oct. 9,

Today I biked at the Mount Kato Ski Area in Mankato, MN. It was a great little trail, totally worth the $8 self-registration fee. They managed to map out about 5 miles of nice single-track winding trails in this ski area. Each section had cute names like Kato Climb, Frog Pond Loop, Outlook Traverse, Staircase, Killer Toad Loop. Trails.com rated it technically as 2-4 on a scale of 1-5, and aerobically as moderate. That seemed about right. At first it seemed like it was going to be technically easy and aerobically moderate, but it got more and more technical as it went on. I even had to avoid a couple of the really challenging spots (there were alternate routes). It went up and down several ski areas so was quite a workout. A few technical things I got to work on were riding on narrow paths on the side of a steep hill--that psyches me out a bit. Another was steep slow turns on switchbacks on steep hills. That also psyches me out, especially the part where if you fall, you might fall down the steep hill. I did a couple of them, and chickened out on a couple of them. Then there is going down steep grades over obstacles, without doing and endover. I managed some of those and on others I chickened out and walked over them. Going up the steep grades, I made most of them, but did walk a few times. It was a great ride with just the right amount of challenge but enough easy stuff to make it fun too. And it was pretty. Here I am at the start of the ride, going up the ski hill, fortunately with swithbacks:

The fall colors were beautiful:

Nice views from the top:

More pretty fall colors:

more nice views.

I managed to finish just about when the sun set.