Good day for a ride!

We did not get up early and run this morning - single digits and below zero wind chill. IT'S.THE.MIDDLE.OF.MARCH and that crud is no longer tolerable!!! I guess we're getting a bit soft as we age - we'll leave that harsh cold stuff to the real hardcores like these folks up in Canada! Kathleen had to work, so after it finally warmed a bit, I headed over to the Santa Fe trail to get some revolutions in on the mountain bike. They started putting up these fancy mile posts a while back that mark off the mileage for the whole Front Range Trail system.
A little change of pace actually was just what the doctor ordered. I have had a little "issue" on and off with some IT band and ankle/foot crabbiness on the left leg. This was the result of a little snowshoe incident in January (involving my clumsiness on 27" long feet!!) and I'm ready for it to be gone. So I am hoping to mix in a few rides this spring to balance out the leg muscles a bit. Kathleen has already been getting some Monday rides in again (and even a few Bricks!).
It was a crisp, beautiful bluebird day with awesome views as always. On the left is Baldy and the right is the familiar Pikes Peak, as seen from the Santa Fe Trail halfway through the Air Force Academy. It was a nice change to be clipping off 4 minute miles - you'll never catch me doing that on foot FOR SURE!
I turned around at the gate for the north boundary of the Academy. This is looking north to Mount Herman in Monument - plenty of great trails up there also, but save those for another day. I have not been on the bike in at least 4 or 5 months, except for a handful of trainer rides indoors this winter. So you don't want to overdo it on that first one - sore butts are no fun!!!

Cool view of Pikes Peak through the barbed wire.

In other words, don't mess around once you go through the gate! Even though you are passing through on a public access trail, you have plenty of reminders that you ARE ON AIR FORCE TURF.
Falcon Stadium, home to your Air Force Falcon football squad. Skirting the ridge line right behind the press boxes on top of the stadium is the prime singletrack Falcon Trail - one of our favorite runs. We love using the Academy grounds and we have a great deal of respect for what happens here. There are plenty of future leaders training on these grounds and we are thankful for their service. It was pretty nice to get out on the bike and have some different activity for the legs today. I was able to get in 20 miles and aside from sore "sit muscles", feel pretty good post ride. Looking forward to a good run tomorrow with the possibility of some unseasonably warm temps again - sweet! Happy Trails!

Shoes - Sidi Dominator (just for AJB in SC!)

PS - Kathleen came home from work and peeled off a quick 5 miler to make up for skipping the morning run - cool!