Biking on the moon

BOULDER — I’ve never driven (or is it ridden?) a motorcycle or a snowmobile. I know that doesn’t exactly speak to my level of badassitude, but (in journalism, at least), I feel like honesty is the best policy. 

So when, on a frigid and windy January day, I slung my leg over the seat of a contraption I’d only seen in photos and prepared to cruise off down a snow-swaddled trail near Vail Pass, I was more than a little bit nervous. 

A few seconds later, weaving through thigh-high, powdery snowdrifts and cranking my mount’s throttle to its limit, I was no…