Glad we've been busy. Dinners out, new trail, washer/dryer, TV, workbench. China Buffet. Sedona twice. Hot tub. Parents in town and gone already. It was a great, busy, tiring, fun visit. Not one hike. Closed on a house on Monday. Almost moved in. Need 4 wheel drive or a heated driveway.
FRIENDS VISITING NEXT WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Dead bird?
Saturday morning...Zach was taking Grace for her walk and I was cleaning up the house a little bit and filling up camel backs to get ready for our ride. Out of nowhere, I hear a noise...sounds like breaking glass. The only reasonable explanation I could think of was a bird hitting one of windows in the front of the house. It was loud enough that I thought for sure I'd find a dead bird outside.
Went outside and there were no dead birds in sight. No injured birds in sight either. Didn't know what to make of it.
It wasn't until we got home from our ride later and Zach went to watch a little TV that we realized what had happened. Our TV won't turn on anymore. I swear the noise I heard had to be something busting inside the TV. But it wasn't on. Can the bulb in a TV spontaneously explode?
That's nice...the stupid TV makes the 1700mile trek out here and then decides to die on us 2 months later. Has anyone bought a new TV lately that they just love? We're looking for recommendations. We haven't purchased one since 1998.
Went outside and there were no dead birds in sight. No injured birds in sight either. Didn't know what to make of it.
It wasn't until we got home from our ride later and Zach went to watch a little TV that we realized what had happened. Our TV won't turn on anymore. I swear the noise I heard had to be something busting inside the TV. But it wasn't on. Can the bulb in a TV spontaneously explode?
That's nice...the stupid TV makes the 1700mile trek out here and then decides to die on us 2 months later. Has anyone bought a new TV lately that they just love? We're looking for recommendations. We haven't purchased one since 1998.
Eyes on the road
Took 89A north towards Jerome on Friday night. My Uncle Jon and Aunt Sandi and 2 of their girls and husbands were in town on vacation. They had a nice campground set up on the top of Mingus Mountain. We got there too late to see, but they said it was a spectacular view of Sedona from up there. What Zach and Grace and I did get to see were the incredible views of the Black Hills on the way up. Wow, what a drive. It only took us 45minutes from Chino.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Fisher and Bob
Wow, this is getting bad. I'm writing on Thursday about our Sunday ride.
We were meeting Robert at Granite at 7:30. We were a little late. It was hectic trying to get out of the house that morning for some reason. We were very unorganized. I had unpacked Zach's jersey from the Element, so we had to go back and get one for him, and I was riding a new bike. The front rotor was rubbing the brake and we needed to grab the right tools so we could fix it at the trail.
We finally made it Williamson Valley Trailhead and met young Ian (the 21 year old) who was joining the ride also. Didn't know what to make of him, he was in a cotton t-shirt with a Top Fuel. The ride was fun, not super hard, I was glad. I was recovering from the Skull Valley Loop ride from the day before. We stopped alot and chatted. Ian was struggling up the long climb on the way out. Turns out Ian is coaching track at one of the Prescott High Schools and is working on his Physical Education degree! He has been running, but bought the Fuel this summer in hopes of getting back into biking.
This ride was especially exciting for a few reasons. Number 1: I have had the Procaliber for 2 months now. Before we moved, Zach became obsessed with getting me a full suspension race bike. He figured I would get more use out of a second full suspension bike in Arizona, versus keeping 2 steel hard tails. He wanted me to get rid of the salsa to come up with the cash for the new bike (I would have preferred keeping the salsa and getting a new bike, but that wasn't in the cards). So we did it; he found a buyer and ordered the Procaliber. It arrived at Sumbaum's just a few days before we left, so we left it in the box for the move out. Zach built it up in the first few days we were here, but I wanted to get used to the riding out here before taking it out. Plus they forgot to pack the little metal crank arm end protector things. With the way the rest of my crank arms look, I wasn't going to ride it until I picked up a set of those.
The point of all of this is that I had not realized what a freaking awesome bike I had, sitting there waiting for me. The fit is great and the components are incredible!! Check it out. I haven't been this excited over a bike since the Sycip. There are a few minor adjustments I need to make. The pressure in both shocks is too high, and my shrimpy thumb has a hard time reaching the lockout. I think I just need to slide the shifters and the lockout towards the grips a little. Wow, what a bike.
