Tonight was a simple night.  After work I ran to the bike shop to get some brushes, then came home to load up my bike.  Grabbed it and headed down to Eric's house for bike cleaning after our epic ride yesterday.  We all cleaned our bikes up, and figured out what was wrong with Jason's bike.  After that just came home and started watching the carnage of stage 3 of the Tour.

I woke up pretty early for me (at least for a weekend).  Got my bike and gear all loaded up and headed down to Eric's.  We loaded up their stuff and were on our way by 9.  We drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon towards Guardsmens Pass to ride the epic Wasatch Crest trail.  We left Jason's 4Runner at the Mill D North parking lot, and drove up to the trailhead in my car.  Then the ride began.

They call it puke hill for a reason.  It's long.  It's hot.  It's at almost 10,000 feet, so there is very little oxygen.  We took plenty of rests, and made it to the clearing before turning left and starting the grind.  First switchback.  Second switchback.  Now straight up.  I made it to about the tree line before I got off and walked.  Jason was first up there, then me, then Eric.  We all relaxed to let our hearts stop trying to jump out of our chests, and attempt to get some oxygen in our blood.  That is the worst part of the ride.  After we recouperated we began the rest of it.

The fun part!  Lots of flowing single track.  After one more climb, and several other stops to catch our breath we got to the spine.  Saw a couple people ride down the side of it.  Much easier than going over the top.  Then came the descent to Desolation Lake.  I didn't remember it being so rocky, but there were several sections that were just a crazy rock garden.  Right at the top of it Eric got a pinch flat.  So they changed the tube, while I went down further and found a fun spot for pictures.

After Desolation Lake we went down the rest pretty quickly.  I'm happy to say I rode all the techincal sections, so that confidence is coming along nicely.  By the end though my legs and arms were wasted.  Mostly from the descent.  Just under 10 miles in about 4 hours.  Pictures in the gallery.

We were ready for some lunch, so after the ride we drove down and got lunch at Astro Burger.  Hit the spot.  Then it was off to home for me.  I got home and cleaned up.  After resting for a bit I jumped on my motorcycle and headed up to Kimball Junction to get some clothes.  Picked up some shirts and some pants.  Then turned around and headed back to Salt Lake.  Rather than going home I went to Eric's to see if Jason and he were still hanging.  Eric was pretty wiped out.  We just sat around and watched The Iron Giant.  Then I headed home to relax for the night and just finished watching todays stage of the Tour de France.  Bed time now.

My weekend ended up being pretty lazy.  Originally the plan was to take a little motorcycle cruise with Eric & Natalie, but Eric got stuck at work.  So I pretty much chilled at home.  Watched the Tour de France.  Played some games.  Went to the store for some shopping.

Sunday was also pretty mellow.  All the family came over for dinner for my birthday, so we had some kabobs, then cake.  Pretty low key and mellow.   After all that was done I cruised over to Eric's house to talk about our plan for biking in the morning.

But tomorrow will be good!

Yesterday I finally got my new tires on. I picked them up right after work and as soon as I got home I started the process to remount the wheels. The rear went on with no problem, but the front fought me tooth and nail. But eventually I got them both on and took them out for a test ride. It's amazing the difference. It really shows how bad my old tires were.

I cleaned up, jumped on the bike, and rode up to Jason's house to chill for the evening. We just relaxed and watched Hellboy II, which is always a good movie. That ended about 11, and we called it a night, and I headed home.

Got home, used the new tool. Had the wheel off in 5 minutes.

Of course after I got the wheel off I started thinking... do I really want to replace this? This tires still has quite a bit of tread left.
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I measured the tread depth... 1/8". Or think of it as 4/32nds... Definitely supposed to replace it at 2/32nds. So do I replace them together? I called Eric to ask his opinion. After talking it through we're both thinking save the money, it should last another month. But when I think that the tire probably started around 8/32nds, there isn't much left. And I'm definitely going with a different brand of tire, so it would be good to have the tires more equal as far as attributes. The rear is always going to wear faster, it's just how it goes with motorcycle tires.

