Why Montana?

Everytime I find myself in a conversation with somebody that I have either just met or don't know that well but feel obliged to talk to, my choice of University is always a topic. I have finally developed the perfect answer to this question.



[Person I don't know that well]: Why did you choose to go to school in Montana?

[Me]:

Oops.

It's been over a month since I updated this blog, which I don't feel so guilty about since I've probably got about two readers.

I don't have photos, because lately I've been making a habit of forgetting to bring important things on my adventures (like cameras), but here's a short list of stuff that I've done in the past month:

-Visited my parents in Texas
-Applied for a daytime radio slot (fingers crossed)
-Gone mountain biking every Saturday and Sunday without fail, and also some weekdays. Trails included:
*Emerald Lake
*Truman Gulch
*History Rock to South Cottonwood
*The Bangtail Divide
*Little Wapiti Creek
*Hood Creek
*Mystic Lake
-Bruised my thigh (guess how)
-Employed the services of a plumber to fix a broken hose bib
-Contacted the tech guys at MSU to figure out why my school email was disabled (it's fixed)
-Met Kassy's Parents
-Gone yardsale-ing most every Saturday morning, and even found some treasures like a waffle iron and a three-piece suit
-Painted my room
-Built a new bicycle (yes, another one)

Kassy's Father (Dr. Bill Lynass): You sure tie up a lot of money in bikes.
Me: Well, I've been saving since February for this one, but yes, it's kind of a priority.

It's a Surly Cross Check built very much like an older road bike, with modern conveniences. I had the opportunity to ride a bike that wasn't perfect for me for about two years, and in doing so learned what I wanted and didn't want in a bike. The first issue was the size - my old bike was far to big for me. The skinny tires gave a harsh ride, and only a rear fender left my feet soggy and filthy. The fixed gear was fun for cruising around town, but extremely impractical for longer distances. I loved the feel of the steel frame, the Brooks Saddle, and the shape of the handlebars, so those are the things I carried over to this bike. Every other component choice was a strategic decision made to eliminate past problems. This is the result:


The cranks, pedals, derailleurs, handlebars, and saddle were all either on my previous bike or spare parts that I had lying around. I chose downtube shifters because they're simple, reliable, and they look good. The full length fenders were chosen for near-perfectly dry riding in the rain, and wide tires for maximum comfort on bumpy roads and maximum control on gravel & dirt. Most of the components are sensible and Japanese.

I've been getting more comments on the handlebar tape than anything else about the bike. The tape looks like leather, and while Brooks does make leather tape, it costs $70 a roll, and it wasn't in the budget. The tape is Cinelli natural cork tape ($12-$15) coated with three coats of amber shellac. I learned about this trick from Rivendell bicycle works - a bunch of retrogrouch cyclists who advocate high handlebars, wide tires, full fenders, and a leisurely pace. The shellac keeps the tape from getting grimy, repels water, and makes the tape look like glowing leather.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled about it.

Also, I've been listening to a shameful amount of new music. My favorite over these past few weeks has been a band called Meho Plaza. They play electro-noise punk, similar to No Age and HEALTH, but with incredible melodies. Their new album is self titled, only about 35 minutes long, and great.

Music - Best Of

I promised music reviews when I started this blog, but so far I haven't even mentioned music. I thought I'd give my top five records of 2006, 2007, and 2008, so you can get an idea of what I like.

Best of 2008 (so far)

5. Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
My take: Hypnotic, droning, awesome rock 'n roll, complete with a sitar.

4. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Genre: Folk, Pyschedelic Folk
My take: Hymn-like voices meet pop hooks to create this wonderful pseudo-folk record.

3. No Age - Nouns
Genre: Noise, Punk
My take: Addicting, experimental and fun noise-punk.

2. Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue
Genre: Indie Pop
My take: The hookiest, catchiest, most wonderful pop in a long time

1. The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Genre: Lo-Fi, Indie Pop
My take: Funny songwriting, hooky choruses, awesome guitar.

Best of 2007

5. Fiest - The Reminder
Genre: Pop, Singer/Songwriter
My take: Brilliant pop - no more, no less.

4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Genre: Rock, Electronic
My take: Some of Radiohead's best songs, and an intriguing business model to boot.

