The rides of March

The seasons around here have a certain familiar rhythm, a certain feel. A lot of that rhythm has to do with the activities you can do each season.

Warm sunny summers are for hiking, biking and kayaking, winters are for skiing. Depending on the year, spring and fall may allow you to do multiple activities. Some years the change from one season to the next comes earlier or later but you generally know the cycle of change is going to come.

But this year it feels like that cycle has been totally disrupted. Normally, March and April are Colorado’s wettest months. In March, with milder temperatures and mountain snowpack at its peak, skiing is the activity of choice. But as I’ve mentioned in the last couple of posts, this year has been bad for snow. Like, historically bad. Like, I grew up here in the 1960s and 70s and I don’t remember a year this bad, bad.

It’s disconcerting, to say the least. But what it has meant is that I’ve been spending a lot of time on the bike riding the local trails. It’s been so mild, my ride schedule has been pretty much like it would be in summer, with only slightly more layers of clothing. In fact, I’ve been riding so much I was starting to feel a little burned out on Salida’s trails and decided to head up to Buena Vista for a change of scenery.

I’ve previously posted about Buena Vista’s trail network here and here but I’ve never posted a video. Seemed like it was high time to change that. As previously mentioned, BV’s trails are generally more technical than the one’s in Salida, involving a different style of riding. Time to brush off the technical skills! While just a short drive up the road, BV’s trails offer an appreciated change of scenery and a great alternative to the familiar trails in Salida.

About that scenery, here are Mount Princeton…