I have been fascinated by this 58 mile loop of my town for the last couple years, but never really felt I had it in me to actually ride so far, for so long, and climb so much. 58 miles, 8800ft vertical, and somewhere near eight hours of riding is chump change for many folks, but it is downright intimidating to me. My longest rides have been in the four hour range, but usually last 2-3 hours and go 25 miles maximum.
I wanted to try it then, but did not have the time. I finally got around to this ride today. I had the day off, the temps are cool, I have been riding a lot over winter/spring, and it was time to give it a go.
Beyond my expectations, I finished the entire course, and it is a stellar ride. I would estimate you get to spend 45 miles on singletrack. It samples almost every cool local singletrack/riding location in this little town.
Highly recommended if you are up for a ride this long and want a taste of Prescott.
Since it is a loop, you can start anywhere on the loop, no need to start at the official spot. I rode from home and picked it up at its lowest point near Willow Lake.
In the course of the ride, you get to ride past all the local reservoirs as it loops around the town. I tried to get photos of each, but missed one in a bonk induced brain fade (Lynx Lake.)
Pre Dawn Willow Lake
View toward Thumb Butte and Spruce mtn where I'm heading.
Granite Basin Lake:
View of Granite Basin and Granite Mountain, just before completing the circle around Granite basin. (remember this view for later)
Thumb Butte on Right, Spruce peak way off in the distance on left. I'm heading to both.
Columbine
Aptly named Quartz Mountain
Looking back towards Thumb Butte from the other side, with Granite Mountain way off in the distance (remember what I told you to remember)
Goldwater Lake
No photo of Lynx Lake
Willow Lake...almost home free at this point.
AAAHHHHH
Time: 7:40 on the XC/Freeride suspension single speed.
I was impressed with not exactly how easy it was (it wasn't), but how [I]possible [/I]it was for a rider like myself with so little endurance experience. It just takes a little persistence/patience.
I ate two granola bars, and apple and 1/2 a PB&J. Not enough, but I just had no appetite.
Amazingly, my neck is a little stiff, hands and butt a little sore, but otherwise I feel great, so I think I have my bike set up nailed (hear that Dave C!).
Maybe it is time to consider a White Rim in a Day ride?
Highlights for me were cleaning the switchbacks on the climb into Granite Basin, and not walking the Spruce road climb (total mind game, that hurt).
I had a late start today, so I took the long commute in to work. Chris wanted me to check out the rideability of some new trails he has built off the Peavine, so I looped around to try them.
After six weeks on the SS "training", the geared mushy Moth was a new (and enjoyable) experience.
Went down an arroyo.
I startled this guy
Or maybe it was the other way around. I was 15 feet away when he launched, and did not notice him before that. That bird was huge.
Just typical views in the city park.
I don't know what sort of cactus that is, but it is beautiful.
Riding no handed along the RR grade, I was beginning to think I had brought too much bike.
Maybe not...
Bike is on the trail above.
Sometimes I think I live in a Coyote & Roadrunner cartoon.
I am the owner of Milk Money #1. This bike served at I-bike Dirt Demo, then as Mikesee's personal ride for 6 months or so, and now as one of my go to rides for the last nine months.
This particular frame probably has more miles than all the others out there combined (not by me mind you), so I would expect it to show problem areas first as well.
This thread basically documents the innards of the main pivot as a reference for other owners.
The Milk Money has its main pivot concentric to the bottom bracket to allow for single speed with suspension and no tensioning device.
The pivot is a plastic bushing type popular now a days on Turners and Banshees. It needs to be greased periodically via a zerk fitting on the underside of the bottom bracket.
You will know when it needs grease because it will creak incessantly until it gets it.
I have noticed that the time between greasing for me has been shortening and that when greasing, it seems the grease is not coming out of each side evenly, so I dismantled it to get a good cleaning and inspection.
