The weather has been rough, especially for camping. It rains every day, and the last three days or so have been much wetter. It's sleeting now.
After work I went to an open mic at the Knotty Pine in Victor with a crew member, Pete, his girlfriend Sarah, and her friend and co-worker Jackie. Sarah and Jackie work the front desk at Targhee. I played some tunes, and then joined a drummer and a dude rapping. I like being the only instrument that plays notes...it lets me choose my key freely. The dudes were stoked and made me commit to coming back next Thursday.
On Friday, I ordered $300 worth of bike parts at cost. This will get my dh bike running with a chainguide and some grips, a more appropriate cockpit on my Bitch with wide oversized bars and a shorter stem, a new brake caliper, new grips for my Fango, clipless platform pedals for either my Perp (dh bike) or my Bitch. Aside from my recent fork purchase, I haven't bought new bike parts for a while, relying instead on used/free/broken parts from friends.
After ordering, I took my bikes out of storage at Habitat and drove across Teton Valley to the Big Holes. I rode for about an hour and a half on my Fango before weather (and unfamiliarity with the area) encouraged me to get back to the truck. I drove up to Targhee in a downpour, cleaned, lubed, and stashed two bikes at Targhee, and then headed over the pass to Jackson, intent on doing some trailwork Saturday morning.
Doug and John, and their housemates, were happy to let me share their living space (thanks!). I went to a movie with John and some dudes, and helped pick up some folks afterwards that had racked up a $1000 bar tab. It was some girl's 21st birthday...but $1000? gosh... I hung out with folks for a while, but felt totally out of place. This weekend I confirmed how I don't want to spend my nights off. Hopefully I can find someone to do some backpacking with, as unfortunately John and my days off don't line up at all.
I didn't wake up for the Cache Creek trailwork, and the weather was dismal. I visited John at work, planning on heading back over the pass, but found out later that there was a Teton Freedom Riders trailwork day up on the pass. John offered his shower, so I went, which was a great decision. I got there late, but Anne Marie was there taking down the tent, and gave me a ride up the pass to where folks were working. I got to work on the biggest hip jump I've ever seen. I'll probably hit it, but not until the landing is dialed and I get used to my big bike again. We widened and smoothed the trail above the hip and improved a small gap into the hip section, filled in and lengthened a small double after the hip, reinforced the trail with rock, and much improved a large double with more dirt--bringing the landing higher and closer, and shaping the lip nicely.
The Teton Freedom Riders are a very well established group of riders and builders. All of their trails on the pass are legal and nothing is hidden from the forest service, which is remarkable. Legal 40 foot gaps on forest service land? I think that's unheard of. They had a crew of maybe 10/15 folks, as well as lots of beer, a box of free burritos, and buckets of tram bar nuggets (think candy bar). They had a raffle of swag from some of their sponsors, and had enough swag for every person to win something. I won the grand prize--a helmet, but I just bought an identical helmet, so I traded for a shirt and a hat. We worked until 6:30 or 7, and then I hiked the trail to check out all the features. I know I can ride them all, but I have to look first to know what to expect. It was very helpful.
I'm jonesing to ride, big time, but like I said, it's sleeting and raining and generally disgusting outside. Snow is in the forecast for Driggs tonight. Cutting trail may have to wait. I got my fix, blisters, and soreness yesterday, so I may be okay with that.
Early last week, spurred by the lack of bike storage at the 'ghee, I started looking for a place to live. I looked at a place later in the week, but declined (there is storage at the 'ghee). As I was looking, I thought about falling asleep and waking up to the songbirds, the gentle gurgle of the creek, the incredible views of the tetons, and the conveniently short drive to work. I'm going to keep camping at least for a bit. I like living outside. It makes going inside really special. Besides, after a day of work, all I really want to do is eat a lot, read, play my fiddle, and go to sleep. The difficulty lies in keeping my stuff clean and organized (very important), especially when it's raining all the time.
I got new batteries for my camera, so pictures will be coming.
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