Winter Camping, XC skiing, Big Wheels, Snowboarding!

Home sweet home! RV's and Sleds make for a fun weekend!

After the last snowmobile trip with Metzger, we sat down and decided we needed to ride sleds again very soon. We decided it would be fun to take the RV's up to the mountains for some winter camping. Ruth and I loaded up the trailer and headed into the hills to meet Mike and Shannon. The roads up the pass were nice and clear, but no sooner than when the jacks were down, did it start snowing! It snowed all weekend and the snow conditions were amazing.

Ruth and I went XC skiing too. 

Mike and I rode sleds a few times, Ruth and I went XC skiing, the dogs played in the snow, and everyone hung out and a had a great time!

Fast forward a few days and drop down a few thousand feet. I was able to get out on the bike with the dogs for a quick ride. The ride wasn't anything special, just a normal evening at Grand Ridge. The awesome part was that I managed to go after work and had enough daylight to ride without bringing lights! I ran into Tyler Salvage from Evergreen and we rode until dark and even squeezed in a drink at the bar before the night was over.

Tyler Salvage and Rylie checking out some drainage. 

Daylight!

Pure elation.

This is one of the most fun times of year as a racer. This is when all of the new product starts to appear. My 2014 product is slowly arriving. I managed to get out to Tokul for a few laps on a new steed this weekend. The new Diamondback bikes are looking amazing and I can't wait to reveal the whole 2014 lineup.

Wagon wheels.

It has been snowing consistently for the last 12 days. Stevens Pass has received 12 FEET of snow in the last 12 days. Knowing there was endless powder, Ruth and I decided we needed to dust off the snowboards and make some tracks. I'm sitting here typing this because I am still so excited about how good the conditions were today that I can't sleep. I've never ridden through powder that was this deep. We rode until neither of us were able to stand up anymore. Today was the most fun I've had on a snowboard in years.

So Seattle. 

Fresh deep powder everywhere. This is under Hogsback (The main chairlift!) 

Couldn't wipe the smile off my face!

The snow has been amazing, but bike season is right around the corner. I am working to dial in the new bikes and can't wait to hit the trails again! Until next time...

-KT

Snowday!

The weather all winter has been very mild, but all good things must come to an end. It finally snowed. Our city shuts down when it snows, but this was on Saturday night, so by Monday morning, it had all melted and the city was able to function again.

Reminded me of back home! 

The picture is blurry because these two wouldn't stop running around!

 In order to celebrate the snow, I decided to join Metzger and go sledding for the day.

Mike has a spare sled that I was able to use. The downside was that it was a lot of fun, so now I have to save my pennies and buy a sled. (Sorry Ruth!) 

On our way to the pass we saw this brodozer for sale. Don't be this guy. 

Bluebird day and beautiful snow. 

No one around either!

This was such a fun day!

We are going to take the trailer out this weekend and do some winter camping and XC skiing. The bikes will come back out soon! I just looked at the calendar, it's only 6 weeks until the first race! 

-KT

Face update, Los Angeles, Seahawk Parade

So my face was a little messed up the next day. I had some interesting looks at work on Monday, but everything has healed up and almost back to normal now.

Monday morning. Not my best look. 

The downside with having my face smashed up, beyond trouble eating, breathing, talking, sleeping, etc, was that we were going to visit my niece and nephew 5 days later! Ruth and I hopped on a plane Thursday night and flew down to LA.

My half sister and her family treated us to an amazing weekend. Universal Studios, hanging out on the beach, an amazing super bowl party, and good times with the family.  We had a great time and can't wait until this fall to see them again!

The Seahawks cheering section!

Universal Studios

In case you've lived under a rock, you have heard that the Seahawks won the Super Bowl! As is tradition, the home city hosts a parade for the returning champions. The parade was mid day on Wednesday, and this is the first time the Seahawks have won, so I wanted to attend the parade. It was absolutely INSANE!!! IT took 4 hours to get downtown. I couldn't believe how many people were crammed downtown. It was wall to wall people all cheering for the 'hawks!

