I know... for the (admittedly) few of you who check this blog on a regular basis, it has been a bit of a dry spell. Mostly, the reason for this is that it has just been more of the same lately. The rainy spell ended a week ago, and since then, B has found himself waking up alone, because I have been out of the house and on the trails before sane people stir.

Actually, I encounter quite a few otherwise sane people out there at that hour. I have actually started getting up even earlier to avoid them. If I am alert, protein shaked, bike cleat clad, backpack filled with lemony fresh water (lemony to create an illusion of fresh long after fresh has gasped and died) music chosen and earbuds installed, and self-motivational speeches rehearsed and I am ready to pedal by eight o'clock, I am in good shape. I will be off the trails by the time the lifts open at ten. An hour and a half up, and a half hour or a little longer down. If I wait longer, I will find myself meeting downhill bikers, I will be slogging uphill, and they will be barrelling downhill far too fast to be able to stop and pull over for me, and eating up my tail on the way down. Downhill bikes have much more suspension and are made for the rough type of trails keystone has to offer, and can be ridden at much higher speeds than a traditional mountain bike. But they are also difficult to ride uphill, making them less versatile.

But if i start before eight oclock, I seldom see other uphill bikers. I do see lots of squirrels, chipmonks, marmots, and deer. Things that hide when the trails get busy.

B rode up with me last night. In the evening, we wait until after the lifts close, which almost runs us out of daylight. I had already ridden the 2360 feet up in the morning, but if the man offers to ride with you, you take him up on it. It was a good ride, but it was getting pretty dark by the time we got down.

The picture is of a trail called TNT, an overgrown mining road, that offers the fastest descent ridable on a mountain bike. One would be idiotic to take anything faster or more technical without a downhill bike. Yep, been tried. Just picked off the last scab yesterday. Wish someone woulda videotaped it. It was awsome. All the elements that sell- mud, blood, flailing arms and legs, rocks and logs, cheering spectators. Like they say, stupid should hurt.

But biking's not all we do around here. We work, too. After the biking's done, that is. One has to keep one's priorities straight, after all. Last weekend was busy, but it was the last one for a while. But it is mid-August. Summer is going to come to an end one of these times. Fall vacation time is coming up. Every day, b asks me where we are going to go. Every day, I have no idea. Moab for a few days, naturally, but after that... B is reading a guidebook at the moment. I trust him to make a good decision, to be the man with the facts. Bless him. At least one of us will have a plan.

And i am finding myself staring blankly at the computer screen for long periods of time while I accidentally type long lines of whichever letter my fingers happened to stop on. In the middle of summer, i have come down with a cold. Chapped nose, a pile of kleenexes on the bed next to me as I lay here and type. Bed sounds like a wonderful idea right now. love you all. later!