Banner Day for GPS Mapping on TrailCentral

Today was a banner day for GPS mapping on TrailCentral. Five new trails were added to the GPX catalog. That doesn't sound very impressive, now does it?

Well, that part isn't. What is impressive is that those five trails now give representation to Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

How cool is that!

Links:
Maryland Trail Maps
West Virginia Trail Maps
Virginia Trail maps

What does Fruita have that others don't?

So what makes Fruita so special, especially in the early season? Yeah, they got sick single track, but this post doesn't have anything to do with their trails.

Here is a hint; it has something to do with their weather...

Yeah, Fruita has winter months - just like the Front Range - and boy does it suck to ride those trails when they are wet and muddy. However, the speed in which those trails dry out makes it an awesome location to get some early season training and racing done!

Fruita has relief for many of the overly winterized folks on the Front Range. That relief comes early in the season with events like the Fruita Fat Tire Festival, 18 Hours of Fruita, and Bikerpelli.

Geared towards anyone, from the weekend warrior to the enduro racer, these events will give you an excuse to escape your daily training routine to enjoy the Western Slope.

I've spent the afternoon adding Fruita events to the TrailCentral events page. Check them out!

Or go right to the source:
Fruita Fat Tire Festival
18 Hours of Fruita
Bikerpelli

Trail Advocacy Regarding Tour de Front Range 2007

Trails on the Front Range haven't melted and already my mind has been focused on the annual Tour de Front Range. A bike ride that in years past has signified the end of the riding season (at least for me).

I got to thinking about how we have been able to connect really great trails together for this event. Trails such as: White Ranch, Chimney, Apex, Matthews Winters, Green Mountain, Mount Falcon, Lair 'o The Bear, and others in between.

All of these trails are available to the lucky riders on the Front Range all year. It got me wondering if there was any way to give a little back to these trails that challenge us during the TdFR?

These trails are part of Jefferson County Parks and I'm not sure the best way to handle this idea. Is a monetary donation the way to go? How about trail work?

If a monetary donation, does that mean there needs to be a entry fee or do we do it as a optional donation at the trailhead. How about corporate matching? Would there be a company out there that would be interested in helping the trails in the name of mountain biking by matching any donations that the TdFR raises?

If it is trail work, would the County Parks even want our help. There are full time employees that maintain these parks. I'll be the honest and say that I truly don't know the best way to organize a trail work day that the county would approve of.

My head is full of questions and right now I don't have any answers. However, I do believe I'm thinking about this early enough in the season to be able to have answers by the time the TdFR 2007 hits the trails in September.

Do you have any ideas on how to give back to the trails? If so, I'd love to hear about them!

More Info (2006) TdFR:
TdFR Course Analysis (1 of 3)
TdFR Course Analysis (2 of 3)
TdFR Course Analysis (3 of 3)

Tongue Twisted? Dr Seuss Can Cure That!

I've never been an out spoken individual and as a result, my tongue has gotten a bit lazy. With a lazy tongue I feel a bit self-conscious about my speaking, so I don't speak as much, which then causes my tongue to get lazier. Get the picture? It's a vicious circle.

Recently, I started reading a book to my son that my wife bought for him called, "Oh say can you say?" A Dr. Seuss book that is 48 pages of tongue twisters. As I read the book out loud to my son, I started tripping over every other word. It was frustrating, but it became a fun challenge for my lazy tongue!

I've been reading the book - out loud - for about a week. In that week I've noticed an incredible difference. My tongue is starting to listening to my head and say exactly what I want it to. This makes the story more enjoyable for my son and is allowing me to break that vicious circle.

I know the book is geared towards young children, but it also acts as a great reminder to me as an adult. As an adult I cannot expect to move forward until I have learned the basics. In my case, I can not work towards being a well spoken individual at work or in meetings until I revisit, and in some cases relearn, the basics. As I become fore comfortable and confident in my speaking, I will reflect that comfort and confidence in the work space around me.

Baby Steps...

Ever Wonder What TrailCentral Looks Like From Space?

For the past year, TrailCentral.com has allowed visitors to upload GPX files. GPX files are created by mapping software when an individual with a GPS downloads a track from their GPS of a trail they recorded.

When a visitor uploads a GPX file to TrailCentral.com they are sharing a wealth of information about a trail. The cool thing is that TrailCentral.com analyses the trail and posts this information on the website. Plus, it allows you to view the trail in Google Earth or download the GPX file so you can upload it to your GPS. This allows thousands of visitors the opportunity to know as much as possible before they hit a new trail. And TrailCentral.com does all this for free!

I'm writing this up because as you can see in the image, a lot of really awesome people have pooled their rides together and cataloged it on TrailCentral.com over the past year.

This feature on TrailCentral is something that separates us from a lot of the other websites. Others that copy, don't hit the mark, others charge for the same information. I'm not down with the whole charge to view basic information thing. Never have been, never will be!

