Youtube Channel Launched!

Sorry for the delay, but better late than never! The KickCarveCrank Youtube channel has been launched! You will see everything from ski edits to vlogs to taekwondo forms. Believe it or not, but if you have a Google Account, you have a Youtube channel, so even if you're not a big Youtuber, you can still become among my first subscribers! Here's the link to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KickCarveCrank
PS: if you get enough subscribers, you get paid!

KickCarveCrank YouTube Channel

KickCarveCrank is getting a YouTube channel! I will document (almost) everything that's on the blog in video on YouTube! The channel is in the process of being built, so it won't come up when you type it in. I'll post a link soon. Thanks!

1 Day 1, 2 Day 2

On October 29th, Team Muleterro, a local bike team (http://teammuleterro.com/)  hosted Mulecross, the second to last Montana 'cross race of the year. I got a great start, but crashed into a post about 30 seconds into the race. I only gave up one spot, which I quickly took back. There were two run-ups, both of which could be ridden, although the first was faster to run. After the mishaps on the first lap, I was able to build up a stable lead and won by about thirty seconds.

The second day was the State Championships (apparently no one wants to race 'cross in Montana after November 1st). The main challenge was a steep hill followed by a 1-2 foot drop. There was a B-line around to the rider's left, but you would sacrifice at least three seconds, which can add up very quickly. I had never ridden the A-line, but decided to do it about twenty yards before. After the first time, I got confident doing it and rode strong for the rest of the race and to a solid second. I've had a great CX season and it snowed for the first time last week! I've already got a ski jump built in the back yard. Big Sky and Moonlight Basin open Thanksgiving weekend, and Bridger Bowl opens December 9th.

Two Kinds of Leg Pain

On Saturday I competed in the Missoula Taekwondo Championships. I won forms 5-0 and 4-1. In sparring, I got a decent lead going into the third round and waited out the clock. Although the other kid got a few points, I was able to hold on and win. The second match had questionable scoring, although I was beaten fair and square. I lost 11-7, and settled for second place (and a slightly pulled hamstring).

Sunday was the second day of Rolling Thunder, probably the biggest CX event in the state. To use the word "race" would be wrong. "Superfestival of Muddy Bikes and Crazy Fast Riders" would be a better definition. The night before, the Men's Cat 1 was led by a guy on a single speed for the majority of the race. He was beaten out in the sprint, but had and amazing race non the less. On I raced on Sunday, and despite a crash going into a rather sketchy corner, finished fourth. I really was third, although the kid who would've gotten second had a crazy crash and didn't finish, bumping a friend of mine up to second and me up to third. He would have beaten me though, so for all general purposes, I was fourth. And had road rash on my leg. And my arm.

Deer Hunt

The two days before general deer season are reserved for kids ages 12-15 to hunt. We booked a cabin in the Crazy Mountains for those two days. We set our at about 7:20 on the first day of the youth hunts. As you can see from the bottom right photo, it was a beautiful landscape. The first twenty minutes were packed with deer, all of which were either out of range or saw us first. We proceeded on the hunt for a while, until my dad spotted a doe the top of the drainage above us. I had just gotten set up to shoot when she moved off into the brush and off onto private land. We continued for about an hour, when I spotted two more mule deer does about five yards from the above photo. I was getting set up to shoot the closer one when a smaller but easier-to-get third deer emerged from the brush. I shot her through both lungs and the heart, causing her to run about three steps, jump over a log, and fall as she landed.  After taking a moment to thank her, we gutted the doe and carried it back to the cabin (thanks to my dad for the hauling). I have a Deer B-tag and a General Elk Tag left in terms of big game hunting, and can take up to three grouse a day, so there could be many more to come!

First grouse! (KickCarveCrank...Kaboom!)

On Sunday I finally got my first grouse after going out two other times! We were coming up into an open meadow when a grouse went up behind my dad. He swiveled around but couldn't get a shot off. We saw the grouse fly down into a tree. We followed it down and eventually spotted the grouse. I shot and killed it. We ate that one plus another my dad had shot earlier in the season for dinner that night. Deer season starts next week, and grouse continue until December 15th, so there's many more to come!

