).

Old News

Two sixteen hour days to end the work week means that I didn't do anything yesterday. Today I woke up at quarter to 8, called the Big Sky snow phone and packed the car for a day on the slopes. Mulv is in Jackson so I figured some time on the snow with my good friend shuffle would be just the thing to shake off a rough week at work.

The new snow was awesome; the snow under that was terrible. Took five bomber runs and called it a day (you can do that guilt free when you have a free season pass). Headed home and filled a bucket of water to clean off the Strong from last weekends adventures.

Two weeks ago Ryan, Tomas and I headed out from Bozeman to ride to Three Forks and back. Being that it was 15 degrees my toes were a little chilly by the end. I managed to get a pretty good icicle hanging from my soul patch. Not a great temp but the roads were stellar.

Cyclocross bikes are the golden ticket in Montana. I spent 2.5 out of 4 hours on gravel roads, min. maintenance roads and straight up farm fields last saturday. I was on the high plains west of Bozeman with 360 views of mountain ranges. Not one vehicle passed me for over two hours. I am pretty sure I was tresspassing for at least part of the ride; Some parts of the ride were little more than cow paths. Good fun. The temp was a balmy 45 and I was firing on all cylinders.

Sunday was great too and I took the road bike out since almost all the snow was gone. By the end of the ride I was kind of wet from snow melt but the kicker was that 3 miles before home some jack a** in a big truck put his wheels right on the centerline where all the slush is and just covered me with a long, slow Montana Slushy. This of course happened just 50ft before I turned off that road. I signaled my appreciation with one of my fingers and rode the last three miles fast to stay warm.

Work continues to amaze me. We keep getting dream projects that will keep us busy for years to come. High rise mixed use developments in Bozeman, ski resorts and two new projects on Lake Tahoe should keep things fun for the foreseeable future.

The weather here has been really, really warm. We have had five days about 50 in the last couple of weeks. The past couple of days have seen snow in the Bridgers but the Madison and Gallatin ranges are melting fast.

Until next time.......................

Team Bechtle Slade Winter Training Camp

Bozemans newest bike team managed to get three riders out on the roads today.



Ryan, Paul and I headed ten miles west of Bozeman in the car and hopped out of the truck onto dry roads and countryside that didn't have a flake of snow. We filled the shoes with toe warmers, put on our fuzzy ear muffs and filled the bottles with watered down whiskey.



We set into our ride marveling at the 30F temps, lack of traffic and lack of snow.



After an hour of riding, three dirt roads, one interstate and one small town we noticed that the wind was picking up and the temp was dropping. Ryan suggested we turn around and hit up a different route on the way back to the truck. 4 miles later we were back at the small town and it was dumping snow. We stopped at the gas station, warmed up, ate food and explained to the locals that since we could balance on our bikes there was no need for chains on our tires.



The last hour of the ride was cold and the snow kept picking up. By the time we reached the truck the roads were actually turning to ice. I think another half hour would have seen us falling over.



Despite the snow it was great to be outside and it reminded me that I can ride all winter without snow by driving 10 minutes west to town. (The snow that fell today will be gone in a couple of days).

The Hair of Christmas Past

You can only be referred to as a low income central minnesota tree branch removal specialist for so long before you realize that maybe your shaggy hair is no longer "Mountain Man Shaggy" but has made the transition to "NASCAR Stupid".

Thanks to Mulv for making the final trim with the clippers.

XMas Ride 06/07

This is not a post that trail advocates would appreciate. My only comment is that we were not the only ones on the trails that day. It was fun, it was cold, it was muddy, it was rainy and I gained three pounds at IHOP afterwards. Showing up to IHOP covered in mud is great.

It should be mentioned that this post constitutes an admission of my admiration for single speed bicycles. Before this day I had spent significant amounts of breath, time and energy expounding on the frivility and "fad" lameness of single speeds. I freely admit I was wrong and now stand wholly corrected. Thank you Ben. That Surly was some of the most fun I have had on two wheels in a long time. While I don't think that a SS is right for me out in Montuckey right now, I am sure that one will find a home here soon.

Grandstay Cylcing in no way endorses riding on sodden, muddy single track. I like the jacket, it's warm, the team is great, I still wear it.

Best bike shop on earth?!?!

I don't know...I haven't been there yet....but I am just going to go ahead and assume that it is.........

