Let Loose From The Noose

Over and out forever Electronic Data Systems (Navy Marine Corp Intranet contract). There are many things I'd like to say about that place of employment on this blog, but I'll save you this rant. Instead, all I'll say is, THANK GOODNESS I'M OUTTA THERE! The beast of burden has been set free onto open roads. As Tom Cochran put it:

Life's like a road that you travel on when there's one day here and the next day gone. Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand, sometimes you turn your back to the wind.

To celebrate this occasion, I've been making a squeaky clean resume, riding a bike, and spending more time with an amazing woman.

Oh yeah, the first road race of the year was Sunday and it turned out to be a pretty interesting roll. Let me start with a picture to explain the ending - as Jonathan put it, we were only two shy of a full YMCA.

To get to that point, we had to work a bit... like 100 kilometers work. Justin and I's original team assignment was just to make the field work by going off from the gun. I gassed it from the word go and there weren't too many interested in taking up the chase. Within one mile, it was down to J-Rose, Shawn and I. Shawn didn't have to work in such a situation since he's on Bode. Within 15 miles, we'd built the gap to 2 and a half minutes! With a lap and a half left, we started the ol' one two punch game on Shawn and it was down to the two of us.

The last of four times by the state penitentiary, there was reason to be excited! To top it off, Stu and Calvin came in 3rd and 4th! Results here.

The weekend before, Charlene and I went up to Kendrick to get away from the Tragic Valley for a while. Just for chits and grins, the crew decided we had to toss balsa airplanes off a cliff. Next time we need BIG styrofoam planes!

Pops saving an ill fated plane, reaching out over 200ft of free fall. One little loopty doo just wasn't enough when it's soooo close.

On it's way down.

A nice sunny day atop a cliff, not a bad way to burn some time.

After that, we went to the Dworshak fish hatchery and ended up leaving with two large steelhead caught freshly in front of our eyes by a local Nez Perce tribe member.
There are probably 40 to 50 tanks just like this one with little steelhead trying to make a break for it just like this lil' feller.

And if you were still wondering, I got 3rd in the time trial. The wind was crazy enough that I couldn't even put an effort into the pedals on the way out. By then, my chances to do really well were gone, but oh well. The big mistake was using a tri-spoke on the front into a seriously strong side wind. The other groups had much more of an angled wind, but by the time the pro, 1, 2's were out there, it was a direct 30mph side wind. It nearly picked me up off the ground at least four times! Results here.

One last thing... got a job for me? Not anything like a militarized corporation mix that is the NMCI contract!

This pic is just going on here so I can put it as a background on myspace, gotta serve it somewhere. If you were wondering, it's on the hike to Loon Lake near McCall, fall of 2005.

Back In The Saddle And I'm Holdin' The Reins

The first race of the year is looming less than 14 hours from this moment and there are probably a few people who think I've got a shot at winning. I've started the year with a win for three straight years, but my money's not on me this year. Sure, there's an outside chance it could happen and I can guarantee that I'll be giving it hell to repeat, but there's a few names out there with more than a enough potential to rock those 10 miles in less time than I. Turn time back three years to 2005 early season form and I'd say there's nobody in five states that would have a shot baring a mechanical, but this is 2008 and cross-country and downhill skiing mixed in with hiking just doesn't seem to help make one point twenty-one gigawatts on a bike. So, it's time to get my act together. Luckily, the form has been coming around pretty fast. Here's the rundown of who can and very likely will beat me tomorrow:
Richard "Dick" Feldman - Sun Valley's multi-time Masters World Champion in the Time Trial
Sam 430 watts for 30 minutes Johnson - 'nuff said
Calvin Bigger Legs Than Matt's Allan - He's training a lot and goes fast!
Justin Princess (sorry, had to) Rose - Fit and keeps getting better at the timed test.
Anways, tomorrow Spondoro's timing chips will tell the truth of who goes fastest.

To get into some kind of form, I've done a bit of riding, here's a few random pics.
Rose flats and half of the original crew looks like monkeys looking for a football. Good thing I was taking the pic or you'd see me standing around looking like a monkey too. No, I didn't have the football!

Dump loops, a great way to get into shape, just ask climbin' Chris.

The title of the blog had to come from somewhere. Props to whoever can come up with the song it's from.

Be forewarned, the next pic is graphic and clearly very painful, so more spaces have been added. Buster's shattered collarbone (busted vice shattered was tempting).

