I'm Thankful...

Thanksgiving holiday is great. You can usually bike or ski, and we always have some kind of family gathering. I've had a great week spending good times with the family on the bike, on skiis, and running.

This year Kim and the three younger kids went to Vegas a few days early to stay with her grandparents, while Scott and I worked and schooled. Scott and I took advantage of the time to go to IHOP, Cafe Rio, go skiing at Brighton, and then go biking in St. George on the way to Vegas Thanksgiving morning.

The skiing would have been pretty thin on the steeps, but on the Scott-level blues and greens it was great. Brighton has a ton of beginner level terrain. Towards the end of the day he asked if he could try skiing without the edgie-wedgie. We took it off and it was no problem at all. With Heidi I'm going to take it off as soon as she has the feel for the snow-plow. Driving home from Brighton I saw Fox out training, riding diagonally across Wasatch against traffic, so I guess he's still training.

Mt. Bike conditions in St. George were very good -- not too dusty, not too cold. Here is Scott riding around in the parking area of the Intermountain Cup race course. I rode the course on the Air 9. I always worry about pinch flats riding a hardtail with tubes on that rocky terrain, but I took it a little easy on the downhills and had no problems. The bike is otherwise well suited to the course. One might ask how it compares to a hardtail 26er, but I don't really know since I haven't ridden a hardtail on that course since about 2000.

We also saw the Pillings and the Pogues there, I would have ridden with them, but I didn't really have time because I still had to get down to Vegas in time for dinner.

While in Vegas Kim and I hit the Red-Rock loop with the road bikes, and then ran for an hour on the trails there. I almost can't express how fun this day was for me. There is a big sandstone area there, which is what the area is named for. Vegas is a crowded place. I was amazed at how many people were there at the park, but it is a beautiful area it was kind of fun to see so many people out enjoying the day. The road loop is only about 15 miles. It is one-way traffic, and people were going slow, so even with the crowds safety was never a concern. Ya, there are miles and miles of red rock like this in Utah. Still pretty. It was interesting to see the differences between Kim and I on the bike vs. the run. Most of the bike was Z0 for me. Some Z1, the only stuff higher was some sprints I did up short climbs. On the run, however, I spent plenty of time in Z2. She's doing the spin camp at the Treehouse, and hopefully that will help bring her bike up to her running. If it does, triathletes watch out...she'll be flying.

Last night after driving home for Vegas I did three hours in the dark on the Spider 29er, including Jacob's Ladder. I even rode down the "hydrotube". That bike is awesome.

So, for Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for Kim, the kids, and the good heath to enjoy their company.

P.S. If you are cool, stop in St. George and hit this kicker: