So I went out and about just wandering on the bike today when I found myself in Pine Junction (I think that's the name??) on 285 and remember seeing that heading down Pine Valley Rd was supposed to be a nice bike ride. So I figured I'd give it a shot. Holy crap...what a beautiful ride!!! It runs the whole gamut...some sweepers, some sharper twisties, lakes, rivers/creeks, mountains and unfortunately the Deckers fire area. I really wish I'd had my SLR camera with me instead of my pocket Fuji, but I'll post what few pics I got as soon as I download them to the puter.

The bad part of the day tho was a mere 4 miles south of 285. I pop over a hill and see a bunch of vehicles parked in the right lane and one lonely emergency vehicle's flashing lights. I had that sinking feeling in my tummy as someone flagged me over. He apologized and said that they were going to be a few minutes. I parked the bike and took my helmet off and asked if it was a biker. He said it was, but he didn't know what happened, just said it looked bad. He commented on all of my gear and I told him that I wear it b/c I've picked up too many brains of riders w/out gear off the roads. When he found out I was a medic he asked if I could go help them out (turns out he was a volunteer FF waiting on the EMS to arrive.) I told him I could help if they really needed me, but thank god that is when the ambulance arrived. They were onscene all of five minutes and hauled ass down the hill to fly the rider to a trauma center. They let me walk around the scene to see what happened and it turns out he hit a deer. The deer was dead and the poor rider's bike was tossed down the mountain side. Had to suck to pull that thing back up! Anyway, the rider was alive at that point (they don't fly bodies ya know...) so here's to hoping for a speedy recovery whoever you are!!

The lesson in my rambling post? Pine Valley Rd from Pine Junction all the way to Woodland Park is a great ride. Lesson two... deer are all over the phucking place and are not our friends. I surely didn't expect one to be in that particular spot, but they are everywhere!