Monday, May 5, 2014

This just in, riding is still fun

My love of riding, whether fat, road or mountain bike continues. I can't help but feel like a little kid every time I swing my leg up over a bike, regardless of which type and where I'm riding.

I was looking at Strava this weekend and here are my stats so far this year:
Year-to-Date
Distance 609.2 mi
Time 86h 13m
Elev Gain 51,089 ft
Rides 56

Its not huge numbers by any stretch, but underneath those numbers are some good times. I'm really glad to have biking in my life and to be able to really enjoy my time on the bike. I seem to be getting into this realm where speed is fun, but not the primary goal of riding and I kind of like it.

I did fat bike rides Friday night and Saturday, they were similar in that I didn't feel like rushing for either ride.

Saturday I rode at Case, which proved to me that the fat bike is not the correct tool for every job. 95% of the ride was fine and super fun just like every other fat bike ride I've been on, but man those highly technical sections were tough! I know its just a matter of me working the bike in a different way than with the 29er FS, but that "working the bike" thing wasn't going too well. I had a couple of crashes that were unexpected. More work to be done I guess, but I'm glad I've got the RIP9 to fall back on for technical rides.

I came across a 4-5' long black snake, it seemed pretty agitated and was shaking its tail in the dry leaves making for a pretty convincing rattle sound. I kept my distance, but very cool to see a snake this large in the wild.

 A bit later I came across two deer who, in contrast to the black snake seemed entirely uninterested in me. They went about their business without really moving even as I rode by them. They looked to be just starting to lose their winter coats and were pretty thin, I'm sure that was a tough winter for them.











I also came across a couple of friends I haven't seen for a while we talked for a bit, which was really nice too. The second rider, upon seeing my legs asked why I wasn't wearing leg guards, hmmm probably something I should consider, my shins look like a walked into a blender. 

On Friday the slow ride mentality at Crandalls manifested itself into a picture ride, I suffer for my art, having several crashes while being distracted by the camera while setting up a shot. I caught some good pictures though (none of the crashes):
Sunday I rode Middlesex, no pictures, but that continues to be an excellent place to ride, one of my favorite places in CT. Highly technical in sections, but really different terrain than any other place. A guy on the ride had a trail saw and we took care of three major trail blockages, it feels good to give back like that with a group of guys who are willing to interrupt the ride like that.

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