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

Video Entertainment

A couple of videos taken this past week in Yellowstone while we were watching the grizzlies and wolves...not gruesome, but there is a dead bison visible.

The first one is the white female wolf trying to pester the grizzly enough to make it leave...did not work.





The second one show the sow grizzly making the large male grizzly chase her...we thought it was to keep him away from the 2 yearlings, but he chased them a few times too.

Devil's Tower and Crazy Horse

Devil's Tower

Yesterday we packed up and left Bozeman.  Thankfully the rain held off until we put the cover over the trailer.  It looks like we are done with the camping portion of the trip.  Weather isn't looking so hot...thunderstorms are popping up all over the West.

We decided to return by a different route than our usual path so we could visit Devil's Tower.  I have to say that I had never heard of it...that evidently makes me "weird."  Our 31st anniversary was spent in Gillette, WY.  We ate dinner at the Prairie Fire Brewery...an okay beer though not a Cold Smoke or Bozone.  It did have outdoor dining that allowed Cooper so a win for the evening. 

Long Horns

Devil's Tower is only an hour away so we arrived before the crowds which was really nice.  Just as we were driving up we noticed a couple of bison and a small herd of long horns...kind of a cool sight right in front of Devil's Tower.  

The Tower became the very first National Monument in 1906.  It is one odd looking area compared to the surrounding landscape.  There are a few theories as to how the Tower was formed.  The one agreed upon idea was that it was formed by an intrusion...or the forced entry of magma into a rock formation.  The outer layer wore away leaving behind the harder rock...the Tower that we now see.  The problem is that people can't seem to agree on exactly how this all occurred.  Like I said it is an odd formation.   

Smoke Ring Scupture by Junkyo Muto

Several Native American Tribes consider the Tower sacred and it has several other names...Bear's Tipi, Grizzly Bear's Lodge, Bear Lodge Butte, Tree Rock.  One Native American story tells of a boy getting chased by a bear.  He prayed to the Great Spirit to save him and the huge rock rose beneath him carrying him up to safety.  The bear tried to climb the rock and left huge claw marks. 

Colonel Dodge documented the first sighting of the rock was in 1875.  Somehow the original translation was mistranslated (of course)...the Indian word for the Tower should have been "Bear Lodge" not "Bad God's" which was changed to Devil's Tower cause it 'fit better'. 

Crazy People

Back side of Tower

I took the 1.3 mile hike around the base of the Tower.  Several climbers were visible on several of the 220 climbing routes...crazy people.  The hike was a nice easy paved trail...about 30 minutes or so with all the picture taking I do.  Bill stayed with Cooper at the visitor center (no dogs on trails in National Parks/Monuments) while I hiked.  

He said that it was interesting watching people jump out of cars, take a quick picture and jump back into the car.  Very few actually walked up the path for a better picture...even fewer completed the trail.  We seem to see that type of activity a good bit when we're in Parks...rushing from one thing/site to another and not spending any time anywhere.

Almost as soon as I finished the hike the clouds started rolling in and we decided to head off towards Crazy Horse.  A totally different 'tourist site' than our usual preference.  There is something compelling about the Crazy Horse Project that intrigues us.  It is certainly an amazing work that must have been a daunting task to have undertaken by Korczak Ziolkowski in 1948. 

The sculpture is so HUGE.  A few figures to ponder: the head is 87 1/2 feet tall, the arm is 263 feet long, the horse's head is 219 feet tall, the base is 641 feet long and 563 feet tall.  

The completed head

The face was completed in 1998 well after the death of Ziolkowski (1982) and millions of tons of rock have been moved.  No where is it written when Crazy Horse will be completed.  We're not sure we'll ever see it finished and cannot imagine someone spending 40+ years doing this knowing he'd never see it completed.  Amazing that all of the work is still being overseen by his wife and children along with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation...and all privately funded.

Marble Model 1/300th scale

 

Yet more crazy people

Long Horns and Bison

Rickety ladder from 1800's

Black tail prairie dog

Cooper watching other "dogs"

After leaving Crazy Horse we drove by Mount Rushmore on our way to Rapid City, SD.  Our plan was to visit the monument the next morning so that the sun would be on the faces, but since it was on our way we did a drive by.  Sad to say we were disappointed.  The sculpture looks so small after seeing Crazy Horse.  We knew that the 4 Presidents would all fit on Crazy Horse's head and hair...according to the Crazy Horse Foundation...but it appeared even smaller.  Just not our thing I suppose.




UPDATE:  8-22-14
Woke to rain/fog so we decided time to bail...no point heading back out to Mt. Rushmore since we would not see it in this weather.  Heading home instead...