All around where I live are great bike trails. I lack the motivation sometimes to get out on my own to bike (never enough time) so I am thankful when Marc and Cynthia get me out to bike with them. The trails are fantastic and Marc teaches me some nifty techniques of mountain biking. These photos are from the Holly Cross trail on Colorado National Monument, 10 minutes from my house.

I am still riding my Redline 29er, which Marc refers to as the “solid steel construction bike.” It is as basic as the bikes get and while I really like the feel of the 29-inch wheels, I am ready for some suspension and less weight to haul around. I already bought a frame and most of the parts to build a new 29er and I can’t wait to get it built. I need just a few more parts and I will have a new bike.

Cynthia and Marc, the view of Grand Junction in the valley.   (click to enlarge)

Marc   (click to enlarge)

Cynthia   (click to enlarge)

Cynthia   (click to enlarge)

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Marc, with a smile on his face.   (click to enlarge)

Me, on the same descent, with a look of terror on my face.   (click to enlarge)

I asked Marc to bike back up this ridge again…   (click to enlarge)

…so I could take this photo.   (click to enlarge)

A few of us swam for a while between the Funnel and Surprise rapids. Thanks to Marc, Ryan and Pete we were all fished out of the water before Skull rapid.

Well, I learned a few lessons on this trip and next time I will do a few things differently (besides getting sucked into the hole there).

Good job everybody else!

The paddle boat crew in Westwater, May 1, 2009   (click to enlarge)

The paddle boat crew in Westwater, May 1, 2009   (click to enlarge)

Uschi and Marc. Marc performed a remarkable swimmers/gear recovery operation through the Skull rapid and Uschi is one of the best whitewater crew members I’ve ever had on my boat.   (click to enlarge)

Ryan and Pete   (click to enlarge)

Ginger’s boat   (click to enlarge)

From the left: Levi (kayak), Sally and Ginger   (click to enlarge)

My friend Ryan and I went to Home Depot on Monday to pick up some parts for building an adaptive seat for our rafts. On our way out I suggested that we stop by Petsmart on the other side of the parking area. So we went in. I walked to two cages on the floor with dogs brought from the local Humane Society. I took one dog out of the cage, went to the playpen, and 25 minutes later I was signing the adoption paperwork. My heart was pounding and my hands were sweaty. I haven’t been this nervous in a long time.

Today I woke up in my bed with a pair of eyes about three inches from my eyes. The moment she saw me with my eyes open, she started to jump, lick and sprint from the headboard to the edge of the bed. She is a great girl. Her name is Roxy.

We already went for several walks, my Mom cooked her dinners, went shopping for all new accessories (leash, collar, ID tags), got a microchip, full checkup and all shots from Dr. Asmuss (our family veterinarian), met Lori and Tyler’s dog Dakota (our other love), met Adrienne, went for a few rides in a car, pooped all over the backyard, stole a piece of cheese, and generally been busy getting to know each other.

She is fantastic!

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Now I need the dry top again so Jim helped me glue a new one in, a size bigger.

Jim with a strangled alien, April 24, 2009   (click to enlarge)

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From the left, the brave souls: Joanne Black, me, John Bethune, Ginger Essex, Levi Oviatt.  
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With Ryan at Powderhorn, March 20, 2009   (click to enlarge)

So, here are some deep thoughts about skiing and teaching skiing by Paul and my comments about his views.

Paul on ski boots:

You Are In What You Are In

I just bought a pair of ski boots that are exactly the same as a pair I already own, except for being a size smaller. The showing of my new ski boots has prompted a short discussion about the advantages of well-fitting boots and subtle differences between just the right size and the size too small. I now favor the ski boots that are at least a size too small because I am driven to insanity by any “play” in my boot. I define the undesirable “play” in a ski boot as a state in which there is a possibility of being able to wiggle my toes, allowing the blood to circulate to my toes, and having the room necessary to prevent serious pinching and bruising. My dissertation was cut short with just one statement from Paul: “You Are In What You Are In.” Clearly, Paul has attained the next, higher level of understanding of the relationship between our feet and the ski boots, which will make him a lot of enemies from the ranks of people who rely on their income from the sales of ski boots.

Paul on skis:

You Are On What You Are On

During our recent discussion about the gear, Paul has summarized my eloquent discourse about the oh-so-important differences between skis based on their construction and geometry with one statement: “You are On What You Are On.” Of course, I can read between the lines and it was obvious to me that Paul simply does not share my mad obsession for that one ski that is interesting and yet so rewarding. It is also evident that Paul does not share my love for our country and is not willing to support its economy during the recession.

