Cashen's Last Ride Before He Moves Back To Boulder

Yesterday was the last big ride with Cashen in the back yard before he moves back to Boulder this Friday. Cashen called route for the ride and it was another epic adventure to say the least. The ride took us through the back yard and on into Pisgah and back. We started riding at 10:30am and we got back at 4:00pm. The weather was great, the single track was in perfect condition, and the company was awesome. Another great day of riding in the back yard. Of course beers and barbeque at the house afterwards was the perfect compliment to a great day of riding. Cashen will be missed but we will see him some in Boulder.

Shedding some clothes before all the climbing starts. First on the list “Billy Goat”!

Up, up, and away
Kevin and Gabe in the background. Gabe is one sick guy in the head. He did this whole ride on his fixed gear. CRAZY!!!!
Cashen cleaning a nice little log ride.
Look at that wheelie!

Kevin enjoying the single track
This was so funny. We decided to ride up Bent Creek Ranch Road to head into Pisgah. Right when we got to the top of the road a Red Bull car pulls up. Are you kidding me....this could not have been better timing. We all knocked back a drink and stuffed a few extras in our jerseys and cambacks for the rest of the ride. Thanks Red Bull! This company knows how and where to be marketing. Cashen clearing another log ride on the secret trail.

Nice face!
Gabe doesn't just bring a power bar or clif shot on a big ride. He brings burritos and look...he's drinking a Red Bull.
Lunch time

More climbing in Pisgah

We ran into another group out on a huge ride as well. They were all on single speeds....what's new. It's funny...after I moved here people thought I was crazy for riding a single speed. Now everyone has one.
Gabe's fixed gear. All he did was clear coat the frame so you can see the welds. Pretty cool.

Cooling of in the river. We still have a long ride back to the house. Better drink another Red Bull.
Cashen and Kevin hauling on the single track.
Almost home. Kevin and Cashen decided a few miles from the house they wanted to take a nap. By this point everyone was running low on energy.

Al Gore...Global Warming?

I'm all for recycling, conserving, and helping our generation and generations to come move forward and be more responsible. But....I'm having a hard time hearing people ask me if I have seen the Al Gore movie. First thing I ask people is "do you really believe someone who thinks they invented the internet?" I'm over the doom and gloom outlook people have. Do what you think is right but please don't let someone like Al Gore ruin your day our outlook on the future. This is a typical political game...scar everyone into believing you. Here are a few articles for your reading pleasure.

Before everyone fires something back at me all fired up remember...I do believe our earth is changing but I don't think humans have as big of an impact as what people are saying. Climatologists cannot predict the weather 5 days out. I think mother earth is going through a typical pattern whether humans are here or not.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=2f4cc62e-5b0d-4b59-8705-fc28f14da388

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/environment/story.html?id=c6a32614-f906-4597-993d-f181196a6d71&k=0

Stop With The Big Oil Bashing!!!!!!

Ok, I've had about all I can handle again about big oil and their profits. Here is an article written in the Washington Post that does a good job at analyzing and detecting who is really making the money on gas. When are people going to wake up and see the truth? Who really makes more money on gas....Exxon vs. our government? Hillary Clinton has a great idea....NOT! Read the article below. I outlined the same thing almost a year ago but I guess it might take a writer from the Washington Post to make an impacted.

