Biking

I've made a personal goal to take my bike (still nameless) every Saturday morning and bike a different trail. There are a lot of trails just outside of Pocatello that vary in degree of difficulty and many of them offer spectacular views of the back country of Caribou National Forrest. The few that I've gone on have taken at least three hours to complete and have been pretty difficult. The first of many was last week at Slate Mountain and I've already posted that trip so I'll just give a little bit of the other three that I've done this past week. I also purchased some new pedals for my bike. They are Shimano SPD clip pedals that allows the user to snap the soles of his shoes into the pedal allowing for increased pedaling power due to full range of motion of the leg. It makes climbing hills much, much easier and a lot less tiring. The downside to these pedals though is the difficulty in quickly releasing from the pedal when trying to stabilize oneself from falling, so it makes for some pretty ungraceful crashes with the bike still attached. I've also purchased a cheap hand held digital video camera that I'm testing out to record some of the downhill experiences. It's not the best quality and it's shaky due to the ride but still can be enjoyable.

City Creek
Now this trail isn't found in Caribou National Forrest but is located in the hills just west of my apartment. It's a nice easy little ride that you can do in half an hour and is great for a lunch break or to test out new equipment. The first half of the trail follows a creek up a little "canyon" full of trees and shrubbery. There comes a point in the trail where the rider has three different options to choose from. I've always gone up when I haven't had much time so I've always taken the shortest route. It goes up the hill and plateaus out into a dry, desert type area. It's not very aesthetic looking but there's a part of the trail called "Life Flight" or "911" which is basically a long ditch about 10 feet deep and 15 feet wide. The trail flows through the ditch like a half pipe for bikes and is quite enjoyable. I've recorded a bit of the trail on the camera and also a turf I took around a tight bend. Remember, being clipped into the pedals makes it more difficult to avoid falls like that.

City Creek

Gibson Jack Trail
This trail doesn't start out in the Forrest but it ends up there. It's a moderate-difficult trail that takes the rider up one canyon and then down another. It circumvents Gibson Jack Mountain (later on) and ends up near the beginning of the Slate Mountain trail head. The trail is a single track trail with a slow but moderate incline spanning five miles. At many points the trail can get somewhat steep and also very rocky causing for some tight maneuvering and a little walking instead of riding, but the trail is bikeable. Once you get to where the two canyons meet it's all downhill from there. Its a double track trail on the way down and goes through some forest and grassy plains of the canyon. It's a beautiful and exhilarating ride. I went on this with some friends from class and it took us about three and a half hours to complete the trail. Once the trail was over we rode back along the highway to our vehicles. Luckily most of the ride was downhill. However, at a couple of points along the ride back I got this terrible cramp in the vastus medialis (inner thigh) of my right quadriceps. I had to unclip from my pedals and stick my leg out to the side because I couldn't bend, let along pedal, with it. So i used my left leg to pedal when all of a sudden the left vastus medialis cramped up as well. So here I am coasting down the highway with both legs sticking out to the side because of this cramp. I eventually was able to work both legs out of the cramp and keep going. About ten minutes after that my entire left quad cramped up. I've had cramps before but not to this extent. It was quite painful. I eventually made it back to the jeep to rest.

Unfortunately after the trip I set my camera on top of my jeep while I was putting the bikes up and everything away. Well that lapse of judgment caused me to forget my camera while I drove away with it still on top of the jeep. Needless to say I lost my camera with all of the pictures I took of that trip. The next day I went out and bought a new camera for the next trips.

After the trail we went to a local brewery where they make an awesome pizza and great home brewed root beer (sasparilla). It is better than A&W's root beer. It kinda reminded me of the root beer barrel candies.

