Late fall biking
I've decided to try to ride a bike for exercise more in 2025. Run harder, but run less, with more active recovery and low-intensity outings on a bike. At least until June, when I need to start building the running and hiking endurance that I will need in September.
I got a new bike to make this more fun. It's a Rocky Mountain Solo C50 and I bought it from my favorite local bike shop, Drake Cycles, last Saturday. The first thing I did was pedal it from home up Spring Creek Trail to Pineridge Open Space and ride some laps around the pond. It sure beats riding my commuter bike on dirt and gravel. I haven't bought a new bike or any new bike components in 10 years. Electronic shifters feel like magic to me.
A dark blue-green bike with wide drop handlebars leaning on an interpretive sign in a dry valley under and overcast sky.
So far this week I've done two rides from the barn where we keep our horses while Bea has been doing her equestrian stuff. One at sunset and one at sunrise. I've been three miles east of the barn and seven miles north of the barn, following roads on the PLSS section grid.
A dirt road at dusk, headlights of an approaching truck, and orange sunset glow behind the Rocky Mountains.
In the neighborhood of the barn, the ground is completely free of snow and quite dry. Passing trucks raise medium density clouds of dust. There are scattered homes out here, and vehicles going to and fro periodically. There are large construction sites, too, which can mean a wave of large rigs pulling trailers.
A rolling dirt road and brown grassland with snow-dusted mountains in the background.
I've got a lot to learn about this kind of riding. The right tire pressure for road and trail conditions, for example, and how to get in and out of the drops smoothly. How to descend and corner safely, and how to survive washboard surfaces. Dressing, too. I'm riding at a low intensity and don't generate as much heat as I do when I run.
One of my favorite things about riding further east is the panoramic views of the Front Range peaks. I can see Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, Longs Peak, and the Mummy Range, a span of 200 kilometers, from the top of every rise.