Support Valley County Pathways in its quest to build a valley-wide trail system from Cascade to McCall

New "singletrack sidewalk" trail along Heinrich Lane, south of McCall 

Hi all,

On the fourth and final day of Idaho Gives, I'd like to encourage you to support Valley County Pathways, a nonprofit group I've been leading for almost 20 years.  

Our vision is to build a 70-mile, valley-wide trail system from Cascade to McCall and New Meadows, where we could connect to the Weiser River Trail. 

Put another way, our quest is to build a trail system that matches the grandeur of Long Valley.

For this year's Idaho Gives campaign, our goal is $15,000. We've received a pledge from a trail supporter who will match all of our contributions up to $15,000, for a total potential of $30,000. 

Our new video tells our story. 

We are inspired by the Boise River Greenbelt, the Wood River Trail and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. Those long-distance trails are the pride of their communities, and anyone and everyone can enjoy them. 

My feeling is we have 10 years to get a valley-wide trail system in place in Valley County, or we may never get it done. We need to act now! And that takes money! 

I got started with Valley County Pathways in 2004, not long after the first $10M open space measure passed for the Boise Foothills. I was heavily involved in that open space campaign, and I still feel like it's one of the most important things I've done in my life. It was so cool to be part of a broad grass-roots effort that got embraced by the whole Boise community. 

From that experience, I learned that we can shape and enhance our communities and landscapes with new trails, open spaces and wildlife habitat with a LOT of DEDICATION and HARD WORK! 

I've been trying to walk the talk for 30 years. In 1992, I was the founding president of the SW Idaho Mountain Biking Association (SWIMBA), when Ridge to Rivers was just getting started. We all wanted to improve our trail systems. SWIMBA partnered with Boise REI and R2R to build Shane's Trail, Sidewinder, Trail #1 over to Bob's, Redtail Ridge, and Seaman's Gulch trails in the 1990s. 

Erin and Ed Roper ride in the grand opening of trails in McCall, a VCP event. 

At the same time, I was producing new trail guides like Mountain Biking in Boise, Mountain Biking in McCall, and Mountain Biking in Idaho (80 rides statewide).  

So I was a pretty well-traveled trail guy when I started working full-time for Tamarack Resort in government affairs in 2003. I knew there was an abandoned railroad line that ran through the middle of the valley, and I saw the abundance of public land along the western shoreline of Lake Cascade. I read that the Bureau of Reclamation recommended a walking/biking trail around Lake Cascade in a resource management plan, and my eyes just about popped out of my head! 

We started Valley County Pathways at a time when the Rails to Trails movement was taking off big-time nationwide. 

Eleanor Putman speaks at the trail dedication in 2006
on the north end of the Crown Point Trail.  

But it turned out that the old rail line from McCall to Cascade had been abandoned in 1979, pre-dating national legislation that gave railroad companies tax incentives to gift rail lines to nonprofit groups for conversion to recreation trails. The old railroad line in Valley reverted to private ownership in many locations, so that has made our work much more difficult. 

A few landowners, including the Putman Family and the Whiteman Family, have gifted old RR line property to Valley County Pathways, for which we're eternally grateful.

Long story short, since 2004, we have built the bookends of a trail system in Cascade and McCall. Now we're working on bridging the gaps in the middle of the valley. 

Hugh Fulton, right, and Damon Yerkes on the Boulder Creek Trail. 

Currently, we are partnering with Valley County Parks and Recreation to craft a 5-year and 10-year build-out plan for the valley-wide trail system. We know the price tag will exceed $5M.      

I'm super excited about the whole thing. 

There's a ton of state and federal money available right now for trail projects. We need private funds to provide match for projects, provide steady upkeep on our trails, and to assist with trail construction. We also partner with our friends with the Central Idaho Mountain Biking Association, the West Central Mountains Economic Development Council, the McCall Chamber of Commerce, the City of McCall Parks and Recreation Department, the City of Donnelly, and the community of Cascade to stretch our trail dollars as far as possible. 

I don't usually ask people to donate to any particular cause in my blog, but this is a case that's dear to my heart. Please do what you can for Valley County Pathways! 

Thank you! 
- SS 

The North Valley Rail-Trail doubles as a xc ski, snowshoe and snow bike trail. 

Oodles of workout tips to get your body ready for ski season!

A powder day at Brundage Mountain

Hi all, 

It's time to be thinking about getting your body tuned up for ski season! We could be xc skiing or snowshoeing by Thanksgiving, perhaps even sooner, and if Mother Nature delivers enough snow, we could be downhill skiing by then as well! 

I found three excellent posts from REI and Outside online with specific recommendations for ski-conditions exercises that I'll share below. 

You'll need to think about working on the muscles that you use most when skiing -- your quads, glutes, hamstrings, hips and lower back. Plus, I find that my arms and wrists can get sore, early in the season, from using my poles when turning ... so doing some light weights with your arms, hands and wrists will pay dividends. 