Basically, the system is two plastic bushings pressed into the frame. Running inside of these as an axle is a hollow cylinder that the BB threads in to. The frame's pinch bolts grab the ends of the BB cylinder and it pivots inside the bushing.
Removal is pretty straight forward.
1. Remove cranks. 2. Back off one external BB cup (if that is your system, an internal BB could probably just stay there). 3. Loosen 5mm pinch bolts on the swing arm. 4. Whack with a rubber mallet to get it started out, the remove the loose BB cup completely. 5. Turn the other BB cup with the attached BB pulling gently and it will work its way out.
Here is the Axle with attached BB cup almost out of the pivot.
The BB axle is 73mm.
This is a look inside the pivot bushings and you can see the zerk at the bottom.
This is the swing arm with the axle almost out.
You can see some wear on the axle. The threads inside the bushing were shallower in a couple places corresponding, I assume to those wear points on the axle. Not enough grease there.
If one needed to replace the bushings, I imagine the process would be similar to the one nicely demonstrated here on a Turner.
My pivot was dryer than I would like and there was a bit of wear on the axle and the pivot. No slop in it at all.
Not sure why, but I suspect I have been greasing it with too heavy a grease (it was random wheel bearing grease I had laying around). Turner recommends Prep M which I think is a fairly light grease (please correct me if I'm wrong). I might need to pick up some of that for this frame. Also, I think next time I grease it, I will loosen the pinch bolts, and put a BB wrench on the cup and spin the BB axle around a few times to better distribute the grease. I usually cycle the suspension, but that is only a few degrees at most of movement.
I had some lighter "white" grease laying around, so I slathered that in there and reassembled. No problem getting it together. There is about 3mm of extra axle width which you can use to mess with chain line slightly. I just opted to center it.
I suppose you could fairly easily replace the BB axle and the bushings with new ones, but I saw no need here. It came together with no slop, and no creaking.
Hit 305 Wednesday and set a solid best time from the China Buffet to the top: 50 minutes on the rigid Zion SS. The trail is in beautiful shape and was a super fun and smooth on the ascent and descent. The Zion continues to impress given its price point.
So much for my one rigid ride a month:)
Today, hit 305 to Smith Ravine then down 299 on the Black Moth. This was its first ride up.
I have been trying to get up Smith Ravine clean for 7 years and probably 40 attempts. It is a difficult, steep trail that usually blows me up before I can make it.
Today was my day finally. Didn't stop, dab, walk or anything, top to bottom.
Interestingly, I was not feeling very stron at all at the beginning. Just goes to show that how you feel is not necessarily how you will perform.
Nice time working skills at the Dells with the offspring.
He is starting to get it. Certainly balance is there. The full face and pads help with courage.
He just does not have the oh so important ability to lift the front wheel at any time...yet. He is practicing it on the younger sibs 16" bike and it is easier for him.
We had the entire fam on the Peavine on wheels the other day (mom and dad walked). Baby in the jogger. Joel on the Strider (8" wheels). Abby on the 12" wheels, Rachel on 16" and Ethan on 20". Good times.
I am going straight to 26" for the next bike though.
I had the opportunity to go to Mammoth with Chris this past weekend. This is special because Chris lived there 15 years and was a snowmobile guide for eight of those years in winter.
What this means is that he got our group of four guys the hook up, bigtime!
My saint of a wife gave the thumbs up and we were gone on Thursday afternoon.
What is the best way to break up a drive from central AZ to East central CA:
Bootleg:
A couple hours riding really gets the kinks out of the legs.
I was again reminded that slack angles and high bottom brackets are a good thing.
Sadly, I think Brent Thompson was in the process of dying as we were enjoying his super trail system. RIP Brent, and thanks for this legacy.
Hitting Mammoth, I was shocked:
I am not much of a winter sports guy, and while I have survived many a midwest winter, I was unprepared for the massive amounts of snow that accumulate in real mountains.
