Yes, here is the look back post that is so en vogue this time of year. It was a pretty event filled year, and thankfully, not as dark and bleak as 2011. While 2011 pretty much was the worst year ever, 2012 was one of transition, and had the occasional beam of light that helped me find my way.

January kicked off with the addition of a Pugsley to my quiver. I call him the Trundleraptor. He made the cold and snowy months so much more enjoyable. I had made the decision that i was going to take “training” a bit more seriously for 2012, as I had my sights set on the Breck Epic. Lots of indoor ride time was logged on the trainer.

"training"

February included my 4th (?) annual trip to the Sonoran Desert, where I successfully completed the SSAZ loop injury free, spent time in Sedona, and rode some fun stuff around Prescott. I also played my first game of bike polo. Upon my return to VT, more snowbiking was had.



March. What a weird month. In like a lion, out like a lamb I believe the saying is. We started in the thick of winter, Pugsley riding, rolled right into mud season, and ended riding dry singletrack. The first Winterbike was thrown at the beginning of the month, by MTBVT honcho, GG and SSUSAVT collaborator Ryan Thibault. A rocking good time.

ways to stay warm in the winter

April. A lot of yous fell for my April Fools prank this year. I pre rode the Gravel Grinder loop with temps in the mid 70s. I gave myself a terrible buzz cut. The Grinder was the best ever, with a keg of beer and 20 lbs of chocolate covered bacon. Lots of base miles. Singlespeed-apalooza, my first start in the men’s open category, no sport class for this chump.

bacon

May. Lots of riding, a little bit of filming, refining my bikes, and getting picky on breakfast sandwiches. My knee had started acting up again, and I made the decision to pull the plug on my bid for the Breck Epic. A bummer way to start the summer.

June. The wind was leaving the sails, but I still managed to get some quality rides in, tweak the bikes some more. What a lot of folks dont know, is that this is when the “end” started for the bike shop. No local business to speak of, little B29 business via the web, zero availability from my largest brand at the time. I saw the writing on the wall, but I was determined to give it my best effort.

July. Guests from the west. SSUSA. Change. From the outside, no one would ever know that the shop was dying. It was becoming harder and harder to stay positive about the whole thing. It was a heavy burden to carry by myself, yet I still managed to show up there and do what little business came in. However, it was becoming more and more apparent that what little business did come in wasnt even close to becoming enough to make it worth while. The downward spiral had begun.

momento of the BEST DAY EVER

August. I raced co-ed duo with Ginger at the DH40 in a dress. I was dead sexy. The business was in decline, but socially, my game was up. I found a new appreciation for sitting on my back deck, drinking tequila and trying to make tacos that were better than the last ones. Then I had a severe allergic reaction to some meds I was prescribed, which landed me in a world of hurt. I was out of commission for 2 weeks with chronic swelling in my joints and unspeakabe pain. I got a year older.

lunch time rides were the bright spots

September. I went to Vegas, made some connections, saw some old friends. When I returned, I pulled the rip cord. The shop was over. I just couldn’t keep going, and it was the only choice. You know that part in Top Gun when Goose dies? It felt a lot like that, only worse.

lost that loving feeling

October. I also didn’t drink this whole month. Probably saved me a small fortune…

November. Still feeling pretty low. Sitting on a bunch of stuff with no place to sell it, I did a huge liquidation sale, boxing stuff up and shipping it out of my storage unit. It helped keep a few of the buzzards away, but I was not in a good space. I started having some pretty acute panic attacks, which I can tell you are not fun. I know what they are, so I know how to deal with them. I don’t like taking the drugs, so I just curl up in a ball and  wait for them to pass, or the world to end. If I feel them coming on, I try and get outside and do something, but often they come with no warning.

therapy

I flew out to California, to take on a new role with an old employer. I spent Thanksgiving with friends, and had three long days of driving back east to think about things. I still dont have the answers, but at least it’s a something. I stopped waiting for the apocalypse.

December. The world didn’t end. I got my first paycheck in over 7 years. Christmas was weird, but not unpleasant. It was to be the first of the ongoing series of Dysfunctional Family Christmas. The Pugsley has been ridden.

stoked for snow... for a change

A whole new year awaits, and while 2012 was a year of transition, 2013 promises to be a year of change. I know of a few things on the horizon that I am very much looking forward to.

Not much to talk about in the days that followed, but it went something like this:
Monday, 850 miles
Tuesday, 950 miles
Wednesday, 750 miles, plus a stop in at Darkhorse Cycles to have a beer with the Mayor.

I was really glad to be home.
Here is my instagram photodump from my trip. Can’t wait for the next one.

Actually, I didnt.

"Look Ma! A Fwaggle!!"

