Downhill/Flow Park possibilities

I now ride past this empty lot on my way to work. It has about 75feet of vertical rise and is several acres. A developer wiped out the old oak trees two years ago (local controversy) and now the place sits vacant waiting for the real estate market to rebound.
This Spring it was a muddy mess, but I was already looking at the line possibilities on the edges of the field. I think that there are some good drops, jumps and rollers waiting to be discovered. Renegade trails go against my beliefs but maybe the "Ghosts of the Oaks" would invite us in?
Thoughts?

Camp Foster

Holly and I drove the girls up to Camp Foster on Lake Okaboji on Sunday. They were invited by two of their close friends who have attended the past couple of years.

Everyone was nervous (even the parents) on what to expect, but we were all pleasantly surprised at the facilities. In fact the girls were all placed into the same cabin and were placed into the newest cabin on the properties.

I'm confident that they will look back on the week with fond memories.

Maddie's Tandem Ride

Maddie and I didn't get the early start that I had hoped for, and by the end of the ride we were paying for it in the heat of the day.

We rode downtown and ate a dutch letter at the Farmers Market. Then we move a mile west to eat again at the Art Festival. After wandering around downtown for a couple of hours, we rode out to Raccoon River Park to watch the Hy-Vee Triathlon. What an amazing set of events for our metro this weekend.

3hrs and 35.6 miles for Maddie and I. It seemed like we had a headwind all day. I hope that we are ready for RAGBRAI, because that may be the last long ride that we get in before the big ride.

Friday Night Tandem Ride

Since the girls are each riding a day with me on this year's RAGBRAI (and we have yet to ride much on the tandem together), I've decided that we need to get some miles in.

Hannah and I rode down to the art festival to have dinner and to hear Collective Soul's free concert. The rain stayed away and we only had a few light sprinkles. The ride was good RAGBRAI practice. Ride 14miles, eat BBQ and pizza. Ride 8miles and stop for a shake :)

Downtown was busy but fun and Hannah rode like a seasoned vet. She is working on mastering her clipless pedals and by the end couldn't stop thanking me for a wonderful night. I couldn't agree more it was a fun time. 2:15 and 30.3miles.

Short Missoula Video

We finally have a new computer, so the girls and I don't have to push Holly off her work computer to get online. I'm working on learning how to edit video as I have a few from our vacation to upload. In the meantime, here is a slightly jerky video of Hannah descending down Curry Gulch in the Rattlesnake valley of Missoula. This is a short, slightly downhill singletrack and I was working with Hannah on how to descend. I took the video from our digital camera and was riding one-handed, thus the jerky-ness. I hope to edit this movie plus two others to create something that looks better.

Sioux Falls

We returned from vacation Sunday night around 5pm and then I left for work in Sioux Falls at 6am on Monday. It wasn't as bad as it sounds.

I took advantage of the quiet hotel on Monday night and got a good rest. Last night I hopped on my road bike and rode the bike trail that loops the city. A scenic 20mile route that went past the cities namesake (in pic). I still feel a little sick, so the pace wasn't too high. 26miles and a stop for Taco Tuesday and I was back at the hotel.

The hotel is near a convention and sports complex. Last night they were hosting some sort of drum and bugle corps competition. I'm a sucker for the precision of a good drumline and wasn't disappointed. I rode around and took in the various practice sessions. All of them were amazing.
When I get back home I'll post some vacation thoughts and a video or two of my girls riding their MTBs on the same trails that Moike and I learned on.

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The 'Mick'

Saturday's ride in the Black Hills started just before 7am. I had apparently caught the family cold in addition to an allergy flare-up, so I was hoping for something to blow the junk out of the body.

I chose to ride the pavement pass back to Deadwood and then hop onto the Mickelson rail trail.
The climb up the pass loosened up the snot rockets and I quickly felt pretty good. I pushed the pace on the ride while still enjoying the views. I looped back to hwy 385 via Custer crossing and ended up back at camp 38.5 miles later.

Although the "Mick" is just a rail trail I would highly suggest hitting it. In fact I saw several campgrounds just off the trail. The trail is 108miles long so it would make an excellent 2 or 3 day ride/camp trip. Just load a pack with a change of clothes and a credit card. Hmmmm.....

Now we are in the middle of our 11hr drive back to Des Moines. We just passed through Sioux Falls, so we are almost home.

BTW-the pic was from the trail near the top of the pass.

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Griz is back

Break time is over. I guess that I'm back to blogging.

The griz family is on vacation in Missoula (home of the Griz). We've had some good quality time within our family and with Holly's parents. Friday will be spent driving to the Black Hills of South Dakota to spend time with my parents (at a family reunion of dad's).

I did get three solid 2.5hr rides in while in Missoula. Most of the time was spent climbing at a steady heart rate. I also got two good rides with the girls. One of them was on singletrack up the Rattlesnake, I'll try to post a video once we get home.

Lastly, check out this pic from today's ride, textbook singletrack.

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