#planetmoore

[planetmoore-visual-exploration]

GravelCrush ReCycle MTB Gravel Build from PlanetMoore on Vimeo.

[gravelcrush]

Utah...  Off The App Photos!

[gravelcrush]

UTAH... Off The App!

If you love cycling in the dirt then Utah is gravel supreme.  

I was in Utah for my sons water polo tournament and was lucky enough to make some time to get out and gravel.   I pulled off three shorter rides over three days.

With limited time and a busy water polo schedule there wasn’t the option for apps like Trail Forks and the luxury of finding some epic ride 60 miles away. Instead I had to dig around and figure out local rides.  Fortunately I it’s Utah and there’s trails and gravel roads everywhere.  My situation required me to ride from the city Limits and not stray too far out of town. There just wasn’t the time. And maybe I needed to be a little bit responsible too. After all I wasn’t really there to ride.

Ride #1: Turkey Farm Loop

 Before I left home I studied St George’s neighboring forest and discovered this ride.  It actually is on most riding apps too. A perfect ride from the hotel for   26miles of gravel road across the mesas and bluffs north of St George. I didn’t do much more research. I assumed the trail was relatively flat. It wasn’t!

I headed out from my hotel and rode 4 miles on frontage roads adjacent to Hwy15 before taking a hard right and heading into the unknown. 17 miles later I crested the top of a butte or something like that. I went from standard desert scrub to Juniper and Pinion Pine. At one point I rode through a recent fire area and wondered if I would ever make it out of the burn zone. I finally did and was treated to a lush forest of pine and juniper.   And near the top I found snow on the shaded side of the road!

As I rode I never really stopped climbing. It ended up being 4000ft of incline over 17 miles. Good thing I didn’t know that ahead of time! The scenery was spectacular, text book high desert.  The road was a perfect mix of gravel, dried mud and the occasional rough patch. To my left was a spectacular view of a snow capped peak. I was definitely somewhere new!

Once I topped out I crested the top and dropped down the backside. I rode another 3 miles straight down. At that point I decided it was time to turn around. My choices were either go on and only have another 6 miles of dirt or turn around and do the return. Was a bit of a difficult decision but I had the time to rack up a few additional miles for Strava and squeeze in a little more climbing too. In the end I rode 40 miles and fell in love with Utah.

Ride #2: Getting Lost And Kicking Sand

 This ride was a bust. But even a bust can turn into a good time. I mapped out the perfect urban desert mix. Total mileage was going to be 35ish.

It’s funny how something can be mapped out in the mind, look great on paper but turns to shit when the rubber hits the dirt! In a word... SAND wrecked this marvelous fantasy. I ended up walking for a couple miles out of 10. I still had fun and learned not to assume all trails are equal. Was a blast regardless!

Ride #3:   Epic and unexpected adventure!

I kept staring at this bluff south of town. It looked so mysterious and called to me. I scoured my phones map of the terrain and discovered several dirt roads/trails in the area.  Remembering the sand surprise from the day before I decided to make the safer choice and pick a major dirt road that cars regularly travel.  For sure this route would be sand free.  

To be extra safe, since I didn’t have any time to lose, I swung by the local bike shop and inquired about my ride.  They unfolded a map of the area.  Of course where I wanted to go was south of where the map cut off.  I chuckled.  No one had ridden this route or had knowledge of what I might encounter. 

 Instead it was recommended I take a loop trail out to the west and ride through a beautiful Joshua Tree forest.  And then loop back through town on pavement for the last 12 miles.  While this sounded inviting and like a solid bet it also sounded like a ride I could do close to home since SoCal is chalked full of Joshua Trees or pavement.  I thanked them for their help and rushed off to my sons last water polo game of the weekend.

I decided to go with my own plan and have fun regardless of the situation.  With my son settled back at the hotel with his friends and other adults I bolted for the open desert.  It was a 20min drive to my start position which broke one of my rules but I couldn’t help myself!  I exited the highway drove a short bit and turned off onto a major dirt road.  RVs dotted the landscape and motorcycles sped in every direction.  I hesitated at first but decided that I chose this and it was time to hop on my bike.  

Washboard a plenty...  riding through HOV land was concerning at first but soon turned to just pushing my way through washboard so I could get on with the ride.  After a couple miles the road smoothed out and the RVs and the HOVs were in the dust.  The road turned into a climb which I had suspected from studying the map and knowing where I wanted to end up which was on top of the mesa.  