The bottom line is that if you do some advance ski conditioning, it will reduce the chance of injury. This becomes more important with age, I can vouch for that!  

Lynette Hayes, a Boise personal fitness trainer and owner of Active & Fit, says, "People always think legs, which is of course important, but don't forget the power you need that comes from your hips and core. Also work in some single leg stuff for strength and balance." 

Side activities like cycling or running that boost your cardio will get your heart rate and lungs pumping, and they also add to leg strength, so that's all good in terms of ski conditioning. 

Hip roll exercise ... courtesy REI

Start with these ski conditioning exercises from REI ... the post has text and video. The exercises are pretty basic, but all doable and not that hard. All of them seem like they'd be really effective in working specific areas of your body. And like many of the exercises described in these routines, you barely need any special workout machines or anything like that ... just you, your workout mat, and a few free weights or kettle bells, and maybe a few props. 

The REI ski workout routine includes hip rolls, working the inner thighs, squats, lunges, lateral ski jumps, core work and more.  

The next two are from Outside.com ... and they're a bit more advanced, but all doable at some level hopefully! 

Here are seven exercise routines from pro big-mountain skier Crystal Wright of Jackson Hole. Again, text and video. Really cool stuff! She covers things like "leg blasters," a combo of lunges and squats, jump lunges and jump squats. And then lateral ski jumps, lower back work, single-leg dead lifts, and finishes off with Jane Fonda leg exercises! 

Lateral ski jump ... courtesy REI

And to finish this out, how about a serious ski workout routine from Lindsey Vonn! This one is called "Killer Workout" with "10 exercises to make you strong, fast and explosive on the hill." Courtesy Outside online.

She covers things like front and side plank, flying like a ski jumper on top of an exercise ball, lying leg rotation, mini-band skate walks, one-legged lateral ski jumps, box jump, squats, hamstring curls with the exercise ball and more. 

I know I feel personally motivated to get ready for this year's ski season. We had such a phenomenal year last year ... really the best ski season for me personally since college! So, I really want to be ready this year! I've been biking and hiking consistently, but need to add ski-specific exercises to hit the slopes "running" or shall we say schussing! Ha!

The Treasure Valley YMCA has a month-long ski conditioning class coming up if you're a member ...

See you on the slopes!
- SS

Try Cycle Oregon for week of challenging, scenic road biking with friends

Happy rider grinding up the hill on Day 1 to Halfway, OR
Photo by Dean Rodgers, courtesy of Cycle Oregon 

Wendy found an unexpected friend in the Blue Mountains 

Leaving Wallowa Lake and heading for Elgin on Day 3 ... cool, beautiful morning. 

Hi all,

I'm happy to say that Wendy and I survived Cycle Oregon last week, a big event with 2,000 fellow road bikers who rode 383 miles and climbed 23,612 vertical feet over six days of riding. Whew!

Passing through a rainbow of balloons at the finish line in Baker, Oregon, last Saturday afternoon, after riding 60 miles from La Grande to Baker on scenic back roads, I felt a major rush of happiness overtake my body, a feeling of accomplishment, and a feeling of freedom -- getting my life back after being engulfed in a pretty intense drill of road-biking boot camp for 7 days in a row. 

The route Cycle Oregon selected this year was absolutely beautiful in NE Oregon. That was a big draw for me since I lived in La Grande as a cub reporter for the Observer in the early '80s, and I used to ride my road bike everywhere in the Grande Ronde Valley in my free time. I even did some long-distance rides from La Grande to Wallowa Lake, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Main Stage in La Grande ... Karaoke night. Kind of a stich! 

We also were motivated to participate in Cycle Oregon because some friends of ours from Portland were signed up, and I thought it would be a cool thing to do in my 60th year. Road biking really helps me burn calories and improve fitness in a way that's superior to mountain biking. And I thought the challenge of doing Cycle Oregon might be appealing to Wendy after her Mom died in late May. It would give her a fitness goal and something positive to do while working through the grieving process. She had 3 months to train! Wendy liked the idea, she took ownership of it, and did fantastic.

Wendy had never ridden 80 miles in a day in her life, until she did Cycle Oregon. She wondered out loud, in a joking way, why she had waited until she was 61 to tackle a big week of road riding! Oh well! 

On Day 2 of Cycle Oregon, we camped at Wallowa Lake State Park, with the Eagle Cap Wilderness towering above us, at the end of a grueling ride, the most challenging day of the whole journey. The Day 2 itinerary motivated us to do big training rides, because we had to ride 78 miles over three mountain passes from Halfway to Wallowa Lake, climbing 6,682 feet along the way. Like we used to say in Minnesota ... OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFTA. That's a big day!

