Mississippi Queen
by codemonkey on Feb.26, 2013, under Dave's Rants
First, here is the track I was using. It’s only two minutes long, so, I think Sean found a different one.
I bought the score . . . I found that it was accurate, but, covered more than this song — so — back to what Sean found — this is the short version.
Hopefully this is readable — I only had one print (didn’t know that), so I had to scan back in my printout . . . it’s here:
Intro Riff
This is played off and on throughout the song.
Intro Solo
This is played right after the intro riff. Backup guitars start playing main chord parts with riff (I’ll add those below later)
Mid Solo
I love the sound of this one. It starts off a bit lower than the intro riff, but then climbs up and adds the intro parts too. Lots of nice bends and feeling in this one.
Final Solo
This one starts RIGHT AFTER the mid solo.
Chord Riffs
I was going to pull them out — but — check the first score . . . they’re really clear.
Riffs in Brown Sugar
by codemonkey on Feb.21, 2013, under Dave's Rants
Sorry for the web page, but I couldn’t get the tab to display right on facebook, so I decided to link instead . . .
Last Monday, I started playing this riff during the G/C part of the chorus . . this replaced a G chord, with a rest (just added a riff):
G (riff, played in 4 beats) C
e:----3------------------------------------5-------
b:----3------------------------------------3-------
g:----4------------------------------------3-------
d:----5------------------5-----------------3-------
a:----5------------5--7--------------------5-------
e:----3-------5s7--------------------------5-------
Trevor mentioned that I could play it during the intro, but to add a G note in the beginning. I can’t seem to make it fit . . . listening to it, I think they’re dropping the d, so I’m playing this riff, again, with the four notes even.
(riff, played in 4 beats)
e:------------------------------
b:------------------------------
g:------------------------------
d:----------------5-------------
a:-------------5----------------
e:----3---5s7-------------------
I’ll try to record it tonight so you can hear it . . .
Not enough time . . too much mass . . . .
by codemonkey on Jan.18, 2013, under Dave's Rants, Workout Logs
I’ve been having trouble keeping up with my ski log . . . . which is annoying, because I love to share my days skied . . . seems with all my hobbies, I have simply run out of time. Mondays are rehearsal . . . Tuesdays either skiing at Brighton, or beers with the guys . . . Thursdays lessons . . .wow
Anyway, this post is more about next steps . . . things I’m changing, not bitching about having a schedule full of fun things!
I’ve been dieting for a few months now with almost no results. I’ve gotten quite a bit stronger, but, the fat has gone nowhere. I was hoping to maintain a strength-centric workout, and use crossfit and/or X-Fit at my gym for cardio. But, the scale hasn’t moved. (And, it’s not all about the scale — the BF measurement hasn’t moved significantly either). So, it’s time for my least favorite four letter word: cardio (Well, it’s a four letter word to me)
I’m moving from a 2-3 day a week strength + 2-3 day a week crossfit to:
2-3 days a week of crossfit + 2-3 days a week of cardio. Plain, boring, stupid cardio. Hop on a treadmill with a book on tape cardio. Yeuch.
Also, I’m going to trim my supplements to match. I’m dropping NOS, creatine and BCAA’s, to just a protein shake in the AM, and maybe some carbs after a workout, if I’m gassed.
Hopefully that will finally make a dent in the scale . . . .
Bacon Stuffed Chicken
by codemonkey on Apr.12, 2012, under Dave's Must Haves
Bacon Stuffed Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Two Chicken Breasts
3 Strips of Butcher Bacon (All good recipes contain bacon)
1/2 Onion (Any kind)
3 cloves garlic
2/3 Bag Baby Spinach
2 slices baby swiss cheese
Salt
Try 1 Recipe
Preheat oven to 350.
Cut Bacon into .5″ pieces. Fry. Add onions & minced garlic. Cook with bacon and bacon grease till almost caramelized. Add spinach and saute.
While onions are cooking, make a slit in the chicken breasts. Add a slice of swiss in the slit.
When spinach is cooked, add it into slit, and close chicken breast. (I used toothpics to hold closed). Bake for about 30-45 mins at 350. (You can turn to broil at the end to crisp up the breast). Salt to taste.
Notes
- Needed Salt. I thought the bacon would have enough for the spinach mixture: It did not.
- Not enough bacon.
- Not enough Cheese.
Pics
 |  |
| From Bacon & Spinach Stuffed Chicken |
Try 2 recipe changes
- Double the cheese.
- Use 1″ instead of .5″ pieces of butcher bacon.
- Salt spinach mixture.
Diet Time!
by codemonkey on Feb.21, 2012, under Body Stats, Dave's Rants, Workout Logs
I’m done with my cruise, taking a break from CrossFit, and now it’s time to get back to business. I weigh about 30lbs more than I think I should. And, my muscles are shrinking . . . so, what should I do, when my shoulder can’t take any more CrossFit?
My requirements were pretty simple:
- Lose weight
- Don’t lose muscle mass
(And, yes, I know that it is extremely difficult to build muscle and lose fat at the same time)
I asked out on Fitocracy. I was looking for weight loss, and strength training. The guys seemed split about Stronglifts vs Starting Strength. And, one person mentioned Leangains, which I had googled before, but, their site was a bit confusing.