First up was snowmobiling. This was a first for me. Chris got us hooked up with sleds and we were off (very slowly for me at first!)
First it was packed trails, then he took us out to experience a "powder" field.
This consists of attempting to control a machine with almost no directional stability while trying not to get stuck. We all failed, even the big cheese occasionally, but I learned that apparently, getting stuck in powder and extricating oneself is all part of the fun of snowmobiling?!?
Amazing how fast four sleds can tear up a powder field.
I was told conditions were perfect, snow storm two days prior, then a day of sun to let the pack firm up just a little. I was certainly not the least bit cold.
Chris showed us the crater where his wife fell off the lip 9 years ago almost killing herself.
Another view. That is a big fall. Straight down.
Nice scenic views.
After three hours I had had enough of mechanized travel. My impressions of snow machines are that they are a fast, noisy and efficient way to get some place if you have to travel over snow. Fun? Not really for me. Too noisy, too stinky, just not my deal. Fun for the price (free), but I would not go out of my way to buy or rent one unless I needed it for transportation.
We grabbed a quick lunch and headed out of town, down 4000 feet and 45 minutes to bike again.
This is more like it:
I loved the Jeffrey Pines. Beautiful trees.
The trail was mostly smooth with occasional techy rock piles to keep it interesting.
The name of the trail is Lower Rock Creek, and it is a gem. We eventually were turned back by snow, but it was great while it lasted. Need to find this in summer some time.
After that we did a quick shuttle run down "Wagon Wheel" as daylight was fading. It shakes you like a paint shaker, and is recommended.
I would say we fully extracted the juice from this day.
Next day Chris got us the hook up for lift passes at the mountain.
There was a lot of this:
And this:
People actually pay to do this?? I hadn't downhill skied for a decade and it made me remember why. The skiing is fun, but the trade off in line time, crowds and dollars simply does not compute for me.
People who think this is the ultimate fun experience have never mountain biked I think?
Skied until the lifts closed, got some dinner, then headed home early the next am.
This little trip confirmed that, for me, nothing beats riding a mountain bike; certainly not snow machines or downhill skiing. Probably not flying, racing cars, or any of the other throttle sports. Biking on the trail is just that perfect combination of technology (but not too much), solitude, exercise, adrenaline, speed, challenge and beauty. Can't be beat IMO.
It's still nice to broaden your horizons, especially when the price is right.
I find myself browsing for info on the Reign, Reign X, Firebird, or ideally a DW Spot. They have the geometry I like, and I have been pretty wowed by the mini link designs I have ridden.
They have everything but the wheel size right.
The Sultan and RIP have the suspension, but the geometry...gaaack.
Must resist. I have gone this way before and it sucked. Little wheels suck.....Right?
Why must the "dog return to its vomit".
Sigh.
Must be winter.
On the ride home from work flatted, then chain sucked under full power in tech, bending the chain on the Moth.
Will be reaching for the Milk Money for a while I think to clear the head.
You know what they say about weather you don't like.....Just wait.
What a difference a week makes.
My highlight today was passing two raised, diesel 4X4's belching smoke as their high volume, high flotation tires could not get enough traction to climb a hill. I just waved as I cruised by.
My skinny tires did quite well, I had to watch my weight distribution, but never had to dab.
Today was brilliant again, so I had to partake...again.
Of course I had to work today, so all these photos are taken during my commute. (On the way home as it was too dark on the way in).
My house is yonder in the distance somewhere.
The bike is sitting in the middle of the "trail" in every shot below.
Here's one for those of you suffering back East.
The temp swings right now are pretty wild. Over 30 degrees day to night. Nights just below freezing, days in the 60's.
I had multiple layers plus face mask on the way in, and had to literally disrobe to no shirt at all because I was cooking in my thin long sleeve base layer on the way home.
He did way better than I expected given the dinky wheels. Given a kids COG to WB ratio, I think it is next to impossible for them to endo unless they do something really stupid (not out of the realm of possibility.)