Morning sunlight greets us on the ominous Day 2
Photo by Dean Rodgers, courtesy of Cycle Oregon 

Weeks before we did Cycle Oregon, I'd wake up with a knot in my gut, thinking about whether I was ready for Day 2. And that would motivate me to go do a training ride, perhaps ride Bogus, or do some other bigger ride with at least 4,000 feet of climbing and 60+ miles.

And you know what? Weeks of training paid off. I focused on pacing myself on Day 2; I would enjoy the scenery no matter what. After I crossed the first summit and descended to the Imnaha River for lunch, I felt that I had done a good job conserving energy for the next two summits. But ... an annoying little twinge surfaced in the back of my right leg as I started to climb that afternoon. That was weird. I stopped to stretch that out, and tried to spin easier gears on the climbs so I didn't cramp up or aggravate that weird twinge. That strategy worked.

At the final summit, we had great views of the Wallowas and Hells Canyon, and Cycle Oregon dished up the best snack stop we'd seen yet. They had Gatorade on ice, Diet Coke, Snickers bars, apples,  grapes, peanut butter treats, Goo, and more, and I gobbled all of that down while sitting on a spare lawn chair. I'd already burned over 6,000 calories on the climbs, and I still had 20 miles to go!

Those treats got me to Wallowa Lake State Park. I arrived at 4 p.m., set up camp, and watched for Wendy. She rolled in at 5:30 p.m. She had done it. I was so proud of her! 

Heading to lunch stop in North Powder, with the Elkhorns in the background. Can you see the fresh cheapseal? Boo!
Photo by Dean Rodgers, courtesy of Cycle Oregon

People who are thinking about getting into road biking or trying something like Ride Idaho or Cycle Oregon should be inspired by Wendy's story. If she can do it, anyone can who puts their mind to it. It helps to do long-distance rides with big groups. Your fellow riders motivate you. You might meet a friend along the way. Or someone might pull up behind you and draft; and then lead later on. It's fun to ride in a draft line with people riding at the same relative speed; it's a great way to preserve energy.

Friend Sue Hartford, a Boise nurse, has ridden Cycle Oregon several times. These were her thoughts about the ride this year. "Cycle Oregon was a challenging week of riding with always-fun "after-spots," she says. "Beautiful scenery ending in a cute welcoming town or beautiful park! They set up an amazing city in itself. It was a time to also get reaquainted with old friends and make new ones. Thank you Cycle Oregon once again!" 

Cycle Oregon makes things fun by carrying all of your gear, providing excellent hearty hot meals at breakfast and dinner, and they have a main stage that travels to base camp each day. Live music cranks up at 3:30 p.m., and the beer taps are flowing and the wine bar is open. Some groups bring RVs and extra supplies so they have their own food and party materials to supplement what's provided by Cycle Oregon.

At the finish line in Baker ... happy to be done! 

Cycle Oregon also gives back to the local communities. They have announcements on the main stage each evening at 7:30 p.m., and give the riders a chance to be welcomed by local people and hear about their communities. We even heard from a Nez Perce tribal elder at Wallowa Lake.

After 4 days of riding, we earned a rest day in Pendleton, site of the famous Pendleton Round Up, which was in full swing. We bought tickets to see the rodeo events that day, and had the privilege of watching Native Americans compete in a bareback relay race. That was the most exciting thing we saw all day!

Mostly, however, we enjoyed resting our legs for 24 hours. The annoying little twinge went away in my right leg from the rest. Wendy and I took naps. And in the late afternoon, we had more time to enjoy the beer garden, and had wine with dinner with friends. We had a substantial climb to La Grande the next day, but only 55 miles. We were on the downward side of the hump.

I highly recommend Cycle Oregon, and I also thoroughly enjoyed Ride Idaho, too. Get some friends together and make it a goal! Think of it as a present to you!
- SS

She did it! Yay Wendy Wilson! 

Time to get the road bike ready to ride! Bike events, fun tours coming up this summer!

Paul Hilding climbing to Banner Summit on the LP 200. 

Your truly getting ready to rip downill from Banner Summit to Stanley in the LP 200

Happy riders on the 4 Summit Challenge 

4 Summit Challenge near the top of a steep hill. 

Crossing a bridge across the Clark Fork River in Montana during Ride Idaho. 

Hi all,

My topic this week is about road biking, but before I delve into that, I want to wish all the Race to Robie Creek runners the very best of luck on Saturday as they complete "the toughest half-marathon in the West."

Statesman Outdoors writer Chadd Cripe wrote a nice entry-level piece about trail-running this week that I wanted to share. To me, running on dirt trails in the foothills is so much better than running on the streets of Boise -- you can enjoy the open space reserves as part of your run, see birds and wildlife, enjoy the human scenery, and add punch to your workout by adding hills and vertical gain to the routine.