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Camp Kick My Butt

For over a week now, I've been dealing with something that decided to crawl into my lungs and die. By Wednesday and Thursday, I was more or less useless and my voice was gone. Thursday, Charlene and I decide to make our way to another hot springs that had been on my list of must sees. Tough drive and easy hike later, we made it to Loftus hot springs. On the drive back, we spooked a couple elk crossing the road and got a good river fording photo.

Come Saturday, our team camp for 08 rolled around and my lungs were riding the fence of wether or not they wanted to be outside. Guess what? I gave 'em the nod and kicked 'em into ludicrous speed. For a while, they hated me. Then they disliked me. Then they had a mild distaste for me. Then I felt good for a little bit. That's about the time my roommate, Buster, decided to lock up his front wheel with Tad's rear derailleur and break his collar bone in two places! OUCH! The pin is coming soon. I'm sure his dogs don't mind the downtime, but the crew's gonna miss the bruiser for the next 6 to 8.

The next day, we did an EHB (Emmett Horseshoe Bend) loop. By the time I got a mile into the HB hill, the crew was way gone up the hill and my body hated me, screaming for mercy! So I pushed my body through the rest of the hill at a painful crawl (170 to 200 watts) and hopped in the follow Caravan - thanks Vern! They need to make something comparable to lung draino. Maybe a lung brush? Maybe even something like the snake for a toilet? Everyone on my team is flying and I gotta be on par. As one Rusty Beat-all once said about this time of year, "it's go time."

The B's of February

This is the month of B's. MayBe next month will Be C's? Did I miss the A's in January?
Boarding
Bogus
Brundage
Banner
Bonneville
Beehive
Bike
Broke

A quick run down so you don't get Bored. I learned to Board at Bogus with Charlene to start the month and was sore for a few days after. Fun, But ouch!

The following weekend, free tickets at Brundage since they left us out at Goose Lake for an hour and a half when we were cat track skiing. NoBody's Been utilizing Brundage and there is a ton of fresh snow! Really, it's stellar, again!

Weekend Before last, Charlene and I tacked on a couple more B's. Crosscountry skiing at Banner Ridge and then hiking into Bonneville hot springs - side note: ski or snowshoe it if you decide to go, it's further than I thought it would Be when snow closes the road to the campground.

Last weekend, Dad came down and we decided a hike was in order. The only place I could think of that might Be somewhat dry was the Jump Creek Canyon area. We never really went down into the canyon, we just followed the rim. Along the hike, we saw a really cool Beehive.

Other notes... Back to riding the Bike more! The temps are more than just a little tantalizing to want more time on the Bike and a few more degrees.

That last B... not much fun But new car tires and all the fun in the snow has left me Broke with a capital B. You can clearly see Below why I needed new tires. An engine and windshield are next on my list.

Here Kitty Kitty, Which Way To Goose Lake?

On the 26th day of 2008, a new experiece was to be had that just flat out rocked! Brundage offers an amazing experiece called the "cat track adventure" and it's a must for anyone who can't get enough outdoor thrills! It might be likened to the poor man's heli-skiing experience. You hop into a snow cat and take off on tracks that aren't even officially roads. They aren't maintained and if there is a downed tree in the way, ya just go over it 'cause it's under 10 feet of snow.

Once at the mountain, you get trained on how to use a beacon in the event you or your friend gets barried. Eventually, you get pointed in the direction of a sweet drop that really can't be equalled on the main hill unless, by some miracle nobody decided to show up for a month straight and all the groomed runs grew old growth trees in the middle of them. Yup, it's amazing!

Hopefully the the cat beats you to the bottom of the hill, but it never happened for us. Until the eighth run, we didn't really have to wait more than a few minutes. Run eight turned out to be our last. Our cat drivers first day was, you guessed it, the 26th day of 2008 and the weather was less than conducive to finding the right path. After an hour and a half of hanging out at the shore of a frozen over Goose Lake, we were contemplating learning the art of making a snow cave, hunting squirrels and the conversation covered the movie Alive more than once. Then the radio lit up with the news that our cat driver had been found by the other snow cat that was on the mountain that day. Warmth and a safe ride home, a good way to finish off a killer day on the hills!

Of course I had to see where we went and here it is. Yup, we crossed Goose Lake in a quarter million dollar machine. I would have guessed that the water was frozen pretty hard, but nope, there was open water half way out that we just traversed around. How cool is that?!

