Initial Mapping Drawing

This is an in-process image of a mapped drawing of rides taken for this project. I am considering the different ways one could use mapped travel as a representation of lines drawn on paper. For instance, this drawing represents (at the stage the image was shot) all of the rides I had taken since project inception. These are represented chronologically and organized according to a minimalist grid, though since the representations of the rides themselves are all drawn to the same scale they deviate from the rigid organization within which they have been placed. I foresee this project continuing to become a project about drawing, whereby each drawing I make can only utilize "lines" created by riding my bike across varying mapped terrain. Future drawings will have organizational limitations placed on them before beginning. The next drawing I'm working on organizes all drawings according to true north, but the scale of each location changes according to the maximum size I can draw that location and still have it fit on the paper.

Rabbit Mountain Update

This photograph was taken just after the inaugural ride of the Niner Air 9 at Rabbit Mountain. The image was on my cell phone. I just realized how simple it is to send photos directly to my photobucket account.

SuperWalker

On Saturday I rode the Niner from the Chautauqua area in Boulder to Walker Ranch. Calling this ride "SuperWalker" designates that it started in Boulder rather than on the other side of Flagstaff Mountain at the trailhead. Flagstaff road isn't long but it gets up in a hurry. I managed to climb from the park sign at the bottom to the mailboxes at the top (not the amphitheater "false" summit) only 2 1/2 minutes slower than I did it on my road bike early in the week.

The day was beautiful, somewhere in the upper 70's at least. The wind was gusty at the trailhead but fine everywhere else. The trail had a few sections of melting snow and ice, but was otherwise in great shape. I rode fairly well, though some of the loose climbs put me on a foot since I lost traction. This is a great trail; some of those windy switchbacks are a blast. I got a big sluggish about halfway into it (probably after the hike-a-bike section) but picked the pace back up toward the end (and especially on the road back to Boulder). My ride time was 2:40.

Hall Ranch

Today I rode Hall Ranch for the second time this season. It is nice and dry minus one melting section of snow and a few puddles, so the trail can finally get a break from riders slogging it in the mud.

I started at the main trail head and rode Bitterbrush and the rock garden up to the Nelson Loop. I rode the loop once each direction, first clockwise (my preferred direction and a bit longer to ride) and then counter-clockwise (which most everyone else was doing). There were a fair amount of other riders up there since the day was so nice. Almost everyone rode sensibly and paused on their descents as I was coming up (common rider etiquette) save for one bonehead who was coming down the roller section a little hot and aired it out right in front of me on one of the jumps. I didn't say anything because he wouldn't have heard me anyway, but these are the kind of riders who make mountain bikers look like...boneheads, by taking unnecessary risks on the part of other riders around them.

After the loop section I rode down Bitterbrush to the Antelope trail out and back. At the bottom of Antelope I noticed more of the front end looseness I mentioned about the last ride. I looked at the disk brake in front and tightened it at the mount. I also worked on tightening the front wheel axle (the WTB hub operates differently than I've seen before: it doesn't look like there are cones in there or that the axle is a through-axle.) I also made sure the quick release wasn't loose. Still, the creaking sounds and back and forth rocking are still evident. Maybe it is the fork at the point where the stanchions meet the lower legs. I'd like to get it under control, because after a season of riding it like this something is going to be trashed.

After Antelope I descended the rock garden. That is always a fun one. At one point I was off the saddle, clipped in by my right foot only, and barely hanging on to the bar with my left hand with whatever part of my thumb happened to get caught up on it (I still had a hold on the right end of the bar). I thought I was going to dump it, but for whatever reason I managed to keep it under control while continuing down the trail and got back on to keep going.

In all I felt like I was riding fairly well technically (not flawless on the rock garden though) and my speed was decent both climbing and descending. There is still some twinge of pain behind my right knee on this bike. With the major adjustments to my cleat placement and all the other changes that came from being properly fit on this machine, I am still unsure if this is part of getting used to it or if I need to adjust the fore/aft cleat position. I can't remember which way to go when the back of the knee hurts. I guess I'll just wait until my knee blows and then I'll know what to do. Or I could investigate it further, that might even be better.

