Floating the Deschutes

 We had one mission while in Bend --- float the Deschutes.  It was surprisingly warm while we were there, which is perfect river weather.  Off we went to Fred Meyer to buy $7 floaty toys.  Of course, those have to be blown up, but we did it, had a blast and got surprisingly cold.

Running Tumalo Falls

Tom and I took a bit of a last minute trip to Bend, OR and for the first time we did not bring our bikes, but we did bring our trail shoes.  Tumalo Falls is one of our favorite trails as there are waterfalls everywhere.  The largest one is behind Tom.  

I seem to make every sport dangerous.  The bandage is from a mountain bike crash on asphalt, but then on the run I tripped on a rock and hit another rock with the same arm.  Tom, fortunately, had the inspiration to record the tears and blood for posterity.  The accident lead to meeting all kinds of interesting folks in Bend, OR later that day. 

Pedal House and Tie City (Riding in Wyoming Part 2)

 Our Wyoming riding plan was to ride two days at Curt Gowdy State Park and then head off to Steamboat for a ride with friends there.  However, on our second evening in WY we found Dewey (center below) and the Pedal House in Laramie.   Talking to Dewey about Tie City, he convinced us we should not only try it some time, but we should join his shop ride the next morning.

We joined Dewey and his crew for a fantastic ride with great people and we know we just scratched the surface.  We will return to Tie City and the Pedal House (great for getting maps, restaurant recommendations and the rest of your riding needs) soon. 

Riding in Wyoming (Part 1)

Tom and I scheduled a mini-vacation and ran away to Wyoming to escape the heat in Colorado Springs.  Our friends Tom and Megan had recommended Curt Gowdy State park and Tom had read about it being fantastic so off we went.  Above is a view of a canyon we rode through.  We had some hike-a-bike on day one, but overall, we rode hard, on super fun trails. 

Not only was the riding super fantastic, but we drove the scenic route from WY to Steamboat to ride with some friends there.  Along the way we stumbled across snowy mountains and a bike race. 

The Crags

"The Crags" is a fairly famous hike on the west side of Pikes Peak.  For reasons I don't know I had never been.  Karen and Jim decided it was a good friends and family trip for their wedding weekend.  Left Jen and Ben are prepping the kids for the trip.

I can be a bit anti-social, so I ran and explored another trail as well.  All beautiful and would be great on a mountain bike...




I took a self portrait at the top and some panorama photos.  The trail is really beautiful and the views are spectacular.  The first panorama below looks east over the Catamount reservoirs and the second is to the west.

Girls Weekend

 Lucky for me, my friend Karen decided to get married.  So Megan, Jen and I surprised her with a girls weekend getaway in Glenwood springs.  We went for a Maroon Bells hike...

 and a lovely ride on the Scout trail (there was some getting lost to get started, but once we found the trail head all was good).  We mixed this with good food and a trip to the vapor caves.  We had so much fun we want to do it again!