Bohart Bash and other stuff

Yesterday was the Bohart Bash- a 25 mile race that is pretty different than most races in the area because it is a little more of a rolling course. This race usually has one of the bigger turnouts for a MTB race in Montana, and there were 10 people racing in the Pro/Cat. 1 field. I got 9th (and the 10th place guy didn't finish). Overall, though, it was a great race, mainly because it is the first race I have done this year with any pain in my knee. It was also a really fun course and a really fun event. I actually got lapped by the 1st and 2nd place guys, but I don't feel so bad because they just got 12th and 27th at MTB nationals last weekend in the Pro field. Thanks to Molly for the water bottle hand-offs on a pretty hot day.

As for the other stuff, most of my rides lately have been trying to scout out a good venue for a Super D course for the MSU mountain bike weekend this fall. This has involved a lot of riding up fire roads and abandoned logging roads and dirt roads (and sometimes trail) and then coming down sometimes super sketchy stuff. I actually even had a pretty good crash on Friday night going down a trail that some DHers that I passed said is "really sick." It isn't too bad of a gig, but I am looking forward to finding a good spot so I can just go back to normal riding.

Also on Friday night, on the same trail that I crashed on, I saw a moose. At first glance, and my first thought was "what is a cow doing all the way out here." But then I saw that it was a lot bigger than a cow. It was actually a cow moose. Sorry that I don't have a picture, but she was only about 50 feet away, so I wanted to get away as soon as possible.

I do have pictures, though, of a pretty sweet spot at the top of this same trail called Fairy Lake. It is a place up in the Northern Bridgers you can access by car. The pictures obviously don't really do it justice, but it is one of most stunning places I have ever seen. Also in the pictures, you can see that there is still a little bit of snow left. I actually rode by a few big piles of snow on my ride today. So, there is still a pretty good amount of snow left at the end of July, and these places aren't actually that high (about 7500-8000 feet).

Here is a picture from the next ridge over. You can see the lake in the left center part of the picture. The pointy peak is Sacajawea Peak, which is the tallest point in the Bridgers, and you can actually hike to it.