Me and Michael Franti after the show. He put on a show that even got my dad "jumpin". 

Hey all.  Sorry for such a delay in putting up an update however the last 4 weeks have definitely been a whirl wind.  I have stopped in no less than 9 states in this time.  Taken 9 commercial flight (of which only about 1/2 were on schedule).  Flown a private aircraft from Lubbock, TX back to Potsdam, NY and in this time I managed to spend only 2 nights (of the last 30) in my own bed.

This trip was both business and pleasure in nature. Naturally Goose was brought as he excels in both areas.  We started in Salt Lake with a few hard days at the Outdoor Retailer trade show.  We lined a bunch of new brands which will start rolling in over the next weeks and months. Quick OR highlight list.

1. Wolverine hosts Michael Franti for a private show at the Depot.
2. Michael Franti pulls Goose on stage and hands him a guitar (see video).
3. BeardBeanie

As far as skiing goes everyone knows Utah is home of the "best snow on earth".  Historically we have been very lucky with our dates in Salt lake.   This year proved again to have Ulr's blessing and opened the skis with 7 feet of snow.  I had just grabbed a new set of Black Diamond Amperages and some Fritchi Diamirs specifically for this mission.

We hit up Alta, Solitude,  Brighton, and our favorite Powder Mountain.  We skied until our legs could turn no more, then did an extra run just to make sure we had not forgotten any turns.  See attached video for a sample of what Utah has to offer.  There is a reason people quit their jobs and move to Utah, it's not the beer (which is improving).  It's all about the POW.  This year the snow was so deep that one of our party had to be rescued by ski patrol after getting stuck in a snow hole that was 7 feet deep.  Ski patrol spent almost 3 hours getting him and "Craig" (a random passerby who foolishly tried to help and consequently got stuck) out of their hole.

After a solid few days in Utah it was time to spit ways.  My dad and brother headed home.  Goose and his daughter Beth were going to stay in SLC and have their fill of face-shots. I was going to go visit my buddy Dave down in Grand Junction right as the San Juan's started going off.

However that's going to get it's own blog and video for next week.

Sasha is always dressed perfectly for the weather so she waits impatiently at the door while I fumble with absurd contraptions like shoelaces and gloves. She has no idea how lucky she is to have a mom that works at Wear On Earth. I, however, never forget how lucky I am to be able to get my hands on the best apparel and equipment.  It allow me to keep pace with Sasha no matter what the weather because I am dressed right. Sasha requires me to venture outdoors every day so the way I see it I might as well enjoy it!

                             New Race Bike

It only took about 2 minutes to carry on with the new tradition I had started a couple of weeks ago when my last bike arrived: to crash my new bike on it's inaugural ride. I went into the ride really believing that the brand new tires would carry though the icy roads. But just when I thought I was in the clear I found myself in the precarious position of uncontrolled human flight. This resulted in a sharp deceleration as my body dragged across the rocks that protruded through the ice.  As if this was not enough to send me back home I continued up to the trails managing to repeat the feat again before heading home to ride the trainer. Winter 1, Mike 0.

With this reality becoming apparent I figure it's time to step back and plan for 2012.  I have a few big goals this year that I have listed here in no specific order.

Goals:
1. Get married to the love of my life in August (where, when or how TBD)
2. Have another strong racing season leading up to my pinnacle event: the Leadville 100
3. Get wearonearth.com off the ground
4. Earn both my commercial and certified flight instructor ratings

Goal 1: It is definitely more challenging than it needs to be because well... weddings are a pain in the *%##.  How is it that it's harder to plan a wedding than it is to race a mountain bike 100 miles at 10,000' to 12,000' elevation?  I am not sure but it is.  As Ned Flanders would probably say, that is a "humdinger".

Oooh pretty golden belt buckle

Goal 2: Is going to be a challenge itself.  To this ends I have hired a coach.  I really like working with a coach as it gives me some accountability.  The coach I am using just left a very high end coaching firm where he was the Leadville 100 expert.  I think with his expertise I should have some realistic expectations about what is necessary to complete the race.  Now the hard decision 9, 12, or 13 hours? These are the cutoff points for the race.  If I make it to 13 hours I'll be pulled off the course. But make it in 12 hours and I'll get a custom sweatshirt with my name and the highly coveted Leadville "belt buckle" as a trophy. Then there is 9 hours which requires an average of 11.1 mph for the whole race. Manage to make it and you get an even bigger, gold belt buckle!  For my first race I am leaning toward that 12 hours mark, but that gold belt buckle would really look good on me.

Goal 3: Well I'm going to leave all the details out here, but our secret plan to take over the world of outdoor goods will be revealed in 2012.  I am very happy with the progress we have made up to this point.  The system works, and the site is getting better every day and hopefully by this point next year I will be writing this blog from my second home in Vail...

