Weatherman's Draw Mountain Biking

Spent another weekend in Billings biking. This time we decided to ride Weatherman's Draw. This was a very cool and interesting trail. It didn't feel like Montana at all.....it felt more like Vernal, UT or Fruita, CO to be honest. Its close to Bridger, MT with lots of camping and solitude.

This trail had lots to offer including fun singletrack....


(Claire decided to walk this section. Its hard to tell but the trail narrows to less than a foot with a long fall on her left.)

...great views at the top....


...some fun "chunk" to play on....

...and a great pub close by. We found the beer to be cold and the free ribs (on football Sunday's) to be delicious.

There is also lots of old Indian paintings out on the trail on random rock walls. This is really an amazing place and one of my new favorites in Montana. Mix it up with Zimmerman Trail (I, II) in Billings for a perfect weekend.

Lewis and Clark Caverns Halloween 2009

The Caverns have been riding great. A few from Saturday of last week. We had it all to ourselves though we did run into an old friend in the parking lot gearing up. Fun Halloween day.

Biking Zimmerman Trail Billings, MT (Part Deux)

Lewis and Clark Caverns has been packed lately, so we decided to blow town and head on over to Billings. This turned out to be a fantastic idea. We haven't been here since Spring.

We rode Zimmerman Trail Saturday for quite a few hours in between short rain storms. I love this trail....simple as that. I can bike here for hours and never get tired. It has so much fun terrain and you can jump back and forth between single track, chunky rock, and slickrock anytime you want. The place has trails everywhere and you can just rip it as there is almost no climbing. This is one of the most fun trails in Montana period.

We found a cheap hotel within walking distance of downtown last time we were here and stayed again. Its close to the trailhead and allows bikes and dogs in the room. They're also clean, super friendly, and have a great biking breakfast included.

While some say the night life in Billings leaves allot to be desired....I beg to differ. They have a ton of microbreweries all within a few blocks of each other. Carters, Angry Hanks, Yellowstone Valley Brewing, and one or two more. All were full of cool, down to earth people and some even had live music......yea nice.

We really wanted to try out the riding at Weatherman's Draw this time, but I'll be damned if Zimmerman is just too much fun. We did it again Sunday and enjoyed amazing weather.


The road home.....

Mountain Biking Lionshead (Sheep Creek Trail 218)

Last Saturday we headed off to do a nice fall ride up trail 218 in Lionshead just SW of Hebgen Lake. It was a beautiful fall day and the ride turned out to be one of the best I've done in a while.

Its a nice climb...not too bad. Mostly middle ring with some granny spots here and there. The view of Sheep Lake is great and the decent is perfect. It reminds me a bit of Emerald Lake minus any people.

We only ran into a small group of horse riders and a old guy hiking alone (remember this is a beautiful Saturday).

We had a great short conversation with both users and found them to be great company. Its a shame that my favorite form of recreation is getting "kicked" out of this area soon due to wilderness designation.

Cheers to Sheep Creek.....ride it while you can!!!!

Shafthouse Trail 540

We've been riding trail 540 (shafthouse) a bit more this season.

Its a great trail with gorgeous views, fun gnarly rocky sections, and some smooth single track for good measure. You can either shuttle it from just before Fairy Lake making it a mile climb with a 4+ mile decent or do what we usually do and ride it as an in and out from the Ranch which happens to be right at the trailhead.

Its pretty nice to be able to crack a beer, fire-up the BBQ and get a bonfire going at the end of a ride....plus all that driving to the trailhead goes out the door. The Bangtail Divide is just a couple miles away too.

Sorta like heaven really......

Post ride Mexican Train anyone?

Sun Valley Mountain Biking 2009 (and Stanley)

Claire and I spent five days biking in Ketchum, ID and Stanley, ID last week. This was my second time there (last trip) in the summer and Claire's first time in the summer.

Blah...blah...blah....it was a killer trip with perfect weather, great company, good food, and lovely biking.

Mmmm.....liquid ibuprofen.

Redfish Lake is one my favorite spots on earth. We rode around the lake then finished with burgers and beer....killer!!!!


Nothing says Idaho local like a speedo and a mullet.

Spanish Peak's Backpacking

This wasn't no sissy ass backpacking trip.

We ran into bears on the trail, had people sleep in 100% soaked gear from hiking in rain all day, got snowed on, climbed mountain passes, bagged peaks, drank whiskey, laughed, listened, feasted, and gulped from the cup of life.

Yogi was just walking down the trail when we met each other around a corner. Yogi climbed this tree so fast it was nuts. Sorry buddy!!!

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..." R. Frost

The A-Team on the summit of Beacon at 10,224 ft. That's Gallatin Peak(11,015 ft) behind us and Thompson Lake our second nights camping spot at the valley floor.

Way too many flowers for August. Wet summer indeed.