December 5, 2010

  • Decemeber MTB ride

    Wow, I can't believe just how warm it is this December.  Ok,  well, it's 27 F but it's going to warm up later in the day.   Kinda a bummer that there is no snow on the ground as I am really looking forward to sliding around on the slow and having way less pedestrian traffic on the trails.

    I am pretty tried or at least my legs are a bit stiff from that run on Friday.   Normally a run wouldn't be an issue, but when you only run once a week and you miss a couple of weeks, the legs seem to forget that you are going to ask them to run.   In any case it's a good chance to try out a different route with some more technical stuff.

    Off and running and going it alone again.  I guess I should probably post a ride with some notice to give folks a chance to show up but I am liking this feeling of not having to commit to a ride if one is not really in that great of shape.

    Once again we ride to the trails which makes for a pretty good warm up and definitely lets me know how the legs are doing.  It's really quite pleasant to be able to warm up at  your own pace.  Seems like for me most folks I have hooked up with are much faster than I am or al least they like to not warm-up... but I digress.

    I make it to the trails and I am happy to be on the Yeti.  It's so plush and smooth, especially since the suspension has been tricked out by the guys at PUSH.  It's nice to cruise around Pineridge before the ascent up Maxwell.  The legs are feeling OK, but not a lot of snap in them.  They just feel like a nice steady moderate to easy effort and I am good with that . Nice not to be training for anything so I don't feel guilty about just having fun.  Now all of this may change if my  crazy brother decides to try Leadville next year, but I am sure that what ever it was that he was smoking is long out of his system and we won't be hearing any more crazy talk like that.   Oh, so why does this affect me, Well I promised him I would do it with him if he ever decided to do that crazy thing, me thinking that  Aliens were more likely to announce themselves to the planet before that happened....

    Anyway the climb up Maxwell went well,  I clean the hill with the exception of a stop to let some runners come by me.   Since that went so well I decide that it's time to go and do the Foothills technical stuff on the East side of Centigram drive.  I don't do this one very often cause it's very technical both up and down.  It's bad enough going down, but going up is almost impossible, save those born on Krypton or some-such.

    I finally make it over to the start of the technical stuff.  I drop the saddle a bit, put on some Knee and elbow armored get some food and down we go!  Oh my, this trail has changed a bit and I find myself having to do a do-over on a techy section that I didn't know the line on.   In any case it all went well up til that rocky switch back that  I couldn't clean, nor was I going to try.  

    While i am checking out the corner I see a runner with a dog coming up so I figured I will wait until she passes until I go.  We exchange greeting, and she says something about me being "Hard Core" to be riding this trail.    I am amused but I quit that this is pretty challenging running too and that she must be pretty hard core herself.   We make another 45 seconds or so of small talk and we go our separate ways.     Back on the bike and life is good.  The yeti is performing well and I  clean most of the rest of it with the exception of this "Jump over the bars moment", but we went back to do it over and all was well.

    The only bad thing about this descent is that I have to go back up.  Since the legs weren't feeling that good I planned on using the 34, but there were some shifting issues  and I could only use the 32.   Oh well, this didn't really matter as there was no way I was gonna attempt some of this stuff so I ended up just doing the "Hike a Bike" thing.  On the way up I ran into that woman runner again and we exchanged another 60 seconds of small talk about the terrain etc.   She looked really fit and I wouldn't have been surprised if she had the fitness to ride this stuff....     So, back on the bike, and more hiking etc.   Now, I remember why I don't do this trail to often, Much if it is rid-able on fresh eager legs but I was fresh out of those today.

    Finally to the top and time to descend and do Michaud Lane.   I must say that these trails, have gotten so much rockier, and in the old days there were many sections that I would take to my "reckless abandonn" style of descending, but not any more.  

    The climb back up was just as rocky etc. and although I have cleaned this climb many times in the past,  I wasn't able to today, nor was it a goal, but it did remind me how tough this trail was.  In any case I was glad to be done with the tough stuff....

    Time to head for home.   I take as many trails as I can which meant doing that moderate section near the Dam on the West side of Centennial.  Nice descent, but that  drop off to the West gives me reason for caution some times.   It was fun though and much better than taking the pavement.   From there we take Shoreline and it's a pretty much uneventful ride.   I do stop and stare at that techy section that I don't ride any more, "Like I ever really did more than 3 times".  I see a line that I think I might try someday, but today is not that day.

    To the top and Down Maxwell which was fun.  I think it's more fun going up due to all the ever incresing level of exposed rocks.  In any case I had to  dab once on the way down, but it's all good since no one went down! 

    Now onto the roads and home.   The roads are so boring and slow on Fat tires, and I am so glad to finally be home.  A good time was had by all. 31 miles total, 4 + hours of fun.  Here's the SportsTrackerLink