Old Faithful

Yesterday was the warmest day we have had in Central Oregon in many weeks. I felt compelled to take out the Salsa, my oldest and hardiest and most reliable mountain bike, for an afternoon ride on the local trails. I looked "old school" as I donned my plum-smuggler Castelli riding shorts and a super thin racing jersey, threw a tube and an inflator in my back pocket, and rode out Century Drive towards the new COD Trail. I felt almost naked without my 25lb guide pack and baggy shorts. This feeling, coupled with the fact that the rigid bike is almost 10lbs lighter than my Santa Cruz, gave me such a weightless and unfettered feeling. I made a couple bonus loops and rode longer than I had intended. I didn't notice until I jumped out of the singletrack and onto the road at Phil's Trailhead that I had even forgotten my water bottle.

Mud season

The weather really can't decide which season this really is, or what it wants to do. Today it might not even reach 50 degrees for a high here in Bend. I went for a long, exploratory ride yesterday above Tumalo Falls to see where the snow level was on the Mrazek Trail. I rode up the 500 road to where the singletrack crosses. There were drifts that were about 6' tall that covered the trail. After getting lost a couple times I went back to the 700 road and went down to the next intersection, hiking through a lot of snow. I finally hiked down the Mrazek Trail to where it was more rideable. There are quite a few trees down, and the snow won't be gone from these North-facing hillsides for a while. The rest of the mountain biking trails in the area are in the best shape I have ever seen them.