Smoke!?

Smoky sunset

We're back in our other happy place. Unfortunately, our mountains are obscured by heavy smoke from the Alberta wildfires. On our trip north we hit hazy skies in Percival, Iowa...the halfway point. It is much too early to tolerate the smoke from wildfires. We had figured this year would be somewhat better with the heavy snows over the winter in California. Canada was not on our radar for fire...especially mid-May. 

Hopefully the winds will shift and blow it back to Canada. Fingers crossed! 

Now time to break out Tin Can Allie from her winter slumber. Let's hope we find everything in good working order. Our plan is to head out for some early camping adventures in Utah & Wyoming.

Back-to-Back and It Hits 100+

Field of dame's rocket

Well how about that...back-to-back days with rides over 25 miles. It is the first time I have ever ridden so far on back-to-back days. I'm feeling pretty happy with myself. Over the last 7 days I managed to ride 21.2 miles, 13 miles, 12.2 miles, 30.2 miles and 27.2 miles. I did skip riding 2 days. The total mileage for the last 7 days hit my target of 100 miles...actually it was 103.8 miles. Now if only I had gotten on my bike those 2 skipped days!

Last Friday I rode the Huckleberry Trail from Heritage Park to the 460 underpass towards Virginia Tech. The trail ends at the Blacksburg Library. I usually ride through Tech's campus & pick up a road that will take me towards home. I probably should start taking a different route when Tech's in session. Any ride these days around campus makes one a bit nervous. The college kids are so wrapped up with their phones they walk right out in front of you...never looking to see what may be coming. One of these days something bad is going to happen. I just hope I'm not the one it happens to...

Curious cow along trail

On Wednesday I decided to head off for Huckleberry Trail since it was such a beautiful day. I really enjoy long rides when there are bright blue skies and lots of sunshine. I decided to ride out to Heritage Park from the house & pick up Huckleberry Trail to Christiansburg.  Once I get to the trail I usually ride to the bridge over Peppers Ferry Road. I'll hit 15 miles at the bottom of the foot bridge over the highway & make the turn to head back towards Blacksburg. Depending on my return route home I can hit between 27 to 30 miles for the total ride. Feeling pretty good I meandered my way around town until I hit 30 miles.

Thursday was another spectacular day for a ride. I needed only 23.4 miles to hit 100 miles over the last 7 days. I wasn't too sure that I could ride 23+ miles after Wednesday. I ride almost every day, but usually after a long ride I stick to much shorter & easier rides.  I thought 'what the heck' I really wanted to have a 100-mile week of rides. If I got too tired I could easily cut the ride short and finish off the last few miles in a couple of neighborhoods, but I got caught up in the beauty of the green fields & bright blue skies. I ended up riding the whole trail to the NR Mall.

Lots of wildflowers were blooming along with plenty of those often called 'invasive species'. The Dame's Rocket & Multiflora roses have been everywhere this Spring...terribly difficult to get rid of but still beautiful when in bloom. The blackberry vines are starting to bloom & the honeysuckle smell was heavy in several spots along the trail. I did enjoy listening & watching the birds fly off the fences as I rode along...goldfinches, mockingbirds & thrushes were the most frequent ones. A pair of pileated woodpeckers are always heard in the woods and occasionally I will catch sight of them as they do a flyover. Early this week I spotted a pair of Baltimore Orioles chasing off a mockingbird. I would loved to have been able to get a picture, but one never stops going up a big hill.

Dame's Rocket

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Multiflora rose

Which brings me to a little pine tree along the trail...on the last little hill before crossing Glade Road. I did stop there to take a quick shot since these birds don't fly. Someone likes to decorate the tree from time to time. In November it was decked out with ornaments for Christmas. Now it has tiny bird ornaments. It makes me smile as I ride by it. Thanks to whoever is responsible for bringing some joy to everyone's day!

The bird tree...always makes me smile.

*click pictures to enlarge

Spring Biking in Virginia

Dogwoods along Long Bishop

Dogwood Blooms

Spring in Virginia is a beautiful time of year. The birds are singing, trees are blooming & everything is turning a beautiful shade of green. Over the last 3 weeks one of us has been out riding most days...the other has been out driving around town sorting through the roadside junk. One of us is going to be ready for Utah rides in a few weeks...

