I would like to extend my apologies for being delinquent from my blog posting duties. I am working on the 25 Hour of Frog Hollow post but in the meantime would like to post a blog to illustrate the main reason for my blog tardiness.  Last weekend started out with a massive hangover from drinking way to much sulfite enriched wine at a Missoula cycling company holiday bash.  While I did have fun dressing up as a Hulk Hogan / snow border look-a-like I was just waiting to get it all over with so I could get out into the woods with Mo and play. As my headache started to subside we found ourselves knee deep in fun skate skiing at Lolo Pass. As always we shut the place down and coasted down the hill to Lochsa Lodge to spend the night in a sweet little cabin.

 

I awoke early Saturday morning to the sound of sled dogs and snowmobiles. I climbed out of bed and pulled my snow bike out of the car. Before I knew it I was climbing up Parachute Hill on a pretty great little snowmobile trail. I passed a sign with blissful numbers of 7,8, and a whopping 19 miles of groomed snow bike goodness.

 

As I climbed away from highway 12 I noticed that soon I would be in morning sunlight. Mountains started appearing through the thick inversion.

 

Lesson one in snow biking is over dressing. Snow biking up a decent grade takes like 25 million calories and you can expect to be breathing so hard that you swear you will freeze your lungs. If you are wearing anything warm it will all be dripping wet with sweat at the top of the climb. I should of taken off my coat because I was shivering like a madman on the decent.

 

I could of biked all day but we had more adventures to do that day. Like soak in a natural hot springs, skate ski some more, and take in the annual Red Barn customer appreciation party. We spent the night in the Red Barn trying to keep the wood stove stocked so the bearing grease wouldn’t freeze. At first light we were dreaming of a snow bike adventure at Lake Como.

 

The different terrain that a snow bikes can handle is amazing. We hit single track, fluffy white powder, and sandy beaches. We snacked at a bridge near the end of the lake then prepared for the most fun terrain … frozen lake.

 

Riding on a frozen lake is so sweet. You can get views you would never get in the summer and access to all the cool shoreline at will.

 

And the weekend ended with a day of fat tires, Bridge pizza, and a good dose of pumpkin ice cream from the Big Dipper. Cant beat that … ok, where was I with that Frog hollow blog?