Trip Report: Flag to Sedona Mountain Bike Ride

About a month ago, on a windy 48 degree day, Kenny, Tera, Patrick and myself decided to do the 45 mile classic ride from Flagstaff to Sedona. The route follows a variety of mountain bike trails before joining the Old Munds Highway (aka, dirt road) for some 20 plus miles. After entering Munds Park via a much-appreciated three mile downhill paved road, we followed Interstate 17 for approximately two miles. For some of us, this was the scariest part of the trip. Gas trucks barreling past you at 75 mph will do that. We exited at Schnebly Hill road, and traveled for another five miles over gradual hills before the elevation began to drop precipitously. We bombed down the last 8 miles of Schnebly, losing over a 1000 feet of elevation in the process as the infinite red rock formations framed our descent. I'm not sure if I'd do this ride again (or at least not in such cold weather), but I'd definitely be interested in another kamikaze run down picturesque Schnebly. As the photos attest, the views are almost as exciting as the ride. We finished up at Bear Willow Canyon, everyone with all limbs intact, and drove back to Flagstaff to enjoy a pint of Patrick's homebrew.


A crude map of our expedition can be found at the following link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106772392888324115931.00000112d9d9df7739e92&om=1&z=11

Starting shot

Schnebly Hill Road

One of many breathtaking views

Stopping for a photo opportunity before the serious downhill begins

Not sure what's going on here....looks like a face-off

The postcard perfect trend continues

Parting Shot: Much deserved pints of Patrick's wheat beer

Hiking: Veit Springs Trail

I've not blogged in a while but I have been busy, so it's gonna be a backlog bonanza ladies and gents. First up is Veit Springs. This is a short hike on the road up to Snowbowl, our local ski resort in the San Francisco Peaks. With an old log cabin and petroglyphs on the adjacent rock face, Veit Springs is somewhat of an archaeological/historical hike. However, the aspens make for a lovely walk in the woods. Here's some info on the actual trail:

http://www.arizonahikingtrails.com/hikingpages/vietsprings.html .

Vonnegut on Writing Fiction

" 'Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”
-From Vonnegut's Godbless you Mr. Rosewater


As most people who read the papers know by now, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, quite possibly the greatest satirist in the history of the world, died a few weeks ago. For those who couldn't care less about making use of the gift of literacy via the morning paper, here's an obituary of this saint: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/books/12vonnegut.html?ex=1191988800&en=aa747f8e1cf65243&ei=5087&excamp=OVGNvonnegutobituary

Vonnegut was a uniquely amazing human being, and he knew a thing or two about writing after fifty-seven years in the business. He detested semi-colons, referring to them as "hermaphrodite transvestites that serve no purpose". To this he added, "The only reason to use one is to show you've been to college." Well said sir. Nobody really knows how to correctly use those damn things anyway.

Here are some rules Vonnegut gives for those attempting to write a short story (taken from Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction) :

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Vonnegut admitted that most great writers have broken every single one of the tenets at some point in time. So much for rules.