2007 Highlights

List of most important things that happened to MCWeyen in 2007 with a 1 to 10 ranking next to them.
Joined the rockin' Bobs-bicycles.com cycling team (8)
Won the George's Spring Series for a 3rd year in a row (5)
Won the Tour of Walla Walla (biggest win of my cycling career) (9)
Got sick and "experienced" the Tour of the Gila in all of it's "kick your @$$" glory (7)
Surviving the extremely rain soaked Mutual of Enumclaw omnium (6)
Wrecked really hard at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic (4)
Lapping the field at the Eagle Criterium with teammate Brandon A. (6)
Got dumped by my 8yr girlfriend; partially induced by riding my bike too much (11)
Getting to experience Nationals in Pennsylvania and Illinois (hit 65mph on a training ride!) (7)
2 man 97 mile breakaway with Justin M. at State Champs (6)
Winning the Bogus Basin Hill Climb - less than expected!! (8)
Mountain biking a lot in the off-season (5)
Doing a 180 back into my lane at 65mph around a 35mph corner on Highway 55 (7)
Realizing that I need to use my vacation for vacation rather than big stage races (5)

Writing this blog - it's New Years Eve and they don't have anything for me to do at work (.05)

Here's to a great 08.
Thank you very much Bob's (Vern and company) for making some amazing things happen for me and everyone else on this team this past year and more to come with the ringing in of a new year!

Breaking Trail

Couple shots from cross country skiing at the North South Ski Bowl off of the White Pine drive. There is always a way to get out in the back country and sometimes it's even more unique.

Running Out Of Gas

Last Saturday, I decided to challenge Kyley to a hike up a steep hill to get to some score hot springs. On the drive there, the Outback Sport decided it wanted to present a challenge of it's own to me. The story goes... I have no way of knowing how much gas I've got left in the tank at any given time since it came from Florida and went through the sulphur catastrophe of 2001 that ruined a lot of gas gauges. Anyways, the only way I know when to fill 'er up is when the average gas mileage that the car gets times the size of the gas tank (now proven to be EXACTLY 12.7 gallons) equals the distance I've driven. Lately, the gas mileage has been going down due to cold temps and more city driving, but this tank proved to be especially nasty. Even with bad gas mileage, it should get at least around 320 miles. Not this time, 298 was all I got out of it. Just as we popped over the top of the Horseshoe Bend hill, it sputtered. Put, put, put and caaaapoot. Lucky for me, it was all down hill! Only one problem, there's a flat section in the middle of the grade on the way down to H.B. Out I got to push along State Highway 55 for just a few feet. That was sketchy at best, but fun in a crazy kind of way. Rolled into town and thought to myself of a Mitch Hedberg line "I don’t know how to fix a car. If my car breaks down, and the gas tank does not say “E”, I’m f***ed. But if the gas tank says “E”, I get all cocky; “I got ths one, don’t worry about it. Lemme get out the toolbox, AKA. ‘wallet.’” So I got all cocky and busted out my toolbox, AKA wallet. First, I had to hop a ride from a local to the gas station since there's a hill through town that a ton of metal on wheels doesn't seem to want to go up without any controlled explosions going off in chambers with pistons (your Bill Nye lesson for the day if you happen to be under the age of 10 or so).

N e ways, once we got to the hot springs, we were pleasantly surprised to see only two other cars, which is crazy low numbers at mile marker 4/skinnydippers h.s.

If you wanted proof that I'm a road cyclist and not an ultimate fighter, here it is:

Sometime I'll take a pic of my flexed quadricep instead of the upper body white out... okay, so you don't want to see that either right?

Here's where it is:

Also, I hooked up the indoor trainer for the first time this winter on Wednesday. War Of The Worlds was only so-so for a motivator when riding the trainer. Did a couple one leg drills. For those interested in how boring this ride was and get all wigged out over power data, here you go.

Yup, I only use the default software since I only like to use the powermeter as a motivator and to even out efforts. I know how fit I am and in which ways from using a couple age old methods called intuition mixed with trial and error; seems to be working so far. As you can also see in this graph, I had to stop a few times to turn up the volume or crank up the fans.

Oh yeah, a couple weeks back, Rumps and I went for a 16-ish mile hike (gps died) around a similar course I did one blog back. It was like a winter wonderland since the snow fell after a cold rain and stuck to everything.

Have fun over your holiday break... over 'n out

A Back Log Blog

A couple long hikes and a trip to a rockin hot springs is all I've got to report this time... here they are:

1st hike - Tad, Calvin, Erik and I took off from Harris Ranch. Slack and I made it to the top of Lucky Peak and back, 3000ft of elevation change over 11 miles. Good to get the legs prepped for the hard hike.

Over the same weekend, Kyley, Gavin and I were in McCall for Thanksgiving and decided to venture to a new hot springs. On the drive in, we had to ford a fairly deep (16" or so) creek and the only way it would be somewhat possible was to break up the ice dam on the far side.

Once we made it across (that was a thrill!) and past the one mile hike, Vulcan hot springs were great. Rhett, Gavin and I getting cooked at an even 103 degrees.

The following weekend; the big hike:

I missed the Bob's group hike and took off from the same point (top of Brumback) thinking I might catch them. Headed up the "freeway" to Hull's Gulch to 8th St to a trail that I couldn't find the name of to the Boise Ridge to 5 Mile trail to Rocky Canyon Rd to a couple more trails that I didn't find names for... maybe I'll read the map sometime and figure out what trails I was on at the end there. Somebody had been cyclocross riding on the trails in the snow. Whoever you are, you are officially hardcore.

18.7 miles at 3.2 mph = 6hrs of hiking with a tough beagle named Lucy.

On 5 Mile trail, just before meeting up with Rocky Canyon Rd, I came across this old structure. Maybe it was used by hunters?

Getting back to the car was a welcome site! I'm still a bit tired.