Slickrock Trail, Moab, UT

We ran down to Moab and met with some old college friends (Steve and Krista S.). Since we both had lots of kids, Steve and I just had a short time to ride - we did the Slickrock practice loop and then rode into the trail a short ways and back. We messed around for a good bit on a couple of the obstacles and had a good time. The trail was fantastic (as always).

Too bad we just had a cell phone camera - I think we need to go back with a better camera and get some shots for the wall of my office at this spot.

Midway, UT

So - we have moved to Midway UT. Tonight I rode from our house to the Dutch Hollow Trailhead at 40.544958,-111.453031 (on Google maps). It looks like it is almost exactly 3 miles each way. So that will count as my first ride of 2012. A couple of notable items:

- At the trailhead itself, there was still too much snow on the road to ride up anything but a very slight incline

- I saw a herd of deer that were totally unafraid of me in a field on the way out and also on the way back. I rode within 20 feet of them and they didn't even move.

- I saw a couple of bull elk (that are always hanging around right in that area) and they were quite a bit more skittish than the deer

BTW, I just installed the following new parts on the Specialist: Primo Tenderizer pedals, brake and shifter cables, rear derailleur, chain, cassette. It shifts pretty good, but I still need to get a new derailleur hanger.