Spring Hikes, and Riding Again

I have not been very active over the last couple of years, and it’s taken its toll on my health. Last summer I found any excuse to not go out and walk, hike, or ride my bike. It was mostly a combination of “it’s hot” and “it’s windy”. But I live in Colorado, even when it’s hot it’s not that bad if you’re moving and can find some shade.

But I’m starting to feel motivated again, and now I’m trying to make up the ground I’ve lost. I’m tracking what I eat again, walking more, and not sitting at home all weekend. As summer approaches I’m hoping to get over the excuses and stay active. I’m motivated by my plan to go to Banff again this fall and do quite a bit of hiking there. It’s a beautiful place and I want to feel good while I’m there.

So I’ve taken advantage of the good weather the last few weekends to get my hiking legs back. I went down to South Valley Park, one of my favorite nearby places, on the first weekend of March and took a short hike. I posted a small photo gallery as well.

The week after that I got up early and headed to the same part of town to hike some of the trails in Deer Creek Park. I meant to head to the top of the trails at Deer Creek, but a there was still a lot of ice in the shaded, steep part of the park and I didn’t have any spikes with me. Instead I explored the connector trail between Deer Creek and South Valley parks, which I’d never hiked before. I posted another small gallery of this hike.

In addition to ice there was plenty of mud on the shaded parts of the trails. Since it just snowed again I’m expecting those conditions to persist for a while, so I’ll probably mostly stick to sunny areas through the spring. I didn’t hike this past weekend. I thought about it, but instead I went for a run.

Besides hiking, I’ve started cycling more. I’ve been out at least once every weekend in March, even when it was windy. As I’ve always found, once I’m riding I feel pretty good, but getting out the door can be a challenge. And I’ve been avoiding riding a lot because it’s harder when I’m out of shape. The 30 and 40 mile rides I liked to take aren’t really a possibility right now, but 20 miles is. And I’m reminding myself that there’s nothing wrong with a quick 10 mile ride, especially compared to no ride.

I’ll try to let you know if I’m managing to keep this up.

Posted on 19 March 2018