September rides

[emily_in_nc]

That sounds great, Sky King. Do enjoy!

I don't think I ever posted about our last ride in Dinosaur NM. It was actually a full day of bike-hike-bike-hike-bike. We took our mountain bikes since we knew part of the way was on an unpaved road. We rode down to Josie's cabin at the end of the road, a truly fascinating look back at a homesteader's environment. On the way we stopped to see some amazing petroglyphs. At Josie's Cabin, we parked the bikes and took a short hike into Box Canyon before heading back down the unpaved, then paved road to the visitor's center. There, we again locked the bikes and took a hike on the Fossil Discovery Trail up to the Dinosaur Quarry, where we were astonished to see and touch actual dinosaur bones. SO AMAZING!

Finally, we pedaled back to the campground. I think the ride was only about 22 miles (but on knobby tires felt a lot longer), and the hiking around 3.5 miles total, but we were totally spent. An awesome last day!

If you ever get a chance to go to Dinosaur National Monument, near Jensen, Utah, DO IT. There are other parts of the park in Colorado as well, but we only explored the Utah portion. That's the only part of the park where you can see dinosaur bones, btw. And the cycling is great!

Attachment 18161 Attachment 18162

[north woods gal]

Emily, you are an inspiration for me to get back out west for a visit. I really don't know of anyone that has biked so many spots out there. You could write a book on it. Hmmm?

As for me, 31 miles, today, on the Salsa Warbird 700x35 gravel road bike. 12 miles were gravel and that was the destination. All the paved miles were getting there and back, though riding pavement with this bike is equally satisfying. The gravel was in excellent shape, thanks to recent wet weather, so actually had to work to find spots where I could have a little fun fishtailing and chugging though soft stuff. Guess that makes me a hard core gravel rider. Too easy, so did 4 more miles on my homegrown mountain bike trails on our property when I got home. What's happening to the cautious road bike girl that used to be me?

Heading to Florida for a week for a conference in St. Pete that my husband will attend. Not looking forward to it. Too many darn people for a country girl like me. Not my kind of place at all. Might as well be a different planet. My stress levels are way up there. Might survive if I can find a bike shop and rent a bike, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, you are an inspiration for me to get back out west for a visit. I really don't know of anyone that has biked so many spots out there. You could write a book on it. Hmmm?

Absolutely no interest. Just writing a blog is enough for me -- I can hardly keep up as it is! But thank you; we have been very fortunate to travel to so many different spots and ride in so many gorgeous places!

Your ride sounds great -- you are an animal! After 31 miles, I am quite sure I would have been happy to put up my feet and rest, but not you...tough singletrack!

I have to admit that I love Florida. Not the crazy busy spots, but there are plenty of less developed places that are still beautiful. We spent last winter in Winter Garden and enjoyed the paved bike paths there. We rode as often as we could. We will do the same this year. There are actually some decent hills in Lake County -- I had no idea. The path goes out into less developed areas and is very pretty. On weekdays, there are only a few other retired old farts like us riding, so it doesn't feel like busy, hectic Florida at all.

I think the key to Florida is not to drive. Once our motorhome is parked and all we do is bike and walk, we can enjoy it almost as much as any other place. Good luck surviving your time there!