The second cool thing about this ride was that we met a few new people and saw the California group (Peggy, Pete - the 65 yr old, and Jim) at the trailhead. It was neat to run into people that we have met before. Towards the end of the ride, Robert and Zach took the more technical way back to the parking lot (the trail where I smacked my knee cap) and Ian and I took the more tame, haul-ass way back. A rider that Zach and I had spotted on two other occasions followed Ian and I. His name is Bob Berry. You can tell by looking at Bob that he rides a ton. He's on a carbon Trek hardtail that is just beat to crap. I don't know how it's still ridable. He just moved here from Tahoe (Mike, his remarks mirrored yours - loved it out there, but his job didn't work out). Bob was finishing up a 35 mile off road loop. Not too bad for a Sunday morning before getting back to his family. After talking to him for a few minutes, I'm thinking - this is the guy that Zach has too hook up with to ride. Zach has had a hard time finding someone that his looking for the same.....abuse... that he is. We may have found a good suffer partner in Bob.
We were meeting Robert at Granite at 7:30. We were a little late. It was hectic trying to get out of the house that morning for some reason. We were very unorganized. I had unpacked Zach's jersey from the Element, so we had to go back and get one for him, and I was riding a new bike. The front rotor was rubbing the brake and we needed to grab the right tools so we could fix it at the trail.
We finally made it Williamson Valley Trailhead and met young Ian (the 21 year old) who was joining the ride also. Didn't know what to make of him, he was in a cotton t-shirt with a Top Fuel. The ride was fun, not super hard, I was glad. I was recovering from the Skull Valley Loop ride from the day before. We stopped alot and chatted. Ian was struggling up the long climb on the way out. Turns out Ian is coaching track at one of the Prescott High Schools and is working on his Physical Education degree! He has been running, but bought the Fuel this summer in hopes of getting back into biking.
This ride was especially exciting for a few reasons. Number 1: I have had the Procaliber for 2 months now. Before we moved, Zach became obsessed with getting me a full suspension race bike. He figured I would get more use out of a second full suspension bike in Arizona, versus keeping 2 steel hard tails. He wanted me to get rid of the salsa to come up with the cash for the new bike (I would have preferred keeping the salsa and getting a new bike, but that wasn't in the cards). So we did it; he found a buyer and ordered the Procaliber. It arrived at Sumbaum's just a few days before we left, so we left it in the box for the move out. Zach built it up in the first few days we were here, but I wanted to get used to the riding out here before taking it out. Plus they forgot to pack the little metal crank arm end protector things. With the way the rest of my crank arms look, I wasn't going to ride it until I picked up a set of those.
The point of all of this is that I had not realized what a freaking awesome bike I had, sitting there waiting for me. The fit is great and the components are incredible!! Check it out. I haven't been this excited over a bike since the Sycip. There are a few minor adjustments I need to make. The pressure in both shocks is too high, and my shrimpy thumb has a hard time reaching the lockout. I think I just need to slide the shifters and the lockout towards the grips a little. Wow, what a bike.
The second cool thing about this ride was that we met a few new people and saw the California group (Peggy, Pete - the 65 yr old, and Jim) at the trailhead. It was neat to run into people that we have met before. Towards the end of the ride, Robert and Zach took the more technical way back to the parking lot (the trail where I smacked my knee cap) and Ian and I took the more tame, haul-ass way back. A rider that Zach and I had spotted on two other occasions followed Ian and I. His name is Bob Berry. You can tell by looking at Bob that he rides a ton. He's on a carbon Trek hardtail that is just beat to crap. I don't know how it's still ridable. He just moved here from Tahoe (Mike, his remarks mirrored yours - loved it out there, but his job didn't work out). Bob was finishing up a 35 mile off road loop. Not too bad for a Sunday morning before getting back to his family. After talking to him for a few minutes, I'm thinking - this is the guy that Zach has too hook up with to ride. Zach has had a hard time finding someone that his looking for the same.....abuse... that he is. We may have found a good suffer partner in Bob.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Weekend recap
Had a couple of good rides this weekend. Friday we stayed close to home and hit Granite. Did the same loop as last weekend, but did one section in the reverse direction. It was pretty hard. It felt like alot more climbing!!! Zach was a little crabby...which you can see from one of the pictures. He wasn't feeling so great.
