Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats

[pixychick]

This is a bull, and no horns on this one yet.

Next up is a new front door. Art plans to re-frame himself, although we have a professional doing the install. A triple door is too big for us to handle. The new door will be slightly taller and a few inches narrower. Art bolted this ledger onto the house to: 1. support while he re-frames. 2. hang the new overhang. He ordered some viga logs and rough beams to construct an overhang with clay tile roof. I will post up progress pictures. The door has not arrived yet, nor has the bath shower tile, so not sure what will happen next.

Rode Starr Pass yesterday. It was awesome! I hope to ride tomorrow too. The weather has been a bit warm for this time of year, highs 65-75. I know the east has been cold, so I will not dwell on that subject. We need rain here bad. Some of my favorite upper trails are trashed IMO. No rain with horses and cows make a mess. I do not think I will ride CP or baby jesus trails again this year. Backwards attitudes out here about what makes a trail. The terrain locally is so much better than across town, but land management does not care much about trails for bike use. Hopefully, some day it will change.

 

[Magic]

I like your Christmas Treel.

 

[pixychick]

Oh yeh, no real tree the year with all the demo. On Christmas eve I pulled out the lights and needed something to hang them on, so I grabbed a spare road wheel. I am glad someone noticed.

 

[pixychick]

Still no door, but we were able to start with the bath tile... more crazy mexican tile. (last photo)

Photos: Pano from cowboy slick rock group ride, a few backyards, Starr Pass ride and Honeybee ride.

 

[gtluke]

I want to live in the southwest just so I can do fun things with tile like that. so nice!

 

[pixychick]

I want to live in the southwest just so I can do fun things with tile like that. so nice!

You do not have to live in the southwest. Do what you like!

 

[pixychick]

We finally got some much needed rain! ... 1.33 inches and a good 12 hour soaker. Rain blew out just in time for a nice sunset. I am hoping this past rain will help trigger the spring blooming. Desert plants are pretty amazing the way they can shut down and stay dormant for months without water and in extreme sun and heat and then just come back after a few rain storms. Another good thing about rain is road grading. The brake bumps have been bad this year because of the lack of rain. No Rain, no road grading. The soil just does not pack without rain. Same goes for trails.

 

[pixychick]

Finally the tub is hooked up and tonight I plan to take a bath. I have not done an epsom bath since I left NY in November. Perfect timing as my back was stiff today. Something the plumber glued on the toilet flange needed to dry overnight, so he must come back tomorrow to hook up the toilet. Either way, it feels like we are nearly complete on this bathroom. A little paint, hang the towel rods and mirror and it's a wrap. Actually went faster and smoother than planned, which is always nice. We must be letting down as we both fell asleep after the plumber left. Art's was planned, mine was accidental in the lounge chair outside.

Tomorrow we may be headed up to Phoenix to pick up vigas and rough lumber for the front door overhang. We are thinking about hitting Gold Canyon for a ride along the way. I have been trying to ride every other day, but have not been doing any big or fast rides. I am not sure if I will return to racing again. I seem to enjoy slower rides and not sure if I will find the motivation to pick up the pace enough to get back in shape. Right now I am just enjoying the weather and getting on my my bike when I want.

 

[huffster]

Lovely photos!

 

[pixychick]

The new door has arrived and the old rotten door is out and taken to the dump, .... Good riddance! This is last of the old windows and doors, and probably one of the worst in condition. It took so long because we were torn on what kind of door and configuration. The entryway has no windows, so I really wanted a glass door that let in a lot of light. After pictures to follow.

The new bath is painted and I have had a few epsom baths. The tub works great. Most my time has been spent working in the yard. We just love being outside.

 

[Patrick]

looking forward to 'after pics' - i've got a good idea what we'll see because of the bracing!

Rode Ringwood for the first time today with @shrpshtr325 and @knobbyhead -
Thank You! Please pass it on to @Art also...

 

[pixychick]

New door in. Stucco and ramada to follow.

 

[pixychick]

Stucco done and door stained. Time to move outside and enjoy the warm sunny weather.

 

[pixychick]

My mom was out to visit, so not as much work or riding the last few weeks, but more time doing things with her. My main focus was to get get her outside as much as possible before sending her back to the cold back east. Now that she is gone, we had some concrete work done. Art wanted a set of footings for the pillars of the new ramada and also wanted to have a few areas of our wall filled in where it had been undermined. Art built the pillar forms, but the crew took care of the wall and all the concrete work. The truck is by load and hour so let the experts run the wheel barrels.