The thing that is still so fantastic about riding a mountain bike after seventeen or eighteen years is how big my stupid grin gets afterward. Sitting in a parking lot after a hard effort, it is great to reflect on the day's ride. Everything that went wrong usually disappears and overall elation takes over. It seems like I rediscover this sport after every ride.

Heil Valley Ranch

On Sunday, April 6 I rode Heil Valley Ranch, this time starting at the trail head instead of riding from home. It was deceptively nice looking that day; by the time I started riding there was a chill wind. I underestimated how many layers to bring with me and started a bit cold, but luckily it was nice in the trees so I was warm enough most of the way through. The ride took a litle longer than it might have because I stopped to take pictures for this post and to fiddle with my front shifting. I think the front shifter cable stretched out a bit more since its last adjustment causing the front derailleur to rub the chain in the big ring. I've also found there to be some sort of front end rocking going on. Initially I tried tightening the headset but it still seems problematic. It is difficult to find where noises come from when you hear them most clearly on the trail.

For this ride I took the usual trip up Wapiti from the trail head and a right turn on Ponderosa. Shortly after this turnoff comes the Wild Turkey Trail, which is really turning out to be a nice section. There is maybe only one small part that is poorly planned. When traveling southbound there is a fast section that leads up to a hard right turn with a rocky incline to navigate. Because there isn't much warning it looks like most riders are going off the trail and widening it out since they can't slow down in time for the rocky section. It isn't a hard enough turn to be dangerous, it just isn't conducive to putting riders in a position to ride the technical portion.

At the end of Wild Turkey I turned a hard left onto Ponderosa and rode it clockwise past the Wapiti connection and back to Wild Turkey. I like riding the Ponderosa loop after taking Wild Turkey because it allows a nice transition to WT southbound without having to go out and back. If I had more time I would have made these trails into some sort of figure-eight. I am thinking Wild Turkey northbound, Ponderosa clockwise, Wild Turkey southbound, Ponderosa counter-clockwise. Maybe I'll try it next time.

To finish up I returned on Wapiti, which in itself provides a fun downhill. It isn't too steep to ride in control, (especially with the big wheels) but it is fast and rocky enough to make it interesting. For a ride fairly close to Longmont, Heil is turning out to be a favorite.

The photos here were taken at the trail head in the parking lot, the homestead near Wapiti, Wild Turkey overlooking Hall Ranch at Highway 7 and Wild Turkey overlooking Longmont in the distance.

Bobcat Ridge

On March 29 I took the Niner to Bobcat Ridge near Fort Collins. A new section of trail opened there in November 2007 which I have not ridden before (I have not ridden Bobcat Ridge regardless). The weather was sunny and forecast for the low 60's, but there was a bit of a chill in the morning air. I rode without arm or knee warmers but I had them with me. It was about right to wear double jerseys.

For a bit of a warm up I decided to ride the Valley Loop Trail ccw. I was just guessing on how to begin. At first it was looking like this was going to be utterly disappointing. The trail is accessible, which is great, but if it had continued on like that it would not have been much fun to ride. As the trail looped around from north to westbound it gained some elevation and started to look like a trail instead of a crushed rock pathway. The warm up proved to be a good one in this direction because it offers the longer part of the Valley Loop before arriving at the Ginny Trail.

When I started heading west on the Ginny Trail I could tell it was going to be excellent. It is interesting as a landscape to begin with because this is the site of the Bobcat Gulch fire in 2000. (I remember seeing the sun through the smoke of this fire back then. It was a hellish red, almost unreal.) There were piles of burned logs and some charred remains of still standing trees. The first part of the trail goes up a little valley. Because the only vegetation is grasses and flowers it is very exposed all along the Ginny Trail. This would be one to avoid at hot o'clock in the summer, but for this time of year all would be well. The one caveat to Saturday's ride was the wind that started picking up in this first valley; due to the exposure there was nothing holding the wind back. It rushed right down in bursts that were significantly more chilly than the air temperature, but so far not enough to warrant throwing on the warmers.

