Last soccer trip, maybe ever. 14 trips in 21 months, we are all glad G has played at the top level for so long, and glad to be out of the club sports grinder. 10 yrs! Its made her responsible, hard, aggressive, rational, and giving all at once. The blows she’s learned to take and get up without complaining, her understanding of her body as a tool for her own goals, her power, discipline and healthy diet are a dream for every dad of girls. She carries the calm of a high baseline for difficult things. The flaws I had at 15 that took me another decade to overcome are unrecognizable in her. She is going to Desert Mountain HS next year and eager for a new chapter in her soccer career.

So much more to say, I could spend hours, days. I hope she and I always will always spend that time talking about it. I never tried to relive my days through her, only help her be her best self. The last 5 years I’ve barely talked to her on the field, except to chime great job G, and bark at the ref to protect her. She’s so beyond me as an athlete and student. The parenting is stressful enough. Our last trip was 5 days in Oceanside, CA with the only car trips being to the games. I’m hopeful we are at the sweet spot of de-escalating an expertise, to set her free.

August 2: Flying Dog, Glenwild Trails. Park City, Utah. 2300 vf climbing in 12 miles, not bad for first day in town, legs were empty at the end.

Aug 3: Deer Valley to Park City. Dan led us, Kathleen drove. Shuttling my bike is not a crime.

Aug 4: Iron Mountain

Aug 5: Guardsman Pass – Puke Hill – Pinecone Ridge – Mid Mountain – 2 Step – SilverQueen – Mid Mounain – Empire Link – some stuff into town. Puke Hill is hyperbolically named: anything that is only .5 mile push and smooth doesnt even register to an expert hike-a-biker from AZ. Day 3 and legs not esploding after 500 feet easy climb mid-ride at altitude, yay! So many grins. I’ve talked Dan and Beckie Holmes into some easier blacks next ride. G had lunch at the bottom watching the flow trails and is already psyched to come back when her shoulder is healed.

Aug 6-8: More Park City adventures. Thursday we hung out with Andrea Davis and rode the alpine coaster and alpine slide. Did it once, don’t need to blow $50 again. Waiting in lines with masks in the sun, would rather be riding, some satisfaction that the kids felt the same. Then we went tubing on the Provo River. Very fun, fast flowing, verrrrrry cold, lots of rocks but high enough CFS to be pretty safe.

Friday was awesome, we hiked 3.5miles 3000vf up to the top of Canyons Resort. Everyone had their own private meltdown. We then descended Fantasy Ridge at 9000 feet. It was a rock fin ridge, jagged, with little margin for error. The rock line was the trail, with steep dropoffs on both side. Scary not knowing where the gpx track would lead, sketchy “am I gonna die?” fun.

Saturday G did a full soccer workout for the first time since surgery 8 weeks ago, I rode the Round Valley trails. They are beginner and sunbaked. Well laid out with 300 vf total and some flowy while others twisty. Fun if you are stuck at soccer practice, not worth it otherwise. We then drove over Guardsman Pass and down Big Cottonwood Canyon to hike Donut Hole. Easy 3 miles, crowded, but a nice payoff. Then dinner at Doug Gangi‘s right up against the edge of the mountains.

Aug 9: Another awesome day playing bikes! First ride sampling some of the harder trails, then taking Alana on her first big mountain ride in the afternoon. I got shuttled halfway up the mountain, then climbed Tour de Suds – Boulder – Moose Bones to the Empire Pass trailhead. I armored up and met Doug Gangi for Corvair – which I loved earlier in the week – to Payroll – which was my favorite trail so far. Lots of booters and doubles, the switchbacks are bermed uphill for big carves, some natural drops to tranny and a quick rock slot dumped us next to the Montage Hotel. We took Mid Mountain past some of the mining remains from Park City’s early days. Then to John’s, which became my new favorite trail. John’s is one of the early Park City trails, designed before bench-cut traverses and wide bars were popular. It squeezes between dense and overgrown aspen, twists and contours like its sole purpose is to deny any three pedal strokes from being strung together. Every yard is rooty, you cant see through the brush to the exit of most switchbacks. We traversed above our condo, before dropping down Sweeney’s Switchbacks into town. When I got home, Alana was feeling appropriately lonely for wanting to lay in bed all day while everyone else went out to play. I was able to talk her into a blue route I’ve been planning for 2 days: 7 miles and 1500 feet down with almost no climbing. Beckie shuttled me up the mountain again for Tour de Suds – Mid Mountain – Ontario Bypass – Ontario Ridge – Rossi Hill – home. I had to bribe Alana with a new jersey, socks, and her first ride on the Mach4. Seeing a deer in the first 30 seconds set the mood, and had a great time the whole ride. Best ride we’ve done together!!!

Bury me with this can

Aug 10: Over 15,000 feet descending today on a rented Santa Cruz Bronson. 6 hours riding almost every DH trail at Deer Valley, then 10 miles and 2500 vf down the stunning WOW trail. My hands, shoulders, and index fingers have never been so sore. Must have done 500 jumps, 500 switchbacks, 50000 stutter bumps, and inhaled 500 grams of dust. Dreamt of gravity and handlebars.