"The great conflicts in American history, especially slavery, civil rights, and abortion, have been unusually hard fought and passionate because they cannot be understood as symbolic fights over different worldviews or cultures. Instead, they are better understood as clashes over how common liberal values should be extended to different categories of humans. These conflicts have been disagreements over who counts as a human person."
While not his quote, this article shows again what a giant Neuhaus was.
First, I notice the rear wheel is out of true. Go to true it and notice this:
That would explain the ticking sound I have been ignoring when laying down the power the last few days or so.
Talked it over with Mikesee, apparently this is a common problem with 24 spoke count light weight roadie rims.
Too bad because they looked bitchen. Not worth it to re-lace, let me know if you want the hub which is very, nicely built. Good thing they were free (thanks Dan).
Put Josh's old wheel on that I acquired with his Monkey frame (these are also a set of Dan's old wheels ridden for thousands of miles by him, and many hundreds by Josh).
First ride:
Hit here at about 30 mph:
Didn't see the hole since I was tailgating a car to stay safe from side road traffic. The impact was impressive and almost knocked me off the bike. Instant pinch flat as well.
It looks so innocuous in photos:
Anyway, I'm trading Ed two sets of Mary bars and $25 to build me up another wheel with that old Dura-Ace hub.
This weekend, finally got around to building a more workable bike rack for the kids bikes.
Best thing is it cost nothing. Totally built with scrap 2X6 lumber I had.
Works like a charm, and the garage is a lot neater. Now to train them to use it.
I did get to ride 3 hours starting pre-dawn on Sat and praying for very cold temps to keep the mud manageable.
The riding was better than not riding, and the scenery was worth it.
Climbed road up to 37, down a very snowy, but luckily not icy 40, into Granite basin, up and back Mint Wash, then hit nearly all the climbing I could find on the way out.
Riding in snow is novel, for a while, then the novelty quickly wears off. Speed are slow, slow, slow, even downhill.
The Moth is living up the the hype. I was finally able to open it up on lower 40 to see how it handles at speed for a minute or two. It is nice. Not quite as adept as the 5" Box/135 on the descent, but a more balanced climber. Until we all have Bionicons, compromise is the name of the game.
There is nothing I can't climb with it (that I can usually climb), and it excelled in the techy rock work on Mint wash.
All in all, it feels like the Milk Money with extra gears and slightly more cush. This is a good thing.
Hit the Dells tech trail today for an hour on the MM and see that I have lost power with all these other rides. Handled the tech wonderfully.
If the Video demonstrates anything it's that the bike really has little to do with it. Luckily with my technological advantages, I can make up for skill deficiency....a little.
I will note that Dan is riding a specially set up "Rock Monkey" with 26X20 gearing, super short cockpit, etc. He says his other bikes are too pretty to ride out here.
Also note that after trying various set ups, he prefers the shortest chainstay possible (around 17" on the Monkey).:eek:
"Do you boys need a refresher course, It's all short chainstays now";)
I hate cold, so I was a bit proud of myself for getting out there.
Needed to complete the ride while it was still freezing or below to avoid killer death mud.
Main complaint is that everything rolled slow. Very slow. Good work out, beautiful scenery, but not much rippin type fun.
For me, a full face, base level long johns, and two wool base layers on top were more than enough. Feet still got cold by the end of the 2 hour ride, otherwise I was perfect, just on the verge of sweating, but not quite. How can the rest of you be great and the feet cold? (Had thick woolie socks). I'm open to ideas.
What's up with -18 degrees at the Grand Canyon Sat???
Got back on the Box after three weeks on the RIP 9.
They are vastly different bikes. This thing is a rolling couch comparatively.
Today was just a mellow ride in a little snow. This is the first ride of the year where I actually froze my Camelback hose. I dressed fairly appropriately, and felt fine.
It was awesome. The overwhelming impression is that of smoothness, stability and cush. The bike rides very quietly under you.