So, I took the time to read a bit more, learn a bit more, and decided that I would build a plan based on Starting Strength, Leangagins, and, my normal Primal Diet. There were two reasons I picked Starting Strength over Stronglifts:
- I have done Stronglifts before. And, while I did like it — I love new shiny things more
- Someone on Fitocracy mentioned that Starting Strength did not take as long as Stronglifts. And, I do remember Stronglifts taking a VERY long time.
The Food Plan
So, what exactly is my plan? Leangains is a fasting / feasting plan, with 8 hours of feasting, and 16 hours of fasting. I have to use a slightly modified plan, since I workout in the morning. So, following the Early morning fasted training plan here: I have come up with the following schedule:
Workout Days
5:00AM Wake-up, have 10g BCAA (or low carb protein) shake before I head to gym.
6:00AM Training.
8:00AM 10g BCAA
10:00AM 10g BCAA
12:00PM First meal of the day. Large meal, since it’s Post Workout Nutrition (PWN)
5-6PM Dinner — Try to make this meal lower carb, since it’s pre-fast.
Non Workout Days
12:00PM First meal of the day.
5-6PM Dinner — Try to make this meal lower carb, since it’s pre-fast.
General Diet Guideline
I’ll be following the Primal Blueprint as much as I can on the meals. I will allow carbs on the first meal, but I’ll try to get them all from fruits & vegetables. If some grains / tubers slip in, though, it will be ok. Particularly in the beginning of the diet. If I stall, I will start counting carbs, and limiting them more aggressively.
The Training
As I said before, I will be following Starting Strength for a workout plan. The only thing I’m going to be modifying is Bench Press. Since my little gym does not have a power cage, I’m going to be doing dumbbell press instead of bench. (So, it is good that I’m starting lower, since I can only climb in increments of 10lbs (5lbs/hand)). Here is my schedule:
Workout A
3×5 Squat
3×5 Dumbbell Bench Press
1×5 Deadlift
Workout B
3×5 Squat
3×5 Overhead Press
3×5 Power Cleans
Schedule
Here is my workout schedule. Every workout the weights go up.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week n | Workout A | Rest | Workout B | Rest | Workout A |
| Week n+1 | Workout B | Rest | Workout A | Rest | Workout B |
My particular workout regimen is in a google doc here
Starting Stats
And, finally, some starting stats. I am at my heaviest (since moving to Utah) starting this diet. I left for a cruise at 220lbs, and I came back at 225. (It would have been worse, but I stuck to my strict diet of soft-serve and liquor).
Body Weight: 225.2
Bench: 225(1RM), 205(5RM)
Press: 155(1RM), 135(5RM)
Squat: 255(1RM), 245(5RM)
Deadlift: 315(1RM), 275(5RM)
Clean: 185(1RM), 135(5RM)
I’ll find a measuring tape and update my google docs measurements sometime today and tomorrow, so, more accurate stats can always be found there.
Week 1:
Learning to Fly . . urm . . I mean Ski
by codemonkey on Jan.07, 2012, under Dave's Must Haves, Dave's Rants
I’ve been skiing a bit on old racing skis (180s) and Lange boots. It has been . . urm . . interesting.
Tammy has been hating the fit of her boots, so we got her some custom boots, with some adjustments, and me some boots too.
Tammy tried on a few, but finally found some comfortable Dalbello 2011 Raya 10′s
My boots are a bit more agressive than hers, because I like powder, and hitting little jumps For boots, I got Tecnica Demon 110i’s.
For skis, we decided to have Tammy continue to use her rental shaped skis, until she is ready for an all mountain set of skis. For me, however, I needed something, and, why get shaped, when I can get something more all mountain. Dennis recommended S7′s, or, for my skill level, maybe S3′s. Eric, at the Lifthouse, agreed with the S3′s. But, Tammy and I liked the graphics better on the Scott Dozers, and, there wasn’t a lot of difference. They’re both rockered all mountain skis. So, I ended up with Scott Dozer A Version 12′s.
I can’t wait to try them out!
Six Week Paleo Challenge
by codemonkey on Nov.28, 2011, under Body Stats, Dave's Must Haves, Workout Logs
The Rules
I just got finished doing a six week paleo challenge with my gym. The rules were very strict. We used the Whole 30 Plan, but did 42 instead of 30 days.
The rules I was most concerned with were:
- No alcohol
- No sweeteners of any kind, including stevia!
I was especially concerned because I had to deal with Halloween, a wine party, and, most importantly, Halloween parties!
Turns out, the parties weren’t that bad . . . but . . . I digress.
Hiding from sweeteners and artificial sweeteners completely was way harder than I thought. I eat 90% Primal, as my normal diet. So, eating paleo only meant:
- not cheating
- Getting rid of dairy
- Really not cheating (i.e. no legumes at all, including soybean oils)
I found out a bit later that sweet potatoes and coconut milk were allowed.
Also, allowed, were pre/post workout nutrition. So, my normal breakfast of a protein shake, and Surge Recovery, or Aftershock after my workouts was ok.
The Scoring
Finally, the scoring and penalties. We got one point for every paleo meal (maxed at 3 per day), one point for every workout (maxed at one per day), and, -2 points for every cheat item. (So, one night of binge drinking could undo a week of points!)
