Signs of Spring

The sun is shining and the temps are climbing. Spring has almost sprung in the Grand Valley. Now there is plenty of daylight after work I figured it was time to break out the mountain bike for the first ride of the year. As I packed up my gear early this morning, I made double sure I had everything. Bike, check, shoes, check, helmet, yes, camelback, yup. Good to go. And then I looked at my bike shorts. Eeeek! I was struck with a terrifying thought. My blinding pasty white legs, hidden in ski pants all winter long, would surely burn the corneas of any poor soul who agreed to ride with me. Right there and then, I made the decision to ride alone. I also reasoned that I needed to take my time to get back into the groove having been off the bike for six months. No partner would thank me for standing around waiting while being subject to involuntary lasik eye surgery. So toute seule, I headed out to Kokopelli's trailhead for my 2009 season opener.

Looping through sage brush and pinyon, the trails roll over red rock benches above the Colorado River. The fast, ripping desert single track has a few mild technical sections thrown in which yanked my eyes from the scenery once in a while. The trails were in great shape for early season riding. There were few signs that the desert is waking up to spring yet, but 70 degrees sure makes it feel like it. About the only indicator I could see was the number of others out there with pale glowing limbs, also dusting off the cobwebs and stretching the riding legs. I guess I wasn't alone after all.