Another trip around the sun

In the middle of July each year around here, it's usually hovering around 100 F. This year, it looks as though we'll have a much cooler respite for most of this week. Today, we took advantage of favorable temperatures to hit the trail. I'd been looking for a reason to take Big Sis on a real trail ride, and marking another year for her was a good excuse.

We started things off as any good ride should, tanking up on fuel. You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but this kid can put away the food when she has a mind to do so. Once energized, we were ready to attack the climb that begins the Hildebrand Ranch trail. The weather couldn't have been better, never getting really hot, and the trail conditions were excellent. We had a great time and completed our loop before the rain arrived. Here's to many more years and many more rides together.

Eating lunch at the beginning makes for more efficient food carrying.

Pointing out one of the talkative prairie dogs that populate much of the area.

There's no shame in pushing. Forward progress is cumulative.

Lots of butterflies and other insects were enjoying a variety of blooms.

Champion at the summit of the climb. 

This butterfly seemed to like the taste of sweat and sunscreen.

She was certain that pixies lived along this part of the trail.

Riding a swooping trail through this field made us feel like dolphins in a sea of dried grass.  

More prairie dogs.

This colony had some prime territory. We stayed a while to watch the prairie dogs yip and scurry.

This valley was a prairie dog metropolis, spanning the whole area.

The trail, edging along the hillside was flowing and scenic.

Just as we were about to close the circuit, the clouds started to appear.

A trail crew of high school students had just worked on this section.

Once we got home, a celebratory root beer float was in order.

Horseshoes

Both of the above types afford extra traction for off-road beasts.

367 consecutive days on a bike, and counting...

My bike barn in the gloaming of a late Fall sunset.

This oft neglected blog has once again fallen by the wayside in the face of all of the things that tend to demand attention toward the end of the year. However, I would be remiss not to report that I've crossed over the symbolic milestone of having ridden a bike every consecutive day for more than a year, of this past Tuesday. Counting today, the number stands at 367. It all began with the TSBC Challenge last year.

I have long had bikes as a pivotal element of my life, but had never kept track of a streak of consecutive days ridden. I don't track miles ridden, as that isn't really feasible for me, but none of my rides in the past year could be considered particularly noteworthy. Most were fairly antithetical to being epic, with rides on the majority of days capturing some combination of transportation, research purposes as part of my job, social activities, dog exercise, or family fun. Regardless of purpose, I feel better after every ride than I did before.

During the past year, my bike experiences have included:

• riding nearly every bike I own (causing me to evaluate those that weren't ridden)
• riding some bikes that I do not own, most of which were borrowed from bike sharing programs
• selling or donating several bikes and buying a few, for a net total of fewer bikes at my house than this time last year (seemingly counterintuitive, this is progress toward a goal)
• seeing my younger daughter take her first ride on a balance bike
• watching my older daughter blossom into a mountain biker
• encouraging others around me to enjoy riding bikes, too

My ride on the 365th consecutive day was poorly documented photographically, and included just Scout and myself. However, on the 366th consecutive day, counting myself there were nine human and one canine companions dispersed over eight bikes with five different tire sizes. I like riding alone, but it is also fun to be part of an impromptu bike parade, mostly outfitted with bikes from my household. 

My niece on her new-to-her big kid 24" mountain bike that I was commissioned to refurbish. She's a natural dirt biker.

A handful of cousins stacked up at the starting line for our ride. Note many are still in pajamas, well into mid-afternoon.

My brother Chris rode the Dummy with his five year-old daughter, freeing me up to get some pics. 

On our ride, the popular request was to hit the local dirt tracks. Many circuits by many kids ensured plentiful fun. We are fortunate to have some great dirt trails a short ride from our house. Such is a benefit of life in the suburbs.

20-inch wheels.

26-inch wheels.

24-inch wheels.

16-inch wheels. My six year-old nephew was undaunted with being matched up to a pink girl's bike with basket and fenders. Nobody in our group took more challenging lines down the trail or relished going fast more than he did. 

29-inch wheels; speckled medium-sized paws.

I'll likely continue to count the days that I'm on a bike until, inevitably, I miss one. However, I have several internal and external motivators in place to make it unlikely that I'll miss a day for some time to come. An unanticipated bonus has been that I've remained remarkably healthy this past year, only getting a single cold in October. I don't know if I can attribute the drive to ride every day to keeping healthy, but it probably didn't hurt. 

I plan to enjoy the sun as much as possible, especially during these winter months. Here's to a fun and bike filled 2014 to everyone out there.