Jerry | Aaron | Hazard

Raider Ridge Moving Pictures.

2011-03-20T19:23:00.002-07:00

Some video from this weeks riding on Raider Ridge. Perhaps the best singletrack in town...

Climbing Raider

2011-03-19T18:50:00.001-07:00

Climbing Raider a photo by Jerry Aaron Hazard on Flickr.

...The worst part of any ride, in my opinion. But, the trails on Raider Ridge sort of make them fun or at least bearable...

Raider Ridge March 16

2011-03-16T23:04:00.001-07:00

bike at raider 2 a photo by Jerry Aaron Hazard on Flickr.

Shot on the after-work ride today. With temps nearing 70, the Horse Gulch trail system is fast drying out. Rode out and up and down my favorite lines on Raider Ridge. Photo shows the view across the meadow...

GoPro footage in the works...

And then there were...

2011-03-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

...29!

Pretty excited about the Airborne Flight Crew contest. They've narrowed down the field from over 150 to just 29. From this 29, they will choose 6, which may take another week. Nerve wracking, but man it would be the cats meow to win and be amongst the other 5 new flight crew. Fingers are crossed.

Entry vid I did is below. Created in only hours after seeing the call for entries. I sacrificed a bit of quality and flow in order to get something in early. Hope it pays off!

Barker Dome

2011-03-13T23:34:00.001-07:00

Winter reprieve.

We in the four corners area have been blessed with (at least) a hint of early spring. Temps in the 50's and 60's last week really put the melt on. I've been doing bi-weekly dips in to New Mexico to roll my wheels on the dirt for a while now, but the last week has been a real treat. Friday I was looking for a change of pace, as Road Apple can get old quite quick if it's the only place one is pedaling. Enter Barker Dome.

What is Barker Dome?

Barker Dome is located near the town of Marvel, CO., about an hour and half south and west from Durango. I don't think you'll find it on any Lat 40 maps, or on the trail reviews at mtbr, you wont' find much info about it online either. Here's an entry I found:

Barker Dome is a mountain summit in San Juan County in the state of New Mexico (NM). Barker Dome climbs to 7,133 feet (2,174.14 meters) above sea level. Barker Dome is located at latitude - longitude coordinates (also called lat - long coordinates or GPS coordinates) of N 36.991666 and W -108.303415.

The beauty of Barker Dome is probably also responsible for its lack of popularity; its remote, non really maintained, not well marked, and not easy to ride. So, definitely not for everyone.

Red box indicates trails...

You will likely spend as much time walking as you will riding your first time or two. There is a lot of climbing up bumby, undulating slickrock, some interesting techy spots, a few short sections of keen dirt singletrack (mostly going downwards) and some sandy spots.

The entrance is level dirt singletrack, then it descends through a few trees, and over a couple rocky "moves". Nothing white knuckled here, but you do have to pay attention. Shortly thereafter, you exit the the trees into a slickrock-ish canyon. There is no obvious route to follow, but you can guess pretty easy and begin climbing/picking your way up the little canyon. Narrow at first, it opens up after a few hundred yards.

The beginning of climbing up the canyon...

The photo above will give an idea of the kind of rock you will encounter - bear in mind that most of it be more open, not enclosed in the canyon pictured. It its very ledgy - again, there is not an "obvious" path to follow, though if you look, you will find the odd cairn here and there, plus tire marks in the dirt between the rocky sections. Lots of technical moves and plenty to play on.

After you get out of the canyon, the rocky area opens up, and finding the way becomes a bigger guessing game. The surface is slickrock gritty and grabby, no worries for traction. You will be climbing for a while. As you summit the climb, you'll notice a gas line/metal pole that traverses the "peak" - you don't need to go past this, but continue to your right. The way here will be fairly obvious, and you'll pick up a singltrack that heads off in to the scrub oak. On the map, this where the trail turns back towards the way you came. You'll follow this trail down in to another canyon, but the tail is mostly dirt, all downhill, and is not boring. Wish it lasted a bit longer though. Once at the bottom, the guessing game begins again as you'll repeat the route finding back up another slickrock section. And again, once at the top, you come back down another dirt singletrack though the scrub oak. This one is a bit more techy than the first, with a little exposure and a couple little rocky moves to test how well you can pick your way through a few steep rocks. When you get the bottom of this trail, you'll be following a drainage back towards the road, you switch sides of the drainage a couple times, and ultimately the you come to a "T". This trail will have evidence of motos and may be sandy. To the right will take you out to the road and back towards your vehicle. To the left (I presume) leads to the upper loops. I have not traveled those yet. Next visit...

The map above gives a pretty accurate layout of the trail/paths, and its a good idea to have this with you as you ride, or at least remember the general layout of the trail - it definitely was an positive aide in finding my way about. I spent a couple hours there and just did the lower loops on the map. Next time, I'll be faster through there and will explore the upper section - I've read there is a sort of slickrock halfpipe in that section, so I'm excited to get back up there!

This is the gate near the trailhead. Don't need to drive past here. There's a left turn
just before this gate, and that leads to the trailhead. La Plata Mountains and
Durango lurk in the background here.

Barker Dome is a great way to spend an afternoon with your bike. Notice I said "with your bike" and not "on your bike". You will hike-a-bike. You will find challenging terrain, and you will fee like you've gotten away from it all. Save for maybe a few motos in the background here and there. Barker Dome is on BLM land, so the multi use rule applies. You'll see some motos, maybe an atv, but most likely you'll be in solitude, save for an oil truck checking some of the drill stations in the area.

Go-Pro footage:

Thanks for looking!!

Video application for Airborne Flight Crew, 2011

2011-03-05T03:31:00.000-07:00

Bizzy

2010-04-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

Have not shot a lot of new things lately, so here's a few of my favorite bike
shots, just to keep my blog postings a bit more current...

A gallery of 44 of my current favorite bike images is located at this link:
44 Bike images

Arriving in Fruita...

Arriving in Moab

Ben earning it

Cover Shot

Jason Pinning it..

Thanks for looking!

A New Year

2010-01-23T03:07:00.001-07:00

Small creek on my commute to work...

So - Happy new year to everyone, and hope all your holidays went keenly.

I had a week off between x-mas and new years, in which I did absolutely nothing worthwhile. Which is fine, as I needed time to recover from our trip to Mexico. Spent a week in and near Playa Del Carmen, south of Cancun.

Cancun, seen from our departing flight.... miss it for sure.

We had a very posh environment for our stay - and all-inclusive hotel nearly a stones-throw from the beach. Took several day trips to nearly local ruins and other attractions. Snorkeled for my first time, what a trip, even swam over a stingray. I have a photo of it somewhere on one of those disposable underwater camera things....

Mexico was a cool place, but then again, we were relatively "safe" as far as the drug cartels and kidnappings go. The amount of utilitarian cyclists was nearly mind-boggling, especially after comimg from where commuting is becoming/has become a sort of status symbol (if such a term exists anymore). Bikes of all types and sizes, many single speeds too. I was even covetous of a couple of them, even though they were beaters, they had amazing character.

These are the rental bikes at Coba - the ruins with a couple large pyramids.
There were also a lot of bike taxis as well...

A bike taxi in Playa...

Denotes bike lane..

The hotel was in a very "sheltered" area - but on our excursions, we got a sense of "real" life may be like. Many houses had no roofs, or windows... some domiciles look as if they were just acquired by their inhabitants - like an abandoned gas station... I'm not trying to put any impression forward here, it was just very different from what I've seen up here, and then again, similar to what I've seen on reservations here - minus the jungle of course. Interesting for sure.

Taxi stand... if you think that the schiesters in your local urban enviro are
a bit aggressive - well, these cats, pretty much all the vendors on 5th avenue
were very high pressure sales-types

It was cool to get out of the "city" and in to the burbs (relatively speaking, I think). Included in one of our excursions was a little side trip to a contemporary Mayan family. We just show up, get out, and pretty much tromp all over their property while they do their thing. I think our guide said something to the effect that the family gets additional "help" from the government for letting the tourists see "how they live" or whatever. It was interesting, but seemed just a bit contrived, if not a bit melodramatic too. But another place we went, the Grand Cenote (underground rivers), seemed a bit more authentic - from the missing toilet seats at the banos, to the pet deer named Coquette, that wandered into the dining area as we ate our $5 quesadillas (that's $5 for two, a bag a chips, and three diet cokes). Strange to watch a deer walk in the door as your eating... also got to watch as the owners (?) finished off their palm tree roof. very cool....

that there is Coquette, the family deer. The "authentic" Mayan family
we visited also had a pet deer, but it was tied to a tree, and my guess is
that its name was "dinner"....

The other thing to note was all the strange local wildlife, which locals of course don't even blink at... Strange cat/lemur like things, funny cross breeds between guinea pigs and squirrels, spider monkeys and funny snakes...

Lots of Pelicans on the beaches...

I forgot what the correct name for these dudes is, but took to calling them Tony....

These were my favorites, don't have the name off-hand, but the females run around
in gangs of like 15-30 - they descend from the trees after sundown and ravage garbage
cans, and if you're a tourist with some snacks, they will be your new best friends...

Okay, back to the USA now...

Just after the year the changed over, I ended up losing my prized little yashica/digital holga. I am heartbroken over it, and a replacement will happen sooner rather than later. grrrrr.

And so, with the arrival of winter, I've gotten out in the snow a bit, time permitting... went to the Ice Climbing Festival in Ouray, Colorado a couple weeks ago. Fun stuff, they have a narrow canyon there is quite the place to ice climb, especially since they run their own water down in to it to make their own ice flows. Very cool stuff. Very difficult. Did it for my first time, and will for sure do more of it. Got the snowboard out a bit too, ended up at Wolf Creek, fun place. Beats the hell out of stuff back "home".... did a little snowshoeing too, just to get used to it, and to help prepare me for the eventuality of doing some back-country snowboarding... not sure my skills will be keen enough for that this year though...

Snowshoeing at Vallecito...

Su in the XC ski groove...

And to top all that off, I am current enrolled in, and attending college. Just killing my pre-reqs right now, hopefully I can get them squared away in time to enroll in the radiology program next year...

We've been pummeled with feet of snow the last few days, I've never seen and
willing shoveled so much of this stuff ever. blah.

And finally, after over a month of hating on windows harder than normal, I've resolved my Firefox issue. Turns out I had a sneaky instance of Norton running in the background, I swear I never saw it there. Ended up downloading a removal tool from norton, and that was it. cool... now I just have to get a new laptop screen...

Hope everyone's new year is starting on the positive. Right now, during the week with school, I have little time for anything, but I'm looking very forward to spring, the end of the semester, and some freaking bike riding!!!!

Thanks for lookin'
:peace:

Mexican Graf.

2009-12-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

mex-0052, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Graffiti...Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - "BONOS" & "FENES"

Just returned from the Yucatan Peninsula (we stayed south of Cancun). Feverishly trying sort and edit nearly 900 images. First cut got me to 648, and now the fun begins...

Hope you all had a great holiday, looking forward to a keen NYE!

NM Weather.

2009-11-29T06:28:00.001-07:00

NM Weather., originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

New Mexico

2009-11-29T06:27:00.001-07:00

SUNP0015, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Weather...

Arches Triptych

2009-11-25T09:29:00.001-07:00

Triptych, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Utah rocks.

Susent 2

2009-11-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

SUNP0112, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Arches

Arches Sunset

2009-11-25T09:26:00.003-07:00

CRW_0595, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Moab

Delicate Arch 1

2009-11-25T09:26:00.001-07:00

CRW_0566, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Delicate Arch 2

2009-11-25T09:24:00.001-07:00

CRW_0568, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Arches Nat Park - near Moab Utah

Progression Regression...

2009-11-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Had this on the backburner for a little while, was waiting for the arrival of a certain piece of electronics.

I remember, shortly after tackling the processing of my own film, I caught wind of the Holga and Diana plastic "toy" cameras. Picked one up (when they were only $25 at Midewest Camera Exhcange in Columbus Ohio... had some fun with it, and eventually moved on. Some people though, could not leave well enough alone. They had to modify theirs... file out the 645 insert, add a flash, adjust/change the aperture, run 35mm film through it.. I even remember people duct/gaffer taping polaroid backs to them (granted, now you can purchase one set up like that already.) As digital marched forward, so did my attention, and I all but forgot about the little plastic box...

A few weeks ago, I caught wind of an exciting new camera on the horizon. Early reports/rumors noted that this camera would be manual focus, prime/non zoom lens with a 35mm equiv. of about 43mm, it would be pretty bare-bones with not a whole lot of control over image parameters. And, it would be marketed by Yashica. The Sp*$#!! talking began almost immediately.

Is this newest version of another company's DMD camera (decisive moment digital)? Would it be an affordable rangefinder? While no where near in the same class as a Leica or the Epson rangefinders - it would still bring that style of photography to the masses in an affordable package. Or, would it be a cheaply made kids toy/digital camera keychain sort of thing? Something that might be easy to modify; change lenses, adjust aperture, all the keen things people used to do on their "analog" Holgas... And almost most importantly - where and when would this be available?

Slowly, speculation gave way to fact. Not exactly "manual" focus... but fixed focus at (an assumed) hyperfocal distance... switchable between landscape and macro (sound familiar?)... It will indeed have a viewfinder. And a flash (Oh Boy!). And would that lens really be as red as it looks in the photos? Surely, that color had to be photoshopped....

And not too long ago, it began to ship from Japan.

And today, it arrived in my mailbox. :)

Looks pretty snazzy, don't it? Almost meaty enough to comfortably set in your hand, with a little weight behind it - heck, it might even be a little balanced too...

Well, not exactly, but... check out the intro from JapanExposuress.com: YASHICA EZ F521

Impressions from here: (after scarcely 6 hours with the camera in hand)

Well, it's pretty small.
Tiny,even.
It takes THREE AAA batteries, not Four. 3. Three is the number...
5 is right out.
The lens is really as red/orange as it appears in the photos.
It is very, very plasticy. Think Holga, then imagine that the Holga feels just a little solid, because, compared to this camera, a Holga does feel solid.
It does feel just like one would imagine a digital Holga would feel like. There.

It turns on not exactly as fast as my Eos 20D.
It has a mode to take photographs, or to take movies. The movies are VGA. I've not used that function yet.
Menus come in Japanese, but you can - with a little searching - figure out how to get them in english. thank goodness.
It has a macro mode, and landscape mode. There is a difference. and Macro gets you within a few inches. So far anyhow, I've not really gone in to it yet.
It is 5 megapixels. But, you can choose to shoot in a 12 megapixel mode too. It is up-sized by the camera's software though. Purists, should any actually buy this camera, will want to shoot at 5.
ISO is automatic - you cannot choose it.
There is a flash. I've yet to try to use it.
You can adjust how the camera shoots; black and white, green tint, red tint, blue tint, negative, color.
You can also apply those same changes to photos afterwards, and the camera creates a new copy of the image for every effect you authorize. and additional setting one can use after shots are taken is a high contrast b/w mode. fun!

Pretty much an untouched image from the camera.

Tweaked for colors, but the blur on the bottom is an artifact from how the camera shoots images. There really is no aperture/mechanical shutter. The camera's sensor scans from side to the other, from top to bottom, very fast. This has some unexpected, but keen results that I imagine people are going to get even more creative with.

You can also set white balance in the camera. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the white balance at all. Time will tell there. I do like the black and white mode though.

The camera is not very responsive, and suffers from a fair amount of shutter lag too. Not going to be getting the basketball team in action with this puppy!

Oh.. there's like 32 mb of internal memory, and you can slide an SD of up to 8gigs up in there too. No raw format (yet), just jpg. It fits nicely in a jacket pocket or cargo pocket if you are in to such pants.

The files hold up okay to post processing, but there is a fair amount of noise, chromatic abberation, and halos around high contrast areas. Perfect! beware, the files look rough, especially if you used to looking at your keen, glass smooth iso 400 images from your favorite dslr.

And a funny thought struck me...

If this camera came out 5 years ago. Wow. Other than the fact that it will interpolate the file size up to 12mp, this thing would have flopped. absolutely no features - no face detections, no pano stitching, no raw (yet), slow functioning (even by 2004 standards).... But it LOOKS keen, and it does just enough, just barely good enough - it almost challenges the user to make a usable image. And there's something in that, that makes it very fun to mess with.

There are not a lot of electronics floating around inside the wee camera body, there's little room in there. I would expect, as these become more prevalent - that people will figure out how to hack the software like they did for some of the Canon point and shoots - I would expect to be able to shoot raw with this at some point too. As for modifying physically, its being done now. I ready about a guy today that has figured out to get the camera to shoot with a vignette....
(his site is actually a pretty good intro to the camera, much better than mine ;)

The lens comes off, with the removal of two screws. Careful what you ask for though. The crop factor on this camera is something a 6X crop. So, even a 50mm lens put on here would quite the super zoom if you were able to mount it. But that's another challenge to the camera, and I can't wait to see what people come up with for lenses. It might not happen right away, but...

There are no filter threads on the lens, so if you want to use filters or adapters, you'll have to be creative and industrious.

Yeah, so there it is... the Yashica EZ F521 digital camera. Digital Holga. Only, it's not really a Yashica....

Look familiar? It's actually an Aomijia TDC-5010. It unbranded and for sale to the best bidders ;) I sorta like the blue/silver motif... Personally, I think Holga/Diana/Urban outfitters missed out on this one. I do still thing that people are going to catch on to the Yashica version like mad, and mods and a little sub culture will develop around this little camera... Just would have been cool to see a "real" digital holga.

Okay, here's some specs:

Sensor	504 pixel CMOS image sensor 1/2.5 type
	Number of pixels: 504 million pixels
Internal memory	32MB flash memory capacity x 1
External storage media support	SD Memory Card (SDHC Memory Card)
	Capacity for: SD Card 128MB ~ 2GB / SDHC card 4GB ~ 8GB
Save Format	Still Image: JPEG Exif 2.1 compliant / Video: AVI
Size still	12M: 4000 x 3000 pixels x 2 /
	5M: 2592 x 1944 pixels / 3M: 2048 x 1536 pixels /
	1M: 1024 x 768 pixel / VGA: 640 x 480 pixels
	Select Quality: Superfine / fine / standard
Video size	640:640 x 480 pixels / 320:320 x 240 pixels
	Number of shooting: 30fps / 15fps
	Codec type: MotionJPEG (picture) / PCM (audio)
Monitor	2.4 inch (inch) TFT color LCD
Lens	Fixed-focus lens / glass layer 1 layer of plastic +3
	F3.0, f = 7.0mm (35mm camera equivalent 42.53mm)
Range	Normal shooting: 1.5m ~ ‚ Macro: 20 ~ 40cm
Zoom	4X digital
Shutter	Electronic shutter speed: 1 / 2 to 1 / 2000 sec
Exposure Compensation	-2.0EV ~ +2.0 EV (1/3EV units)
ISO sensitivity	Auto
White Balance	Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Fluorescent / Incandescent
Flash	Off / Flash / Auto effective range: 2.5m
Metering mode	General / Multi / Spot
Shooting mode	Still / Video
Continuous Shooting	Yes
Color Effects	Normal / Grayscale / Sepia / Negative / Red / Green / Blue
Self-Timer	Off / 2 seconds / 10 seconds
Auto Power	After 1 minute / 3 minutes / 5 minutes
Output	USB2.0 x 3
TV Signal System	NTSC / PAL
Microphone	Internal
Power	3 alkaline AAA batteries this x 4
Power Life	Still about 190 shots (CIPA standard) / Approximately 1 hour 30 minute video
	x 5 when using alkaline batteries
Environment	Temperature 0 x ~ 40 x (no condensation)
Dimensions	Approximately (W) 110mm x (H) 66mm (D) 48mm
Weight	Approximately 125g (excluding batteries)

I dunno, I like the camera. By about any standards - it basically sucks. But I knew that when I ordered it, and again, just owning is like owning a challenge to make
a good photograph wtihout relying on the latest space-aged tech.... I hope it catches on a bit. If you made it this far, thanks! Have a great week!

peace.