I turned right and headed east, but not before I spent some time enjoying some of what New Mexico has to offer and visiting with my “big sister” who I rarely get to see. I spent 7 hours in the drivers seat of the Big Kitty on Thanksgiving day, my goal, to make dinner and football. I was welcomes with delicious local brews, a feast, and some maple Crown Royal – it’s awesome. We even caught a gorgeous ABQ sunset, although we missed the Sandias light up.

sundown

The next day, was spent learning some of my new tasks, the lessons taught by my big sis, who also works remotely for EHB. This was after an amazing breakfast burrito from Lotta Burger, smothered in red chile sauce. You gotta have a good meal to fuel you through a whole day of work.

I was going to hightail it out of town on Saturday and head up to Colorado, but I chose to stay and do some sight seeing. From my bike. I rode Otero Canyon, which links up to a massive network of trails. I only rode for about an hour or so, because we were to head up to Santa Fe and be tourists for a while later in the day. Somehow, I managed to leave my camera behind for the ride, which is too bad, because there is lots to see out there. The Moment was a much better choice of bike for this terrain, but I would have appreciated a little more top tube. The bike climbs amazingly well, Ellsworth’s ICT suspension design is a performer, and I was able to easily scramble up the ledgy techy spots on my way to the top of the trail. On the way down though… 160mm of travel and a dropped seat… giggity.

Santa Fe is gorgeous. I love the place, even if it is a tourist trap. We spent the afternoon checking out the old churches, milling about the town square, and most importantly, hitting the local breweries. Solid.

the Rio Grande

cottonwoods down by the river

I stayed on through Sunday, taking it easy, and making sure I had everything I needed for the crossing home. This included a run to the grocery and beer stores, there is just some stuff you cant get outside of the southwest. I also managed a visit to local Ellsworth dealer, Fat Tire Cycles. A great bunch of guys, and a very cool shop. We took a little time to goof off on the rec path down by the Rio Grande, snap some pics and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. The leaves on the Cottonwoods were the most amazing shade of brown, and contrast against that western blue sky in the most wonderful way. This place must be something else when the leaves are green, or even in the fall for that matter. Can’t wait to visit again. It was nice to just be outside, and not have too much of an agenda.

birdies

The days that followed were not going to quite as much fun.

Yeah, I know. I’ve been busy. For those that don’t know, I’m currently working 2 jobs right now. I’m still doing a little bit of Bike29, and doing a little bit of Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles. Yes, that is what my sudden trips to the west coast have been all about, although I wish I could say it was because I won the lottery and have been taking lavish mini vacations. I guess in a way, I have, because I did get to do a couple of cool things on this last trip besides learn a new operating system and drink lots of really awesome tequila.

I flew to San Diego (German for a…) just before Thanksgiving. My mission, to pick up a bunch of bikes and a big assed truck, and drive back east. It seems that every time I fly these days, there is some form of unplanned and unappreciated delay, and my last flight out was no different. Thanks to a certain airline, I missed my connecting flight and had to spent a bonus night in Philly. The plus side, the bar staff and patrons of the near airport hotel bar were extremely entertaining.

After finally getting to San Diego, I ended up getting delayed again due to the truck needing a couple of things fixed, and a cap installed. It wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be, but hanging out in South Town for about 4 hours was not that much fun. Once I was finished up, it was time to load on up and head out. Driving. In this.

Kitty!

It’s awesome. His name is Moby (after the great white whale) but I call him Big Kitty. His diesel motor purrs, and like a kitty, if he decides to do his own thing, you gotta pay attention to get him back on track. I like him. Its fun peering down into the cabs of other full size trucks as you pass them…

my bike has those too!

So my first stop was Tucson. Damn. I hate that town. I took a little time out of my day to ride Fantasy Island after a dealer visit. I decided to ride a 26″ bike just for hahas. I took out the Moment, a 160mm travel all mountain sort of a bike. The bike was a medium, so I was sort of all over the place, but it was the only bike I had with me that was already built up. It felt weird to ride a small wheeled bike on terrain I was so used to riding a 29er singlespeed on, but I figured why not. It reminded me that I really like 29″ wheels for a reason. Its been super dry in Tucson, and the trails were very loose, I got bogged down by the sandy conditions where big wheels would normally carry me through (maybe…). Fantasy Island is the sort of place where you dont need all that suspension, it’s kinda flat and not technical at all. But it is super fun, and it requires ninja like maneuvers to ride quickly lest you have a run in with the cholla. The Moment was fun in that it was very agreeable to sudden direction changes. Actually, the bike is very playful despite the huge amount of travel on both ends of the bike. One day I’ll ride one my size on more appropriate terrain. I spent almost 2 hours tooling about the place, avoiding cows and learning where all the sweet spots were on setting up the suspension. I also managed to avoid any run ins with the local vegetation.

a peaceful Moment in Tucson

The next day was Thanksgiving, and I spent 7 hrs driving east to Albuquerque, but I’ll tell you more about that next time.