Tonight I was able to finally get out on a ride after not having been on the bike in three weeks. That is by far the longest duration I have gone without riding since I began mountain biking in July of 2007, and I was feeling it.
The reasons for my not having ridden in three weeks were myriad, but mostly had to do with a ridiculous work schedule. From the middle of July to the middle of August, I have been averaging about 70 hours of work a week, and have even been working weekends.
So this afternoon, when faced with some free time finally, I pumped up my tires and headed out for my local 4S/Black Mountain local ride. It ended up being just a quick spin, and I actually felt pretty good overall. I had recently replaced my cranks with a set I bought from Sean (Blue Rat) for a bargain, and they worked great, even with my amateur mechanic work. What a difference it made not having my right crank wobbling all over the place during each pedal stroke.
I was a little fatigued as I spun up Carmel Valley Road, but stayed in the middle ring. The paved climb up to the Black Mountain trailhead was rougher than I had remembered, and it was at that point I began to feel the effects of my layoff.
As I hit the top of the hill at the parking lot, I was confronted with a pretty interesting scene. There were about thirty or so people milling around, drinking heavily and dressed like Catholic schoolgirls. Even the men. And they were almost all men. I saw a sign draped over someone's truck mentioning a "hash" event, and remembered something I had read on the internet a while back about these random running events that had no formal beginning or end, and consisted of crazy people running around dressed bizarrely. That was clearly what this was.
I didn't linger in the parking lot, and rode over to Canyon Rim as soon as I could. I once again made it up the first short steep climb without stopping, and then did my normal HAB up the rest of the way to the top.
I cleaned both of the most difficult downhill switchbacks, which was nice. I did have a small dab towards the bottom, when I ended up in a brutal sandy rut and almost went off trail. It would have been nice to clean the whole thing, especially after my layoff, but I felt pretty good anyway. The trail is a mess, and is sandy and rutted all over the place. I had thought there was another trailwork event planned for BM in September, but didn't see it on the SDMBA calendar. It needs it.
From the bottom of Canyon Rim I climbed back up the paved road, through the parking lot where the hashers were beginning to disperse, and down the rutted fire road and across the meadow toward the pond. I elected to take the closer trail that didn't involve any HAB, and made it without stopping.
After that I rode back across Carmel Valley Rd. and through the 4S trails to home. I made it home in under an hour, which was nice, but expected. In fact, back in early June, I did this same route with an extra trip down Canyon Rim in just two minutes longer, meaning my pace this time was a little off. It did feel good to be back on the bike, and I was excited that my crank replacement held up. And what a difference the new ones made.
So hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things before too long. I have a vacation coming up, and am hoping to get some serious riding in, maybe even out of town. We'll see...
The reasons for my not having ridden in three weeks were myriad, but mostly had to do with a ridiculous work schedule. From the middle of July to the middle of August, I have been averaging about 70 hours of work a week, and have even been working weekends.
So this afternoon, when faced with some free time finally, I pumped up my tires and headed out for my local 4S/Black Mountain local ride. It ended up being just a quick spin, and I actually felt pretty good overall. I had recently replaced my cranks with a set I bought from Sean (Blue Rat) for a bargain, and they worked great, even with my amateur mechanic work. What a difference it made not having my right crank wobbling all over the place during each pedal stroke.
I was a little fatigued as I spun up Carmel Valley Road, but stayed in the middle ring. The paved climb up to the Black Mountain trailhead was rougher than I had remembered, and it was at that point I began to feel the effects of my layoff.
As I hit the top of the hill at the parking lot, I was confronted with a pretty interesting scene. There were about thirty or so people milling around, drinking heavily and dressed like Catholic schoolgirls. Even the men. And they were almost all men. I saw a sign draped over someone's truck mentioning a "hash" event, and remembered something I had read on the internet a while back about these random running events that had no formal beginning or end, and consisted of crazy people running around dressed bizarrely. That was clearly what this was.
I didn't linger in the parking lot, and rode over to Canyon Rim as soon as I could. I once again made it up the first short steep climb without stopping, and then did my normal HAB up the rest of the way to the top.
I cleaned both of the most difficult downhill switchbacks, which was nice. I did have a small dab towards the bottom, when I ended up in a brutal sandy rut and almost went off trail. It would have been nice to clean the whole thing, especially after my layoff, but I felt pretty good anyway. The trail is a mess, and is sandy and rutted all over the place. I had thought there was another trailwork event planned for BM in September, but didn't see it on the SDMBA calendar. It needs it.
From the bottom of Canyon Rim I climbed back up the paved road, through the parking lot where the hashers were beginning to disperse, and down the rutted fire road and across the meadow toward the pond. I elected to take the closer trail that didn't involve any HAB, and made it without stopping.
After that I rode back across Carmel Valley Rd. and through the 4S trails to home. I made it home in under an hour, which was nice, but expected. In fact, back in early June, I did this same route with an extra trip down Canyon Rim in just two minutes longer, meaning my pace this time was a little off. It did feel good to be back on the bike, and I was excited that my crank replacement held up. And what a difference the new ones made.
So hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things before too long. I have a vacation coming up, and am hoping to get some serious riding in, maybe even out of town. We'll see...
Here are the Stats:
Total Distance: 7.23 miles
Total Distance: 7.23 miles
Total Time: 55:53
Ascent: 991 feet
Average Speed: 7.8 mph
Top Speed: 34.7 mph
Bike: Specialized Enduro Elite
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