Saturday we did the Skull Valley Loop (we did a portion of it last weekend). It's a 54 mile road loop with only 2 turns! It starts off at the Safeway on 89 (South side of town) and heads north. The road twists and turns and changes names a few times through town until it turns into Iron Springs Road. We made our way through a short patch of construction and started climbing. Up, up, up, up and uuuupppppp Iron Springs for a good....10 miles give or take. Amazing views from the top. Then you start heading through some ups and downs, and then down for a good while into Skull Valley. Hang a left at the Kirkland bar, cruise along for a short bit, and then hang another left back onto 89. Once you are back on 89, it is a long grind up to Wilhoit. I was holding about 8 miles an hour. Really wiped on that section for some reason. Zach was going nuts. I could not hang on to any acceleration.
I was so grateful to see the Corner store in Wilhoit. I brought one dollar. Forgot to bring food. Went inside and headed straight for the candy bar aisle. Politely asked how much the candy bars cost...I only have one dollar. They are all seventy five cents. But if there is anything else you need, you just go ahead and take it and you can pay me back next time you're through. We get all sorts of you riders in here and that's how we do it here.
How about that. I went right ahead and grabbed a diet dr pepper. Gave her my dollar and promised to pay the 50 cents back next time we were through. (Zach quickly informed me that I should have gotten a regular instead of diet). A snickers bar and diet dr pepper never tasted so good. That did the trick.
Once you reach the corner store I think it's still a 3 or 4 mile climb up before heading back down. I never thought I was going to make it.
The road twists and turns along the side of the mountains so there are countless switchbacks where you can see the road heading up on the next mountain side. Nothing too terribly steep, but mentally it is a challenge to see those climbs approaching. Zach loves it because he can spot other riders and speed ahead to try and catch them. The first group he found he quickly came back and told me that I could catch them. Funny, that was all it took and I somehow seemed to find a little pep in my pedaling. It also helped once I shifted into the granny. I know, kinda pathetic, but I've never been proud. I love my granny gears...even on the road bike. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can ween myself off of it. We caught that first group of 2 as they were pulling off the road to regroup with their other riders. They had a support van (I wonder if they did the full 100?). A few of them didn't rest for long; they were trying to bridge the gap back to us but we didn't let that happen. One of these days we'll take the camera and get some pictures on that loop. It is really breathtaking.
Sunday deserves it's own post. More later.
Saturday we did the Skull Valley Loop (we did a portion of it last weekend). It's a 54 mile road loop with only 2 turns! It starts off at the Safeway on 89 (South side of town) and heads north. The road twists and turns and changes names a few times through town until it turns into Iron Springs Road. We made our way through a short patch of construction and started climbing. Up, up, up, up and uuuupppppp Iron Springs for a good....10 miles give or take. Amazing views from the top. Then you start heading through some ups and downs, and then down for a good while into Skull Valley. Hang a left at the Kirkland bar, cruise along for a short bit, and then hang another left back onto 89. Once you are back on 89, it is a long grind up to Wilhoit. I was holding about 8 miles an hour. Really wiped on that section for some reason. Zach was going nuts. I could not hang on to any acceleration.
I was so grateful to see the Corner store in Wilhoit. I brought one dollar. Forgot to bring food. Went inside and headed straight for the candy bar aisle. Politely asked how much the candy bars cost...I only have one dollar. They are all seventy five cents. But if there is anything else you need, you just go ahead and take it and you can pay me back next time you're through. We get all sorts of you riders in here and that's how we do it here.
How about that. I went right ahead and grabbed a diet dr pepper. Gave her my dollar and promised to pay the 50 cents back next time we were through. (Zach quickly informed me that I should have gotten a regular instead of diet). A snickers bar and diet dr pepper never tasted so good. That did the trick.