Moose Cross 2011

Last weekend I went to Victor, Idaho for Moose Cross. It was a great event with an awesome course, including stairs, barriers, berms, woopdy-doos, and single track. On the first day I was second in Juniors, and on the second day I raced in Cat 4 for the first time. The course was reversed and modified on Sunday, making it slightly harder. I somehow manged to hit my knee on the spoke of my back wheel twice when dismounting for the same infamous set of barriers. I think I finished dead last in Cat 4 but it was a good experience nonetheless.

I'm getting bored of including 'cyclocross' in the title

On Saturday, a good friend of mine began his season, which I had mixed feels about. Based on last season's experiences I preparing to be dropped, lapped, and then smeared in the sand pit by his rear tire. I was luckily able to stay with him for the entire race, which was this time in Bozeman. The course included two sand sections, a set of barriers, and numerous twisty, winding areas. I was within thirty seconds of hopefully sprinting out from behind and taking the victory when I crashed on the second sand section, a 250-300 foot beach. My friend managed to get away, and I settled for 2nd.

On the second day of the race, the course was reversed and a fly over with stairs up and a steep ramp down was added. I wasn't as close to my friend/now rival, but still finished 33 seconds back for another 2nd.

KickCarveCrank 60 Second Gear Review: Rossi Trifecta

   

The Rossi Trifecta is a great gun for younger hunters. It combines three guns into one with .22, 20 gauge and .243 barrels, all interchangeable within thirty seconds. It works great for hunters who have a tendency to flinch, because you can hone your rifle skills with the .22, a gun with an unnoticeable recoil. Then go hunting with the .243, and because of the considerable adrenaline from the hunt, you won't notice at all!

There is of course the single-shot drawback, but the break action makes it fairly easy to reload. The iron sights on the .22 and .243 are not at all what you'd want for hunting, and so I recommend mounting a scope. The shell ejector for the shot gun can be problematic, but I've only experienced it once, and the issue was resolved without a trip to the gun smith. The break action on the shot gun can also jam up. One trick I've learned is to put downward pressure on the barrel and then break it, although this doesn't excuse the problem. I'm shown at left and below with the 20 gauge barrel.
At a reasonable price of around $300.00, the Rossi Trifecta is a great gun for beginner and young hunters. http://www.rossiusa.com/
 

Cyclocross/Belt Test Gallery

 

 Top: Right before my attack on lap 1. There's someone right on my wheel, you just can't see them in this pic.

Top: The sand pit.
Left: Coming out of the feed zone/pit.

 Top: Barriers. I'm the short one on the first obstacle.
Left: It was a challenging course with no time for rest.

Right: The finish line.
Bottom: VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!

 Left: Middle punch.
Top Right: Hook kick.
Bottom Right: Down Block

 Top: The Board Break
Left: I was tired.
Bottom Right: This kick broke the board, although the picture was taken a split second too early.
Bottom Left: Snap Kick.

Belt Test and 2nd C-X Win

On Saturday I took a belt test for my 2nd black stripe. I suffered a horrible, awful piece of bloody gnar (a.k.a. a pulled groin muscle) on a school backpacking trip last week, and didn't think I would be able to test. However, once I had warmed up and stretched it, I felt able to complete the test. I felt some pain on a few kicks, especially retreating kicks like badchagi and reverse narabon. The 360 spinning hook kick board break at the end was difficult but I got it on my fourth attempt. I'll hopefully be able to get a vid that a friend shot up here soon.