So, at most, four points per day. And, one final kicker: we had to do 10 burpees per cheat item. (On about the 4th week, Andrew raised this to 50 per item)
Contest Results
The first couple of weeks, I had no cheats. But, I then started having a beer when I hiked up runs, and went snowboarding, so I started averaging one cheat a week, towards the end.
I found that I didn’t really lose any weight. I really missed sweets. Giving up Diet Coke was easy, but, giving up the sweet treat of it, was not. So, I started eating 3-4 pieces of fruit a day, which killed my weight loss. Toward the end, I tried to limit myself to one fruit a day, which helped.
Here were the point results:
| Date | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10/12 – 10/23 | 46 | No Cheats |
| 10/24 – 10/30 | 25 | One Cheat |
| 10/31 – 11/06 | 28 | |
| 11/07 – 11/13 | 23 | Two Cheats |
| 11/14 – 11/22 | 29 | Three Cheats |
| Totals | 151 | Six Cheats |
I think I did pretty well. I’m pretty sure I won. But, I could be wrong. There could have been some quiet winner . . .
Real Results
Outside of the contest, what did I get out of the challenge?
First, I learned that I was still drinking way too many diet sodas. I’m very glad to be done with that. I’ve learned to drink unsweetened teas . . . many different varieties. I may start using a little stevia in some of them, but, for the most part, I drink them w/o sweeteners of any kind.
Second, I did learn that my sweet tooth can not be ignored. I’m not sure how I’m going to get past that one. Maybe a stevia sweetened tea every now and then will help.
Finally, I learned how much I normally cheat. And, how many foods they hide sugar in. Including breakfast sausage — you can NOT buy breakfast sausage w/o sugar. At least, I couldn’t find any.
Body Changes
As usual, I was a bit anal about measuring my body changes. Just before I started the diet, I carbed up a bit. So, I gained the obligatory 7 lbs of water weight. (Went from 215 -> 222.7 for the initial weigh in.) So, that came off almost immediately. But, then, it just sat there. The scale did not move again, until I cut out the fruit. I did, however, get my body fat measured, used my body fat measuring scale, and, whipped out the measuring tape. Here’s my changes over the challenge:
| Measurement | October 12, 2011 | November 22, 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 222.7 | 209.5 |
| BMI (Computed) | 32.88 | 30.93 |
| Bodyfat (Crossfit Measured) | 30.3 | |
| Bodyfat (Scale) | 32.4 | 30.6 |
| Neck | 15.5 | 15.5 |
| Shoulders | 48 | 46.5 |
| Chest | 39 | 37 |
| Waist | 35 | 34 |
| Hips | 41.5 | 40 |
| Arms | 13.5 | 14.5 |
| Legs | 25.3 | 25 |
| Calves | 17 | 17 |
| Total Inches | 234.8 | 229.5 |
So, out of losing 5.3 inches overall, I still gained 1 inch in my arms (measured at biceps). That is pretty cool (I’m getting stronger at the same time that I’m losing weight & inches). I’m finally slightly under 36″ pants. Most 34′s fit now. Some 33′s. I’m looking forward to getting back into my 32s.
Fitness
We did Murph before and after the competition. AFTER the competition, I did my pullups w/o a band, so, I got Rx. That is a huge difference, but, it’s not very measurable. But, I also timed the first mile of each Murph, and I think those stats are even more telling than the overall time.
The first mile of my Murph in October took me 9:27. And, I was VERY proud of that time. After Murph, I paid attention again, and, my first mile was 8:36. That is a good testament of what I got out of Paleo. I did not train running, yet, almost lost a whole minute!
Conclusion
Now that I’ve done my Thanksgiving gorge, I’m looking forward to getting back into my Primal diet (I miss cheese), and finishing my loss, while keeping my strength. Also, I’ve been boarding 4 times this season, and I have yet to get tired.
2011/2012 Ski Days
by codemonkey on Oct.10, 2011, under Dave's Rants, Workout Logs
This page is going to be used to keep track of my ski journal, so I know how many days I have skied / boarded this season!
| Resort | Open Status | Base Depth (in.) | 48hr Snowfall | Surface Condition | Lift Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alta | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Beaver Mountain | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Brian Head | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Brighton | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Canyons | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | |
| Deer Valley | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Eagle Point | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | |
| Park City Mt Resort | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Powder Mountain | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Snowbasin | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Snowbird | Temporarily Closed | 75" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Solitude | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Sundance | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
| Wolf Creek | Closed (end of season) | 0" | 0" | N/A | Buy lift tickets |
Total Days Skied / Ridden
- Pre Season: 2
- Post Season: 21
Lifts Running!
The below entries start after the season opened. Using lifts instead of hiking runs. Look further down below for some pre-season foolishness.
03/18/2012
Dennis, me & Kids
I skied.
Tude Dudes rocked. Did ok on pow pow. Turns are looking good. Solid intermediate now.
Home run ate me up.
03/11/2012
Pete, Amy and me @ Brighton
Millie Rocked!
Cliff signs saved me
Did a little jump — need to get the vid from pete.
03/06/2012
Bright night skiing – Szoke, Derek, Me, & Chris Price
Did Wren Hollow.