But I'm definitely replacing the rear!
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So the question then is, do I replace both or just the rear? Leave you answer in the comments, and I'll be sure to look in the short time before I go to get the replacement(s).

Yesterday after work I had one thing to accomplish that night. Pull my motorcycle tires. I failed. First I removed my rear tire. One of the bolts got on there pretty good, so it took a bit to remove. But I got it off. Then there was the front. I haven't removed the front yet, so I went to the manual and the web.

Ok, loosen a pinch bolt, and remove the axle while being very careful of the ceramic speed sensor. So I loosened the pinch bolt and got to the axle. Hrmm... looked for the right size of allen head... kept looking... CRAP! I don't have it! So I jumped in my car at 8:45 and ran down to Checker. They didn't have it. Hurried to K-Mart since they carry Craftsmen. Not nearly enough selection to find it. So then I drove to Sears, hoping they were still open, no luck. They closed at 9:00, and it was 9:20. So I hung my head and drove home.

So today at lunch I went first to Sears. They were out of the socket I needed... So I ran over to Harbor Freight. Sweet! I finally found a 12mm allen head socket (needed a socket for the torque wrench, but didn't have a 12mm in any configuration) in a set for a whopping $13.00 It may be cheap and break one day, but it will definitely get the job done. So tonight I'll remove that front wheel and tomorrow I'll be taking them both to Wrights to get new tubes and tires mounted.

After work today I got my bike ready, and headed to Eric's house, arriving at 6:15. Jason pulled up at the same time. Eric however, wasn't going to make it on time. We called to see if he would for sure be off by 7, which sounded doubtful. So Jason and I were the only ones riding today.

We loaded up my car and headed to Corner Canyon. After stretching we began the climb. It seemed much shorter to the flat where all the trails merge. I guess that is a good thing. We kept climbing, and I had to rest often once we started on Clark's itself. But eventually (meaning at about 8:40) we reached the top. Took a quick break then headed down. That descent was fast, and twisty! Lots of fun! After we finished we loaded up and I dropped Jason off back at Eric's house.

Friday after work I first went over to Ryan Reimann's house to clean a virus off his computer. While doing that he mentioned that Eric would be home alone as his family all went up to a cabin. As soon as I was done with the computer I rode over to Eric's place. First off we jumped on our motos and cruised up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I scraped my floorboards more on that ride than I ever have before. At Doughnut Falls we turned around and headed back down. We went to Eric's grandparents to help his dad move some furniture around for them. After that we rode over to get some dinner at Iggy's, and followed it up with going to see Prince of Persia. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. It's definitely one I'll be buying. When I got home I started work on my moms car. The battery was dead. They had removed it from the car, and since it didn't have standard terminals, just screw type, I cleaned all the terminals well and put it back in then on a battery charger.

Today I got up about 11, and first off watched two episodes of Stargate Atlantis. Then I checked on the car. The batter still wasn't charged. As I removed it I noticed it was leaking acid. Nice, the battery it toast. Then it was time to meet up with Jason and Amber. I drove up to the Century 16 on 33rd, where we saw Toy Story 3 in 3D. I really enjoyed it, but wow the end made me cry. After that I headed home and and watched the last two episodes. Finally finished with all of the original Stargate shows... now for the new one, Stargate Universe. It looks to be very different from SG-1 and Atlantis, so I don't know if I'll enjoy it like them. By the time I finished, Eric was back from the truck races at Miller. I loaded up the battery and drove over there. As the tire was bought through Quality he was going to help me warranty it. But all the Napa stores closed about 2 minutes after I got there. Doh! Oh well. We went out anyway to grab some dinner at Golden Corral. My first time going there since they came back to the state. Then we went over to Best Buy where I was going to buy the new Lego Harry Potter, but were foiled as it doesn't come up until next week! Doh! So we went back to Eric's place and played some Risk until Natalie and the girls got home. After our game was done I called it a night and came home.