Day 2 started out with a drive from Phoenix to Sedona. We planned to hike outside of Sedona, before making our was to the Grand Canyon. The hike ended up being pretty tough due to the heat of the desert. Temperatures were easily into the 100's, and we were both out of water by the end of the hike. We were really glad to make it back to the car.

After the hike we headed on to Grand Canyon National Park.

Day 1

Day 1 started off with a flight from Chicago to Phoenix, AZ. After landing and picking up the rental car we headed to our hotel for the night. Recently we had heard about a pizza place in Phoenix that was voted the best pizza in the US. Being from Chicago we wer a bit sceptical, but we decided to check it out. The place is called Pizzeria Bianco, and after dinner Kelly and I both agreed that it was some of the best pizza we have ever tasted. The pizza is cooked in an 800 degree brick oven. we had the Wiseguy, and the fennel sausage they used was amazing. So if you are ever in Phoenix, definitely check it out.

More to Come.

Kelly and I are back from our road trip from Phoenix, Arizona to Denver, CO. I will be posting photos and such over the next couple of days.

For some reason blogger is not letting me put a title on my posts right now.

If You...

...like 60's R&B Soul check out:

• Band of Bees (download tracks: "Listening Man" and "Chicken Payback")

...wish The Cure wasn't so depressing check out:

• Shout out Louds (download tracks "Tonight I have to Leave It" and "Shut Your Eyes")

...like LCD Soundsystem check out:

• Tom Vek (download track: "Ain't Saying My Goodbyes")

...like the Stone Roses and Charlatans UK check out:

• Kasabian (download tracks "Sun/Rise/Light/Flies" and "Club Foot")

...like Pet Sounds era Beach Boys check out:

• Panda Bear (download tracks: "Comfy in Nautica" and "Bros Edit"

This is some of the music we listened to while on our trip through Colorado.

Off to See a Big Hole in the Ground

Kelly and I are leaving for vacation of Friday. We are flying to Phoenix and then renting a car. Our trip starts off with a couple of days at the Grand Canyon, followed by a week in Telluride. While at the Grand Canyon we are hoping to hike to the bottom, and back up in a day, but we will see. Kelly and I have done some death marches in the past, so we think we can do it. While in Telluride we are planning to climb Mt Sneffels, which is one of the several 14,000' peaks in Colorado, but based on recent reports there seems to be a lot of snow still on top. I don't own an ice pick or crampons, so we might not make it all the way to the top. We also have mountain bikes reserved for a couple of days while we are in Tellurde, so that should be a lot of fun, but I have a feeling I won't be riding too fast because of the altitude. We didn't plan it, but the Telluride Wine Festival is going on while we are there, so we plan to go to the main tasting and check out all the good wines. After we leave Telluride, we are stopping by the Black Canyon of Gunnison on the drive to Denver. After a night in Denver we fly home to the flat lands of Chicago.

Speedvagen!!

Yesterday I got my application in the mail to be one of the lucky few to purchase one of these

www.speedvagen.com

The Speedvagen is a side project of Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles, and is to be a more utilitarian cross racing machine compared to the normal Vanilla Bicycles. The other big benefit is that he is planning to deliver these bikes by this August instead of his normal wait of 2-3 years. To meet this deadline he has brought in Mike DeSalvo of Desalvo Cycles to do some of the welding.

The application came with an 8 x 11 piece of wood with the Speedvagen crest silk screened on it. My first instruction for the application was to hang up the crest in my house, which I have done.

Next step includes completing the application which includes a small bag to put a mud sample, as well as a small area to place a blood sample (not joking!!).

Day 5-One Last Ride and Time to go Home

John was still on his way back from Charlotte and Mark wanted to go visit his family cemetery, so Josh and I headed out for a ride. We planned an out and back route that would take us to the to of Flat Top Mountain. On the map the climb appeared to be in the 1.5-2 mile range, but looked really steep. As we rode along the country roads I was a little depressed knowing that my next ride would be back home in Chicago dealing with crazy motorist, stoplights, and no climbing, just headwinds As we approached the turnoff for Flat Top Mountain we were greeted by a fairly steep gradient. As we continued on the climb became steeper, and the switchbacks were super steep and didn’t give the normal opportunity for recovery. My legs were really feeling it today, but since it was the last climb of the trip I wanted to try and push the pace a bit. After a couple of miles I was chased by a dog, and I had to sprint to get away from the pooch. After that sprint I was done, and entered survival mode the rest of the way to the top. The climb ended up being 3.2 miles in length and with no flat sections it was one of the toughest climbs of the trip. After waiting for Josh we cruised back down. The decent was a ton of fun with a bunch of switchbacks to practice my poor cornering skills. We returned to the cabin on the same roads, and my North Carolina riding was done for now.

Overall it was a great trip; with plenty of riding, lots of good food and beer, and time to catch up with old friends.