As a reminder, my hiking and trail-running book, Boise Trail Guide: 90 Hiking and Running Routes Close to Home, offers the only detailed guide to trail-running in the greater Boise area. The routes are all timed out for hiking and running. Start with flat Greenbelt loops and build to easy mountain trails, moderate mountain trails, strenuous mountain trails and epic mountain trails. Pick off the loops one by one and build your endurance over time. Tour the whole Boise Foothills area, and trails close by in the Boise National Forest and the Owyhee Canyonlands. See how many routes you can conquer in one year!

I also wanted to share my trip guides about the Weiser River Trail for VisitIdaho and hiking/fishing/camping at Balanced Rock near Buhl for Southern Idaho Tourism. Both are very worthy destinations. I rode the 83-mile Weiser River Trail on a mountain bike in two days at a fairly leisurely pace.

Now, back to road biking! I've noticed a ton of people out riding their bikes in the foothills, the Greenbelt and the streets of Boise. It's fantastic to live in such a bike-friendly town. I've got the itch to put in some serious miles on my road bike to train for the Lyle Pearson 200 on Saturday, June 4th. This is a 200-mile ride, sponsored by George's Cycles, in which teams of four riders conquer the course in stages from Boise to Idaho City to Lowman, Stanley, Smiley Creek, Galena Summit and then finishing in Ketchum.

I did the ride last year and loved it, so I'm doing it again! It's a good motivator to get in good road riding shape early in the year for other events coming up this summer. Below I'll recommend a couple of road rides from my Boise Road Cycling Guide, the best and only road biking map available in town, to get you in shape. And then I'll list a few clubs that lead group road rides. This is how you can meet new people and find folks who ride at your own pace.

But first, here's a short list of bike events coming up that get me jazzed about road riding:

• Lemhi Valley Century Ride, June 11, 100 miles or 100 kilometers (62 miles), "pick your poison," they say. Great chance to visit Salmon and hang out with great people. Beautiful course in the Lemhi River Valley, where I have written about multiple fish conservation projects for Life on the Range.  
• Bob LeBow Blues Cruise has been canceled, I see on their Facebook page.
• Cascade Four Summits Challenge, July 25. It's 100 miles this year with an out and back along the South Fork of the Salmon River. Will be a gorgeous ride, but it'll be key to train for this one. Lots of verts! 
• Ride Idaho, Aug. 6-13. This super-fun week-long ride starts in Ketchum this year, traces the Arco Desert over to the Teton Valley, climbs over to Jackson Hole, tours the Jackson Hole Valley and then back over Teton Pass to the finish in Idaho Falls. About 340 riders participated last year. I had a blast and felt stronger every day.  
• Bogus Basin Hill Climb, Aug. 15th.

See the full calendar of bike racing events and non-competitive events in SW Idaho here.  

Now, to get your legs in shape, here are some spring road rides that I'd recommend:

• Boise River Greenbelt from Municipal Park to Lucky Peak - 9 miles one-way, 18 miles out and back. About 1 hour travel time. Surface is flat most of the way, with a few short hills here and there. You may have a tailwind going out, but you'll pay for that on the way back. Wind is always a factor. Add the 4-mile climb to Hilltop Summit to add zest to your workout. 
• City to Farm Loop - 16.2 miles; riding time is about 1 hour. Fun tour of the transition zone between the city of Boise and rural ag lands in the outskirts of SW Boise. Start at Five Mile and Overland. Park in the shopping center. Go south on Five Mile, right on Lake Hazel, left on Cloverdale, right on Columbia, left on Eagle, right on Hubbard, right on Locust Grove, right on Lake Hazel, left on Five Mile and return to start. All of the streets out there are 1 mile apart. 
  
• Cartwright Three Summits Loop - 17.7 miles, 1.5 hours. This is a hill-climbers special. You'll climb and descend 1,591 feet along the way. Plus it's close to home. Start at the junction of Bogus Basin Road and Hill Road. Climb Bogus to Cartwright, go left and climb Cartwright over the first little hill, and then a second huge wall of a hill, and then a shorter one to drop into the Dry Creek Valley and the Hidden Springs area. Follow Dry Creek Road to Hidden Springs, go left on Seaman's Gulch Road and climb one more summit before dropping down to Hill Road. Go left and return to the start.  

As for road biking clubs, I'd recommend the following: 

• Community Bicycle Rides - Low-key friendly group that average riders wouldn't feel intimidated about joining. They ride several days a week. Here's their ride calendar. Over time, they crank up the mileage and get you ready for half centuries, full centuries and events like Ride Idaho.
• Lactic Acid Cycling -  Well-organized club with weekly rides for men and women of different abilities. Nice jerseys too! 
• Boise Byrds - Youth cycling development club. If you'd like to get your kids involved in mountain biking or road biking with excellent leadership, sign them up for the Byrds. 
• See more riding clubs and racing clubs on the Southwest Idaho Cycling Association web page.