Oh - damn - forgot... the camera is available here:

JAPANEXPOSURES.COM - YASHICA/DIGITAL HOLGA

My order took roughly 10 days to process and arrive, give or take a day or two. I was surprised to get it so fast...
:peace:

2009-11-08T19:59:00.001-07:00

Test

and this too...

2009-11-04T21:30:00.001-07:00

L0zT-S0uL | Self Portraits ... See my Tabblo>

Self Portraiture...

2009-11-04T20:05:00.002-07:00

So, it's been a while since I've shot anything self-expressive... I mean really gritty hard stuff... ran across an archive of self portraits tonight, and ganged them all up... check it...

Angry Loner Catharsis - Self Portraiture and my own photographic pictorial expressionism... ... See my Tabblo>

!

2009-11-03T23:17:00.001-07:00

IMG_0101, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

!

(self portrait(s)).

however....

2009-11-03T23:16:00.003-07:00

vall (9 of 9b), originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Its still not officially winter!

(bike shots are self portraits, btw...)

nooooooo

2009-11-03T23:16:00.001-07:00

IMG_0071b, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Winter arrived before Halloween in the high country this year. will have to trade this in for a snowboard soon...

Ruse One for Pongas

2009-11-03T23:15:00.001-07:00

Ruse One for Pongas, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

For a local establishment, hanging with another piece. $400.

HAZARD PONGAS 1

2009-11-03T23:14:00.003-07:00

HAZARD PONGAS 1, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

For a local establishment, hanging with another piece. $400.

Why

2009-11-03T23:14:00.001-07:00

hate, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

do things have to change... and of all things, why do little details, that make no difference to the greater masses (or lessor masses, as the case may be) have to totally do a 180? ugh. New valves on Rustoleum, Painter's Touch, and Krylon have changed the way I now look at spray paint. hmph.

bye bye summer...

2009-11-03T23:12:00.001-07:00

IMG_0625, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

self portrait on a nearby trail as autumn advanced...

Pancoaster Berm

2009-09-26T14:55:00.001-07:00

IMG_0602a, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Downhilling @ Telluride, checking the trails out for the 12 hour race next week... self portrait

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2009-09-15T10:50:00.001-07:00

%%oV2LOpli%%

Back in the saddle...

2009-09-07T20:38:00.001-07:00

If you are reading this via facebook, I apologize in advance for any repeated content.... I am updating several web presences via a firefox plug-in...

So. Recently returned from a vacation to the east side of the country..

Boston was cool. very cool. great city, great energy.
New Hampshire was... different. Mount Washington area was keen.
The coast of Maine was cool - what we were able to see of it at the time. Portland Maine rocked though. Very young, artsy energy - in a good way.
Gelato is keen.
Flying is fun, but airline travel bites the big one. Come to think of it, it bites the big two as well.
Traveled with the girl, which was also very, very keen.
Boston was cool. did I say that already?
Got to catch up with Jay, which was also quite keen.
Candlepin Bowling. WTF? :)
Walked about on a Submarine, as well as the U.S. Constitution (which was under re-construction)
MFA in Boston was interesting.
Coolest part was being able to hang with someone special 24-7.
UnCoolest part was stress associated with the travel. Sort of took that 'vacation' feeling away a bit.
Still, glad we went, thumbsup to the whole deal.
Driving in the city is a trip. Forgot all 'bout that stuff. Makes my daily commute look like a ride in the country.
Oh, wait.. my daily commute is a drive in the country.
Bike messengers are crazy brave crazy cats for sure. I sort of miss riding my fixed gear among traffic, the way they were meant to be ridden (not on country roads and small town main drags by dufus hipsters)(yeah, I could catch hell for that, but... )
Was good to see graf again. also keen to ride a subway. the transit system in Beantown rocks too.

During the trip back, we remarked how were a bit enamored with the city life (again). Keen buildings, a less pretentious art scene, just that whole buzz of life thing. Then, as we were driving back from the Denver airport and nearing pagosa, the Colorado landscape reminded us why we both love it out here so much, and the city buzz softly faded to the background. Can't believe I became a country boy. ha.

Some visual highlights from the trip:

We arrived at the tail end of hurricane Bill. I heard that the surf had swells up to 10ft. on
the day we arrived. The next day, we made it to the coast and the surf had subsided somewhat,
but the surfers were still out in droves...

Su watches the sideways waterfall near Mt. Washington...

Sunset near Newick's - a very neat restaurant in NH, where I had swordfish chunks for the first time. Think
chicken mcnuggets, only made out of swordfish instead...

mmm, architecture....

it was funny to see all the gawkers shooting this car as it drove by... and yeah, i too was
a gawker...

There was more graffiti on this one building than you can find in the entire Durango | Cortez | Farmington | Aztec area collectively.
I was especially fond of the person doing the little cloud stickers on top of that chimney. Saw that stuff all over Boston.

Not HDR, not even processed in any funky manner. This was at the MFA in Boston...

Anybody know what blockbuster movie this beer may have been featured in? I had no
idea it even existed in real life... Thanks to Jay for the introduction....

Me. Taking the outside line on purpose to test out my
ability to grip the bar. I'm at about 40% maybe... for the
foreseeable future, I will probably not be riding with a finger
on my front brake lever. strange.

The hand and scar in their present state...

Back on July 8th or so, I broke two bones in my left hand in a silly mtb accident. These are the first official broken bones I've ever experienced. Its coming up on 8 weeks now. I have several screws and two plates in there, and finally the swelling has gone down a bit, and a little range of motion is restored, but I have a lot of work to do there.
I've been a little down about the whole thing, almost defeatist at times, but Su has always been there providing and reminding me about some
positivity and not behaving like a victim or something, and has tried very hard to get me to proactive about it. I'm very stubborn (and impatient), and even though its "only a hand" (compared to other injuries I know are happening to people) its been difficult to remain positive. At some point about a week ago, it just started feeling a bit better. I don't have even 50% of my motion back, but its coming. slowly. but its coming.

So yesterday and today, I'm out on the single speed just getting used to the pedal thing again. I've lost a lot of cardio (not that I had that much to begin with!) and I've got a lot to gain by the 19th. But, I can hold on to the handlebar tightly with my thumb and two good fingers, and the two broken ones are slowly coming along. And props to Su again, when she flatted on Saturday, she urged me on to continue the ride (no spare tube, and the flat was a valve failure), which I did and despite a little frustration with the trail, I had a blast... and could not ride slowly :). Went out with Ben again today and rode the same area, but different trails. Lots of sand, and a set up whoops that you could pump through so fast that, well, it became dangerous. Fun stuff.

That's Ben, tearin' it up....

The bikes - Ben's deathmobile on the left, mine on the right. Ben, ever the glutton
for punishment, decided to gear his single speed at like 36-18 or something. Mine is
geared at a more friendly 32-18.... I had issues keeping up with him for sure. Sand
did not help ;). yeah, it was the sand...

No Country For Old Cars...

And THAT is an "emulsion transfer" from my epson - of the Graff alphabet I designed a while back. There's a whole new thing going here with graf that I'm getting involved in, but more on that in the near future when plans and activities coalesce a bit more.

Starting yet another, new blackbook... the transfer in the image above is bound for the inside cover here...

And that's about it for now. Thanks for looking. Hope all is well in the world for the rest of you. :peace:

9 screws + 2 plates...

2009-08-07T18:03:00.001-07:00

Three weeks later...

Surgery - according to my Dr. - went very well. Bones were reduced (aligned correctly) with some fancy hardware (which I'm told won't get me an intimate encounter with the TSA later this month when I fly out to Boston/New Hampshire). The last few weeks have been a trial of sorts. Not riding is really getting to me now, I miss it, and wonder/worry that my hand will be normal again (I'm assured it looks good so far). I've been in a soft splint since the surgery - took it off once for a day, and swelling became an issue fairly quickly - so we re-wrapped it.

Joints in my two affected digits are extremely stiff and painful to bend beyond about five degrees right now. If I try to make a fist, it feels like the joints are goimg to compress so hard that they might explode. This is irritating.

So, saw the doc again today - had an x-ray taken. Too early to detect any bone growth, but he wanted to check to see that all was still in place as he had left it (meaning: he wanted to make sure I have not busted it all up). The x-rays looked great said he, with a grin. I should mention, though he is a well-known Hand Specialist, he is primarily known for his plastic surgery (namely Breast Augmentation). There was a note from the radiologist stating that the "reduction" was "nearly anotomical" - which I take to mean "excellent".

Prognosis so far is: Splint for one more week, then report to the physical therapist for range of motion work. I can't hardly wait.

Though I'm not digging the time off the bike, I have to say its going by faster than I figured. Nice. Pain has been absolutely minimal, and I've only taken pain meds on a few nights - just to make sure that I didn't wake up in throws of agony at 4am or something.

Next appt. with the good doc will be 4 weeks, after I return from the east coast trip. I'm hoping to have some movement happening by then, as well as some indication of bone growth/repair.

Meanwhile, we've been driving many jeep roads/high country passes and camping a bit, even got to see a large moose right next to the largest natural body of water in Colorado... I even managed to photograph it, getting in nice and close with the zoom lens. Got home to find that there was card in the camera (no wonder it was wring raw files so fast at 5fps!). Nuts.

Good luck to all who are on the mend... and thanks for looking!

My hand, with Titanium Upgrades 2

2009-08-07T10:03:00.003-07:00

My hand, with Titanium Upgrades 2, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

screws n stuff

My hand, with Titanium Upgrades 1

2009-08-07T10:03:00.001-07:00

My hand, with Titanium Upgrades 1, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

screws n stuff

Subtle

2009-08-06T23:24:00.001-07:00

Subtle, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

NM Sunset

2009-08-06T23:23:00.001-07:00

NM Sunset, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

CRW_0165-2

2009-07-26T23:00:00.001-07:00

CRW_0165-2, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

CRW_0174

2009-07-26T22:59:00.003-07:00

CRW_0174, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

IMG_9351

2009-07-26T22:59:00.001-07:00

IMG_9351, originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

round 1

2009-07-26T00:24:00.001-07:00

i'll start off with:

this is not really an argument about which is "better" overall...("better" was sort of tounge in cheek in the first post) i made that decision almost ten years ago, when "cheap" dslr's cost 5k or more - and i traded my film slr for a 3 megapixel point and shoot... besides, it doesnt matter what i would say, or countless other "experts" before me have said. digital is here to stay, and film will continue to become more and more of a lost art form. actually, i think its been a lost art form for many years already, but thats just me :)

this is more a subjective comparison of the subtleties that make up digital/analog images, spurred by a conversation about some cat using his k-1000 in place of spending fat cash on a 5D (full frame sensor slr). the conversation eventually degraded into a film/digital/noise/grain/resolution debate of course, (the mere mention of film opposed to digital just seems to get people's panties in bunch or something ;) go figure... (and i admit that asking "which is better..." was a mistake on my part, i should have just said i'd demonstrate the differences - my bad).

on a side note, i coveted a 5d for a while, but when i think about it - i dig my 1.6 crop - in fact, what i really covet is another peleng fisheye (allen - i have the old one if you still want it).

anyhow, i shot and processed a roll today. sadly, i didnt capture anything very compelling, but i did manage to capture some similar images with each camera. also got a keen deal on processing -just over $5 for processing, prints, and a cd...

the digital images are as shot, no post processing. film images are also as shot, straight from the cd/scans

100% crop comparisons:

these are touched up a bit:

film was scanned at a pixel size of 1818x1228 - sort of small compared to the 3072 pixels of the digital camera. for 8x10's, these will have to scanned at a higher res. that said - the scans looked surprisingly good, if not a little oversharpened and maybe just a bit contrasty. but the colors looked great, and i still dig the look of grain on screen. the 4x6 prints were crisp, colorful and grain free.

at 100% zoom, the low resolution of the scans became quite apparent, and the digital files held much more information (of course). but when displayed on a screen at normal viewing size, neither film nor digital appear defficient.

digital was shot in raw as well as iso 400 - and the unprocessed raw files were quite flat and soft compared to the scanned film. but that is to be expected, you shoot raw to allow for widest range of adjustments in post processing.

once edited, the digital files were as poppy as the film images. will do some prints of the edited images to compare - 4x6 and 8x10s in a couple days.

This is Only A Test

2009-07-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

Inspired by a thread on DPreview.com, I've decided to conduct a test. Even though I am already sure of the results, I am going to conduct the test anyways.

The test is: Film Vs. Digital - a real world, everyman approach. No resolution charts, MTF curves, special film processing, nothing fancy or scientific. keeping it simple...

also, since i'm typing one handed, no more caps...

what would i hope to demonstrate?

which is "better" - of course...and what really quantifies "better" anyhow?

resolution/clarity

grain vs. noise

ease of processing/post processing

colors

conversion to b/w

xtreme processing, like hdr or other heavy image tweaking

overall aesthetic appeal - I hear people say "there's just some quality about a film image, that i can't put a finger on, that makes it more appealing/better/different than digital" (i've said this myself). to adress this point i will compare lab prints as well as home/inkjet prints...

as to whether digital is more/less expensive, here's a quote from the thread on dpreview:
"A used 5D is $1000. A decent film is $5, decent film developing also is $5. Getting a decent print is even more expensive and harder to find by the day. Scanning is a way around that but a decent filmscanner doesn't come cheap either. At $10 for film and development, 100 films equals a used 5D. 100 films is not alot, even before digital photo-enthousiasts shot more than that in a year."

i've shot, developed and printed (both via darkroom and inkjet) with color and bw film - its where i started almost 10 years ago - but i've never really compared them side-by-side - i've only juxtaposed the processes from a distance. at the moment, i find myself with resources to perform the comparison, and i look forward to the results.

the players:

pretty much everyman film... 400 speed, c-41. yes, there are better films - an were i shooting for $$$ i would use it - but thse represent what an average joe might have loaded in their picture takers...

thats my pentax k-1000 and my canon eos 650 film cameras.

and the recently repaired digital rebel with the 20d.

originally, i planned on using all 4, but since most photos will be shot during a 14 mile hike - i'll only be taking the rebel and the eos 650. if i come across enough interesting subjects, i'll try to use both the color and b/w films - otherwise it'll only be the color film.

film will initially be processed at a local lab using the one-hour service with basic scan to cd using whatever their standard resolution scans are. once i've culled a couple "winners" out, i will those frames scanned at the highest res available locally. i'll also scan the same frames myself using a flatbed epson scanner @3200dpi.

images will compared on screen as well side-by-prints.

there will also be a few different methods of printing for the film:

from high-res lab scans; no post processing except for dust emoval
from high-res lab scans; post processed via lightroom & photooshop
lab prints directly from the negative; 4x6 and 8x10/8x12
inkjet prints from the best scans; post processed specifically for inkjet prints

prints from digital:

4x6/8x10 lab prints prints directly from the card; no post processing
8x10 lab prints - post processed via lightroom/photoshop
8x10 inkjet prints - post processed via lightroom/photoshop

if i should happen to produce any somewhat exceptional images, i'll also print 11v14 or 12x18 enlargements, to see how noise and grain structure compare.

i understand, this comparison has been done - probably numerous times - by people far more experienced/knowledgeable than i, but i stll see debates about the subject. i see samples online - scans and screenshot comparisons... and i'm not trying to prove anything really. i just want to see for myself, to have the examples in hand.

predictions/expectations:

digital files will look "cleaner"* on screen
up to 8x10, i don't expect to see any appreciable difference between files of equal processing
i expect digital files will require less hassle to achieve a decent print

*1. by cleaner i mean less grain or noise is visible. also, i understand that grain and noise are very different. noise is a by-product with digital images, while in a film image - grain is a component that makes up an image. personally, i like grain, until it becomes distracting to the aesthetic. so, comparisons between grain and noise can be a little apples/oranges, but too much of either can be annoying.

tomorrow i head out the door with the two cameras....

2009-07-24T20:15:00.001-07:00

Okay...

Fireworks - July 4th Silverton, CO.

First - I have to say I think it sucks that George was effectively robbed of the Yellow Jersey on Saturday. Bummer.

Frolic: Su bounces down a trail near-ish Mini Gulch...

So. I have officially moved. I now co-habitate with the keenest female I've ever met, and things are swimming along swimmingly - we are happy and it is good.

And thats really the biggest news of all, really. Did a keen little camping/jeep escapade over the 4th which was cool. gave me a chance to test out the radio-remote for the (now repaired) Digital Rebel. Set the camera up for focus and exposure, then sat about 30 feet away while Iheld hands with my girl, firing the shutter every minute or so wiyh the free hand while the pyrotechnics went on. Worked like a charm.

The next day we packed up and wandered about the mountain roads, seeing what there is to see...

We were originally looking fo Stony Pass, but wrong turn brought us by this keen old mill. the tracks end right there, you can see the underside in the next photo...

this structure sits somewhere above 10,000 feet...

eventually, we did find Stony Pass - at about 12,650 feet...

and part of the Continental Divide Trail...

also found a couple puddles - That's friend's Nicole and Ben...

Ultimately we ended up in Creed, CO. Not exactly a Metropolis - after a restroom break and quick inspection of their skatepark, we made our way to Pagosa and then home to Bayfield....

It was shaping up to be a killer summer... great times already, living with the coolest person... and a very respectable downhill rig sitting in the garage, just waiting to attack the steep and rocky stuff....

View from the back of the pick-up/shuttle vehicle on the Sasquatch run (un-official name)....

And finally, I was getting back to actually pushing limits...

Out behind Forest Lakes (where I now reside with the coolest girl...)

And.. was getting into the circle of local DH riders for photo ops...

Well... all good things...balance... Karma... I dunno what struck (probably just general careless-ness ;))... But after work one about ten days ago, that coolest girl offered to drop me off at the top of an ATV trail out behind the house. Its a keen rocky and rough downhill about 2 miles maybe from top to bottom. So, geared up, packed the bike, and headed upwards. Got out at the top, and for some stupid reason, I figured I'd just descend the first couple hundred yards through some thick, steep brush - no trail.

First 25 yards went pretty well, then the brush got quite thick, and became so rocky that I slowed to just above walking speed as the 8 inch travel bike took friendly bounces from rock to log, to rock... and then my front wheel just stopped. In fact, the whole bike just stoppd. Which was particularly troubling because my body remained in motion, and that motion translated to a trip over the bars.

I cannot count how many times I've gone over the bars -thousands maybe - on ramps, off of ramps, down stairs, over parking blocks... and usually I've emerged bruised or cut (or both) but never broken. In fact, I've never suffered an official break or fracture...

As I went over the bars, I tried to spot a place for my hands to land, but the foliage was too thick to see the ground, and I put my hands down blindly - and quickly - into the rocks and "stuff". Not sure my hand was even extended - most likely I put my left down backside first, right in to the edge of a nice edgey rock.

Immediately I "knew" that I had broken my hand. But the girl JUST dropped me off, and even witnissed the fall. I had gloves on, and the pain was nowhere near what I imagined a fractured metacarpal to feel like - so I rode trail out, all the way to the bottom, at speed, including the quarter mile uphill hike back to the road (hey - if it was really broken, I had to get one last ride in!)

(wish i had a burlier story, like goofing a 360 down a 10ft drop or something, but it was just a freak slip up)

Once at home, we took the glove off to reveal a nice goose egg sized lump, and decided to get it checked out. X-ray confirmed fractures to numbers 4 and 5 on my left hand. ER doc tried to set it (which DID feel like it was broken), but it was decided that they were too tweaked out, would require surgery, and I was referred to a specialist.

A week later, I sit typing with one hand complete with six or more screws and at least two plates. No cast, but a bulky splint. Doc says splint comes off in 3 weeks, then PT begins. 4-6 months before I'm 100%. 2 years before my $10k hand is paid for (inurance, if you have it, is a good thing - I do no have it).

Other than that... I went on a jeep safari which was arranged by :avatarbennance: ... Originally I was going to go along for a few days, but the hand thing sort of changed that, only got to shoot/ride along for one day... still, it was pretty cool and a nice diversion:

Digital Rebel with hoya infra-red filter

Jeeps heading up Corkscrew Pass

Looking down from California Pass

Someone that earned their turns...

