Mountain Bike

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Riding down a spongy, pine needle-covered trail in the North Cascade foothills, one thing was clear: I did not want to hit a tree. Some of the hefty hardwoods measured as wide as doorways and had withstood years of battering, coastal storms and, more recently, mild assaults from clumsy mountain bikers. My fellow biker babes and I were feeling confident, however, after three hours of skills sessions during which we learned how to leap over logs, pedal up steep hills, and do wheelie drops (a technique for clearing obstacles or descending steep ledges)

MOAB, Utah — "Do you know the trails here?" a woman called out from a station wagon with Colorado plates and three bikes strapped to its rear. She motioned to the start of the Moab Brand Trails, a series of mountain bike loops a few miles north of town. A man sat behind the steering wheel and a young girl slumped in the back seat. "Just the loop we're going on — the Bar M," I said. "It looks kind of . . . ," and then she whistled a cheery melody as if to say cycling here would be a walk in the park.

MOAB, Utah — "Do you know the trails here?" a woman called out from a station wagon with Colorado plates and three bikes strapped to its rear. She motioned to the start of the Moab Brand Trails, a series of mountain bike loops a few miles north of town. A man sat behind the steering wheel and a young girl slumped in the back seat. "Just the loop we're going on — the Bar M," I said. "It looks kind of . . . ," and then she whistled a cheery melody as if to say cycling here would be a walk in the park.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff DALLAS — MLB just hosted a luncheon with the managers and the beat writers. It was off-the-record, but I can report that Bobby Valentine has no shortage of stories to tell. Valentine mentioned that he's looking forward to getting to know Boston on his mountain bike, which he takes with him everywhere for a morning ride. The managers posed for a photograph afterward and Valentine ended up next to Joe Girardi. They chatted amicably afterward.

Escape Adventures 702-596-2953; 800-596-2953 www.escapeadventures.com This Las Vegas-based outdoor adventure company offers mountain biking, road biking, and hiking tours of various lengths as well as multisport tours that involve hiking, kayaking, biking, and rafting all in one, throughout the Western states. A half-day guided mountain bike tour in Red Rock Canyon is $109 per person, including bicycle and helmet rental, water, and transportation from Las Vegas hotels to the trails.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff DALLAS — MLB just hosted a luncheon with the managers and the beat writers. It was off-the-record, but I can report that Bobby Valentine has no shortage of stories to tell. Valentine mentioned that he's looking forward to getting to know Boston on his mountain bike, which he takes with him everywhere for a morning ride. The managers posed for a photograph afterward and Valentine ended up next to Joe Girardi. They chatted amicably afterward.

The road jockeys will be out by the thousands for the 193-mile Pan-Massachusetts Challenge in early August. There’ll be pelotons of fancy bikes that weigh a few pounds and have tires about the width of your pinky, all with the latest components and composites, the better to fly over the pavement. Then there’s Scott LaRosa, who will tie his sneakers and climb onto his son’s chunky road bike that weighs about 20 pounds and has tires like a tractor’s. He’ll be a Mike Tyson among Sugar Ray Leonards.

Friday 6 p.m. Check in The Thomas House Bed and Breakfast 307 East First St. 719-539-7104; 888-228-1410 www.thomashouse.com Soak up history at this former 1888 rooming house. Doubles $65-$135. 7 p.m. A smile on your face Laughing Ladies Restaurant 128 West First St. 719-539-6209 Try the creamy polenta starter and seafood specials at the best restaurant in town. Starters $4.25-$8.50, entrees $15.25-$21. Saturday 9 a.m. Bike it Absolute Bikes 330 West Sackett Ave. 719-539-9295; 888-539-9295 www.absolutebikes.com Rent a mountain bike,...

BARNET, Vt. -- Picture a mountain biker. You are probably imagining a mud-covered, testosterone-laden young male flying down backwoods trails, sending day hikers and wildlife scurrying. Contrast that image with the archetypal yogi or Zen Buddhist who moves slowly and deliberately, emanating calm. Is there a place that melds the mindfulness of yoga and meditation with the adrenaline rush of mountain biking? In mid-July, I attended the debut of a program at the Karm Chling Shambhala Buddhist Meditation Center in Barnet that attempts to bring these contrasting images together in a weekend of...

CANMORE, Alberta - Pity us cross-country skiers living in a world of downhillers. Whether we’re granted a small area built as an aside at a downhill resort, a dedicated cross-country facility, or simply the untamed outdoors, our ability to ski is almost always dependent on the weather. Not so at Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, an hour north of Calgary and the site of the 1988 Olympic cross-country and biathlon events. At the recently renovated center, machinery makes snow on 12 of the 40 miles of groomed ski and skate trails.

