Not that I needed an excuse for Mia and I to return to the Methow Valley, but the 5th Annual Fat Bike Meetup was sure a great reason to head on up.

Our drive up was quite the adventure once we got past Yakima.  Blewett Pass, normally a 60mph road, was at best a 30-35mph drive through snow packed roads.  It was kind of relaxing though since so little traffic was on the road.  We passed numerous big rigs chaining up or just pulled over and waiting it out.  I can definitely say I love our Subaru!

 

 

We found a nice rental on Airbnb not far from the Mazama Store.  It was so nice and quiet, especially at night.

 

We took Codi to one of the dog friendly trails in the valley.  Big Valley View is free (no Methow Trails pass required) It’s groomed for skate and classic skiing, fat bikes are allowed, so is snowshoeing and lastly dogs are allowed too.

 

 

 

We pretty much spent the rest of the day reading and just chilling out.  It’s kind of what I would have called the perfect first day of our mini vacation.

 

On Saturday we headed up the pass to snowshoe some more.  The goal was once again to tire out the dog so that we could head to the planned night fat bike ride.

 

 

 

 

Mia decided to stay with Codi while I headed over to Winthrop for the night ride.  I didn’t get many pictures but there was probably close to 100 people out there and it was neat seeing all the headlights rolling through the trails.

 

Riding at  night is always a blast.  There is an otherworldly feel to rolling around with only your headlight lighting the immediate surroundings.  Toss in some snow flurries and ice crystals in the air and it has that warp speed effect.

The night ride was a pretty mellow affair followed by a small fire back at the parking lot.  I hung out for a bit and chatted but headed back to be with Mia and Codi not too late.

 

Not sure if it was the 9AM start of what, but the group was definitely a bit smaller on Sunday morning.  My bet is people stayed downtown and hit the trails a bit later in the day.  Their loss though as the conditions were pretty darn good out at Pearrygin Lake.

 

The first mile of the ride out to the group photo area was pretty churned up and not the easiest riding conditions.  Mia was getting very frustrated, she crashed/spun out probably 10 times.  She kept going like a champ though and not far after the start of the ride the trails were significantly better.

 

 

 

We rode for about 1.5 hours and ended up chatting with some other participants in the parking lot for a bit before dropping downtown and hitting up Rocking Horse Bakery for something hot to drink.  Pretty  much spent the rest of the day hanging out at the cabin and reading, we eventually took Codi back to Big Valley View for a short walk and then just staying in for the remainder of the night.  Really cannot think of a better way to spend a day.

Finally on Monday morning I got up early to get in one last quick ride before spending the day in the car heading back to Hillsboro.

 

I really cannot express how much Mia and I love the Methow Valley.  It really is pretty much what I would call Paradise.  As I type this, we have already booked our summer vacation in the same house we rented last year.  Now just got to bide our time until the summer!

Thanks for reading,

-Pete