Biking at Snow Summit

Now I know the name of my blog is "God, Food, Run"...trust me, I definitely am still running.  In fact, I'm training for a half marathon in November. However, I also LOVE mountain biking, so this is another mountain biking post. It's so interesting, the more I run...the better my mountain biking gets. The more I mountain bike, the better my running gets. I sure can't complain about that!

Big Bear Lake right behind me.

Is there a bird, Tom?

Last Sunday, we decided to go ride up in Big Bear again. However, we decided last minute as we were almost there to actually ride at Snow Summit.  Snow Summit is a wonderful place to ski at, but it is awesome for mountain biking. You have the option of taking the ski lifts and loading up your bike. This of course requires some $$$.  We decided to skip the lifts this time and to ride up ourselves.

I'm so glad we did! The uphill made for a great work-out. We rode on trail 2N10, which was for the most part a fire road. It did get steeper as we got closer to the ski lift. Once we got to the top, we ate our PB and J sandwiches at the tables right next to the lodge. Our view there was beautiful! For our descent, we chose a single track called Pirates trail. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. That was a gnarly trail, very technical, and way too rocky, but still so fun despite it being extremely challenging. The "loop" we made that day was not too long, but it sure was enjoyable, fun, and exhilarating!!  This is one of the perks of living in SoCal...just an hour drive to a fantastic place to mountain bike at!

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Where is your favorite place to go mountain biking at?

Beautiful Ketchum & Mountain Biking

Last week-end, Tom and I went to Idaho to visit his family. We went up to Ketchum where Sun Valley Ski Resort is located. The scenery there was absolutely breathtaking with perfect weather during this time of year. Since Tom's 75-year-old father was with us and since we didn't think he was an avid cycler, we rented a hybrid bike for him, while the two of us rented mountain bikes. Our initial plan was just to toodle around town...no major plans for any major biking. While "toodling", one path led to another ending up at the actual ski resort. We couldn't help ourselves and thought...why not?  We're here...we must as well get on the ski lift and enjoy the ride. Needless to say, Tom's father promised to never ride with us again...especially after falling off his hybrid bike twice and never ever mountain biking in his life. Yes, we found that part out after our "adventure".:-D

We chose to ride on the Warm Springs trail. Although the majority of this trail was downhill, there was still some uphill climbing, which really wasn't bad at all (which I love!). There were some switchbacks to deal with, but again...not bad. The trail was rocky, so I had wished I had my own bike since I have dual suspension. The surrounding was definitely beautiful all around which lasted for about 12 miles...that is...twelve mountain biking miles. There were many other trails to choose from there. 

Beautiful Sun Valley Ski Resort in Ketchum, Idaho

I tried for the first time a 29er.

Getting off the lift and ready to ride!

Unfortunately, since we did not plan to do a mountain biking ride...and because we weren't told how long the trail is, we didn't bring enough water, so that part was a little scary. I always bring food with me, so that wasn't a problem. The Trader Joe's pre-portioned trail mix is great to take along anytime and anywhere.  However, not having enough water can definitely make any ride miserable, but thank God we were okay and our ride still memorable and fun!

The town of Ketchum also has many wonderful restaurants with outdoor patios.  I absolutely loved sitting outside having our meals and looking around at the gorgeous mountainous, green surroundings. Ketchum is like Amerca's best kept little secret.  If you love to mountain bike, Sun Valley is a must to enjoy this wonderful sport at.

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Where is your favorite place to mountain bike?

Cycling Helps Running

Zanja Trail

My friend, Naara, and I have always loved mountain biking.  However, we placed mountain biking in the back burner when we started running more and then when we trained for our first full marathon.  The smartest thing we should have done was to keep sticking in the mountain biking rides in between our short and long runs.


After our full marathon this past June, we resumed our mountain and road biking, but of course, still running.  It is so true what they say about cross training.  Cross training does enable strengthening other muscles that do not get used as much when you're focusing on just one sport.  I feel that I'm a better runner now with stronger muscles, because we have been consistent with the mountain biking.   


Although we'll be resuming getting ready for our upcoming half and full marathons next year, we will for sure keep the mountain biking in as part of our training regimen!


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What does your cross training regimen consist of?