Ghost town/mill at Animas Forks....

So thats about it for now - hand is tired ;) Hope all is well out there, Thanks for looking!

Devious JOurnal temptlate

2009-06-02T19:15:00.001-07:00

IT'S LIKE THAT...

New Mexico Pavement...

WORDS... June - Already???

So... its been a few I guess. Not too much earth-shattering going on here, lets see....

Since the last journal about the Gallup trip, there's been a couple trips to Moab for riding, a nice drive out to Montrose to visit friends, and some scouting on barren landscapes for things to ride. Really not a lot of specifically huge highlights, life is just happening and I'm cool with that. I don't mean things are boring - far from it, as this is shaping up to be on of the coolest summers on record. My record anyhow.

Backing up a little....

Really need to update this image, forgot about it for a while... (whish I had some older images...)

Only really two things to note with this update, though as I type that may change...

First...
Over the years, I've built many, many bicycles to ride and generally thrash about on. Some have been some real clunkers, and a couple or few have been pretty... eh, "pimp". I've gone back and forth between what I could afford at the time, to things I can't really afford, and end up eating Ramen for several weeks, or sometimes not eating at all.
(Yes, I sacrifice food/sustinance for bikes). And sometimes, the bike changes over a period of months, evolving as my riding evolves/devolves...

But this weekend marked the culmination of months of bike-part-finagling, half starving, and just plain waiting for things to show up. Back in march I purchased a Giant Faith frame, and have since been trying to accumulate everything for a "budget" freeride/dh bike. Actually, I began collecting parts for this back in December when I purchased the dual crown Marzocchi Super T. Funny - that the first one I acquired specifically for this beast, ends up not being used on it.

Last Friday night, as I sit there putting the bike together, I was surprised to find that I didn't really forget to acquire anything I needed - cables, tube/tires (all in one in this case), grips, bars, even a new chain. Awesome. I get to greasing the bearings on the headset, go to slide the fork in, and damn, dontcha know that the fork was too short to fit all the way through.

I was really hoping to get this together the next day so I could show it off ;) and maybe even tool around on it a bit, but without the fork, I was done. A local bike shop (Pedal the Peaks) had a used Super T, but it did not have the same part on it that I needed. At that point, I was sure that I would have to locate and purchase another fork. Great. That means more waiting to ride this thing. Not happy.

I was scheduled to go ride a desert trail the next day, and was going to take the Reign, but Ben invited me for a wrenching session beforehand in basement of envy - so I figured I'd take both bikes so I could show him the Faith, and if worse came to worse, I'd thow the dual crown back on the Reign...

Well, Ben is one cool cat, props to him for sure. After my arrival we caught up a bit then examined all the bike parts that we had mutually acummulated. He offered to let me use his Boxxer fork, and while I was installing it, he offered to trade up for the Super T, since it fit his bike, and actually looked better on it. That was not the first trade of the day. We spent the next couple hours swapping parts, trading back and forth and wrenching. All said and done, many barters were bartered, trades traded, bikes and riders were content. And, well, the Boxxer does look fairly dapper on the Faith:

This has to be the "bling-iest" rides I've ever owned. A little more Captain America looking than I'd really prefer, but I got some really good deals on some of the parts (Art and bartering do pay off)(Thanks again to Pedal the Peaks also). So, yeah, submitted for your approval, a 2005 Giant Faith. 8 inches of pretty darn plush travel in the back, 7 in the front provided by the RockShox Boxxers. Azonic Outlaw wheels, Profile cranks/bb, E13 chainguide, Crank Bros 50/50 pedals, and keen camo seat... and some other stuff.

Years ago, in Ohio, I about swore I'd never ride, much less "need" a contraption like this. Now... if I found good deal on a 10 inch travel frame, I'd seriously look in to it.

As for "needing" it.... :

Photo by Ben Nance

Need is a relative term. :D

But I sure can find all kindsa ways to use it. After we got the bikes packed up, we headed out to a location that will remain to remain unnamed and unknown. Its a keen place, one of those things that could easily blow up and become a crowded place to ride.

The Faith felt surprisingly like my Reign. Then, maybe I shouldn't be surprised, as they were pretty much designed/released at the same time - suffice it to say the Faith was very comfortable. Dig it.

Photo by Ben Nance

But I wasn't the only one riding and shooting either - Ben took out the Eastern slash, complete with dual crown-camo Sherman fork, ready to put it task... and he did...

Ben takes (IMO) the harder of two lines and becomes an iconic image...

Pick a line, any line... c'mon...

Testing mettle... Photo by Ben Nance

Ben on the exposure with sick roll in...

Photo by Ben Nance. And the requisite "steeper than it looks" disclaimer...

We had absolute choice of lines... There were no trails yet, and lots of lines to choose from. Not that crazy about the hike-a-bike stuff after every run, but I have to say earning your turns here was totally worth it. Besides, we can shuttle back in or near Durango, or hit up a ski area do lift assist runs. Landscape was lunar, extraterrestrial even.
Big props to Ben for the shots, and fork trade... Check out his report of the days events here: Location X, or Area 52, or...

Be sure to check out Ben's gallery too: Ben Nance

Other things to note... Not much.. I'm moving. Out of Durango proper, and into the "burbs" in a matter of speaking. Moving to place called Forest Lakes, about a half hour drive from DGO. I guess some would call it living out in the country or something, I dunno. It sorta feels like it, but when you live in a... "community" of nearly 1,000 strong, it's hard to say you're getting away from it all. I will say though, it's nice. For sure quieter than being in town, and I'm just that much closer to any "wilderness" there is here. I probably sound cynical, and in a way I am - but I'm excited to move out there, I'm just not excited about watching Durango, or similar mountain towns trying to grow. Ineveitable, yes. Sad, yes. And well, I guess technically I'm a part of the problem. and well.. too bad ;)

Not a view from the new digs, but from an exploratory trail excursion last week.

Ran in to that guy on the trail too. He was very bold for his size, which was
equivalent to one's thumb.

Rainbow outside the new place...

It was a rather large one...

and it turned out to be a double... sweet.

I'll be in the moving process for the next couple weeks, which is nice to have that sort of timeline to take care of it, as the last few times were quite hectic.

Not much else happening. Might have a project or two in the works once the move is complete, but right now I'm just working and waiting to ride and explore and be out in it.

Switchbacks coming up from... somewhere in Moab...

And that's about it for now... when I get my monitor issues sorted out, I'll probably have some new images to post up, but for now its too frustrating tyring to use the laptop screen to judge shadows and stuff. Hope all is well out there, and thanks for stopping to look!

----------------------------------------------------------

AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...

The next shirt I make...

Devious JOurnal temptlate

2009-04-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

IT'S LIKE THAT...

New Mexico Pavement...

WORDS... April: Note: many, many hotlinked images in this post...

Hittin' the road...

With all the important gear:

So Spring is pretty much kickin' it right now... or its really trying to anyhow. But the white stuff still threatens, and lately its been scheduling its last battles for my weekends, which is beginning to wear thin on my already winter-sensitive nerves.

Shot two weekends ago in the HD Mtns...

As last weekend approached, I was becoming quite anxious to get out and ride. But ride somewhere different or new because I expected weather in town to be shite yet again. Moab, Fruita, and several other hotspots are within a days drive for me, but I wanted something new. It didn't have to be the mountain bike mecca or a new super hot technical line, just different. With the help of the www, I located a place... a place in New Mexico...

The HDT, or High Desert Trail as it is aptly named, resides just outside of Gallup, NM. Only a 3.5 hour drive, I set my sights on Gallup as my weekend destination.
(I was "this close" to driving to ABQ to ride something like Cedro or Otero, but I was getting mixed reveiws on the weather there too...)

From the Gallup NM dot Org website:

The High Desert Trail:
A narrow, single track mountain biking and hiking trail, High Desert Trail System provides a wide variety of terrain with the least technical beginning at the East Trail. Three loops off of the trail - First Mesa, Second Mesa, and Third Mesa - increase in technical difficultly of terrain.

One of the numerous trail markers along the route.

I checked a pdf map of the trail system and it looked to be about 10 miles from one end to the other, with increasing levels of difficulty if one were to start at the east side of the trail. I estimated the ride would be at least 20 miles, and that sounded just about right. So, the plan was put in motion. Friday after work, I hit the open road, set the cruise, and watched the apocalyptic vistas of New Mexico fade past like old frame from a View Master Reel....

As I beat it out of DGO, it appeared I was doing so just in time, as
a nice weather front was just beginnin to roll in...

Looking up the road was not a very promising view etiher. At this point
fingers were crossed that I would drive through the majority of it.

When I reached Cortez, the windshield wipers were working full tilt to
keep my view crisp and clean. Well, make that windshield WIPER, as
the driver side wiper sort of disintigrated. A quick stop at wallyworld
provided a nice, new Michelen wiper blade, and the opportunity to
photograph Mesa Verde shrouded in weather.

Shiny happy people in Cortez...

Back on the road, I was able to start putting some miles down, and somewhere around Shiprock, NM, the weather began to thin out a bit. I was just a hair late to get the best lighting on Shiprock itself, but I stopped for a second to shoot it anyhow (I also did some "from the hip" shots whilst driving too). I was surprised when I stepped out to the side of the road and was greeted by an almost hot breeze. I was also less than thrilled about the power lines in the way too.

And then... Shiprock was History...

Just before sunset, a nice big sandstorm began to blow across the desert. These are incredible events to witness in person, and I really hope to one day be immersed in a very serious one. The way the ground moves, the sand waves across the ground like heavy gas or smoke... so interesting. That is until, of course, so much is blowing and you can't hardly see your hand in front of your face.

On second thought, I don't really need to experience such a thing. But what I was able to witness of the mild one on my drive was pretty keen.

I rolled in to Gallup at about 8:15 or 8:30 pm. Hit up wallyworld again to see if I could pick up a card reader because I forgot mine. I found one for under 8 bucks, how bout that? Got back to the hotel, and found that I also forgot the power cord for the laptop. sweeeet. So, my evening entertainment consisted of watching all the violent crimes being reported on the ABQ news stations. Holy hell, what a place. For that matter, I can't imagine Gallup is too much more friendly. You get this feeling, coming it there at night- not that you are in danger, like when you drive in to Detroit at night, but just more like this, sort of.. feeling of being surrounded by many things nefarious. While I didn't feel that I would get gangked or attacked, I did have this feeling that I could might possibly catch a stray bullet or blade from some sordid deal gone wrong. Actually, it was an interesting sensation, and in the end, I think maybe I've just watched No Country For Old Men a few too many times...

Then morning came...

The plan was to hit the bike shop first, and pick up an extra tube or patch kit, and see if I could squeeze any trail beta out the locals. But not many bike shops open at 8am. So I cruised about Gallup a bit and got a feel for the place.

So, in the daylight, Gallup lost a little of that "No Country" feel (but not entirely)... however, it was a very interesting place - aesthetically. I almost could have skipped the bike ride and just wandered the town all day shooting it, and in fact, I may go back some time and do just that....

After a while of tooling around, I parked the Jeep (free on street parking downtown, wooot!) and found a coffee shop. I figured maybe someone there would know where the bike shop was, cause I was not seeing it (the previous night, I gangked the map from the phone book and the page with the bike shop info - there was ONE bike shop...). The coffee shop I found was large, box-ish in shape, and fairly new feeling. Still, it was sparsley outfitted, and not many of the chairs and table matched. I placed my order and asked the barista lady if she knew where the bike shop was. She informed that it had closed, and the owner was now running it out of his garage. Hmph. great. As the double espressos brewed and steam turned cream in to froth, my eyes wandered about a bit more... one person in the corner typing away on a laptop... then I notice a sign on the register - "INTERNET = $3.00 Please inform us if you intend to use the internet"... whaaaa? wow. Noticed some average-looking coffee shop art hanging about the place, nothing unsightly, but pretty much "every coffee shop art"... and a large set of square-holed shelves that held news papers magazines... on one pile I spied an old issue of Dirt Rag, so I picked it up. Paged through... check the issue number: #119. zipped back through the pages and found that this was issue I was published in - a self portrait while doing a one-footed table top when I lived in ABQ. I looked at the photo underneath mine, and noticed it was a rider that I did not know when the issue was released, but ended up meeting this guy and riding with him last summer. funny....

A stocky fellow with very long dread locks brought my espresso out and thanked me for coming in. They had good bean - the espresso was nice, not too bitter, and not overly sweet like I seem to notice in many places. keen.

Well - with no bike shop, my only option for a spare tube would be wallyworld. But even then, they dont' usually carry tubes with presta valves, so I was just hoping to find a patch kit. I ended up with some "slime" adhesive patches - not too sure about those, my luck with adhesive patches in the past has not been good, and really, i should have just bought some super glue.... either way, I was finally prepared, and so I headed out to the trail head.

The lot on the east side of the the loops. The plan was to start easy, work in to
the more technical stuff for the peak of the ride, and then ride back out through
the easy stuff....

The trail head was easy enough to find. Just head north on old route 666 (now its 491 - but if you look carefully, you can still find the 666 road signs) and look for a road called Chino something-or-other, then take a left. After the left, the road curves right, and then you see the trail head almost immediately on your left. When I arrived, there was one van in the lot, with Colorado plates, but it looked like they were the trail already. Got the bike out, made sure all was operational, and then hit the trail....

This is the first trail sign. You can see how the trail stretches out and loops back. What you can't probably see here is that there are three main loops, which is sort of a misnomer too.... you can't really just go out and ride the middle loop, you have to start one of two points on either side of the system. But, you have the option to loop back around about 4 different times if you get bored or tired or whatever. The plan was to ride the lower halves of the loops on the way out, and then the upper halves on the way back.

As the trail started out, it was standard high desert trail riding. Lots of yuccaa, sage, cacti and that loose-ish gravelly dirt. The trail itself was very well taken care of - groomed even. it was wider than what one might call singletrack, but surely not so wide to be considered double track. And though you might hear some ATVs in the distance, they are not allowed on the trail. Nice.

For the first two miles or so, I was nice riding. Smooth for the most part, very little elevation gain, and not very technical at all. A great place to bring beginner riders I thought. The trail undulated through and around little mesas, and though you did have short sections that were upwards, they were always followed by an equal payoff of a swoopy and speedy decent back down. I was also thinking about what a great trail this would be for single speeds that like to really rail it out. You could cruise this place nicely even with a stiffer gear like 32-16. Then I thought about how out of place my dual crown 6-7inch mini downhill rig was so out of place, lol. But it was still fun. I was just hoping the trail became a bit more challenging. Soon.

Standard Fare for the first few miles....

Okay, first major intersection. I started at the very right side of the map.
if I wan to deliberately check out the beginner trail, I have to take a left/down here.
But I decide to go "up" and continue on to the intermediate section/mesa. I can
ride the beginner loop at th end when I circle back, if I really feel like adding some
extra miles...

On the map above, you'll notice its called the "Six Flags Intersection".
Here are the six flags. And my bike. and huge rock cairn...

I've completed the straight-ish section to the middle loop, or "second mesa" intersection. Originally, I figured I'd ride the southern portions of the loops first, but for some reason, I deciced not to here, and I did the north half. I have to say, this the best signed trail I have ever seen. Tells you where you are, and how many miles in each direction.

Sign 5, the bike and a cairn....

On the middle mesa, the terrain became, well, "terrain". There were rocks, loose dirt, and even some
little bumps to catch air on if you kept your eyes peeled. Still not technically challenging, but it was nice
to get away from the rather sanitized feeling of the first couple miles...

What you can't really see here is the craftsmanship put in to building this
(and others) switchback. It was almost pretty, now neat and cleanly it
was constructed. This trail is very well maintained, and I have to say
it's alway well laid out too. It flows nicely.

Getting towards the next intersection, the trail begins to interact with the geology of
the area a little more, and the immediate foregrounds become much more interesting.

Lots of places for short bursts of speed - nothing sustained though,
watch out because some corners seem to come out of nowhere...

Nearest the next intersection, there are several small
areas where you get to circumnavigate some
keen sandstone structures....

Okay, so now I've come across the top of the middle mesa, from right to left... I'm 7 miles in so far, and
have yet to even take a drink of my gatorade...

So as I look towards the next section, trying to figure out which side of the loop to ride,
I notice these little metal bunnies.... and what looks like a drop off behind them...

Well, it was not really a drop off, but a sort of fun line to try to
ride down. It was steep, but not very dangerous at all. But it
was keen how you had to ride between the rabbits to hit the line.

A view of where the trail sort of goes. Again, I decided to take the north side loop.
This part decends through some more eroding sandstone sections, has some nice swoopy
speedy lines, and even some halfway techy spots. So far, its my favorite section of trail so far.
Still feeling its more a single speed trail though...

Sign post seven. The last loop, and supposedly the trickiest part. So far, I'm
not worried at all, as its been an easy ride for the most part. Nothing super challenging, but
again, the trail is in great shape, and is just a flat out fun ride. So far.... Again, I opt for the
north side (note the blue arrow in the background indicating a direction)...

I don't have photos of this part because it was too fun to stop. Not too fast, but it flowed so
nicely that stopping to shoot would have ruined the ambiance... Really. Most of it is a slow
decent to a valley floor, and at one point, you get in to a fairly steep downhill section that is
for sure not a beginner trail. perhaps the trickiest line of the entire system is on this part, about
a mile from the western terminus. For the first time of the ride, I can let my bike do its thing,
and though its not a downhill course, and the bike is still overkill for the trail, it rails the lines down
and all I can do is grin...

Okay... Sign 8. I'm ten miles from the start. one mile to the end.
The trail out is a short decent through some slickrock, then to a dirt road.
I float down the trail to the road, toally balls to the wall, two wheel drifting
the corners, and at the dirt road I can see the western trail head and map
sign thing... its only dirt road, and is a short climb, so I decide to turn around, go
back to sign 8 and re fuel, and contemplate the ride so far...

Well, halfway done, and I don't feel too bad. But then, its not been a demanding trail.
Still, 10 miles is 10 miles :)

Its sort of difficult to compare this trail... to Phil's World... Alien Trail.. they are in effect, the
same high desert terrain. I would consider Phil's World to be the most techinical of the three,
and Alien would come in second, then this trail bringing it in for 3rd. Overall, this trail
has been smooth and flowy. Sort of like if you mixed Phils World and Alien Trail in to one
network, but spread them out a bit. This trail does not have that sort of tight squeezed in feel
that the other two have. Though not as technical (even though it does have a couple tricky parts)
it flows better than both of the others, and maybe that'st he beauty of this trail. It just cruises nicely.

More pantomime animals. you'll see quite a lot of these around...

After refueling, I begin my way back, this time I will take the southern portions of the
loops. To my dismay, I find that I must have descended quite a ways, because the first two
miles on the way back are mostly upwards moving. In some places, very upwards, and even
in a couple more spots, I nearly have to walk my bike (but I pull through, really). Though these climbs
are not long, they are short little lung bursters. And they even manage some exposure in some
places, where you at the very edge, and if your tire goes one inch the wrong way, you are going down,
down down... Fun :)

Though is does not tranlate well, this a particularly
tough section to get up without touching. Its
narrower than it looks, and its an initial ten foot
drop to the right, and if you catch a good bouncet there,
you could manage another 30or 40 footer after that.
This is not a beginner section. If you are not comfortable
with technical/narrow/rocky sections with little room for
error - skip the west loop.

I loved it though :)

This was the sun dial. it was off by about 10 minutes.
we might be in trouble....

You can't see it here, but route 66 and I-40 are lurking in the background...

The way back on the southern halves of the loops seemed like it was mostly uphill, but I could have
just been tired. But I think, I'd recommend doing the north halves, if you start from the east.

After about the 3rd mile on the way back, the trail sort of leveled out, but the rocky stuff was
all gone, and the trail returned to its previous state of nice groomed loose gravelly desert dirt.
I did the beginner loop on the way back as well, and I would almost recommend to do it on
the way out, if you are starting from the east side.

