Monday, July 28, 2014

Levine/Robison Safari 2014

I spent 10 days on the road going to national parks, as well as biking and running im places I had always wanted to visit. My friend, Mark Robison, went with me as far as Reno, Nevada. I dropped him there, and spent two days working at the farm animal sanctuary he runs with his wife, Dianne.

On the way out, Mark and I visited Arches National Park, Colorado National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, and Bryce Canyon. Each was beautiful and wonderful in its own way. After a couple of exhausting, but fun-filled days at Cockadoodlemoo Farm Animal Sanctuary, I started the drive home via Park City, UT so that I could get in more mountain biking - this time downhill. 

The trip also gave me a chance to try out some new and older equipment that I use in very different types of settings than Kansas. I will have product updates in future blogs.

Here are just a few of the 50 or so photos I took on the trip.

Our trusty transport looks good even with my finger obscuring a portion of the Colorado mountain side.

Friend and editor of RUN, Mark Robison, outside of Frisco, CO. 

At Colorado National Monument - super place. 

Our tent on day 2 at Moab Under Canvas - Moab, Ut. (Aka glamping)

My Rockhopper 29 taking a rest outside Moab. 

Arches National Park. The majesty!!!

Psych!

My fave for beauty, hiking and trail running, Bryce Canyon

Feeding a friend at Cockadoodlemoo Farm Animal Sanctuary just outside of Reno, NV. 

On top of the Reno Museum of Art roof. 

Quick photo break with friends between downhill mountain bike runs at Deer Valley/Park City, Utah

I missed a turn somewhere on our fourth downhill run.

Last day in Colorado I took a quick ride around Dillon Lake before the rain set in. 

Saturday, July 12, 2014

New Salomon's Maiden Voyage

When it comes to running, there is only one company whose shoes I would trust to take straight out of the box and go for a 10+ mile trail run. Salomon's SpeedCross 3 shoes arrived this morning. I put them on and hit the trails. They performed as I knew they would. I don't think I've ever would have picked a color scheme of. green, white, and black, but they were on huge closeout sale at Running Warehouse. I also was able to get my Lawrence Trailhawk's club discount. 

So the new pair joins my solid black pair that I have come to love. I hope to have many fun miles in these great shoes. Below are before and after pictures. I think the after looks a lot better.

Friday, July 11, 2014

RUN Kindle Ed on Sale Through End of July

As the headline reads, my novel, RUN, is on sale for US$2.99 through the end of July. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can always borrow it for free as well.

For an indie author, reviews (even a couple of sentences) posted on Goodreads, Amazon, or any other reading/review site are hugely appreciated.

Have a great July.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

William S. Burroughs, Yage, and Bicycle Racing

Last week during the Tour of Lawrence bike races, I happened to be talking with an acquaintance and very accomplished rider (he'd finished 2nd in the sprints a couple of days earlier) about why he had pulled out of the crit. He had a good place and was cruising along, and the next time I saw him, he was sitting on the bleachers watching as the peleton passed by.

He mentioned that there had been something going on with his bike - a mechanical issue, or a tire inflation problem that was making the bike feel too lose to safely continue in the close quarters of the peleton. It was all pretty benign until he mentioned that it was just as well because he was out of shape from spending 12 days in Peru recently.

That comment struck me as odd, and I said as much. If he had been hanging out in the mountains of Peru, that would almost be like a natural version of blood doping. He should've come back ready to rumble.

But no. As it turns out he went to Peru to do something that 99% of tourists going to that country don't do. He went to the Amazon instead. He had flown into Lima, gone on to Iquitos, taken a bus to a boat, a boat to a path, and then walked for an hour up the path in the wilderness. What he (and his accompanying grandpa) were seeking was a traditional healing retreat that focuses on purifying mind and body through ritual and the use of Ayahuasca. His story actually blew me away.

Having worked for William S. Burroughs some years ago, I thought I was well-acquainted with what was written about the plant. The Yage Letters - the famous series of notes sent between Ginsberg and Burroughs as they searched the Amazon for the psychotropic substance - was all about Ayahuasca/Yage.  For my whole life, I thought that pretty much the Beats and native people were the only ones who had actually tried Yage. I thought that knowledge of the plant was probably lost in time.

As it turns out, that is not at all the case.  There are many people worldwide who know of and travel to experience the effects and (potential) healing properties of Ayahuasca.

I am reading up on more recent writings about it as well as other medicinal plants that ethnobotanists have been looking to identify in the Amazon (and other climatically similar places).

I never thought a discussion at a bike race would circle back to Burroughs and Yage. It is a strange wonderful world.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Miles and more mulberries

Got in just over 40 mi this week for the first time in many months. The hamstring issues, while still present, have diminished a to where they are relatively manageable. My mileage breakdown went something like this:  11 mi, 8 mi, 3 mi, 3 mi, 7.5 mi, and 8.5 mi. Just over 19 were trail miles run in Salomon Speedcross 3s. The road miles were primarily done in the Mizuno Wave Inspire 10s (with the short runs being done in Inspire 8s).

The best run of the week was this morning. The weather was outstanding,with cool temps and low humidity. The trails are more lush than I've ever seen them. Running after mile 2, the greenery is so thick that it kind of leans in on you in an almost oppressive manner. But that is what makes it exciting, honestly. The rains that have fallen up to this point have really done an amazing job keeping plants green when they would normally be yellowing and wilting in the July heat.

The best part of the runs on the trails this week is the amount of mulberries available throughout the river course. I literally have taken no gel packets with me in weeks. The trees are the best aid stations a runner or cyclist could ever hope for. I stopped a couple of times this morning to grab a handful of berries before continuing on my way. The second stop had little to do with actually needing energy, and much more to do with the delicious flavor of the berries.

Have a happy and safe holiday and keep running.