The waiting line for the train was very "Seattle" 

Everyone was heading downtown. I'd hate to have been a visitor today. 

The most people I've ever seen in one place. 

Russel Wilson rolling through town.

Living in Seattle for the last few weeks has been so much fun. The city has had so much energy, it was amazing to see everyone come together. Hopefully this town stays this way. It's been amazing!

Until next time!

-KT

Crashing and hockey

I never really work on my Mission. It's a do-it-all bike that gets ridden hard and put away wet. All it usually takes is a little chain lube every now and then and she's good to go. I finally got to the point this weekend where I had to do some maintenance. I'd broken enough spokes that the wheel was hitting the frame, so it was time to build a new wheel.

New rim, fresh logos! 

After the wheel build, I changed up the suspension, lubed everything, checked tire pressures, etc. The bike was feeling ready to roll! As with all the rides lately, I headed back to Tokul. I met up with some of the guys from Evil-bikes and we went up the trail. Dropping in for the first run, I told myself I was going to hit this awkward gap in the trail. I came around the corner, hit the lip, and just cased the landing enough to get bucked off the trail right into a big hole. Luckily, my face stopped my helmet from getting scratched.

Right after the crash. I wasn't quite sure what I had done at this point.

Getting cleaned up about 30 minutes later.

So now I feel concussed, sore, etc, but we had plans tonight. We were going to watch a hockey game with some of Ruth's coworkers. One of her coworkers parents own the Kelowna Rockets, so we went along to cheer then on. I didn't realize they were playing the local team, the Seattle Thunderbirds. I felt like a traitor for cheering for a Canadian team! But in the true spirit of this country, the Americans won!

Having a black eye and a fat lip made me fit right in at the hockey game.

I'm probably off the bike for a day or two to let my face heal up. It's cleaned up pretty well. I have a big gash in my lip and a black eye, but that's about it. I'll post an updated photo if the black eye looks nasty in the morning. Hopefully the next ride goes a little better!

More Tokul, Sport, Firewood

I feel like I'm a broken record. All I've been riding lately is Tokul. It's just running so well right now that it's hard to ride anywhere else. I was able to ride most of the day on Saturday and Ruth, Rylie, and I went out for a ride on Sunday. We ran into Jim, Zach, Tim, and Ethan and had a great ride!

Riding up through the fog

Sport wasn't able to come with us on Sunday. He's had a growth on one of his paws that we had removed. He has to wear the cone of shame for the next two weeks.

Sport had other plans for his cone. 

A few months ago, we had a huge wind storm. Our next door neighbor had a huge tree branch come down in her yard. Today, the rest of the actual tree was cut down and she said I could take the firewood if I wanted it. I now have enough firewood to last through the end of the next millennium.

I was standing outside, about 20 feet away when this came down. It was crazy! The rest of the tree is just out of the photo. 

Note the size of the log rounds compared to the 2x4's in the back. They're HUGE.  

Well, I'll be splitting wood until next time...

Night rides, 12th Man, Gym time

I've been wondering how to post about night rides. Since it is winter time, the available hours of sunlight are minimal. By the time work is over, it's almost dark out. A headlamp makes it possible to ride in the dark, but Iphone photos after the sun sets are useless.

Iphone photo of night riding.

The night machine right now. Last few rides before the 2014 bikes arrive!

The magic shine lights work great and are the best bang for the buck. The Bell Super is also a new addition to my gear this year!

Lately, I've been riding Tokul a lot because it's running great right now. I'll have to get some good daytime photos and video soon. I also went back to Burlington and am starting to feel comfortable on all of the jump lines. I can't wait to go back and start trying some tricks!