Today I did the season's second cyclocross event in Butte. I got a decent start, with the kid who wound up in second drafting off me on the asphalt path at the start, through the winding section and over the barriers. On the second asphalt section, I attacked and got a gap, which I built on for the rest of the race. After the secondary asphalt, a technical descent gave way to a relatively lengthy yet rideable run up. After another technical section, a sand pit was the only thing that stood in between me and the next lap. In practice, I flipped over my handlebars going into it. I didn't realize the damage to my bike until twenty minutes before the race. My front deraileur was stubbornly not allowing me to get off my big chain ring. A friend's dad did some quick repairs, and managed to force the chain to stay on the middle ring. It worked for the time being and I rode my semi-singlespeed bike to victory! There are so many photos of both events that I am including them in another post also going out tonight!

CX Win & Grouse Hunt

This morning I went to Helena for the first cyclocross race of the season. The course started out on asphalt, with a brief climb at the beginning. It then turned on to a gravel road followed by a run up leading to an asphalt descent, which doubled back on itself to lead into singletrack. Afterword, it came to yet another descent on the road, leading into a technical section of singletrack, which gave way to  barriers and a rideable run up.

I was luckily able to start on the first row and went off fast in a low gear, which gave me momentum for the first climb and allowed me to open a small gap on the run up. I then flew through the course until the technical single track which I hit in too high a gear and had to slow up. Two other kids from a Helena team tried to chase me down halfway through the race but I held on and got the win!

After the race we drove to an undisclosed hunting location to try for Blue and Ruffed Grouse. We flushed one into a thicket and went down to try and scare it out. we went down to the thicket and it flushed towards me, but disappeared into some trees so the shot was withheld. We later heard a shot and discovered that other hunters had shot the same bird.

Hunting

This year I am old enough to hunt and will be taking hunter safety next week. Today I shot a few clay pigeons with my new Rossi Trifecta (.22, .243, 20, http://www.rossiusa.com/), and accompanied my dad on a grouse hunt, coming along to prepare for when I'm eligible after next week, on which we shot one grouse in a clearing after flushing one other which was not shot at. I'll have a 60 Second Gear Review about my new gun out soon and am looking forward to hunting season.

KickCarveCrank 60 Second Gear Review: IPod vs. GoPro HD Hero

In the past few years, the GoPro HD Hero camera has become the choice of countless sports enthusiasts when it comes to filming their endeavors. It is available in varieties that allow 960p or 1080p filming, and is available with a variety of mounts, including but not limited to the following: Adhesive Helmet Mount, Chest Harness, Wrist Mount, Handlebars, Surfboard (above), Car Hood, Head strap, Seat post, Skis, Ski poles, and Tripod mount. The slightly less professional approach is to use an IPod, IPhone, or some other form of Smartphone/IPod type device. You can position them in one of the many items available for holding such devices (above). Obviously, there are no mounts designed specifically designed for filming with these gadgets, and the video quality is not as good, although none too shabby.One advantage is that the GoPro is fairely wide angle and the IPod delivers more regular video. The GoPro is also much more durable and waterproof, and so therefore more activities can be filmed with it. So if you want professional-level video and supreme durability, I would recommend the GoPro (www.goprocamera.com). However, for the less needy consumer, a regular IPod will suffice.  

 
 

Derailuer Failier

My mountain bike recently suffered a horrible casualty due to the plague of mud. I was riding up the trail after a thunderstorm the previous night in at least two inches of mud. Suddenly my chain came off the front sprocket and as I was putting it back on I notice something was wrong with the rear derailuer. I soon became aware that it had completely broken off and was soon freewheeling down back to the trail head. Further tragedy ensued as  Specialized refused to put the repair on warranty. However, all has now been resolved and I'm back to riding again, although with the impending evils of school on the horizon, I will soon be confined to only doing so only the weekend.

