Playing in the dirt

There are last little bits of snow that stubbornly refuse to melt so the trails have been mostly impassable for bikes.  I've been running on them but the mix of mud, icy snowpack and crusty snow don't make for good biking and it's bad for the trails to ride them when they're muddy.  But yesterday was so warm, no wind, I had to get a ride in so I grumpily hit the dirt roads out east on the plains.  But grumpy soon turned to happy when I remembered that the plains have their charms.

Beautiful views

 

 Haystack Mountain

The other nice thing about the dirt roads is that you can ride and not worry about technical skills.  Was nice to let the brain relax, mind wander and ride, ride, ride.  I pushed up the hills in a harder gear than I normally do for a nice strength workout and did some Fartlek on the flats (sprint for a bit then easy catch your breath then sprint again, whee, fun.).  The sun was warm, the winds were calm and the dirt was dry, inviting and clear of snow.
 
Plus I made a new friend.

I signed up for Xterra Curt Gowdy and Xterra Lory a couple of weeks ago since they had an early bird, package deal reduced price for the 2 of them.  Xterra Curt Gowdy up in Wyoming is 6 months away.  Seems like a lifetime right now but I know it'll be here in a blink of an eye so it's time to get back into a more regular training schedule.  I managed 3 masters workouts, 3 runs and 1 bike ride this past week, not bad for December.  I think it's a good idea to back off the biking as I work on my running which is my big weak spot right now.  I'm a fair weather biker and I don't like the trainer so it'll be all about the run these next couple of months.