Almost did cliff area
02/26/2012
Neighborhood trip to Solitude
Bluebird. 2″ fresh. About 8″ of softness & powder in trees.
Took both cars.
Dennis & Family
Nick & Family
Snowboarded first. Did Powderhorn w/ Quinn. Sprayed Quinn & Nick Tammy fell & hit head.
Got skis and skied a bit. Did parallel turns and skis together turns with Dennis. Icy Apex w/ Nick (one run)
Got board and hit Honeycomb. Too much heel edge. Definitely a double black, if powderhorn is a single black diamond.
02/07/2012
Brighton – Night Skiing
Attendees: Brad, Derek, Spooner, Sean, Steve
We finally managed to leave on time, and get situated. We were @ Molly Greens at around 4:30, which gave us plenty of time to lubricate a bit before the runs. I noticed last time that the runs after dinner (and beer) were always better than the runs before dinner. I’m not saying that alcohol is required to enjoy the slopes. But, it does help to remove a bit of the fear, and that can be entertaining. So, after a couple of Hops Risings, Derek and I headed up to the top.
Since we were heading out early, we decided to see if Wren Hollow was open. I flew down the cat track . . . Derek passed me, of course. And busted once . . When we got to where it was normally closed after dark, it was open! But, it was labeled as double black diamond!
 |
| From Snowboarding 2011/12 |
I’ve been down it before . . it’s a bit steep, very moguly, but nothing I’d call Double Black . . Oh well, time to try it out.
The run was great. I was really nailing the moguls. There was some exposed rock, so I had to be careful not to gouge my board. What really surprised me were all the people stopped and having trouble. I understand that moguls on a snowboard are really hard, but, many skiers were stopped too!
We got to the steep section, and two skiers were stopped at the top, I assume trying to get the nerve to go. I saw the main run, a little chute entrance. I went right over, assuming that I’d just slow down on the way down the steep. I then learned why the skiers were stopped. There was no room to turn. The rocks turned the little chute into a 20′ or so, straight down chute, with rocks on either side. If I were to try to turn, I’d catch an edge on the rocks, and biff. So, I screamed, “Woah Shit!”, and just went straight down, through the chute, until I could turn and slow down. Nailed it. I’m calling that a double black, hands down
After passing the moguls, we just headed back to the lift to see if the other guys were there yet. I didn’t want Derek to beat me by too much, so I tried to go fast. I ended up beating him to the lift, so I assume he either went and hit something, or biffed.
A few runs later, Derek mentioned that I was flying down the hill . . . he said that on that return he couldn’t catch me. When I looked at my GPS later that night, I found out that I was going 37.7 MPH. Way too fast. I need to slow the eff down. I also caught an edge while I was going that fast . . . just lucky I didn’t bust.
The whole evening, I busted a lot. I hit the terrain park some, caught a little air once or twice too!
I ended up leaving before dinner. Tammy was missing me, and I didn’t want to stay too late . . . I wanted to hang with the family a bit before bedime.
01/24/2012
Brighton @ Night – Finally with a base!
Attendees: Brad, Derek, Hunter, Spooner
One of the best Brighton nights yet. I mainly stuck to the steeper stuff, but, instead of taking Hawkeye, I would instead take the little trail through the woods, over to the terrain park.
On the last run of the day, Spooner was following me. I took things a little faster, and managed to find the very high entrance to the terrain park, just under the Majestic lift. All evening, we had been looking at the hidden pockets of powder, that there would be no way to get enough speed to hit. I finally managed to hit them!
The terrain under the Majestic lift was moguly powder. It was really soft, and, wasn’t steep at all, since I was traversing, instead of going down the steep part of the slope. As I was traversing, I realized that if I went straight down, across the resort, I might be able to find some powder. Going that direction, fast, would be impossible if Brighton was crowded. But, the lifts were stopping, and the resort was closing, so, it was easy to avoid people
I went across the slopes, and found a stash of fresh powder. Went all the way across it, slowing down a little, crossed a run, and found another stash. Now, the powder wasn’t steep, and, it was slowing me down a lot, so, it wasn’t epic or anything. But it was a nice way to end the evening.
01/22/2012
Solitude – First Powder Day!
It finally snowed! 2-3 feet worth! So, we planned on heading up to Solitude with the kids. Angela got sick, and Tammy didn’t want to drive up alone, so it ended up being me, Dennis, and the kids.
We left the kids in line to get in a run, while they were getting their tickets. We were amazed at the quality of the powder. We met back up with the kids, and showed them how to have fun in pow pow. We eased them into it, first finding runs off of Moonbeam, then finally hitting some of the steeper runs off of Apex.
We split up for a bit, and Dennis and I hit Powderhorn. It was pretty eaten up, but, with the steepness, and the powder, it was still fun.
We finally hooked back up with the kids, and decided to try out Eagle Express. I love the blues under Eagle, and I was looking forward to hitting some of the blacks on the top there. I was sure that the kids could handle it, covered with powder and all. But, they got freaked out, and decided to do the main face instead. Took them a long time to get down it, but they did really well. Bailey and Amy did turns all the way down it. Quinn got in a couple of turns, but, basically stuck to heel edge most of it.
