Another Biking Weekend!

This weekend we took a last minute turn and decided to head to Saint George for the first Inter Mountain Cup Mountain Bike race of the year. We were going to go to Moab and ride in the Lance Armstrong Foundation ride at the Skinny Tire Festival but opted to go for fat tire and some play time for Cam with his cousins.It was a beautiful weekend. We got to Keith's house just before 8 on Friday. Saturday morning we went out to a big breakfast and then Cam, Amy and I headed out by bike to the race. Cam has been riding in his bike trailer since he was 2 months old and still loves it. We road the mtn bikes on the road over to the race where we bounced Cam down a dirt road to watch the race. I did not race in this one but had a few friends who did. My friend Erika (from my 24 hrs of Moab team) was racing as a pro for the first time. She kicked butt last year and is excited to finally hit the pro level. She will be starting her altitude training on our simulators this month to take her training to the next level. Here are a couple pictures of us at the race and two shots of Erika racing:
Erika is on the far left of the start line

Here she is completing lap #1 - she took 5th place!
Check out these little guys who raced the kids race earlier - this will be Cam in a few years!
Sunday morning we got up for more biking. A cold front moved in over night and brought chilly temps and a really strong wind. Keith and I bundled up and left early for a mtn bike ride out in the Arizona Strip just south of his house. We had never been on the trail before and now we know why. It was very rocky with a lot of loose rocks. I don't think many people had ever ridden here before. We got in a decent climb and a small downhill run but decided against going any further. At this elevation it was only about 35-40 degrees and very windy. We found our way back to the main gravel road and shot down it to the car. Here is a shot of Keith on this trail - you can see how loose and rocky it is:Later, Keith and Stacey volunteered to watch Camden for us so Amy and I could get out for a ride. It had warmed up some but was still very windy. It was strong enough that it just about pushed Amy over a few times, but she is tough and kept going no matter how many times I offered to turn back. We road out to the Bear Claw Poppy trail right in Saint George. Below are a few shots from the "Three Fingers of Death" One is of me coming down the middle finger - the closest thing to "Down Hill" riding I will do (I stick to the cross-country riding) The shot of Amy has the "3 fingers" behind her. She did great on the mtn bikes even though she prefers to ride the road. She's a natural athlete but also has a natural biking form that most would be envious of. Even in this picture you can see how she keeps her knees in and arms bent. I'm a lucky man - beautiful and a natural biker!!!!