Paul on teaching turning, or a directional change:

Ski Forward and Sideways at the Same Time

I never stop working on the perfect turn or a perfect-anything-while-skiing so I can definitely relate to Paul’s quest for the truth in skiing. However, I was taken aback by his indifference to our complex system and sequence of teaching people the tools to move diagonally in the direction of the turn. It is possible that I have wasted years learning how to create an environment for my students that allows them to discover and learn all the movement pools needed for a decent turn while all I may have needed is Paul’s teaching system.

Paul on time warp

You Ski in the Past and the Future

You will just have to ask Paul about this one.

Paul at Powderhorn, March 15, 2009   (click to enlarge)

We took Team Powderhorn athletes to compete in Special Olympics Area Games at Sunlight Mountain in Glenwood Springs.

I was surprised to see our athletes so relaxed and joking at the start gate. I remember that the previous years they were a bit nervous and quiet at the start gate. Could it be because I was more relaxed and, as Adrienne pointed out, the whole training season seemed less structured and more relaxed? I planned the 2008-2009 season to be less about controlled training for the Team and more about just skiing. Perhaps it is working. I know that good racers come from great skiers but my fear was that the competitive streak will go away and that coaches will perceive the relaxed atmosphere as lack of my training support. Well, if it’s working we will leave it for now. I really liked how they all skied at Sunlight. I saw some good, offensive skiing on the race course. I also saw opportunities for athlete-specific training because the ability range among them is very wide and individual movement needs were pronounced on the race course. I will try to give the rest of the coaches some athlete-specific tools for the upcoming training session at Powderhorn.

Or, I could try the “stop sucking, bend ze knees and race, damn it” training approach for a change…

It takes skills and real guts to get on the start gate of the race course, breath, look down, and push off with intent to win. I admire people who have the courage to face this challenge.

See the web site for our Team Powderhorn.

Our team at Special Olympics Area Games at Sunlight Mountain in Glenwood Springs.   (click to enlarge)

The GS course: way to tight and too short. Not a good setup but our athletes managed the course very well.   (click to enlarge)

I am walking up the race course for the n-th time.   (click to enlarge)

Waiting at the start gate.   (click to enlarge)

From the left: Terry, Lori with Brandon in a bi-ski, me.   (click to enlarge)

Team Powderhorn athletes at the start gate.   (click to enlarge)

With Eric during awards ceremony.   (click to enlarge)

With Adrienne.   (click to enlarge)

Last fall I was thinking about ways to enhance our ski and snowboard program at Colorado Discover Ability. While our snowsports school needs a lot of enhancements that require people and money, there are some things we can do on a shoe-string budget and affect a lot of change. It was easy to identify a major obstacle to enjoying snowsports and to performing in ski racing, which is the lack of physical conditioning. In short: most of us are not in shape to enjoy sports. When working with our guests at Powderhorn we often get consumed by adapting the sport to a person with a diagnosed disability but overlook an obvious challenge of getting somebody who is out of shape to move on skis or a snowboard. Ability to perform on skis or to just enjoy skiing is a sum of everything athletic we do prior to skiing.

After talking to Trish, Adrienne and few other instructors I started inquiring about gym space in town. Many other CDA instructors got involved and in January we had our first fitness sessions. We meet every Wednesday at 6 p.m. One hour a week will not get anyone is shape but it might help. At a minimum I hope to introduce an element of health and fitness into the lives of people who we teach skiing and snowboarding.
We will keep the program going year round.

Because exercise is simply a lot of hard work I didn’t expect that anyone would show up for these fitness sessions. I was really happy to see about fifteen people come to the first session! We’ve already had five workouts and I hope that this program will grow.

Trish drives from Delta every Wednesday to conduct the training and that’s a huge commitment for her. She spends almost two-hours on the road after work to lead each workout session. Jess, my trainer from Ultimate Fitness in Grand Junction wants to volunteer her time and expertise as well and she will give Trish a break at least once per month.

I am thrilled that we have this program going!

(You can see more on CDA’s web site and you can help, too.)

Participants of the Feb 18, 2009 fitness session.   (click to enlarge)

Trish: our fitness instructor.   (click to enlarge)

Games that make you sweat.   (click to enlarge)

Cynthia and Greer are stretching.   (click to enlarge)

Eric gets ready for pushups.   (click to enlarge)

Jake stretches.   (click to enlarge)

Miranda engages Josiah in exercises.   (click to enlarge)

Ginger and her student on wall pushups.   (click to enlarge)

Trish with one of the participants.   (click to enlarge)

I am stretching and Casey is pretending to be stretching…   (click to enlarge)

Erin catches a ball during one of our games.   (click to enlarge)