I have gained a new enthusiasm for guiding and will be taking out or accompanying more standard groups this year--when I feel like it, mind you, when the guide needs help with a certain trial, or, to the frustration of other guides, when the client is a big tipper or shows enthusiasm for our bike line! I will be Johnny on the Spot--when I feel like it. I will also be taking out the Elite groups. The Elite and SuperElite packages are being completely reformulated with two guides for groups over three, lower pricing and larger group sizes. The SE pacakges were too expensive for most, and the truly unique features in the plan could not be marketed (some of you will understand). The next paragraph will give you an idea of how the SuperElite Service Package came to be redesigned. We are also dropping any idea of franchising the business. What a harebrained idea that was! Actually a hare would have done it better. The bottom line is that we were looking for people like us and found out that there are none! We will maintain the Hawaii and Fruita franchises throughout 2007, but they go away after the next winter. The rez is no longer offered--too much work and no one wants to pay a fair amount for guiding in the third world.

New Guides

BRUCE CONDI
In February we hired Bruce, a longtime Moab local, as part time guide. Like all of our guides Bruce wouldn't guide for just any company. He has watched us run the business over the years and come to understand that we put quality service and environment above all other concerns. Bruce has a "Monkey Wrench Gang" thread running through his DNA and that means we are on the same page when it comes to politics, humans and the environment. Bruce is a biologist through education and experience, and he knows the flora of this place exceedingly well. Bruce works for the Park Service at various times during the year, identifying and counting plants, so he will not be available as much as we would like, but as he says, "I don't really want to work much." And that sort of sums up his personality. I appreciate this kind of honesty, especially from someone who works hard while they are on the clock and is so enthusiastic about how we run the company. While Bruce is away from Moab on his park service job he will still be available to help us, if we choose to camp and ride or hike in the Maze where he mans a ranger station for much of the summer. Bruce in helping us retrieve "garbafacts" for the yard, so next time you see the shop it will more resemble a well organized junk yard owned by a surfing born again Indian.

MITCH ATKINS
I had to guide extra trips this past fall season when two of our mainstay guides, Jo and Jon,flaked out on the existing schedule to do family trips and such. Jon felt so guilty that he turned us onto Mitch Atkins of Grand Junction, truly a godsend. Thank you for flaking out, Jon. Our clients loved Mitch and he became our most popular guide in a matter of weeks. He is such a naturally happy young man, more than fun to be with, friendly, smart, married and the father of three kids. He took to guiding our groups like a duck to water, making it insanely easy to train him. Mitch is a great rider and I feel comfortable leaving even the most unaware idiot in his care. He originally contacted us to guide in Fruita, but didn't know crap about the trails here, so I had to lead his groups on just about every ride last year. While he played the social butterfly and learned the route and interpretation, I was able to ride ahead of the group just far enough to be able to see them from planned vantage points (I know these trails so well and have always thought about the safety and line of sight, so this came naturally). Mitch and I have turned out to be a fine team and this should make the Elite and SuperElite packages much more attractive as we reduce the price and offer more services to larger groups up to six, made possible by the two guides and a restriction on skill level.