All along this trail there are some good little technical challenges. This is rocky terrain, and some of the problems would offer a rider quite a bit to work on over the course of time they ride there. I wasn't doing terribly, but there were definitely some sections I couldn't do. I was really impressed with the technical challenge of this trail. So often new trails are built for the lowest common denominator and offer little to no incentive to return. This is the kind of trail I could keep coming to and improving on. As I got higher up on the trail I had to stop and pull on the arm and knee warmers. I thought I could avoid it, but the wind was just getting too cold. As I continued to rise the wind gusted ever harder. It wasn't long before the wind was blowing me completely off the trail. Not only was I trying to hold a line through some tight rocky sections that were hard to navigate, I was also trying to hold my wheel from spinning completely off line. I was all over the place near the top. There were some riders coming down and they warned of strong winds. One guy told me, "It's really windy on top. Like, can't-stand-up windy.".

As I came to the top of the hill it was nearly treeless; a gentle curve went from one side of the mountain to the other and the wind blew up one side and down the other. I don't know where the wind was coming from. There were some clouds several miles away that socked in the distant mountain range (the Mummy Range or the Medicine Bow mountains I think). The wind had nothing holding it back as far as vegetation or terrain. I got to the sign warning downhill riders to yield to uphill riders and I had to hold onto it to keep from blowing off the mountain. I haven't experienced wind like that for a long, long time, if ever. It wasn't just gusting, it was a continuous blast of fast rushing cold air like I was on the prow of the fastest moving ship ever. I started laughing because I couldn't believe how ridiculously windy it was and that somehow I was riding my bike in it. This was the type of wind you could lean into and probably remain standing at a 45 degree angle.

I continued along this trail on the top of the mountain until it dropped into Mahoney Park. The only exit from this area by bike is the Ginny Trail, so I turned around and rode back on it. This was at about an hour and 35 minutes into my ride. The wind gusts were still a challenge, both for muscling through and for technical navigation. The descent proved much more tolerable though, and I was able to ride over some sections that were a mild triumph for my technical ability at this point in the season. Again, this is some excellent terrain.

To cool down I rode the Eden Valley Spur. That's about what the trail is good for; it is short and rolling with some berms and jumps to goof around on, but it is mild terrain and an out-and-back, so not much to it. Following this there was a short section of the Valley Loop Trail that took me back to the trailhead.

If I still lived in Fort Collins I would come back often. As it is I have a 45 minute drive to get here which means I will come infrequently. But I would say it is right up there with the best terrain in the northern Front Range. It is good that hikers, bikers and horses all have portions of this trail system to use. There are other trails in Larimer County that find a way to have horses and bikers on the same trails. I have never had a problem. People on their various modes of transportation can be very friendly and courteous, especially when you offer the same in return. (Boulder County could learn something from the mixed use trails in Larimer County, with the understanding that there are probably fewer users in Larimer and possibly fewer problems because of it). The only way Bobcat Ridge could be improved is if there was one more technical ascent/descent like the Ginny Trail that connected to Mahoney Park. That would offer the most variety and the best possible exploration of trails without too much repetition.

Wild Turkey

Tuesday, March 25 marks my return to riding since taking almost two weeks off the bike due to being sick. My previous ride on March 11 was my first this season up Flagstaff Mountain. It was an incredible ride. I felt strong, the view astounded; it was invigorating. A few miles in another rider passed me and called out "Allez, Allez!". A minute or two later I was back on his wheel and ended up passing him on the hill just before Lost Gulch Overlook. He was clearly a stronger rider (as his pace up to this point would confirm). He grumbled and passed me again right before he turned off at the parking lot. I kept going since I wanted the summit. It began to get much colder and there were vestiges of snow on the shoulders and sand over the road. The wall loomed as it always does, but even though my slog up it was slow it was at least bearable. I've done worse. This time I could at least find some sort of rhythm.

