tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24735864405780691772024-10-06T21:56:16.414-07:00bikes and life in humboldt countyyooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-42784355951069982322011-10-11T17:20:00.000-07:002011-10-13T16:04:26.903-07:00

Another great festival has came and gone. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the trails conditions faster, and the times any better. There was a good turnout for all four of the festival's events. On Saturday October 8th, the festival started off at 9am with the grueling cross country race. The collegiate A and citizen expert classes endured three tough laps with some tight switchbacks,

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-26839094690293930072011-09-04T22:49:00.001-07:002011-09-04T22:59:07.208-07:00

Was inspired by an old friends new album, so I took a break and went out to shoot some video in the local Community Forest. There's not a ton of riding there, but some very beautiful and flowy single track that I can't complain about. I mean, who can complain when there's riding right outside your door? Not me. Thanks Travis from Leave Let Be for letting me use "Cold House" for the soundtrack

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-78839916607117482382011-08-26T00:01:00.000-07:002011-08-26T00:15:04.368-07:00

Back for the second year the Ridge Trail Festival mountain bike event will prove to be another awesome event. Both a collegiate points race and an open community race, the Festival will offer a grueling XC route, a fast flowy Super D route, a stomach churning short track route, and even a full on Downhill event. Photos from last year can be seen and purchased here. I'm still undecided on whether

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-73163868981531507692011-08-25T16:30:00.000-07:002011-08-25T16:42:45.386-07:00

I've recently been honored with the key to China. For those of you that don't get out very often, China is a country in Eastern and Southeastern Asia, with a total size of 9,596,961 sq km. which is just slightly smaller than the U.S. and the fourth largest on Earth. Wow, that's big. China has an extremely diverse climate, and a terrain of mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-81819800539573306952011-08-25T00:28:00.001-07:002011-08-25T00:39:25.686-07:00

Once again the North Coast Journal is putting on their annual Best of Humboldt shakedown where every vote counts, and everything can be voted for. Got a favorite bar, restaurant, or newspaper let them know. You can find the survey in the local newspaper form, or go here for the digital version. Be sure to be legit as, "Each ballot will be put through an exhaustive 12-step legitimacy

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-8441375365300292692011-07-25T21:45:00.000-07:002011-07-25T23:29:27.265-07:00

I had the chance for the second year in a row to head up to Bend during the Cascade Classic stage race. For race information please visit the race website here. Although it's a six day race (including prolouge), I only got to see Saturday's stage of the downtown Bend crit, which by all affairs is the best spectator stage of the race. The weather was perfect and the race was fast with the pro mens

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-2559776499834945522011-07-11T09:15:00.000-07:002011-07-11T09:53:37.097-07:00

I can't think of much more American than the two. Well perhaps beside traveling to a Waffle House in your thunderbird with t-tops, which isn't the best car to take to a fireworks show. Spending most of my time in California living in the woods and in the Humboldt Bubble in NorCal, I've never really been impressed with any boom show I've seen in Cali anyway. Nothing like back in the Midwest

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-13309467865197276642011-05-31T11:58:00.000-07:002011-05-31T12:53:13.970-07:00

Memorial Day weekend has again came and gone with another spectacular episode of the Kinetic Grand Championship (formerly Kinetic Sculpture Race) in Humboldt County. Thousands of spectators from near and far arrived in Arcata, Eureka, and Ferndale to witness kinetic sculptures of all shapes, sizes, and genres compete in this years race. Despite the high winds on all three days, the weather held

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-58883997437404228982011-05-09T14:47:00.000-07:002011-05-09T23:32:10.231-07:00

Another successful Tour of the Unknown Coast has came and went with hundreds of riders from all over the nation. An unfortunate hectic semester had tremendous impacts on my ability to train/ride so I opted out of a shorter ride for photographing the hammerheads on the century. At first I was feeling a touch sentimental when all the riders started lining up before 7am last Saturday, but by the

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-27029475042555607152011-04-17T20:42:00.000-07:002011-04-20T20:51:01.670-07:00

Today at approximately 12:30pm the Humboldt State University Fencing Club hosted a fencing event at the Lumberjack Stadium on campus. Although a rather small event, there were teams representing from as far as New York. The tournament lasted approximately two hours with demonstrations given at the beginning for those of us uneducated in the rules of fencing. I did get a chance to take a few

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-80379634855397930922011-04-13T16:17:00.000-07:002011-04-14T22:29:20.687-07:00

There was more than clouds brewing today around Arcata, particularly at Humboldt State University. Today at noon thousands gathered at the Humboldt State University library to protest the proposed state wide CSU budget cuts. Members of the California Faculty Association, the Associated Students, and hordes of concerned students attended to let known their concerns for the cuts.I got a chance to

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-2928298963552265812011-04-12T19:35:00.001-07:002011-04-19T08:38:44.957-07:00

I've been completely distracted by the Decorah Eagles webcam lately. Apparently the cam is located near a fish hatchery on private property in Decorah, IA. There are two cams of which at least one is at any given time 24/7. One is equipped with an infrared light which shows the eagles at night. There are three "eaglets" rapidly growing, and the parents take turns at the roost while the other is

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-78062579972058234202011-04-09T13:49:00.001-07:002011-04-12T00:39:46.182-07:00

