The Deer Hunter

After getting asked for the last several years by my Father-in-law to go on a deer hunt, I finally gave in this year and put in for the draw in the South Hills. I was told that it was an easy hunt because we can go around on 4-wheelers and can usually find one close to the road. I drew out and we went a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday. We left at 6 am and drove about 30 miles south of Oakley. Scott and I met Travis and Kelli at about 7 am and got on the 4-wheelers and started heading out on the trails. It was cold enough that you could see your breath and we were getting on 4-wheelers. Within a few minutes I couldn't feel my fingers. Travis and Kelli had been up the week before and had seen a large herd of deer at a certain spot. We started heading in that direction, but came upon a truck full of hunters and they were heading that same direction, so we turned around and headed more to the North. After riding around for a couple of hours and only seeing a couple of does and fawns (we were hunting bucks) we decided to split up. Scott and I headed one way and Travis and Kelli the other way. Scott and I had gone about 1/2 hour up the trail when my wonderful guide spotted some dear up in the trees. I could see 2 does and Scott thought he could see a buck laying down. We decided to head up to the top of the hill and then walk back down to see what they would do. We walked down about 25 yards and then the buck stood up. My heart started pumping and Scott quietly told me to get ready. He handed me the shooting sticks and I knelt down and scoped in the buck. He was about 120 yards away and was surrounded by does and was starting to walk away from us. Luckily they all didn't take off on a run because they didn't know where we were at. Scott whispered to me to wait for him to clear away from the does and when he is to take a shot. He slowly moved away from the others for a second and turned to the side so that I had a clear shot, but I wasn't ready. It all seemed to be happening so fast and I couldn't believe that this moment was happening. I hadn't shot a gun for at least a year and I hadn't been able to go and take any practice shots this fall either. He turned his back to me and my chance was gone. I kept my scope on him and he walked a little ways and then turned back to the left and stopped. Scott whispered to aim behind his shoulder. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was aiming in front of she shoulder. I held my breath and slowly squeezed the trigger. I closed my eyes after I shot because I didn't want the scope to pop me in the eye. I heard Scott say "You got him!" When I looked back in the scope I could see him kicking around on the ground. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. I brought the 4-wheeler down and found that I had gotten a pretty nice little 3 point buck. I had shot him right through the neck and you could see where the bullet went in and where it went out. Scott then pulled out his knife and saw and handed them to me. With him talking me through it, I proceeded to gut my deer. I did ok, except for accidentally poking a hole in the bladder and having to wait for the urine to leak out. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. I was worried that it was going to stink really badly, but it didn't. After I finished gutting him, I took the heart and took a bite out of it....j/k. Nothing gross like that happened.

We then dragged him to the 4-wheeler and loaded him on the front. I have to admit that I was very sceptical about deer hunting. I actually enjoyed it because I felt like we were on a 4-wheeler ride with a purpose. I don't know if I will go every year, but I will probably go again. I know that I got pretty lucky and without Scott I would have never been able to find one on my own. I don't think I will consider myself a hunter, but I do see why people go out and do it. Being out in nature and trying to put some food on your families table is a great accomplishment.

Hunting License.......................................................$12.75

Deer Tag....................................................$19.75

Shooting your first deer at age 32.........Priceless!

Pale Rider

I didn't ride yesterday due to the fact that I had a stomach problem. After lunch yesterday I started feeling a strain in my stomach. Needless to say, my lunch, breakfast, and dinner from the night before were gone. I wasn't feeling up to riding and took it easy. Tonight was different. I am feeling better and decided to get after it. I went E. on 27 and continued on 100 S. to 250 E. where I turned S. Once I was on this road, I felt like I was going uphill because I was having a hard time keeping my speed up above 16 mph. My legs were burning like crazy and my sides were aching. I felt like giving up and taking a rest, but decided that I had to keep going. I turned W. on 400 S. and continued over to 50 E. When I got onto 50 E. I was able to pick my speed up, so that I could feel the burn in my legs. It is impossible to see the slope to the roads, but I am assuming that when I am heading S. towards the hills, I am going slightly uphill and when I turn and head back to the N. I am going slightly downhill. This is my theory, not sure if it true. Here are my stats:

Distance: 11.48 miles
Max Speed: 22 mph
Avg. Speed: 16.5 mph
Time: 41:45 minutes
Calories Burned: 589.2
Fat Burned: 75.4

Back from a Break

I need to first start off by thanking my awesome wife for letting me go out riding in the evening. She gets up at 6 am to run while I sleep, and is still willing to let me go out in the evening while she gets the girls ready for bed. We had family home evening tonight with Mom, Dad, Grandma Merz, and Kristen and the twins. After everyone left I was helping give kids baths and getting them ready for bed and was in my mind thinking that I wasn't going to get a ride tonight when Andrea asked if I was going to go out. So, I grabbed my helmet and took off. I had a goal to ride 10 miles tonight, but didn't know if I was going to be able to since I hadn't rode for a couple of days. Here are my stats:

Distance: 10.55 miles
Max Speed: 25.7 mph
Avg. Speed: 16.9 mph
Time: 37:33 minutes
Calories Burned: 544.2
Fat Burned: 69.7

The first 3 miles were hard. My legs felt like lead and I was thinking of turning around and heading back home. I was heading S. on 50 E. road and by the time I got to 400 s, I was feeling better and by the time I got to 500 s. I decided to head W. over to 50 W. Road. Once I got to 50 W road and headed N. back into town, I was feeling pretty good. I don't know if the road has a litte bit of a decline in it, but I felt like I could go faster. My legs were feeling pretty good so I tried to push my speed up and for the last 3 miles back, my speed was between 18-20 mph on average. I should have kept going S. on 50 E. and then turned back down the same route.

Day Three

Day 3

I missed riding on thursday because I was helping someone in the ward move. I rode my bike to their place thinking that I could move them quick and then go on my ride. There was 6 of us from the elders quorum and we went to two different storage units. One of the guys in the ward just bought him a road bike and started riding. I asked how far he went on his first ride and he said 12 miles. I felt pretty much like a loser only going 3 miles on my first ride. I guess that means I have more room for improvement. Another guy from the ward road from Albion to connor creek and then back. If you are not familiar with this area, that is a very hilly ride, with uphill climbs both ways. I have heard of some guys riding from albion up to the mount harrison lookout and then back. I guess that I have a long ways to go before I can compete with that kind of riding.
Day 3 stats:
Distance: 7.98 miles
Max Speed: 20.1 mph
Average Speed: 16.2 mph
Total time: 29:38
Calories: 467.6
Fat: 53.3

I felt pretty good tonight, my legs were really sore at first but after about 2 miles they went fairly numb and I was able to push a little harder and make them burn, so I guess that I just need to get my muscles use to working again. Sitting at desk all day long is not a very good muscle building activity. I chose a pretty level route tonight with only 2 stops along the way. I started from Andrea's parents. I went W. on 27th to 50 W. Road and turned south. I went to 400 S. road and turned E. I then turned N. on 50 E. road and took that back to 100 S./27th. The last mile I really tried to push it and kept the speedometer between 18-20 mph. I am going to avoid stop signs tomorrow to see if that helps get that average speed up.

Part Deux

Day 2 Stats:
Distance: 5.65 miles
Max Speed: 20.5 mph
Average Speed: 15.7 mph
Time: 21.48 minutes
Calories burned: 291.3
Fat burned: 36.3

Day 2 was a little bit of a different ride. I started off heading E. on 27th and immediately knew that it was going to be a hard ride because my legs were sore. I decided to turn S. on 50 E. road to avoid the big hill on 150 E. road. I would have been going downhill and didn't want to inflate my numbers, so I chose to ride on more of a flat surface. I rode down 50 E. road and then turned W. on 200 S. road and crossed highway 27. I continued W. to 150 W. road then turned N. About half way down this road, it turned to packed dirt and was quite bumpy and caused me to slow down. I made it to 100 S. and turned E. I then headed back into town and to home. The route was fairly level with one slight incline. I think that I need to stay on a country road that has no stop signs so I can keep riding without stopping. I had to stop 3 times because of stop signs at busy intersections. When I got home my legs felt like jello and my right arm and hand were numb. I must have been favoring that side? I feel pretty good about the distance that I rode. I am certain that my average speed will go up if I avoid slowing and stopping at intercections. I went out at 7 pm and it was much better riding in the daylight. The temperature was about 85 degrees, but I encountered far less bugs and didn't eat any tonight. I need to get a waterbottle cage to keep some water with me. I will try a different route tomorrow to see if I can bring my average speed up.