Goal 4: Part of my aviation philosophy is "you're either training to get better or you are loosing skills."  So I am going to bite the bullet and appear before an FAA examiner to try to get one of the hardest ratings: certified flight instructor. If you couldn't guess the FAA is kinda strict on who they allow to teach new pilots. It should be fun... yeah, fun.

Well that's it for 2012, I wouldn't want to bite off too much.  Stay tuned to The Earth Goes Round saga to see if I accomplish all (or any) of my goals this year!

To be honest, after about 5minutes of riding I wasn't even thinking "hrmmmm…this is different".  In fact, it felt so natural that it really wasn't a "transition" at all.  This was simply my new bike, nothing more.  But with this bike…ooooh my.  I could roll over just about anything.  I have to try and find things to 'test' what I can and cannot get over.  So far…I haven't found much.

In terms of agility, I did not notice any loss of agility at all.  I have been riding some fairly "tight" single-track with muddy clay soil, so I did notice the stock tires aren't gripping much at all.  I find this to be an acceptable "set-back", because on the dry/sandy wide open double-track, this bike hauls buttocks.  I like a pretty aggressive position, so I enjoyed that I could take out some headset spacers and reverse the stem to get a little lower, and it just feels fast.  With that said, Epic's are supposed to be fast, and I don't think you can really go wrong with the 26" or the 29'er, but based on my impressions, I would most assuredly opt for the 29'er again, and I guess that would be my advice to anyone shopping for a new rig.

Going for the win at NYS Criterium Championships Saranac Lake, NY

Editors Note: Bruce Beauharnois is a teacher out of Plattsburgh, NY.  He also is one of the senior racers on Team Wear On Earth.  This year Bruce had a great 2011 season highlighted by winning the New York State Criterium Championship.  In 2012 Bruce aims to complete the Lake Placid Ironman, in addition to a full season of road racing.  Bruce will be a guest contributor throughout the 2012 season so you can follow along with his adventures.

Expensive Bikes....Inexpensive Car 

Winter had been holding off here in Potsdam with no snow, trails were actually pretty dry until... our new 2012's shipped.  Of course the day they arrive we get our first snow.  Well I wasn't going to let a little snow get between me and all that new shiny carbon fiber.  Even with the snow we had a great ride. What an amazing bike. You don't even notice the bigger wheel except for the fact that everything's going faster! After only 1 ride I realized this 29er thing is definitely the future of MTB.

This also was the first ride since I decided to throw my name in the lottery for the Leadville 100 (Race Across The Sky).  A race in Colorado that meanders between 10,000 and 12,000 ft for 100 miles or so.  Ooh yah and there's a 12 hour cutoff. The cherry on top, it's a week after my wedding (try explaining that to the future Mrs. Klein).

That is going to be the goal of my 2012 season.  Simply make it to the finish of the Leadville 100 course.  Since this is an August race it means I will really have to commit to having a big and long season. This will be very interesting for me as I have never been a "endurance racer". It's going to take a lot of commitment to get through a grueling race like Leadville. To be honest only about half of me believes I can do it, but heck I really like a challenge.

Stay tuned for updates on training, planning, and see all the other stupid ideas i come up with as I venture on the quest to complete the Race Across The Sky. It's going to be a long road to Leadville but with the support of Team Wear On Earth, friends, and family I'm sure we'll get there.

Overall the team had 36 top 10 finishes, 9 podiums, and 2 wins including the New York State Criterium Championships, not bad for a second year shop team with under 10 guys on it huh?  See the goal of this team was to field a pretty strong Cat 3 team and we are getting there, slowly but surly as we have brought a few guys through the ranks into the 3's this past year and hope to bring on a few more.

The nice thing about this team is that it is actually at team, not just a bunch of guys wearing the same jersey.  We race as a team (well, we try too), train together, camp together, go on mini-training camps, stuff our faces full of nutella together, and collectively say how fat we are together.  The guys on the team make racing fun and it is an incredibly supportive bunch, picking each other up when needed or giving that ego check in a supportive way.  Looking back the things I remember the most are the times with these guys, camping in fields in the middle of VT, long long training rides, the drives in the car, panera, and just giving it everything I have for them.  Needless to say I am pretty motivated

for next year and want an equally successful season in terms of fun factor, of course a few more wins wouldn't hurt either.

Early Season Shred from Kyle Dowman on Vimeo.

Arriving back to Jackson from a nice stay back east with the parents, I was eager to witness the snow I had been tracking for the last week from my computer. It wasn't a huge amount of snow but Mother Nature had blessed the Tetons with an ample 30 inches to get this party started. So to end all this anticipation I met up with a few friends and headed to Idaho to get a little hiking in at Grand Targee. I was a super sunny day, which is very uncommon for that area, setting the mood for some early seasons turns.

Enjoy.

