Springtime in January

Mountain Bike @ Loch (Saturday). With temps in the mid 60's, it was time to hit the trails. I met up with Volk at the trailhead at Seminary, where dozens of riders assembled in short sleeves and shorts to hit the singletrack. Volk and I once again wore the same jersey, looking like team goofball out on the trails. We headed in with no real game plan, and ended up riding for three hours touring almost every trail that the Seminary Trail offers. I got to see the Loch Raven Dam for the first time since the construction. It is pretty impressive. I digress.

I think I am going to gear up with a 20 tooth cog in the rear. I fear that will put me in spin central on the flats, but I want to see how it would effect my overall ride.

We ended up going to Baja Fresh for some grub and called it a day. I got home and washed the bike then myself....then it was chili time.

Chili. I am getting closer to perfection with my chili skills. This time I used Rogue Smoke Ale as my beer of choice. The name pretty much says it all and the chili actually did have a hint of smokiness to it. Good stuff...can't wait to try it today as we watch the football games.

Hike @ Soldiers Delight (Sunday). Took a nice stroll throughthe western side of Soldiers Delight this afternoon with my main hiking comrade, Cobi Joan. She was a tad confused and I was a little hesitant. I didn't want to stoke her desire to hike so early in the year. She might now come to expect it. For those who don't know, Cobi Joan is a 15 lb Shih Tzu and isn't very adaptable to snowy/cold conditions. She is however an extremely durable, strong pup. We've gone on 10+ mile hikes where I've thrown in the towel and she is just getting warmed up.

Back to our hike. The trail was a little sloppy, but because 75% of the trail is stone-fortified, it wasn't a squishy mudfest. We tallied about three miles.