Hoover Dam

Today I only had a leisure recovery ride to do. So my parents and I went cruisin' around Lake Mead, over a little hill, through several tunnels, then down another hill to pay the Hoover Dam a visit. This thing is just simply huge, 726.4 feet tall, the base is 660 feet thick and tapers to 45 feet thick at the top. In 1931 5,000 men started working on building up this structure to tame the Colorado river (which also runs through the Grand Canyon) and turn it into a lake. It took them 5 years to complete.

Death Valley Adventure

We drove into Death Valley yesterday morning! Its a cool place, still plenty of tourists going through before the summer, because it can hit over 120 degrees F there. We got as low as about 200 feet below sea level and the temperature was 95 degrees F in the shade and 105 degrees F in the sun. It didn't cool down much at night either, the inside of our RV was 84 degrees F at 10 p.m.

While we drove into Death Valley we took a picture of this tree standing as a lone sentry out on the desert.

The Mesquite sand dunes, a very cool sight.

It was so hot and dry when we went out running that the sweat evaporated right off my skin and I was as dry as paper afterwards. The Badwater Ultramarathon is a race where runners and other endurance machines run 135 miles nonstop from Badwater at 285 feet below sea level to Mt. Whitney at 8360 feet above sea level...in July! The temperature can hit 130 F during the race. People have said that I'm crazy for doing what I'm doing, but those guys are tough and nuts.

29 inch wheels ride great in the sand!

Who said that we need a Jeep? We've got this.

Interesting history fact: This wagon train was called the 20 Mule Team Wagon Train. In 1885 when they were mining Borax in Death Valley, 20 mules would haul 36 1/2 tons worth of water and Borax from Death Valley to the Mojave. They would cover 165 miles in 10 days.

This morning Dad, Mom, Buffett and I set out for a 3 hour mountain bike ride to explore the trails just south of Bishop. There was no singletrack, but the jeep trails were sufficient to get a good workout. We saw a herd of 80-something mule deer, but they were moving too far away to get a clear picture. We did climb from 4000 ft above sea level to 6500 ft and were able to take a good picture of the valley below.

At the top of our long 2 hour climb! The majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains stand behind me.

Whatever lack the area had in singletrack, it made up for in being abundant with deep sand and plenty of jutting rocks that made good trails for practicing technical bike handling. Perfect for my preparation for the Xterra West Championship race in Las Vegas.

April 13, 2010

A couple days ago we drove alongside the Sierra Nevada mountains and parked just north of Bishop, California. Not much to say about this town...they do have a Kmart and a Vons which looks exactly like Safeway to me. Yesterday we went for a mountain bike ride and run around the campground where we were parked. Its finally starting to get warm, and more desert-like. Quite pleasant, even the cows agreed as they watched Dad and I run by while they were laying down amongst the bushes.

Reno then Carson City

Saturday I went on a 4 hour mountain bike ride at Reno. The singletrack trails and jeep roads snake all over the mountains next to town. You could ride all day there and still have plenty of more trails left to explore.

By driving south we thought that we would be experiencing sunny and pleasantly warm weather. But due to it being early spring and riding around at 5000 feet above sea level we ran into this cold and white stuff...

Carson City:

This morning we drove from Reno to Carson City and went for a 9 mile run through a canyon. This area is high desert with lots of shrubs, sage brush, and sand. Very different from Alaska where we came from. I ran 4.5 miles in my Vibram Five Fingers until my feet got tired and then switched to my Newtons for the rest of the run. I already am seeing that barefoot running is helping me to become a much more efficient runner.

Mountain bike ride with my coaches

From left: Dad, me, Amber, and Conrad

Today my Dad and I went on a mountain bike training ride with my two awesome coaches, Amber Monforte and Conrad Stoltz. The trails of Reno are sweet! Smooth singletrack with some good rocky and technical stretches. And Conrad (3x Xterra World Champion) pretty much rides them like he's on a dirt bike instead of a regular mountain bike. I learned quite a lot of technical skills from his tips and also from just watching while riding behind him. Tomorrow I have a 4 hour scheduled bike ride and I'm stoked to try those new skills out!

RV Trip

Our RV trip begins! After picking up our giant 37 foot 1998 Pace Arrow Vision in Portland. We left Seattle 2 days ago and stopped at Salem and then last night we stayed at Mt. Shasta! I was able to put in some good running, biking and swim workouts there. The beauty here is amazing, these pictures do no justice. Currently we are at Susanville, southwest of Mt. Shasta on our way to Las Vegas.

Top picture is our RV, Mom, Dad, and Buffett just before heading into Shasta.
2nd and 3rd are Dad and me at Castle Lake at 5000 ft. elevation. Very pretty views of Shasta and the area below from there.