Biking Island in the Sky

2007-04-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

April 28, in spite of missed deadlines, irate customers, & unfinished work, we head to Canyonlands, Utah, Island in the Sky, for a break. We arrive and get set with great friends in a land of indescribably magnificent beauty.

Ron checks out the task ahead...100 miles of rugged terrain to attack and conquer....and we begin the first descent into the canyon.

Our biker buddies, Quinn & Colby, help us get our courage up. They have done it all before, and tell us it's a cakewalk.

First rest stop: Muscleman Arch. Yes, that's a thin sliver of stone across an incredibly deep canyon more than 1000 feet down through space, and our hero...muscle man Ron...

We're still smiling with our friends, Ken and Mary, ever good traveling buddies, always up for any adventure.

And it's spring, "the desert blooms as paradise..."
First day: 30 miles, a little sunburned, we set up camp on the canyon rim. Our trail is called White Rim Trail, for the white stone around every deep crevice...

And we nominate Uncle Don for MVP of the trip, the soul of patience, as he follows the slowest riders all the way, sometimes at 0 mph, while we walk our bikes up the long steep climbs. At camp, he's lost to sudoku...

There are no words for the beauty, no describing the awesome expanses of cliffs and rocks and sky. We are so small in this vast wilderness.

They start as mesas, erode to buttes, erode to spires, then needles, and over time, millions of years, fall to the canyon floor. "As it is written in the book...Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low;"

Near the end of the second day's 52 miles, around a butte, the first glimpse of the Green River!

We smelled the water before we saw it, and that first sight made all the hot, hard day, every inch of those climbs, every sore muscle all worth it. Camping by the river: glad for rest and an

outhouse shower.

Quinn, almost 6, rode all the way, on his bike,

or on the trailer bike pulled by Scott. He

doesn't seem to show the same effects as the

adults. At camp, he's still running around with

his brother, full of energy. We're seasoned

4-wheelers (see other blogs) but we're still

quaking from that last climb and descent over

unbelievably narrow and dangerously steep

trails.

Closing in on 100 miles, we learn to bike the sand traps by the river...yet it is still a long and winding road. Somehow, it seems easier along the river.

Day three: more than 20 miles left, and we still

have to get out of this canyon that surrounds

us on every side...

But we make it to the top!! Brown with sun and the red dirt of Canyonlands, happy grins in the sunshine, we're whole, with no major mishaps outside a broken bike rack, some road rash, and bruises in unmentionable places. We didn't lose the rest of our group: Scott, Holly, and Quinn decided they would take a little recreational ride on the gravel road out to the highway, another 12 miles just for fun, just because it's so hard to quit when you're high on the euphoria of being on the bikes.

Christmas Holiday 2006

2007-03-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Jan's Surgery

2007-03-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

After 6 weeks of recovery, comes through surgery safe and sound.

Summit Custom Homes

2007-03-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

1. Parade of Homes Model 05 in Engineer Village across from Purgatory Ski Resort (1st Place)

2. Custom Tuscan Villa

3. Parade of Homes Model 06 in Twilight Trails (1st Place- People Choice)

The Pinons Development

2007-03-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is our development on Metz Lane. First we had to burn the original house down. The subdivision platte is finally approved and ready to go...starting development this summer.

Dream Cruise in Detroit

2007-03-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Shelby Cobra - Ron's dream cruisin car.

Summer 2006

2007-03-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Joyce and Anders visit us, Ron fixes his computer, and Carson and Brayden get Digger rides with Grandpa Digger himself.

Iron Horse Classic Bike Race 2006

2007-03-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

A 10 year tradition getting bigger and better every Memorial Day Weekend. Ron is going to beat 4 hrs and 15 min in 2007 beating the train...without training of course.

Climbing the Volcan in Chile

2007-03-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ron, Jan, Ken, and Mary risking their lives for a grand adventure in Chile.

Free Wheelin in the Mountains

2007-03-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

Come visit us and we'll take you 4-wheeling at 13,000 ft.

Jan & Ron