Brian's BG Fit

Based on Deb's improvements, Brian decided he needed to get a good bike fitting too. Here are some shots from Brian's fit.

If you ride a bike, you need a BG Fit. Call Steve at (310) 377-7441 - and tell him that Deb & Brian sent you.

Brian tests his balance - which is apparently related more to his feet than his leg strength...
Steve tests flexibility and checks for leg length discrepancy (which Brian has from a past hip injury).
Check out how Brian's feet hang. This problem was remedied with new insoles and shims in both shoes.
Steve checks knee tracking and moves cleats to make adjustments.

Steve moved Brian's seat down and back to get the proper angles.
Seriously... If you ride - get a fit.

Specialized BG Fit Session

Last week I spent the better part of a day in the studio of Master Specialized BG Fit Technician (and good friend) Steve Bowen, owner of PV Bicycle Center in Palos Verdes, CA.
The BG Fit is a "dynamic fitting" - with the cyclist on a computrainer with video cameras and software that freezes the video so that measurements are taken with the rider in motion under load (as opposed to having the rider stop mid pedal stroke and hope the rider is really in the position he/she would be in if pedaling).

Steve has a blog which includes videos designed to give you a look at every aspect of the BG Fit: http://pvbicyclingcenter.blogspot.com/
DO watch them!

To sum up my day: After the off-the-bike interview and physical assessment, I got on the bike and started pedaling for a power/spin analysis. The computrainer gives immediate feedback and shows how much power each leg is putting out, and finds weaknesses in the pedal stroke. I was surprised to see that my right leg was 16% stronger than my left.

The first thing he did was change my saddle. It turns out that the saddle I was using, while seemingly comfortable, was much too wide. It was getting in the way. With just the saddle change, and no other adjustments, my right and left legs were within 2% of each other. Wow.

Based on the video capture, we also lowered the saddled and moved it slightly forward. I also got a new, shorter stem, and tilted my bars up a bit. Steve made some major adjustments to my cleat position, changed my insoles and added shims in my shoes. Voila! I'm a new cyclist!

Here are some still images from the video capture:

I'm riding better and stronger and faster than ever before. My love of cycling and desire to train is renewed!

If you're interested, call Steve at (310) 377-7441 - and tell him that Deb & Brian sent you.

North Rim Grand Canyon

Our last little trip of the summer...
Between the Tour of Southern Utah and the Hoodoo 500, we took three days to enjoy the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with our great friends Alan & Yvonne. It was beautiful, quiet and uncrowded.

This will likely be the last of our not-work-related travels for awhile. We had a fabulous Summer 2009! Thanks for checking in!

Smith Rock State Park, OR

Once the cast went on Brian felt well enough to venture out for a little hike.

We headed out to Smith Rock State Park, about 1/2 hour north of Bend. This place is like Disneyland for rock climbers - with more than 1,000 climbs, many of which are bolted. We enjoyed watching some of the climbers; and got a 3+ mile hike in as well.

Greetings from Bend, OR

No pictures today. Just a report about why there are no pictures.

Well... It seems we've started a streak of bad endings to an otherwise wonderful summer holiday. Remember last year: We got towed 150 miles from Ketchum to Boise and were stuck there for three days - blah, blah, blah. That was actually funny, when we look back on it.

This story certainly isn't funny. Anyway, Brian was mountain biking, doing reconnaissance for racing the High Cascade 100. He was climbing a steep and very loose section when his rear wheel washed out and he toppled over to his left. He reached out to break the fall and put his hand down on an uneven rock... and snap! Wrist broken.

The good news is that no surgery is required. The bad news is he's in a cast for at 6-8 weeks.

He was in a lot of pain and had to lay low for a couple of days. But since he got the cast, he's feeling much better. We're planning to go for a little hike today and see how that goes. If it goes well, you'll see more pictures.
;-)

Mount Rainier National Park - Sunrise Hike

You’re probably wondering how we always seem to find the most epic hikes. Most of the places we visit have hundreds of miles of trails (Mount Rainier has over 240). It would be nice if we had some special powers, some magical intuition… But (heavy sigh), no. We read trail guidebooks. We like the ones that either have trail ratings, or flat out say, hey, this is the must-see thing to do while you’re in this place.

Our Mount Rainier book rates trails from 1 to 5 hikers – one being a “hike worth taking, even with your in-laws” and five being one that the “aesthetic and physical rewards are so great that hikes given this rating are forbidden by most conservative religions.” DUH! We pick the 5-hiker trails; and are never disappointed.

This particular 5-hiker trail included a warning about a stretch of trail that crosses a steep, extremely hazardous snowfield that shouldn’t be crossed without an ice ax or other means to self-arrest because “a tiny slip here can be- and has been- deadly.” Hmmm. Second thoughts about the 5-hiker trail.

So we stopped at the Ranger Station to inquire. Not only did the ranger ease our fears by reporting that the snow was mostly gone, but he told us about an unmarked, unofficial, steep trail extension to the hike which he said, “has the best views of all.” Super! Let’s go!

So here it is: Definitely the best day of hiking this summer!







On our way back to the RV Park, we stopped to walk through the Grove of the Patriarchs featuring the oldest trees in Mount Rainier National Park (some are over 1,000 years old!).

RV Parks

Over the past several years, we've stayed at lots of RV parks. We've traveled in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

We imagine that the majority of you who read this blog have absolutely no idea what RV parks are like. So we're going to post photos and show you; and we'll update this from time to time with the best and the worst of the places we "live" while we're on the road. Starting where we are now, July 2, 2009, in Westfir, Oregon.

This is Casey's Riverside RV Park. It's super clean with big pull-through spaces.
Casey's has a nice club house. Generally speaking, we don't use such amenities; but lots of RVers really like them.

We have a riverfront spot - on the middle fork of the Willamette.
This is Mounthaven RV Park in Ashford, Washington. We're less than 2 miles from the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park; so here we pay for location rather than amenities. It's forested and quiet, and there are a couple of "pet" deer who've been fed through the winter, and now hang out like family friends. There are cabins, RV spots, and tent spots here. So it's more like a campground than an RV park.

Mount Rainier National Park - Paradise Hike

"Of all the fire-mountains, which, like beacons, once blazed along the Pacific coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest in form." - John Muir, 1906

We hiked an epic, unforgettable, beautiful (but exhausting) 8+ miles from Paradise, up along the slopes of this incredible mountain. Words just can't describe it. We hope these pictures tell a story...

Hiking Hurricane Ridge

We drove from Sequim to Port Angeles and hung a left to head into Olympic National Park at Hurricane Ridge. Olympic has three main sections: The Pacific Beaches, the rain forest valleys and the incredible glacier-capped peaks above the old growth wilderness. We hiked 7+ miles into the wilderness, enjoying every beautiful step (some of which were on very, very steep climbs and descents). Here's just some of what we saw along the way...