Life has calmed down enough that Seattle is starting to feel like home. Ruth and I are finally living in place where we are able to settle down and have a hometown. We've taken our new found home in stride and even started rooting for the local teams. This is the year we've become true Seahawk fans. We've been watching all of the games this year and will be glued to the TV this weekend when they dominate the 49'ers! Go Hawks!

The best looking cheerleader! 

Since I can't ride every day, I've been going to the gym again. I have a membership and have even done some personal training. The first time I met the personal trainer, I tried to keep a straight face. He looked just like Me'shell from Dodgeball. The gym does seems to be paying off. I'm getting back in race shape and can't wait for the season to start!

This guy yelling at you is a lot of motivation.

Thinking about this movie makes being in the gym more enjoyable.

Until next time...

-KT

Burlington

The first trip I took to Seattle was for a riding contest in 2005. I had my mind blown by an event called "The Gathering." The Gathering was a two part contest. The first part was and indoor dirt jump contest. The second part was a skatepark contest. Now that I live here, those places are gone. The indoor DJ area is now a car dealership and the indoor skatepark is now a warehouse. A few weeks ago however, a new indoor dirt jump area opened up north of Seattle in Burlington WA.

At the Gathering back in the day with Aaron Chase. It's crazy to think where my riding has taken me since this photo! 

Watching Cam Mccaul do one of the first MTB flip/drops

I've been wanting to get up to Burlington for a while, but haven't been able to make it happen. Tonight I was able to sneak away for a few hours and check it out. It was awesome! 

Jay and Stella surveying the park

Jay tried to get an action shot of me, but Iphones aren't the greatest at that. 

I met up with Billy Lewis and Jay Trautman and we had a Diamondback session. We arrived pretty late and the place was starting to clear out. By the end of the night we had it all to ourselves. 

Billy Lewis everyone. 

The night ended with Joe Prisel (The owner/builder, and shredder!) showing us the changes that are planned. The nice thing with making the park out of dirt is that changes can happen frequently to keep it interesting. 

Joe explaining the changes to Billy.

The park is amazing and I can't wait to go back! Maybe we can have another "Gathering" soon! Check out www.BurlingtonBikePark.com for more info/directions.

I'm back!!!

Welcome back everyone! I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry. Racing, injuries, jobs changes and life have been all new lately. One of my new years resolutions is to update my blog regularly again. I also just picked up a Google Chromebook, so I now have a way to update my blog other than my phone.

The new blogging machine!

Last season was a bust for me. I dislocated my shoulder too many times and had surgery last May. That was the end of my race season.

Post surgery scar. 

Since then, I've done a lot of hiking, hunting, working on my house, adopting a new dog, traveling, etc, but there was still a big part of me missing. I missed riding my bike. The shoulder is all healed up and it's time to ride again. We were lucky enough to have Ruth's family come visit us for the holidays which was a lot of fun. Now that the house is empty again, I've been glued to my bike.

The house is a "little" project

This was a few weeks ago. It's looking a little more complete now. I'll post an updated photo when it's done. 

Today Billy Lewis and I decided to go exploring Tokul West. Tokul is a large hill that has two different sides, east and west. I've ridden the east side for years and it's always a good time. I've only ever ridden the west side once about 5 years ago. The east side is a little easier to access, which is why it gets ridden more frequently. However, it is currently being logged, so it was time to go exploring. Billy and I loaded up the dogs and set out to go get lost in the woods!

The parking lot at Tokul is busy as always, but the trails are usually empty.

Rylie enjoying the sunshine peaking through the forest

Stopping at the top of the last climb of the day...

... for a beer!

Sport (our new adopted Springer Spaniel) wondering why we are stopped

And cooling off at the end of the ride.

Leaving the parking lot with tired dogs!

After a long day of climbing fire roads, singletrack, hiking unnamed trails, and ripping sweet loamy trails back down, we called it a day. Time to go watch the Supercross season opener from Anaheim tonight!

Until next time...

-KT