Shots from the Trail: Picture Rock

Mountain biked Picture Rock Trail this weekend near Lyons, Colorado. I love fall riding!

It was a solo ride, which I needed. It was nice to get out of the house. And one of things I like best about mountain biking is that I have to focus on the biking, and therefore can't focus on anything else. It's a great stress reliever.

Here are a few shots I took with my cell phone during my ride.

Beautiful views!

Getting my biking mojo back post-Bitterbrush

There's something about falling multiple times on one ride that can destroy your confidence on the trail. I ride with the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance Gurlz Ride on Thursdays when I can, and a little over a week ago we did the Bitterbrush side of Hall Ranch. I had thought I was ready for it. I had thought I had the technical skills to do at least part of it. I was able to do much less of it than I expected.

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.

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.

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 ...

Video: Biking Rabbit Mountain trails in Boulder County

We went biking again in Rabbit Mountain open space today in Boulder County (right outside of Lyons). We tried out our new handlebar mount for the "helmet cam." Turned out well - if not a little bumpy. Check out the video my husband made from the recording.

Shots from the Trail: Getting reacquainted with Rabbit Mountain

trailhead

We went mountain biking at Rabbit Mountain open space the other day, and it was as rocky as I remembered. It's not an overly technical trail; generally speaking it's pretty fast-moving. There are not a lot of big obstacles - just a lot of smaller rocks. There are some spots - mostly at the beginning - that require some technical skill.

We usually climb up the trail from the trailhead by the parking lot, and then take the Eagle Wind Trail loop - about 3 miles - and come back down the way we came. Keeping it simple.

We used to ride Rabbit Mountain frequently when we first started mountain biking a couple of years ago. It was our go-to trail after work, because it's the closest trail to Longmont and it was good for beginners. (It's off of Hwy 66, right before Lyons.) I didn't ride the trail last year, so I considered this ride my time to get reacquainted with Rabbit Mountain. It was also a nice reminder that I am not in great shape. A walker kept passing us at the start in the most technical part of the trail. (For the record, we caught up and passed her later.) After we got up to Eagle Wind, we moved much faster! It was fun.

I took a lot more photos of the trail than I expected, but I'm sharing many of them here anyway.

First Ride at Valmont Bike Park: A little sunburn & an "injury," but a lot of fun

Mountain biking is a good sport for me. It pushes me to get past my fears – for example, it has taken me awhile to let myself fly down a hill, which is one of the most fun parts of riding.

I am far from a great mountain biker. But I pride myself on being past beginner status. That was a big step for me.

Trying out the helmet cam on the trail

We took our new helmet cam for a ride on Sunday to try it out mountain biking. My husband has used it a few times already at his shooting matches. The camera is a Contour HD vholdr 1080P.

Tales of a Novice Mountain Biker: Fixing a Flat

You would think that I would have fixed a flat on my own before today, but I haven't. I'd helped my husband do so ... but I had never had a flat while alone. That changed today. I went to get my bike down, and the tire was flat. I was home alone, so I set forth on changing that tire. I wasn't going to let a flat tire keep me from getting out on the trail today.

Shots from the Trail: Greenbelt/High Plains

Some shots from my quick ride south of Boulder today on the Greenbelt and High Plains trails. Not difficult, but a quick, fun ride. Perfect for my current fitness level!

Shots from Doudy/Springbrook Trails in Boulder: A good & easy first ride

I got out today for the first time this season on my mountain bike ... and the trail was much nicer to me than I expected it to be. I did not stay in shape this winter, so it was a surprise when the uphill of the first half of my ride - pretty much par for the course on a Front Range trail - did not kill me. In other words, I was able to make it a fair distance before stopping for a drink of water and to catch my breath.

This trail is not difficult technically, but it is a good time if you're looking for a quick ride after work or an easy ride at the start of the biking season. The latter was me today. I tend to stay away from Doudy Draw/Springbrook trails as they are also popular with hikers, runners and even horses. I was fine with this today, as I wanted to take my time and enjoy being back on my bike again.

40 by 40: Nos. 6-10

It's harder than I thought it would be to come up with 40 things to do before I'm 40. But without further ado ... here are the next five.

No. 6: Write (and publish) a book.
Given I work for a business publisher, business will probably the theme. It will definitely be nonfiction.

No. 7: Visit every state in the U.S.
I've got a good start already. I've been to 29 states. I have plans to visit Hawaii in October for work (followed by a lot of play).

Outside of Hawaii, the other states I most want to visit: Alaska, for obvious reasons; Montana because that's where Glacier National Park is; and the New England states.

Colorado is my favorite state. But Florida is definitely in my top 5. We go there every year. Here are some shots from the last time we visited:

No. 8: Go ziplining
I'm terrified of heights. But for some reason ziplining does not scare me like skydiving scares me. And while I'd love to go ziplining in Costa Rica, I also found a place that does it in Colorado, a little closer to home. Soaring Tree Top Adventure in Durango calls itself the "largest, longest and safest zip line course in the world." And you can only get there on a train. Apparently there is a ziplining company in Salida, as well. I would consider this a big step for me on the "overcoming fear" front.

No. 9: Read every book on Time's 100 Best Novels list.
I was going to go with the BBC list, but this list intrigued me more as all the books were published from 1923 on. And I've read very few of them. I reserve the right to revert back to the BBC list, as I've read many more of those and while it feels like I have a lot of time left before I turn 40, the next 7.5 years will probably go by pretty quickly.

No. 10: Compete in a mountain biking time trial competition.
I have absolutely no idea what this entails. But mountain biking is the first fitness activity I've done in my adult life that I truly enjoy, so I figure competing in the sport would also be fun. I'll update my blog when I learn more or find someone that knows more about mountain bike races.

Some views from the trail:

Crested Butte

Fruita

Boulder

Next up: Nos. 11-15.