OUT FRONT AGAIN
The partnership guiding with Mitch gave me a chance to go faster on the trial, far enough ahead of the group to not interfere with "ego" problems--half wheeling, trash talking and the like. It made me realize that I could do this brand of guiding for weeks on end as long as I go at my own pace and don't have to stress about logistical crap. And, I get stronger, and it is almost impossible to get burned out when I am just dealing with the route, not the conversations with humans! "Just riding" has never a drain for me as is evident by the scouting I am doing alone, but having to socialize like a drunk southern bell for hours (before, during and after the ride), putting those damn bikes on the top of the vehicle and taking care of every personal need in a group of three or four people I am meeting for the first time, well it takes a lot of energy and patience. And imagine my inner turmoil when one of the group happens to be a devout Mormon, Jehova's Witness or god-help-us, a Republican. When I am out front I see (and can talk to) the coyotes and bobcats, can go as fast as I like over the rough stuff without leading the clients to hell and the hospital, and I get a bit of a rest as the group catches up. Frankly, I am a much better rider when I am alone on the trail. I don't have to censor my actions or my language or my love for this place and the creatures that are part of it. The "guide assistant" method also allows me time to find arrowheads and wildlife before the group gets to the next spot. While they catch their breath, I set up photos for them and show them whatever I have discovered nearby. This is how the Elite and SuperElite groups will be run in 2007: Mitch or one of the other guides will ride with the group, looking sane and normal, and I can ride out ahead and not worry about cussing out loud to myself like a wino war veteran with one leg on Haight Street. I have been scouting quite a bit during this mild winter and will offer a few new trails and new slickrock freeride areas as part of the Elite trips. I will not show these things to our guides who haven't scouted the particular area with me--these places tend to be more dangerous. Some pictures are here, but I have been quite negligent in taking photos lately. I am getting more selfish with "spirit(s)" I encounter alone and feel stupid with a camera whenever I find true magic that transends nature. This bit of eccentricity means that you will not see the best of the best in photos on the site, and never will. Some places are just to remote, unknown and sacred that pictures are not appropriate. The image above was taken at the end of an old 4WD trail that I have been riding from town as part of my training over the years. It travels to our favorite canyon hike within riding distance of Moab. Just this year the trail was restricted to "non-motorized" use, making it truly desireable--and very difficult in sections. It is rapidly turning into a very nasty singletrack with stretches of sand and ledges and deep ruts to try your patience and skill. A spur off of this trail leads down to my favorite local swimming hole, probably the best place to play in clear water within fifty miles of Moab. Now that the little trail is not being dogged by ATV's and 4WD campers, I will try to get as many people to go on a swim/ride as possible.

CHANGES AT THE SHOP
We installed a claw foot tub in the downstairs bathroom for guides and anyone staying with us in the guesthome. Rusty metal is the continuing theme. There is an rusting steel awning over the front door to the shop now so that when it rains you can stand there and wait for us to open the door and not get wet. The sweatlodge is complete and ready for action with a foundation (white person sweats are always fancier), fire pit and funky outdoor shower I constructed from a surfboard, hose and rubber mat. We have cleared a pathway and built a stairway down to the creek for those interested in a "natural" cool bath after a sweat. The sweatlodge will be used by me and any elite or superelite level client who understands what the f#$% it is. Around the sweatlodge is a skills course build from railroad ties and a singletrack made from wood chippings from a de-vegetation of Mill Creek going on right now. To fence off areas and give the shop an even more rustic flair we are using old rusted metal from cars, trucks and various mining and home equipment taken from abandoned mining sites around Moab. Lately, Bruce and I have been trucking loads from the Yellowcat, where we are scouting out one of our best permitted areas that I haven't taken a soul to as of yet. This process will continue until the place resembles art. . . . And, the Bullock Park Singletrack now goes all the way to the Portal and the number of side spurs is increasing. I am using it to end or begin my training rides and can see it being used to entertain clients in the coming year.

POE
A note to those interested: The Dreamride POE 29er is in the works. Sherwood is procrastinating a bit, but he does have the drawings and the tubing ready for the first of the run. If you are interested in getting a Columbus steel 9er designed by me, let me know and we will put you into the pre-order. This is the only way we can offer discounted sales of these frames. Another interesting note on the POE is that we are looking into a hand-done raven feather paint job. The POE is a bit different from the White Rim 9er we offered that was fabbed for us in China. The POE's bottom bracket is one inch lower and the wheelbase is longer. The lower bb and longer base allow clearance for 2.55 tires--the bike does not feel awkwardly tall with the bigger rubber like the White Rim which was designed around narrower tires, though it has clearance for up to 2.3. The POE is fully rigid with its own fork. A new stock color for the POE will be Cosmic Gray, a hue I have come to love because it works with EVERY King hub color and you never tire of looking at it.