Riding in the Time of Covid

What's different about riding during a pandemic? Safety rises on the priority list and seeking thrills and adrenaline bumps down.

With that in mind let me introduce the concepts of "over bike" and "under bike."  Simply, the "over bike" will more than easily handle the terrain and conditions you're riding, and on the "under bike" the terrain and conditions are more than the bike is built to handle.

For example, riding a full suspension mountain bike on the pavement is a severe case of over bike while riding a road bike down a technical mountain bike trail is a big time case of under bike.

The over bike tends to be slow and boring and the under bike will be fast and terrifying! 

I like to dip my toe in the waters of slightly under biked - like riding the gravel bike on tight trails, sandy washes, and rocky roads or taking the road bike on graded dirt paths, but in the name of safety I've been pedaling decidedly in the over bike category.

I got my old hard tail together with some comfy touring style handlebars and have been riding a lot of the roads I would normally ride my gravel bike on. The pandemic over bike!

I've also been riding almost entirely on roads, so if I happen to have a mishap I won't need  a gaggle of rescuers to get my broken butt from the trail to the trailhead.

Take me to the river!

The grand Sierra above Big Pine

Looking down on the hamlet of Bishop

The Whites are finally white

Not sure what this structure is. It stands in an area that was once irrigated agricultural land.

I just call it the obelisk.

Looking west towards my home, Wilkerson.

 Flowers are starting to pop!

 The hills above Keoughs. Rugged and wild.

Keeping it safe while keeping my sanity.
Hope you can do the same!

Valley Gravel

I haven't been skiing for a while now. It just hasn't felt right. Most friends understand and respect my decision, some are puzzled. One friend apparently thinks I am being foolish. Sadly, I had to disconnect from him for the time being.

How you recreate these days is a personal choice - one of many we all have to make these days.

Instead of skiing I've been doing easy gravel rides from home here in the Owens Valley. It's been a wonderful way to relax. The weather has provided many moods and spectacular lighting. The roads are quiet. The serenity is soothing.

Just below our house, Collins Road leads out into the valley.

Smooth gravel is so sweet!

Old man Cottonwood Tree

We've had a few brief spells of brilliant sun

I've been enjoying the grey though. Seems apropos. 

I've been drawn to the water too. 

There's a seemingly endless number of great gravel roads!

Grateful for the gravel, my health, my family, and my friends.
Be safe. Be healthy!

East of Hammil Bowl

After finding good snow yesterday, I headed back up to the Mammoth Lakes Basin hoping to find fun skiing in the alpine.

I got an early start and enjoyed the nice light as I crossed Lake Mary.

Coldwater Creek

The rocky crags beneath the rapidly streaming clouds made for a dramatic scene.

As I got a little higher some attractive bowls came into view.

I skinned a ways up this snowfield until I found the north winds had stripped much of the new snow leaving a variety of surfaces. The skiing got better and better as I descended.

Dreamy in here!

Once I dipped below treeline a bit I found myself in another climate. Warm! The snow there was becoming wet and sticky.

Cruising back across Lake Mary the day continued to deliver stunning scenes.

A real beauty of a day!

Gentian Meadow

After an Altadena getaway that included a lot of great gravel riding I was eager to get back on snow. Figured I'd go up to the Mammoth Lakes basin where the coverage was best.

The day started with fog in Bishop, snow flurries during the drive, and low clouds with mild temps at the trailhead.

Skinning up, the sun poked out enough to see the crest above Sky Meadows.

 Looking down to Lake Mary while heading up.

Nicely flocked trees and Duck Pass

With a reported 2" of snow yesterday I was anticipating a "dust on crust" scenario, but was quite pleased to find nice powder skiing on north facing terrain.

Skiing in these glades was good despite low light at the time.

Took a real nice run in here.

It was so good I skinned up for a second run!

Great to be on skis, in the mountains again.

Bishop Creek Recon

Last Tuesday I loaded the car with my light touring gear and headed up Bishop Creek to have a gander at conditions up there.

Table Mountain/Bardini Canyon. Looked thin but perhaps skiable the upper half. The "Rock Crusher" zone to the right looked better actually.

The approach to Bardini Canyon was not in although I did see evidence of old tracks in the left gully.

Uh, well. No touring here! There is a semi-soft road closure at the usual location. There's a barricade and a cable, which was on the ground allowing access. I'm not too sure what the exact status is, but one could certainly drive up much further than this.

The route up into Bishop Bowl was nothing but dust on sagebrush.

No touring here on the road above Aspendell either. Some hardy souls had scratched some turns up into Jawbone Canyon. Their lowest tracks are visible far left.

We need snow here! Looks like we're going into a storm cycle. Keepin' the fingers crossed.

A Day in Elko

I spent one rest day in Elko where I replenished my larder, checked out the Northeastern Nevada Museum, and took a nice leisurely stroll in the downtown area.

I stayed here for four nights. Less than $36/night, clean, quiet & comfortable.  About thirty minutes to skiing.

The Northeastern Nevada Museum is indeed worth a visit. They had a huge gun collection, a small mineral and gem collection....

A giant collection of taxidermy donated by a local casino mogul who hunted all over the world. Interesting, but sad too. This guy was especially cute.

They also have a small but solid collection of Ansel Adams photos.

Downtown Elko has numerous stately old buildings.

 The courthouse.

There's a touch of dilapidation but not a lot.

The citizenry have made a nice effort putting up numerous murals.

Trains are a big part of Elko's history.

There's a nice open space right downtown with parking, interesting sights and local busineses.

I frankly didn't hold a real high opinion of Elko prior to my stay, but I was pleased to find some real character and sense of community while I was there.