The above post was from the trail head at Tsali Friday when I finished my ride. I have been really feeling the need to go single speed Tsali and get in a lot of miles. It ended up being just me so, I thought why not try to do the left and right loops twice. I was looking forward to seeing just how bad I could punish myself. I have not done a ride of that distance on a single speed in a long time. Well, actually I might have only come close with a 20 miler and that was years ago on a 26 inch single speed. I think an aluminum one at that. Let me just say I will never ride another 26 inch aluminum SS again. A 29 for SS'ing is the way to go. I also can't take the beating that aluminum hard tails hand out. A spoiled fancy pants? Yeah maybe. Still won't wear sweety tighty bike shorts though. So not that much a fancy pants. Ha!
The day was chilly. Never broke 45 and it was windy. The only time I felt really cold was on the sides exposed to the lake. The wind cut right through and being sweaty made it a bit worse. Aside from that it was a classic fall scene. All the colors, the leaves, and the sun was bright. A beautiful day to be sure. I might have seen about eight riders on the trail all day. All of which were running it in the opposite direction and let me pass. Beautiful. Not crowded. I was loving it. The trail was thick with leaves and still I never had a problem with the 29s loosing grip. Never slipped or washed out. I had two hills that came right out of turns that I just could not get the momentum I needed to clean and had to push them. I tweaked my wrist the first attempt on one of them because I was torquing so hard to try and make it. Sometimes you have to concede and push. I held a pretty descent pace and just sort of slipped into the zone. Not really thinking about anything. I just sort of soaked in my surroundings and slip into a groove (much like my moto for life. Digg and Groove)(thanks drunk skater dude). I broke for about 20 minutes to have lunch and had to put on a jacket before running the trails a second time. This ride worked my joints the worst. A lot of upper body soreness. Shoulders, Elbow, wrist, and lower back. But hey that's Single Speeding. I really felt like I had done something after this one.
I had packed a cooler full of goodies. Something for lunch and post ride. I really had to hit the fluids and food afterwards to get my energy back up. Driving home for two and a half hours after a ride like that can be miserable if you don't try to get a quick recovery going. Part of that recipe is to grab a milk shake somewhere. Aaahhh.A ride like this is great for a little introspection and to clear the neural pathways of poop left behind by inconsiderate pet owners.
-Mike
2 comments:
You are like a complete freak, but what else is new? Oh I had several people at the party I was at last night come up, look at my shirt and say "Mo Fun!" Its fun to say. You may have sumthin.
Man, those photos are beautiful. I havn't seen leaves like that for months. of course it's white here, but the riding is cool in the snow. gotta get some Mo Fun Tees. Hope you guys are great. eh! ray of the yukon...
Post a Comment