A Bike Ride At Last!

Aaaaaaat laaaaaast! A bike ride day haaaas come alooong....

Starting this weekend, the weather in Jackson Hole suddenly realized it was, you know, almost April, and warmed the hell up. As you'll see in the picture, that doesn't mean all the snow magically disappeared. That stuff's been building since October. But on pavement, it's mostly dry and snow-free.

I had a spare few hours Saturday afternoon, so I decided with the day looking so gorgeous, it was high time Little Red and I took a spin. So we did, dangit.

The trails (and in fact, most of the land in general) in the Bridger-Teton National Forest is still covered in snow and closed for wildlife-related reasons. However, I didn't mind that too much, since I had no idea whether skiing on the weekends would do much for keeping my legs in mountain bike shape. Instead, I took a few laps of the bike paths in and around Jackson. I've written them up before - I went from the Garamon Trail to Highway 22 and out to the Bird on Highway 89 - but after the winter they felt brand new.

Several months outside in the cold hasn't hurt Little Red at all,

thank God, which meant I could keep going without waiting until I had the funds for a spring tune-up.

My poor legs - and more notably, my poor ass - were a little less ready to go. The good news was that I took a few hills that frustrated me pretty good when I first bought Little Red with no need to stop and walk the bike. The bad news was that apparently ski runs aren't the best ever preparation for two hours of the pedaling motion. My lower body in general was less than pleased by the time I packed it in.

At least even the tougher mountain bikers among my friends talk about "getting the legs back" during the summer, so I can be like the cool kids if it comes up.

And I would put up with an awful lot of muscular complaining just to be outside in the sunshine again. Even before the trees get their leaves back and things start blooming, there really aren't too many places a pretty as Jackson Hole. If nothing else, the random reminders that hey - there are Tetons in these here parts - would be reason enough to venture out and get back in summer shape.