Renovo - 130 miles of saddle love

Yesterday, the crew embarked on the 4th epic riding adventure of the summer - Renovo - a 130 mile road ride. We've done Troxelville, 120 miles of killer climbing (and horse shit!), the double (210 miles of killer backcountry roads), the 101 (101 miles of mountain bike fun) and now Renovo.

While this ride only has one major climb, numerous "rollers" (hilly terrain) successfully tore my legs to shreds without even realizing it was happening. The ride was nearly 8,000' of climbing! We rolled out from the creamery on campus 13 deep (Killer's enthusiasm always draws a crowd!)!

Cowboy lookin super - roadie??!!

let me cut your cake with my knife...nuf said.

peter came equipped with lyrics ... rad.

I felt good for the first 30 miles, but crashed hard. Maybe this is what happens when you're off your bike for 2.5 weeks and try to come back with a 130 mile ride and on 3.5 hours sleep. Or perhaps it's just a pace that kicked my ass. It was a hard day, YET, I was so happy to be out with the crew. We've bonded this summer in a way that's hard to describe with words. You just need to be on a ride to see. I missed them when I was away! They grilled me about my trip... "so, who took the swimming pictures???" hmmmm.....

Mountain bikers turned roadies always provide good comic relief. Cowboy provided early on entertainment falling over right next to me at a very "technical" intersection. Good work buddy! If only the camera had made it out in time to capture that special moment. Bob, was our mountain biker turned roadie for the day. He was confused about sprinting for town signs and wanted to take his bike off road in the worst way. Amazingly, he stayed totally upright even when diverging off of the pavement. (stay ON the road bob AND it's just county and township signs that count. No, park or stream crossing signs do not count. cattle crossing signs can count - sometimes)

Lunch in Renovo. I stole this pict from Bob on facebook.

Cruisin. This pict is James'. It's pretty sweet. I want a helmet cam in the worst way. Or some tiny camera that i can attach to my jersey.

We stopped at the Lock Haven (Mill Hall?) aka Whoopie Pie Sheetz (ah the memories, me eating a whoopie pie and drinking coke at mile 180... the 20 minute high thereafter and subsequent crash). 100 miles in - a little over 5 hours of riding time. No wonder I was tired!

Yay - Linda! She's a killer.

Eric...

I'm not quite sure what Cowboy is doing here. He's special. We like him that way though. ;)
Right: Jim!

Left: James taking picts. Peter and Linda anticipating the last 30 rollin miles.
Right: mmmm Reynolds steel - only the best. But the Serotta is NOT to be confused with knobby Reynolds himself.

Runkle - check out those white shoes!

Left: Mike; Right: Todd has his own spot at reserved Sheetz. now THAT'S special. :)

Peter and Josh as discussing something deep and meaningful. "What is the meaning of love?" "Does the soul exist?" Peter won the green jersey for the day hands down. Josh was pretty bummed he didn't get any points all day. Next time Josh! You've got it in ya.

Right: I'm fairly certain Peter is singing something like "oh I, had the time of my life... and I owe it all to you..." to Josh. I dunno - just my guess. I didn't hear the predator theme song ALL DAY (wtf??)

We topped the day off with food and drink at Ottos. Another epic day -- good times!

open to experience

Self-reflection. Key to understanding self. interaction. relation as the ship sails.

open to experience.
open to emotion.
laugh long and hard.
smile. enjoy every moment.

with pure enjoyment the world around simplifies, sometimes stopping.
let go and feel minutes pass like hours. day past feels like a week. the end result is intense as is the let down of the end when you're forced to let go and leave.
anticipate as another moment awaits...

it's tears at the top of the last climb at mile 210 or the finish of a first 60 mile cross race. happiness clogs your lungs and heart; you can hardly breath.
it's the lowest low felt in a 100 mile epic mountain bike race when your body throbs from a hard crash and extreme fatigue sets in, tears flow; you walk in a dizzy state of delirium. You hurt. mind questions the reality of finishing.

it's coming off of that low and making it to that finish and hearing a roar of friends celebrating a feat. your feat. your success. pushing through. everyone - everyone - is happy - for you.

it's sharing success with others training. support, laughter, intense bonding that only they can really understand. intense physical exertion.

it's laughing when pain burns the most. crying without worry of what others will think.

it's the thrill of racing down a mountain at 45MPH + on skinny tires. similarly reaching that vista atop of a long hard climb, panting, sweating yet in awe of the magnificent valley view.

