Well. Here we are. Today was the fifth ride outdoors this year. It came with the wonderful quality of being the first real mtb ride of the year (woohoo!).
Tbott was extra excited to go ride his new Cannondale RZ120 which is a new model this year clocking in with 5 inches of travel front and rear, crazy awesome (tm) pedaling efficiency and all around good times garaunteed.
I was to be abord the all trusty scalpel ready to remind me that while racing is 95% about the motor, having one of the nicest bikes on the planet makes full use of that last 5%. And if you are just out riding with your friends, it is just that much better.
I picked Dr. T up at his place and after a brief pause for him to check the torque on a newly installed carbon handlebar (with a proper torque wrench of course) and fir me to inhale some pintos and rice that I'd grabbed from the fridge when I realized that I'd probably want to eat at least once before we rode, we were off. Breakfast had been lost when I sprang forward in the morning.
Weather was lower to mid 40s and raining. There aren't that many times during the year when that sounds appealing. Luckily for us, mid march is one of those times!
The optimism was running high and coopers rock was the destination. After a week of ear weather and rain we were sure that the trails would at least be melted enough to ride. On the way up from cheat lake we were encouraged by only seeing scattered spots of snow only to have the situation reversed to scattered spots of dirt on e we reached the top. Plus the compacted areas where the trails had been walked/skiied on were even thicker than the regular ground cover with snow.
Plan b was b for bakers ridge. We thought maybe we'd catch some of Dan's dirt queens out for the Sunday jaunt but the parkinglot was empty to the max.
Trails were a great mix of super fun not too wet loamy good stuff along with a major helping of thick deep sloggy mud and slick greasy mud.
Looked like someone had been out with a chainsaw recently so trail obstructions were at a minimum, though b-tal and I did do our bit of trail cleaning as well. After a few laps on top plus seven logs trail and rooster we headed back to the car for a recovery beverage and dry shorts.
The Beverage of choice was supplied by the good doctor in the form of Whole Hog Imperial IPA. I do appreciate a nice hoppy IPA but I find most imperial brews don't gain much from the extra alcohol. This was no different, with a full bold flavor and grain liquor aftertaste. It certainly did accelerate us through our recovery window though, so good for that.
Looking forward to a great season ahead. See you there.