Being back on the bike has gone pretty well...the legs have been far better than expected. The bottom has handled almost daily riding pretty well too. If compared to last year's Spring biking season the body has been in far better shape to ride. Not exactly sure what the difference has been, but not complaining about it. Maybe the yoga? That's been the only 'new thing' added this year. The daily 20 to 30 minutes of yoga has been a new experience for me. Enjoying the time spent on the mat & Adriene has been very good introduction to yoga. 

Run from the Neon Lady

17 White-tailed deer

The last few days have been some awesome rides. Sunny & warm enough to ditch the tights & jacket. A few days ago there was a huge herd of white-tailed deer laying down in the shade. Unusual to see that may white-tails hanging out together. They really didn't care for the lady in her bright neon stopping to take their photo. At least they ran away from me...for some reason the single ones always seem to run towards me on the road. Not exactly going to win that battle.

 

Thursday I decided that I may as well ride the Huckleberry Trail. I love this ride! I decided to cut a few miles off my usual 30 miles to keep from overdoing it. Met up with the better half & Bridger for lunch rather than ride all the way to Christiansburg. By the time I got back to the house I had ended up riding 21 miles...looks like I could have done the entire trail. It was a spectacular ride...except around Virginia Tech's campus. I do wish college kids would look before stepping into the road at spots that are not crosswalks...with their ear buds they don't hear or acknowledge my warnings. Yet I'm the 'bad guy'!

Long Bishop

It rained on Friday so no ride. Today the weather cleared and off I headed to do my usual daily ride...we call it Long Bishop-Short Bishop. Roughly 8 miles of country road...Long Bishop can have a few cars pass, but Short Bishop seldom has any cars. I finished off my ride in a couple of neighborhoods with big uphill climbs until I hit my average 12 to 13 miles. 

My 7 day running average for this week stands at 70.7 miles...pretty darn good if I do say so! I'm hoping to reach 100 miles in the next week or two.

Black Cherry

Top of neighborhood hill...looking west

Last Hurrah!

Last run on Southern Drawl

Our last few days of the winter season ended with a BANG! A fresh 10 inches of snow fell on the slopes early on Wednesday. We had it to ourselves for the most part since the powder hounds weren't aware of the amount of snow that had fallen. The early risers would have seen only a dusting on the snow report. Those of us that get to the mountain by 8:00 AM knew it was going to be a good powder day. By the time the lifts started spinning at 9:00 AM there was at least 4-5 inches on the ground & it kept falling. It was awesome!

Thursday was a different story. The lift line was much longer than Wednesday's & another 3 inches of freshly fallen snow certainly added to the fun. Even though the lift lines were longer & the slopes much more crowded we still found a good bit of untracked snow. We decided to skip break time due to the crowded lodge and hit the powder areas that the 'come heres' don't ride or ski. When the legs got too tired we left the mountain and headed to Mountains Walking for our reward...a carnivore pizza & Cind's favorite fruity slushie. 

Our final day of the week was one of those rare bluebird days with little to no wind, bright sunshine & just cold enough to keep us comfortable. After some discussion we decided to end our season on that high note. Once again we made it back to Virginia in 2 days. We know we are nuts, but what else do we have to do? 

It was an earlier exit than we'd originally planned, but our dear friends' daughter was getting married the next weekend. As it turned out maybe we were a bit premature on that decision since the snow started falling & the town ended up with 20 inches early Saturday. I had mentioned to SH that if 20 inches of POW fell we'd not be attending her wedding. We even tried to get her to move her wedding to Chico Hot Springs in Pray, MT. Too bad that didn't work out since the snow has continued to fall and temperatures have remained below freezing. No spring skiing this year! We hate spring skiing...next year we're staying until the end of season. Yeah it will probably be 70 degrees...then we'll bike!

The Pickle & the crazy tracks over cliffs

A few stats of the season:

Cind rode over 44 days, had approximately 500 runs, traveled over 450 miles & 316,173 vertical feet (give or take a few days due to her app's failure to launch on a few days).