Gibson Jack Trail

Gibson Jack Mountain
This trail starts at the same trail head as the previous one and ends up going down the same canyon but instead of circumventing the mountain it goes straight up the mountain. Now this trail happens to be a little more difficult, nay, a lot more difficult than the previous one. In fact much of the uphill is not bikeable. There are times where the trail plateaus out a little bit but then heads right back up. At some points the trail goes up at a 45 degree angle and is very, very rocky. We passed a couple of guys coming down while we were heading up and both of them said that the trail was difficult but ridable. Both lied to us. It was not a biking trail . We ended up pushing our bikes up the majority of the trail and riding and rode a few times on the level parts. Getting to the peak made it all worth it though. The scenery was beautiful and green. We even found snow up at the peak and played in that for a little bit. The trail leading off the mountain eventually ends up in the same canyon as the previous trail I mentioned for another fun time of down hilling. At one point I took another beautiful spill. Parts of the trail is gully like so one wrong move and your tires end up scraping the side and coming out from under you. That's what happened to me. I jumped over this root in the trail and both tires started scraping along the the left wall of the trail. That sent me down (still clipped in) and I went crashing through the brush on my left side. My buddy behind me couldn't help from laughing as he rode behind me and just watched through the dust. He himself took a spill as well while I was riding behind him, not as graceful, but still funny. The video below is at a point just below the peak. It is an amazing view. Even though the majority of the uphill trail was unbikeable, it was still worth pushing the bikes up for these views and also for the downhill ride. This ride took us around four hours to complete.

Snow in June!

The Mountain Peak

The Decent Down

Battle Wounds (out of all the crashes that I've talked about this is what I have to show for it, weak sauce huh)

This is a map of the three trails that I've been on recently that are found in Caribou National Forrest

"More Than a Feeling..."

"I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away

Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)..." (Boston 1976)

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the Boston Celtics on an amazing game six last night over the L.A. Lakers to clench the NBA Champions Title. This NBA Finals series is one that has it's roots back in history. The Celtics-Lakers match up is one of the leagues greatest rivalries. They've met up in the NBA Finals 11 times with Boston holding a 9-2 record. Combined the Celtics and Lakers hold 31 NBA titles in the 62 NBA seasons. It has been 21 years however since the Garden has been able to hang another championship banner from the rafters. Last night brought back sweet memories to long time Celtics fans, a young, unselfish, classy player final took home a ring that he has deserved, and it caps the best team turn around in NBA history. Last season the Celtics won only 24 games and didn't make it to the playoffs; this year they were the best team in the NBA with a 66 win record, played 26 games in the post-season (most played by any NBA team), and annihilated the Lakers by 39 points to seal the title.

Everything went well for Boston last night. Every Celtic that touched the ball played in rhythm and contributed to the best defensive showing in this post season. No one played selfishly, not one. On offense there was great ball movement lead by the young point guard Rajon Rondo. Not only did Rondo execute Boston's offense flawlessly he also played amazing defense having six steals in the game. Going into the half the Lakers had only made 7 field goals but had 9 turnovers (all of them steals).
Kevin Garnett came out and played to a level that represents his nickname, the Big Ticket. He has struggled this series against the Lakers but last night he came out and played his best game ever scoring 26 points, pulling down 14 boards, 3 steals, 4 assists, and 1 blocked shot.
Ray Allen came out on fire. He was aggressive yet calm, confident but unselfish, and went 7-9 from behind the arc. On an aggressive base-line drive for a layup he was "incidentally" gouged in the eye and had to leave for a while but came back and continued to play amazing ball.
Paul Pierce didn't have the game last night that he's had in this series, but that didn't matter. He wasn't selfish with the ball, he trusted his teammates, and made the right plays. Of the big three he had the least amount of points, but lead them to victory with 10 assists and 2 steals. He's played all of his 10 years with Boston and it has paid off for him. At the end of the game he was named as the MVP of the Finals.
I was happy to see Glen "Big Baby" Davis step onto the floor for the first time this series. He's a rookie out of LSU and has played great with Boston during the regular season. Last night he stepped up and showed his potential. He's not tall by any means and Gasol scored on him a couple of times but only because of his height advantage. If Davis were as tall as Gasol he would have shut him down. However, Davis stepped up, put a body on Gasol and never backed down. He kept Gasol from getting an easy layup and made him settle for jump hooks. Look to see Davis getting more playing time next season.
Now what to say about Kobe? Kobe came out and started off hitting 3 3-pointers in the first quarter, but from there it was all down hill for him. James Posey played Kobe better than anyone I have seen play him before. He bodied him up, wasn't taken by Kobe's fakes, and made Kobe settle for fade aways that he couldn't hit. Kobe rarely drove in to the paint last night, and that hurt his team. When Kobe doesn't show up there's not much hope for the rest of the Lakers.

