Winter.

Winter has arrived to the Front Range. Trails are blanketed with snow. The dirt roads along the western margin of the Great Plains are mucky when the sun warms them and frozen the rest of the day. Adjusting to the more limited riding opportunities of this time of year always provides a bit of a mental challenge.

But this year, I've got a new tool (toy?) to help combat the winter riding blues. A Salsa Mukluk. I built it up with both snow and dirt riding challenges in mind, so it's a bit of a unique setup. But it seems to be working just well for some winter exploration of trails that were previously relegated to the snowshoe realm for me. 

I spent six hours on Saturday pedaling along Peak to Peak Highway checking out all the possible riding areas. No snowmobilers had yet been out on their rather limited trail network, so while options were limited for good snow riding, I still found plenty.

These included a narrow canyon incised into the foothills, some well packed snowshoe trail, and a few roads that are closed to motorized use during the winter months. That created a nice mix of riding on a beautiful afternoon.

But this is not to say that there is no other good winter riding to be had in the area. Yesterday I joined a group of local MTB hammers for a hard training ride (photos from Jeff Kerkove). We rode the same loop as we had a couple weeks ago, linking up 60 miles of mostly dirt roads through the foothills with more than 8k' of climbing. I guess this means the cob webs have been worked out of the legs and that it's time to start thinking about training and racing goals for 2012. Hmm...

I also got everyone hooked on warm, caffeinated chocolate gas station drinks. These are tough to beat in the middle of chilly winter rides!