Monster Monkey II

This bike does everything! From rippin' the streets of FoCo to riding technical single track, this bike is fun and capable and I can't get enough!

All she is missing now are the Carousel Design Works bags, which should be done any day now, and she will be ready for some seriously hot bikepacking action. I am going to replace the drivetrain and overhaul the fork before June but other than that, what you see is what will propel me through my journey of the intermountain west in a couple months. I estimate I put about 400 miles on her last month and I am loving the bike more and more every time my ass touches that molded brooks leather.

I just put the Maverick fork back on and I am glad I did. The bike is more capable, more comfortable, faster, and a whole hell of a lot more fun than the rigid fork. I find myself riding a lot harder (some would call this droppin it like its hot or throwing the hammer down) with the Maverick on the front end.

When I was designing my bike for this ride I was skeptical of using the fork because I didn't want to deal with a bunch of serious mechanicals out on the trail. I asked the guys at Maverick what they thought of riding their fork for 3,000 remote and rocky miles and they said that with a complete factory tear down, new seals, oil and replacing broken/worn-out parts, the fork should do "just fine." I still don't have a lot of faith and it strongly goes against my K.I.S.S. motto for the trip but I feel that the advantages of the fork will outweigh its drawbacks. Still, I think I will give my parents my rigid fork boxed up and ready to be shipped just incase i blow a seal 200 miles from the nearest full service bikes shop, which is completely possible.

A Really Incovienent Truth

It's a bit lengthy but well worth the read. The most in depth, honest and balanced discussion of the human race's greenhouse gas emissions and possible steps forward, that I have stumbled across.

http://www.miller-mccune.com/article/188

Route Discussion

The more I think about the route this summer, the less of a route I come up with. This trip is transforming from a rigid standard GDMBR ride to a GDMBR with a few tweaks to now, a free exploration of the North America West. I feel like I would miss out on too many great places if I stick to a predetermined route.

After I graduate in May, I am not going to have any responsibilities, completely free to roam the Earth. I plan on having a general idea of where I'm going at least for the first 1000 miles but after I have worked out the kinks in my setup and become comfortable bikepacking in remote locations, predetermined destinations will begin to disappear.

I foresee the main reason for wanting to come home to be loneliness. I expect to feel like what it truly means to be alone on this trip on a daily basis, and while it may be fun exciting and fun for a while, its bound to become an extremely lonely experience. Humans are social creatures who need companionship and community to survive. It has been shown that when these ingredients are neglected, the mental state of these creatures becomes altered in an unhealthy manner. Good thing my friends and family are planning on meeting me along the way helping to keep the spirits up. Although I can see that saying goodbye after many lonely nights in the wilderness could be rough.

This summer I will experience the ultimate feeling of freedom and I am itching to get started. All these thoughts about this summer are making it real hard to focus on school right now but without a diploma in May all these thoughts are just dreams.

Escape to the Desert - Spring '08

Thanks to Tom for donating the use of his Jeep, which took 1000 lbs. of payload and some truly nasty roads all in stride and with one flat tire. Ella and Deanna for putting up with us, providing great company, and hauling our stuff around the white rim, and my parents for providing warm meals, cold beer, and cozy beds for our evenings in Junction.  You guys made it possible.

(clickie make biggie)

Loaded down - Gassed up - Heading out


Shaving the last few ounces before embarking on a 115 mile canyonland bike journey.  Meanwhile AJ becomes Old Man Johnson by throwing out is back before even throwing a leg over his trusty steed.  Could that have something to do with sleeping in the desert in March without a Sleeping Bag?  hmmm....


D- First time on clipless pedals rides 20 miles at a very fast pace over technical terrain and only falls once. Impressive.




See those ominous dark clouds out there?


Snowed 2-3" over night with 15 sustained/30 gust winds and lightening. Almost all gone by 9:30 the next morning


New Cables are such a bitch, at least the view didn't suck


Moon Rising in Paradise


The girls disappeared for a few hours so we turned back to find them. As the sun was setting and 5 miles down the road, this is what we found.