Another note - in some areas, the trail seemed like it was either new, not ridden yet after a good rain, or
just something... it would become very rough and almost stippled. I was puzzled by this for quite a while.
Also, there are many cattle crossing gates on the trail....

I never put much stock in those things (no pun) becuase I've ridden across so many and never
saw any livestock... so I never expect to see any on a trail.

Well, on the last stretch back to the east trail head - I'm following a nice curvy trail and I bank in to a hard
sweeping right turn. Bike is beginning to lay over and the suspension is doing its thing, providing me with traction
and keeping up my speed. at the apex of the turn, there is a short tree that obstructs your view of where to exit
the turn. Just after the tree, there's a huge ass cow standing there waiting for me. The cow literally hopped back a foot
and uttered (again, no pun) a short surprised cow eeep and trotted backwards out my way very fast. wow. I almost
hit a freaking cow. On my bike.

So, mind the live stock if you ride the High Desert Trail, in Gallup New Mexico.

After letting it sink in a few days... I can say this about the HDT:

If I lived in Gallup, it would be one my main squeeze rides, maybe a couple times a week. I would liken it to
maybe the foothills at Sandia in ABQ, or the Gulch in Durango. A nice local trail. Not tart, not too sweet.

Will I drive down there again to deliberately ride it? Probably not. But not becuase I don't think its a great trail.
its just not my cup of tea. In the middle of the summer, I can imagine it getting miserably hot. Plus, Phils and
Alien trail are an hour from me, and offer about the same ride as the HDT.

Also, understand, the HDT is probably not intended to be a classic epic ride like Colorado High Country trails. It is
expertly constructed. It flows super nicely. It has a little something for everyone - but it has a little more for the
newer/beginner rider, and a little less for the more technical savvy rider. It is signed better signed than anything I've
ever seen. I take back what I said earlier - I MIGHT drive back there to ride it with the single speed, if others were
going too. I think it would be excellent in that respect. As well, its a great place to take beginners, because you
can cruise comfortably for most of it, and then if anyone wants to challenge themselves, they have the opportunity -
but are not forced to. Not all trails are like that. Not many around here at all.

If I were to find myself in the area and with a bike, I'd for sure go. If someone asked me - "hey, I'm going to be going
through or staying in Gallup, should I bring a bike and ride this HDT thing?" I'd say yes, for sure. They did a great job
in a very keen area, and managed to throw in a few surprises too. Its worth checking out...

The way home was much less eventful, shot a few here and there,
basically came home, downloaded images and crashed out...

--------------------------------------
Back to the Mountains....

The La Platas, shot from Subway in Cortez...

HD Mountains, a couple weeks ago...

On Sunday, I hooked up iwth Ben for a little more riding locally. We hit
the gulch and climbed telegraph, and he got to test out his new
40D, sweet camera - I'm excited for him to get use it after dealing
with a kodak point and shoot for the previous season or so...

This is a line looking down from the top of telegraph.
Steeper than it looks definintely applies here. But its not really
that sketchy.

We had a good ride, and forgot about a few sections of the trail that were uphill.
we'll have to do something about that in the future...
Above: Me wallriding - trigger tripped and panned by Ben.

I also got to really push the new bike set up a bit too. Pushing this rig up through the gulch and
up telegraph is no picnic. but bombing down the back, down Yellow Brick Road, Sidewinder, Cowboy
Big Canyon - very nice. I've never descended with such speed and conifidence (in the bike). With
that huge fork on it, it handles completely different, but still feels familiar... I'm stoked. Can't wait
to get the 8 inch travel bike put together!

After we completed our ride, we grubbed out and decidedto check out another trail elsewhere in
town. I brought my bike just in case we found this place, as its not on the maps, and bike shop
people will not tell you about these lines... (IF they even know!)....

Well, sure enough, we found what we were looking for.

and then some.

Last time we sought some secret lines, we found them too. and also found people riding them...
this time was no different, except that I knew a couple of them. We introduced ourselves, and
asked if they would mind if we shoot. they were cool and said no prob.... so... we shot a few, I rode
down one of the lines, gained some confidence, but still didn't hit everything... next time, really.

and to think, this time last year, I wasn't really riding too much. We have a head start this year!

Rider:Rich Photo: ME....

Rider: Me Photo: Ben

my fav... Rider: Me Photo: Ben.. keen with the mountian back there....

And that's about that... now I have this incredible urge to ride more downhill
stuff, I just won't have the time to for at least another week. grrr damn. At
least spring has sprung, and I'm riding what I'm riding....

----------------------------------------------------------

AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...

New Mexico Trails...

Thanks for lookin', have a great week! :peace:

Devious Journal Entry...

2009-04-10T04:50:00.001-07:00

IT'S LIKE THAT...

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts..."

WORDS... April: Note: many, many hotlinked images in this post...

Watching the Apocalypse; Colorado's View.

April 9th - lunch time, typing from the coffee shop.

Out the window now, the skies are mostly sunny/blue - imagine if the sky was actually mostly sunny, like full of suns, how much that might burn. Nah, I'm happy with just one sun for now, thanks. But, the weather is pleasant. Which in turn means that I'm probably pleasant as well. Can't complain too much about April so far. Had a couple dreary days, and one day that just red. It looked like Moab had gotten nuked or something, red dust everywhere, like being on mars. Even the snow up in the high country was red. Interesting. Had similar dusty conditions yesterday, but no red this time.

I have to return to work in a few minutes, but the only thing on my mind now is getting out to ride. Got the frame sandblasted a couple weeks ago. It did not come out as I had expected, but I think I forgot to tell anyone to polish it down or anything. So, the texture of sandblasted aluminum is like 400 grit sandpaper, almost perfect for painting, assuming one wishes to paint the frame. I didn't. I planned to just run it raw metal. Shiny chrome/aluminum finish would be cool, but I think just clear coating the thing with matte would be fine, and really, it looks a little better....

The sandblasted beauty.

there's a tree out there. actually, there's lots of them...

A stone's throw from several subdivisions. Gotta love sprawl...

Last weekend, the girl and I drove out towards Pagosa Springs, CO. Keen drive for sure, and we had a little weather to make it interesting, but not nasty or impassible. Saw about 40 herds of elk scattered about the countryside. Odd, cause I rarely see them at all, and even if I do, its usually just a few here or there... Pagosa, I had not been there before.. small place. Hot springs. Hot springs are a huge draw for this place, though I'm not sure I could stand the sulfur smell for too long. But hey, natural hot water from the ground, right? ok. We did a quick stroll through town then headed to the outskirts, past all the new subdivisions and in to the more rugged elk hunting country. Beautiful country, and Colorado rarely ceases to amaze with all the landscape features (though, I still think its a close second to New Mexico...). Shot a ton of photos, most of which I'm sure are forgettable, but also a few keepers too. A few more my make their way to deviation status.

Okay, running back to work.. more later after my after work ride...

Winter holds on...

Deer are quite plentiful in the neighborhood lately...

Lots of elk...

About 8pm now... just rolled in from a quick after work pedal about the place. Came home to a flat tire on the front of the bike, nice. Fixed that, and bolted out to check out some of the trails by the college, and a couple trails adjacent to the gulch. Climbing, always climbing around here I swear. This bike is for sure not set up for long climbs either, it steers like a fish and weighs as much as a small whale. or porpoise. or Yugo. But I cranked the seat up high and that made things easier.
Almost climbed up raider ridge, but light was getting scarce and I discovered a new-ish downhill trail that goes through a previously un-navigable baby head section. It was bitch to walk up, and really, coming down it was not much easier. Dirt was very loose, trail was insanely steep, and my eyes were watering like mad. But that's how you find new stuff I guess. Or learn where not to go.

Anyhow... where was I ?

Next day, I ventured out in to the high desert of NM with Ben. Scoped some freeride lines out in the middle of nowhere, should be good for photos and skill building... then we ventured out to a hole in the ground which was located in the middle of another nowhere, huge canyon, with tiered levels that resembled Virgin Utah a bit.. and here we found some more crazy lines... I've not see all of Utah, or places like the Dakotas, but so far, New Mexico has about the most foreign and apocalyptic landscapes I've come across. I do miss them.

Moonrise at Angel Peak Bandlands, somewhere in NM...

Thank :iconbennance: for the views...

Point your wheel, and let go of the brakes. Photos will come later on of this one...

A fair imitation of Balancing Rock...

I designed a T-Shirt for the heck of it while in between projects at work...

I complained to Ben about the bike feeling noodley or wiggley or something... but I forget this is only the beginning of April, and last year
I was hardly riding yet, and really it takes a few weeks to get back in to the swing of things where I'm really back to 100%...
The above is me approaching 80% :D

Moonrise, Durango. April 6th 2009

AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...

testing

2009-04-09T04:42:00.001-07:00

testing post function for Scribe fire again...

Spring!

2009-03-20T10:32:00.001-07:00

So, it's March 20th - the first day of spring. Sweet.

Last Friday, on the way home from work...

I'm updating from work, so this could be choppy.

The last 10 days has been almost like summer; very comfy temps, sunny skies and nearly mild nights. I can get used to this.

Last Saturday, from Alien Trail in Aztec, NM...

I'm sure we're probably still in for one more whopper of a snow storm, but I'm getting outside as much as possible. Last weekend we made it to Alien Trail on Saturday - trail was in great condition, very fast and smooth. Sunday, we hit Phil's world, which is 100% open now, and also in great shape with lots of re-routes on the start, and the new ledges loop is always interesting.

How the Alien Trail got its name...

After work, I've been hitting the dirt jumps at an undisclosed location. Ran in to a couple riders from local shops the last time I was there, so I shot a couple photos...

Previous weekend, we tried to ride Alien trail too - but were working off of bum directions, and ultimately we ended up at the Ruins in Aztec, so it wasn't a total bust. The Ruins were cool. Not quite as remote as some others in the area, but very intact and under great care.

The next day we climbed to the top of Hogsback, a local "peak" in town here. There's one section that is sort of steep and loose - and we watched a woman really have a hard time with trying to get down... she made it safely though. Its actually a climb that not everyone is cut out for, though that does not stop too many...

If you look closely, you can see a little spec of a person climbing down...

That's me, rolling in a slickrock half-bowl at Alien Trail....

Well.. that's it. Just an excuse to post some photos and test out this plug in for facebook and firefox and blogger and notes... Have a smashing weekend. I'll be off to Phil's world Saturday, and probably doing some downhill stuff on Sunday...

peace.

Give a toast to the sun, drink with the stars

2008-11-16T20:43:00.001-07:00

IT'S LIKE THAT...

Ugh.

..

The first image, is Columbus Ohio, maybe 2002 or so? The second is a view overlooking Durango, shot from above the PowerLine Trail above FLC campus. Just thought it was interesting..

So whats up... Nothing new, just sort of stopping in. I'm still lurking about here but haven't really shot or created anything worthy lately. Which is just fine really. I have plenty of shots from the last few months I could probably cull through, but I doubt I will ;). I really need to work on updating/rebuilding the web site again. Every time I do this, I swear I'm going to make scaleable or whatever, but I always seem to end up ignoring it. Will try not to do that this time. We'll see.

Last Monday, I woke to several inches of snow on the ground before my ride to work. That was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least. But, it is November, so such things should be expected. However, riding in the snow is fairly entertaining, as long as I'm dealing with inches of it, and not feet. Hopefully the snowboard will provide a nice diversion this year that I was not able to enjoy last year.

Most of this was gone by the time I rode home from work, believe it or not. At the moment, only remnants of it exist in the shadowy areas on the trails, where the sun cannot reach...

And as far as the bikes go, in the last 7 months, I've wasted two freewheels and a back axle. I don't think I've every burnt out a freewheel in my life, and now I blow two inside of half a year. Since they're pretty much entry-level wheel sets, I'm not sure its economical to replace the back hub, or just get a new set of wheels altogether. Either way, since the freewheel blew on the Giant, I ended up re-outfitting the single speed with the Tora Fork and it will be main ride until spring, at which time the Giant will become the uber-downhill-trail-abuse bike. That's the plan anyhow. With the economy in the tank, I might just be scournging for food. But I'll remain optimistic.

So yeah - Saturday was spent re-building the single speed, and I ended up taking it out for quick shakedown ride. Everything seems to work okay. And then Sat. evening, my friends Ben, Justin, and several others larged it up out on the town, so to speak. I think we started at the Ranch (or the El Rancho or something like that) - a sort of scruffy small town bar where everybody looks like they just came in from the fields, and plaid/flannel is king. Watching (to what amounts to as city looking folk, dressed to kill by the way - NOT in plaid or flannel) the fooseball match and eating peanuts took on quite a surreal tone, and I spent some time gazing at a mural above the bar - OF the bar - seeing if I could myself in the crow depicted therin. I did not see myself in there, no anybody I know. Which is probably a good thing, I had this strange feeling that if I saw familiarity in that mural, I might be forced to stay there for eternity as the result of some undisclosed twilight zone plot. After the fooseball match, and a short period of listening to music not fit for a flannel bar, we made our way to the Lost Dog Bar and Lounge.

To say the Lost Dog is the polar oppsite of the Ranch would be an understatement. Where flannel rules at the Ranch - mini skirts, heels, D&G, and your basic Shopping Mall -Wear rule at the Dog. Its Durango's best guess at an urban night club. They probably have the most square footage of any bar in Durango, most of which serves as a dance floor. Which is funny, because upon our arrival, it was completely vacant of humans. After a quick stroll through the front room to browse the art hanging on the wall, we did some drinks and hit the dance floor, and don't you know after about 30 seconds, all the wall flowers peeled themselves off and joined in.

And that's all I have to say about that... Except I had a good time with some great people. And oddly enough there were no fist fights.

Durango. Just below College and Main, 8:30 am Sunday. The Calm after the storm.

Today, I did a longer ride on the single speed, and am pleased that everything seems to be working out on it. New wheels will be nice eventually, but I think the suspension forks from the Giant will do nicely on there for the winter. Winter.. ugh.

Yep.. so that's that for now. Not a bad weekend for mid-November. maybe the snow will stay away (crosses fingers)...

Hope ya'll are well. Thanks for lookin' :peace:

AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...

Sloppy Fun...

Visual Cues

2008-11-01T23:52:00.001-07:00

It gets a little silly, time after time, describing the incredible trails I get to ride, the views I get to witness, and just the experience of riding in general. I'm sure it probably gets a little repetitive to read about, maybe even boring. "Oh, great - Hazard rode another keen trail.. and no, no, really? There were breathtaking vistas? No way. And what? Really, he's literally surrounded by such places? Get out...."

Somehow, I managed to finagle a week off of work. Not the wisest financial move I've made this year, as I'll surely miss a weeks pay later on in the month (it is now "later this month, and I am indeed hurtin'). Then again, a few of those will be paid days so maybe it wont' be that bad (its that bad). The original plan was to jet outta here, zip to ABQ and ride Cedro or Sandia/Faulty, pick up a passenger from the airport, and move on to Moab. After a couple days in Moab, we'd jet on over to Fruita, and then if we were able to manage tiime somewhat efficiently, we'd move on to some high country stuff. Weather permitting, of course.

Plans, like rules, seemed designed to be broken or altered. Our passenger pick-up in ABQ ended up cancelling out, so that whole leg of the riding was nixed. Aspirations of High country ended up being crushed by a keenly timed weather front that blew through just as we embarked on the journey. Great. The upside to this was that we could spend more time in Moab, and Fruita. The only issue now was to decide how much time to spend in each, and then to figure out where the hell this "Five Miles of Hell Trail" was...

We ended up getting the hell out of Dodge on Sunday I believe, with a large-ish detour out to Farmington and Bloomfield to retrieve some important items from a fiends truck. Said items were actually just a camera. But, that is one important little said item.

Once on the road, I noticed how a third person would have really compromised the available space situation, and I was half-relieved she didn't make it. But then, the more the merrier, and its always cool to ride with people when its their first time in this sort of environment. Anyhow, the Jeep Liberty was packed to the gills with just Ben an mine's stuff. Bikes were haphazardly attached to the roof via a fairly shady, suspect rack that is a little more than a pain to get the bikes into. Especially since its about 9 feet off the ground, and we have to deflate the tires every time we put them up there...

The truck stop where we repaired the window. Weather was nearly threatening, and we were hoping that it would let up before we got to Moab.

So the road trip to Moab (3 hours - WHY do we not go there more???) was fairly uneventful. Except for one little mis-hap. Bens bike had come a bit loose in the rack, and somewhere on the two lane close to Cortez, it tried to take a dive. it ended up swinging down off the side of the roof, pedal smashing through the back 3/4 window, and then the bike just hanging upside-down by its tires, which were still attached to the ratchet straps on the rack.   After about 20 minutes of covering the window up with a trash bag and duct tape, we re-secured the bike to the roof, and were on our way...

We travelled along the edge of a pretty intense weather front for quite a while. There was some weather phenomena that would have been incredible to photograph, only it was very difficult to find a place to stop with the way the highway undulated across the flats. As we looked back towards Durango, we could see the La Plata Mountains completely enveloped in what looked like a pretty severe pounding. All I could manage was this rainbow shot through the passenger window...

As we passed Monticello and neared Moab, the weather begain to appear more promising.

We pulled in Moab just as the sun was setting. Stopped at the spring water stop to fill our water up, and headed off to find a campsite.

But we had to stop to witness firey illumination of yet another beautiful American West sunset. It was unreal.

We found our campsite not far from where this was shot, got set up with supper and just kicked back. Living in Durango is great, because its so close to things like this. But just being able to get away for a semi-extended period of time doing something you dig is priceless, no matter where you are. And we soaked it up as much as we could. Tomorrow we get to ride!

First morning.

I think the plan originally was to ride a set of trails or whatever known as the "Whole Enchilada". It involved a shuttle to some high country trails, then downhill for many many miles, meandering back to Moab. The storms we witnessed on they way in to town had dumped much snow up high, effectively shutting down any high country shuttles. Somehow, the "half enchilada" was much less enticing than the whole one, so we had to come up with a new plan. I know, absolutely dreadful, in Moab, and have to figure where to ride. Tragic, right?

Oh, the other part of the plan was to ride a trail in the San Rafael Swell called Five Miles of Hell. So we wanted to sort of take it easy the first day, maybe just ride slickrock trail or whatever... (I had never ridden Moab before, so it was all a treat to me). After gathering our stuff together, we decided to stop by a bike shop and pick up a map, just in case. Amasa Back trail was discussed, and bike shop dude suggested we come down a trail called Jackson. According to him, he doesn't even come down Amasa Back anymore, and uses Jackson exclusively. Hmph...

at the bike shop...

And so, Amasa Back it was. Here's Ben picking his way in to the trailhead...

and my dead sailor style (or lack thereof) drop in to the trail. (Shot by Ben. assembled by me)

At the trail head, were goofing off taking the above shots, and watched a couple more riders come in and ride by us. A guy and a gal came by. He looked to have been in his mid-50s or older, she looked significantly younger... anyhow, he came by on an old Trek from about 1995, picked his way through the steps, and kept going. Then the girl came along, on a bike of similar vintage, only I think it was a Gary Fisher. There was a fork in the trail, and that dude had totally left his partner to fend for herself. Now, I understand, if I'm riding with buddies or whatever, you don't just leave someone off the back on a strange trail, not for long anyhow. I mean, I can pick my way through a trail/route pretty well and all that. But given the bikes they were riding, and her level of skills/bike handling (which were very minimal), I thought it was kind of rude. She stopped for a second, looking a bit forlorn/lost. Ben advised her that the forked trail meets up again, and pointed in the direction her partner went. After a quick "thank you" she seemed a bit relieved and moved on. People are strange.

I had ridden slickrock before, in Sedona, and at Gooseberry, so at least that was part was not new. I knew the trail climbed and was an out and back. As we headed up, there lots of little rock moves/tricks and drops... at about the halfway point, there was a set of fairly large ones, including a quarter-pipe style launch that puts you up on to a small plateau. I eyeballed it a bit, but figured since this was the first day of a multi-day riding trip, I'd save any hospital trips or life flights till later on. Next time though :) Other than that, it was just a climb up some slickrock basically. It didn't exactly blow me away or anything.. I mean, it was cool for sure, but not monumental. The views were sick though. And it was intensely fun.

once at the top, we ran in to the old guy/young girl couple again, and apparently chased them off... La Sals, snow-capped in the background...