3. The National - Boxer
Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Punk
My take: Following in the footsteps of Interpol, this is Joy Division for Generation Y.

2. Yeasayer - All Hours Cymbals
Genre: Indie Rock, Experimental
My take: So many influences, this is pop music of the future.

1. A Place To Bury Strangers - A Place To Bury Strangers
Genre: Shoegaze, Noise, Post-Punk
My take: The Jesus & Mary Chain had a rock battle with Joy Division, and it sounds like this. It's loud and great.

Best of 2006

5. Ratatat - Classics
Genre: Electronic, Rock
My take: Catchy & original, it's party music in the best sense.

4. Okkervil River - Overboard and Down EP
Genre: Indie Rock
My take: Literary songwriting and a haunting version of one of Okkervil River's best songs.
3. The Drones - Gala Mill
Genre: Rock, Psychedelic Rock
My take: This is regional, delightfully droning (ha) Australian rock. Recorded in a ancient mill, the sound is as expansive as the storytelling. Like nothing else.

2. Ghost Mice - Europe
Genre: Folk, Punk
My take: Purely acoustic, it's a folk sound with punk lyrics and sensibilities. More integrity than most any other band out there, and killer songwriting as well.
1. Joanna Newsom - Ys
Genre: Folk, Classical
My take: This is, in my opinion, one of the most important and best albums released in my lifetime. Incredibly intricate storytelling backed by a brilliant symphonic arrangement and Newsom's unique harping. It blows my mind at least once a week.

Hyalite Peak

Friday the fourth was Kassy's birthday, and we wanted to do something cool. Enter Hyalite Peak. It's 10,298 feet tall, making it one of the higher peaks in the area. It's a a 7 1/2 mile hike (one way), making it a day-long adventure. It's still pretty snowy up there, which made the ascent and descent somewhat adventurous.

Here are some pictures:

This is near the beginning - We're still in the temperate forest.
A few miles up the trail, and it's no longer July.This is the basin and the top of the valley. This picture was taken looking Northeast, from the beginning of the hike up to Hyalite Peak.
Here we are on a rocky outcropping, planning our assault of the peak.The assault. The trail goes straight up the middle of the bowl (to the right of the image pictured), which would make a lot of sense if there weren't any snow. There was still a cornice at the top and the snow was softening quickly, so we thought being smack in the middle of a snowy, melty bowl would be irresponsible move. We instead decided to go (almost) straight up. We minimized our on-snow travel, mostly scrambling up the rocky patches that you see. Here we are, spaced out.Spenser leading the way.
Looking down the valley from the peak. You can see the reservoir from here, which is pretty much where we started. In the background lies the rest of the Gallatin Valley and a glimpse of the Bridgers. It was a little hazy, which we blamed on California.Here we all are at the peak. The camera is looking Northish.Also, wildlife is awesome. These were both on the peak.Alfred giving a perfect example of the proper way to descend a snow-covered slope when skis are absent. Note the avalanche shovel, for safety. We descended in this manner almost all the way down to the lake (not the reservoir).When we got home we made a delicious pizza, but unfortunately couldn't find candles to put in it.
Happy Birthday, Kassy.

Awesome Weekend

Friday - Gooch Hill Rd. Loop

This was a cruisy, mellow, and relaxing road ride that I did with Kassy after work. Great evening ride, about 30 miles.

Pictures:

This is the land of milk and honey.
Coming back on Cottonwood, looking North/Northeast towards Bozeman.

Map


Saturday - Fairy Lake Rd.

Kyle, Kyle and Sam were camping up at Fairy Lake. I thought it would be a great thing to show up on bikes and say hi. I dragged Kassy along as soon as I got off work. We only made it out to the beginning of the Fairy Lake Rd., at which point we faced seven miles of reasonably steep, loose, gravelly mess. We were tired at this point, didn't have enough light to make it up and back to town in time, and our bikes had skinny tires, which would have made the ride hellish. We turned back and stopped for lunch at Battle Ridge campground. All told, it was 46 miles of fairly hilly highway riding that completely destroyed me on my fixed gear.

Pictures:

Lunchtime at Battle Ridge.Fast.