Today was sufferfest in Bozeman. Ryan called up and said "Hey, Bridger Canyon is dry...we should ride up there" Just a little sunday road ride to stretch the legs, right? I don't know what my deal was today but I was F...ing hurting, bad. I have not had a muscle cramp for years but today my quads started quivering and knotting. GROUND CONTROL TO TROY! REDUCE CADENCE AND SHIFT TO AN EASIER GEAR! Right, that should help. Well, the cramps never took over but thoughts about food in my cupboards at home did. I got home, chugged a whole water bottle of gatorade, a huge plate of spagehti and meatballs, three mini butterfingers and a mason jar of water. Man, it was not that long a ride but aparently it was too much right now. Maybe it was the two hard hours of spinning and then a full round of leg work that I put in at the gym yesterday... yep I am going to go with that excuse.

I have to say that it was a great day for riding. It was 35F but the canyon was sunny and I was definately losing a lot of water. The ride was awesome despite my lack of power.

Stay tuned for Thanksgiving adventures with the T Parents........

A tree, two stockings and an orange wall...

Christmas is right around the corner and Mulv and I finally found the time to buy a charlie brown tree, string some lights and hang stockings in the window.

We have to improvise around our house since we lack a mantel for proper stocking placement.

We are aslo excited to debut "the orange wall" to the world. It only took us six months to paint a wall; we are making some real progress here folks.

There are currently two presents under the tree. The best news yet is that they are both for me! All of Mulvs presents are currently on tour around the country in UPS trucks. I think I have time it so that they arrive before Christmas.

The kitchen is currently a flurry of activity because we are preparing to host our first dinner tommorrow. Yes that's right... I am blogging as Mulv is working away in the kitchen. What a fabulously traditional household. Ha Ha!

I am a little worried that there will not be any reason to bring the cc skis home at Christmas time. Please do some snow dances in Minnesota!!! Maybe it would be better to bring my bike?......

Three Men and a Dog......

Yet another blog about past adventures..........

Weeks (Months?) ago I was fortunate enough to meet up with my bro and Dad near Fargo to point guns at ducks, geese and sometimes each other.

I have a new respect for the sport and the effort and patience that it takes to be succcessful. We came into camp tired and sore at the end of the day but we successful filled our limit.

Looking back I wonder why we had to work so hard when those around us seem to see thousands of countless winged targets. It's also curious that despite seeing less we brought home more.....

The plan here forward is to alternate my vacation time between deer and duck hunting, alternating years.

Sunrise...

Sunset....

The crew......

After complaing of some mild discomfort it was discovered that the problem wasn't hemroids after all......

CycloChaos.......

Two updates in two days; this has to be some sort of landmark moment in history....

It's too bad my updates usually involve reporting on events that happened weeks ago and and everyone I know has already heard the stories ad nauseum.

So this post is all about my incredible fall cyclocross campaign across the Bozeman regional area.

The season kicked off with a race in the Meadow Village at Big Sky. I arrived a few hours early; helped set a few course flags, jumped over a few barriers (for the first time ever) and then went on an hour warmup ride. I arrived to the race ready to rock and then lost any confidence I had when the cannondale pro jerseys started appearing. I lined up timidly at the start and prayed that I wouldn't finish dead last. I started out fine but at about the 1/2 hour mark I realized I didn't have a whole lot in the tank. Sure enough I finished dead last and the leader managed to lap me. I was joking with a few people at the start that I expected no better than last place and therefore would meet or exceed my expectations for the day. Mission accomplished.

The second and final day of my cyclocross season was the next day in Bozeman. I was ready for this race as I had learned a great deal the day before. The race was fast from the gun as there was limited climbing and only one dismount. Ryan charged hard, got a gap and then maintained a 100 yard lead on me for the entire race. I was only able to keep my motivation by hoping that someday I could have as fine a pair of Scandanavian Cyclocross Leg Warmers as Ryan. Those socks were the carrot on the stick. The days results were considerably better than the day before. I managed to stay well ahead of several guys who had whipped my sorry ass the day before. Ryan managed fifth and I hung on for seventh. I would have locked in sixth if my shifter hadn't broke at the start of the last lap and left me with only my easiest gear in back.

Next year will bring a greater focus to the act of hopping off bikes at high speed and then smashing my self upon remount while maintaining a rediculously high heart rate. I love cyclochaos and look forward to more racing.

I started training again two days ago for the 2007 season. Feels good to be back into it and I look forward to shedding the 15 pounds I have gained since June. I also purchased my season pass for Lone Mountain Ranch; 35 miles of groomed CC ski trails.

I will be back in the Cloud over Christmas and will have my CC ski gear with me if anyone wants to play.

