A Ride In the Woods

With apologies to Bill Bryson's beloved book "A Walk in the Woods" I humbly submit that right up there with a glorious stroll through Mother Nature is the chance to see her creations from the saddle of a mountain bike. I'm fortunate to spend a fair amount of time in the little town of Leadville, Colorado which offers extraordinary scenery as well as an abundance of ways to enjoy it on two wheels.

My wife is not a particular fan of mountain biking finding it sometimes physically and technically overwhelming to ride trails that routinely top elevations over 12,000 feet, grades of 15+ percent and sketchy descents that make you wish you'd brought a parachute.

Leadville hosts numerous challenging events through the summer, including the LT 100 MTB race that sees thousands of riders come to test their mettle riding hither and yon over some spectacular Rocky (emphasis on the rocky) Mountain terrain. This time of year the Leadville trails are still fairly quiet, especially mid-week and I truly love being able to enjoy them while not in a testosterone-induced frenzy. I've often wondered why there are not more organized mountain bike rides rather than races. I enjoy the chance to pit myself against my fellow competitors as much as the next guy (or gal) but slowing down to truly look around and smell the wild roses along the trail remain among my most cherished rides.

Last night I took a sunset ride along parts of the LT100 mountain bike and LT100 running routes but at a far more leisurely pace. For 24 miles I had the trail completely to myself. No cars, no people, just glorious trail leading me - no, pulling me, over the next rise in anticipation of what was around the next bend.

Mind you, to my wife's point, this wasn't the easiest of rides and I had to push, rather than ride, my two wheeled companion up some steep terrain but unlike in a race I made sure to stop and enjoy the views from the overlooks, to take in the contrast of the

green forest canopy against the blue Colorado sky, and take pictures to enjoy when the snows of winter come as I think back on this ride.

For those of you familiar with the Colorado high country you know that late June into July is the height of wildflower season and on last night's ride the sides of the trail were awash in the reds, whites, yellows, blues, and purples of thousands of flowers as far as the eye could see.

The LT100 mountain bike race doesn't happen until early August and sadly by the time those riders roll these same trails the flowers will be long gone. Perhaps that is just as well as who would even notice amidst the constant clamor of "On your left!". Dare to stop for 30 seconds to take a picture and a hundred riders would pass you by. But the images from this and other rides, taken at a far slower pace, are among those I'll cherish for a lifetime.