Aug 11-12: Tuesday was an easy day. I was blown from riding and had to catch up on all the work I avoided. Beckie and G did a trail run, and then we took Dia for a walk at sunset along Corvair at 9000 feet. Wednesday I went deep on Trailforks to create a couple short shuttle rides rivaling the famous Fruita Lunch Loops. 6 mile loop for Beckie, Dia and I after work with 3 miles each up and down. And another for Alana that was 1700 feet down with 200 feet of climbing starting at 6:30. You can find it now on Trailforks as “Alana’s Easy Downhill”. 3 times driving up Rt 224 was worth it. https://www.trailforks.com/route/alana-s-easy-downhill/Knee still hurt to twist, but handled pedaling fine.

Aug 13: Knee felt ok, so Dan and I opted to finally earn our turns with THE Park City climb 3k up Armstrong -> Pinecone Ridge. 3 miles up a moose was blocking the trail. A few locals gave us advice on moose etiquette, we told them what to do around javalina. The 20 min break til they cleared the trail felt great, so hard to get pedaling again. We were in pain at the top. 4 fun miles back down Pinecone, then 4 more traversing Mid-Mountain to John’s trail for the 2nd time. So dense, Dan disappeared around the switchback. The girls practiced soccer.

Aug 14-15: Friday – Lamb’s Canyon at sunset with Andrea Davis and Mikella, Summit Park UT. 1700 vf in 2 miles.Saturday we took the railroad trail until we got tired, then turned around and found a spot for lunch. G’s first time on the bike since labrum surgery 9 weeks ago. A riparian area along the trail has been created? protected? encouraged and its a blast to see everything alive inside it. A short paddleboard at the Deer Valley duck pond, then some more hiking at the top of the mountain for sundown. I’m not a stravahole and I don’t track mileage or koms or bpm, but I rode 9 days out of 14, 12 rides total. Once by myself, once with G, twice w Doug, 3x w Alana, 5x w Dan and 7x w Beckie. I got about 26 hrs of saddle time, and twice as much overall bike geekery\shopping\wrenching\townieing. Only took 3 days of vacation, and squeezed in 6 hikes. Thanks Park City, you were epic.

Continuing to hike through the pandemic, but its about to turn bad in AZ. Today was our first 100 degree day. With so many people out of work, unable to travel, and many hotels and campsites closed there will be unprecedented numbers doing dispersed camping. Like much of the West, we seem to have worse wildfires every year. I’m afraid the whole state is going to burn.

Yesterday we headed 100 miles north to the edge of Rim Country, where the Colorado Plateau falls away into the Valley of the Sun. From the top of the Verde Valley you can see 12,500 foot Mt. Humphreys 50 miles away in Flagstaff, and the mesas of Sedona 25 miles closer.

This hike followed Wet Beaver Creek for 3.5 miles to a swimming hole. Wet Beaver Creek flows into the Verde River, which flows south into the Salt, then into the Gila, until it finally joins the mighty Colorado River in Yuma, AZ and on into the Gulf of Mexico. I’m constantly fascinated by these rivers running through the desert. With the right gear and CF/sec reports, sections can be paddled year-round. This trail has one pitch over a red-rock mesa, opening up into a series of cliffs perfect for jumping. Alana alleges to hate biking and hiking, but is fearless around cliffs, and desperately needed a change of latitude after turning into a crazy shutin cat-lady.

This hole is relatively easy to get to, and was more crowded than expected. Lots of people had our same idea. No one, and I mean NO ONE, was social distancing. The attitude among many – from the Governor down to the Mayor – is that shutdowns need to end. I really don’t know. Our hospitals are not full, all our microbreweries are making hand sanitizer, I don’t know anyone who has gotten sick. Those of us who are healthy and spend lots of time outdoors have formed clans with others similarly-minded. I traded a 6-pack of TP to a riding buddy for access to his home gym. My family rolls around in the dirt so much we rarely get sick. I feel like we should get it, so we can get past it. This is a common feeling here. I have no idea if we are projecting our wishes. People talk about want, but we don’t talk about ought outside of our clan, its too controversial. Everyone I know is not quite as rational as we were 5 weeks ago.

Genevieve has become ambipedal, practicing with her ball against the wall every day. We bought Alana a trampoline and tumble track. Zoom warfare everyday in my house, where icy glares scream “GTFO and go to another room!” I dodged a 20% layoff last week, and we promptly donated to Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary. Its going to be the harshest summer since I moved here in ’96.

Hope you all are doing well and holding it together in your own ways.

Last Year: “We can all share the office. It will be great for collaborating on family business, homework, and sharing the monitors. I’ve been working in open offices forever.”

Yesterday: “We’re starting a new game called Zoom Room Thunderdome. If you’re the first one on a video call, you can keep turning your volume up louder and louder, and turn on the garbage disposal, or throw a coffee mug, or sic the dog on the other horrible person until they get the f**k out of your zoom room!”

This is how Rome fell.

Bad office etiquette is now the norm with my co-irkers. I was lying in bed on a 2 hr work call, Beckie walked in wearing no pants. I said “HEY PANTSLESS! That attire is not professional!” and she was creating a hostile work environment. She didn’t reply, she was on her own call. She then hung up the laundry. So many HR violations.

I’m going to microwave salmon and broccoli, and eat it at my desk while i squirt soy packets.