Once you reach the corner store I think it's still a 3 or 4 mile climb up before heading back down. I never thought I was going to make it.
The road twists and turns along the side of the mountains so there are countless switchbacks where you can see the road heading up on the next mountain side. Nothing too terribly steep, but mentally it is a challenge to see those climbs approaching. Zach loves it because he can spot other riders and speed ahead to try and catch them. The first group he found he quickly came back and told me that I could catch them. Funny, that was all it took and I somehow seemed to find a little pep in my pedaling. It also helped once I shifted into the granny. I know, kinda pathetic, but I've never been proud. I love my granny gears...even on the road bike. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can ween myself off of it. We caught that first group of 2 as they were pulling off the road to regroup with their other riders. They had a support van (I wonder if they did the full 100?). A few of them didn't rest for long; they were trying to bridge the gap back to us but we didn't let that happen. One of these days we'll take the camera and get some pictures on that loop. It is really breathtaking.
Sunday deserves it's own post. More later.
cannibal
Check out this guy; I think he's chomping down on one of his own. He ate it in no time flat.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Obsessed
I was going to post about how, although it may seem like it, I'm really not obsessed with bugs and things. I started taking pictures of the crazy looking insects out here for my niece, Hope, who is really in to frogs and worms and moths and anything that crawls or flies (and horses too).
But after today's ride, I think I really am obsessed. The grasshopper that you see above...I must have seen 25 of them on our ride today. They were all over the road!! I wanted to stop and take a picture of every single one. Are they crazy looking or what? There were alot of other crawling things on the road that I couldn't identify and couldn't justify stopping to look at (I was holding Zach up enough as it was).
I guess the point is, I may have started out taking pictures for Hope but it's turned into my own little science project. Shouldn't really be so surprised...one of my favorite classes at school turned out to be mycology.
There are horses all over the place here, but the ones in the picture are off the 347 trail. The peacock lives at the zoo (there's 3 total that I've seen), but apparently it's allowed to ventures out to the surrounding park.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Lady of Leisure
My status is going to quickly come to an end. I applied for an Instructional Assistant Substitute position with the Prescott Unified School District (PUSD) a few weeks ago. I've been leaving the guy doing the interviews a message once or twice a week and finally got through to him yesterday. We set up an interview for today. It was about 45 minutes. Super nice guy. He's is the director of the district preschool. The adult to student ratio in his classes is 1 to 9. Is that normal for preschool? It seems pretty good. He said PUSD as a whole has the most positive and warm and welcoming atmosphere than any district he's been a part of.
Anyway, he is advising the district office to add me to the pool of subs! He will do a reference check and then they'll fingerprint me, hopefully next week, and do a background check which can take up to 4 weeks. Then I can start subbing! I will be filling in for teacher's assistants. It sounds like I will be working mostly with kids with special needs. Should be interesting. I'm sure Ashley (and Zach of course) will be able to give me a few tips.
I have really enjoyed the absence of work in my life. It made me realize how many things we blew off around the house. It's nice to be able to take care of things during the day so Zach can come home and just relax. I have not been bored at all. In fact I've been way busier than I thought I would be. I suppose if we weren't searching for a house I might not feel this way. It's probably good so I'm not so sad about leaving home.
The one problem that I have with not working is that I can not deal with the fact that I am not earning any money. And not to earn money so that I can just go blow it....Earn money so that I can budget it.... save for vacation, save for emergencies, save for a new car, save for retirement. I feel like I am cheating us out of our retirement....almost like I'm losing money.
I better take advantage of my last few weeks of freedom...although, if I don't feel like working one day, I just won't accept the job!!!!!!
Anyway, he is advising the district office to add me to the pool of subs! He will do a reference check and then they'll fingerprint me, hopefully next week, and do a background check which can take up to 4 weeks. Then I can start subbing! I will be filling in for teacher's assistants. It sounds like I will be working mostly with kids with special needs. Should be interesting. I'm sure Ashley (and Zach of course) will be able to give me a few tips.
