Meet Makalu

This is my new cat, Makalu or Bob. During the time I was thinking of a name, we just called him Bob (for Bobcat) and it kind of stuck. I decided on the name Makalu, a mountain in the Himalayan range, the 5th highest mountain in the world at 27,765 feet. He is slowing getting along with Kimba our Persian cat and Sundari (Sunday), my Lhasa Apso. He has drawn blood from Sunday in his first few days, but they seem to get along now. Sunday likes to play but Makalu plays rough with sharp claws. Him and Kimba still fight over the food sometimes, but things are getting better. So world, meet Makalu.

Riding at Moab, Utah

Monday I took a detour from my journey back to California, turned left onto Utah Route 128 towards Moab. This road might just be the most beautiful I have driven. It runs along the Colorado River alongside Arches National Park.

I had pizza and beer at Zax in downtown Moab and stayed there for the night. Tuesday morning I did some shopping, then decided Klondike Bluffs Trail would work for me. Klondike Bluffs is on the easier side of Moab trails but since riding in a car for the last few days and not in the best shape with 2 days of driving left, I thought it a wise choice. I was by no means disappointed. The ride was amazing to say the least. The trail had 800 feet of elevation gain to 5400'. Riding on the slickrock was an unique experience. I found it remarkable how well the traction was. After joining up with a guy from Vermont, we rode up to the edge of Arches National Park. He took off I guess for a hike of the Park.

I took a couple photos, hopped on the bike and rode down. And what a ride down it was.
The Kona Blast held up for the jarring ride although my hands and arms were exhausted from holding on.
I would say to anyone who likes to ride a bike: Moab is a must! I only rode one trail of many and I was overly impressed.

I almost forgot, along the trail, the dinosaur footprints make the ride that much more interesting.

Camping at Burlingame State Park, Rhode Island

This weekend I decided to brave the cold nights and camp at Burlingame State Park in Rhode Island. Although the temps got down in the 30's, it was a beautiful weekend with clear, sunny skies. It was a good relaxing weekend.

I rode my bike around the state park as single track twisted their way all throughout the park as well as the popular stone walls.

The adjacent Kimball Wildlife Sanctuary added alot of hiking room to roam around. The Bird Sanctuary restricts bikes so I hiked around that side of the park.

My Trip Across The US

Here are just a few pictures of my journey from Redding, California to Groton, Connecticut. The majority of my trip was on US Route 80 with a few variances. I embarked on CA Route 44 in Redding, went by Mt. Lassen and met up with Interstate 80 in Reno, Nevada.

Rode through Nevada to Utah.

The Salt Flats of Utah were pretty amazing.


After seeing the ski jump area from the 2002 Winter Olympics, I wasn't in Utah long before entering Wyoming. What a beautiful state. It started off rocky and ended up with rolling hills.


I particularly liked the what seemed to be chaotically placed fences to prevent snow drifts.

The whole state seems to be above 5000 feet.

Nebraska was boring, not much to say about that.

Iowa was more farm land. I took a slight detour from Interstate 80, jumped over to US Route 30. Drove through some small towns in Iowa like Le Grand and Tama. Try to find them on a map.



I crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois.

Went up to Chicago, picked up my wife at the airport who flew in from California to continue my journey with me. Drove past the home of the White Sox.

We continued to Ohio, where we found a great seafood restaurant and devoured some delicious crab, then the trek across Pennsylvania to Philadelphia.


My wife flew home from Philadelphia while I headed off to my final destination of southeastern Connecticut. It was a fun trip with plenty of things to see. I can't wait to do it again heading west in November.

Riding at Whiskeytown, California

I've been spending a few days this past week riding around the trails at Whiskeytown. Although it's been about 100 degrees every day, most trails are somewhat in the shade. I started off easy by riding the 4.6 round trip Oak Bottom Water Ditch Trail. It is simply a quick little ride with only 20 feet elevation increase from 1220 to 1240. It loops around the Whiskeytown Lake and is good to get fly on. Had to watch out for the occassional hiker or jogger, but other than that, a good speed run.




Lately I moved over to the Clear Creek Canal Trail. This is a 4.5 mile one way trail that is pretty fun. Had to go around some downed trees and let some horses go by, but other than that, this trail is well worth it. Some parts are pretty rocky as well. I have a few more days here in California, maybe I will return to this trail or try something new.

Weekend at Boulder Lake

This past Friday, Jake and I took the advice of Lance and went with him to Boulder Lake along the Tenas Creek. At the trailhead it was about 100 degrees. Four hours, many breaks, 3 miles and 2000 feet up later, we ended up at the very scenic lake.

The lake was full of rainbow trout, although we didn't catch any. The flies and mosquitos were abundant. The pika were squeaking and the grey jays came out. Saturday was pretty uneventful for Jake and I. We took a few jumps in the cold lake but it was extremely refreshing due to the excessive heat.

Lance went up to further to Pear Lake while I took a nap. Saturday evening we ventured around the lake a little for a different view.

Sunday we awoke with the sun and scurried down to the truck before the sun could do its damage.

Biking at Winthrop, Washington

I had a great weekend riding out at Winthrop with a couple friends from work. Rader Creek was a quick and exciting mile and a half downhill which we rode twice along with Patterson Lake on Saturday. Thompson Road was a long steady climb, but the Inside Passage over to Rader Creek was worth it. Sunday was reserved for Pipestone Canyon, which was a unsuccessful search for rattlesnakes, but a great ride nonetheless.


On the ride home, we stopped at Cedar Creek and reluctantly hiked up the 1.7 miles to the waterfalls, then rode the challenging trail down.

The Sun Mountain trails are a great set in the middle of some beautiful country. I want to thank Jake and Skip, my riding partners for an exciting and memorable weekend. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, tubing down the cold but calm Methow River was a short and fun little ride to cool off from the hot Eastern Washington sun.