Before you ride, make sure that your bike is in good running condition. Take a spin around your neighborhood and check to see that your tires are full of air and that your gears and brakes work correctly. If not, correct the situation or take it to a bike shop for a full tune. That's always worth the money in my book to keep the bike running smooth. 

May the eternal tailwinds always be at your back ... 

-SS

Idaho biking events create big incentive for training and fitness; End result is FUN!

Steve's ready to put the hammer down at Banner Summit! 

Jeff Gould was one of our workhorses in the LP 200. He put in 89 miles on Saturday. 

Steve Doud was our chief hill-climber in the LP 200. He's an animal!  

Paul Hilding, left, was not smiling soon after he started as he and Jeff got
buffeted by headwinds and rain between Stanley and Smiley Creek. 

The big climb from Warm Lake to Landmark Summit in the 4 Summit Challenge.

Big pack taking off on the Warm Lake Highway in the 4 Summit Challenge 

Hi all,

I'm flying down the Lowman grade on my Specialized road bike on Idaho 21 at 35-40 mph, my eyes are watering from the wind resistance (even with good sunglasses on), but I'm totally focused on my line around every curve, being careful to retain as much speed as possible.

The 20-mile segment from Mores Creek Summit, above Idaho City, to Lowman was one of three legs that I rode in the Lyle Pearson 200 last Saturday. I practiced the section the week before, so I knew I had to hammer as hard as I could on the downhill to keep my speed up to the maximum possible. Plus, it's a blast to go fast!

This section also featured about 1,000 feet of climbing, but at a pretty moderate grade, so I pushed myself as much as possible before the downhill in hopes of not getting passed and holding up my end of the deal in the LP 200 relay race. And you know what, I didn't get passed!

It was my first year in the LP 200. My friend Paul Hilding put a great team together of 50-something guys who like to ride road bikes -- Paul, Jeff Gould, Steve Doud and me. The LP 200 is a race, but it's pretty much a recreational ride with your team-mates and friends, riding at race pace as much as possible. The main reason you train hard for the event is for personal pride. You feel the pressure to do well in your part of the race for the team! Our team's main goal was to reach Ketchum while the BBQ and beer were still flowing.

Everyone on our team was ready for the big day after three months of training. We ended up finishing 46th out of 70 teams -- not bad for a bunch of 50-something average guys -- and we got to Ketchum at 4:30, when the BBQ was in mid-swing, so we reached our goal. Our team name was Low-X, or Low Expectations. Ha!

In the last two years, I've been doing more road rides as a way to boost my fitness and create an incentive for training and fitness. With every week of training, you will get stronger, you might lose some weight (I burned 3,000-5,000 calories on a lot of my training rides), and when it comes to race day, you know you're ready. Then, you can actually have fun!

We are lucky here in the Treasure Valley because there are a bunch of great biking events during the summer season that can create an incentive for training and fitness. Last year, I trained for the Four Summit Challenge in Cascade in late July. This year, by doing the LP 200 in late May, I'm a full two months ahead of training and fitness, compared to where I was last year. Now I'm ready for any century rides that come up, and I'll be stronger for mountain biking. I'm also signed up for Ride Idaho, a grand tour of N. Idaho this year, in August.

Here's a short list of some fun biking events coming up this summer that you might want to consider. Start out with distances that you feel are doable and work up from there:

• Great Owyhee Ride Against Hunger  - Saturday, June 21. You can sign up to ride a full century, 50 miles or metric century, 62 miles. 
• Bob LeBow Blue Cruise - Saturday, June 27. They've got something for everyone in this event ... Distances: Full century, 62 miles, 35-mile City Tour, 25-mile Lake Lowell Tour, 10-mile Upper Dam Tour, and 3-mile Greenbelt Tour. I rode the Metric Century last year to tune up for the Four Summit Challenge.   
• Four Summit Challenge in Cascade - Saturday, July 25. You can ride the full 4 summit ride (75 miles), 3 summits (60 miles), 2 summits (50 miles), 1 summit (30 miles) or an 8.2-mile family fun ride. Again, something for everyone. I loved doing the Four Summit Challenge last year. Good food and snacks at aid stations. Great BBQ at the finish! Most people camp at Lake Cascade.  
• Ride Idaho - Aug. 15-22. This is a 7-day ride starting and finishing in Coeur d'Alene. Total mileage is 390 miles spread over that time. Think timbered mountains, lakes, beach time, and scenic beauty. My friend Mark Anderson and I are signed up. Can't wait! The week includes a side trip on the Route of the Hiawatha, near Wallace. That's the ride on an old RR grade with multiple trestles and tunnels. It's a hoot! Ride Idaho carries all your gear to each night's camping area and provides all the meals. 
• Cascade Gravel Grinder - Sept. 12 - This is a gravel road ride for the peeps who like to grind it out on gravel mountain roads. Distances of 35, 57 or 76 miles.    
• Bogus Basin Hill Climb - I think this is scheduled for Sept. 5th. Practice during the summer and work on improving your time! 