The way to finish off a good day of skiing? Hows about gambling, a good dinner and a few beers with family?

post script - here comes the Blue Man Group Friday night at the Idaho Center and learning to snowboard on Saturday at Bogus! Good times! Thanks pops for the weekend!

Yin, Yang And A Strange Street Sign

Winter training on the bike is a love-hate relationship. Get out on the bike and do what you rock out at or just keep hitting up the gym, trainer, or ski hill in its stead? You guessed it, the new Giant got its 2008 first ride V-card confiscated on Saturday.

Since I knew we were going to pass one of my all time favorite street signs, I had to bring the camera. I don't advise purchasing a house at the Dead End of New Hope, even the sale sign is having trouble with the concept.

The next day, I got the rare chance to prove that Buster's dogs must not have nasal sensors while performing a pretty good Yin/Yang.

Could I Get A Side Of Powder Please?

The answer Brundage had to that request was a resounding h3ll yes sir. What appeared to be the top of the world was covered in an immense new coating of powder that demanded that we weave new paths through the parts of Brundage that no other skis had laid their mark. Boundaries are meant to be crossed on days like these!


Would you let such ideal snow go to the wayside? Me neither. Seconds later, two lines were drawn into one amazing hillside.

A couple side notes:
1. my car is finally paid off!
2. I've been keeping my eyes open for a different job. If you have anything in mind, drop me a line.

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.

Trying To Complete The Jump Creek Canyon

Jump Creek is a great place to hike and pretend to be a rock climber. Along the way, the views are great too! I've hiked it multiple times, but am yet to make it all the way through the canyon. Last Sunday, the goal was to make it all the way to the point where the canyon opens back up to flat land. According to my Delorme, I've gotten really close before, but never made it. On Sunday, Calvin A., Lucy (a beagle) and I started the hike from the lower parking lot and went to the falls first. We tried to go over the falls the way that requires a bit of rock climbing, but couldn't quite get Lucy over the last section as it required go-go gadget arms. Instead, we went back down and started back at the canyon from the other route. We stopped to see the "Face of the Owyhee's" and shortly after I got these shots:

At around 2 or so miles in, we passed where I'd maxed out at before and made it to the second falls, which proved to be one of the greatest challenges. Immediatly after getting past the falls, the path became substantially more difficult with brush filling in the entirety of the walkable area at the bottom of the canyon in most places.

We got to the point where we were walking on top of the brush. Even the dog could walk on top of it. At one point, a branch I was using to pull myself forward gave way and I took a good bath in the creek. Eventually we got to a point where we couldn't pass through it anymore without a machete or burning it down. I knew we were extremely close to the end of the canyon, but we couldn't make it. Oh well, by that point, we'd seen all of the good stuff. We climbed out of the canyon in one of the few dirt side canyons and hopped on the dirt road not far from the rim.