It's the reaching a top peak just as the sun rises. No voice other than your own. Perfect, peaceful silence.

experiencing intensity in serious relationships, for the joy of the moment - the month - the year - given the possibility of increased pain in a possible or even inevitable end. the end can be so long and hard and painful. yet the beginning so magical.

it's diving into an ice cold alpine backcountry wilderness lake, feeling your heart stop, lungs cease and mind race. you die for a split moment, resuscitated with sharp breath of life. heart races, energy high.



it's summiting a 13000' peak, holding hands, passion and joy, forgetting and overcoming fear of height.

it's meeting someone new, unexpectedly by chance. laughing long and hard. sharing a series of perfect moments over days that feel like weeks. absorbing every moment. saying goodbye. not knowing yet hopeful paths will cross again in a future unknown.

it's caring about so many people in such a deep and genuine way that you lose count; sometimes even losing track of yourself in others. yet finding complete comfort in time alone, knowing yourself.

seek adventure. explore the new. experience and truly live life.
life is seriously good. ironically, for the time being, it's led alone. yet not.

i like it. it's perfect. finally, it's good.

da bears

There are many myths surrounding bears in Yosemite. This year i set out to discover the truth about bear biology on the west coast. Most people think brown bears call the park and surrounding national forests home. While the bears in Yosemite are indeed more often than not Brown, or chestnut or cinnamon or even a soft tan, they are in fact the same species that we know well in the east - the black bear (Ursus americanus). This certainly sounds like an identity crisis in the making for the little brown furry bear who's actually a black bear.

So why brown?? Their color divergence from the black east coast black bear is an adaptation to the local vegetation - namely conifers such as Ponderosa Pine and Firs that are characterized by red / brown / cinnamon bark. Bears are adept tree climbers so contrary to popular belief, up a tree is not the place to go to get out of a bear's path (yes, they can run - up to 35 MPH or so in short bursts).

The true brown bear species that we know in the US is the grizzly (Ursus arctos) whose population thrives in places such as Yellowstone. The larger, stronger and often more aggressive brown or Grizzly bearwas hunted to extinction in Yosemite in the early 20th century.

Also, contrary to popular belief, black bears are not generally human-aggressive. No, they don't want to eat you! Get off your high horse, you aren't that special. Bears are opportunistic scavengers and thrive on an omnivore diet that is largely (approximately 80%!) vegetarian. Oh get you some tofu bear! In fact, a majority of their protein comes from food snatched from unsuspecting grocery bearing (get it, bearing??) tourists. (source: bear biologist that i met in the park while watching a bear eat apples!)




They are, however, highly protective of their cubs. Can't say I blame them.

Unfortunately, years of scavenging happy meals, hot dogs and watermelons from "wilderness-seeking" tourists has taught them that breaking and entering can in fact be rewarding. I grew used to hearing:

"bear! run!" camping in Yosemite over the past 2 years. If you hear this in the park, my suggestion is to roll over and continue on with your rest.

The fact remains that if you don't contain your food in a bear box, they WILL try to get it by any means necessary even if this entails breaking into your Yukon Denali with dubs and a moon roof perfect for taking pictures out of as you tour the wilderness in style. Oh yes, all the while stopping in the middle of the road to capture a prized shot of the rare and endangered Mule Deer grazing on grass in the adjacent meadow. nope, no sarcasm here...

If you are backpacking, it's a good idea to carry a bear canister. They're big, clunky, but better add that weight then be left in the middle of the sierra's high and dry. literally. The park is filled with bear boxes. These are metal bins that safely contain food. You can stash food at most trail heads and each official camping site also contains a box. All trash receptacles are also sealed to keep the bears out.

Left: a borrowed NPS bear canister we used to backpacking in the Sierras
Right: My very own bear box at my campsite. I shared it with my neighbors who had atleast 5 watermellons, plentiful hot dogs and multiple cases of beer to stash. You will see these boxes at each designated camp site and all major trailheads.

The park service has a tag system to monitor bear in the park. Each bear, once captured is tagged. Different colors indicate the "nuisance level" of the bear. IE, orange suggests a friendly bear that has been spotted in and around facilities multiple times.

A bear will be tagged post-break in / direct human encounter (car, tent, etc) and relocated elsewhere in the park. Unfortunately, they get only a few strikes (break-ins). You're out translates to R.I.P. mr bear. Sad, but true they are put to sleep. Old school park service bear trap pict below. You'll see newer versions of these, unbaited, around the park.

But wait, there's more

It's no secret that I love this stuff so if you're still reading... I have more, yes MORE to share. I also learned how to spot a bear nest. Pictures are below:

Left: bears clib trees with the assistance of killer claws. Right: bear scat.

A nest! notice the concave form on the ground. There were likely cubs here at one point.
Funny enough, the most popular bear in american culture - Smoky - was the "anti-fire" spokes bear in the middle / later 20th century. An interesting irony considering the now known importance of fire in forest ecosystems. But alas that is another blog to come... this bear's peacin out for now...