Ummm, I have a confession. I rode some dirt. 5 weeks from my broken ribs and not supposed to hit the dirt until 6 weeks. It was not intentional, at least in the beginning. We were in Flagstaff, AZ for the weekend and I planned to ride the Snowbowl Road to the ski resort. I parked at a gas station a couple of miles before the road I was going to climb so that I could get warmed up on the flats. But on the way I saw a dirt road, and thought I'd explore it. Then there was a trail marker in front of some single track. I thought "I'll just try a few hundred yards and see how it feels". Amazing is how it felt. I was immediately in the trees.
The call of the wild was too strong. The need for solitude, adventure, exploration & quiet trails drew me in so forcefully that I couldn't turn around.
I've been seeking these moments for as long as I can remember. As soon as I could drive, I started exploring the canyons of Salt Lake City. I hiked every single trail in Millcreek Canyon and the majority of the peaks along the Wasatch Front before I graduated from high school. Most of the time I was alone. I still have my map little paper map of Millcreek canyon from 1994 with all the trail names crossed off.
So, as I rode through the trees on the Fort Valley trail system, I took the music out of my ears and just breathed deep. Enjoyed the fact that I was riding on dirt, that I was hearing birds chirping in the wild and that I was breathing cool, fresh air. It has been too long. The trail wasn't amazing. The descent is called Rocky Moto. I walked a lot of it, not because it was technical, but I was just being super conservative until my 6 week mark when my ribs will be "healed". This ride filled my empty wilderness bucket. I finished the ride in the best mood I've been in for...5 weeks! The very end of the trail crosses the Arizona trail and I ran into a group of riders there that took my picture for me-just proof that I made it out there! Hallelujah for mountain bikes and bones that heal!
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| The photo I texted my hubby to break the news that I was riding dirt before I was supposed to. |
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| Solitude in the pine trees |
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| Beginning of Rocky Moto |
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| Junction with the Arizona Trail |