We had a pipe leak back in NY a few weeks ago. We leave the heat on and still a pipe went. It was a pipe that went out to the hose bib. We had to have a remediation with removal of carpet, drywall and base trim. I was a tad stressed about it for a week or so, but now I am moving forward. We are slowly working to have contractors put things back together. Just another glitch in the many not so important things in life that remind me how wonderful it is to have great friends and to be able to ride my bike.

Hoping to ride my bike tomorrow!

 

[pixychick]

I have been waiting for rain for a long time. It is now finally raining. Hoping for a 1/2 inch so that desert things will come to bloom out here. Back east rainy days seem to come too often. Out here they seem like a special event. I actually love the contrasts in weather. It is pretty nice to experience them both throughout the year.

On projects:
The footings and knee wall are done. Art put stucco on this morning before the rain. We had the contractors do a sloped step to the left of the stairs. That area was below grade so instead of having it pulled out and redone, we had them make a step. Art wants to put a pot there with a vine for the ramada. I had him run a pipe through the knee wall so that we can have a drip line run through from the garden. Vines, shrubs and trees offer shade in extreme summer heat. Concrete structures can become a major heat sink, so when possible, plants can help keep things cool. Log posts will be set onto the footings to hold up the ramada.

The Bike:
As some may have heard, Campmor closed their bike shop. They have been an above and beyond sponsor and partner for the past decade. Both the Campmor store and the Campmor team have been a great experience. I am not sure where I will go for shop needs at this time, but I look forward to any new opportunities ahead.

I hope to race this year, but have not really started training yet. Being that I have let my fitness fade for 2 years, and am turning 60, I may have more work than I want. Yesterday I managed a 2+ hour ride, which is good for base right now. If I want to get back into Cat 1 racing, I will need to do more 3 hour rides and start ramping up climbing pace. I feel slow climbing and often notice that I am only comfortably breathing. I need to work on motivation. I'm happy to report that my neck has been manageable with stretching and heat. The warm weather helps as well.

Other stuff:
USACycling just released a statement in a newsletter saying that CBD oil in supplements, is now allowed as long as it does not have THC. This is a good thing in my opinion, especially for older people with arthritis. Studies are showing that exercise is a big help in relieving symptoms from arthritis and I can see more people getting into riding bikes for health. Anti doping is not just about stopping people from cheating but protecting our health from dangerous drugs. CBD does not seem to have any heath damaging effects. I'm sure there are some mixed opinions on this issue, but it seems like a step forward to me.

 

[pixychick]

After 3 days stuck in the house, I can report that we got close to 3 inches of rain from the last system. There is another rain possibility for Friday. I think this will be enough to push perennial blooms, like cactus etc. Today it is in the 40's and I am trying to get stoked to go ride. I made up my work schedule and race schedule, so maybe that will help motivate me to get out in cooler temps. Luckily I brought knee warmers and one winter jersey. My race plan so far is as follows:

May 12 - Stewart
June 2 - Bear Creek
June 24 - Lewis Morris
July 19 - XC Nationals
Aug 4 - SSUSA
Sep 23 - Bearscat 50

While stuck in the house during the rain, Art painted around the front door on the inside, but still needs to do outside once it dries out. I have been doing some deep cleaning and reorganizing. Our oversized bed room has become a catch all for large stuff that would go in the garage, if we had one. So while some things have found new storage places, others have ended up on the growing pile for the dump. Once the custom joist hangers arrive, Art wants to start on the ramada. He has not revealed it yet, but he says he has a plan for erecting the log post and placing the lintel beam.

As you can see from pictures, the clouds and skies have been amazing during this rainy weather. Being that we are in the foothill, clouds drift in between the hills making for some dramatic scenes.

 

[pixychick]

Wind, rain and then cold, but I have gotten out to ride. Snow above 5000 feet makes for some awesome mountain views, but still the flowers are beginning to bloom in the garden. ...Amazing place! Monday I did a major ride and I am still feeling it today. Got to go to bed soon. Catch up in a few days.

 

[w_b]

Incredible scenery!

 

[pixychick]

Some of my Jersey friends managed to escape from winterlopilas to grab some high desert sun. They survived a little run in with a cholla. Although the cholla is called "Teddy Bear", It is nasty with stiff spikes and barbs that do not let go.

 

[shrpshtr325]

and just how exactly do you get that off?