Want more? George's Cycles has a complete schedule of roadie rides and events on their website. Also check with the roadie clubs such as Lactic Acid, St. Luke's/Lost River, Community Bicycle Rides, and more. Here's the Community Bicycle Rides ride calendar, which has more events than I've listed here. 

Speaking of biking events, the Weiser River Trail ride is on Saturday, June 6th. Distances are 28 miles from the northern trailhead near New Meadows to Council. Optional longer ride is 48 miles from New Meadows to Cambridge. Register at  www.bluecirclesports.com. 

Big thanks for those of you who voted for Jeanne McFall of Boise for the "Extreme Huntress" contest in Texas. Jeanne was one of the top 6 vote-getters and made the finals. She's a former bike racer and triathlete and avid hunter. I think she'll do well!  

-SS

Five springtime road bike rides that'll get your heart pumping; or ski the dust on crust

Get some friends together for a fun road ride! Drafting is good! 

The Cartwright Three Sumits Loop always delivers. 

Selfie on Swan Falls Road ... very little traffic 

The nasty Swan Falls grade  

Hi all,

We've got a little weather moving in on Friday that might bring a little rain in Boise and a little snow in the mountains.

The forecast for Brundage Mountain looks promising with at least 1-3 inches of snow expected on Friday and a little more on Saturday, then sunshine on Sunday. Less accumulation is forecast at Bogus Basin, Tamarack and Sun Valley, but I'm sure they all will take what they can get.

If a little bit of new snow gets you excited about hitting the slopes, you could ski some new dust on crust on Friday or Saturday, and then hit a bluebird day on Sunday with some fresh fluff! The same drill goes for cross-country skiing. A little bit of new snow will be a welcome change.

However, if you'd prefer to stay closer to home, I'm recommending five springtime road bike rides from my Boise Road Cycling Guide.

The word from Ridge to Rivers is that the freeze-thaw cycle we're in this week has caused a lot of moisture to rise up on the foothills trails, creating big patches of muddy trails. Check out the trail report as of today (thursday).

But with the nice weather we've been having -- more of that 50ish weather is expected next week -- it's time to dust off your road bike, if you haven't already, and get it ready for some spring rides.

I'm motivated by being part of a team that's participating in the Lyle Pearson 200 in late May. There are lots of other road cycling events this year, including the Bob LeBow Blue Cruise in late June and the Cascade 4 Summit Challenge in late July.

Here are my five springtime rides:

1. Ride the Boise River Greenbelt from Municipal Park to Discovery Park. Distance: 9 miles out, 9 miles back; 18 miles round-trip. Travel time: 1 hour. Moderate to strenuous. Take Warm Springs Avenue to Walnut, turn right, and park in Municipal Park on the left. Take the Greenbelt east out to Discovery State Park. This is a good warm-up ride. The biggest factor is always wind, because the trail is mostly flat. Note that the ride includes brand new smooth greenbelt through Marianne Williams Park. Big improvement!

2. Cartwright - Three Summits Loop aka "the dump" loop - 17.7 miles. Travel time: 1:15 - 1:30. Strenuous. Start at the junction of Hill Road and Bogus Basin Road. Go north on Bogus Basin to Cartwright. Turn left and climb to the first, short summit. The second summit is much harder ... it's like a fricking vertical WALL. Fly downhill from that summit, bear right on Cartwright, and cruise through the Dry Creek Valley before conquering the last summit on Seaman's Gulch Road. Turn left on Hill, and return to the start.

Lake Lowell Loop 

3. Lake Lowell Loop, Nampa - 26 miles. Travel time: 1.5-2 hours. Easy to moderate, depending on the wind speed. Vertical gain is 381 feet. Start/finish at the Lake Lowell boat ramp. I suggest doing the ride in a clockwise direction, but either way works. You'll jig-jog on several streets going around the east side of the lake, and then when you turn onto Lakeshore Drive, you'll ride through the most scenic section next to the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge.

4. Ride to Swan Falls, Kuna - 42 miles. Travel time: 3+ hours. Vertical gain: 1,710 feet. Strenuous. I love this ride, even though it can be painful at times in big winds. Start/finish at the Kuna Visitors Center as you drive into town. Go south on Swan Falls Road and ride the waves of sagebrush fields out to the Snake River rim (take a break if you wish at the BLM interpretive site) or drop down to Swan Falls Dam. Bring a lunch and plenty of water. Climb up that steep heinous grade and crank it back to Kuna.

