9 days

9 days seems to be my recovery time needed from major major efforts. 9 freaking days without any semblance of legs. By the 7th or 8th day I really start to worry if they are every going to come back again. Gets kind of scary.

All this week, any ride I did there was just zero in the climbing department. Plus 2 days completely off doesn't actually do wonders for the snap. Yesterday hopped on the road bike and rode down to the river. Climbing out from the river was a nightmare. This is a climb I usually do in 2 gears higher than my granny. Totally granny gear yesterday. The flats were still ok once I spun up the momentum.

Today had meetings/presentations and just drove to a trail head and did my nemesis climb on the mountain bike. Almost always push it to the red on this climb. Today told myself to just chill and spin it. In years past just getting up this thing would take me into the darkside. But with my new found fitness I found today that surprisingly, it could be climbed w/o getting blurry vision. And learned that it is amazing what one can actually ride when you aren't entering it at the redline.

There are several technical sections that normally when time trialing up this thing that I have to walk because I hit them already pegged and don't have that extra oomph needed to clean them. Today hit them with plenty of gas, and kept the middle ring and rode up them like they were nothing. Ahhh so that's how it is done?

At the top were two women I know from the shop. They seemed a little out of it. Turns out they'd just split a six pack. Not often you see people drink some beer and then go climb one of the more technical trails in town. I showed them where the dirt crit course was and said I'd keep out of vomit range. Then escorted one down Old Farm just to make sure she made it down in one piece. They were going back and forth about whether to go this way to this house, or that way to this car.. Reminded me why I don't go on group rides much. When you have X amount of time right before the witching hours start you just aren't really up for the usual trail side chit chat. Gotta get better about that before I lose more of the few friends that I got.

Moved my cleats back a little. Ah. Balance again on the pedals. Sketchy tires though. LOVE love my Seracs


But when they start to get worn they can get sketchy. But it's good for me. Good to develop the light touch. Good to get used to that drifting feeling. Not good to stack it. But good to almost stack it.