Last week I had the Niner cables trimmed back, the crushed cone replaced on the front wheel and the bars and steer tube cut. For whatever reason these improvements have made a big difference in the way the bike looks and my excitement for riding it. Expect a photo later on in which this can be seen.

Today I managed a 3 1/2 hour effort from home to Heil Valley Ranch and the new Wild Turkey trail. I was surprised to arrive at the mouth of Lefthand canyon in 45 minutes, my usual time when riding the road bike. I definitely paid the price for this pace with slowness on the trail though. Wild Turkey however does not disappoint. Being a new trail and not totally broken in I think it still offers some of the best terrain near Longmont. At almost 2 1/2 miles it has enough variety to be interesting and works well as an out and back should one choose to ride it like that. I think I was on trails for around an hour and 50 minutes, taking Wapiti to Wild Turkey (out and back), Ponderosa ccw and a return on Wapiti. I was in bad form out there regarding my fitness (at least in terms of speed. I think I was riding technically proficient). I'm sure I could blame some of it on my time away and on illness. This was the third real mountain ride on the Niner and by far my best experience on this bike so far. With such rocky terrain I hoped this ride would demonstrate something of the capabilities of 29" wheels. They definitely rolled over the scrabble and smoothed out both climbs and the descents. The fork is a big improvement over the SID as well and that helped manage the rocks. I was surprised at how fast I could go on the rolling terrain and the downhills. On rides at Heil in the past my hands got so numb I could hardly grab the brakes. On this bike I always felt in control and I could push it over things I would have slowed for previously. The thought did cross my mind that 29er riders warn of this heightened confidence and the ultimate crashing betrayal, so I kept it within reason, but the differences between the 26" and the 29er are definite. Once again a decent ride puts so much of life in perspective. The adrenaline boost is fantastic, and despite and maybe because of nagging soreness in my legs I'm ecstatic about the day.

Road Fangs

Along the line of the recent “sweatpants” anecdote, I want to update about the circumstance of my Saturday, March 1 ride. This one took me along Nelson Road to highway 36 and the mouth of Lefthand canyon. On a good day with fair weather I can get to the canyon in about 45 minutes. With the strong winds on this ride I made it in 50 minutes. I proceeded up Lefthand to James canyon and turned around at what I call the “paved summit”, as there is a definite point before which the climbing is continuous, and after which the road begins to roll up and down before it turns to gravel and eventually connects with the peak-to-peak highway. I reached this point two hours and four minutes into my three hour ride.

The interesting part of this summation is not in the details of the route but in the thoughts scrolling through my head as I rode. As it happens during most of my early season rides but especially in the wind, it felt like I was going backwards along Nelson road. However, one judgment of my perceived ability is the number of other riders I am either passed by or whom I pass. Along this section and especially in the canyon all the way to Jamestown I realized that I must have gone by about 30 other riders without anyone catching or passing me. A person has to do what they can to motivate themselves, and making it my goal to “beat” as many other (probably casual) riders as possible was helpful. Looking ahead to other riders I estimated their pace and attempted to calculate how long it would take me to catch them. At no point did I feel the usual labor of keeping a decent pace on a climb. Usually I get to a point fairly early where I can’t keep the same rhythm and I have to back off. On this day I seemed to increase my pace with every person I caught. To continue this motivating force I imagined myself to be at the head of a peloton, catching riders from failed breakaways. I let this one continue to the point where I was imagining myself as the head of a snake, attacking the riders ahead. Soon I was imaging myself as that snake, with my (here’s where the thought scroll comes in) “legs as fangs, stabbing the pavement and injecting my power, read “venom”, into the road and into the other riders as I passed them by”. I was laughing to myself about this as I was thinking it, but I’m sure the families riding with their children and the old men’s club riders who witnessed my venomous abilities firsthand were not laughing.