It was nice to have the climb over with, and though it was far from brutal - I still hate climbing. We chilled out and re-fueled, took some shots... I love being up above the terrain like in the view above - where you can see the different geological structures, and the planet reveals a bit of its age. I could have sat there for hours really. But Jackson Trail was calling us, so we shot out pano's and headed on down.

Me at Amasa Back somewhere.. shot by Ben...

Arches National Park - a view not seen by most. check out the little arch in the lower left...

We bombed down Amasa Back for a little ways, seeing many riders making their way up. Coming down was a lot more fun than the climb, but I still have to say I was not totally blown away by it. Again, it was cool, to be sure - I dunno, maybe I have a problem or I was spoiled by Gooseberry way back, or by high country stuff, or... who knows. But we found the turn off for Jackson, follwed that... THEN it got fun :)

Jackson was fairly steep, technically challenging without being stupid-impossible (even though I did walk a couple spots)... it ends up on the side of the river (Colorado) with some pretty exposed sections and lots of little moves. It was a blast. The bike shop guy was right - I can't imagine coming all the way down Amasa Back.

3 times Ben... Ben comes down Jackson. Highly recommended.

But what the nice bike shop guy did not tell us, was how to get out of Jackson once we reached the bottom. Once the trail levels off at the river, it has a few ups and downs, then you dive right down through some thick brush into a nearly jungle-like sandy beach, right at the edge of some very "ineresting" standing water. This is the kind of water where the primordial ooze that life sprung from billions of years go was probably like. In fact, I'm sure there must have been some new and interesting life forms in this water too. But I was not too interested in checking it out up close at this time. Besides, my microscope was at home. The worst part about it was, there was no apparent escape or way around or across it, save for one fallen tree. There were tire tracks going straight in to the water, and I cannot imagine trying to pedal through this stuff. That was just unthinkable. It was probably 20 or so feet across, and who knows how deep that bio-mess was. I found a long-ish stick to use for balance, then set off to cross the narrow log - bike in one hand, balance stick in the other. I made it across, luckily without dropping in to that mess.. after a short climb up a sandy bank, Ben made his way across too - also managing not to contract any rare, incurable diseases...

I'd like to thank the bike shop dude for the trail suggestion, but also curse him for not warning us about the end. Still, totally worth it, and I recommend it as well. Just watch out for the end...

Somewhere "around" Barltlett's wash... hmph.

Shot by Ben...

Another "plan" we had was to that afer we were done here, we'd head out to Bartlett Wash and play on the slickrock out there. After eating, we headed out, but spent so much time trying to find it, we lost daylight once we got there. We goofed off a little bit, then headed back to camp to get ready for the following days ride.

We stopped in town somewhere and picked up some camping food... which I think consisted of potatoes, a "Slap" of ham, and lord knows what else at this point.. Beer, yeah, had some beer... Did the campfire thing and hit the hay.

It would take me all week to describe the next ride - or rides. Since I've been effectively putting this together for literally weeks now.. I'll just hit some hightlights and show some photos. I'm too tired to be clever anymore.

Trail for this day was to be Poison Spider to the Portral Trail.

All I have to say about Poison Spider is that it was sandy, and I don't care what I've heard - it sucks. bah. Screw that trail. Only thing its good for is for getting you to the beginning of Portal. lol.

It was cool driving up/past "wall street" though.. people just free climbing sheer cliffs right on the side of the road. crazy I say. But cool to watch. At the trail head for Poison Spider, we ran in to a VW bus full of cats from B.C. They were in Moab for the week, testing it all out. We let them get ahead of us a little bit, and figured we'd see them or meet up with them by the time we got to Portal.

As I said, POISON SPIDER SUCKED... nearly all the way up. It was very sand too, which didn't help matters either. The sun was hot, but at least it wasn't the end of July or something - air was fairly cool.   At some point in the trail, we did run in to the cats from BC, only I don't know how, as we ran in to them - head on - but they had not made any turns. Strange. The trail was not marked super well, but I guess it was marked. Having a guide or someone who had ridden it before would probably have helped too, lol... But between the 5 of us, we ended up figuring it out :D

One of the BC guys just bombing away...

on our meanderings about the place... we came across an interesting obstacle. Everybody looked at it. For like 20 minutes, but nobody was really feeling it. And I have to say, the BC guys impressed me with their riding - they were tight and dialed, and pretty fearless. They just bombed shit without even really looking, and fast. But this thing, nobody wanted a piece of. Finally - Ben decided he'd take one for the team, and after a little more contemplation, he rode the line...

If you look through the arch, you'll notice a parking lot waaaaay down there...    While it was not a particularly technically challenging line, it was big mind game. The penalty for failure was either severe "maimage", or death - depending on which way you decided to fall. Ben decided not to fall, and became hero for the day.

This is allegedly Mary Jane Francis' grave. There was lots of money left here. and other things. I left a tire lever. Nobdy else left anything. Tire lever... this would come back...

Ok.. I'll admit, this part of Poison Spider wasn't so bad.. it was fun actually...

After a few more impossibly steep slickrock climbs, we found the beginning of Portal Trail.....

Perhaps one of the most popular signs in Moab - if you're a rider. Heed it or not.. decide your fate, but ride perfect because there is NO room for error. There's a video floating around on YouTube somewhere of a dude falling off a similar cliff in California, and he was able to climb back up and out. If you take a tumble from Portal.. you're done. Clip a pedal and bounce to your left - wave goodbye.

I have mixed feelings about stuff like this. Sure, the "safe" thing to do is walk, but hell, you could just as easily stumble or stub your toe or something while walking and suffer the same fate. I wouldnt' call anybody stupid or irresponsible for riding this, but I would never push anybody to do it either. Common sense applies... don't ride over your head, and if you have to question it, then walk I guess. Over-confidence is just as bad as false confidence here. Be on your game or walk. Anyhow.. the only "truly safe" thing, is not go to this trail.

On the way up, a guy kept catching up to us when we'd stop for photos. A lot the trail he was walking up because he had neither the physical nor the technical riding ability for 80% of the trail (and really, up to the Portrail trailhead, it's not that techy...). Anyhow, we took a break about halfway in to the trail, and he came running down, bike in tow, so to speak. I don't mean to talk bad about the dude, but he had NO business being up there on a bike. Yes, he had every right to be there, but no business trying to ride it, and I'd venture to say it was lucky that he made it walking....

In light of all that...

We rode 95% of it...

The really exposed part of the trail does not last that long, and it was a little unnerving at first, but there were not really many tricky parts along that edge. After you get away from the edge, things liven up a bit as far techy rock moves go. and coming down all that was a blast.

Ben, testing and pushing his limits...

Rene, showing eveyrone how to clean that section. All the BC cats were super cool, and very good riders...

Don't remember his name, but he's a park ranger up there somewhere. Borrowing Rene's Intense 6.6 and getting coached down the line...

On the way down, one of the BC guys caught a flat, which was quickly fixed, and we finished the trail without incident. It was about a 2 mile road ride up to the cars, and we all enjoyed the pavement for a bit, as we got to pedal in the shade and gawk at the female climbers ;) After about 1 mile, Rene caught a flat. I stayed in case he needed help or something, and the rest went onwards. Rene was riding Single Track rims, with Nokian tires - a bad mix due to the tight beads on the Nokians, and sort of larger diameter of the rims. He went through one his tire levers, and lent him one of mine, a good blue park lever, and he busted it straight away, lol. Well, we fussed with it for about 20 minutes and finally got it. caught up with the other dudes, and then Ben caught a flat. Both Ben's and Rene's flats were caused by goatheads, scourge of the desert brush. I was lucky so far...

Back at the cars, we tailgated for about an hour, sharing stories and backgrounds. There were lots of details that were of particular interest - cultural stuff, and of course politics came up... won't go there, except to say there were no fist-fights ;) But the one odd detail was that they were ALL surprised that you couldn't drive with an open container in your vehicle. We were all enjoying a beer in the parking area, courtesy the BC guys - they had frig. in the VW van. But even the Park Ranger guy was surprised... We're like, "dude, you're in UTAH...." c'mon.. So funny... Anyhow, we all traded info, and hopefully a trip to BC will be on the books for next summer. North shore - Oh.. I cannot hardly wait...

That about wrapped it up for Moab. We decided to not waste a day in the San Rafael Swell, with the 5 miles of hell trail, instead, opting to spend an extra day in Fruita. Sweet. We got there about at dark, and camped at the 18 road trails. The Kessel Run Trail was 100 yards from my tent, and a spur trail went right from out site to the trail. Niiiice.

Ben, in front of the fire, with the light of Fruita and the univers as a backdrop...

Next morning we woke up, did a quick breakfast, jump-started a car for the two girls in the adjecent campsite ( :D ) and decide to "warm up" on Kessel Run before hitting Joe's Ridge and Zippity... I swear, I was all about going slow, just taking it easy... but you cannot get on Kessel Run and deliberately go slow. I was cool for the first 100 yards or so, then I felt myself sneak in a couple clicks on the gear shift - the deraileur moved the chain down, and I cranked forward.. faster... faster... and the shit eating grin just spread....

Ben usually is right on my ass through this stuff, but I had not heard him in a while so I stopped, looked back, and nothing. Waited... waited... 10 minutes.. I was near the end, so I deciced I'd ride out and back up the road and look from the top. As I rode up to the road, Ben was waiting, with a little bit of dust/dirt scattered about him.
Turns out, his shoulder dislocated on small rock drop, and caused him to run off trail. Our ride had come to a close. Nuts.

We ended up eating dinner, and did a sort of photo shoot just before sunset, just on Kessel so he could run behind me, and this time, we HAD to go slow, but it was worth it, we got some cool shots.

Ben pulled the trigger, but this was "my" composition.. not that there's really any difference given the circumstances....

This one is all Ben's doing... he needs a real camera so badly..

While it was a bummer to have to split without hitting zippity, or Horsethief Bench... the ride in Moab with the BC cats was more than worth the price of admission - wih the possible exception of Ben's dislocated shoulder. Other than the pacific north-west connection, we came away with the idea that "damn, we only live like 3 hours from Moab and Fruita, and never go... this has to change...". And it shall. Ben's shoulder needs to heal a bit.. and I need to grow a new freewheel, as I broke mine today... but right on. And North Shore next year!!

And the other casualty of the trip - Ben's Pro-Tec. The large-ish dent in the top is from his Jeep Liberty. Yeah, we ran it over. Try that with one of those sexy Giro Xen helmets :)    We jetted in to Grand Junction where he was able to find a new pro-tec - manufactured in this century at some shop calld TAZ.. which was actually a pretty keen place...

We should probably ride Moab/Fruita more often... I'm all for Fruita... but I have to say, I'm not that impressed with Moab. I'm not saying its not cool, and will have to admit that Portal was a challenging ride, but that terrain doesn't float my boat like what I've ridden in the last four weeks out here. Given, Moab, and loamy downhill steeps are very different games :) And Moab IS FUN, for sure. As well, I have to admit that I'm relatively a Moab Virgin too, there are many, many trails there to get down on.. so I really need to give it a fair shake I suppose.

OuToF OrDeR

2008-10-23T19:42:00.001-07:00

The non smoking battle continues - but I'm calling it a win now. It's been nearly 6 months. I no longer crave it, and only miss it once in a while, sort of like an ex-girlfriend. I win, I won. I'll mark my quit date by years from here out. :peace:

IT'S LIKE THAT...

Out of Order...

As in.. not in a linear order.

I have a few journals to get out, but they're coming out backwards. There's a trip report regarding the Moab/Fruita trip, but I'm still finishing it off, hopefully, I'll get that out this week. LOTS of photos in that one.

"see ya later... going downhilling with no back brakes!".... Really.

But I wanted to get some stuff out while its fresh and relevant to the deviations I've posted recently... So here goes...

I had lots of grand ideas about how things would go once I moved out west. Oh yeah.. best intentions and all that. I can't say I regret the decisions I've made, though I admit I've f**d up more than a couple times, and am very lucky I have a few very, very tight friends that give a rats ass. Anyhow, this aint about bad things, just sayin'... Anyhow.. funny how one decision to stay in ABQ changed so many things down the line. I don't know what I was thinkin', lol... well, yes I do, and I'd make the same decision again were it placed in front of me now.

Hell, where was I going with all this... When I moved out here.. out this way, I had this sort of expectation great riding all the time, challenging trails, sick lines... blah blah. I can't say exactly what I thought it woul be like, I suppose it was sort of arbitrary, based on magazine photos and mtb videos.

In ABQ, I struggled to find such things. There were (are cool trails there), but the really insane (read "fun") stuff was hidden, and I was no longer in the inner circle of movers and shakers of the riding scene (was I ever?) (YES, I was :D ).... But I made do, and found my way around, and had a decent riding experience.

Finding my soul in ABQ... (gawd I miss those forks...)

Then, I moved to Durango. Known Previously as Mountain Bike Mecca. I say previously because places like Whistler and the North Shore are en vouge now, and on the surface Durango seems like a haven for spandex clad single track maniacs. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I've never been that kind of rider. The first summer, I rode all the local fare, and even some of the spread out trails, but never really made it out anyhwere really "cool" like Fruita, or up in to the high country. I was like a mountain bike shut in, lol...

I need to update this one...

This summer though.. has been off the hook. This Ohio homeboy has been living his bicycle dream with the trails and riding and bikes and... Yeah, it would have been cool to just jump right out here and be immediately immersed in the thick of it... But now, its all that much sweeter. I've been tipped off to keen lines, explored and found them on my own, and forged through and even created few (more in the works).

This last weekend was golden for sure. I was previously kind of bummed that Durango seemed to have lost some of its lustre in the mtb world - but really, that was my own minsconcption (and wow, funny how many of those I keep finding out about)... Whatever it seems like on the surface - hell man, whatever. That's great.

The last few lines we've found, we had to really sort of search out. Nothing obvious. No signs, no cairns', no maps, no nuthin' save for a fresh wet knobby imprint in a dished out puddle in knee high grass on the mountain top. hmmm.. follow it. keep going.. "okay, I"m going back ot get a bike".... that kind of stuff. People that need to know - they KNOW, or somehow they find out... or, they don't. There is no trail guidebook for this stuff - and thank goodness, because some people would be spending a lot of money getting airlifted out of these places after their whole world fell apart. hmmm.. this intro is getting really long and going nowhere, so, here - lets go...

Last weekend, Ben and myself set out to find a trail we had heard rumors of for a while now… Little did we know that we’d have to travel all the way to Texas to find it.

Well, not really to the state of Texas, but “a little slice of Texas” to be sure.

See, its hunting season here. Wabbit Season. Duck Season. It's Fiddler Crab Season, shoot me now.

In an area not too far from home, we found the trail we were looking for. But man, those hunters mean business. Because, from the looks of things, they sure didn’t mean hunting. I have not seen so many people dealing so personally with fluorescent colors since a Derek May/Rave back in Detroit.

These dudes/dudettes were buzzin all over the place in everything from dirt bikes, to four wheelers, to super heavy duty dually’s, and hell, we even saw a group just waiting in their SUV near a switchback in the road… Just sitting there... waiting... like a deer was actually going to walk right out of the woods and present himself as a prime target or something, maybe just climb in their with them (sights we'd like to see). Good thing they all had orange on though. jeezus.

Perhaps the best part was - as we were rounding our way up this mountain, we came across several vacant camps (”hunters” were busy - out buzzing around on their noisy vehicles spooking all the local fauna)… huge canvass tent-towns, complete with chimneys and all - it was like a set from the show M*A*S*H, except replace all the little Willys’ Jeeps with Ten-Ton-Hulking Canyoneros. Anyhow, the camp was empty except for a few deer that were just passin’ through, inspecting coolers and anything else that was open.

Really, it was like the scene from JAWS, where all the yahoos are zipping around in their boats trying to blow the shark out of the water with dynamite or shotguns, fueled by nothing but testosterone and alcohol... only this was on land. Just crazy. Hardly saw a Colorado license plate all day. Were it not so surreal, it would have been downright scary. Also, no shortage of "NObama" bumper stickers too.

Texas??? why would they come here. Nobody from Oklahoma, Kansas, AZ, CA, UT, OH, MI.... funny.

Shhhh... Be veeewwwy quiet...

Ben, looking for the line... and hoping not get buzzed by anymore Elmer's...

Anyhow, we ended up finding our trail, and ran in to some cats riding their bikes down it. These guys were the real deal… sponsored pro or semi-pro downhill riders that knew the trail well, and knew their bikes even better. We ended up shooting quite few images that day.

It's funny.. you see images in magazine, or watch a person take a line on a video... and they look pretty impressive. Of course they do, they become heroes and role models to thousands or millions of teenagers every year. But, as I learned at Red Bull four years ago... until you see some of this stuff in person, you just have no clue how "impressive" it really is.

Just the steep parts of the trail - were fairly intimidating. Not impossible, and I was actually figuring out my way of hitting them in my head. Sure, I can do these. Well. I was set up just before a short berm before the trail ducked in to a small area of trees. The run in was open air, twisty, steep and WET. Again, in my head, I had picked my way down the line - lol, I had it all figured out, and sort of expected these guys to attack it in a similar way.

Well, as the first guy came down, my jaw just dropped in to the mud. At first, I was not sure if he was just out of control, and I should run for cover in the trees, or, good god - was he actually in control? He was actually pedaling full force DOWN this "trail"?? Holy. Well, yes, that was indeed correct. I stayed in place, but didn't even try to take the photo as blew by me - I was too busy trying to study the line. Only, there was no study to it. Not to take anything away - as it does take some significant skill to navigate such a line at speed... but really, it was more about just having the cajones/minerals/balls/whatever to take that at speed like that.

We were in soft, loamy, wet forest dirt. When they came by, the ground shook like a cardiac arrest being routed through an 808/sub in somebody's fast n' furious Honda Civic trunk. These cats were hitting and hucking all comers man... They went BIG too, and really blew away some other misconceptions I had about what MY bike was capable of... One guy broke his rear brake 50 yards in to the first run of the day too... He kept riding. He ate it few times, but just damn.

JAWS comes to mind again. We're going to need bigger bikes....

I was all hip on my Giant Reign - over 6.5 inches of travel in the back... the Tora fork would do for now, but I could upgrade later. I used to sort of blow off the idea of ever riding anything like a Spec. Demo, or a Giant Glory, or whatever else is a big free ride thing these days. Not anymore. Funny... this of all things, is almsot enough to make me get a second job. lol... eating ramen half the week, nope - no incentive there...

And damn, I'm like 40 and shit. what am I thinking? Well, I either take advantage now - or hang it all up, because really, in ten years, I'll probably be lucky to be able to ride a bike ;)

Okay.. straying from the topic.

We ended up talking with these guys - I think they all race, are all students up at the college. They were out shooting video to send to their sponsors I think. We found out we had friends in common, and all that rider talk ensued... We hop-scotched down the trail with them, and they even gave us a shuttle back up the top when we were done. Cool.

Yeah, anyhow.. Durango. Funny place. I see people up here from out of state all the time, riding the Gulch of all places. I can't imagine coming up from like.. Ohio, riding the Gulch, and taking that back home as my Durango experience. But - I guess it's all about perspectives, right?

Ben had dislocated his shoulder last week during a fast ride down Kessel Run in Fruita, so I was the only one of riding stuff this day.. or "trying" to ride stuff I should say.

Shot on the left is me rolling in a nice rooty steep. The sad thing is that the other cats just launched from the top. the one on the right is me contemplating too long. ended up not dropping it, but I will next time. Its about a 5 foot drop with a nice downhill on the back side.. probably a 7 foot drop by the time you land. I need to get used to that going over blind edges stuff, cause now, I can't believe I didn't ride it. both Shots by Ben.

After I get their names, I’ll post them, and maybe label some images.. but anyhow, thanks to Andrew and the crew for letting us shoot.

