Turkey burn ride!

 With all the turkey being consumed at our house the last couple days what better way to burn it off than an outing to the pasture. Was just Lane & I but over on the east side we met up with the Llama & J. R. from Kearney. Beautiful when we arrived but halfway through it got overcast, blustery & the temp dropped considerably, had to increase the intensity to stay warm & finished off with around a 10 mile loop, rode up to Highline, down Zipper to Church Grove then up, down to the Arch then up to the top to bomb down Joe's (niiice!!!) then around the eastend back to the valley, back up Church Grove then over to Susan's Singletrack back to camp. Was a GREAT ride with some GREAT father/son memories made, dusting of snow today, sure sign of things to come.

Young goat going up!

Old goat going down!

Double log hop on Church Grove, dig the retro North Face fleece, circa 1989!

No room for error here kids, this trail NOT for the faint of heart!

A lot of Monkey play at the pasture today!

This lonely porcupine as well as around a hundred turkeys were spotted today along with some bobcat tracks following some turkey tracks in the snow. More pics over at www.paxtonpeleton.blogspot.com  GREAT day of riding out at the pasture, get out there & turn some wheels folks, it's GREEEAT!

Any Day Now

Any day now the trails will be covered in snow and ice.  Today was a beautiful day.  Almost 60 degrees and sunny made today feel like a gift from mother nature.  We were on one of the usual loops when a strange sound could be heard in the distance.  Steve Potter (yes, that Potter, the caretaker of the pasture) was calling to us from across a canyon.  We held up and rode Hornito's and Sweetness before parting ways.  It's always nice to get an opportunity to ride with Steve and Callie (the best trail dog I've ever seen).

Although the weather and riding were great, there were hints of the season to come.  Many of the shaded ponds were starting to show that winter is trying to grab ahold of the land around us.  As I turned another year older this week (happy b-day to you too, Steve), I am reminded that every day on the trail is a gift.  If last year is any indicator, we have about 3-4 more weeks of riding before the snow makes the single track inaccessible until spring.

P.S. For those of you from out of town with family in the area.  The annual Thanksgiving day morning ride is still on.  If you're stuck at the in-laws wishing you were riding, wish no more. Forget that darn televised parade and earn your turkey dinner this year. 

Trail Scouting and Signage Ideas

The "Grand Loop" at Potters continues to develop.  We've almost finished the first section on the south end of the property and are now laying out the northern section.  The difficulty was finding a way up to the ridge that didn't involve substantial hiking.  We stumbled upon another older cow path that has been out of use for some time.  It should be easily climbable by a rider of average fitness.  Once on the ridge, the trail will follow the contour of the land and drop in and out many "finger canyons".  We expect this section of trail to add another 5-6 miles to the perimeter loop. 

Signage has always been a problem at the pasture.  The trails are numerous, plus the critters and elements are always a factor.  Wooden signs always get knocked down when cows rub against them.  In short, it has been almost impossible to maintain adequate signage.  We brainstormed a number of different options and then it hit us - cow ear tags on metal posts! (thanks to Paul and Larry for the idea)  If we cut the posts off at about 4' in height, they will be too low for the cows to scratch on them.  If we used a new numbering and color system identified by ear tags attached to the posts, they will be durable and will easily correspond to a map and difficulty level.