We made back to Fruita the next day just in time to get in a few quick laps. Decided to rip Joe's and Prime Cut in the Indiana Jones hat and Carharts. Too bad we were the only ones on the trails...NOT


Gettin ready to drop some serious hot action in the Big GJ. Shuttled from the top of the Ribbon to the Lunch Loop parking lot twice. 15+miles 4,000 vertical feet 2.5 hours.  Borrowed my Dad's Specialized Stumpy full squish and I am now convinced that my next bike after my ride this summer will have a lot of squish in both the front and back.  Sooo much fun.  Thanks Dad


get big session on bentonite hill

Couldn't capture every moment with the lens but that should give you a good idea of how it went down.

 Highlights include:
- DP splitting the uprights of two 800 lb elk at 80 mph.  Boy's got skills
- AJ transforms into Old Man Johnson while stretching before the ride
- Passing every other rider on the trail who started hours before us and only riding half our distance.  There faces when they herd that we still had 45 miles to ride at 4 pm was priceless.  No biggie
- Playing euker and drinking tequila while the blizzard rages
>- Pace lining at road bike like speeds across the white rim.  Rode 50 miles the second day in around 3 hours.  And who led the pack most of the way?  No other than Old Man Johnson with his bad back.
- Finding the Girls half drunk with the donut on the front right and a story to tell
- Riding the last few miles in the dark with the tunes bumpin, and a cold PBR in hand.
- Climbing 1500 vert in under a mile, half drunk, in the dark, no lights
- Ripping Fruita at sunset with not a soul on the trails.
- Great friends, great rides, great memories, good times

I don't ever wanna grow up.

Daylight Savings TIme

Mixed feelings about this one right now.  Monday morning at 7 when it felt like 6, I was not a very pleasant person, but now that its light out till 7, it allows me to get in 30+ dirty miles after a full day of school or work, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

80+ miles in three days! A best for me that is until this weekend when I will ride 120 in 48 hours all while attending church in the most magnificent chapel in the world.  

Gotta graduate too.  Sure is hard to stay motivated when the days are blue-bird in the 60-70's. After such a bitter winter it sure seems like a waste to be locked up in the studio during these beautiful days. I wish it would just be miserable out so I could get some work done. The finish line is just around the corner and now I have to turn on the turbo boosters to get there and forget about the weather. Impossible

Riding the Monster

45 miles in 4 hours and loved every minute of it even if I can hardly walk up the stairs now. Rode the road down and trails back up.  Makes me wonder how I rode for all those years earlier without flared drop bars!  Highlight was cleaning a nasty rock garden on my rigid drop bar 2-9er that two guys on 6" full squish gravity rigs were struggling with. The look on there faces was priceless.  Its not the bike, its the rider people.

Monster Monkey

The bike for my ride this summer is beginning to take shape! (click images to see all of it yo)











O.G. Surly Karate Monkey Frame and Fork

Brooks B17 saddle
On-One Midge Bars
Salsa SUL Moto Ace 120x30 stem
Tektro RL520 levers

Avid BB7 discs

Salsa Shaft seatpost

Currently singlespeed with:

Trauvativ Stylo SS cranks

WTB Dual Duty rims laced to Surly New Disc SS hubs

Soon to be fully geared with:
Dura Ace 9 speed bar end shifters
2007 XT hollowtech II crankset 20-32-44
front wheel relaced to DT Swiss 370 hub
DT Swiss 7.1 rim /DT Onyx rear wheel w/ sram 11-34 9sp cassette
XT r. derailleur
XTR f. derailleur

Hopefully I will also be receiving a full bikepacking set of bags from Carousel Design Works shortly and will really be ready to go, save some camping gear I still need.

The route is also coming together. Mostly GDMBR but I am going to detour on the CDT wherever it doesn't run through a wilderness area and isn't burried under 6' of snow. I am also looking into detouring in southern CO and riding over to Moab via the Telluride - Moab Trail and Paradox Trail then back to my home town of GJ to spend some time with the fam via the Kokopelli Trail. Then back to the GDMBR and head North for another month or so. If I take the detours, the route will definitely top 3,000 miles and probably close to if not more than 300,000 vertical feet of elevation change. Can't wait! Yee Haw!