Those that have a GPS, I encourage you to share your information with the mountain biking community by cataloging your ride on TrailCentral.com. Those that do not have a GPS, but enjoy the feature, please act as an advocate and spread the word about TrailCentral's mapping feature!

Two more points to make. One, you don't need to be a Coloradoan to use it. GPS Mapping on TrailCentral works Nation wide! Two, it doesn't have to be a mountain bike trail. We accept any trail (multi-use, hiking-only, bike path, road bike). You ride it with a GPS and we'll catalog it!

I've worked really hard to get any bugs out of the system, so as long as you have a valid GPX file, there shouldn't be any issue and it will take less than 5 min of your time!

If you do have any questions about how to upload, please post comments and I'd be glad to answer them!

Currently there is no incentive, other than using a really cool tool and sharing/receiving information from fellow mountain bikers. However, as TrailCentral begins to make money, I'll do my best to create incentives for GPX uploads.

Thanks!

State we currently represent: AZ, CA, CO, FL, MT, NE, NM, UT, WA

Balanced Rock Trail

Balanced Rock Trail

Trail Information
Photo Gallery
GPS Map

Arches National Park is filled with dozens of natural formations that will make you say "oh…" or maybe you prefer "ah…?" Either way, one of the formations in the park is called Balancing Rock and it will certainly provoke one or the other, depending on your personality type.

As you can see in the pictures, there is nothing misleading about the name of the rock formation. The rock formation truly looks like a huge boulder balancing, rather precariously, on a pedestal.

A trail is available that circles the base of the rock. Easy to access, the trail is located 9.1 miles from the Park Entrance fee area.

Two quick facts need to be known about this trail before packing the car and heading to the trailhead. The trail is hiking only and it is only .36 miles in length. This means you will need to pack the family into the car instead of your biking gear.

Truly, if you have a young member of your family, this is a great trail to use as an introduction to the great outdoors! Don't worry, the older members of the family will not go away disappointed either. The views from the trails are spectacular, ranging from arches within the park to the La Sals mountain range in the distance.

I had the great fortune of hiking this trail in the off-season, which meant my family was the only one on the trail. If you are traveling to the rock during the high tourist season I can only assume you will have plenty of company. I make this assumption because of the overflow parking that is available at the trailhead as well as the many signs along the road that warn of heavy road congestion.

No matter the time of the year, I think you will enjoy this trail. It will give you great family time, awesome views, and fresh air. Sounds like a great combination to me!

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Gift For My Wife

I'm not an overly romantic man and Valentine's Day has never been a holiday that shows up on my holiday radar. However, this year my wife has been on a mission to make me a more romantic man. For the past two weeks she has been reminding me of the coming holiday and post scripted the reminders with a little guilt. She would say "I got you something special!"

Ugh! I didn't have a clue as to what to do for her this holiday until the mid point of the holiday. She stopped by my office and told me about a great song that she heard on the radio. She told me how the lyrics sounded so much like us and how she was going to find out who sang it. I asked her for a couple lyrics to see if I knew what it was. She sang some of the song and I had no idea.

When I went back to my desk I typed the lyrics she sang to me into Google. God Bless that search engine! :-) I found out the group was Snow Patrol and the song she had to have was called Chasing Cars.

After work I swung by the music store and picked up the CD. Needless to say, it was a huge success of a gift!

She quickly put it in the CD player and played the song for me. It quickly became a favorite of mine as well.

"If I lay here, If I just lay here. Would you lay with me and just forget the world"

Those lyrics, which are part of Chasing Cars was great advice for both of us that evening. In a time when our minds don't shut down because of the hustle and bustle of the day, it is easy to forget to take time to lay next to the person you love and just forget the world.

Ass Crack Rock in Arches National Park

Ok, while enjoying the scenery at Arches National Park in Moab, Utah today I had to take a picture. I took the picture of this rock because my wife and I -almost simultaneously - looked at the rock, then looked at each other and said, "That looks like an ass crack sitting on a toilet."

A lot of rocks in Arches National Park have a name, so my wife and I looked at the map in hopes we would see "Ass Crack....", but there was nothing of the sort.

So we officially named it and marked it with the GPS. If you are ever in the area, check these coordinates:

N38 39.759
W109 35.294

At the above waypoint you will be at the viewing point for Ass Crack Rock.

Take a look at the image and see if you can stretch your imagination a bit to see Ass Crack Rock.

Maybe the humor of it is lost on others, or maybe we are twisted, but there is no doubt that my wife and I do our thinking on the same wave length.

Destination Moab: Nightmare at the Comfort Inn Suites

I'll be honest, I tried to save a couple bucks while planning the stay at Moab. That was a huge mistake. Note to self: You get what you pay for!

We got to the Comfort Inn Suites in Moab around 8 pm. My entire family was exhausted and ready to crash. When we walked in the front door I liked what I saw. The foyer was a nice Southwest theme with Kokopellis and lizards. I liked it. I quickly got our key and headed to our room. We opened the door and right away my wife wasn't happy.

