Victoria Lake

I managed to cut away from work for a while to do a nice little 11 mile loop at Victoria Lake. It was pretty hard. Lots and lots of climbing.

There is a new loop that was added in November 2011 I haven't ridden. We found it and it is very new but quite fun. Gradual switchback climbs and a few short descents. All fun

Around the 8 mile mark the trail opens up to this little pasture. There are some nice views and a tough climb ahead.

Rapid City is just over that way.

St. Patrick's Day

My wife and I have our anniversary every year on St. Patrick's Day. The only reason why we chose that date is that it worked with our schedule. I suppose it could be partially that I'm 1/986th Irish.

We had the best anniversary ever. Our decision was to be active and do something we've both been wanting to do for years. Angie has however I haven't. What that is... hike Harney Peak.

We hiked it, the whole thing, all the way up and back down. It took us just over 3 hours and there was quite a bit of snow left on the hill. It was a fantastic hike with beautiful scenery.

Storm Mountain

On Thursday I rode the storm mountain trail by Rockerville, SD with a buddy of mine. We had the opportunity to leave work a tad early. We rode the entire trail and rode on the gravel to by-pass the coon hollow section. It's usually pretty damp this time of year.

The dude I rode with is considerably faster than I am so I had to work to keep up. I did really well until we got around to the expert section of the trail at about 7-8 miles in. Here is where I started to lose my legs.

On a different note, I am putting myself on a weight loss plan. I weighed myself Friday and it displayed 203. Usually our scale registers about 5 lbs light so if I go by that it means I'm at 208 which is not acceptable. The plan is to ride in Fruita, CO in about a month and i would really like to drop 10 lbs by then. We're leaving April 19th after work so that's exactly 4 weeks away. If I can drop 2 lbs a week I should hit somewhere between 195-200... Then if I can keep on track I should hit 185-190 by mid-May.

It's on like donkey kong... Here is a disclaimer. If I happen to hit 195 and am completely ripped I will probably not lose much more weight. I'm pretty sure I have more to lose than that though.

I eat relatively well with the occasional beverage here and there. My activity remains fairly consistent with crossfitting 2-3 times a week and a couple bike rides. Most of that will stay the same with the exception of upping the biking.

I'm going to put a weight column over on the right.

Friday, March 16 - 208# (evening weigh-in)

Weather

The weather definitely took a trip into the 60s today. I rode the Fargo and left at a decent time yet still ended up to work 20 minutes late. Apparently it's mostly uphill going to work. My choice attire was a little off wearing a base layer, light fleece and then a wind shell. I was sweating far too early. I made it to work in just about 40 minutes for almost 9 miles.

Lunch time had me jump back on the Fargo for a couple block ride to CrossFit. I was a little worried after the workout that my ride home was going to be very difficult. It wasn't.

Coming home I decided to jump up on the gravel road that trails along the South side of M-hill to get some gravel time in. It's only about a half to 3/4 miles in length but a fun little section to get off the bike path. Once that was complete I took to the bike path as far as I could go. When highway 44 was reached I decided to take a different route home with what used to be a road. There was a problem that I thought might be there when that road no longer exists. Instead there is a large ravine I had to figure out how to cross. Since I had a Fargo with the tagline "Adventure By Bike" I decided I should blaze a path. I hoisted the bike upon my shoulder and hiked a couple hundred feet, put the bike down and continued on my way.  It was not real adventurous but it was different than my normal commute.

Next time who knows where the path will lead.

Fruita

There is a slim chance I'll be headed to Fruita, CO in a couple months. April actually. We're planning on going right before their fat tire festival.

Does anyone have any tips on places to camp, rides, etc? I've browsed the web to get it's recommendations but if anyone has any personal epxperience I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Happy Friday.