Editor’s note: ICL Artist in Residence Peter Lovera blogs about his exploration of the Boise Foothills-this one is mostly images! Check it out on his site to see the whole beautiful spread. ICL thanks Idaho Mountain Touring for making Peter’s excursion and resulting photographs possible!

As a person who is definitely in love with bicycling, it was only a matter of time until I found myself cruising off road. A few years  ago  my father took me to a shop in downtown Boise called Idaho Mountain  Touring, and introduced me to his "favorite bike tech" named Zane. Since then I’ve regularly taken my fixed gear daily driver and  sometimes Jenny’s trusty Fuji into Zane’s care. The dude is always  smiling, and certainly has his way  with bikes. In fact, everyone I’ve  met at Idaho Mountain Touring have been extremely knowledgeable and kind  (Julia is so sweet). As an added bonus, they just happen to carry the  absolute best bikes and gear for cycling, climbing, and outdoor  adventure.

Now there’s been a lot of buzz recently surrounding the Boise  Foothills Levy coming up in November, so I decided I would go explore  more of these "backyard trails" (along with a few familiar and wonderful Camel’s Back outings). I spoke with Bill, the manager of the downtown  store and he agreed to sponsor me for a couple weeks with a Giant 29’er  mountain bike for my exploring needs (MANY THANKS to Bill)…

Read the entire blog and see the photographs!