My wife is a stickler on bathroom cleanliness and I can't blame her. I don't particularly enjoy seeing scum from someone else in an area that I'm trying to get clean in. I tried to let things slide for a while and tried to make the best of it by suggesting we go to the indoor pool. One of the requirements I had for our accommodations.

When we walked into the pool I was greeted by a barking dog. "What the hell is a dog doing in the pool area?" The owner didn't appear right away and I walked towards it. As I rounded the corner where the dog was I saw a man around 50 and what looked to be a 20 year old hooker trying as fast as they could to put their clothes back on. I turned around to my wife and son and said "Rule 1: No one goes in the hot tub!"

Once we sufficiently embarrassed the couple and they left, we looked at the pool. The pool was this cloudy brown and I could barely see the bottom. I knelt down and got a handful of the water and put it to my nose. Usually when a pool looks this cloudy it means it has too much chlorine in it. Not this pool! I didn't smell any chlorine in it! It was disgusting and I turned to my wife and son and said "Rule 2: No one goes in the pool!"

We headed back to the room and tried to take showers instead. Only one problem; the faucet didn't work and we couldn't get hot water. When I tried to call the front desk I was unable to. For some reason we just got a dial tone...

My attention went back to trying to get hot water, while my wife filled the sink to wash her face. Well, within 5 min of my wife filling the sink, all the water had drained from the sink onto the bathroom floor!

At this point my patience was done and I just wanted to sleep. Neither of us trusted that the sheets were clean. Luckily we had some blankets in the car. We brought them up and laid on those while sleeping on the bed.

My original plan was to stay in the Comfort Inn Suites for 3 nights. After the first night I woke up bright and early and asked my wife to pack while I hunted down a new hotel. I found a Holiday Inn Express and as soon as I was booked in that hotel, I checked out of the Comfort Inn Suites.

We will NEVER visit a Comfort Inn Suites again!

Caution: 40+ Mile Per Hour Gusts

Today I headed North to Wyoming. Roughly ten miles after I crossed the border I saw a highway sign that was lit up and read, "Caution: 40+ Mile Per Hour Gusts." That wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was that directly below the sign was a Peterbuilt tractor and trailer tipped over and laying on its side in the median. The first thing that popped into my head was "Is that for real, or are they trying to prove a point here..."

It got me to thinking about the wind a bit and I realized a simple fact. Wyoming IS windy! However, they seem to know that. If you look to the east from I-25 you are able to see a wind farm where they are capturing this renewable resource and transforming it into energy.

If you head back across the border into Colorado you reach a road called Buckeye Road. Here is where Colorado gets a large part of it's energy. They get it from burning some non-renewable energy. You can tell it is non-renewable because of the giant smoke stack that rises from the power plant.

The strange part is that the Buckeye Power Plant in Colorado and the the wind farm in Wyoming are only 20 or so miles a part. Both have the same 40+ mile per hour gusts. So why doesn't Colorado have a wind farm?

The funny part is that Wyoming is stereotyped as being the dumb cowboys. So what does that make us Coloradoans when we are not taking advantage of such renewable resources?

Movie: Da Vinci and the code he lived by

I finally got around to watching a movie that I've let sit around for a while, "Da Vinci and the code he lived by." My first thought was that it was going to have something to do with "The Da Vinci Code," but I was pleasantly surprised when it was documentary about the renaissance icon, Leonardo Da Vinci.

The documentary wasn't the typical documentary that showed a lot of facts and artifacts that support. Instead, it was a movie of reenactment that traced the life of Leonardo from his birth as an illegitimate child through his death.

This movie was entertaining and the information was very interesting. Such as:
1. Leonardo always kept a notebook with him and through his life he documented over 15,000 pages of notes. (Not a single page was ever published during his life)
2. He was a painter by trade, but his passion was in creating weapons of war
3. Da Vinci and Michael Angelo hated each other

One of the greatest point made during the movie was that while there wasn't even a method of keeping time, yet; Leonardo was already thinking about how to walk on the bottom of the ocean and fly with the birds.

Rating: Thumbs Up

Wear a Medal as an Accessory

Today while I was getting a cup of coffee at work a co-worker walked into the kitchen wearing a medal around his neck. I only know the name of this co-worker and I really have no idea what his personality is like. Though at first it struck me as slightly odd that he was wearing an IronMan medal around his neck. I didn't ask him about his medal. Instead, like most others around me I speculated as to why he was wearing it.

This is what I speculated...
1. He's being arrogant and this is his flamboyant way of showing off.
2. He's not being arrogant, maybe he's being goofy.
3. Maybe he is really proud of his accomplishment and it was just collecting dust on his wall. Why not wear it?
4. Maybe he is stressed or life is getting him down a bit and wearing that medal takes his mind of it.

There are truly a hundred different possibilities and after thinking about them I couldn't help but be impressed that he chose to wear his medal as an accessory today.