Arriving at and then passing Jamestown however, changed my tune. This part of the road becomes much more steep and eventually turns to switchbacks before the summit. It isn’t the steepest road around, but compared with the ascent to Jamestown it takes a different kind of riding to do it well. I often have a mental block when I get to sections like this, because I am not the greatest mountain goat and my riding buddies often leave me behind at sections like these. Most of the riders who ride the James canyon stop at Jamestown, so there were no other riders this day for me to spot ahead to motivate my continued fast pace. I had definitely let off some steam and was merely thinking about getting through it, not “winning” it. At around the second to last switchback I looked back to see a rider who had fangs at the ready and on pace to catch me before the summit. I was thinking that this would be a shame, since no one else caught me all day, but I wasn’t feeling like I could hold him off. I put in a good hard effort at the last switchback though, and managed to arrive about 30 seconds ahead of him. Had the “paved summit”, or my turnaround point not been so close I’m sure he would have caught up to me. It was somewhere in Jamestown, I think, where one of my fangs must have broken off in the road, and I was lucky to salvage this unbeaten ride.

The image here is of my Tarmac. One can see that I don’t wash bicycles after every ride in the winter.

Hall Ranch in February

On Sunday, February 24th I rode the Niner at Hall Ranch. This is the third ride and the second legitimate mountain ride on this bike. I got started a bit into the afternoon. It was sunny and approaching 60 degrees when I left. Something was rolling in because it was spitting rain off and on about halfway into my ride. The photo indicates a bit of the mud I got into. I’d rather not trash a trail if I can help it, so I turned around at the upper loop without riding it because it looked like slop. I did ride the antelope connector trail though, and that’s where most of this stuff came from.

To borrow terminology from another rider I crossed paths with, my technical riding that day was ugly. Thankfully it is only February and I have time to get good again. I was never flawless on the technical approach to Hall Ranch anyway, being that this is not my home turf and I’ve ridden there only infrequently. I didn’t feel like the kind of superstar I had hoped on the new bike, especially when I was grinding some chainring teeth down on a rock. That felt like it looked. I have yet to get fully accustomed to riding the big wheels. I don’t know how far I can push it in the corners nor how much more easily it rolls over the rough. I did notice the tendency for the front wheel to try to flop over to one side or the other when it was precariously perched on the high point of a rock or when some leverage was being put against it in this same situation. Everything is stable to a point, but when it lets go it goes farther, having the larger wheels. This is an early observation; I’ll see how it holds up. As far as fitness, there was the requisite early season slowness to contend with. I think my near four hour ride last weekend outdid anything I could do to myself during this short hour and a half. There were the obvious leg pains especially on the grinder sections, but I never felt out of my element. I wasn’t killing it, either, as some guys who came up to the loop behind me appeared to be doing. This is February. There is plenty of time to get into the red zone before racing begins. Right now I’m concentrating on building up some endurance but even more importantly just getting out there with even as little as once a week consistency. I’d like to be putting in three days on the bike, but that is so dependent on weather, light, and perceived time that it isn’t happening. I was getting into a rhythm of at least doing a trail run or some type of run once a week also. But there was that weird sharp pain in the middle of the outer part of my foot… weak excuse, or is it important to listen to your body and avoid injury? I’d rather work in the studio and be healthy for the entire season than lay it out in February and damage something that takes months to heal. Anyway, I’m glad I got out on the mountain bike. Maybe I can take it in to get the fork and bars cut down and the cables shortened. It seems like the riding position is comfortable and my cables are stretching out enough. The guys at Blue Sky wanted to be sure no one knew they put this bike together until after the hydraulics were cut back. Everything got longer when Rob shortened the head tube stack so things look a little goofy for now.

