A baseline for reaching my golf goals

Sunset Golf Course in Longmont - not where I played the
other day, but a nice 9-hole course.

I kept score for the first time last weekend at Ute Creek Golf Course, a beautiful 18-hole municipal course in Longmont. My goal is to score 100 on an 18-hole course (it's easy to get 100 on a 9-hole course - ha!) by the time I'm 40. It's going to require a lot more practice, but now I have a place to improve from.

I scored a 68 on 9 holes. Double that, and I have a lot of work to do to reach my goal. And probably a lot more lessons.

Back to Betasso

I rode at the Betasso Preserve yesterday west of Boulder. I rode just the Canyon Loop trail but unfortunately, as we were afraid the dark clouds nearby were coming our way, we skipped the new Benjamin Trail the first time around. I'll have to try it out next time we go.

Betasso was the first trail I ever rode on a mountain bike. My husband freaked me out that first time ... but I ended up really enjoying it. It was also the first trail I went over my handlebars on, learning the tough lesson that you should never hit the brakes when you are going over a rock. Oops!

Shots from the Trail: A deer and its fawn

I love seeing wildlife while I'm out riding on the trails in Colorado (provided it's not a mountain lion or a bear, neither of which I've ever seen). When I ride in the evening, I tend to see a lot more deer. Tonight I saw a deer and its fawn off of Springbrook trail south in Boulder.

The Great French Fry Challenge: Starting off with basic sweet potato fries

My husband has set upon me a challenge to learn how to make french fries of all shapes and sizes ... regular, crinkle cut, waffle fries, and so on. He's especially interested in the waffle fries, but I decided to start with regular old fries. In particular, I decided to try making sweet potato fries.

Shots from the Trail: Hall Ranch

Just a few photos I took with my cell phone (which is all too often doubling as a camera these days on the trail) when we rode Hall Ranch. This is only a very small sampling of the trail. It was one of those stormy days, so the clouds were pretty cool. Hall Ranch, for those who don't know, is near Lyons, CO, which is at Hwy 36 and 66, and at the gateway to the mountains.

We always ride the switchbacks of the Antelope trail up rather than Bitterbrush, which includes the rock garden. I'm fairly certain at this point that I have the skills technically to tackle at least part of the rock garden, but we just haven't done so yet. We stick with what's comfortable ...

typical view of Antelope - rocky, switchbacky goodness. not much fun on the way down. I still haven't figured out how to effectively navigate tight switchbacks when rolling down a hill.

Shots from the Trail: Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch

Some pictures from my ride on Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch in Boulder County today ... I only made it 2.5 miles up the trail. This trail connects to a number of loops and recently was connected with the newer trail, Picture Rock. One day, I shall go farther. But for now ...

It's the small victories on the trail that really matter

While a frustrated me was riding the Walker Ranch trail last weekend, my husband brought me back to reality after telling me that I could not be too hard on myself – it is a very difficult trail. The start of the trail – going clockwise – is the most difficult technically, and I kept having to walk my bike over obstacles. I felt more like I was hiking with my bike, and not actually biking.

Video: Mountain Biking Walker Ranch in Boulder County

Here's our latest video of a ride last weekend at Walker Ranch open space in Boulder County. The ride - a 7-mile loop with lots of uphill - was much more difficult than I had remembered, but at least we finished it. It's the small things, right? This ride requires you to carry your bike halfway through up a steep set of rocky stairs. You'll see a bit of that in this video, which my husband created.

40 by 40: Nos. 23-24

The next two items on my 40 by 40 list ...

No. 23: Say yes more often.
I am stealing this from a former classmate, who summed up pretty succinctly a new attitude I'm trying to adopt. This isn't a goal with an end-date in mind. It is simply an ongoing effort to get involved, meet new people, and, most importantly, have a lot of fun. Life is simply too short to stay inside and watch TV all the time. Although sometimes, you have to say yes to that too. ;)

Video: Mountain biking Doudy Draw/Springbrook trails near Boulder

The second video of mountain biking created by my husband using a handlebar-mounted camera. This is of a recent ride on the relatively easy Doudy Draw/Springbrook Trails south of Boulder. A little less bumpy than the last one ...

Maui here we come

There's nothing like a new travel book to make it feel like, yes, you really are going to Hawaii. Picked this up today at the bookstore, and now we're getting excited - even though the trip isn't until October.

On another note, this trip will check one more state off my list of trying to visit all 50 states by the time I'm 40.