After Eagle, the kids were tired, and wanted to do Moonbeam some more. Quinn wanted to do Tude Dude, so we went and found that run. It was one of the better runs of the evening, and was full of pow and bumps. Quinn followed me into the trees, and ended up falling into the powder. Only his head was showing. We took a picture, but it didn’t do justice to the corporeal head floating in the snow. We did Tude Dude twice more, then finally decided to call it a day.
01/17/2012
Brighton – Another icy night
Tonight was probably the iciest night yet at Brighton. And, I learned a while ago, that on ice, it is easier to just go fast, than to try to stop. Brad wasn’t feeling well tonight, so he stayed home.
I followed Derek down a couple of steeps, and tried to stay off of my heel edge.
Like the last icy night at Brighton, I didn’t try anything too hard, because it would hurt if I fell.
We had some Ba Ba Black Lager at dinner. (2 pitchers split between three guys) So, after lubrication, we got a few more runs in. I was having trouble keeping my speed up. And, the wind wasn’t helping either. But, the lubrication helped to keep the speed up. And, I was finally able to scrape off some wax, so I could ptex some of the hits I got at Solitude with Nick & Dennis [#20120108].
01/15/2012
Solitude – Learning to Ski
I wanted to try skiing with my new skis, so I decided to take the kids up to Solitude. I was hoping that the snow would be soft, since there was a small dump a week ago. (It wasn’t)
Tammy was going to come, but, when I checked the temperature online, I had to advise her to wear her hot chilis. That was just enough to convince her not to go.
I got a couple of good runs in. I had to rest about every 2-3 full mountain runs. I’m just not used to skis. The kids came with me, and were happy to rest every couple of runs.
At lunch, I discovered that they had my favorite beer in a can (Johnny’s American IPA)
I was doing so well, I decided to try Apex. I had skied on Apex early in the season, and did fine. But, today was icy. Big difference. The steeps were steep, and solid ice. I ended up having to side slip 200 yards. Every time I tried to do a turn, I’d get an edge hung up (because I was scared), and went back to side slipping.
After I had slid down about 50 yards, I heard a blood curdling scream. Amy was flying down the slopes, head first, on her belly. I quickly assessed the situation, and saw that she wasn’t in any real danger. If she got near the trees, there was powder, which would slow her down. And, it was just a blue slope, so, it would eventually end. However, Amy didn’t know any of those things, and she was scared. It took me 10 minutes to finally get down to her, due to my lack of skill on skis. I was really sad that she had to wait so long for me.
01/08/2012
Solitude – day after a little snow
Saturday it snowed about 6 inches, so we decided to hit Solitude with our new neighbor, Nick. Nick told us that he was a blue skier. We told him that we’d have no problems sticking to the blues.
After a couple of runs, with Nick killing it on the blues, we decided to try to see what Honeycomb Canyon was all about, and headed out. The center line is rated blue when groomed, and black if bumpy. Due to the lack of coverage, though, today was a bit different.
We headed over to the _______ lift, then took the annoying cat track / hooptie runs to get to the summit lift. When I got there, I noticed that there was a sign at the base of the lift. It said, “Thin Coverage / Experts Only”. Dennis had his new S7′s, and I knew he didn’t want to hit any rocks. But, Dennis and Nick were already on the lift. Oh well — I hope they saw the sign.
When we got to the top of the Summit, there was a gate on the way over to Honeycomb Canyon. I have never been there before, but, I was pretty sure you normally did not have to pass through a double black diamond gate. We didn’t want to damage Dennis skis, and, the coverage on the front side, that we could see from the lift, was pretty thin. We finally found someone to ask, and they said that the canyon coverage was better than the front side, so, we decided to go through the gate.
Honeycomb Canyon rocked. Even with thin coverage, there were plenty of powder runs! We had to carefully pick our lines, to avoid rocks and trees, but it was a blast. Dennis started a VERY SMALL sluff avalanche, so we became extra careful, and started going down the steep stuff single file. I found a great run through some trees. I was so excited about the powder run, that, when I found some more powder to jump, I forgot to lean back, and ended up endo-ing face first into a powder bank. I was cracking up
The slim cat track back was uphill many times. I had to constantly unstrap and walk. If Honeycomb Return was running, it would have been worth it.
All in all, this was the best ski day yet of the season.
01/02/2012
Night Skiing at Brighton
Tonight was our first official team building night. Many people attended, but Hunter couldn’t make it, due to some last minute Jazz tickets.
The super slick ice wasn’t in front of the lift any more like on [#20111220]. But, the mountain was still very hard, and not very forgiving.
On the last run, I attempted a 2′ high rail. I got onto it, but, my center of gravity was off, so I biffed it backward — hard. I’m not sure if I hit the rail, then bounced into the ground, or just bounced into the ground. I didn’t get injured or anything, it was a solid all-body thud
When returning to my car, I went to just board across the parking lot, like I’ve done the last few weeks. Problem was, the ice had melted. I ended up going across about 4′ of dry asphalt. Mega damage. Ouch!
12/26/2011
Post Christmas Fun with the Kids at Brighton
I have long been told to never go to the slopes the day after Christmas. The reason: Too many kids, with new equipment, who refuse to get lessons. I was bored this year on the 26th, so, I decided to give it a try . . .
