Blog

As you may have guessed, I am working my way through all of the outdoor sports that the Hayward Lakes area has to offer: trail running, fat tire biking, paddle boarding, and today, four-wheeling! Not the traditional Hayward kind, where I take my ‘98 Dodge Ram out in the middle of the woods, get it stuck, and call my wife to drive my Chevy out to pull it out. No, this was me and the indomitable Don Mrotek cruising the Seeley/Cable area in a Polaris Razor, courtesy of Hayward Power Sports.

As the days get shorter and the nights grow cooler, nature goes to work to reveal the true personalities of the trees. The bright yellow, orange, and red colors of autumn are a once-a-year show that never disappoints.

Last week I got the bright idea of calling New Moon Ski & Bike and asking Chris, “If I write a blog entry about my maiden voyage on a fat bike and give you guys a plug, could I get a free day’s use of a rental?” “Sure,” said Chris. He asked me how tall I was, if I had my own helmet, and a couple of questions about my biking experience. Some relevant background: I’m 59 and I’ve been a distance runner for 43 years. I’m a decent mountain biker, a terrible skier, and I can swim well enough to get back to a boat if I fall overboard.

It is a brisk February morning with a light dusting of fresh powdery snow covering the lake. We’ve cemented our plans the night before in anticipation for perfect riding conditions today. The weather is calling for bright sunshine, bluebird skies, and a high temperature of 18° for the day. We are meeting our good friends on the lake in front of their house for a 10:00AM “wheels up” takeoff.