The road led up a canyon between mesas.  The scenery was rugged and spectacular.  Remnants of a volcanic past were evidenced as towering cliffs rimming the mesas.  Cow’s were wandering the roadside on occasion.  Bushy scrub turned to yucca spiked plants.  Black, brown and light gray soil and rock outcrops dominated the rugged landscape that flowed toward the valley floor.   As I slowly climbed and rounded a long corner a mound of protruding red earth came into view.  

When I think of Utah I picture red rocks and red earth for as far as the eye can see.  In the lower southwest corner of Utah this is not necessarily true.  And actually I was riding in Arizona not Utah.  Anyways a beautiful chunk of red earth and rock broke out of gray and brown surrounding geology and it was beautiful.  

With a strong wind at my back I pushed up the gravel road.  Luckily the wind was somewhat of a cross wind and this was helpful when a loan truck would come blasting down the gravel road.  The dust would blow away from me instead of choking my lungs.  That was a fortunate situation!  So while I dreamt of total isolation what I got was a mixed bag of speeding trucks and blissful periods of silence.  But what I really got was the guarantee of gravel, not sand, and the beauty of the open desert.  I pedaled as hard as I could and continued to make my way towards the top of the canyon.  By now I was looking down on the mesa to my right which was visible from town.  It’s top was covered in dried grasses and had a particular blonde glint in the sunlight.  

As I neared the top, the road turned really steep.  I could see the crest framed by carved out rock walls.  I was huffing and puffing but not about to stop.  I was almost there.  The wind was turning to a bitter cold bite.  It was nearing sunset and the temperature was dropping fast.  Pine and Juniper began to cover the landscape and made it difficult to have any sort of view.  The sun raked the forest.  I crested the top of the mountain excited to see what was on the other side.  As steep as the climb had been I knew there would be a good view.  I couldn’t have been more wrong about that.  Once I reached the top I was on top of the mesas at the back of a canyon.  The forest, stunted and not much taller than me obstructed my views in every direction.  I rode across the mesa for a few minutes as the cold wind whipped around chilling my sweat soaked core.  At one point I ran across a left turn which headed to the top of an even taller mesa.  Next time I told myself.  And for sure there will be a next time!  

I turned around and raced the clock back to my car so I could make it back to the hotel on time as I had promised my son.  This was the perfect finish to a fabulous weekend of mixed sports and time with my son.  I succeeded in scratching the surface of Utah.  I accomplished this on my own terms and without the aid of an app assisted ride.  Maybe the best adventures are off the app?

Photos are posted below.  Cheers

[gravelcrush]

Spoon-Feed Me...

There’s so much out there in the cycling computer market.  From well known brands like Garmin, big contenders like Wahoo to super cheap Chineese knockoffs on Amazon and Ebay.  It’s a market that you can easily drown in.  

When I decided it was time for my personal computer I bounced around multiple reviews and then roamed the online shopping market.  It was overwhelming.  After awhile I figured out that I wanted something small.  I don’t care about onboard navigation for the most part.  Most of my riding is local and I know my area well.  I wanted data but don’t want to be obsessing over it while I ride.  I prefer the data to be something to reference on occasion instead of the driving force behind each and every ride.  

I did my research and decided that tried and true Garmin was the way to go.  It seemed that the overwhelming majority of cyclists have a Garmin.  So it was pretty much a knee jerk reaction and negated all the research I had done.  So much for all that wasted time!  

I chose the Garmin Edge.  It’s super compact and almost difficult to see while riding.  My first ride out I was laughing at myself.  Maybe I had over achieved in the area of compact?  My eyes strained to see the numbers without my glasses.  But after the first ride I got accustomed to the data fields and realized that it was exactly what I wanted.  Data in small servings and something to glance at on occasion.  Once familiar with the screens it wasn’t that hard to see the numbers.

Day two with my Garmin and it suffered an internal melt down.  I sent it back and got a replacement.  Worked great but still glitchy at times.  I found this odd.  In my mind the name Garmin is iconic and their computers should be bullet proof.  But apparently not.

So I leaned on all that research I thought had been a waste of time, turns out is wasn’t a waste of time after all!  After reviewing my research memory bank I decided to order the Wahoo Element.  The Wahoo had stood out in some interesting ways to me.  I also liked their marketing approach.  It felt young, innovative and energetic.  Immediately I was impressed with the Wahoo Element.  Easy setup.  Nice screens.  No data windows for things you don’t have.  Windows are added as ANT devices are connected.  Supercool looking, easy to use and non-glitchy.  That’s exactly what I wanted.