Llama Trip: Day 6

The final day of our trip was fairly uneventful compared to the others. We departed camp and began our seven and- a- half mile hike back to the trail head. The two remotely exiting events occurred a good way down the trail, the first of which involved the llamas arch enemy: horses. The llamas became tense when they saw the awful creatures, yet when the dogs accompanying them began barking and running at the llamas, things began to get a little crazy. After much yelling of "Call your dog!," and "They're gonna get bear sprayed!," and "Hey! They've never seen llamas before!," the hell hounds were called off. The pleasant hike continued for a little longer, before the more uneventful adventure came upon us. This was simply some passing horse packers informing us of the close proximity of a bear. After some cautious walking, we were out of the danger zone and after a few more hours were down at the trail head. We were then informed that we were the only group to ever find a lost llama without the assistance of an airplane, and that the other group that had been out the same time as we were had also lost a llama, although he had been recovered as well. We sorted the gear into piles according to family, and drove back to Jackson, where we enjoyed showers, not having to dig a hole when one is in need of the bathroom, and warm beds.

Llama Trip: Day 4&5

After the drama of the previous day, it was nice to relax in camp. We caught trout, played cards and ate diner on the other side of Bob's Lake for a nice change of scenery. The following day we got our last view of the massive peaks of the Wind Rivers as we walked back down to our final camp at Pine Island Lake.

It seems that llamas enjoy watching us freak, because they gave us yet another reason to do so. Stretch, the most troublesome individual, realized the effect of his unsatisfactory behavior and decided he was too ashamed to continue to live any longer. Therefore, he  promptly began to commit suicide by wrapping the lead rope around the tree he had been tied too as well as his neck, so he began to choke. Luckily, we were able to rescue him and provide anti-suicide counseling. Hopefully he saw his life flash before his eyes and will make some new choices in the future.
.
Coming Soon: Llama Trip: Final Day

Llama Trip: Day 2&3

The next morning we ate breakfast with a southern small-town diner theme. At the "Llama Diner," "We believe in costumer service, so therefore our costumers serve us." At 11:00 am, we set out again, this time for Bob's Lake. Around 2:00 pm we got our first view of the backbone of the Wind River Mountains (at right), followed by the first river crossing (below). We continued down into the vast meadows around Bob's Lake and the countless others in the near vicinity. We arrived at our camp a few hours later and had dinner, only to settle in again for an eventful night of sleep.

A little before midnight we were awoken by the alarm call of a llama followed by thundering hooves. My dad went running outside in his underwear only to come back in cursing about the cold and how he forgot his bear spray. It soon became apparent that we were missing four of the nine llamas, the result of a wandering deer that spooked them. A search party was sent out, soon finding that they were not anywhere in camp. After broadening the efforts to include the areas further out from the immediate vicinity of the camp, three of the four llamas were found about a quarter mile away, and the search party returned. The fourth llama, named 525 (my llama!), would be searched for in the morning, due to the impending thunderstorm.

That morning, my dad and I, and a llama to lure the missing the missing one in, set out across the far side of the meadow, where he was able to get a desperate text out to my mom who was nursing a ruptured Achilles tendon at home. She was able to contact the llama company, and they began to orchestrate a rescue mission. Meanwhile, another party of two (my uncle and cousin) went down the middle of the valley/meadow, with a third (another uncle and cousin) headed along the near side. At the lunchtime rendezvous, none of the parties had turned up anything, despite the beautiful hikes. Upon returning to camp, we discovered my sister, younger cousin and aunts had been informed by a group of passing horseman that the llama was "just over yonder." Thinking the llama was close, they had, naturally, taken off in that direction, with only an assortment of flip flops and Crocs on their feet and none of the essential head nets and bug sprays needed for repelling the increasing number of mosquitoes. After six miles of hiking (some of it through a hail storm), they returned having found 525 with his lead rope tangled to a log. Another desperate text was sent in the extremely spotty reception, this time saying that the search team that had been being arranged was no longer needed. Finally, we slept soundly that night.

Coming Soon: Llama Trip Day 4 & 5

Wind River Llama Trip

Over the past week I was on a llama pack trip in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. The trip started out with "llama school," (basically a two and a half hour lecture on llama husbandry, with extreme emphasis on toiletry habits of the animals, followed by learning to saddle and pack them). We then were instructed to meet one of the assistant llama people at the trail at 9:00 am the next morning. The next morning after being each assigned a llama and after two hours of "Oh my gosh, isn't my llama cute?," and "Wait, wait, wait, this random piece of equipment needs to go in this llama bag, not that one!," and me almost being stepped on by by my llama, we were off.