Today the Arcata Farmer's Market started for the 2011 season, an indicator that the semester is rapidly coming to a close and hopefully the warm weather is on its way. The market was remarkably different for today's opening day than last year's. I recall a cold, windy, and very rainy event for 2010, with a very sparse turnout on both the farmers and the attendees. Today was a pleasant surprise,

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-67649475267881627032011-04-07T08:56:00.001-07:002011-04-07T10:11:46.563-07:00

What a day to wake up. Shooting in Rio de Janeiro. Landslides. And another unfortunate earthquake in the same subduction zone in Japan.I'm reading conflicting reports - some say 7.1 and some 7.4. Either way it's massive and not exactly what Japan needs right now. I'm unclear on the tsunami threat to the California coast, but according to the USGS there is no warning from this earthquake. Looking

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-33039538879130824582011-04-06T20:17:00.000-07:002011-04-08T13:29:05.432-07:00

So as of late I've been pretty stoked on this whole strobist style movement of photography propelled by the great David Hobby. I've gotten myself a couple flashes, had some nice photo shoots, and had enough time in between to really contemplate light. As the great photographer Joe Mcnally says, "Light is the language of photography." I couldn't agree more. And when in the situation of mixing

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-22708276545118969732011-04-06T17:01:00.000-07:002011-04-09T08:31:17.637-07:00

Welcome back to the blogosphere, well thanks. Been away for awhile. Today I attended a very inspirational talk by Andrew Davis of tippingpoint labs where he shared ideas of how Humboldt County is failing in terms of promoting ourselves (yes I'm included in that), what the 'outside world' knows of us, and a little insight on what we need to do as a community whole to promote ourselves better.Being

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-17974983878286323632010-12-05T15:27:00.000-08:002010-12-05T16:00:14.489-08:00

The annual Stomach Churn cross/mtb race has came upon and left us. There was a great turn out again this year with over 20 riders in each race. Since I've been chained to the computer trying to get something accomplished on my thesis and absolutely no time on my bike I opted to just go shoot some photographs and watch everyone else suffer. I know, lame excuse, but I'm really much better at taking

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-57513185885300310792010-11-16T10:01:00.000-08:002010-11-16T10:32:54.984-08:00

Well it's been awhile since I've transcribed any thoughts into digital format, well at least here. Damn facebook has probably taken over. So much has happened since we last talked. I'll cut to the chase.Last weekend was the annual Bogstomp, BogStomp, Bog Stomp (however it's spelled) mountain bike/cyclocross race held out near headwaters. Revolution Cycles puts on the race and they sure do a great

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-81599616218974455062010-03-10T10:38:00.000-08:002010-03-10T10:53:10.320-08:00

Well it's been a long time coming but Google is finally adding bike routes to their mapping. Here is an article from Wired that talks a bit more about it.Although this is a very good improvement from their auto-centric mapping system, I personally think it will be slow going at first. This type of routing is dependent on quality GIS files integrated with good planning and existing bike routes/

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-39339431566191185372010-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:002010-02-23T21:50:26.591-08:00

I've been a bit overwhelmed as of late researching bike geometries, qualities, materials, and what have you. I'm always curious as to what other people think, and even more curious as to why they think what they do. Folklore is a mighty powerful beast, often overpowering even the mightiest of bike gurus. The strongest of them always come down to a few: aluminum is a harsh ride, steal is heavy,

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-21646111463932013092010-02-08T23:01:00.000-08:002010-02-08T23:51:28.971-08:00

and toe. They say idle hands are the devil's playground. I'm not sure who they are, but they may have something going. At least somewhere along the line turning right or left inevitably brought me to here, and here just happens to be a clutter that never seems to let up. I find myself starting to think about the weekend, in particular the Banana Slug series ride down in Dyerville this Saturday...

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-7116379513448950022010-01-20T13:32:00.000-08:002011-04-06T19:29:20.709-07:00

A friend of mine turned me onto this provocative transportation concept based on the idea of flying over problematic transportation areas. A writeup from the site:"Everything started in the summer of 2008. I decided to participate in the international architectural competition „Line of Site” on the „City Transportation Interchange” brief. The first crazy idea which came to my mind was to make

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-14386620157118410152010-01-18T11:30:00.000-08:002010-01-18T12:55:20.667-08:00

Last Tuesday was Hilary's birthday so we all went out on Friday to celebrate with some bowling in Eureka. It's been awhile since I've rolled and to put it in bowlers terms, "I couldn't hit my mark." The sport hasn't changed at all since my younger years of league play; still roll a ball down an alley and try and knock all the pins down. However, I some how managed to hit a lot more of those pins

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-77989119786493799602010-01-09T00:41:00.001-08:002010-01-09T00:46:16.885-08:00

Some shots from Jacoby Creek ride last week. Just like most of the single track around here, it was super wet and muddy. Still a great time with great folks. This forest is magical, filled with moss covered trees. Not a bad place to spend a wet afternoon.

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2473586440578069177.post-65257381264199967312009-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:002009-12-31T11:26:53.589-08:00

It seems as though I can't stay away from this trail, or at least try and get down there whenever I possibly can. My buddy Matt came down from Portland, after family activities in Eugene, to come hang out for a few days and get on some dirt after a long hiatus. We first had some wrenchin' to do on his steed before making tracks, and all but the wavy rotor we got it rolling. The community forest

yooperjbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07511434657505086007noreply@blogger.com0