Map


Sunday Morning - Hike: Arch Falls

As a sort of cool down, I agreed to go on a hike (instead of a bike ride, which is rare) with Kassy. We went up Hyalite Canyon, the road to which recently opened, and saw more people than I would have expected to see at a movie theater. Once we got past Grotto Falls (the main attraction and only about a mile in) the crowd thinned, but it wasn't until we got past Arch Falls at about 2.2 miles that we felt like we had the trail to ourselves. We turned back at around 3 miles since I wanted to be back by early afternoon to grill meat with Sam, Kyle and Kyle. We picked up some beef on the way home and grilled up some tasty burgers, I wished Kyle a happy birthday, and they promptly left.

Pictures of the hike:

Grotto Falls.

The rare photograph of me, standing in front of Arch Falls.


Sunday Afternoon - Alleycat



For the uninitiated, an alleycat is a bicycle race involving (usually) fixed gear bikes and beer. It's like a scavenger hunt. The rider is given a list of stops that he will have to visit about fifteen minutes before the start of the race, and he must first figure out where they all are, and then decide in which order he will visit them. A map is invaluable.

Alfred was out of town, so I went solo on this one. I forgot to bring a map, so I teamed up with a guy named Tom who had a phone book with a bunch of maps in the back of it. We figured out our route, and we rode it.

Map

Tom and I were second and first, respectively. I won a cool watch and thirty dollars.

We then proceeded to eat pizza and watch monster trucks at the finish line, which was conveniently located at a bar directly opposite a pizza shop. I didn't get any photos.


Monday - Bozeman Creek to Leverich Canyon

I wanted to do a good loop mountain bike ride today, and I wanted to see how reasonable it would be to mountain bike from my home, instead of driving to a trailhead.

The original plan was to go up to Mystic Lake via the Wall of Death, loop around the back side of Mount Ellis, and come down New World Gulch into Bear Canyon. I ran into a nice guy who's name I forget (sorry) on the way up. We got to talking, and he recommended against New World Gulch. He said that it was blown out (the sign at the base of the trail in Bear Canyon says the same thing), and he said that his buddy ruined his bike trying to ride it. Lots of sloppy mud and downed trees. It's been warm, but sunshine doesn't remove trees.

I had a map, a lunch, and plenty of water, so I decided to try to connect to Leverich Canyon from Bozeman Creek, which was what the guy I met said he was planning on doing. He was long gone in search of his riding partner, so when I got to the bridge at about five miles, I checked out the map to see how feasible the ride was.

Turns out that it's pretty feasible. I rode about fifteen miles (best guestimate, based on mile markers and my map) of fire roads, abandoned 4x4 roads, and improved dirt roads, all of which gradually went up. As I was getting towards the end, I started wondering when the road was going to start heading downhill. It didn't, really, until the junction with the Leverich Canyon trail, where I lost all of the elevation I had just gained in about two miles. It was steep, sheer, and scary, but surprisingly well maintained. I was on the brakes the whole time and it was still one of the faster descents I've taken. I coasted away from the trailhead with my heart and adrenaline pumping. I didn't get any pictures of this part because, well, I was holding on pretty tight.

Anyway, here are some pictures.


The bridge over Bozeman Creek. This is about 4-5 miles up
Then another five or so miles of this.

This is on the ridge between the Hyalite and the Bozeman Creek drainages. Those peaks are in the Gallatin range, I think.

A few more miles of this improved dirt road, complete with a shooting range and many 4x4 trails jutting from the main road.Aha. Here's where it starts going downhill. This ride was awesome.

Truman Gulch

Today I went or a bike ride up Truman Gulch. It was clear and wonderful, and because it's a Monday, there was very little traffic.

Here are some photos:

The beginning - smooth, fast, mellow.


Getting farther up - the trail becomes steeper and bumpier.

Here the trail is fairly steep and narrow, and the drainage is opening up.

Getting higher.
Almost at the top. This photo was not taken from the main trail, but from a steep side trail that gave some great vistas.

The alpine meadow, complete with waterfall. This is the top of my ride. From here one can continue North towards Ross Pass or South towards Mount Baldy.

Persepolis

I just watched this movie, and I'm impressed. With a few exceptions, most recent films suck. I was pleased and surprised to find this one. It's animated, it's in French, and it's set mostly in Iran.

Watch it.