Same Old 'Soaring' Gas Prices
By George F. WillThursday, April 5, 2007; A17
They come with metronomic regularity, these media stories about "soaring" gasoline prices and the causes thereof, news stories that always identify the same two culprits, supply and demand. The stories always give various reasons supplies are tight -- more often, why prices include a risk premium based on fears that supplies might become tight -- or why demand is higher than it "should" be, given supposedly high prices.
Today, as the price of a gallon of regular ($2.70 nationally on Monday) "soars" almost to where it was (measured in constant dollars) in 1982, the "news" is: "Drivers Offer a Collective Ho-Hum as Gasoline Prices Soar" (the New York Times, last Friday). People are not changing their behavior because the real, inflation-adjusted cost of that behavior has not changed significantly, and neither has the cost of the commodity in question, relative to disposable income.
The next wave of stories about "soaring" gas prices will predictably trigger some politicians' indignation about oil companies' profits. The day after Exxon Mobil's announcement that it earned $39.5 billion in 2006, Hillary Clinton said: "I want to take those profits, and I want to put them into a strategic energy fund that will begin to fund alternative smart energy, alternatives and technologies that will begin to actually move us toward the direction of independence."
Clinton's "take" reveals her confiscatory itch. Her clunky "toward the direction of" suggests that she actually knows that independence is as chimerical a goal as Soviet grain production goals were.
President Bush proposes reducing gasoline usage 20 percent in 10 years. Perhaps: After the oil shocks of the late 1970s, gasoline consumption fell 12 percent and did not again reach 1978 levels until 1993. This decline was produced by an abrupt and substantial increase in the price of gasoline, which no politician, least of all the president, is proposing. And we actually could get lower prices because the president and various presidential candidates have become such enthusiasts for federal subsidies for ethanol and other alternative fuels. If these fuels threaten seriously to dampen demand for oil, the Saudis might increase production enough to drive down oil prices, in order to make investments -- investors beware -- in alternative fuels even more uneconomic than they already are.
In the 20 years from 1987 to 2006, Exxon Mobil invested more ($279 billion) than it earned ($266 billion). Five weeks after the company announced its 2006 earnings, it said it will invest $60 billion in oil and gas projects over the next three years. It will, unless a President Clinton and a Democratic-controlled Congress "take" Big Oil's profits, which are much smaller than Big Government's revenue from gasoline consumption.
Oil companies make about 13 cents on a gallon of gas. Government makes much more. The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. Mrs. Clinton's New York collects 42.4 cents a gallon. Forty-nine states -- all but Alaska -- make more than the oil companies do on every gallon.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter, an early practitioner of the Oh, Woe! School of Planetary Analysis (today Al Gore is the dean of that school), said that oil wells were "drying up all over the world." Not exactly.
In 1971, according to M.A. Adelman, an MIT economist, non-OPEC countries had remaining proven reserves of 200 billion barrels. After the next 33 years of global economic growth, Adelman says, those countries had produced 460 billion barrels and had 209 billion remaining. As for OPEC countries, in 1971 they had 412 billion barrels in proven reserves; by 2004 they had produced 307 billion and had 819 billion remaining.
Note the adjective "proven." In 1930, U.S. proven reserves were 13 billion barrels. Then we fought a global war, fueled the largest, most sustained economic expansion in history and achieved today's electricity-powered "information economy." Today, America's proven reserves are about 30 billion barrels -- not counting the perhaps 15 billion in the field discovered last year in deep water 175 miles off Louisiana's coast.
America produces about one-quarter of the 20.6 million barrels of oil it uses a day. Unfortunately, just as liberals love employees but not employers, they want energy independence but do not want to drill in the "pristine" (read: desolate) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ( potential yield: 10.4 billion barrels) and are reluctant to countenance drilling offshore.
Well, then, what can be done immediately about the gasoline "crisis" du jour? Americans could save 1.2 billion of the 130 billion gallons of gasoline they use a year if they would properly inflate their tires. And they might do that if ever "soaring" prices actually make gasoline unusually expensive.
georgewill@washpost.com

Easter Snow

We got a little snow on Easter morning. Paige loved her easter bunny outfit.

Gabe Building A Bike

My SS frame is next in the line up. It's so cool my neighbor is going to build my frame.

Riding Up To Mt. Pisgah

Heading to Mt. Pisgah. It's the Mt. with the tower on it. It's a good 2+ hour round trip from the house. A good after work ride now that the sun is hanging out until 8:00.
Here is the first tunnel you have to go through. It's not bad when the road is closed to cars but now it's open. Nerves of steel!
Second big tunnel. No light on the inside of this.

Pics of Paige

A few photos of Paige standing under our Weeping Cherry tree.

Jackson and Back

We got home late last night from our trip to Jackson. Here is a quick recap of our trip.

Tuesday we had to get up at 4:30am to catch our 6:00am flight. Everything went perfect and we arrived in Jackson at 12:30pm. We checked into the Rusty Parrot for the three nights all complements of a good friend of mine that’s the Assistant GM. I cannot believe we stayed there. It's so nice! Check out the link http://www.rustyparrot.com/. Tuesday night we joined up with some of our friends and had dinner and cocktails of course after a trip by the "factory".

Wednesday morning treated us to 7” of new snow at the village and some pretty good skiing for March. More beers and dinner with friends.

Thursday morning Kevin, Harlin, and I head out to the backcountry for some fresh tracks. We were on top of the pass and putting in the boot pack by about 6:45am. Nothing like a morning hike up (I cannot tell you where we were hiking because it’s a secret) to the summit. It’s a pretty short hike but very steep. After about an hour of hiking we hit the summit. The sun came up and it was like I remembered it. Absolutely amazing….Gods county! In honor of my arrival the boys gave me first tracks and WOW it was perfect. About 12” – 14” of new snow on top of a pool table. We were the only ones out and we had this whole area to ourselves. After I got out of the backcountry Lyn and I headed over to Targee for more skiing. The weather and snow was perfect. Are you sure it’s late March? The snow was falling like it was January.