Better than watching Boston win was seeing the Lakers lose, no, squashed! I have never been a fan of the Lakers smug coach Phil Jackson (even when he was with the Bulls I haven't like him) and the smugness of the players. The Lakers of old were a respectable, classy team but the Lakers of the new millennium are not even close to the caliber of the past. That and the fact that they beat the Jazz in the second round made me want Boston to win even more.

With five minutes left in the game everyone knew that this series was over. The entire crowed started singing in unison "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye!" Utah has been named by the NBA players as the loudest arena to play in but last night the Garden rivaled if not topped the fan level seen at Utah. They knew the title was coming back to their town and have been waiting for it for 21 years. The post game celebration was the most emotional celebration I have seen in any championship game. To these players it wasn't just another title, it was The Title. It was holding true to that tradition that the Garden holds. It was showing a league what a team can happen when some of the best players in the game sacrifice personal glory for the better of the team. It was questioned whether Paul Pierce could play well with Garnett and Allen and vice versa. All three would have to take cut in minutes, touches, and much more to make it happen. It did happen and Boston came together to prove that they are the best team in this league and that defense is the key to victory. The celebration was full of tears shed for joy, embraces between coach and players, and the coach's Gatorade shower. Watching it you could feel how much this run meant to these players. Congratulations Boston!

The Title returns to the Garden

The coveted trophy

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce and coach "Doc" Rivers

Pierce and Rivers

Garnett, Pierce, and Rivers

Glen "Big Baby" Davis (He kind of reminds me of Baby Huey)

Kevin Garnett and Bill Russel

Lengua

So on Friday we had a suturing lab where we learned different techniques in suturing and also got to practice these skills. Who would've thought there were different ways to sew someones wound up? I would've have until this year. We practice five different styles: interrupted (you standard stitch), running (nice for long, straight lacerations), horizontal mattress (good for bringing edges of larger wounds together while relieving tension, helps with the scar), vertical mattress (also for tension), and subcutaneous stitch (good for deep wounds and hiding the stitch).
Now the question arises, what does one get to practice on? You had to have tissue with a laceration in it to provide practice but what person in their right mind will allow you to cut them and then sew them back up? The answer to that is no one! So instead we ended up using cow tongues. Although it's not exactly like human skin it still gives good practice. Below are pictures for you visual enjoyment. Later on we fried up the tongues and made tacos out of them....yum!

Slate Mountain

This past Saturday I took the morning off to head out of Pocatello and do a little biking. I was referred to a trail located in Caribou National Forest by a classmate. The trail overall was about eight miles long and it takes you up the mountain then along it's side while weaving along the contour. The ride is one of the more challenging one's I've been on in a while (of course I haven't gone out much) and it took me around three hours or so to complete.
The beginning of the trail is the initial ascent up the mountain. This was one of the hardest parts. The trail is single track (narrow) and a little deep to the surroundings. What this means is that my pedals kept hitting the ground while trying to ride. Because of the ascent and this problem pedaling I ended up walking my bike up this initial part (this also means that I was out of shape to pedal my butt up the mountain). Once I got to the top though it was a beautiful ride.
The trail continues along the contour of the mountain and there are times when it's open and times when you're riding through thick vegetation. Vegetation covers the trail for the most part (wildflowers grow along side the trail and hang over it) but when you get into the wooded area it becomes a little more difficult to navigate because tree branches crowd the trail. There are times where you just duck you head and let your helmet plow you through.
The scenery is just amazing. It's a desert mountain top in most areas but at this time of the year it's still a little green. At most points you're surrounded by mountains and blue sky. Eventually the city comes into view but it's not as disappointing as you would think. Pocatello isn't that bad when looking down on it from the top of the hills.

Starting Point

Going Up

This shows the typical ride. If you look in the back you can see how the trails comes around the mountain and dives back in.


If you look closely there's a bird of prey up there (hawk of eagle)

Coming Down

Taken from Google Earth. Over all the trail was about eight miles with a four mile ride back to my starting point along the highway. I started out at an elevation of 5140 ft and reached a height of 6200 ft at one time. It took around 3 - 3 1/2 hrs.