Anecdote: sweatpants story

I never updated these pages with the other rides I’ve been doing. I don’t know that I want to get into full details, but the ride I did two weekends ago comes with a good story. It was the longest this season by over an hour and incorporated the most climbing. I was trying to go slow and steady and get through it. My favorite part was riding up near Pinewood reservoir. There was this funny little guy wearing sweatpants and a walkman (yes, tapes) riding a rigid mountain bike outfitted with a handlebar bag (into which he put the walkman) and some odd assortment of other bags or something on the rear fender rack. He was standing up the entire time (appropriate for certain parts of a climb) in a low gear. I couldn’t seem to catch up to him. He looked like I should catch him, but without really trying to motor up there, my pace was about the same as his. I doubt he had been riding for an hour and a half already, but even that isn’t much time in the scope of things. When I was nearing the summit (nearing it, but not really all that close - there was probably a good half mile or more to go) he up and turned around. He passed by me and I nodded salutation. A second or two later his brakes squealed to a halt and he turned around. Sure enough, he’s riding right past me. I nod again, smiling. He is proud. I let him go, but I want so badly to catch up to him and smear the fun out of his ride like I should be able to do. But this is the fourth week and the fourth ride of my pathetic early season. As much as I try to edge up my pace, I can’t seem to do it. I’m not going to mash pedals for this guy; I should be able to catch him just by putting out a decent effort. But clearly my funny little riding buddy has me schooled. The next time I see him he is way up front. There is no way I’m catching him. I get to the top while he is putting on his jacket and readjusting his headphones. He beams his excellence and I wave my defeat. That is the last I see of him. I feel defeated. I eat something, but it doesn’t do much to energize me. I know what’s happening; I’m beginning to bonk. This hasn’t happened for a few years. I’ve pushed myself a bit too hard for this early. But after my descent I decide to reascend the back side of Carter Lake because I might as well leave it all out there and I don’t like the scenery and the boring road the other way around the reservoir. This doesn’t help, because 30 minutes before I get home I am reeling. I can think of nothing but food, imagining everything my kitchen has to offer. The little puffs off wind are likely to blow me over. I can’t believe I’m still on the bike. When I get home I take my stinky self to the kitchen and make a Nutella appetizer before having a turkey sandwich, balancing through a shower, and committing myself to what must have been a four day nap.

The other rides on previous weekends were not as interesting as this, but also quite rewarding for having done them and reminding myself about the cycling season to come.

The First Ride

The build-up of the Niner Air 9 was complete Friday afternoon, January 25. I picked it up at Blue Sky and Rob finished the bike fit. There are still some adjustments to be made (stem height, bar length) but the bike was ready to go by 6:00.

The first official ride of the Mapping Project occurred late Saturday. The weather was warm for January, a bit windy but rideable. The trails at Rabbit Mountain were dry where they faced south and where they avoided the path of melting snow. The spur section was quite muddy in some sections of the back half (since the slope faces north) but in every case I rode the center of the trail to avoid trail-widening. There were a handful of other riders out, all happy to take advantage of the temperature.

Ride details: From the Rabbit Mountain trailhead to the Eagle Wind Trail (a 2 mile loop) ccw. Back toward the trailhead to the Little Thompson Overlook Trail (2 miles out-and-back), returning to the Eagle Wind Trail cw. Return to the trailhead. Approximately 8 miles and 1:20 by the end. Slow to moderate pace due to fitness but more so to trail condition and persistent swollen arm (which vibrated uncomfortably on the downhills). The bike rides differently than what I’m used to, but for having been properly fit on the bike by Rob it was very comfortable. The bars are a bit wide feeling still. The fork needed a bit more air pressure. The front derailleur acts as a mud shelf (the action sits directly in front of the rear wheel). Tires functioned well considering snow and slush terrain. Brakes have not “set-in” and are not at full stoppage. Angle of brake levers and shift levers need to be rotated downward. Because of my slower speeds I didn’t get to fully test the cornering capability of the bike. I have also not ridden Rabbit Mountain before, so I can’t really compare the rollover or contact patch differences of the 29er yet on this terrain. Once I ride Betasso, Heil and Hall I should get a better idea of the differences from the 26″.

Since Rabbit Mountain BCPOS didn’t exist in 1980 when my topo was made, I had to draw the trail by hand following the contours as closely as I could. Right now it is such a small area that one would probably not even notice it to look at the map. I still have to work out just what it is that I hope to record on the map and what I will record by hand or on this blog. I’m thinking I’ll draw dashed lines for mountain rides and solid lines for road rides. The map is going to get cluttered if I retrace the route every time I ride it, but I’d still like to indicate how often I ride a particular trail or road. The other thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to indicate the direction of travel, since it could differ even during the same ride. I could probably color code everything, but I am interested in simply seeing the location and distance of the rides and not overly complicating them to the point the route becomes illegible. I guess a fancy key could help. Or tracing paper.