Where's dem pictures?

Let's see if this post will let me put in pictures.... These pictures are from Northwestern Montana where we rented the fire tower and went on the old railroad pass ride.




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

Lookout! Tunnel ahead.....

This post is a little delayed but that's how life goes......

5 weekends ago Mulv and I escaped the "city life" and headed to northwest Montuckey for some much needed R&R.

We went to Missoula on Friday evening and stayed at Blossoms Bed and Breakfast. The room was awesome, the house beautiful and Blossom made a world class breakfast in the morning. We then cruised around Missoula for the morning and then hit the road to our major destination.

We rented a fire tower for Saturday night and spent the evening enjoying the views, watching the sunset and then were impressed my the stars which were as clear as I have ever seen them.
We took our time waking up on Saturday, packed up the car and headed another hour northwest to the border of Montana and Idaho.

We unpacked our bikes at the bottom of the Hiawatha Line bike trail. This ride is an awesome leisure ride with killer views. We climbed the fifteen miles to the top and then turned around and flew back down. The ride is an old railroad bed that was a mountain pass for about 75 years before being abandoned. There are several 250 ft bridges and 8 major tunnels; the longest of which is 1.6 miles long. Headlights are required as well as being comfortable imitating a gopher.

After our ride we jumped back in the car and cruised to missoula at full speed to stuff our faces with Sushi. Missoula has two killer sushi bars and I think we will be back.

In other news.....

Work is as fast and furious as ever.

I have been putting in some serious time on the cyclocross bike and for some reason the sport is really harsh on my ankles. They are bloody after every ride. I am totally addicted to the sport and the bike is the best bike purchase I have ever made. Not long till I pull the trigger on a road bike.....

Mulv and I attended the wedding of two of our friends from grad school (1/4 of our grad school class is marrying each other). We had a blast and I managed to party too hard and yell too much. I was a little queasy the next day.

Saw some of my old mates at the cyclocross race in Orono. Great to see Mike and Matt doing well.

More to come when I have something interesting to report........

Not fair...for everyone but me.

Here she is. Rode it for the first time this afternoon in the neighborhood. Definately a new position and a new bike to get used to. Don't have cross tires yet so she will be tested out the next couple of weeks during the Tuesday night races. The only thing I know for sure is that this bike can take corners at really high speeds.

What f***ing creek are we at?

Another day another killer ride....

This morning was spent in Hyalite Canyon learning some new routes. The mountain biking just keeps getting better. Today was all about killer fast descents and some pretty good views too. Hyalite Canyon and the associated drainages are criss crossed with miles of logging roads which make for great climbing and of course no one wants to ride back down the road so you have an equal amount of downhill single track. I didn't even try to remember which creeks and drainages we were riding but I know how to get to them and that's what counts.

The two hour ride totals 3000feet of climbing but the elevation is made in two climbs. The two descents are totally different from each other. One is smooth twisting single track through old forest and the other is wide open logging road. Both are fast and test your handling at high speeds.

The views of Hyalite resevoir and the valley were to die for and the weather cooperated with sun and high clouds. Being on the trail at 7:30am also helps as we didn't see anyone else on the ride. Unfortunately a small log attacked Ryans bike while he was putting out 5oo watts so his rear derailleaur was sacrificed on the last climb and had to miss the last 30 mins of the ride. The ride was perfect and Ryan provided the gas needed to motivate while Rusty kept track of the mileage with Swiss precision. Great ride with great friends.



Hyalite Canyon and then some...






Rusty is all thumbs after nailing the mileage to within a tenth of a mile.

















A is no longer connected to B.....

Wapiti the fool....

Saturday AM was big on climbing and views. The Wapiti ride ranks as the most beautiful and fun mountain bike ride that I have done to date. Located about 10 miles south of Big Sky the Wapiti trail starts with a several mile climb totalling 2200 feet. Then it's a roller coaster ride through wide open meadows, cow poop, old forests and tops out at what feels like the top of the world. The views of the Madison Range are killer and the best is yet to come. A five mile descent into heaven finishes right at the car door. Buff, fast single track graces the entire descent with only a couple of tricky stream crossings to slow the momentum.

I was reminded that I could survive a few days in the backcountry as my knees were banging into my stomach with metronomic regularity during the climbs. It's good to be training again and my reserves should be depleted over the next few weeks.

I've heard complaints that the unveiling of the Strong has been a long time coming. The time is neigh so quit bitching.....


The cows aren't the only ones pissing in the fields....









Madison Range looking north towards Big Sky....





360....