In Becky's Words: #MountainBikingFail

Toward the end of the summer, my husband, Dan, and I experienced some mountain biking disappointments. It was kind of sad.

The first weekend, we were thwarted by a surprise thunderstorm. To be fair, we were in the mountains. An afternoon thunderstorm here and there is not unusual. But this one was crazy.

We had this grand plan to ride a couple of longer trails. Instead, we were stuck in our car in the state park parking lot, in the most treeless spot we could find, hoping we were out of the way of the Ponderosas that surrounded us.

This particular thunderstorm was the one that started the wildfire in Cascade, Idaho this summer. Even in McCall, we saw the remnants of a lightning strike as we drove to an overlook at Ponderosa State Park. (Don't worry. We waited until the storm passed.)

Tree struck by lightning at Ponderosa State Park

We headed to the Visitor Center to report the lightning strike, but someone must have beaten us to it because we passed two fire trucks on their way up to the site.

Needless to say, we did not mountain bike in McCall that afternoon.

We were able to ride a flat path around Cascade Lake after the storm had passed. Little did we know, that a forest fire had been ignited across the lake that afternoon.

The following weekend, we decided to book a hotel room and stay the night. That way, we would have an extra day if a thunderstorm hit one of the afternoons. If both days were nice, we would bike one day and hike the next. We were packed and ready to go.

Then I woke up in the middle of the night . . . with the stomach flu.

Thanks, kindergartners!

Finally over Labor Day weekend, we made up for the two weeks of mountain biking fails. Our hiking and biking days were smoky due to the wildfires, but it was worth it.