Tour de Farce

Back in July I went and watched my friend Matt participate in the Spudman. The Spudman is the local triathalon considered "Olympic distance" consisting of 1.5 km (0.93 mi) run, 40 km (24.8 mi) bike, and a 10 km (6.2 mi) run. Also known as "international distance", "standard course", or "short course". Watching Matt and the other athletes made me think that if I really wanted to, I could do the Spudman. Heck, I played sports in high school and still played basketball during the winter. Sure, I have gained some weight since high school (40 lbs.) and my main form of exercise is mowing my lawn. Not to mention that the last time I swam 1 mile was for the swim check at Camp Bradley when I was 13 years old. I rode a bike alot on my mission, but that has been over 10 years ago now. The main thing that I am worried about is the bike portion. Most everyone that partcipates in the event rides a road bike or a tri bike....I don't have any bike.
A week after the Spudman, Andrea and I had gone down to Utah for our anniversary and we stayed with her Uncle John and Aunt Leslie. John use to ride alot and has a road bike hanging in his garage. In visiting with them we were talking about some of the rides that he went on and I mentioned that I was thinking about training for the Spudman. I asked if he would be willing to sell his bike. Without hesitation, he said that I could just have it. That is how I got a free bike. Now, this bike needs some work to get it up to riding condition. I have spent $110 on new tubes and tires, handlebar wrap, $27 for new pedals, and $20 for a wireless bike computer. I have a neighbor that has offered to sell me his helmet for $50, but that will have to wait until next month. Andrea's cheap flower helmet will have to do for now.

I have decided to keep a diary of my training to see my progress and to get some tips from anyone out there that has or is training for a triathalon. I think that the swimming part will be the hardest part to train for, so I will focus on biking and running for now and worry about the swim when the Spudman gets closer. The next Spudman is July 31, 2010 and the registration opens on January 4, 2010. With fall upon us, I will not have much time to train until it is time to register. I started riding last night, but it was a short ride and I was testing my new computer. Tonight was my first official ride and here were my stats:

Distance: 3.607 miles
Time: 15:17 minutes
Max Speed: 23.2 mph
Avg. Speed: 14.3 mph
Calories burned: 187.1
Fat Grams burned: 22.2
Weight: 215 lbs.

I went hometeaching tonight, so I didn't start until about 8:30 pm and the sun was just setting. I rode down our street and turned E. on 27th, stayed E. on 100 s road, S. on 150 E. road. I had downshifted and when I upshifted, I lost my chain. I forgot to mention that the bike is a 21 speed, with the shifters on the uptube, so I found out that you have to get the levers just right or they rub on the chain, and if you go too far, it throws the chain off. The chain got stuck between the rear sprocket and the frame, and I had to pull on it pretty hard to get it unstuck. My hands were black with grease, so I walked into the potato field and washed them off with the sprinkler. I decided when I got back to my bike that it was too dark and I had better head back home. I got home and was pretty spent. My legs are pretty sore and I was sweating pretty good. I am so out of shape that I am not sure what my goal should be. I guess that I need to do some research on training to see what I should be shooting for. Keep you posted.

Summer Vacation 2009

I am not the most creative when it comes to making videos. I just like to get the pictures out there in a more entertaining format than just page after page of pictures. We had a great time in Florida, even though we got rained on every day but the day we went to the beach...ironic, I know. Thanks to John and Susan for putting up with us for 8 days. It was so nice after a long day of playing to come back to a home with lots of room for the kids to unwind and to have home cooked meals (thanks to Aunt Susan). We left Sophie at home with Andrea's parents and were grateful to them for keeping her safe. I guess in a couple of years we will need to take her to Disneyland, when she will remember it. Good times were had by all.