We headed up majestic, then trekked a bit over to a run that would take us to the Snake lift. Finally, we got down to snake, and took that lift up to the peak. From there it was a short cat track to get to Sunshine. I thought the kids would love sunshine. But, they didn’t really seem to like it. Amy was doing great, working on her turns. But, for some reason, Quinn had regressed, and was going heel-edge down the whole mountain.
When we FINALLY got to the base of Snake, Amy needed to go to the bathroom, so we went the rest of the way down, grabbed a snack, and hit the bathrooms.
On the next run, since no one really liked Sunshine (except me), we went straight over to Crest. And, we took the steeper cat track over to the far run. I figured if the kids weren’t riding right, I might as well hit the baby terrain park. At the terrain park, we did have some fun. We hit it 2-3 times, and walked back up each time. The baby park has ski-on / ski-off rails, so you can get the feel of things, without having to jump. I got my mojo back, and the kids got to get a little taste. They soon learned, that, at their level, getting the speed and approach right is harder than the rail itself I bet they nail it next time.
12/20/2011
Night Skiing at Brighton
Today was our first official Team Building evening at Brighton. In attendance were: Me, Brad, Derek, David S., Ryan, Hunter, Chris P, and Chris S.
Our first problem was actually meeting up. Seems half of us were in the parking lot, and half of us were behind the building. I’ll send out clear instructions next time.
The evening went about like it did last year. Chris S was learning to board, so he was a bit slow. Chris Price Sr hung back with him a bit. Hunter met a friend at the bar (He always finds people he knows at bars . . . ), who hung with us the rest of the evening, after dinner.
In general, the rate was VERY fast, which was a bit scary, since it was really icy, so falling was going to HURT. It was so icy near the lift, you would lose your edge, every time, no matter how much you tried to avoid it. I’ve never seen ice that slick. Luckily, I did a few spastic maneuvers, but never fell.
We ended up leaving just a few minutes before closing. And, we were all VERY tired. I’m looking forward to our next run on the 3rd. There’s GOTTA be snow by then!
12/17/2011
Avalanche Training Day 2 (Brighton)
For our second day of avalanche training, we brought snow shoes, just in case. But, we didn’t need them (Not everyone in our group had them). We learned a lot: How to use our probes & Beacon, how to properly dig, and, how to assess snow conditions.
When the class was over, we got to board back down the mountain (one run). But, for that one run, we took Sunshine, Pete’s favorite run. I have to say: I’m a fan. It’s a nice green cruiser. You can really get moving on it if you want, and it’s nice and wide, so, even when there are people on it, there is plenty of room to just carve.
12/16/2011
Solitude Half Day with Dennis
While I was at my Day 1 avalanche training, Dennis invited me to go out on Friday. While I couldn’t take the day off, it was already in my calendar to leave early and ghost the kids. So, Dennis and I ghosted the kids. Dennis snowboarded. I thought about skiing, but, figured he was a better snowboarder than I was a skier, so we just went for it.
The day was great. The snow was even soft. There was some powder near the trees, but going into the trees was a bit sketchy. There wasn’t enough coverage to adequately cover the rocks & branches. After an hour or so, we grabbed some beers, and decided to head to the top of Eagle Lift. That’s where some steeper blues are. And, that’s where Dennis met his match.
There was some foreshadowing. On the way to the base of the eagle lift, on a slightly steep blue, Dennis had to keep to one edge. (So, he got to eat up his thighs). When we got to the top, it was great, until we hit Sundancer (Well — really just the main trail down the Sunshine bowl). Right now, without snow, it is more of a face than a bowl. I know when I stopped to wait for him, every 50 yards or so, whenever I dropped to my knees, I’d start to slide . . . so . . pretty steep, and pretty icy. Dennis did not like it, but he made it down safely. That’s the difference between skis and a board. Of course, now, for payback, he wants me to try that run on skis. I’m going to die.
12/15/2011
Avalanche Training Day 1 (Brighton)
Brad and I showed up for the first day of Avalanche training. All we knew was that we were supposed to bring gear (Probe, Beacon, and Shovel), and that we had to buy a lift ticket. So, we bought two $24 lift tickets (Thank you Pearson’s Nut Roll Discount!), and drug our gear over to the building.
That was when we discovered that the first day was 100% classroom oriented. Crap. But, the class let out at 7:30, and we made it back to the lifts by 8:00 — which gave us an hour to hit the slopes. We hauled ass. We managed to get in 6 runs in an hour. I know I was going close to 30MPH a few times. And, Brad managed to find his speed too — I could barely keep up with him!
11/20/2011
Solitude with Quinn, Amy, Tammy, Dennis, Angela, Bailey, and Tyler
My family does NOT like to get up in the morning. Not even to go skiing. Amy was ready bright and early, at 7:30, but the rest were comotose. Dennis called me around 8:30, and let me know that the roads were clear. Cool — we’ll have company. We finally started heading up around 9:00.
Once we got there, Tammy’s boots immediately started hurting. I was going to try skiing, and, I can’t say mine felt good. But, since they’re so worn (read: old), they weren’t too bad. We got all geared up, started to walk toward the lift when I looked at my skis. I had forgotten to scrape off my summer wax. Yet another 15 min delay while I ask (very nicely) the rental guys to please give my skis a quick buff. I think they both thought I was an idiot.
