Almost Gypsy Soul

If a large number of pictures is an indicator of how much fun a weekend was then no one should attend WYDAHO bike festival at Grand Targhee. ever. never.ever. But I'll let you in on a little secret, I was having too much fun and I failed to remember to take out my camera....except for that ONE time. Horseshoe Canyon Trail System WYDAHO bike festival is a 4 day festival over Labor Day weekend held at Grand Targhee Ski Area in Alta, WY. The festival is a fundraiser for Teton Valley Trails and Pathways, the organization responsible for building and upkeep of the super awesome trails in Teton Valley. The festival has group rides, skills clinics, raffles, music, drinks, food, giveaways, downhilling, tons of trails, shenanigans (keg pull, strider races, hill climbs, huffy toss) and a whole lotta fun! So get out there enjoy the outdoors and have so much fun that you forget to document it!

One of my goals for 2016 was to get more involved in my community. A new friend from spin class had been bugging me about coming to the mountain bike club meetings for a while and I finally caved. And I'm glad that I did. The Sweetwater Mountain Bike Association (SMBA) is a great bunch of guys and a hidden gem of a trail system in Green River, WY. Wilkins Peak was even voted on the 2016 Best Mountain Bike Trails by Singletracks.com. Trail maintenance on Brent and Mike's Each year the club puts on a Trail Days to introduce people to the Wilkins Peak Trail System and mountain biking. The club, along with sponsors, offers a free pancake breakfast, guided rides on the trail system, night ride and raffles/giveaways. This year we were even able to raffle off a brand new Trek mountain bike with the support of Bike & Trike in Rock Springs. The event was attended by approximately 100 people, the most we've ever had. Trek bike raffle winner Logan (L) with President ...

I re-started spin classes a little over 2 years ago with no intention whatsoever to ever go biking. I used it solely as a calorie scorching workout, but then the Mountain Bikers happened. The talked me into getting on a real bike on a real(not so real hard core) mountain biking trail, which was actually a double track and not really a mountain bike trail at all. This summer I really put some miles on the ole' Giant that I bought last year. My first mountain bike and I couldn't be happier with it. So where am I going with all of this? I've learned a lot about myself and about life from mountain biking! Things I never though possible....are. 1. You are more capable than you think Nothing makes you feel stronger and more alive than crushing a drop, a corner, a steep hill that you've never had enough confidence to even try. When you nail it, you nail it and you are on top of the world. Have faith, be confident.....you are capable of great things. 2. Be ...

Switchgrass EPIC mountain bike trail  Sure sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it!? I was presently surprised by an Epic mountain bike trail that can be found just a few miles off of I-70....and on my way to my friend's wedding. And for the record, although there were only 2 of us, when he lived in Wyoming he was part of the mountain bikers so I'm counting it as my trip with the mountain bikers this year for the 2015 goals! Steve liked catching critters...I screamed when I about ran over this one! We met in Wilson the night before, he coming from the east and me from the west. We stayed at the historic Midland Railroad hotel, it was super cute and the food and beer sure hit the spot after traveling all day. Crossing the tracks, Wilson, Kansas Then the next morning we headed out to Wilson Lake to hit the trail. The trail consists of stacked loops for a total of 24 miles. I was so excited to ride 24 miles as that would be the longest ride I'd ever done, but ...

 Well the day has finally arrived, I'm clipped in.....as in my shoes are attached to my pedals....as in I have way more power and way more incidents of falling over. which really happens by the way......TIMBER! Every Tuesday is a group ride. They are really nice and let me ride with them even though I'm way slower than they are, but I'm getting better. There is usually always good food, good conversation and a few adult beverages after the ride. Definitely the best night of the week! Doin' the Joler pose And the serious pose.....well most of us