5. Snake River Canyon Scenic Loop - 41 miles. Travel time: 2.5 hours. Vertical gain: 1,000 feet. Start/finish at Walters Ferry. Ride ID 45 to Map Rock Road, go left and ride along the Snake River. Hopefully the wind isn't that bad (go early to avoid heavy afternoon winds). Ride west to Marsing. You'll jig-jog to Chicken Dinner Road and pull into Marsing. Cross the Snake River and then take ID 78 on the south side of the river back to Walters Ferry. You should have a tailwind for this part of the ride, assuming the wind is from the west.

There you have it! These are all great springtime rides to get those legs in shape for bigger rides coming up!

The Boise Road Cycling Guide is available at most bike shops in the valley. It's also available via my web site, stevestuebner.com. It features over 30 road rides in the Boise Valley for all abilities. It's a full-color tear-proof, waterproof fold-out map made out of organic paper. Cost is $12.50.
- SS

Consider upping the fitness ante with road biking; it's working for me, but it's still hard!

Here's Steve, circa Spring 1986, doing a citizen race in Boise.
Pleasant Valley Road. What a nerdy helmet, eh? 

Just a young lad at the time ... ha!  

I'm a happy camper at the 3rd summit, with just one more to go ...
Mack Lyons is on the left. 

These two 4 Summit riders are stoked! 

Hi all,

For this week's tip, I wanted to share my fitness training experience over the last few months in preparation for the 4 Summit Challenge, a 72-mile, super-challenging mountain road bike ride in Cascade. I hope that by sharing this information some folks might benefit or have more ideas or recommendations. The game-changer for me has been upping the ante on road-biking for my overall fitness regime. I've lost 20 pounds since March, and I'm riding stronger than I have been in more than 10 years.

I successfully completed the 4 Summit course on Saturday in about 6 hours, including rest and food stops. The best riders finished in 4.5 hours. But this wasn't a race. It's a recreation ride -- so I wanted to make sure I had fun. Getting into the best shape possible prior to the race was part of that strategy.

The ride is truly a mental and physical challenge. It involves more than 6,000 feet of vertical gain and loss, featuring tough climbs to the four summits and thrilling descents in the wooded and gnarly mountains east of Cascade in the Boise National Forest. The paved roads are pretty darn smooth on the course, with a few exceptions, so on the flats and downhills, you can really zoom.

My inspiration for doing the ride was that two of my friends wanted to do it -- Mack Lyons and Paul Hilding. Mack rode the 4 Summits last year. Mack and I ride mountain bikes on a regular basis with a bunch of guys from Boise. One of those guys, Steve Schneider, said the 4 Summits ride set Mack apart. "After he rode the 4 Summit Challenge last summer, no one has been able to stay with Mack on the hills."

Mack is a really strong climber. That motivates all of us to try to keep up: Plus, I used to love to ride long distances on my road bike when I was in my late teens and 20s. I used to ride Lolo Pass from Missoula at the drop of a hat. I rode the 230-mile Tour of the Swan River Valley (TOSRV West) in two days several years in a row. After college, I rode centuries in Oregon and Colorado. When I moved to Boise, I rode the Hays Century Ride and hammered up to Bogus on a weekly basis. But then I bought my first mountain bike in the fall of 1986, and that opened up a whole new world to me. The 4 Summits ride would be the longest road ride I've done in about 25 years.

Get yourself a nice road bike to get excited about road biking. This
model has an aluminum frame and carbon fiber fork. I had them put
three chain rings on the front crank and climbing gears in back.
Most road bikes only come with two chain rings in front and a
flatlander-style gear set in the back. That won't work very well
 for steep mountain roads.  

Another inspiration for me was the fact that I turned 55 last year. My resolution was to try to drop some pounds and get in better shape. Last spring, I kicked the training into high gear.  

MARCH - Wendy and I took a 10-day whale-watching and sea kayaking vacation in Mexico in late February. I got some kind of stomach bug that led to the loss of the first eight pounds. When we returned to Boise, spring riding was beginning in the Boise Foothills, and I hit the trails with gusto. I wanted to keep those pounds off! My pointer Huck runs like the wind out there in the footies when it's cool and breezy. So fun to watch! Love that time of year!

• I alternated mountain bike rides with the Cartwright 3 Summits Ride ("the dump loop") on my road bike. 
• I tried to go spinning at the Y several times a week at noon. Over a period of weeks, I found myself pushing higher gears on the spin bike.  
• At the summit of mountain bike rides, I'd do 100 crunchers to strengthen my core. 

APRIL - Mack, Paul and his wife, Stephanie, and I made the commitment to ride the 4 Summit Challenge. Stef reserved a sweet RV campsite at Lake Cascade State Park. Now we had a goal to shoot for. I was (gulp!) puckered by the challenge that lay ahead.

• I blogged about roadie events and clubs in April. I started to think about trying to do a Metric Century or full Century for the Bob LeBow Blue Cruise. 
• I continued to mountain bike a ton in the foothills and tossed in some longer road rides in SW Boise, rides that I call City to Farm. If you need ideas on road biking routes in the valley, pick up my Boise Road Cycling Guide.  
• At the summit of the mountain bike rides, I worked up to 200 crunchers. 