Finally, out on the slopes. I was VERY happy that skiing came back to me. My new free skis (Thanks, Karen!) are VERY long. So, I couldn’t even start to do wedge turns. Hello parallel ones! I managed to do nice turns even on the steep greens. From the lift, I caught a glimpse of Quinn and Amy, both doing nice turns! They are finally starting to get it! They might be able to stay in the blue ski school class now!
We took a lunch break, where I had another meal of a Murphy’s Stout, washed down with a Murphy’s Stout. And back out to the slopes. The kids wanted to try a different, slightly harder lift, Apex Express. I made it, but, by the time we got back to the top of Moonbeam, I was feeling the fatigue. I decided it was time to get my board on, and hit the hard stuff.
After a nice run down, trip by the car, and a shoe change, it was time to try Eagle. Dennis and I went up it 3-4 times. There was some great powder, much steeper runs, and just all around goodness. On the last run, we explored through the trees, and Dennis found a nice rock to sign his new skis. I felt a few scrapes, but it was always while I was trying to slow down, so I met all the rocks with nice metal edges. All in all the runs were very good, with lots of nice powder. I guess my only complaint would be that the snow was a little shallow. But, what do you expect on November 20th?
I was VERY happy that my ski skills are starting to get better. I hope to explore Alta this season, so I at least need to be really confident on steep blues before I head over. (I’ll have fun with Alta’s free lift until then!)
11/13/2011
Solitude with Quinn, Amy, Brad, Dennis, and Bailey
Three days after the season started, we decided to get a taste. We all piled into Tammy’s Ford Flex (We need a roof rack — badly) and headed for Solitude. Tickets were half off for adults and children, so I got our kids both passes for a bit over $50. (And, I used my prepaid card).
We parked in the wrong section, which meant we had a very slow ride over to the MoonBeam lift area. Dennis needed boots, but, managed to strap in his snow shoes into his board, and made it down the bunny. After getting set up, we started hitting the bunnies. The kids were doing ok. But, they wanted to stay on the bunnies a bit longer. We let the three of them stay together, and we hit the Moonbeam lift a bit. Baily hurt her knee, so she and Dennis headed to the lodge. Brad, Quinn, Amy, and I decided to do one more run before taking a break. About half way down, we decided to try a blue fork. The kids bailed at the last minute, so we told them we’d meet them at the lift. When Brad and I got to the lift, we realized that we were at the WRONG lift, and had to hike about 1/2 a mile back uphill to the kids. Just before we got there, I missed a call from Solitude. Amy had tried to use their phone, but then found Dennis and Baily. Lunch time!
My meal consisted of a Murphy’s Stout, with a Murphy’s Stout to wash it down with. Perfect meal.
After lunch, all of us played a bit more on Moonbeam. We all got a lot better, before taking a second break, and, finally, calling it quits. Very successful first day. Tammy is going to LOVE Solitude.
Pre Season
11/06/2011
Hiked up Alta for a run with Brad and Dennis
This time, we decided to poach Alta. Well, I was the only one with a board, so, I guess I decided to poach Alta . The climb was much easier than the time at Brighton. The snow was packed, and we climbed up a nicely groomed cat track. When we got about 45 mins in, we had had enough climbing, and decided to try a run. The snow was MUCH better than at brighton. There was some powder, and a lot of nice soft pack. There were some little ice boulders near the bottom, and, then, finally, right at the end, freshly groomed powder. This run was VERY worth the hike up. We were contemplating a second run, but, we ran out of PBRs, and decided to go down the hill and get some dinner instead
10/07/2011
Hiked up Brighton for a run with Brad
Brad and I decided to try our hand at hiking a run this season. I mean, how hard could it be? hard!
It took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to get just below the big climb up to majestic. (About 3/4 of the way up to Majestic). There was about a foot of fresh powder everywhere. Maybe eighteen inches. When we finally had to start our descent (Tammy was not amused that I was coming home late for this!), the run down was pretty difficult too. It was powder, so it behaved like powder. And, there wasn’t much of a slope, so it was hard to keep my weight back. I busted a few times. Since it was so shallow, it was completely unforgiving when I dipped my front end — even just a little bit.
After the run, we decided that the run was not worth the hike. But, we like to hike. And, hiking up but riding down was much more fun than hiking up, and hiking back down.
My First Road Cycle
by codemonkey on Sep.05, 2011, under Dave's Rants, Workout Logs
I have been riding to work a few times a week now, using my old Trek 820 Mountain bike, with road tires. Last week, I logged 38 miles ridden. While my “hybrid” blows away my mountain bike, it does have some issues. So, I decided I wanted something different.
First, I was tired of wearing a backpack. It would get really sweaty, and, I thought panniers would be better.
Second, my hands get tingly / fall asleep after about 5-6 miles of riding, so, I didn’t want mountain bike handlebars anymore.
Lastly, while I love the granny gear of my mountain bike for climbing hills, I hate how my speed tops out at 24-26 Mph. So, I wanted something faster, while still maintaining the granny gears.
I googled quite a bit, and decided that a touring bike was what I needed. The only downside to the touring bike was the handle bars, which are normally mountain-bike styled.
