Adventure Dining Guide is a culinary web series that takes you out of the kitchen and into the great outdoors.  This show was created to give backcountry dining the recognition it deserves, and inspire others to make their next adventure more gourmet.  Join host Michelle Shea as she hits the trial with athletes, chefs and outdoor enthusiasts to learn how to eat civilized, miles from civilization.

There are days that I find myself craving the winding, rolling, hairpin traverses of the single track.  I am a runner, but I am not the type of runner who trains on a schedule or races towards goals.  Ney. I am a runner that loves the freedom I feel when I am zipping past overgrown meadows, or swinging Tarzan style on low lying branches, or launching myself to do side kicks off some rollies (must be the skier in me).  I run to be free.  I have no training schedule, no timers, no watches, and no idea of how far I am going to run that day.  Just running for hours. Well mostly running.

When I get to a trailhead, my regimen usually consists of lacing up my kicks, turning on that perfect playlist and then hitting the dirt.  Here is my dirty little secret: I find myself being pulled into the music and the trail so much I break out and start dancing.  Yeah, that’s right.  Dancing.  Even for a few seconds just to drop the beat and then I am pounding the dirt again.  It has become an addiction.  I find myself doing handstands, popping off tree stumps, using trees as imaginary dance partners; you name it.  By the time I know it, a few hours have gone by and I feel glorious! It’s as if the trail has a story to tell and I am its evolution witnessing the changing scenery and discovering what’s just around that corner.  I am celebrating the journey.  It is here that I have found my happy place.

It hasn’t always been this way.  I used to run on a training schedule, with watches to measure my pace and with a goal in mind.  Rarely, did I finish a run with the biggest shit-eating grin on my face. It felt like work.  Lately, that smile is guaranteed and instead of work it feels like play. The craving I get is not a craving for the physical act of running. It’s a craving for the experience, the feeling I get when I am in that mode, in that place, getting lost in the magic of the trail.

The world of cycling is definitely the largest part of my life. I spend near all my money on the sport and much of my time developing the necessary skills to properly maintain a bike at the highest level. But one thing that I love to do is share a good trail.

I set out on a 3 hour tour and after 6 hours of riding, stopping, shooting, and riding some more I was able to bring you this short clip of some of the best trail riding in Wasatch County.

Hope it was worth a watch. This trail is only the beginning of the continuing expansion of trails in the Heber Valley area. Get out and ride, well, after winter has ended.