Hectic Times

It's been quite a week! As usual the week kicked off with a night ride, just George and me again (come on guys we could do with some company!). I've been suffereing from a bit of "trail-wander lust" recently, getting bored with trundling round the same old trails. Night riding adds variety and different trail direction/orders spices things up a bit but it was all getting a bit old! Good old George! Adds a new (but familiar) element that made the night ride the blast it should be - speed! He announced he wanted to do the "long route" (ie Belmont, Rockburn park, Ridge and Cascade) twice, once in each direction. Right on!



Hardly an epic ride (approx 7.5 miles each way) but as my faithful light (Nite Hawk Raptor - 10 watts of inexpensive illuminating beauty) only has a burn of just 2 hours (and I'm trying not to burn it completely flat cos its a lead acid battery and they don't like that) the ride was going to need to be at a good pace (for me).



Hit the trails clockwise first cos that's the hardest way, no time for chat tonight, heads down keepin' it movin'. When I slacked off George would push ahead and I'd chase, if George slacked, off I went. Felt bloody great - both of us took on many of the "extra point" obstacles that litter the trail edges. First lap just 55 min - not bad even for a daytime effort. At the entry point, no talking, just turn those bikes around and hit the trals in reverse.



Woo Hoo! Second lap felt a bit move of an effort - LOADS of deer out keeping things interesting. As we entered Cascade my light suddenly dimmed. In an effort to protect mt battery, I turned my bar light off and relied on my $10 EverReady helmet light. This emergency light is just sufficient to ride by on non-technical, well known trails (luckily exactly what Cascade is). The only issue was when George was right behind me - the light from his NiteRider (beautiful light) was so bright that my EverReady light couldn't even cut into the shadow cast by my body in George's light! So I was essentially blind as to what was directly in front of me. I turned on my bar light to give me just enough illuminiation to safety navigate the "loggy section" leading back to Belmont, then flew down the final smooth section in darkness!! Great ride, second lap took just 50 min, wild! Only downer is that this meant my Nite Hawk now has a burn time of less than two hours (as a result of the battery abuse I've given it of late). Maybe it's time for a new light.

Riding Sunday was a no-go (more of that later), so I worked it so I couuld fit in my first ever proper fixie road ride on Saturday. After dropping Child #3 off at a play date I took the opportunity to hit the pavement on my old Peugeot fixie. 25 Miles of heaven and hell, chose a pretty hilly route, Highland Road (MD 216) than Brighton Dam, onto 650 then 97. A straight "out and back" which tested my leg strength at times and my ability to spin crazy fast at others. Max speed 29 mph and average of 16.5 mph =- took it pretty conservatively. A slow flat in my rear tire over the last 3 miles made life exciting (as I had no pump with me - FOOL), meaning I had to stand as much as I could, but I made it back with no apparent damage to wheel or body. Must get out and ride the fixie more often!

Sunday was a "no-rider" as MLW and four of her friends were headed to Pa for an Adventure Race. The Wildlands Challenge Adventure Race was a 27 mile circumnavigation of Blue Marsh Lake in Pa. It involved padding canoes, MTBing, running (sometimes "bungeed" to an MTB) and various "challenges" (mainly crawling, dragging and carrying stuff). The girls did a great job, had a complete blast and canme in third ladies team (in 5 and 1/2 hours)! Awesome job! George and I went along to act as crew and enjoyed a relaxing day eating PB&J sandwiches, cookies and occasionally transfering bikes and other equipment between transition stations. The atmosphere was generally relaxed (everyone happily chatting away exchanging tips, experiences and stories) and everyone seemed to have a great time. Girls are psyched about the whole adventure race scene so I guess my "crewing" skills may become more developed over the next year or so - there was even talk of attempting a 24 h race!