# it's awful quiet around here....



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

How about you southern/mild climate gals post some photos? 
My beautiful new Specialized is waiting patiently for spring as we consistently dig out from the 4th heaviest snowfall winter on record. I'm a skier too so I don't really mind, but I sure am not getting any biking done.

formica


----------



## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

formica said:


> How about you southern/mild climate gals post some photos?


No kidding, looking at mine just makes me cold! And yet, I need to go out again.


----------



## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

I hear ya. Luckily my new frame still isn't in yet or I'd be getting really impatient. 

I am busy planning some bike trips for March and April though...


----------



## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

Should I reply with a pic of me on rollers in my bedroom while watching YouTube with husband?


----------



## badjenny (Mar 13, 2006)

screampint said:


> No kidding, looking at mine just makes me cold! And yet, I need to go out again.


would now be a bad time to tell you weather forecast here is, sunny and 63 degrees for the next 4 days?


----------



## jaclynj (Jun 11, 2007)

formica said:


> How about you southern/mild climate gals post some photos?
> My beautiful new Specialized is waiting patiently for spring as we consistently dig out from the 4th heaviest snowfall winter on record. I'm a skier too so I don't really mind, but I sure am not getting any biking done.
> 
> formica


What kind of Specialized?


----------



## MissMTB (May 21, 2007)

I know how you girls must be feeling about all that snow you've been getting. As you can see in the photos, we've gotten our fair share of snow in Southern California as well!

Okay, so maybe it's not the same as digging your car out of 6 feet of snow.  

These pictures were taken at the Southridge Winter Series XC Race in Fontana, CA on Jan 26th. Can you believe that you girls are stuck inside on the trainer, but we have beautiful weather and only one other girl comes out to race?!


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

Yup. it is snowing now. Funny though, I still don't miss California. Riding all year for years and years kept me from appreciating spring or expanding beyond bikes. The forced sport change is pretty refreshing.

Plus, I have about 4 new sweaters in the works, and some mittens I really love:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157603480185080/

Formica - my folks live in Pullman. They have drifts so tall that you can walk over the neighbor's fence.

C


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

Yeah, and I am sure you aren't up in the mountains or anything. All that powder really blows.


----------



## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

To be honest, I'm getting a little sick of living here since my knees don't like skiing anymore. Unfortunately, moving away from Alta is completely out of the question for my husband (I used to feel the same way...).

Knee pain aside, I was having a pretty good winter up until a couple weeks ago when my knee locked up in the middle of a turn and I had to go in for my 5th knee surgery. It's getting old. And it makes me just want to ride my bike year round.


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

injury sucks. sorry to hear about that. 

We are starting our long tedious base miles soon if you want to hit the road/dirt road on your road bike or xc bike.


----------



## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

chuky said:


> injury sucks. sorry to hear about that.
> 
> We are starting our long tedious base miles soon if you want to hit the road/dirt road on your road bike or xc bike.


Definitely. Where are you going to ride? I've been riding my spiin bike at home with really low resistance so far, but I go in for my post-op visit tomorrow afternoon to get stitches out and hopefully the doc will give me the okay to pedal harder at least... I'm going to be in Moab next Tues for work and am hoping to at least be able to head out and spin on a flat road or something if weather cooperates.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

chuky said:


> Yup. it is snowing now. Funny though, I still don't miss California. Riding all year for years and years kept me from appreciating spring or expanding beyond bikes. The forced sport change is pretty refreshing.
> 
> Formica - my folks live in Pullman. They have drifts so tall that you can walk over the neighbor's fence.
> 
> C


We've been XC skiing the local golf courses and so on. I think it's kind of fun.


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

Where it is dry-ish - hopefully m ost of the valley after this weekend. Do you have a road bike?

We also plan to do some green river area dirt road spins. 

Cheers,
C


----------



## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

chuky said:


> Where it is dry-ish - hopefully m ost of the valley after this weekend. Do you have a road bike?
> 
> We also plan to do some green river area dirt road spins.
> 
> ...


I sold my road bike several years ago - I have a phobia about sharing the road with Utah drivers...


----------



## Impy (Jan 6, 2004)

Greetings from California! These are from last weekend. It was actually pretty cold that day, well, for SoCal standards.


----------



## brg (Sep 7, 2004)

*some riding the past 3 weekends*

There have spots here and there on the Colorado Front Range that have been ridable. I've been getting at least 3 hours on the dirt that past 3 Saturdays.

2 weekends ago - ittybittybetty and i hopped on our singlespeeds and rode with the guys. I gotta say I am not in singlespeed shape - so needless to say after being out for 3 hours I was wiped out.

here's a pic ( from Devil's Backbone in Loveland, CO) of IBB showing the boyz the line and here's one of me cruising along. I LOVE riding my bike!


----------



## Guest (Feb 8, 2008)

MissMTB said:


> These pictures were taken at the Southridge Winter Series XC Race in Fontana, CA on Jan 26th. Can you believe that you girls are stuck inside on the trainer, but we have beautiful weather and only one other girl comes out to race?!


there were more girls than that... they were racing other classes though. 2 girls in 34 and under sport, and three in 35 plus, i think Pua was out racing in Pro class that day as well.

you should move up to sport and race with allison (aword4you on here)

btw... that is my friend on the podium with you. that was her first time racing ever. very cool!