Friday was the Marmot party at the village. We arrived at the village around 12:00, had lunch at the VC, and hit the hill around 1:00pm. We made a couple classic laps around the hill and crashed the party at 3:30pm. If you were wearing a marmot jacket you got free beer. Yes you heard me right...free beer? So needs less to say it was a day of après skiing. We came home from the village and headed out for dinner, dancing, and everything in between. It was a late night and we saw some many old friends out and about.

Saturday lead to a day of nothing but hanging out. It felt great to do nothing. Neither Lyn or myself really get the opportunity to just sit on our butts and do nothing. Saturday night all 7 of us took the START bus to the village for an outdoor concert. The bus ride home was absolutely crazy. Ask me about it sometime.

Sunday was another lazy day. Lyn and I did some driving around a took some photos. Sunday night was more food, friends, and fun.

Monday was absolutely amazing at the Big One! They got 10 inches over night (if you know your way around the mountain it was more like 12 - 24) and it snowed hard all day. By the end of the day they had over 2+ feet of new snow. It was one of the best single day dumps of the year. If you ever get the chance to ski Jackson on a big dump you’ll never forget your experience. The mountain has great fall lines and the terrain in bounds is amazing. So we pretty much wore ourselves out.

Tuesday our flight was leaving at 1:30pm. Hum….1:30…I can hit the backcountry in the morning before our flight. Kevin, Harlin, and I headed out around 6:00am to a full moon guiding our way. Nothing like leaving on a good note. We had untracked lines in all the secret spots. Untracked power and about 3+ feet….what a morning. I got back in time for Lyn and I to have a late breakfast and get to the plane. Once and again another great trip to the Hole. It was great seeing everyone. Until the next trip.

Wake up call to get your butt out of bed.

Washington to Denver. Denver to Jackson.

Hanging out with Rob "UB" at the factor. UB makes the most comfortable custom blowup mattresses in the world! He makes them for yurts, pickup beds, tents, etc. His company is called Solace www.solacejh.com.

Also occupying the factory are the Igneous Ski boys www.igneousskis.com/. These guys make some bad a** skies. Here is a photo of one of their presses.

Here's another shot of the press.

The finished product.

These are x-rated. Don't click this photo if you are under 18. Great graphics!

Heading up Thunder lift

Lyn "LGR" sking down tram line and waving to her fans Heading up on the Bridger gondala

Off to the quad to ski the Altas.

What time is it? It's first tracks time! You know it's going to be a good day in the backcountry when you have to follow the snow plow up the pass.

Up, up, and away to the top.

Just like I remember it. Beautiful and magical. Can someone say blue bird power day.

Kevin getting some good turns in.

Here comes Harlin.

The backcountry was skiing so good I thought Lyn and I should head over to Targee in search of more powder. No lift lines and great snow. I love this little place. If the village gets 12" this place get 24"

The money shot

Lyn smiling behind the Grand Teton

Nothing like a little RR in the hot tube after a great day of skiing.

Eating some good Sushi with the boys and Robin.

UB, Lyn, and Joe

I have no idea how to explain these next few photos. This is what happens when you have a small portable camera and a few beers. Kevin makes some unbelievable faces.

Kevin...looking good.

This is one of the best ones.

Taking a day off and driving around the park taking photos.

The range

Where I use to call home.

A cabin where Lyn's great grandparents took a photo back in the 60's?

Waiting on the Start bus. No driving for these kids.

Waiting for the show to start at the village.

Is it really doing this again?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Heading to the White Room.

Off to a magical place.

Nothing like a lot of snow and steep terrain to play on.

My flight doesn't leave until this afternoon. Lets get some good turns in before my flight. Back to the backcountry we go for another round. This time it was a fun moon guiding our way to the top. Natural light at it's best.

Where do I ski? It all looks so good.

Unloading the gear and all I need to make sure is I make my 1:30pm flight or Lyn is going to have my head. 3 feet plus was a treat right before I got on the plan.

An airport with a view.

Heading back to Asheville.

Nothing like skiing amazing powder yeaster morning and now I'm on a killer road ride with the temps in the 70's. Wow...does it get any better? Here is me....

My riding buddy....

and some of my favorit dirt roads.

The best thing about our trip was getting home to be with Paige. We had a great time but we missed our little girl everyday.