McCain will in town tomorrow. I hear tell that Colorado is a huge state in the election. Evidenced probalby pretty well by all the McCain/Palin ads I saw between here and Fruita last week. It was crazy, quite honestly. If I were still getting up with graf, I'd be jealous, those suckers are crushing it out here... That's all I'll say about politics right now, taking a break from all that hoo-ha.

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting, but I think I'll have it in the next journal...

Hope all is well, and thanks for lookin' :peace:

AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...

Perhaps the most photographed thing on the Portal Trail. Well, I guess with good reason. Once you start riding it, you're way too busy to look back and shoot, plus there's not a lot of off trail vantage points to shoot from either. That's been ignoring the suggestion, as we all did.... I dont' want to hear it either...

Get Outta Town

2008-10-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

Friday night/early Sat Morning right now...

Not sure if the two crows show up here or not... Fall Colors in Durango.

Did some riding Friday, and a lot of just looking. Fall colors are in full swing up high right now, the intensity of the golden aspens is nearly unreal, and just the mix of colors in eyewatering. Lovely stuff if you've never seen it. Lovely still if you have. The other looking we did today was at the trial itself. Oh - forgot to mention, we took a friend on his first official mountain bike ride today too.

Justin nails a nice ribbon of aspen-lined singletrack on his first day out.

Anyhow, we ended up on some trails on a mountain out here, and shuttled to the top. Sorta cheating, but... I'll be riding for the next 5 days straight, so I aint worried about my trail cred ;) One might question the wisdom of shuttling some fairly difficult trails for their first ride, however - he's an accomplished skier/snowboarder, rides a motorcycle.. so he has some idea of momentum/inertia/weght transfer/and speed to distance sort of stuff... and well, I dare you to show me any "beginner trails" in Durango anyhow. If you can learn to ride the stuff here, you can ride just about anywhere. Well, I'm digressing - pardon me... He ended up doing extremely well - surprised both me and Ben with his navigation and all, excersized the appropriate caution on sections that were over his head, and did his best to keep up on climbs. Plus, he managed to ride the whole day without slamming. Congrats man :thumbsup:. I think he's hooked - sweet, another one in to the fold... Now we just have to get him a bike.

Working for it...

Single. Track.

Another thing we looked at a lot today was the trail. And rather than just getting my ass handed to me like last week, I was a little more prudent today, and just viewed some pretty sick lines from the side as I walked/climbed around them. It sort of sucks having this stuff in my face like this, reminding me that I'm only a shadow of the rider I once was. But at the same time it is also a sort of impetus to push myself a little more, and realize that I can indeed become a better rider if I want. I don't think I'll be doing 15 foot drops any time soon, but there's some things out here - right now they just boggle my mind and I would pay to watch some people ride them (and photograph them too). But, I think that by next summer we'll be able to ride most of this stuff. A pressure suit, pads and maybe a full face helmet would help tremendously....

Well, this is a lot... "worse" than it looks. Wait 'till you see the other side....

Though it does look steep in the photo, it's still difficult to express the atmosphere of this image.
Unbelievably steep, narrow, loose, and sustained. That is, sure, you ride down this, drop off a
foot or so at the bottom, but then the trail does not let up. If you're not on your game here,
pain will ensue. Not sure if photos of me riding this will ever surface ;)

We also ended up getting rained on for good while, and the temps dropped probably down in to the 30's for a while there. Or, maybe because I was riding in the bed of pick up as we shuttled back up the mountain in the rain - it just felt colder, lol. Anyhow, it was blast... And its always cool to be on someones "first ride" too.

I ended up missing the Biden/Palin debate, but have heard a bunch of mumbo jumbo about it. blah blah... The only thin that bothers me is that the more she's in the public eye like that, the more credibiltiy she sort of gains. As long as she can manage not jamming her own foot in her mouth too badly, she'll become more accepted by the voting sheep - er, I mean public. Any minor foot in mouth stuff will just get spun off in the media. The scary thing is, even if McBane doesn't win, she is not going anywhere. Don't expect the Republicans prize anti-Hillary missile to just disappear. Like Arnold - she'll be back in four years to try again. And whether she's got the goods or not - two terms of this bush guy have totally proven that the pres is indeed just a figurehead/puppet with someone else pulling the strings... ugh. anyhow...

Red Bull Rampage is in effect now, out in Virgin Utah or close to that. If you get a chance, check out :devneetrith: - he'll be on the spot capturing all the action. I think I'm riding a place called Boggy-Draw tomorrow, and on Sunday we embark on a six day riding mission, including Moab, 5 Miles of Hell, and the Grand Junction/Fruita region. This will be... sweet.

Hope you all have a great week, thanks for looking! :peace:

The pay-off to the rain; a keen rainbow. Justin
and been takin' it home...

October 1 2008

2008-10-02T21:01:00.003-07:00

*Edit*
Forgot to mention the Monkey business...

Info here: Shuttermonkeys.org

Promo product here: Shuttermonkeys gear

View from Kendall Mountain a couple weeks ago. Probably more
snow up there now.

If you've been to my blog over the last several months at all, you'll have noticed what a mess its been. This week, the mess was capped off by my server destroying my sql database, which is the backbone of my wordpress blog platform. Nuts to them. I don't have the energy to put in to fixing it - and since the site is way over due for some TLC, I figure I'll just start anew. Hence the presence of good ol' Blogger as my blog. Still not sure what way the site is going to evolve, but I'm leaning towards slick, minimal hipsterism. We'll see, I'll probably have it done by the christmas holiday if I'm lucky. There's just so many images I've created in the last few months...

Oh, yeah, so.. the galleries here will also go under the knife too, since they too relied on those sql things.

Backup? what's backup?

So, I figure I'll learn how to tweak and freak the hell out of blogger and just do with it, since its hooked up with and owned by the (currently) largest search engine in existence... Once would think thats a good a thing... but then again, wasn't I just aksing about backing up?

Okay. thanks for looking - about to blast off to Moab, Fruita, and lines beyone. Have a great weekend.

Updating...

2008-09-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

No real news to report...

Summer is winding down, high country is about to be sealed up by nasty weather and snow of all things, so riding will start happening more in town, and then down south or in Utah. Crossing my fingers for a dry winter, but fat chance on that one I'm sure.

Changed up my blog on my website, not sure I'm digging it just yet, but I really wanted something easy to read and clean looking, so far this is okay (if you are reading this on blogger, check out my blog here)

I'm also hoping to update the website galleries in the next couple of weeks, and maybe even make a few prints. If I get really saucy, I'll finish up the book that's been in the works for too long now, and get a proof of that so I can get it rolling. I'm thinking low quantities, with a custom/hand made cover, but we'll see how that goes.

And that's about it, just testing out the new template here. Thanks for looking.

Cheers!

2008-07-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

Well, it's two days away now.

What's two days away? The Hermosa Creek Trail Bike Race. A 20 mile (for my class) mostly-uphill jam up a legendary local trail. I've ridden great distances before, I've been in contests on my bike, but this will be my first official race. I don't expect to be competitive. Actually, I just hope not to come in with the slowest time, though I fully do expect to come very close to that. I have done little to no official training for this race... none of that Rocky-drinking-an-egg-and-chasing-chickens crap for me. I do ride a lot, and I will be gearing "up" for the race - that is, making my single speed a tad easier to pedal.

Its really more of a whim kind of thing. I was just reminded about it on a message board, and decided hell, might as well - I've always wanted to ride that trail anyhow. A good excuse I guess. The real idea behind this is the coming back down after the race. If I can finish the uphill in under 3 or 3.5 hours, I'll be at the top by 1 or 2. Plenty of time to rest up, wait for the one or two people that would have been behind me (because of mechanical things I'm sure!) to come in, and then I can enjoy the 20 miles or so of that madness backwards - that is - downhill. Oh yes. But, that's assuming I make it to the top and don't blow up on the way.

Here's a little official info on the race:

I'll only be going up to the number 18. The loop that goes beyond that I've ridden before, but I'm just not up for it after 18-20 of grinding upwards...

And here's the race profile - but we start at the right go to the left (and go up up up up....)

Hermosa Creek trail racing is back! Come one, come all, to race on the high country trail that made Durango famous. There is a 38 mile course for Pro/Semi Men and Women and Singlespeed A, a choice of either the 38 or 20 mile courses for the Expert Men and Women (3-5 hours), 20 miles for other classes and Singlespeed B. Even better, there will be a post-race BBQ/Campout hosted Russell Zimmerman of the Durango Cyclery (Food, beverages and entertainment). Race sponsors have kicked in some great prizes – cash for the top 3 Pro Men and Women (from the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic and The Wilderness Society) and products from Sram, Boure, Continental, etc for the other classes! Proceeds go to the Fort Lewis College Cycling Team.
Organizers would like to notify racers and other trail users that the race course will start at the Lower Hermosa Trail Parking Lot and use the Hermosa Trail (TR 514) to the North. The extended loop will continue onto Hermosa Park Road (FR 578), Hotel Draw Road (FR 550), 1 mile of the Colorado Trail (TR 520) and the Corral Draw Trail (TR 521) before returning to the north Hermosa Trailhead for the finish. The camping areas at the North Trailhead are reserved for the event Friday 7/25 through Sunday 7/27.

and a more official map from map my ride:

So it is still two days away. Tonight (Thursday) I'll do a fairly big ride on the rigid single speed with the current "normal" gearing. When I get home, I'll switch to the easier gear and not ride again until the Race. Friday will be for rest and carbo loading :) I'm fairly nervous about the race, but really, I just want to not come in last, and have enough energy to ride back down when I'm done. Fingers are crossed. And when you get down to it, I've done longer rides before, just not under such a tight time constraint on the way out part....

THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY AM:

Well, tonight I didn't get to ride after work, as it was storming in a pretty healthy manner. But I did change out the rear cog on the Sette, went from an 18 to 20 tooth cog. I hope this will make a noticeable difference on the climb. Also installed a new chain. I think I will bring two or three extra cogs and a chain just in case. I'd rather not be switching cogs and chains alongside the trail, but then, I'd rather have that option too.

SATURDAY NIGHT:

Well, I was originally going to title this journal entry "Following Inner Promptings Brings Quiet Accomplishments" - it was from a fortune cookie I got on Thursday. But, after uncurling myself from a whimpering lump in the corner, I'm considering just calling all of this "Just WTF was I thinking????"

I spent most of Friday night over-preparing for race day. Making sure all the appropriate (and some inappropriate) tools and accessories were accounted for. Extra tube, pump, extra chain, chain tool, extra cogs, multi too with chainbreaker, extra socks, waterproof rain shell, extra shirt, blah blah, you get the idea. I drank too much coffee, so getting to sleep was a chore, probably did not all asleep until 2 am or so. But I did sleep well - deep with no dreams that I can remember.

Friday morning comes up, and apparently it had rained all night. Streets outside were still wet (as opposed to the streets inside?), and the ground was fairly saturated. This was going to be interesting. But, weather in town and weather up high does not always match - and there's a good chance it didn't even rain up on the course. Terry, a friend I made through the Spokejunkies rides, picked me up promptly at 7:15, and we were off to the mountain.

These are sign-up tables. Entry fee included a one-day NORBA pass... Free doughnuts and cookies though, weee. Everybody was cheery, nice and polite, and quite helpful.

The parking lot was only sparsely populated when we arrived. People were zipping about and warming up and socializing, and there were seemingly hundreds of happy canines running amok, unleashed. There were a lot of single speeders there, and some pretty fancy bikes too.

Terry, with his new white Trek on the right, and a Search and Rescue dirt bike in the center.

Once we had our entry fees paid and twisty-tied our numbers to our bikes, there was not much else to do but rubberneck and wait. I'm noticing many of the single speed bikes are geared quite harder to pedal than mine. Which means basically, that I am out of "shape", relative to this racing/fitness crowd (I'd like to go back in time a good 15 years and give myself a good bitch-slap about the smoking thing) -- or, I just happened to show up at a race for Super-Humans. In hindsight, I do believe that was the case. The Super-Human thing, I mean.

Terry's fancy new ride. There might be something to all this
gear stuff... hmmmm.

After some time passed, and the crowd started to thin a bit in the parking area, we figured it might be a good idea to head towards the start/staging area. It would be embarrassing to show up after everybody had taken off.

More staging madness...

For a while, the staging area was fairly chaotic. I think the riders were all ready to get a move on, but the organizers had some last minute organizing to take care of, and finally, they sectioned everyone in the area off into their respective classes. Since my respective class was second to last to be let off, I just wandered about, taking mostly uninteresting snaphots ;)

The start line...

I dunno, this scene reminds me of one of those vintage Tour posters... I should distress it a bit and make it sepia... I believe this was the Pro group.

And they're off!

This was the Mens Expert/Single Speed A class.. I think...

One thing I didn't expect was the noise at the start of each class. I wasn't really paying attention to the marshal before the Mens Pro class took off, so when the blank gun went off, it totally caught me off guard and I jumped like a foot off the ground. Funny. Funnier was how when at the start of the Womens Expert class, the gun dry clicked - he was firing blanks, and was appropriately chastised for it.

Finally, it was time for my class to take off. In fear of further chastising, the starting guy had resigned to just saying "go!" to send us off. The staring line for my class was packed. On the inside line was me, flanked to my right by Terry. We tentatively rubbed elbows back and forth, each trying to jockey just a bit more forward than the other... no, really.. it was just he and I in the class. And since there was no gun to sound us off, to add excitement (for me)I began our race by doing a wheelie for first 100 yards or so.. then as the racers before us, we disappeared in to the forest.

(No photo available of our start.... ;))

After I set down the wheelie, we still had about a quarter mile of uphill gravel road before we reached the trail, then we ducked off in to a narrow gap in the trees, and the race was on. The intervals between groups was about 2 minutes. I think the group that went before us was the Women's Expert. I'll make note again, I was not in this to "race" anybody, to beat anybody or to prove some kind of macho race thing for my ego. I just wanted to ride Hermosa Creek trail. But a weird thing happens when you ride with a large group of people, and they make you tie a number to the front your bike. You get this competitive mindset going on in the background....

Which, is too bad for me, because I just don't have the lungs and legs that the rest of these riders do. And the single speed was a distinct disadvantage for me on this - which is fine, I can take my lumps, and besides, I'd be coming downhill later on, after the race, and gearing wouldn't matter so much (famous last words anyone?)
I would be happy to just keep my place in the order of release of riders - not get passed, and pretty much guaranteed not to pass anybody. Just fine with that.

If you peeped at the race profile above (remember, we are riding right now from right to left on that image), you'll notice this is largely an uphill battle. I'll try not to describe every twist and turn, just know that most of them were painful, and despite my easy gearing, I suffered pretty much the entire way. As the trail traveled due north, the climb was steady and easy to deal with. Every half mile or so, the trail would turn right/east, descend to creek or stream in a very fast/steep manner - border lining on rude in some places - and then it would hairpin back to a western direction, and climb - in quite a rude, steep fashion. Those were the parts of the trail I hated, the climbing just after the stream crossing. the other climbs were manageable, painful, but doable. Oh - the weather. yeah. Well, it never did end up pouring on us, but it was heavy overcast most of the way up the trail. The trail was moist and tacky, a little softer than I prefer, but since I run pretty high pressure in my tires, it didn't bog me down too much. It was nice. A fair amount of puddles, some a little deeper than one might expect. After a mile in to the ride, I knew I was not coming out anywhere near clean or even mildly dusty. This could easily turn in to a mud fest. Sweeeeet.

This one was shallow... but there were several I went through that were as deep as my cranks, and a few even had hidden rocks lurking in their depths...

Well, Terry and all his gears lost me after about a mile. But thats okay, I'd rather not have anyone else hearing me gasp for my life every other crank rotation. Besides, there's just something primal about cruising through a dense wet forest all by yourself. Despite the excruciating effort I had to put forth, I was really digging this. Ha, I was in a race! One place where I did excel on the trail was on the down parts. Even though I lacked the 4 or 5 inches of suspension that most other riders had on either the front, back or both, I was bombing the downs at breakneck speed, and was making time on them. Those were the highlights and adrenaline rushes of that upward journey for sure. At about mile 3 I had Terry in my sites, maybe a couple hundred yards ahead of me, and I could he was being held up by two riders that were in front. I saw him get past them, and I rode the next three down sections without using the brakes at all. !!! I caught the riders, and it took another half mile to pass them, just waiting for a clear spot on the trail where I could zoom by.

Damn - I actually passed two people... I had to remind msyelf, that I was not in this for the competition, and in reality, I was in the percentage of slow, not fast people. Another mile goes by, and I pass a spandex-clad racer on the side of the trail - fancy bike that couldn't have weighed 15 lbs... he had a flat, asked if I had a pump. I obliged, and took about 10 minutes off my ride time.. grrr.. and I'm thinking, this is an omen, I know it....

Miles of the trail pass by, and its beautiful... fur trees all over, and I bomb through some rocky technical things that I didn't think was possible (there's a lot to be said for just going fast and hanging on!). Aspen groves... and the smells of the forest are nearly overwhelming... think of the candle aisle at the grocery market, but in a good way, lol... I continue to climb through some twisty single track, and the forest spits me out in to a small meadow, Hermosa Creek bends right here and there's a small waterfall... everything is super-saturated green, like Fuji Velvia, with a blue-ish color cast... It was like riding in to a National Geographic photo... And then the serenity of the moment was crushed by the hissing rush of air from my front tire. Damn.

On a ride last week, I notice this nail/thorn thing sticking in my tire... I started to pull it out, and heard an immediate protest from the tube in which it was impailed. It was a self-sealing tube, so I pushed it back in, and all was good, the tire held the air just fine. And I forgot about it.

You can see, in the upper left, where the nail is embedded in to my tire... Shot last week, and forgot last week....

Well, one of those rocks I must have hit just right, because it drove that nail all the way in to my tire, and evacuated all the air in less than a couple seconds. Man, you have gotta be kiddin' me. I did bring an extra tube, good thing. Also had a patch kit, but... after pulling the tube out, I noticed I've already patched this self-sealing tube 3 times (something "they" say you can't do ONE time).

This is the current/new thing stuck in my tire...

The three above are three of the four patches already in place on the tube...

I even had tire levers with me, so getting the tire off - all the mechanical stuff here was easy as pie. But checking my tire for other protrusions or antagonists proved difficult, as the outer parts of the tire were caked with mud. I walked down to the creek and washed the tire off in rather icy flowing water. I came very close to having to ride the trail back without a front tire too - the water in creek was moving very very fast, and the current was strong - so strong that it almost pulled the tire from my hand and washed it down the mountain. Whew.

During my pit stop, the people I passed came by, and passed me back - but each stopped to ask if I was okay or needed anything. Nice.

This photo does not do the "riding in to a photo from National Geographic" description justice, but really.. it was beautiful. Old tube on the ground in front. Yes, I packed it out.

The sort of glistening sheen on the trail is water. It was actually flowing down the trail. What was odd, is that I pedaled up it as if it were dry - my tires did not sink in at all.

After replacing the tube, I was off in to the forest again, trying to make up "lost time"... well, I wasn't really trying. I knew I had about 6 miles to go out the 18 or 20, and I was really just trying to survive.

At about 4 miles to go, the forest dumps you out to the side of Hermosa Creek, and you follow a sort of double track that parallels the creek until pretty much the end. When most people thing "double track" you think like jeep road or something. Well, I'd give good money to see someone jeep this stuff. Its possible, I know, but it would be good entertainment. Some of this was pretty technical, some just tricky trail riding, and some areas where the creek came over the trail, and you had no choice but to continue across as if it were a stream crossing, which, technically it was, though you weren't really "crossing it". The steep climbs were over, finally, and the last 2 miles was just gradual grind up to the meadow/trail head. I came out of the creek area alone, and could see the finish area in the distance; cars, tents, bikes, riders, and cookout grills things billowing smoke signals in to the air. After one last blast across a lengthy stream crossing (I guess its just not proper to end a race without shoes full of water) - it was over, I finished. It was cool, I was probably in the last 10% of people to finish (which is fine, I was in the last 10% to start) but there was still a gaggle of folks at the stream crossing yelling and shouting for you to cross and finish, pretty neat. After I crossed the finish line, I found a nice grassy area to promptly collapse in and begin my recovery. :)

The last "obstacle" of the race - a lenghty water crossing. You can see, it's not that easy - check the lady in the background.