No muss, no fuss, no nervousness. Point it where you want to go and blast on through. Nevermind all the pesky bumps.
Inspired by Ion, here are my gear picks for the year.
This will be short, but they are all awesome. No particular ranking.
1. Lenz Sport Milk Money. It is brilliant. My favorite bike.
2. Lenz Sport Lunch Box (5" and 6" version). Another brilliant frame that has withstood comparison to the other best frames in the business and the others pale in comparison. Made even better by the Gordo Stout rims. If I were more than a cross country rider and had more use for all the travel and weight, this would be my favorite. It is absolutely the travel to Moab of Phoenix chunk bike, however.
3. Dinotte 800l/400l combo. Bought them because it was a deal and I liked my 200l. They blow me away. I have lights brighter than most cars. Lupine might be better, but at twice the price it is a no brainer. Endurance athletes concerned about weight should use a dual 400 combo, or 400/200 combo, but for recreational riding and commuting, this combo dominates.
4. Canon SD series Elph Cameras. See prior post, but they work well, are intuitive, easy to use with gloves, and durable. Just don't lose yours.
5. Lake MX 165 shoes. Only a few rides, but they are flawless. Good for biking, and the best hiking bike shoes I've ever tried.
6. Koobi saddles and Oury grips. These are battle tested and I have no desire to switch, ever.
Took the RIP up 305 to the top of Smith Ravine today. This is a ride I do frequently that climbs 2500 feet on nice singletrack in the woods. This trail is delightful. The second 'half' of the climbing occurs in less than 1/3 of the total mileage, so it finishes with a real ball buster of a climb.
It is a great ride. Not too technical, swoopy enough to be fun.
I felt out of sorts on the bike today. I was very aware of the forward weight bias of this frame for some reason. Didn't bother me at all last ride, this time it bugged me right from the start.
Once again, the CVA suspension is the aspect that shined the best. It simply puts the power down without complaint and without bob. I hit a couple little drops on the side of the trail, and everything went well.
I finally hit the last three miles of trail (Smith Ravine). I have been trying for 7 years of so (figure 30-40 tries) to clean this trail. Most times, I don't have the fitness, and simply have to stop eventually and gasp. This trail gets steeper as it goes until you have about 1/2 mile of near fall line trail at the end, after you are already pretty tapped just to get to that point. I have done as well as a single dab on multiple occasions (always in different spots). On multiple bikes (including the Box). This trail is a Monkey on my back. I want to clean it.
Today was my day. The Niner's awesome suspension combined with longer stays and lower front end surely would be the answer. On top of that, the trails are slightly moist and tacky.
Alas, not to be, it was a one dab kind of day.
The good news is that the Niner is very easy to ride in "plant your nose on the stem, get in your smallest gear, and suffer until you can't anymore" type climbs. I felt fresher at the top than I do when pushing the Box up this hill. Like other longer stayed bikes, it takes very little body english to keep the front down. There is minimal need to ride the front of the saddle.
Coming down was a hoot as usual. Couldn't bomb like the box, but significantly better than my trips down with a Reba up front.
It was a good ride, and a great day to be out on the bike. I am definitely finding 120mm of travel to be a good all around multi-use amount of travel. Comfortable in tech, but not so much it is a chore to haul around.
Unfortunately, on this ride I became about 90% sure the Niner is the right frame for me. The why of it is complicated. The short version is that I just can not get entirely comfortable with its personality. My riding time is limited enough that I want to spend it riding bikes I love. The RIP 9 is a really nice bike, and I like it a lot. I'm sure we will still be friends after the break up, but I don't want to marry it.
I've given it to a friend to demo for a while to get some other feedback (this is a guy who rides a SIR 9 and his last FS bike was a Heckler). In the mean time, I will get ride time on the more beloved bikes and come back to the Niner for another taste to see if my opinion changes.