Burlington The Board of Selectmen tomorrow will consider authorizing the use of Landlocked Forest for a mountain biking day next month. The Conservation Commission and three area groups are planning a free event on Sept. 24, which would feature guided mountain bike rides on trails within the forest. The other organizers are the Friends of the Landlocked Forest, the Greater Boston chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, and the LL Bean Outdoor Discovery School. Landlocked Forest is 250 acres of town-owned land near routes 3 and 128. Jodie Wennemer, the town's conservation assistant, said...

The road jockeys will be out by the thousands for the 193-mile Pan-Massachusetts Challenge in early August. There’ll be pelotons of fancy bikes that weigh a few pounds and have tires about the width of your pinky, all with the latest components and composites, the better to fly over the pavement. Then there’s Scott LaRosa, who will tie his sneakers and climb onto his son’s chunky road bike that weighs about 20 pounds and has tires like a tractor’s. He’ll be a Mike Tyson among Sugar Ray Leonards.

PORTLAND, Maine — From inside a car, the landscape rushes by in a blur of rocky water views and clapboard churches. On a bike, the Pine Tree State takes on texture — roads bumpy with frost heaves, air thick with the smell of scorched hay. You feel the land dip into harborside towns and the salty gusts at the crests of hills. Last August, when I loaded up my mountain bike, got a ride to Portland, and set off to explore the state, I knew it only from drives up the coast, remembering dramatic beaches and blueberry stands.

There’s nothing quite like the exhilarating feeling of mountain biking. The chance to zip down a narrow mountain trail across a shallow stream, to cruise along the banks of a river on a former railroad bed, or to ride on a dirt road through the farmland of Vermont, is a thrill. I never carry a map and I almost always get lost. This might sound foolish, but not knowing where you are in a New England forest is the equivalent to backpacking in Europe without the slightest care which city you head to next.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Riding down a spongy, pine needle-covered trail in the North Cascade foothills, one thing was clear: I did not want to hit a tree. Some of the hefty hardwoods measured as wide as doorways and had withstood years of battering, coastal storms and, more recently, mild assaults from clumsy mountain bikers. My fellow biker babes and I were feeling confident, however, after three hours of skills sessions during which we learned how to leap over logs, pedal up steep hills, and do wheelie drops (a technique for clearing obstacles or descending steep...

CANMORE, Alberta - Pity us cross-country skiers living in a world of downhillers. Whether we’re granted a small area built as an aside at a downhill resort, a dedicated cross-country facility, or simply the untamed outdoors, our ability to ski is almost always dependent on the weather. Not so at Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, an hour north of Calgary and the site of the 1988 Olympic cross-country and biathlon events. At the recently renovated center, machinery makes snow on 12 of the 40 miles of groomed ski and skate trails.

WEST GLACIER, Mont. - I'm not a particularly religious person. But for some reason on my two recent visits to this storied place, talk of God kept popping up. It was in mid-April that I was pedaling my dated mountain bike on the Going-to-the-Sun Road with my friend Erick Robbins. I told him I was surprised we hadn't seen more riders on such a beautiful Sunday morning. The section of this stunning road through the heart of Glacier National Park was closed to automobiles for spring repairs, and we were enjoying the solitude on the only American roadway designated both a National Historic Landmark...

Don't you always approach a new season of anything, not just with hope and expectation, but with a whole quiverful of resolve and promises aimed at making you a better whatever you think you want to be? But of course, this is the real world. We are mortals. Lots of times, things just don't work out. For instance, what is the single best exercise to get you ready for Alpine skiing? Well, if you can't do a lot of cross-training or the kinds of workouts you see diagrammed in the skiing journals, then the answer is biking.

WEST GLACIER, Mont. - I'm not a particularly religious person. But for some reason on my two recent visits to this storied place, talk of God kept popping up. It was in mid-April that I was pedaling my dated mountain bike on the Going-to-the-Sun Road with my friend Erick Robbins. I told him I was surprised we hadn't seen more riders on such a beautiful Sunday morning. The section of this stunning road through the heart of Glacier National Park was closed to automobiles for spring repairs, and we were enjoying the solitude on the only American roadway designated both a National Historic Landmark...

HERRADURA BEACH - Sweat pours down my face and my biceps tense as I pull back on the pole and reel the line in quickly. "You can do it!" yells Captain Daniel from the deck above, but my arms grow tired and I lose my footing as the fish runs out with the line yet again. I've been playing this game for a good 10 minutes, knowing full well that the big guy at the other end weighs more than any fish I've ever caught. I want him on board now! I use the stern railing as leverage as I yank the pole back and reel in the slack to keep the line taut.