{"id":6350,"date":"2013-07-05T09:03:28","date_gmt":"2013-07-05T15:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/?p=6350"},"modified":"2013-07-05T09:06:26","modified_gmt":"2013-07-05T15:06:26","slug":"marathon-natz-road-trip-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/?p=6350","title":{"rendered":"Marathon Natz Road Trip Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As I travel more and more, I realize why Dicky says goodbye to his blog during his trips to wherever it is Dicky goes. Even though I have at least a couple of times a day when I could probably write something, the motivation factor is pretty low. However, this morning, I&#8217;m trying to kill as much time as possible in Twin Falls (at 3700 ft of elevation) before going up to the Ketchum\/Sun Valley area (5800ft). \u00a0So, I figured I might as well start to fill in on what it is I&#8217;ve been doing since Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Monday was relatively boring. I drove the 10.5 hours to Hays, KS to get the first chunk of movement out of the way. Trip fueled by Three 6 Mafia Radio on Pandora&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6351\" alt=\"IMG_1585\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1585-169x300.png\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1585-169x300.png 169w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1585.png 433w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Tuesday, I got up and continued west to Fort Collins, where I met up with my coach for the last few years, <a href=\"http:\/\/ciclismocoaching.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Andy Clark<\/a>. We actually hadn&#8217;t interacted in person since I&#8217;d first met him at the Winter Park Super D on my first trip to Colorado back in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>We went out for a great ride that included a stop by 1 of 2 \u00a0pump tracks in Ft. Collins.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1598.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6354\" alt=\"IMG_1598\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1598-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1598-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1598.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1595.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6353\" alt=\"IMG_1595\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1595-300x64.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"64\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1595-300x64.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1595.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kIpxnIJZ3Yw?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fort Collins is someplace I&#8217;d love to spend more time. The city has embraced not only bike racing, but also bicycles as a mode of transportation for everyone- there are bike paths and bike lanes everywhere as well as (well-used) bike racks (and occasionally scooter parking places) in front of every business. Also, not only is Andy super-dad to his kid, he&#8217;s got a really adorable dog, too.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1593.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6352\" alt=\"IMG_1593\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1593-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1593-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1593.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1602.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6355\" alt=\"IMG_1602\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1602-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1602-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1602.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1604.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6356\" alt=\"IMG_1604\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1604-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1604-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1604.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1605.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6357\" alt=\"IMG_1605\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1605-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1605-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1605.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday morning, I headed out towards Twin Falls, ID. I was on track to get there around 4:30 in the afternoon, but realized about 45 minutes from town that I&#8217;d left my cycling shoes in Andy&#8217;s garage. Needless to say, I didn&#8217;t get to Twin Falls until after 6. Between this trip and the one to Victor last year, I&#8217;ve realized that in mid-summer, Idaho is really hot, dry, and usually on fire.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1611.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6360\" alt=\"IMG_1611\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1611-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1611-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1611.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(the fields are all well-irrigated, though)<\/p>\n<p>Once I arrived in Twin Falls, I took a couple of quick photos of the canyon before checking in to the hotel and going out for a ride.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1613.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6362\" alt=\"IMG_1613\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1613-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1613-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1613.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1612.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6361\" alt=\"IMG_1612\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1612-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1612-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1612.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d noticed from the tourist-info overlook that there was what looked like a trailhead and singletrack that went from the road halfway into the canyon down to the river level (you can actually see it in the bridge photo above). I could see the trail from the trailhead then at the bottom of the canyon, but couldn&#8217;t see what was in the middle. I realized about 3 gnarly, near-vertical rock sections and one steep, narrow staircase into a hike-a-bike that, while there was not a &#8220;no bikes&#8221; sign at the trailhead, it was not a bike trail.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1614.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6363\" alt=\"IMG_1614\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1614-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1614-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1614.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(the stairs were actually the easiest part)<\/p>\n<p>After hefting my bike back out of the trail, I cruised down the road to the park at the bottom of the canyon.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1615.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6364\" alt=\"IMG_1615\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1615-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1615-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1615.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As beautiful as it is, the entire area smells like sewage because of a water treatment plant that&#8217;s down there. It&#8217;s like a bathroom with sage-scented air freshener.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday, I&#8217;d had all intentions of driving up to Sun Valley and pre-riding the Nationals course loop. However, one thing I&#8217;d failed to consider when I&#8217;d made my plan was that, by that time, I&#8217;d be absolutely exhausted of driving. So, instead, I went to a local breakfast place called Norm&#8217;s. I got crazy looks from the farmer clientele that filled most of the seats, but, as I realized back in Fort Collins, when I don&#8217;t get weird looks and I &#8220;fit&#8221; in with the normal crowd, I feel really awkward.<\/p>\n<p>I stalked Strava and found some local trails called Auger Falls. Unfortunately, when I got down into the canyon (and past the water treatment plant), I found this:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1620.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6365\" alt=\"IMG_1620\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1620-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1620-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1620.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I climbed back out and crossed the bridge to see what was over there. I found some powdery moto trails and some very nice scenery<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1621.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6366\" alt=\"IMG_1621\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1621-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1621-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1621.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1622.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6367\" alt=\"IMG_1622\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1622-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1622-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1622.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After my ride, I had lunch and lounged around the hotel before picking up dinner and riding over to Cold Stone for desert before watching the city fireworks display from the hotel parking lot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1635.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6368\" alt=\"IMG_1635\" src=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1635-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1635-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/IMG_1635.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So far, so good. Check out time isn&#8217;t until noon, so I&#8217;m gonna get a late breakfast as soon as this Tour stage is over. Without spoiling it, I&#8217;d say this is, tactically speaking, my favorite stage so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I travel more and more, I realize why Dicky says goodbye to his blog during his trips to wherever it is Dicky goes. Even though I have at least a couple of times a day when I could probably write something, the motivation factor is pretty low. However, this morning, I&#8217;m trying to kill&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[3,8,5],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8Uq-1Eq","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6350"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6350"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6371,"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6350\/revisions\/6371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brickhouseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}