I was hoping he would buy the frame after the demo. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of letting him fool around on the other bikes while we were setting up the Niner for him. All of a sudden he had no interest in the Niner, and wanted to know if I'd consider selling the Milk Money........
First real ride. If you hate gushing reviews move on.
The initial set up ride above was more on terrain that is sort of like a skatepark for mountain bikes, no speed, just crawling from one rock to the next.
Today I took the RIP to my favorite XC sort of terrain locally. Super fun single track consisting mostly of loose gravel over hardpack, some rock chutes, some areas of rockier stuff, some rock crawling, but mostly, all out, fast XC up and down riding.
It ate it up. I am a believer in this bike now. It was simply an incredible ride.
For me, a bike is best when is just disappears beneath you. You just ride, and nothing annoying catches your attention. Yep, it was like that.
This ride starts with a 20 minute climb, part of which consists of 6 loose, rocky, ledgy sharp switchbacks in a row. I make it up this occasionally, but not on a regular basis. Very difficult on a single speed, and the Box is fairly ponderous in the narrow turns. It can do it, but takes a lot of body english. Usually takes 2-3 tries on some of the corners
I just rode right up all six on the Niner without any drama first try.
At the top, you point down loose singletrack which is smooth (fun on a CX bike), with water bar jumps and whoops. Just hammered down this and found the RIP to track well, and really come alive as the speeds increased. The nervous steering I found on the first ride was gone, all I noticed was great handling. I had added a little rebound damping (2-3 clicks), and found it was too much, so backed it off to full off and it seemed happier.
I had no difficulty [I]at all[/I] getting the front wheel up whenever I needed to on the trail. The heavy feeling front end is essentially gone. Not as light as the Milk Money, but not unmanageable at all. (insert more Crow eating here:eek: )
I think a lot of the reason I am happier on the bike is this:
That 20mm made a huge difference to me.
I am by no means a fast rider, but this bike makes you want to hammer. I am riding several gears higher than I usually do, and I felt like it was egging mu up the climbs. It climbs great with minimal bob, and no front end wander. I noticed the slightest rear stiffening when really hammering a big gear at low rpm SS style, but that was minor.
I am super pleased with how this bike was built up by Niner. Very little I would change. The wheels are robust, not flexy at all. The Manitou 120mm fork has to be the most under rated thing in 29"erdom. It is really a nice fork (but the click argghhhhh). Super smooth, stiff, tracks great. Too bad the damping sort of goes from nothing to full on very quickly. I put 1 click of absolute and a slight touch of rebound and kept it there. The wierd thing is that I am running air pressures in this fork equivalent to the air in the rear shock (around 130 psi). Seems too high, but that is what is needed for correct sag and I have no trouble getting full travel.
The next section is a chunkier descent with more rock drops and switchbacks. Polished off with a smile.
Next section climbs along a wash with some difficult loose climbs.
Yeah, that too was no problem. I am probably 50/50 on this one single speed and 2/3 on it with gears. I just spun right up it.
I essentially didn't dab once this entire ride.
Went through a couple tricky rock sections: No problem.
Did the "triple challenge": Super steep loose switchback immediately followed by a rock drop/descent (while you are still hardly recovered from the climb) followed by another steep loose switchback. Simply uneventful. I expected to have some difficulty with the rock drop, but it was very smooth, no lawn darting.
Looks like this on the old Box.
Hit it with more speed today, and the landing was smoove.
Hauling down a smooth sort of ryhthm section of trail was a hoot, great speed, control telepathic handling.
The rear is super smooth, not spikey, very supple to fast, small hits. Matches up with the fork nicely.
What else can I say. It's a great bike. It pushed my fun button big time on this ride. It is the perfect "Tweener" light, geared, XC bike I was wanting. I am certainly more to the XC side of "AM" with my riding style, and have a love for light, responsive bikes, and that is exactly what this is. The MM similarly pushes my buttons on this terrain. I always found the 5" (and 6") Boxs to be a bit on the ponderous side riding in this area. To be fair, I always rode them with heavier, slacker, 135 and 150 forks. 120 seems to be a magic number for this sort of general XC riding.