Special props - in my mind anyhow - she made it across clipped in. There were some hidden boulders, rocks, and gaps beneath the surface, for a water crossing it was fairly techy.

Bike rack at the finishing/fest area. Puff of smoke in the background is from the grilling brats and burgers. Some keen bikes too...

Another view of the feasting area...

One of these things - is not like the other - one of these things - does not belong.... can you see it? This is the bike shuttle back down the mountain.

Spent the next 30 minutes re hydrating myself. Over the 18 mile climb, I drank only 16oz. of fluids, and consumed only one of my Cliff power-gel things. Caught up with Terry, who must have finished at least a half hour ahead of me, considering I had to stop for my flat, and someone else's. Wandered the "pits" bit, and had a burger with a little mustard on it. Then the question of the day was posed:

"Do we ride back down the trail, or do we shuttle with the rest of the riders?"

One might think it's obvious - after 18 miles and over 2,000 feet of elevation gain, you take the shuttle back down. Well, that's the "smart" decision anyhow. Though the ride up was grueling and debilitating, I didn't feel totally crushed, and well, why ride all the way up and not go back down? That was really the plan for me at the outset anyhow. So, we agreed, time to take the trail in reverse - DOWN hill. We rested up a bit more, grabbed some more liquid, and we were off.

In hindsight, I'm glad I did it - rode back down after the race. The trail is magnificent in that direction... much faster for the most part, and some of the tricky sections were just marvelous - wet or not.

But, if you check the ride profile again, this time we're riding from left to right, you'll notice about 2/3 of the way down, there's a significant climb up... probably a good eight or nine-hundred feet up. On it's own, that's not a drastic climb. After 18 miles up, and another 12 miles down, and armed with only one gear - it was a killer. At this point on the way back, I became frustrated. Half way up that climb, frustration turned to anger, and then just below the crest of the climb, anger turned to insane rage and my just refuting the whole idea in my head, lol. After that it was downhill for a good ways, and I faded comfortably back in to frustration. That last 4 miles were probably the hardest riding I ever did in my life. Having no water, I ate a power gel, and let is swish around in my mouth and mix with saliva until it was more liquid that gel... kinda gross but it worked.

All said and done, I believe that's the farthest I've ever ridden off-road, ever at one time. I've done longer rides in one day, but nothing that matches the intensity and effort of this ride. I don't think any of the other racers came back down the trail besides us. In fact, we were so fast to leave from the finish area, that we missed the podium presentations, where Terry and I were awarded with First and Second Place in our class, lol. Which is fitting, since there were only two of us!

Terry, pedaling just after a tricky stream crossing - on the way home...

And me, #675 homeward bound...

Lessons learned on this ride... I dunno if I learned anything. It did confirm to me that I really need to "work" on my cardio, find a solution or way to increase it. Also, the single speed thing... I like the rebellious nose thumbing to geared riding and that whole idea of simplicity, but I don't really have the focus to devote myself in such a way that I could ride this or any trail competitively. NOT that I'd want to, but I would like to able to ride with a little less suffering. If I have to do it geared, that's fine. I found myself lagging behind Terry quite a bit, mostly due to climbing. Terry is an excellent rider - technically he's probably my equal, if not better, but I can keep up with him and almost anyone else in that regard. When the trail flattened out, I was kept back by my easy climbing gear. I'm not so concerned about keeping up with Terry, but I did want to go faster, the gear would not permit it. Same can be said for the climbs. I could have done much better, and maybe kept myself in only the frustrated to angry mode on the climbs, if I had been riding a set of gears. Gears are in my future, for sure. I want to do more high country stuff, and its just not conducive to single speeds.. not with this body and lungs anyhow.

Also need to remember to drink more (liquids in general, not alcohol). Really, I should have gone through all 100oz. of liquid I took with me on the way up. Turns out I only had 1/4 of that. Thats just dangerous really. I need to keep an eye on that.

I need a new portable pump, it's by will of the gods that I got mine to work when I needed it most. Probably a good idea to change out tubes with nails impailed in to them asap also...

Remember gloves next time. When we got back to the truck, I found mine sitting on the bed of the pick-up. But callouses are good, right?

And that's about it... its Sunday now. I'm not riding today at all, not even to the store. If I have to go outside, I'm walking. I don't know if I'll ever race again, I would like to do the Iron Horse next year, but we'll see. That's 70 miles with a lot more elevation gain through two mountain passes, but all on the road. It was a blast, glad I did it. now I can cross it off the Mountain Bike Action's top ten things you should do on your bike list...

Thanks for stopping in, :peace:

Quickly

2006-02-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Magazine stuff almost done... Heather G, workin' on your email!

tAkE cArE!

Room to spare

2006-02-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like having my weekends on thurs/fri, as it makes the week go by faster. Saturday and Sunday are slow at work, so on Monday, it's like only have to work three days. But, lately, I'm hoping time does not go by so fast either. Months turn into years all too fast, and it's getting difficult to keep up. This past month, I've found myself in a situation; I must find a new place to live, as the owner of the house I rent is now wanting to sell it. It couldn't come at much worse a time - catching up on the crazy gas bill took all winter, and just like life, never gives you a breather. So, with no capitol to work with, have to pound the pavement and find some new hole in the wall. No matter, change is what life seems to be all about - or rather, how well you roll with the punches. I can roll pretty good. At least so far.

Talked to the magazine today, It's for sure - my photo will be on the cover of the April issue - I think it's April, they have a strange production schedule. But the art director (a dude much younger than myself) seems thrilled with what I've provided so far. Funny, I still have the feeling I've not given it my all. He says that several of the of the photos I've sent are cover material for sure; but I told him I'd shoot some more, because I don't think I've shot what I'd like to see on it... but then, I'm not the art director either. Hopefully I can create some moementum out of this, and I can find myself in a "when it rains it pours" creative situation. That would be nice. They happen every so often, and like now, usually at times when I'm experience some sort of drama or upheaval in my 'other' life.

I've talked with my sister a few times, and should really be typing to her now, but I want to be able to put a little time into it when I reply, hope she understands I'm not blowing her off or anything of the sort. Anyways. that's it for now. Have to work in the morning....

Heather and Dad

2006-02-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Heather and Dad...

replied to your last reply...

Hello

2006-02-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

So, I'm checking my email last night... The usual 10-15 spam messages, photo seminar sales pitches, and some correspondance from a mountain bike magazine I'm loosely working with... Then I see one from an anonymous poster, and it's from the blogger page. Odd. 1.) because I rarely, if ever get comments from my blogs - not a big deal, it's more there as a beacon for people to find me, than it is something I religiously post to for feedback or anything... and 2.) it's from somebody that has the same last name as I do.

But then again, not so odd either. See - I have a sister, or more specifically, a sibling who shares the same father as I do, just a different mother. I'm reluctant to use descriptions like half-sister; using a fraction to describe a person is a bit odd. I doubt she remembers the last (and only time) I saw her, as she was only about knee high. Wow. As well, it has been the same amount of time since I've seen my father.

I don't have a legitimate, solid reason as to 'why'... For a while it was just awkward (?). It was never a deliberate attempt (consciously) to separate myself, it just became habit I think. Maybe I was (am) a little too self involved, maybe I had other issues about myself and history that kept me from contact... I don't know. I do know that not a day has gone by that I've not thought about them in some capacity, even I've never acted on impulses to contact.

I recently saw some friends that knew both my parents (when they were younger than I am now) were present, and they asked both if I had spoken to my father - and also let me know that he seemed to be doing ok. I think maybe they think I have some harbored some ill feelings towards him, regarding the separation of he and my Mother. In fact, they seemed to resigned to accept this as fact - but I understand as they probably did want to pry. That's cool, I can understand that. Given the dynamics of the family, I did not expect him to show up there - and I understand why... that's cool too.

So, anyhow... It was keen to recieve correspondence from my sibling. For the longest time I always referred to myself as an only child... I have to remember that's not entirely accurate. It's also keen to know that my Dad actually typed my name into google. It's also embarrasing, since I have sooo much 'garbage' out there as far as old artwork that I no longer care for. Strange about the web... as temporary as everything is in life, the web can just hang right on to it.

Just wanted to say thanks to Heather, and to Dad for looking me up and stopping by to say hi. I'm still sort of shocked by it...

just passing through

2006-02-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

just passing through to drop an image in... more at jerryaaronhazard.com/v/

Moved

2006-01-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

PARALLAX...
I Have new blog, server and website.. follow the link above, and get curious... Thanks for stopping in, Take Care

Rode today

2005-10-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

bw version
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Rode my bike some today. Rode "harder" than I have in a while.... it was fun, and I'm sore.

Hight Contrast thinking...

2005-10-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hight Contrast thinking...
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Sunday morning... still can't sleep past 8 even on a day off. keen is that the clocks went back an hour, not so keen is that I forgot all about it, still it was good surprise.

have not been so inspired lately in the photo department. I think all the working and editing on my book sorta wore me out. But, I'm in the land of sunshine here in New Mexico, so I think I shall go take a ride on my bike now...

untitled

2005-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

untitled
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

For some reason, I would bet that my friends, myself, and our common circles understand these concrete object much better than your average person that takes up a parking spot..

They don't build 'em like that anymore...

2005-10-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

They don't build 'em like that anymore...
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

New Mexico State Fair, 2005

Trainspotting B/W

2005-10-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

gr_trnsptting
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Somewhere, there is a color version of this, but I like the bw better now.

Sandia, Prickly Pears, and Clouds

2005-10-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Cottontop Color 2
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

since I joined some photo web rings, I figured I should at least post a photo...

Grit, the Book. Available

2005-10-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Book Cover. Back, Spine, and Front
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

After quite a while tooling around with different print on demand sites, I've finally settled on one. I was hoping to get a nice full color glossy publication out, but it was really difficult to find the quality I wanted at a reasonable price. That, and most places have a pdf file size limit of 100 mb, which to me is not enough if I want to put out a 100 page book. Additionally, the retail price of the book at that size would be a bit higher than I would feel comfortable asking, given the 'iffy' quality.

So, to be different (or maybe because I just can't do anything in a normal fashion) I decided on doing a black and white, bare bones, rough around the edges artistic statement.

The book is titled "GRIT". When I was putting together the color mock up, it was straining my weak little brain on what to to name it. Editing down to less than 100 photos was really tough as well -so I didn't. A good number of the images are taken from my gallery here, but there are some new, and some old photos that I've not shown yet. I reviewed the images over and over, hoping a theme or something of the sort might develop. But it wasn't until I got the proof back from Cafepress that the "grit" thing really hit.

The book is black and white, printed on a heavy, light cream colored newsprint - just like a paperback, and uses a visible halftone - It's far from pretty, but the process does a good job of bringing all the images together into one sort of "peice". Definately better than 'zine' photocopy quality, but not anything like one may find in "Aperture".

I have not given up on a color publication, in fact I am working with somebody right now about future possibilities, and that's all I can say about it at the moment. I would hope in six months or so to be able to produce the pretty glossy book I originally envisioned. But for right now, as rough as it is, I am more than satisfied with grit. It's rough, different, and think it sort of defines my 'photograhic style' - if I may be so pretentious :D

A preview is avaialble HERE
You will need Acrobat Reader, the file is about 5mb, and about 40 pages long. Yeah, that's a big preview, but the total book is 192 pages...

The book can be found HERE

Bitch Box

2005-10-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Fall, and something stuck in my tire...
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Monday. First day at new the masters place, er, make that job...

Orientation, HR info, benefits, security, ID photos, tours, breaks, lunch...

For lunch, we get an hour during our first three weeks of training.
The coffee at work is a very poor nature, worse than that 'Saneese' crap that priceline had. Yeah, difficult to envision, but true. So, I took the fixie out for a quick spin around the area in search of a better bean.

The new workplace is located in near the edge of a new industrial complex. Lots of call centers around there, and many shipping companies. This means many semis, and freight trains. One day last week I caught some keen pieces on a boxcar, but no luck today, the tracks were empty. Ultimately, I wound up on a busy two lane, with little or no shoulder to get crowded into, so I had to ride the dirt trail on the side of the road. Keen with my skinny 700x23c road tires. I did my best to dodge all the glass and other road debris, and finally found a bp or something that had some halfway decent gas station java. Not 'Cup O' Joe' (columbus Ohio reference :)) but better than that swill in the breakroom. Add to that a pack of smokes, and I'm on my way back to work.

My ride was speedier than planned, so I pulled off next to a sporting goods store, so I could loiter in their landscape while enjoying my petrol station java, and smooth camel. My eyes graze across my bike, (as they usually do if I'm in the same room or locale it's a long love story, but I won't delve too deep) and I notice that my beauty has been pocked by a plague of goatheads. Too see goatheads in action, check my scraps :)

This is just a little unnerving, as the ride home is 7 mile undulating but uphill jaunt. I'm not even sure if I have a patch kit, and even if I do, there's a good chance it's older than the bluepack stashed in the secret compartment in my wallet.

I let the java calm me a bit, drag on the camel, and back off to work. Hopefully, the goatheads will be civil and not let the air escape from the wheels over the next 4 hours.
----------------------------------

5pm. Got my photo ID, and of course I look like an ex or current con, but that's the nature of work photo id's I suppose. As I approach my bike, I notice that the front wheel is now devoid of air. I find the goathead, swear a few times under my breath, and a couple more over my breath, and remove it, and pitch it in to the flowerbed close by. The rear wheel is still full, air, goathead and all. A quick glance to the horizon and I notice a not so keen weather front is moving in rather rapidly. The kind where the sky is this super dark, cool grey, and you cannot tell exactly where the land ends, and the sky begins. Great.

I walk the bike over underneath a tree, into the grass so I can be somewhat comfortable and out of the way while I attempt a repair. A long line of cars parades past me, all my new coworkers rushing to the gridlock...

Nobody asks if I need a ride, help, or for my phone number.

I have two patches and some glue in my messenger back, but no wrench to remove my front wheel, and no tire levers. I manage to get the wheel off with the handle of my mini air pump, and do my best to apply a 2 1/2 inch patch to a tube that is only 1 3/8 inches wide. It gets pretty messy. Messier than one would imagine a little piece of rubber and some cement are capable. Get the tire back on, pump it up - cool, it's holding air, at least a little bit. The clouds are now overhead, and the air is cooling. I gotta go...

I am lucky that my ride home is mostly on a multi use path, so I don't have to deal with much traffic, or road obstacles. About a mile into the journey, the rain starts. It's not falling hard, but it's blowing like 30mph and at an angle. It stings my eyes, and I reflexively swear at it, and challenge it to do it's worse... I think a finger was involved in the expression as well. Well, the wind stayed constant, but the air in my front tire again escaped. I have to stop, dismount, get the bag off my back, extract the pump, and try to fill the tire again. Now my jeans are getting wet, a real treat when riding a bike, wet jeans are. Several other commuters pass, nobody says a thing, or offers help. It's raining and they don't seem happy about it either.

Okay, got some air in the tire, not a lot, but I don't want to stress the patch, so I try to ride with my weight over the back wheel as much as I can. The wind changes direction a bit, so now it's coming more from the side and behind, and it doesn't get in my eyes. After a half mile, the wind pretty much lets up, the rain falls a bit more steady, and my tire is flat again. By now, I'm so happy about it, that I decide that I'm just going to ride it flat - all the way home. If I lean back pretty good, it seems to roll easy enough, but any cracks or speed bumps really send a jolt to the wrists... But screw it, I just want to go home.

About two miles up the path, I pass two of the riders that passed me earlier when I was stopped. A third is about a half mile ahead, and I catch him at the next stop where the path crosses a major traffic artery. He knows I'm there, but won't acknowledge me, but then again, he's wearing a pair of Oakley Factory Pilot sunglasses (Old school Oakleys) with the dark smoke lenses. I wonder to myself how he can see anything really, in this thunderstorm lighting. We are stopped for about a minute and a half, the entire time I trackstand next to him, not once touching my feet to the ground.. as traffic clears, I rock back once and lunge into the road and cross before him, and continue my slowish front flat tire pace. I never see him again...

I left work at 5pm, then had to patch the tire and whatnot... the ride should only take me about 35 minutes, but today, it was 50. When I arrive home, the new issue of Dirt Rag (#117)is the mailbox.
:D
I try to look through it, and pay attention to everything; the new articles, what this months letters have to say, products and all, but really I am just looking to see if my latest image was published.

In the "riders eye" section, page 101, voila! there it is. "The Eye Of The Storm". That makes three consecutive issues, #115, 116, and 117. Keen.

I also notice I'm out of patches for my tubes, and pretty broke too.
Then I manage to pull about 5 more goatheads from my wheels, jeez. I am reluctant to put these tires back on, they are getting pretty worn. Found some scrap tires on the back porch, and put those on instead. But they're a tad big. Specialized Infinity, with armadillo technology, and size 700x38c. They just fit in my forks, like it couldn't be any closer, and now my bike looks like a cyclocross fixie or something... anyhow that's about all, I was just stoked to get into Dirt Rag again.. thanks for stopping in !

Book is Almost Done

2005-09-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

So, I've now tried several print on demand publishers for my book project. I've done LuLu and Qoop so far. I've just ordered a sample copy from CafePress as well, so I am waiting to see how their greyscale prints..

The book is a collection of my photographs, from 1999 to the present. Total pages at the moment is 208, but it will be edited down. Images are black and white, toned, and color.

I am toying with the idea of doing just a black and white book, as it would be much cheaper to produce, so the price after markup would not be very high. But some of the images are only good in color, so it's possible that I may do two books.

What I've found so far:

LuLu is keen, as far as convenience goes; you get a storefront, a personal file managers, they have a keen interface set up to create your books, offer press release templates and promotional links. The cost is resonable as well.

Qoop is still in the initial stages of their launch, and developing along nicely. While not near as feature rich as LuLu, I've been led to believe that eventually they will be, and will have a couple other options available that LuLu does not. I am pretty excited to see what they come up with, as their customer support/contact was above excellent. I hope they come through like they plan to...

The print quality from both is about the same, I am guessing they use the same industry standard print hardware/software. While not tack sharp, like you'd see in a mass produced photo mag, the color images look nice. For the price that one would sell a book at, I cannot really complain about the quality too much, but here's what I find:

Black and white images print very nice, assuming one has a decent file, that has not been over processed too much. The print pretty sharp detail wise, but loose some contrast/detail in shadow areas. I would rate it at 'very good', but not excellent. The color images are more a hit and miss. If you have a highly detailed image, it seems to print wel. If an images contains large areas of flat color, then they sometimes get a little funky. By funky, I mean that fields of color get a bit blotchy, and tonal gradations loose some of their smoothness. If you look very close, you can see the screen pattern/slight banding in these areas, but it's not obvious, you have to look for it. However, each image behaves a little different.

I guessed, and was advised that this is product of the print process, which I understad. So, I don't mean to say that either place has 'bad' print quality - just understand the process, and then you know what to expect. For smaller images, say a book of prints sized 4x6 to 5x7, it works very good. For larger images, say a full page or a spread, it does not work so great, unless you have a shot with a lot of details (landscape) or highly textured closeups like something with fabric details (or a very large file).

That said, overall I am pleased with the output by both that I've tried. I am anxious to see what CafePress's quality is like, as they only print in greyscale. For an amateur releasing their own photobook, I think this is a great opportunity. I can't wait to see what QOOP comes up with over the next couple months, as I'd like to work through them....

waiting....

Qoop Printing...

2005-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Beaten Off The Path Color Version 2
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Have no idea who is aware or not, but there's a company partnered with Flickr called Qoop. They offer online, on demand printing of web content; your flickr account, or if you have a Buzznet account you can print those, or even a blog.