I meant to ride Sunday afternoon which was even warmer than Saturday, but instead I spent the day replacing a burst water spigot (found that one out while I was trying to get the mud off the bike post ride). Regarding washing, are the disk brakes going to squeal like that every time? And how long does that last? Sorry, I have been a V-braker for 12 years; this is new for me.

The Purchase of Maps

On January 23 I purchased four topographic maps from the Boulder Map Gallery. Earlier in the week I had obtained a nice map of Boulder county on tear-proof and water-proof “paper”. While this is a beautiful map and quite functional, I wanted something that would allow me to write and draw on it. Enter the U.S. Geological Survey maps. These are a bit dated (I think mine were made in the late 70’s and early 80’s) but I like the look of them. I will have to update some of the roads and trails that don’t appear on these maps, but this is something that will allow me to put the newest map to good use as a cross reference. I have Boulder county, Larimer county north and south, and Jefferson county north. This should cover the majority of my rides this spring.

Ride Mapping Project

As part of Kim Dickey’s Graduate Ceramics Seminar and after Ilya Kabakov’s The Palace of Projects, I have decided to make ride mapping a part of my Book of Projects. This is inspired by the notion of making my work and my life more closely aligned, a sentiment borrowed from Alvin Gregorio.

Regarding the bike, I have been riding seriously for about 17 years and competitively for 16. Until recently I had reservations about making work related to cycling. I have not previously seen them in relation to each other. But what I am intrigued by is the possibility of increasing work production by incorporating what I already do into a new context. While I have never exactly mapped training and recreational rides I have at least recorded routes taken and times of completion since 1995. I don’t want this project to supplant my training records, but out of curiosity I’d like to see where I go, recorded visually. There are formats for mapping rides online, but I am not interested in them. I want to look at a topographical map and find the routes I’ve traveled on it. I’d like to see how many of my previous routes I can cover in the short space of this project and over the period of this spring (with room to continue indefinitely). I’m not yet sure how I will mark the map or record the number of times a particular route is taken, but with this single document I think my motivation to ride will increase along with the markations.

A great part of this motivation to see my rides in the space of one map is the soon-to-be-had addition to my stable, the Niner Air 9 in Kermit green. This will be my first new mountain bike in 10 years. The last was my Schwinn Homegrown from 1997, a bike which received upgraded and new parts save for the stem and (obviously) the frame during my time with it. This bike has been no slouch, recently taking me to the 1st overall position last season in the Men’s B division of the Boulder Short track Cross Country mountain bike series. But ten years is a long time, not just to hammer a bike, but to wait patiently for a new one. I am somehow skipping the purchase of a full suspension rig, something I have been thinking about since 1992. I suppose the purity of hardtail racing and the extra challenge of racing against supposedly better equipped riders is motivating me. I have heard so much about 29er bikes that I can’t wait to be on one myself. I hope this new bike is as much fun to ride as the 29er crowd has been promoting.

My rides will not be limited to the Air 9 however, as much of my early season riding happens on my Specialized Tarmac. At this point I will not be including my commute, especially when it is broken up by a bus ride. If I do get back to making the 15 mile commute by bike only I might include it, but I haven’t done that since October or November 2006.

The bike should have all of its parts by January 22, and I will wait for the shop to call when it is completely built up. I will do my final fitting on it and then it will be mine. The next step is to look for a good map of the area. I’ve never been in it, but there is a map store along my route home I have wanted to visit. I’m thinking I can find a good one of Boulder county, which should account for the majority of my rides. I will likely need one for Larimer and Jefferson counties as well. Having spent 15 or 16 years riding in Larimer county, I would like to get to some of my favorite trails and roads this spring to allow this map to account for some of those experiences.