Sound Advice

On another note, I'm meeting with the Burlington Parks Dept. next wednesday at Dehn's. Its their intention to do a GPS survey of our little trail, I want to use the opportunity to make the case that these trails are a city ASSET, and should be left AS IS. it would be nice to be able to hold events there, protect the area from developement or destruction from off road vechiles, help the City understand how unique this area really is. Maybe even secure some funding for trail maintenance issues, trail marking signs. We'll see what happens

You love me, you really love me...

I almost won an award Sunday. Unfortunately it would have been a "http://www.darwinawards.com/ "CHARLIE" I was attempting to dislodge approximately 300 feet of nasty hanging vines attached from a rather large branch laying on the trail to the very top of an old Oak 65 feet directly above me. My first attempt did nothing to break it loose, so I tried again, HARDER, maybe another 25 feet of vine and some smaller tree limbs started raining down but the majority of this mess was still sky high above me and I couldn't move it off the trail until I had enough slack in this twisted mess. I "Tazan-ed" again, this third try resulted in a tremendous snap overhead, I had broken the ENTIRE top of this Oak off and it was now accelerating towards me, according to Newton, at 30ft per second squared. Now I'm not the fastest guy in the woods but by the sound of this thing coming down I knew it had to be HUGE, what I ended up with was a pile of dead or dying vine three feet deep and a 30 foot section of dry Oak a foot in diameter to clean off the trail. Thank GOD I had moved my bike or it would have been smashed too, I'm sure I had inches to spare, but I would have been really depressed had I been killed, I can almost read my own nomination for my "Charlie" statue...

Karma and laziness

I'm building an ARK

This is a pic from where I work, after 6 inches of rain overnight we now have a wonderful lake. It didn't take the geese long to find it either. Dehn's is going to be a nightmare after this as well, if it indeed stops raining I'll post up some damage photos as I'm sure its going to nasty down there. Burlington and surrounding areas got some really wicked lightening storms as well, I've rarely seen that much lightning in one storm, kinda freaky

No Sugar

two deaths valley B.O.D (bridge of death) SPASM CHASM Guess where I parked the trail maintenance truck, hint: there used to be a trail here Sugar bottom WAS postponed, now its September 16th. I used 6 hrs saturday to do some much needed chainsawing and weedwacking in Dehn's. The only maintenance remaining is the ladder bridge over the big creek. Sunday I decided to ride 30 miles (Sugar race distance),and with the shortened trail it took 8 laps. ouch...

I bet it rains again

Sweet Butt Its the Sugarbottom Scramble, I know that SOUNDS naughty but its THE XC race in Iowa. Tight and twisty and if the rain holds off it should be decent weather See you there...

Not THULE, its TOOL (again)

This was taken in the La Sal mountains Utah at 11,000 feet up, your looking east into Colorado a good 50 miles or so...i could not see any cornfields, sorry I know, I know the lyrics are SO cliche...But I can't help feeling the same way. For your listening pleasure, here's TOOL's "Right in Two"... Angels on the sideline, Puzzled and amused. Why did Father give these humans free will? Now they're all confused. Don't these talking monkeys know that Eden has enough to go around? Plenty in this holy garden, silly monkeys, Where there's one you're bound to divide it. Right in two. Angels on the sideline, Baffled and confused. Father blessed them all with reason. And this is what they choose. And this is what they choose... Monkey killing monkey killing monkey Over pieces of the ground. Silly monkeys give them thumbs, They forge a blade, And where there's one they're bound to divide it, Right in two. Right in two. Monkey killing monkey killing monkey. Over pieces of the ground. Silly monkeys give them thumbs. They make a club. And beat their brother, down. How they survive so misguided is a mystery. Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here. Cut it all right in two [x4] Fight over the clouds, over wind, over sky Fight over life, over blood, over prayer, overhead and light Fight over love, over sun, over another, Fight... Angels on the sideline again. Been soon long with patience and reason. Angels on the sideline again Wondering when this tug of war will end. Cut it all right in two [x3] RIGHT IN TWO! Right in two...