So, I went to Salt Cycles, and told them what I wanted, and explained the above criterion. But, they came up with a different conclusion than Google did. They found a road bike, with pannier mounts, that had three gears up front. So, I ordered a Schwinn Le Tour Sport. It would take about a week for delivery.
Getting Supplies
Now that I had the bike on order, I needed some supplies. I googled road cycles a bit, and learned that my compressor wouldn’t quite get the tires up to 120psi. (Well, it might . . but . . ) So, I grabbed a pump, some lights, and a mirror from Cottonwood Cyclery
I took my laptop into an REI trying to find panniers that would fit it, and happened to find two on sale for $86 for the pair. While that might seem expensive, panniers usually run around $100-$140 each!
Taking Possession
I tried not to call Salt Cycles too much. Finally I found out it would be ready on Friday. I dropped by Friday afternoon to get a sneak peak. I figured that I could bring by some clipless pedals, and buy the rack for my panniers. But, when I got there, I found out that it was already ready. But, instead of the Schwinn Le Tour Sport, it was the Schwinn Le Tour Elite. Turns out, they couldn’t get the sport, and had to upgrade me to the Elite, for free! I liked the color a lot better, and, it came with clipless pedals!
So, I had them install the rack, made sure my panniers fit, and headed home.
First Ride
I took a quick first ride on the bike, after googling how to shift gears on a road bike. The first thing I noticed was the ride. Without shocks or suspension, and with hard timres, I could feel every rock or pebble in the road. To date, this has been the only down side to the bike. The rest of the feel was really good.
First Long Ride
Labor Day morning, I decided to take a long ride. I wanted to make sure that I’d be able to handle the 11 mile ride to work (or longer, depending on my route).
I finally started getting used to my brakes, the gears, and the two different hand positions. Though, I still feel like I brake weaker when I’m in the high position.
While I don’t go that much faster than my mountain/road bike, it is definitely faster. The thing I noticed the most, was the power I had. I can now really take off quickly. When I get out of the saddle and push, the bike really moves. Also, I found that I don’t get gassed nearly as easily on climbs. I just push a little, and I fly up hills. I managed to accelerate to 26Mph a climb, just to see what I could do. Very nice.
Finally near the end of the ride, I passed a cycler. While this wasn’t
the first time I’ve passed someone, it was the second This one was
in full cycle gear, on a very nice bike. So, it’s the first real notch
on my belt.
Now I can’t wait to try to ride to work tomorrow. My only decision now
is how to wear bike shorts, and go to the gym. Maybe I’ll just drive
home, before I ride to work
And, finally, here is the Garmin Connect map of my ride. My highest heart rate was from passing the other cycler.
Grudgematch! Garmin Forerunner 305 -vs- iMapMyFitness on Android
by codemonkey on Jul.12, 2011, under Dave's Rants, Workout Logs
I’ve been playing with my Garmin Forerunner 305 for quite a while, and I love it. I especially love the hear trate monitor, allowing me to more accurately estimate the calories I burn when hiking, running, biking, and snowboarding. I also love its bike mount. But, in the interest of device consolidation, I decided to match it up against my phone.
I’ve done this in the past by pitting my iPhone + Polar up against the Garmin, but the crappy GPS in the iPhone really sucked when doing trail running. And, why carry two devices when you can carry one? (Ignore the fact that I was using the iPhone for tunes)
So, this time, I thought I’d update it. I’m still using my old faithful garmin, but, I’m now using a better GPS on my Droid X, and a killer ap (iMapMyFitness) that, if I was listening to tunes, would occasionally report my position, calories burned, etc. If only I had a HR monitor to link to it . . . .
And, on to the show!
Garmin Forerunner 305 + Garmin Connect
The best part about the Garmin products is Garmin Connect. It lets me replay the whole activity, monitoring altitude, heart rate, and speed. Now, on this test I did NOT wear my HR monitor, so, we’re basically comparing GPS to GPS here.
Here is the embedded view of my hike to the top of Ferguson trail.
Looks like we got a little off course on the way up. Too funny.
And, the stats:
Time: 02:42:35 Moving Time: 1:30:00 Distance: 2.47 mi Elevation Gain: 3,873 ft Calories Burned: 731
iMapMyFitness
I really like the spoken feedback of iMapMyFitness. In fact, the only things I don’t like about it are the low resolution GPS (which is a fault of the phone, not of the software), and the lack of a HR monitor.
However, there is no embed, so, to see this trail, click here: http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/40912604
The stats:
Time: 2:42:42 Distance: 2.92mi Elevation Gain: 1207 ft
Conclusion
So, the wrap up.
I love the social / sharing aspects of iMapMyFitness. And, I love the separation of routes from workouts.
The reason for the discrepancy in the Elevation Gain is with style of measurement. iMapMyFitness likes to separate climbs and rate them. This trail was rated as an extreme climb. So, it took bottom to top and did the math. The Garmin was more detailed, and separated every elevation gain from every elevation loss. So, doing small climbs, with small drops during the climb gives you double the climb. I’m not sure which I like better — though, I do like the rated climbs in iMapMyFitness.
And, I just found out that iMapMyFitness will import from my Garmin. So, I may have a new favorite toy!