The first adventure happened a few miles down the trail when a llama named Lucky started to be uncooperative due to the fact that he did not appreciate the fly rod cases that he had been assigned to carry. We moved them onto a llama named Stretch, thinking the problem was solved. However, it caused Stretch to go on a wild rampage, causing screaming people and llamas. After the first minor catastrophe of the trip had been sorted out, we continue up the trail for a few miles and then stopped for a not-so-quick lunch at a small unnamed lake. The llamas were fed some of the many pounds of llama cookies that we had brought for them, we had  some of the too- few pounds of cookies for us. That night we made our camp at Little Divide Lake and settled in for what was for me at least, an awful night of sleep, although one that the rest of the trip completely made up for, as you will see.

Coming Soon: Day 2&3 of the Llama Trip!

Lama Packing

About to embark on a lama pack expedition in the Wind River Range. The idea is the lamas carry everything except your small day pack. We'll be gone for five nights, with a peak elevation of ten or eleven thousand feet.

Short MTB Vid

Just a few clips from the past couple days of riding:

Owned by a TRAIL!!!!!!!!!!

I don't get to the point of being sickishly tired that often, and it never gets to the point of me puking, until yesterday... The idea was to ride up the Sourdough Trail and the cut up over the top and down into Hyalite Canyon.

So we ride up the first nine or so miles, and then reach the one part that no one in the group had been on before. According to the Android GPS App (and a large amount of estimation), there's a killer climb to get over the top, but only for a short while. So we start up the climb, and are soon reduced to pushing our bikes uphill. After ten or so minutes of pure pain and want of cold liquid, we realize that the "hill" (more like Mountainous Peak of Suffering and Doom) does not actually continue for a "short while," in fact, it continues for more of a hellish eternity (it turned out to be around 1,100 feet). While the most fit member of the group elects to suffer on through the mask of pain and death, my dad and I decide to descend the way we came and forget we ever saw the Awful Mountain of Death and Destruction.

Now for the puking part. I woke up slightly sick, but felt 100% better in time for our Outing of Death. However, just as we started up the Lofty Peak of Hell and Disembowelment, I started to feel it again. I had also felt sick when we stopped before we reached the Summit of Fear and Loathing, but that was always fixed by resuming our ride. Now, here's the crucial element: That whole time we were going up, so I was working. On the way down, it was all a big descent, which was basically just like standing still, except at 20 mph. So I was bumming on the way down. When we got home, I was lying on the couch and feeling pretty awful.
Me: "Dad, I think I'm gonna barf
My Dad: "No, you're alright, just sick."
Me: "BLAAAAAAA!"
My Dad: "Jeez, you really did puke"
So yeah... You get the picture.

Nationals Pics

 

2011 USAT Natonals

I was 16th in forms at Nationals. Even though it's not as good as I usually do at tournaments its still good especially in such a big field of competition. I lost the first match in sparing 4-3. I was ahead from an early head kick but let down my guard in the last round and got hit by a few shots I could have avoided. Bummer. Better luck next year, but looking forward to possibly going down to Jimmie Kim's Open Tourney in LA in October. Nationals pictures coming soon.

Nationals Preparation (cont.)

I've been trying to perfect Taeguek 8 for Nationals. I'm at the point where I'm confident I could do very well with it at a local tournament, but with 63 people in my division, the competition will be much harder, although I still think I stand a good chance. I have 23 in sparring, but I'm feeling confident and I think I stand a chance in sparring as well.

Nationals Preparation

Here's my new routine to prepare for Nationals:
No junk food
At least one hard workout a day
At least 1 hour of TKD a day

Rain=PAIN

Its raining in Bozeman! It was nice this morning and early afternoon, but it became a rainy disgusting ball of crap in the later afternoon. Its supposed to be nicer later though.

June 16, 2011