Last Ride of 2010

 I considered posting pictures of every "last" thing I did in 2010. Last time I brushed my teeth, last time I cooked a meal, last time I walked the dog, but that could have gotten pretty boring pretty quickly, so let's just stick to the fun stuff.

Tim posted a great slide show of his year on the bike and Brian and I are lucky to have once again been a part of that. Check it out if you have a few minutes.

I have to say that mountain biking has changed my life over the past five years. In 2005, we started out a little rocky when my first mountain bike launched me thirty feet onto my head and broke my leg (luckily I was also wearing my first helmet that day), but over the years mountain biking and me have bonded. Bikes have taken me all over Alaska from the trails of the Kenai to the White Mountains of Fairbanks, and outside to Utah, Colorado and of course the Yukon.

I have met most of my good friends in Alaska through biking. I have suffered through cold painful winter training rides and felt the joy of that moment when you are effortlessly bombing downhill and finally feel like a real mountain biker. I have felt the torment of slogging up to Resurrection Pass (yet again) and the happiness you feel once you get there when you realize you get to ride in one of the most beautiful places around.

Friday before the sunset Brian, Niko and I did a short ride from the ball fields on Elmore as the sun set on the last day of 2010. Thank you bikes, bike friends and Alaska for another great year.