Spokane and St. Paddys Day!

Spring is happening here!

Spring is in the air! It's that time of year again when the sun stays out longer, the rains seem to let up, and the area starts to bloom. It also means it's time to race bikes again. I finally had all of the missing pieces to build my DH bike for season and was able to get it together in time to head to Spokane for a preview of the first race of the season at Beacon Hill.

A little spy shot of the new rig.

I loaded up the new bikes and headed over the mountains to meet up with Jeff and Jaime Rees for a tour of the area. I've ridden Beacon for years, but this was the first time I've ever brought something other than a downhill bike. I've always seen the XC trails, but I've never ridden them.

Loaded up and heading out!

We woke up early and went up towards the towers for a few laps. I couldn't believe how fun the trails were! This was the best warm up for downhilling later and was a great time on the bikes!

So pro.

It was a little slick in places.

Enough shoveling, lets ride!

We ended the day with a few laps on the DH bikes. It was fun to ride my new one and I can't believe how good it feels. It's really overkill for Beacon, but it is nice to get some time on it before the big races roll around. We even helped throw some dirt and buff out a few jumps. The track is in great shape and I can't wait for next weekend to get back there and tear it up!

Waiting for the race to start. The hat wasn't bad to run in, the necklace was terrible!

I had to leave Spokane early to get back to the westside. A few months ago Ruth decided we needed to run the St. Paddys Day Dash, a 5k run in Seattle. Ruth and I met up with Mike and Shannon and set out for the adventure. There were so many people in the event that you couldn't even run. We managed to walk/jog our way through the course and proceeded to enjoy the Irish holiday!