All-in-all, a good hike

Quantity Vs. Quality

What do you want? Do you want more than your neighbor has and that's pretty much your only comparing factor? Do the Jones' have more than you and you have to beat the Jones' to be worthwhile in today's society? Go forth and plunder until the Jones' have been defeated. Their enormous SUV or pickup truck has clearly been conquered by your new Caterpillar 797B dump truck towing your 10,000 square foot house on wheels to work and back every day. Now I'm not going off the deep end and saying that there is no need for material goods, but I am asking do you really need that extra whatever it is you have your mind on. Will it provide you a function that makes you happier? Now if that Porsche 911 Turbo really can make your entire body tingle like no other from the shear force of 480 horses thundering off the line with an intense G-force that compares to nothing you've ever experienced in your entire life, go out and earn it. Want it with every last little bit of passion you can possibly muster.
Consider first, do you really, and I mean REALLY want it? If not, what's the point? Did the last big purchase you made make you happier? Are you using it to it's fullest extent like you thought you would? If the answer is yes, way to go, you've used your noggin wisely.
Okay, so far, all I've talked about is the material usage side of the equation. Like the pythagorian theorem cannot determine C if you are missing A or B, human waste cannot be determined without the quantity of users variable. X number of people using Y amount of materials over Z amount of time in comparison to the rate of renewal that the earth can sustain. Another way of looking at it is rate of consumption directly compared to rate of renewal. Now I'm not going to try and claim that our rate of consumption is not sustainable which is one of the major arguments between republicans and democrats today, but I will say that both our rate of consumption per person and the quantity of people are both going up at extremely rapid rates. How long until we overtake the sustainability rate? I don't know. What I do know is that if we stay clear of that point, quality goes up. We have more resources to make our products with very high quality. We wouldn't have to worry about cutting back anything. For example, today's houses are cookie cutter models. Unique designs of years past are just that, years past. No more are houses designed to last hundreds of years, but are dated after 10 years or so and you rarely or never see such amazing efforts that were common in Europe just a few hundred years ago (example: the Sistine Chapel). There are hundreds of examples where quality could be improved, but in it's stead, we put quantity. Most obviously, quantity of people. More, more, more people. We all have to have our genes extended as far as possible. Our family line must be as controlling in society as we are capable of doing. There are two philosophies to doing this. One being to have kids that are very intelligent and physically powerful to be as far reaching in society as they can be via quality of character. Two being to have as many kids as possible and infiltrate society with shear quantity, even if the quality is questionable. Now I ask, do you prefer quality or quantity? Do you want the best for yourself/kid or do you want the most for yourself/kid?
Are you tired of the more, more, more demand that society puts on you or do you buy into it hook, line, and sinker? Where true happiness occurs is in the pursuit. The desire for something better. The question now is, does better have to equal more? More is obviously eventually not going to be sustainable, it's just a matter of time. Do you want the next generation (your kids) to enjoy quality of life or just be alive, breathing air and exising? Must you have three or more children? Maybe take a second to view Idiocracy.
If you want a new perspective on things, maybe you could learn a thing or two from Christopher McCandless. Take a listen to Eddie Vedder's - Society. Go out and read or watch Into The Wild. Open your eyes to the world that isn't too far from the grasps of societies demand for more, more, more. Go see the world from the top of a mountain, go breathe fresh air, get out and enjoy your own powers.

hmmm ooh hooo hooo

It's a mystery to me

we have a greed

with which we have agreed

You think you have to want

more than you need

until you have it all you won't be free

society, you're a crazy breed

I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have

you think you need

and when you think more than you want

your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place

'cos when you have more than you think

you need more space

society, you're a crazy breed

I hope you're not lonely without me

society, crazy and deep

I hope you're not lonely without me

there's those thinking more or less less is more

but if less is more how you're keeping score?

Means for every point you make

your level drop

skinda like its starting from the top

you can't do that...society, you're a crazy breed

I hope you're not lonely without me

society, crazy and deep

I hope you're not lonely without me

society, have mercy on me

I hope you're not angry if I disagree

society, crazy and deep

I hope you're not lonely without me

Attack Of The White Weezle

What better way to start a blog than to add a map with all sorts of information that you don't know anything about yet. For all you know, I was out on a treasure hunt and was attacked by an eight ounce white weezle (weasel) and to escape him, I had to run up a mountain, go for a swim all the way around the shoreline of a lake and then run too far down an old dirt road before returning to the car for safety. So, maybe that's not what happened, but it's a good story anyways huh?

Here's the ferocious creature in it's natural habitat.


To better understand the white weezle, you should see the area in which we found it.


Nothing to do with the white weezle: Louie Lake, where the GPS says we swam the shoreline (marker 3).


In this picture, you can see the white weezles' arch nemesis, Mitzi, a black Heinz 57 with very short legs.

Markers 1 and 2 were the first two times I'd seen the GPS add information that didn't actually happen. The missing line segments were places that it lost reception in the trees for long enough that it couldn't piece together where we went. The oops is where we missed a turn off from a dirt road back onto the trail and had to back track a bit. As for the long arrow/trailmix section, there really is no need for such a waste of your time, but then again, you are on my blog.
After the hike, we met up with my sister Lianne and niece Kathleen for a trip to the Gold Fork Hot Springs. If you've never been, I highly suggest it. $9, but worth it with six pools of differing temps, at least one with white sand (the bottom three were too cold for cold evening use)

The next day, I waaay overcooked a corner on the drive back and lost control of the car. Lucky for me, I didn't flip, nor did I over correct and just skidded to a stop at which point the car hit the guard rail and popped off the front bumper. I didn't get hurt, but I learned a lesson about driving too quick! First car wreck ever at the age of 28... maybe I should go back and adjust that blog about wrecking?

If you didn't get enough from the Delorme map, here's the Google Satellite map.