Not wanting to trash either the trails or my bike, amped and desperate for some adventure in all this interesting weather, and possessing the day off work, I came up with a good’un:   ride the road about 40 minutes to Wind Cave, hike, then retire to a local ale haus.   Maad was up for the challenge, his wholly inappropriate all-mountain bike his utensil of (not)choice, though he kept up admirably on the road stretches.

Early afternoon during a lull in the storms.   brought my $5 coat, shell pants, extra shirt, socks and gloves jic

It was touch and go for a while with the weather, but it broke in our favor

The Wind Cave, from Usery Pass Rd.

locking the bikes at the TH.   I left my oldest nastiest helmet and shoes next to the bike rather than haul them up the mtn

2 years since I’ve hiked this

and the trail was seriously scoured from the storm

Its really nice to hike fast without 30lbs of protoplasm strapped to you; before either me or The Knee knew it we were shooting up and down the hard spots, which thanks to the weather was most of it.   If you can keep the cadence, its such an easier more fun trail.   The descent for a brief few minutes made up for not snowboarding.   The sensation of speed and motion on a bike is amazing, but it doesn’t compare to the empowerment of having your legs under you.   I’m so thrilled my knee handled this, i’ve really missed this hike, and I’m going to do this workout again.

clear air made the views exemplary

water trickled constantly over the cave mouth

the little shiny dot out there past Camelback is Cardinals Stadium

Beckie and Alana joined us for chips and beers at Nando’s – a new (unimpressive) Mexican place

The rain at sunset drove us off the patio, and justified the gore-tex gear.   i left it on and took Kila out when the rain slowed at nightfall. Damp soft ground, cool air, and romping offleash are invigorating for Kila.   I have to try to catch it on film before this season is out. The rain had filled the drainage basins, so i cruised one side on the Heckler through off-camber rocks and gravel, and Kila matched my pace from 50 yards across the pond running atop a retention wall.   Water was a foot deep in spots on the RMR golf course path, and climbing the railroad tie staircases was slippery work, almost like riding in Colorado.

tonight Beckie made dinner