As for flickr and Buzznet, you can choose to print all images, or just select sets. I find flickr to be the better option, as you can design and order your sets. On Buzznet, it takes the default order of your galleries.

The choices you have are to print one image per page, two, four or six per page, or print an entire book of thumbnails. The cost is pretty cheap: I think 15.99 for 28 pages, and then something like 13 cents per page beyond that. Or you can print a 13x19 inch poster of your flickr account in thumbnails, for 9.99.

Just ordered one for a sample to see what the print quality is like, but I'm sure it's similar if not identical to the output from LULU. Both are PDF to digital press printing, so I imagine the technology is the same also.

Oh, I'm not plugging for them, but just letting the flickr people know about Qoop, as I have not seen it on the blog lately....
oh.. yea, http://www.qoop.com
follow the flickr link!

PROOF

2005-09-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Cori 2005
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Ok. Did a total redisign on the book. Went through three graphics/layout programs trying to get a pdf to convert successfully. Settled on Adobe InDesignCS, as it's about the fastest and most accurate.

Uploaded the test PDF to LULU, and got a test print back in the mail today. I was/am concerned with the print quality they offer - even though beggars can't be choosers at the prices they charge. Looking through the book, most images printed "OK". That is, detail-wise, the files held up well. However, the colors and the screening is a bit off.

I presume the files are converted to CMYK for the printer. Fine, the colors are 'on' for the most part. But large areas do not show a very keen gradation or transition from one tone/color to the next. Also, I think they now use a thinner paper. I would tag the quality at "medium quality" magazine work. Defintely not what you would see in APERTURE or LENSWORK, but better than a newspaper.

I am not sure what kind of process/printer they use either. I am now looking at other options to print, but am for the most part satisfied with the lulu deal. Just curious to see what else is out there, that is not super expensive.

Also, the book tops out right now at 260 pages, with about as many images - probably a little closer to 300 images really. This will be edited down quite a lot, maybe in half I hope. But I'm now thinking about just putting out separate "chapters" for each style. I think the images will impact, flow, and be retained by the viewer a little better that way...

On another note, is anyone else trying out the Qoop.com Beta print service for flicker yet? I've looked into it, but am also creating a gallery on Buzznet to see if the options there are any different, as their service is now past the beta stage and moved on to "live"...

Ok, that's about all... more when the next inception is done I suppose....

E Book!

2005-08-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, the E Book is finished, and available now. It is a longer version of the print book (due out in October) - that is, it contains many more images than I can afford to put into a print book. The print book with have many of the same images, but also some not included in the E Book. There will also be a more involved, detailed forward (the forward in the e book is very light).
Here is a link to the E Book: PROOF - BY JHAZARD

Also finished my prints set up on photoreflect.com

My Photoreflect Store

Many of my images from Flickr and Deviantart are available through this outlet. All prints are on a Lustre surface paper. I find that it's a more flattering - as well durable surface (much less succeptive to fingerprints and smudges), and also looks better framed than glossy. This will soon be linked/combined with my website also, jerryhazard.com.

Life in Albuquerque is pretty keen. So glad I moved out here. I've been lucky to be able to enjoy a sort of summer vacation since May, but now it's time to start shopping the resumes out a bit, and see about becoming gainfully employed again. Cori is doing well, her school year at work has started up again, and she is digging it pretty well.

That's about it, time to go enjoy the weather a bit, then work on the book a little more.

Thanks for stopping!

Workin' on it...

2005-08-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Have updated my website, finally. The front end is pretty (sort of?) flashy, with a little bit of animation for the text, and a couple pop ups with information. The inside I used photoshop to create the galleries, then changed the colors around. The main idea was just get some images up for now. I now have a new design for the gallery sections, it will just take a minute to get done.

Still working on the book, now titled "PROOF". Right now it needs some heavy editing down of images, as it's 380 pages long, with about 460 images. That would be a fat book, and a bit pricey.
Hopefully I can whittle it down to about 150 pages or so, and even that is probably a little excessive. Looking to get it uploaded and have the 2nd test copy back in about 10-14 days....Still looks like it will be ready in October for purchase.

not much else happening, other than the site and book, have not been feeling too creative..

*edit: just updated my email and account settings... I forget all about this place sometimes.....

Halfway there...

2005-07-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Infra Red 005
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Finally updated my website with the proper book info, and also posted galleries that include a greater portion of the work to be included in the book... Have not shot a lot of new things lately, but have ridden the bike quite a lot. Did a 70 mile ride last Friday - but it take about 9 hours to complete. I did stop occasionally to rest, whine, complain and eat ;)

Anyways, the book is on schedule, and should be ready by October at the latest!

Book In the Works...

2005-07-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

Comfortable in Albuquerque, and finally working on getting the book together...

I imagine it will take a couple months of editing and arranging, then a final version will be available. Right now, anyone can get the proof copy at a discounted price; keep in mind it is a proof, and will not be perfect - so no guarantees on image quality/layout/content can be made. But the final version will be tops!

The Other Shoe Dropped...

2005-05-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tough Spot
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Been a while since I've updated here, and lots has happened in the last six weeks or so, and any sense of normality still seems a long way off...

I've successfully left Ohio, and arrived in the promised land of the American southwest - Albuquerque to be exact. A spot shy of the original target - Saint George Utah, but with good reason... I found a kindred spirit, and have fallen uncontrollably in love...

Funny (or not) is that it was/is a person I "met" online, on a photo sharing community (flickr.com), and we had corresponded for months beforehand, neither of us were consciously looking for anything, and it just sort of fell together. She is wonderfully talented, very intelligent, BEAUTIFUL, understanding, passionate, compassionate, a superb mother to her teenage son, witty, and gets my jokes without having to explain...
I could probably go on for days trying to describe her, but it would all be for naught because the words just dont exist, other than to say I could not have planned nor invented such a person in a million years...

I am lucky beyond belief, and thank the powers every day for such a blessing...

And I miss her so much right now, I can hardly stand it...

About two weeks after my arrival in ABQ, I got message that my mother had fallen seriously ill, and was/is hospitalized. So I had to return to (gulp) Ohio to be with her, and to see exactly what the deal is.
The deal, turns out, is not good at all - diagnosis came back today as cancer - in her pancreas and liver. It is inoperable at this stage, and they have laid out the timeline for the course as well... Anybody halfway familiar will be able to grasp the magnitude of this diagnosis - needless to say, it is a very trying time for everyone.

life has a weird and hard balance to it, and I'm not real keen on the bitter irony presented to me; of course, death is a part of life, but this is not something I am prepared for, (who is?) and it is very difficult to accept. Death has never adversely affected me before this, I've remained detached for the most part, but tonight, that detachment broke, and it's all very real, very in my face, and very painful. On one hand, I've met the woman I will spend the rest of my life with, and on the other, the one that's gotten me to this point is being taken away.

I see the illustrated balance here, and the logical side of my head can even sort of grasp it, but deep down, I cannot agree nor accept it as 'right'... It certainly is not fair, and yeah, I know the saying.

I am lucky, though to be surrounded by good family, and a few very close friends, without them I'd go bonkers - and I would definately lose it were it not for one particular person in Albuquerque, and who I miss very very much.

So, I apologize if I've not responded to comments or emails. I've shot probably a couple thousand frames in the last six weeks, and it will be a while before I can really go through and edit them to my liking... heck I've barely time to go through and do light edits on the images I've taken in transit, and again being on a strange computer is a bit restrictive. I travel back to ABQ next week, and then will return to Toledo once again, and the timeframe for that visit is up in the air.

When I get a spare moment, I'll try and get back to messages that are piling up.
But for right now, I can only be sort of selfish with my web presence - my apologies; nothing personal - but it's truly an escape for me right now...

Sorry for the lack of eloquence as well ;) but thanks for stopping by just the same...

Peace.

Station of the Elevated (mi corazón va al oeste)

2005-04-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Station of the Elevated

Ok.

It's now April 8, 2005. I am still in Columbus. The job is gone. I decided against the Salt Lake Option, as it would have made things possibly more difficult down the road financially. Tying up a few loose ends here, and I hope to be in St. George by May 1st, or at least be on my by then. After that point, it will costing me more to stay here. So, I'm playing a waiting game against the issuing of my Severance package, and 401K payout.
Once that comes, I can be gone in a matter of days (or hours).

I used to make a habit or lifestyle from being unemployed, but now it sort of drives me crazy. I waste a lot of time, and motivation can be tough. Still, I am getting things done that need to be. The weather has finally started to break here, and I've been able to enjoy being outside a little bit more, which is good for my sanity. The cat likes it too, as the windows are all open wide, and she take part in all the scents from outside wafting through. She has been a nut lately.

Said goodbye to some friends last week, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be.. but I suppose it's not forever, but being 2000 miles as opposed to 200 can make weekend hookups a little tough. But it will all be worth it in the end. I will also finally be in the same time zone as the soul that is pulling at me so hard, and will be within a realistic visiting distance. This will really make it all worth it. Something inside me has awaken, and somebody out there is really tugging at my soul...

Sorry for the lame update, I'll catch up more soon...

My Heart Goes Out

2005-03-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

I have not the words 5
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

My Heart Goes Out...

Today, the hammer came down in the workplace. The outsourcing situation is now officially resovled/dissovled. Corporate came down, doled out severance and sentences, all under the watchful eye of a rent a cop. You know, just in case.. somebody went.. "priceline" after receiving their 'sentence'.

There were cordial goodbyes, friendly hugs, exchanges of contact information, biting rebuttals and many tears. The overall atmosphere of the day was.. morose.

Save for the sad parts, I was pretty removed from the atmosphere, I felt present as more of a witness than a victim (like the others). With the unwitting assistance from an incredible person, I managed to frequently remove myself from the situation, if only in mind and spirit. And secretley inside, I was harboring a glimmer of happiness. I was made an offer that I am having a hard time finding a reason to refuse.

Many (well, about 20, including myself) were offered continued employment at the neighboring facility, of course, at a pretty significant cut in salary. Those who were not offered these positions, were literally sent packing - forced to depart immediately. The rest will finish out the week before signing on to the other company. A select few were permited to work the remainder of their shift, knowing this would be their final day.
At least, in the state of Ohio.

Our company has outsourced about 80 percent of our operations to a place in a far away state. The changeover is not going as smoothly as planned; the new 'agents' are having difficulty adapting to 'our' procedures, and they guidance from seasoned agents.

In a passing conversation, I learned that I was considered 'seasoned'. An offer, fairly lucrative, was subsequently extended to me:

Get flown to the outsourcing place to train my replacements. "The Company" will cover airfare, rental car, hotel lodging for the duration of 30 days, and a daily cash allowance for necessities such as food. After 30 days, should things work out, the option to sign on as permanent fixture will be offered. Should I deny it, they pay the airfare back home as well.

Under 'normal' circumstances, I would be offended at such an idea, how demeaning to train the person that is accepting your wage.

"Excuse me, can you see the knife protruding from m back? yea,, you got it.. could you be a champ and forcefully give a few good sharp, violent twists? ahhhh.. yes, thank you."

But the underlying kicker to all this: "The Company" is located in the state I've been planning to relocate to.

Utah.

I couldn't have asked for or conconcted such a perfect escape, and I've been working on this for months.

So amongst the morose atmosphere, uncertainty and tears, I'm this little beacon of satisfaction in the middle of it all.

My heart goes out to all those people, who don't know what's going to happen next, the ones that worked there just to carry insurance for their families, worked it as a second job, and even those that choose to continue with company next door. None of them deserves what they're getting, especially in the manner it was handed to them. Everybody got duped, and how - for once, I came out on top - I'll never know. I wish them all the best.

But, as it turns out, I ended up with it...

thanks for stopping in :peace:

El bailar con mi fuego

2005-03-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

El bailar con mi fuego 1
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

I've tried several times to vocalize to put this to words... today it came together in concert with some photos I created...

---------------------------------------

I've been in the dark so long, I've gotten used to it.

Not that there's anything wrong with the dark, but it can get a bit stifiling after a time. Opportunity for
growth, or opportunities for growth seem limited - I mean, how much personal growth can one get before it becomes unhealthy?

I see flickers, sometimes they flash by my "the dark", but habitually shun them. "I'm allright, I'm doing just fine." Then, I begin to wonder.. Just where do they go?

So, I've decided, or 'someone' has decided, that it's time to let the sun shine in, even if it's just a little bit.. the flicker, which briefly illuminated my "the dark", now provides some illumination; of things outside, my surroundings, and even myself.

It's definately different, sharing space with the flame, it flickers even when I'm not looking; I can be far away from it, and it still lights up things I have not viewed in a long time, and somehow, they seem different now, not better, not worse... Perhaps they are the same, but as the flame illuminates, it also sees. And that perception is what I notice.

So, "the dark" while still eveloping my edeges, is fading, as I willfully open myself to it's inquisitive illumination, and I'm equally inquisitive towards it.
I think of my parents, telling my not touch the campfire... But this I'm ignoring them.

I'm open.

Expanding, even it only means I'm filling space that I previously occupied.

Thawing.

I never noticed how cold it was in here...

--------------------------------

I feel much better to get that out, thanks...

Keep your corporate claws away from me...

2005-03-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

For the Light
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

So.. the shit goes down at work.

Meeting takes place on my day off - supervisors only. Turns out that we been sold short - my company has outsourced our jobs to a firm in utah. They join the operation on monday, and supposedly take over on the 17th, all duties.

We are left with nothing, zip, zed, zero.
No word on severence or job placement assistance, nothing.

I'm fucked. I need this job for 6 more weeks to make enough denero to move. Without it, no move - but that's not an option. I will move. So my mind is racing for alternatives; but I'm coming up empty right now.

If worst comes to worst, which, it seems it has, I'll take the bare minimums with me; bikes, computer camera, clothes and cat. But that's still an expense I'm sure I can bare yet. damn.... damn.

I suppose that's where this migrane has come from. It's killing me. Just took an alieve, like it's going to help. I should eat something.

On a lighter note.. no forget it. I'll save it for when I can type with pleasant head..

fuc*

March... Still Winter.. but Marching

2005-03-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

March... Still Winter
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

So it's March now. In like a freakin lion. I'm sure, being ohio, it will go through, and out with all the subtlety of an elephant as well. That's okay.

I believe I've finally come to terms with leaving. I'm glad to go; have accomplished what I need to here, and know what I have to do to get out. Even set a realistic, and very real departure week. Not down to the date yet, but I believe it's safe to say I won't be here in May. Just that thought makes me happy.

New camera is taking the edge off what's left of winter too.

Crazy happenings at the workplace. There's been about 20-30 new employees added to our system/department. Only, they have negelected to tell anybody. Oh, and these employees are all in a different state, about 2500 miles from us.

Proof that two management individuals made a visit out there recently surfaced. When quetioned they totally denied it happened, yet proof of their travel in a reservation system shows otherwise.

I'm part of the underground circle of employees that are aware of the 'situation' only we don't know what it is, specifically.

Another manager was questioned about the presence of the new employees, and at first tried to lie it off, and then switched gears and when totally beserk as if they were surprised and had no idea. This person can't have it both ways; they know, or they dont.

Tomorrow I will apply pressure to a couple people up the ladder I'm cool with, but I'm not sure they're hip as to what's going on either, but it will get a ball rolling.

If this were a benign sort of addition to the 'team', one would think they would be forthcoming about it, so everyone is a little concerned.

In other areas of my so called existence... well, we'll get to that later..

Creativity (Power Parody)

2005-02-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

Creativity (Power Parody)
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

So.. I did it. I went beyond my reason, and got the Digital Rebel. A bit more than I wanted to spend.. But I'm tired of always being forced into taking the cheap way out, getting a used item, buying the entry level bike and upgrading over time, working around a cameras limitations.

I got it at MSRP, with a lens, and good deal on a 512mb compact flash card. Plus it comes with a card for like 60 free 4x6 prints, a 'digital imaging class' (that I, could likely teach ;) and a $200.00 gift card to the store I purchased it from. So that will cover the verticle grip and new battery. Not a bad deal... But it still has breaking out into a sweat.

This purchase, takes up a good portion of my well deserved bonus - meaning that my trip home - or departure to the southwest - will be set back, probably by 4 weeks. This irritates me, because I need to leave. I'm done here. As much as Columbus is a keen place, it is not for me. Corporate, white collar, and just a little pretentious by my standards anyhow. Art here is a pretty strong movement, but it's very traditional, even in the 'alternitive aspects'...

Besides, I have photographic plans in the desert. I can't be shooting landscapes and night desert images with a 3 megapixel cam again.

And I just know there is this run down bar, off the side of the road somewhere near the four corners area - I have loose plans to make photographs; of the land, of the bar, of the debauchery...

So, I have to bring a camera that will do Justice; to those mentioned, but more importantly to the Bruja/Princesa del Desierto, who's spirit is inspiration, comraderie, as well as a magnet I cannot resist...

Jerry

2005-02-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Jerry
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

eh.. blogging. Everyones doing it. Many have been doing it for a long, long time.

I suppose I've sort of done it, inadvertantly through my journal on Deviantart MY DA Site

So.. Lets see, take some stock...

Looks like the move to Utah will happen, with some thanks directed to my employer for a pretty hefty bonus check. Although it's not enough to fund the entire move, it is certainly making things possible.

This is just in time, really. Not only because I've been planning this since November, but I've just recently had a brief moment of clarity, and noticed the comfort zone in which I've been residing for the better part of year. Fine. But it's prohibiting me from taking any risks that would advance myself in several areas. The move will help put me out there, be active, seek new things, blah. blah.

In other news, it would seem I've made a new friend, or kindred spirit is probably a better term, but not quite correct either. And this spirit hails from the desert, how appropriate. The desert always recharges me, across the board; creatively, emotionally, mentally... The new spirit in my life is hitting all these notes and more. I am challenged creatively, as well as inspired. I think I've found a muse, and at the same time, maybe have become one. Hope I do okay. It's really quite exciting - to bounce energy, share backgrounds with someone that's on the same DL as you are, has similar ideas but different enough to keep reundancy at bay. Still placing it all, and will just go with the flow and late my choices of fate have their ways.

Suppose that's all for the moment..

Hasta la noche, or thereafter...
Peace.

Los Fuegos

2005-02-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Los Fuegos
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

A fire burns in the desert, and is calling my name.

A kindred flame, we flicker in unison, feeding from eachother, and growing together.

This was inspired by a poem from a friend, La Poeta, La Bruja of the desert. Poems don't often strike me with intense visuals, but the words of La Poeta feed my imagination - in a place that's lie dormant for some time (ever?). Ah, so, it was three days in the making; pacing, thinking, feeling, shooting editing, searching.. and it comes together. Something a little different from me, genterating from feelings/energies shared between spriits of peers. Strange, I'm affected.
that's all.

Horoscope for Tuesday, February 15.

2005-02-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

From the reservation system:

116 CAPRICORN - /DEC 22 - JAN 21/
117 COMING TO TERMS WITH WHAT SEEMS TO BE AN
118 OVERT BETRAYAL BY ONE WHOM YOU HAVE COME
119 TO TRUST ON MANY LEVELS IS A STRETCH TODAY. BE
120 SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE DATA BEFORE JUMPING TO
121 CONCLUSIONS AND MAKING A DECISION THAT
122 INCLUDES REVENGE AND GENERAL MAYHEM.

Just what I need in the morning on my first day back...

Now I'll be watching my back all day

The problem with objectivity

2005-02-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

The problem with objectivity
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

... Is that there is a problem with it

transferred from the Flickr Photostream.

No real update, I should be sleeping, but have to monitor my bank account to make sure my direct deposit goes through.. ahh the wonders of technology.

Sidecut Moonrise Reflection

2004-12-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Sidecut Moonrise Reflection
Originally uploaded by Jerry Aaron Hazard.

Ok, got the blog/flickr thing all linked up I think..

Strange the time people will spend to publish there lives anonymously. Stranger that I forgot all about anonymity and used my real name. Oops.
But it is interesting... I suppose I should probably do an official introduction post, because my profile is pretty lame, and when I read it, it does not really describe me, although I thought it did when I filled it out...

maybe tomorrow. time to surf now...