February in the Rearview Mirror

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Even without racing at Old Pueblo this year, our February was just crazy busy. Instead of one being race, we were doing something every weekend - cramming a lot of activities into such a short month. It all started with the Super Half Marathon on the first. I raced and Nick supported and heckled. He's very good at heckling - even when I'm having a sub-par race for me.

The next weekend? Tennessee Pass Night Jam - the second race in the Leadville WinterBike series. Of course, we didn't just ride - we also practiced with our skinning gear before the race and then spent a bluebird day at Ski Cooper working on our downhill technique. Nick is getting much better - compared to the first time I went skiing with him. I might not be able to keep up with him soon!

Stopping to watch the racing happening at Ski Cooper


A weekend at home for Valentines Day with a fancy dinner? Yeah right! Not in this family... Instead of flowers and candy, I got a nice three hour mountain bike ride in the canyons of Lake Pueblo State Park. Up and down, up and down - working on reading the trail and some sections of trail I have never ridden. It was sunny and warm and we were able to ride on dry trails. Can't ask for much more then that in the middle of February.
The "Big Line" on Free Ride - that rock just drops away into the bridge... And don't deviate from the line!


And then the snow hit... From record highs to record snowfall. Time to hit the snow with the planks. We went to Monarch Pass to do some baby backcountry skiing. I call it baby backcountry because we were never far from the road or the car - but deep in the trees and deep in the powder. Literally. It was waist deep in places - leading to big grins and lots of fun. Plenty of trees and we earned all our turns. Four short runs with the skinning up between each run. Each time, the routine became easier for the transition between uphill and downhill. And that was just Saturday. On Sunday, we played in bounds at Monarch, staying out of the wind in the trees. Again, Nick is getting better - we were both doing runs he wouldn't have tackled last year. It was bitterly cold, but the fresh snow falling made it all worth it. We were able to find deep powder stashes on almost every run.
Stopping at the top to switch from up hill to down hill mode... Camera fuzzy from the snow falling!



Fresh powder at Monarch? Yes please! Nick coming out of the trees.

Thanks to the snow, the last weekend of February was one for the Fatbikes. Two days, two hard rides in untracked snow. Even fourth in line on Saturday meant having to pedal down hill. And Sunday was just as hard at CMSP - there was no tracking in - just snow. Up on Blackmere it was well over knee deep and made for some hard riding (and some pushing.)



At the junction of Blackmere and Boulder Run - the snow wasn't deep here, but it would get deeper quickly.


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