And.... it was good.

This morning while taking my oldest to the bus stop it was snowing flakes as big as silver dollars. Melting upon impact. Later when I dropped my little one off at preschool the flakes were smaller and still just as wet.

The man and the plan said to do a hard mtn bike today. I wasn't going to disappoint, even if it meant giving up my fair weather rider status. Bike was loaded and I dropped off at preschool in tights, jersey and cycling jacket. Though these tights are cool, they are Canari loose tights, so you can walk in public places and not get gawked at for your huge quads. Mom's in sweats at preschool are not for the faint of heart. Dad's in cycling gear are cool.

When I got to the pond it was still snow/raining. 1/4 coverage on the trails.



And it was cold, but I figured I'd warm up quick. Full booties, and light windproof gloves and liners on the hands. Hand started to get really cold then warmed up fine. I hate wearing thick gloves off road, makes my hands ache. But then again I hate it when I can't feel my fingers.

Gentlemen...we have liftoff. I was rockin' and rollin' having a ball. The legs are there, the skills are not but it wasn't a total disaster. The snow was crunchy and traction was pretty good. And I was loving every minute of it until I started to get really cold and wet.



It was so much fun, sort of like a homecoming to how we used to ride in all sorts of crazy weather, and at the same time it was like a new experience, cause I am trying to figure out where my fitness, legs, and skills are after being on the trainer for so long and being off the trails.

Some sections I'd hoss up in middle ring thinking that this isn't right, and then other sections that are rideable I'd be in the wrong gear. So this was sort of a feeler ride to set a baseline.
Trying to figure out when to stand and how to stand. I'm so used to riding in survival mode rather than attacking.

And it was good.

The wet roots, leaves, and rocks were freaking me a little, and it was too easy to over-ride my skills and wet brakes. Climbed to the top of the ridge where the wind was howling, and the snow had turned to rain. The bike was working ok even with the snow packing the gears, though the brakes were fading. One of these days I'll go disc again, but still have bad memories from my first and only disc experience.



The downhill chilled me to the bone, and it was fully raining by this time. With pride I added a short little loop instead of heading straight for the car, but only made it 1:40 ride time instead of the planned 2:00. I'll take a Bonus :20 mins for passing go and riding in the cold/wet. I'll deal with the aftermath to my bike and brakes later.

So it wasn't an all out hammer fest, but I was breathing hard looking for that zone. I am learning that it's ok to breathe hard and that it isn't the same as all out gasping. Which I did a little of as well, and was pleasantly surprised to see that I could recover and go back to baseline.

There are So many subtleties in mountain biking that make it so wonderful.
-How to keep your front wheel from floating on climbs
-how to stand up and honk w/o riding off the trail or spining out
-letting the front float over roots, and then being comfortabe with the rear sliding out
-when to shift, how to shift
-when to brake, how to brake
-when to lean the bike and keep the body upright, when to keep the bike upright and lean the body, when to lean both
-timing the pedal stroke to get over logs/rocks
-and on and on

Fun stuff. Wad a country.
But I had to rip up my fair weather ID card.

cya