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

This was after the first dump. We've had about another foot at least since then. There is one hard core kid I see riding to the HS everyday with fenders and a full face. You need that full face the way people drive around here.


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

I like this game. Here is mine, on one of our snowy days. Which is why I have been very knit-oriented the last few weeks... Double thick wool - the Norwegians get it.


----------



## brownieinSC (Apr 19, 2004)

No pictures but I have actually rode three times in the last week. The park close enough for me to ride at after work closes at 6pm except Tuesdays for night riding. In the spring it will be open till 9 again and I'll ride more. 
The weather in South Caroilna has warmed up to about 60 degrees during the day ~ it has been really great for riding!


----------



## MTNgirl (Jul 20, 2004)

*i'll play*

our snowy winter world is enchanting (especially if you're out playing in it) but i miss dirt. i really miss dirt. i confess that i'm cruising the arizona and california boards to get a little stoke...

chuky, i love your knit pieces, they are wonderful!


----------



## brownieinSC (Apr 19, 2004)

The snow is so beautiful and peaceful... I know if you have it all the time you get sick of it. We haven't had a good snow in upstate SC since I was in middle school (15+ years ago). I would love to go play in the snow!


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

Funny, SLC, Boise, Spokane. I think it would be pretty easy to draw a line through those 3 places. Lots of waist deep snow for a fair number of us. 

Great snowshoe shots, BTW. Your pup looks to be having fun!

On Tuesday, JMH and I were in Arkansas, and flew out through the storm that hit that region (some of the craziest turbulence ever - pretty fun, actually, despite the couple of screamers on the plane). I did appreciate Little Rock's 70 degree temps, but I prefer my weather in forms other than tornados. Give me a blizzard and a solid winter any day...


----------



## PennyRich (Jul 13, 2003)

My last few weekends have been spent trailbuilding. We've had fantastic weather here in SE VA for the last 3 days. Shame I've been stuck inside all day.


----------



## Impy (Jan 6, 2004)

chuky said:


> On Tuesday, JMH and I were in Arkansas, and flew out through the storm that hit that region (some of the craziest turbulence ever - pretty fun, actually, despite the couple of screamers on the plane). ..


OMG I would have been puking from fear.

BTW your mittens are rad.


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

yeah, I was pretty nauseated, not from fear, but from the crazy motion. We went weightless twice. Totally understand the seatbelt thing now.

C


----------



## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

MissMTB said:


> These pictures were taken at the Southridge Winter Series XC Race in Fontana, CA on Jan 26th. Can you believe that you girls are stuck inside on the trainer, but we have beautiful weather and only one other girl comes out to race?!


You just need to bump up to Sport! Then at least there would be 3 of us 

Path DH women race XC too!










Me and Steph on the XC podium after a DH practice run










And since Formica asked... some actual ride photos from this year from So Cal:

New Year's Day (this is all now covered by snow):



















Ride in the rain










The calm before the storm










Last photo before my camera died (literally)










First (trail) photo with my new camera










Training










This is probably closer to a raging creek now










Race from above:










More training










For Impy:


----------



## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

mechmann_mtb said:


> there were more girls than that... they were racing other classes though. 2 girls in 34 and under sport, and three in 35 plus, i think Pua was out racing in Pro class that day as well.
> 
> you should move up to sport and race with allison (aword4you on here)
> 
> btw... that is my friend on the podium with you. that was her first time racing ever. very cool!


You are actually mistaken... her photos are from 2 weekends ago (Melissa's 2nd race, and the Saturday Pua was at 12 Hours of Temecula).

The rest is correct :thumbsup:


----------



## venus1 (Aug 4, 2006)

*Savannah Sugar Plant Explosion*

Ok, most the girls I ride w/ spent the night in the ER & ICUs w/ burn patients from the surgar refinery explosion last night. Things will not be quiet for long when the girls hit the trail & take it out on the dirt.


----------



## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

This trail looks heck-a-fun!


----------



## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

screampint said:


> This trail looks heck-a-fun!


That section is actually part of a reroute on our local XC race course! The course used to go down this hugely rutted, sandy, steep section that some got off and walked. The reroute is longer, but it is SOO fun!

The nice thing is that the trails are actually green right now from the insane amount of rain we've had 

It's nothing like Kessel, though!


----------



## PennyRich (Jul 13, 2003)

venus1 said:


> Ok, most the girls I ride w/ spent the night in the ER & ICUs w/ burn patients from the surgar refinery explosion last night. Things will not be quiet for long when the girls hit the trail & take it out on the dirt.


I saw that on the news this evening. Tragic. :sad:.


----------



## Christine (Feb 11, 2004)

If I haven't been posting here much it's in part due to taking up skiing  

Started about two weeks ago at Mt. Snow: Day 1 was bunny slope practice without poles (wasn't too happy about that at first, but then got used to it, pizza/french fries....) and then onto the green slope....where I tangled myself up in the pine scrub, in fear for my life, as one woman paused to point and laugh. Not one of my finer moments, but in retrospect I suppose it was funny. I continued and had a great time thanks to my BF/instructor (worked out surprisingly well- he really is patient and good at it.)