Bill rode over 39 days, had approximately 440 runs, traveled over 381 miles & 137,323 vertical feet**(give or take a few days due to his app's failure to launch on a few days).

**his vertical is off due to switching from an app that doesn't record it to one that did later in the season

 
*Click pictures to enlarge

Trip to the Park

We decided to 'celebrate' Daylight Savings Time by heading into Yellowstone National Park for the day. This winter we haven't spent much time in the Park. Just one other visit when the oldest came out in January. That trip was pretty disappointing as far as critter sightings go...only bison, elk & one lonely coyote in the distance as we were leaving Tower Junction. There wasn't even much snow as we drove to Cooke City for lunch. 

Bison Cow walking along road

On this trip we notice a few things have changed since January. First the number of bison that had migrated out of the Park for the winter was incredible. In our 10+ years we had never seen such large numbers travel from the North Entrance in Gardiner, MT along Rt 89. Bison had moved all the way to the cattle guard which prevents them from entering Paradise Valley...at least 16 miles from Gardiner.

Once we got into the Park we knew why so many had left the safety of the Park...deep snow, so deep that the bison left in search of an easier meal. Unfortunately, that leads to the possibility of being shot by hunters as they leave the Park. A record number have been killed in the hunt this season. 

View from new North Entrance Road

The new temporary road which was completed in October after the June flood took out the main road is pretty impressive. The views are more expansive than the road along the Gardner River. It is curvier & steeper than the other road too. Hauling a travel trailer up the incline and around the curves will be an interesting experience for a number of people this summer. Unless something changes we won't be camping in Yellowstone this summer. Our favorite campground's infrastructure was affected by the flood and no date has been set for reopening. Pretty sure we will manage a few day trips over the summer to visit our favorite areas.

A few hardy bison remained in the Park and were walking the yellow line of the road. Very few tracks were in fresh snow as we drove towards Cooke City, MT. Lucky us discovered a badger sitting on top of his freshly dug hole. He didn't seem too worried about the crazy lady sitting on a snowbank taking his picture. A few miles later a bull elk was in the roadside willows trying his best to blend in, but he was discovered too. The Big Horn Sheep were spotted grazing on their hillside once again. It has been a hit or miss experience the last couple of years due to illness taking out a large number of sheep. Nice to see a few once again.

                                  

                                                                     

Not much else was moving through the landscape as we drove to Cooke City for lunch. After our burger & fries we headed back through the Park to see if the badger & elk were still in their spots...they were not. We did see a shadow of a bear in its den...not lucky enough to see it outside the hole. That's just the way things turn out sometimes. 

It was still a beautiful day in the Park

 

Never Enough & Never Tired of Snow

Top of Alpine Lift

Still not tired of riding our boards on fresh powder. Must say that one's rear leg does get tired (aka fatigued) of deep snow, but our brains still want to be out searching for more powder. The beauty of a fresh track of untracked snow is a wonder to behold...the mind races. Which run should be first? The meadow? The trees? We have our favorites...mine is a combo of meadow, then down through the trees and out through a 'natural' half pipe we've nicknamed 'Goose' because it happens to be near Maverick Trail. 

More runs at Eagle, more trees and a gully full of snow rounds out a recent morning of 10 inches of what Bridger Bowl calls "Cold Smoke". Bridger Bowl is the only resort we've come across that gives the water content of fallen snow. The term 'cold smoke' refers to snow that has a water content of less than 5%. The snow is light and fluffy...moves like smoke when you blast through it. 

Off in the trees at Eagle

Monday's snow was so much fun to ride. It was difficult to stop. The snow fell the entire time we were riding, yet another reason it was so hard to quit for the day. Love to ride when the snow is falling around us. Top 5 day for the 2022-23 season!

A tight tree run near Eagle

Time or Past Time

After much debate & laziness we're going to once again try posting our travels and adventures. We've been trying to remember certain dates & places which has been a challenge. Who knows we may even try a few tales from years past since we have thousands & thousands of pictures. 

Currently we're in Bozeman, MT for the winter. The place is beautiful even at -25 and wind gusts of 30+ mph. After 10 years of winters we are still loving the snow...especially a fresh powder day at Bridger Bowl. 

Fresh tracks at Bridger Bowl