Summer’s grip…

I have never worked a job that would allow me to take a “summer vacation.”

First the military, with deployments and training being common in the milder summer months. Then 15 years in a construction related industry; summer being the prime construction season. Now my new occupation…again, busy in the summer.

Well, admittedly it’s my first year into it, but it’s busy so far. I will have to plan farther ahead for time off, that’s for sure.

Anyways, not much bike riding over the last month or so: I’ve had some wildly fluctuating schedules associated with the end of my training, a lot of court dates and the few days that have been free have been blazing hot in the mountains.

Heat is nothing new around here….the common remedy is getting up early, say pre-dawn, and riding in the morning before it gets unbearable. I’ve done this often enough and will start again as my schedule evens out a bit.

Another remedy is night riding. I’ve always wanted to do this, as they say it makes the trails you are so familiar with in the daytime, turn into a whole other world at night! Sounds fun! Only a couple hitches with the night-time riding….first, it’s not something you should do alone; best to go in groups. If you fall and hurt yourself alone out in the mountains during the night, it could be a while before you are found….if you are found. Yikes!

Second, the little cheap lights you attach to bicycle handlebars with velcro tape just won’t cut it out in the back country. They will fall off. The twin AA batteries will die in minutes. They are no-where near bright enough to illuminate the trails. They are not waterproof. They will break if smacked into something.

All bad, and entirely possible, in fact likely, scenarios. So, a high-grade and rather expensive lighting system is a must for night-time trail riding. And a handful of other like-minded individuals to team up with.

Sounds like an adventure. Frog is all over it! I’ll post my progress on this.

For the time being, I’ve been running regularly, keeping the cardio in shape….though different muscle groups are used, I can honestly say that regular cardio exercise improves bicycle riding greatly. Sounds like a no-brainer, but there was a time when I relied soley on bicycle riding for exercise….not a bad thing, but it just was not regular enough.

Over the last year and a half I’ve been running very regularly and the difference is very noticable: I can climb hills that are both steeper and longer without running out of gas, I’ve been able to go on some truly epic-long rides (20 plus miles off road, 30 plus miles on the road): the “adventure” aspect of mountain biking is certainly enhanced by being in good cardio shape.

To me, riding has never been about distance or speed, but having the capability go farther and return in a reasonable amount of time is pretty cool. Something I did not really think of before.

As for fishing….well, again, the backcountry has become an oven. There is still a good amount of water in the creeks and it looks like they will stay flowing through the summer. We have had summers where they have dissappeared under-ground. That’s bad for the trout, though somehow they mysteriously survive! Albiet in fewer numbers, but through the miracle of God’s great planning and provision, it seems they always come back when the creeks start flowing again. What an Awesome Father and Creator!

There was enough snow in the upper elevations to insure flows through the summer this year, but the local flyfisherman (myself included) have a tacit and unspoken agenda of leaving the creeks alone during the hot months. That takes the pressure off the trout and lets them concentrate on surviving the lower water, heat and lower oxygen levels. After the first few rains in the fall and a good stretch of cooler weather, we trickle back up into the mountain streams on exploratory outings: just to count and observe the trout population. Conservation works this way.

In the mean time, I’m planning some visits to the local deep water lake to flyfish for surface feeding trout. I’ll be sneaking up in a canoe at the break of dawn or the early dusk. Might even tie in some camping. This all take a little more planning than just hiking up a canyon, but the peacefulness one can find on a wide open expanse of water at dawn or dusk will be well worth the extra effort, methinks!

Yes, plenty of pictures will be taken!

Happy Independence Day!