Last weekend, Jiminy Peak, which was more challenging with the icy spots and moguls, so I was falling more BUT finally going fast and even picking lines through groups of people the way I do on the bike :nono: yes naughty I know, but what a blast!! And I wouldn't even know what to do with poles  

Yeah so I'm a total newbie dork wearing a bright yellow jacket that was given to me, men's ski pants/gloves and bike hats, but it's definitely :thumbsup: Thanks for all the advice you guys gave me!


----------



## grungePoodle (Jul 3, 2007)

Austin, Texas = 80 degrees yesterday and today.


----------



## EJP (Apr 30, 2007)

*Okay, I'll play*

I share a mtn house near Winter Park with AlaskaRider, her hubby, and 15+ of our closest nordic skiing friends. We got snow and wind this weekend on top of a huge amount of existing snow. I saw the forecast figured that the tele skiing would be great and Berthoud Pass (access from Denver/Boulder/etc.) would be closed for avalanche control. I was correct on both counts and had a fine day of telemarking on the mtn yesterday. Today was all about recovering and digging out biathlon targets so we can have a race tomorrow.

I do kinda miss my bike, but the snow is so ephemeral that I feel like I had better ski while we have it. I have been commuting to work in Boulder every day. Fenders, down jacket, and Gore-Tex pants have been most useful. Plus, it's only 15 minutes.

Here are a couple of photos from the house--the 4ft drift in the parking lot was impressive, and the guy who plows has been slow in getting over there.

6 ft drift on top of our front walk railing.









With the front of the house for scale.









There's a gas grill under there, somewhere.


----------



## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

We were lucky enough to have another awesome weekend of "winter" weather here in So Cal.

Unseasonably warm temps! I was WAY too hot in my Specialized fleece lined knickers during my XC race!!

We did have to wear sweatshirts at 8 in the morning...










Fun at sunset (hubby in bib shorts on his DH bike)










Huge crew at the carnage section of the DH course on Sunday










I was lucky enough for two more podiums


----------



## jewels (Mar 17, 2004)

*Sure Feels Good....*

A little fun stuff from sunny HI





the forest from EH on Vimeo.


----------



## dHarriet (Sep 26, 2005)

jewels said:


> A little fun stuff from sunny HI.


nice! :thumbsup:

man, i really miss forest here in AZ!

sweet riding, and cute bunny! :thumbsup:


----------



## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

jewels said:


> A little fun stuff from sunny HI


Awesome job!!! Been some good weather out here on the Big Island as well. Geeez, some day I will have to make it over there to Maui for some dirt shredding.

Aloha,
g


----------



## drtgirl (Jan 8, 2008)

I actually got off my duff and raced yesterday. Hours on the trainer did not translate well on a really technical XC course. Regardless I still had a good time and a decent race (no crashes, bonks or technical mishaps). It was a nice sunny day here in Seattle


----------



## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

Training ride on Saturday:





































Fun ride on Sunday:




























Did I mention it was a big group?










That was about half of it 










And, yes, that is all So Cal!


----------



## Impy (Jan 6, 2004)

Wait, this is very familiar, I was there today!



aword4you said:


>


Hey wait, I was there, Saturday!


aword4you said:


> More training


woo hoo i love 'em. Just so you know, jim and tracy now have been converted....


aword4you said:


> For Impy:


----------



## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

*DeSSperate Downhillers*

So yesterday, my friend Kimber and I (who both race DH) were finally desparate enough to ride bikes that we got in my car at 5:30am and drove to St. George with our singlespeeds (about a 4 hour drive each way). Believe it or not, neither of us have ever biked down there, so we went out, maps in hand with directions to Church Rocks. The trail started out on a paved path up to the water tanks (at which point we both were thinking, holy crap, my legs are not in shape to be climbing hills in a 2:1 gear... even on pavement) Then we went down a rutted out steep gravel road and rode through a tunnel under the interstate and popped out in a sand wash. At that point the trails all split up and we couldn't quite figure out what was what, so we picked one and headed out - rode around for about 2 hours and headed back. Maybe we're just easy to please since you can't see any dirt up in SLC, but wow was that fun! Beautiful loop that was about half slickrock and half dirt, absolutely perfect weather - 65 and sunny, and we had an absolute blast! My husband thinks we're insane, but I can't wait to do it again. Totally worth all the hours in the car!

What we left behind:









The bikes fit nicely in the Element I bought this fall:













































Singlespeeds basking in the sun:









I'm not riding back up this on a SS. Who am I kidding? I'm not riding back up that on anything without a motor.


----------



## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

That looks great. Color me jealous!


----------



## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

Impy said:


> Wait, this is very familiar, I was there today!
> 
> Hey wait, I was there, Saturday!
> 
> woo hoo i love 'em. Just so you know, jim and tracy now have been converted....


We'll all be there in 2 weeks!!

I'm glad to know they too have joined the dark side :lol:


----------