Kyle

First on my life is a pair of 22 Designs Axel touring telemark bindings. 22 Designs is a small company based in Driggs, ID that makes some bomb proof bindings. I've been backcountry telemark skiing on non-touring binds for a bit now and it's just way more fun with touring bindings.

Next would be a fat pair of powder skis, something 100mm or more under foot. I'm not too picky about skis - something lightweight by K2 or G3 would be ideal.

In order to survive winter in Wyoming a warm down jacket is essential. It's on my list. Wear On Earth has an assortment that will keep you warm this winter!

Now for a change in season. I would love love love a touring bike. I've been on a few bike tours, including one from Canton, NY to New Hampshire and I semi converted my road bike for the endeavor. It would be sweet to have a strong steel framed touring bike such as a Surly Long Haul Trucker. These are sold at Wear On Earth and are a top of the line touring bike. I have a few bike trips on my bucket list including the West Coast of the US and a thru-bike of New Zealand.

If you're going to bike tour another necessary piece are panniers to hold your things. Wear On Earth sells some awesome ones, check it out!

I have to add some literature to the list. There is a wonderful guide book called A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range. It's awesome and I've been borrowing copies from friends the whole time I have been in Jackson, it's time for my own. It's a sweet book that gives many different climbing and even skiing routes of the peaks in the Tetons.

I'm also a runner and am always needing new shoes. A new pair of Asics running shoes are on my list this Christmas. I ran a marathon once and am planning to start training in January for the Vermont City Marathon in May so new shoes are crucial.

Last on my list (these are always on my list) are some warm wool socks. Wear On Earth sells an assortment of wool socks, including some by Smart Wool - awesome! No winter adventure can happen without some good wool socks.

That's my dream Christmas adventure list. I hope it gave you some good ideas! Enjoy the holidays and get out and play in the snow!

KO

I am your typical guy who has everything, heck I may have more outdoor gear than anyone I have ever met.  Seriously we can't fit a car in our garage. With this in mind I am going to give you the ultimate top 10 gifts for the guy who has everything.

10- Smith Turbo-Fan Goggle (Phenom $199) -  This is my absolute favorite goggle, the small fans in these goggles make sure that your lenses stay clear even through the worst conditions. Once you have experienced the fan nothing else will do.

9- Smartwool Socks (M's Trio $49.95) -  No man can have enough Smartwool socks.  This trio offers 3 sets of casual socks that are perfect for the everyday grind.

8- Specialized Venge(McLaren Edition $18,000) - You can check out my interbike video for a quick review.  This thing is more than just sexy it's as fast as they come.

7- Java Press ($29.95) Truly the best coffee you can get without a fancy espresso machine.  Now you don't have to sacrifice your morning indulgence when in the woods or just at the office. For bonus points add in the Java Grind and grind your beans fresh.

MMM Fancy Coffee

6- Fancy Espresso Machine($2399)

I know, I know I just said how great the Java Press is, but I'm really hoping someone will buy me one for the shop.  Please, you can all use it and I'll clean it and feed it and take care of it....pretty please.

5- Go Pro 2 ($299)  Ready to make professional quality videos of your adventures?  This thing films in full 1080 HD in a untit that is under 1lb.  Just think of all the Epic Fail video's you can make with all of the crashes you could film.  Meet Jeb Corliss and his Go Pro Gridning The Crack

4- Patagonia Lambswool Cardigan ($129) I really can't explain my fascination with cardigans.  I think it ties back to way too much Mr. Rodgers as a child.  Regardless I still love this thing.

3- Polar Bottle ($11.99) Sure it's winter, but I can remember summer and long rides with boiling hot water.  Well no more, the polar bottle insulates your favorite beverage keeping it cold for miles to come.

You thought carbon bikes are cool. Carbon Cubs are cooler.

2- Cub Crafters Carbon Cub

($163,467 w/ standard features) Who doesn't need an airplane that lands and takes off in 200'-300'. Not to mention you can put floats or skis on them....just think of all the great places to go!

1- Ski the Haute Route ($2745 per skiier) I don't know about you but skiing from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland sounds right up my alley.  7 days going hut to hut in the French and Swiss Alps.  Yep this is definitely my number #1.

I am sure this list will give you absolutely no help in your shopping, but heck it was fun to write about.  I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday season.  Check back soon in my next blog I'm going to start planning my ski vacation out west.  Can't wait.

I hope you will stay tuned to hear about the many adventures of KO! Thanks for reading.

Note from the editors: KO rocks. At St Lawrence University she worked for Tim Akers as a blogger for the school.  When WearOnEarth.com launched and began a search for writers who could help promote the WOE lifestyle our thoughts immediately went to KO who in a stroke of amazing timing reached out to us (ok Tim) to see if she could continue to write for SLU.  We are excited to hear her adventures from Jackson.