Comic Relief

So the other day I was really bored and went to the website bored.com. I started going through some of the comic strips they had up and found a few that I liked. The majority of the ones that I liked I could relate to something in my life, my family/friends life, or my profession. I'm posting a few of my favorites here. All of these were taken from the website bored.com.

Contrary to popular belief the flu vaccine does not cause the flu! There are many different viruses strains that cause the flu and the current year vaccine is based on which strain is considered to be the most likely one coming from Asia. If you get the vaccine you still can get the flu from the other strains. Also, it's possible you got infected with the virus before you got the vaccine. Just a little FYI for everyone.

This is for a classmate of mine.

Come on now....this is just funny

Especially if you crash into their building...ALEX!

This was me on my week off in May. I had to go get some compost from the city to fill in my dad's yard

Hannah VanBibber
(O.K. maybe not Hannah but if Daniel ever were to be a dentist rather than doctor than this is what he'd be like.)

Me first time changing my nephew
(I also considered using full hospital PPE: gloves, gown, mask, hat, boots, biohazard bags, etc)

This is what school feels like sometimes

This one just speaks for itself...who wouldn't want a little more elbow room anywhere?

Sometimes this is how I feel during tests

This reminds of my father and step-mother

I really don't understand why we pay for insurance every month to only be told "not covered". Give me my money back then.

This is for Ronnie

June Update

So here is my monthly update for all. It's now June 3rd and I have only two months left of my didactic year at ISU in the Physician Assistant program. These past semesters have been different than any other semester that I'm used to in a school setting. Staying in one classroom eight hours a day, fives days a week with the exact same people has its ups and downs. The only down to it is that you don't get that "meet new people" experience every semester. However, that's an upside as well. Because of the way the schedule is set up we get to know each other for much longer than just a semester. There have been many new friendships made. Another good thing about our class is that every day at lunch many of us go over to the gym for a couple games of basketball. Most of the time we have enough to play five on five, and sometimes even more. The court becomes a little packed when we're playing six on five or six on six. However, that hour lunch is sacred to us because of the break from class. Once a lecturer starts to impose on that hour or even go over the time the majority of us start to get antsy and tune out.
Last week we had the week off of school and I went down to Ogden. I took my Wii down and got the new Wii Fit game and balance board. That was a big hit with the fam and we spent many a night battleing who could get the highest score on the ski jump, marble game, and soccer ball game. Currently the records are as stands: Marble Game - Janice 1st place with 122 points, Soccer Ball - Tyler 1st place 288 points, and Ski Jump - Tyler 1st place 364 meters (Chad use to hold the first place record at 358 meters but that is in the past....sorry Chad)I've been progressing a lot in my internship since January. The MD and PA there have let me see my own patients for a couple of months now (granted they will always see the pt before he/she leaves to ensure that I'm doing and discussing the proper things with the pt). The psychiatrist and PA that I've been working with are really great and they are always willing to answer my questions or teach me a little pearl here and there. Yesterday the MD asked me if I were interested in a career in psychiatry. Lately she's been pushing me to really consider psych. I don't know if that is because there is a need for it or I would do well in it. I don't know how interested in psych I would be for a career. I'm more into ER medicine and possibly family medicine but if coming out of clinicals I could get an instant job in psych that would pay off my student loans I would do that in a heartbeat. That might mean a couple extra years in Pocatello but I would get rid of loans faster.
I was called as the ward clerk a few weeks ago but haven't been set apart yet because I haven't been around to be set apart. Ok, so I don't know exactly what it is I'm supposed to do yet but that's what the church website is for. I hear there are some instructional videos that I can look at to kind of give me an idea. If not, I'll learn over time.
So while down in Utah I lost my driver's license and student ID card (they fell out of my wallet). I originally thought that they fell out while mountain biking around Snow Basin but I just got a call from my renter and someone found them and mailed them to my house in Ogden. So lucky for me I don't have to get a license here in Idaho. Here's what I would have had to go through if I did need to get an Idaho license: Have Utah's DMV fax Idaho my driving record, original birth certificate, proof that I live in Idaho, photo ID, and then take the Idaho written exam. It's been ten years since I've taken a written driving exam and I'd probably bomb it miserably. Getting a duplicate in Utah would be almost as difficult just without the exam but an extra drive to Utah at $4 a gallon.
So that's a little of what's going on right now. Stay tuned for updates....