In the end it’s all about the intuitive touch.  If it’s not simple, slick and intuitive to the touch then I’m not interested.  I’m out to enjoy myself and my bikes computer has to fit into my life not the other way around.  Spoon-feed me simplicity please.!

[gravelcrush]

One Blizzard Please

There was no blizzard really.  Actually it was a perfect sunny day and a balmy 50deg F.    A thick layer of snow laid on the ground and if you narrowed your vision to the trail it looked like a winter wonderland. Inspecting the sunny side of the hillsides the snow was patchy. The shady side was still decently covered.

For someone that lives in Southern California by the coast this blanket of snow was a local winter wonderland.  Along the ridge trail you could look west over the foothills to the ocean and see the Channel Islands. Look East and you’re staring at brush mountain and patches of snow.

It was a spectacle that drew hikers and bikers from across the county.  I rode Bad Betty climbing a few thousand feet until the snow, ice and mud were too much for my 32c gravel tires.  Not to mention that I ride with a slick rear!  Ahead of me I could see a couple mountain bikers on the next switchback walking their bikes.  So I hopped off and started hiking with my bike on the right.  

I’m guessing it was about two miles to the saddle.  As I hiked on the snow slowly got deeper until I reached the top and it was close to one foot.  I spent a few minutes taking in the views and blanket of white.  A beautiful and rare scene for our neck of the woods.  I had hiked far enough that I was the only tracks and looking ahead there was nothing but virgin snow.  I vowed to come back the next time with a couple tennis rackets that I could strap to my feet and use as makeshift snowshoes so that I could continue deeper into the mountains, across the ridge.  

I was nervous about the descent and how would my narrow tires react on a bed of snow.  To my surprise it was a soft and silky ride like nothing I had ever experienced.  My bike just cruised over what is normally rough and rocky terrain.  Today is was a fluffy ride on a cushion of air.  This lasted for a couple miles and then the snow began to thin and get a little dicier.  Still fun but ever more unpredictable as I descended.  

This was one of those memorable rides that I can’t wait to repeat.  All I need is the perfect storm and some free time.  Oh yeah!  And a couple tennis rackets!

[gravelcrush]

Numbers Confuse Me!

While numbers are essential, at times they confuse me.  Occasionally I’ll be checking out a bike that I like online and I click on the stats page.  Sometimes there’s a chart that pops up with a multitude of angles, numbers and references to the bikes frame.  It’s often overwhelming.  I imagine that if I spent some time and wasn’t in a hurry, that I would begin to make sense of it all.  I guess I prefer to look at a bike and see art and angles vs geometry and numbers.  

Being tactile and visual it’s definitely about the look and feel, not so much about the data.  So I decided that a great way to breakdown my bikes data was in a visual sense.  I got out my three gravel bikes registered my camera on a tripod so that I could photograph all three bikes and have them perfectly overlay in a gif to study the frame shape differences.  The variances were much less than I expected.  So what is it really that generates the characteristics of a particular bike?  

Two of the frames in this study are Carbon Fiber and the third is Aluminum.  

[gravelcrush]

1st Official Wheel Build Part 2

[gravelcrush]

Photo Sand Safari

Yesterday I knew I needed to take a ride to the beach. It’s about 6 miles from my house to the beach and yesterday it felt more like 60 miles. The wind was out of control and I was getting buffeted like a rag doll. Palm fronds were speeding towards the ground like deadly projectiles and the dirt whirling in the air was like sandpaper on the eyeballs. The winds eddy became my ear canals, filling with sand like some ancient Egyptian tomb. At the beach the conditions were no different. Blowing sand was painful on the legs and stung the eyes. I left the bike in the parking lot for fear that it would be destroyed by sand if I took it onto the beach. Better to risk having it stolen! But all that was well worth the effort and risk. The waves were enormous and windswept. It was breathtaking. One massive set after the other rolled in. Four expert surfers tried to catch and occasionally did catch the mammoth rollers. One surfer described being out there like being sprayed with a fire hose because the wind was whipping up the water and ferociously blowing the little droplets. My mission was to create a photo that captured the day. I’m pretty happy and feel like I succeeded with my plan. Now if I could just get all that sand out of my ears!