I have really enjoyed the absence of work in my life. It made me realize how many things we blew off around the house. It's nice to be able to take care of things during the day so Zach can come home and just relax. I have not been bored at all. In fact I've been way busier than I thought I would be. I suppose if we weren't searching for a house I might not feel this way. It's probably good so I'm not so sad about leaving home.
The one problem that I have with not working is that I can not deal with the fact that I am not earning any money. And not to earn money so that I can just go blow it....Earn money so that I can budget it.... save for vacation, save for emergencies, save for a new car, save for retirement. I feel like I am cheating us out of our retirement....almost like I'm losing money.
I better take advantage of my last few weeks of freedom...although, if I don't feel like working one day, I just won't accept the job!!!!!!
Inside
Okay, so finding all those critters outside is one thing. But finding one on the inside of the house is a completely different story. At least it was a lizard and not a centipede thing. I'm sure the centipedes are all over the shed though. Yuckie.
The poor lizard had a hard time getting any traction on the tile.
I was able to shoo him out the door this morning before Grace had him for a snack.
The poor lizard had a hard time getting any traction on the tile.
I was able to shoo him out the door this morning before Grace had him for a snack.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Now we're talking
All of these guys were outside this morning when I let Grace out.
To give perspective, that's the leg of a plastic patio chair next to the centipede thing.
To give perspective, that's the leg of a plastic patio chair next to the centipede thing.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
White Spar
We met Robert at the Safeway on 89 at 8am. One other guy was supposed to show but opted for a run instead. Zach, Robert and I headed south on 89/White Spar Road. Another great morning: cool breeze, warm sun. In his normal, no-warm-up-fashion, Zach took the lead shortly after the start and picked up the pace. I wasn't quite settled in yet, so I called them back. They would slow up and wait for me to catch. Did that a few times until I felt more comfortable; then we all just rode at our own pace. I'd have to guess that we climbed straight for 20 or 25 minutes at the beginning. Then it turned into some downs and ups and twists and turns until we headed into Wilhoit, which was our turnaround point. It's 3 miles downhill into Whilhoit.
I am a big wimp on the descents. My max speed today was 34 mph. Robert got up to 41; Zach I think 40. It was hard, but it's not going to take quite as long as I thought to get acclimated to mountain riding. The views were amazing out there. Best yet. Zach climbed really good. We saw a ton of other riders. It's a popular route because the shoulder is fairly wide and the speed limit is 25 or 35 the whole time. White Spar is the start of the memorial ride that's coming up.
Tomorrow we are just going to head to Granite. Other than 347, Zach has only ventured onto 1 or 2 other trails there. We are going to go hit a few of the other ones.
I am a big wimp on the descents. My max speed today was 34 mph. Robert got up to 41; Zach I think 40. It was hard, but it's not going to take quite as long as I thought to get acclimated to mountain riding. The views were amazing out there. Best yet. Zach climbed really good. We saw a ton of other riders. It's a popular route because the shoulder is fairly wide and the speed limit is 25 or 35 the whole time. White Spar is the start of the memorial ride that's coming up.
Tomorrow we are just going to head to Granite. Other than 347, Zach has only ventured onto 1 or 2 other trails there. We are going to go hit a few of the other ones.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Busy
Funny...I was talking to my Mom tonight. She had to get off the phone quick for something but wanted to call me back. "Are you guys busy? Can I call you back?"
Other than ride, Zach and I really don't do anything. So no, we are not busy. We are not really ever busy.
Other than ride, Zach and I really don't do anything. So no, we are not busy. We are not really ever busy.
We Got People
Okay, not quite, but we are making progress.
I added my name to the Prescott Cycling Group's email list this week. After only a few days of being on the list it seems they are really good about keeping everyone informed about the various group rides that are going on. Zach decided on a potential all-dayer for this morning. I decided to go out with the group that moved here from California that we met our first week out here at Thumb Butte. I've seen them once out at Granite and Zach and I ran into them this past week also. Up until today I couldn't quite put my finger on their age.
I met Pete and Peggy at 7:15 (I was on time!!) this morning out at the Cayuse, one of the trailheads at Granite Basin. We did some of the same trails that Zach and I have ridden, but in a different direction.
It was about an hour and a half ride. At the start I brought up the rear, but after the first climb, Peggy had me ride in front of her. Pete and I would ride together and wait for Peggy at the top of any climb. It didn't take long before I heard the basics of their story. Peggy and Jim and Pete and his wife are all from Southern California. Jim and Pete are old biking buddies (they've been riding for 10 yrs). Peggy and Jim moved here a few years ago and built a house. Pete and his wife moved from their original location in Cal. to an area farther out. After they moved, they quickly decided that it was still Southern Cal and still too busy. They ended up having the same builder build them a house down the street from Peggy and Jim. Over the last year and a half they have ridden just about every great mt biking area in the region. Utah, Colorado, Arizona...their list was really long.
At one point while Pete and I were waiting for Peggy, I mentioned how lovely the morning was and how biking has to be one of the greatest forms of exercise. He quickly agreed and started talking about all of the other benefits of biking...then mentioned that he does have to lift weights to keep his upper body strong...especially at 65!!!!! This guy was softpedaling our entire ride!!!! Holy cow. Can't believe how strong this guy is. I can't wait for him and Zach and Jim to go out sometime. I am not kidding when I say I'm not sure who is the stronger rider.
I also found out that Peggy has only been riding a year and a half. She has recently dropped 30 pounds...she was up at 188. So she doesn't quite have the endurance that Pete has but she is certainly a skilled rider for the amount of time she's been riding. It was really cool to hear her story.
It was a fun morning. I asked a million questions [Pat, I reminded myself of you:)] at every stop. I am sure I made them late to their next "appointment" at the local swap meet.
Zach rode for about 5 hours with some stops along along the way. Hit some spots we probably wouldn't have tried on our own. Tomorrow morning we are doing a group road ride. There's a 54 mile memorial ride coming up September 16th we want to prepare for.
I added my name to the Prescott Cycling Group's email list this week. After only a few days of being on the list it seems they are really good about keeping everyone informed about the various group rides that are going on. Zach decided on a potential all-dayer for this morning. I decided to go out with the group that moved here from California that we met our first week out here at Thumb Butte. I've seen them once out at Granite and Zach and I ran into them this past week also. Up until today I couldn't quite put my finger on their age.
I met Pete and Peggy at 7:15 (I was on time!!) this morning out at the Cayuse, one of the trailheads at Granite Basin. We did some of the same trails that Zach and I have ridden, but in a different direction.
It was about an hour and a half ride. At the start I brought up the rear, but after the first climb, Peggy had me ride in front of her. Pete and I would ride together and wait for Peggy at the top of any climb. It didn't take long before I heard the basics of their story. Peggy and Jim and Pete and his wife are all from Southern California. Jim and Pete are old biking buddies (they've been riding for 10 yrs). Peggy and Jim moved here a few years ago and built a house. Pete and his wife moved from their original location in Cal. to an area farther out. After they moved, they quickly decided that it was still Southern Cal and still too busy. They ended up having the same builder build them a house down the street from Peggy and Jim. Over the last year and a half they have ridden just about every great mt biking area in the region. Utah, Colorado, Arizona...their list was really long.
At one point while Pete and I were waiting for Peggy, I mentioned how lovely the morning was and how biking has to be one of the greatest forms of exercise. He quickly agreed and started talking about all of the other benefits of biking...then mentioned that he does have to lift weights to keep his upper body strong...especially at 65!!!!! This guy was softpedaling our entire ride!!!! Holy cow. Can't believe how strong this guy is. I can't wait for him and Zach and Jim to go out sometime. I am not kidding when I say I'm not sure who is the stronger rider.
I also found out that Peggy has only been riding a year and a half. She has recently dropped 30 pounds...she was up at 188. So she doesn't quite have the endurance that Pete has but she is certainly a skilled rider for the amount of time she's been riding. It was really cool to hear her story.
It was a fun morning. I asked a million questions [Pat, I reminded myself of you:)] at every stop. I am sure I made them late to their next "appointment" at the local swap meet.
Zach rode for about 5 hours with some stops along along the way. Hit some spots we probably wouldn't have tried on our own. Tomorrow morning we are doing a group road ride. There's a 54 mile memorial ride coming up September 16th we want to prepare for.
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