MAY - Mack, Paul and I did our first significant road ride of the year. We zipped out to Swan Falls Dam from Overland & 5-Mile via Cloverdale. We put in 50 miles on that one. We were all very spent afterwards. Stephanie came out to Kuna to pick us up at a Mexican Restaurant, where we were pounding food and beers. 

• I started to ride to Bogus on my road bike every so often. That ride helps you get stronger as a climber, and it definitely works your lungs as well. 
• I tried to ride steep mountain bike rides whenever possible, such as climbing Hard Guy, Stueby's Death March or Watchman. 
• I cut out my favorite cocktail, Black Russians. Limited those to special occasions. 

JUNE - I rode the Metric Century in the Bob LeBow Blue Cruise. This ride was 64 miles, including riding into a headwind along the Snake River on the way to Marsing. Despite my training, that ride still totally kicked my butt. I felt that I needed to work harder to be ready for a longer ride with much more vertical than the Blue Cruise. 

• Did a big hike in the Pioneer Mountains ... 12 miles and more than 3,000 feet of gain. 
• The cool month extended the mountain biking season in the foothills in terms of after-work rides. 
• I continued to alternate rides on the road bike. 

JULY - I worried about the impact of spending eight days floating and camping on the Salmon River in Central Idaho. I was gone on vacation July 9-16. I tried to lay off the beer on the raft in the afternoons or at least reduce the intake. 

• On Saturday, July 19, Mack and I rode from Boise to Horseshoe Bend to Emmett, which involves two summits, Horseshoe Bend Hill and Big Freezeout. That was a 60-mile ride. We felt pretty worked after that one. It was my first big ride after being on the river trip. We had a week to go before the 4 Summit ride. 
• On Wednesday, July 23, I rode the hardest part of the 4 Summit course, the Landmark grade and the backside of the Big Creek Summit grade. That's about a 40-mile ride. It was helpful to know what gears I would be riding in on those grades. I felt I was ready. 

So really, the big difference for me this year has been increasing the road-biking component of my training regimen. By doing gradually longer and longer rides, I increased the amount of calories burned and built endurance. I still enjoyed mountain biking several times a week to exercise my puppy and me. I hope to ride a century later this summer to keep the momentum going.   

I asked a few veteran road riders about their thoughts:

This is what Tom Platt of George's Cycles had to say: "I think road cycling is a better way to attain a base level of fitness and is also a better mode for weight management plans. The rider maintains a consistent (and slightly lower) heart rate versus mountain biking which keeps things more aerobic. This is important in building general fitness and for fat-burning plans.

"We generally start the year getting all of our base mileage on the road (which also corresponds with the weather and trails). Later I like to mix in mountain biking partly because it is fun but also acts like mini-intervals, accelerating the heart rate for short periods during climbs and allowing for recovery on the rollers and minor downhills.

"I think road riding helps your mountain biking by building endurance fitness, and the mountain biking makes you more powerful and helps in climbing ability on the road."

Kurt Holzer, Boise lawyer and active rider and racer: "Riding on the road is far more a Zen experience. It's more about the endorphins. Going long and deep into the endurance reserves like long-distance running. My adrenaline comes in the racing part of it, but that’s a small portion of my overall riding.  Many more miles of rolling along chatting with friends. My greatest pleasure is being part of St. Luke’s Sports Medicine cycling club rides. Over a 2- or 3-hour ride you can talk about families, vacations, books you’ve read, home projects, politics, cooking, whatever as the miles go by and the scenery changes.  

"From an older weekend warrior athlete perspective, there is no question that the way the body makes energy for those steady state road efforts has great health benefits. Obviously riding of any kind  is good for you, but those long days in the road saddle are generally the one that I feel translate more to skiing fitness etc."

A couple of concluding thoughts:

• Pick up a nice road bike. It'll get you excited about riding on the road.  
• Build your mileage slowly.
• Sign up for an ambitious bike event(s) and make that your goal. 

So there you have it! In the blog comments or on Facebook, please share your opinions with me about road biking for fitness and training, or other things that you do that build endurance and burn off the fat. Thanks!
-----------------------------

• On Sunday, Tamarack Resort will run their chairlift to mid-mountain so people can enjoy the Super G Trail and other mountain bike trails in the area. Lift fees are $40. USA Cycling members get a $10 discount. 
• There's a 12K trail run in the Boise Foothills on Saturday. Sponsored by Bandanna, St. Luke's and Idaho Nordic. 
• Next big road biking event is the annual Bogus Basin Hill Climb on Saturday, Aug. 16. Sponsored by George's Cycles and Fitness.  
• Check out the Idaho Statesman annual photo contest winners. Results were announced today.   

- SS