Black Dog Days

I had some extra time with our Black Dog this weekend. He, Shyla, and I hit the trails together. It's so fun to see how strong he is after how hard we've worked with him on his strength and coordination.

It's very hard to believe that he's nine years old. People still ask us if he's a puppy because of his over the moon exuberance for life.

The only sign of his growing maturity was how incredibly well behaved he was. Riding a mountain bike with one dog is hard because I must have true off-leash control. There's no faking it when my hands are on the handlebars - voice control is critical! Adding a second dog makes the dynamic really hard for me because the two of them have more confidence to follow their whims than a single dog. Yet, I can't think of a single instant when I was unhappy with their behavior!

R even brought good luck in terms of gorgeous sunsets. Ours have been muted for at least a month or maybe two months. Over the past three days, we've had three glorious sunsets. 

It meant that the Duo and I were out on the trails until darkness fell each night, watching the sky change colors. I loved every minute of it!