The Niner folks have done a great job with this frame and build and can be rightly proud.
More as I get a bit more time on different terrain, but, yeah, I have a place in my heart (and garage) for this bike. It is all about fun for me, and if the bike is not fun, it has to go. The RIP passed the fun test with flying colors.
I was talking the bike over with a bud out here (Fixedgeardan), and he said:" you always gush over the new bikes" He's right, so take it all with a huge grain of salt. I also know, there is usually something I notice right away that annoys me. I don't see anything right now. We'll give it some time, but this review is a snapshot of how. I feel right now.
For my birthday ride, took the big bike up Smith Ravine, to Spruce lookout, down 307 long, up 307 short, and back down. Finished in 3.5 hours, and I am worked. That is a lot of tough climbing.
The bike remains very satisfying, to the point of unbelievable. It descends like an anchor. Climbs deliberately, but precisely. I can get up anything I have the legs for.
Explain to my why I got another bike as a birthday present to myself?
Mini review: First ride on Lake MX 165 shoes and they are really really nice. Fit great, no hot spots, and superb for hike-a-bike not that I would admit to doing such a thing (Dave: you listening?)
I am actually enjoying Cub Scouts more than I expected. The big meetings are a bit of a drag, but the den meetings have been great since nearly all the parents are really involved.
I was in charge of the Biking den meeting and we were able to get all the kids their biking badge.
All they needed to know were the basics, but we actually had a fun time talking about the history of the bike from push bikes (like the toddler bike we have) on up to Penny Farthings, fixed gear safety bikes, and geared bikes. Pedals/cranks and gearing are really the two quantum leaps that occurred in the history of biking, the rest is just refinement. They really seemed to get it.
On to the fun. We went up to a street behind the house where I had a little obstacle course to get them used to turning, and braking. Then we did "slow" races, followed by fast drag races.
All in all, a great time was had by all (including parents who I forced to participate on my loaners). How can you not have fun on a bicycle.
Another parent arranged for us to get a Kayak lesson at the YMCA. This was awesome. Ethan totally dug it.
I could not get him out of this thing. All the other kids sort of got bored after 1/2 hour, but he stayed until they closed the pool down on him (1.5 hours).
Once some other kids were done, I was able to get in for a while. They are quite fun, but driving a keel less craft is very different from the canoeing I have done. My legs were very cramped in the boats available, and I ended up with a partial peroneal nerve palsey for about 24 hours. Fact is, I was having a great time, so I ignored my numb feet.
After about 5 tries, working with one of the instructors, I was able to do a complete Eskimo roll, so that was cool. Doubt I could do it in a moving current though. I think the years of swimming really helped with this because I don't much care if I am stuck upside down in the water for a minute or so, and even with failed attempt to right myself, could at least grab a breath before flopping back upside down and giving it another try.
It was funny, once to come up after flailing around for a minute or two and see the lifeguard standing over me about ready to jump in. I absolutely felt fine, but nust not have looked too great.
We may have to explore this sport a bit more, especially given Ethan's obvious interest. I never took to outdoor watersports because I simply hate being cold and wet. This could be a good family outdoor activity for us though, as the kids get to be competent swimmers. I know Heather would love it.
It sucked. Don't bother unless you are super sympathetic to the plight of really, really, nice illegal aliens who get deported. Oh how unfair to deport nice people who have broken the law. It had a few redemptive moments, but overall a loss.
Kung Fu Panda
Best animated Dreamworks picture by far. Watched it again on video, and found it entertaining with a compelling story, amazing animation, great action, and very, very funny at times. This is the first Dreamworks movie I would put up against Pixar, mainly because they took time to get the story right which is what is ususlly lacking in animated pictures.
