Tag: Ride Writeup

Racing Today

I recently wrote about wanting to do some racing this year. A couple weeks ago that plan changed. I haven’t been getting in many training rides, so my fitness just isn’t ready for racing. Also, I haven’t spent any time on my mountain bike so I just don’t feel comfortable going all out for a race. My balance and jumping skills are a little rusty, and so is my timing. This just adds up to a bad combination.

I had contemplated just doing the Victoria race, but it would prove too expensive. A club membership is needed for insurance purposes, and that runs around $45. Add on races fees of $10-$20, and that is an insane amount of money for a 5 minute race run. I am going to pass on racing this year, and plan to get some racing in next year.

Of course I did get out for a nice ride today. It was a lot of fun, but it really reinforced in my mind that I made the right decision to not race. My fitness is nowhere close, and I was not showing the finesse I normally do. I had a great ride though, and my friend and I rode some excellent trails. I had a few good jumps, good log rides, and some good rock faces. I also had a few close calls, and a couple off-bike excursions.

I am a little disappointed about not racing this year, but after today’s great ride, I am more comfortable with my decision.

Ditch Jelly

Yesterday morning I met up with a few friends for a ride at the dump. It was a cold morning so I dressed extra warm. At the dump I decided to ditch the pants and go with shorts. Add in leg armour, and I was still plenty warm. The route we took was pretty good. It had been a while since I was on trails, so I wanted something easy. We ended up on Green Ribbon, which is decidedly not an easy trail. There are some good steeps, fun rock faces, and some big jumps. I had a blast and was pretty knackered by the end. My quads felt like jelly.

At the end of the last trail we were waiting for Sean to do the last couple drops and I thought I could see some dust falling from the trees. At first I thought pine needles, but someone else said hail. Then we all realized it was snow. 🙂

The sad part of the ride came as we were ascending fun trail. There was lots of ribbons tied to trees and we could see some stakes in the ground marked PL. Sean pointed out that the ribbons were for a fall boundary and the the stakes were property line markers. Looks like we might be losing more trails to a housing development. Years ago people used to call Victoria a biking mecca. We had a few excellent areas to ride, with more in Cobble Hill, Sooke, and Duncan close by. Now we have the dump and Duncan. A few trails at the dump have been lost to development. It is sad for me to see these trails get eaten since the trail system at the dump was a place I grew up. I strongly feel that mountain biking changed my life and helped shape me. Seeing some of this getting torn up tears me up.

Meandering Obstacles

I got out for a ride today that was just fantastic. It was raining, which I wasn’t looking forward to, but it was still somewhat warm. My friend and I took a meandering route through the park that had a few technical challenges, but was still a good for cardio. I may not have been out for a while, but my body still remembered how to ride.

I suppose my playing Ulti this summer helped me a lot. When you aren’t concentrating on how hard you are breathing, you can concentrate on the trail. My legs felt plenty powerful so I could still power over small obstacles and rocks.

It felt great to be on the trails, and to catch up with my friend. Socializing has always been a big part of my riding and today was no exception. We didn’t run into too many people due to the weather which was neat since it felt like we owned the trails.

I was wearing a jacket to keep warm, but that always traps my body heat soaking me through. I was still working up a good sweat and every time I looked down water was streaming off my helmet, down my face, and off my nose. A few times my eyes were stinging with sweat. My hands were feeling particularly wet, and I was able to clench a fist and see water streaming to the ground.

Wet rides will always be special to me. Some of my best and favorite rides are in the wet.

Arriving home I unloaded my gear, grabbed a quick shower, then had lunch with the family. What a great Sunday morning.

Dump Loved

I went mountain biking yesterday! Woohoo! First time in a while. It was a gorgeous sunny day that wasn’t too hot. D and I met at the dump, and did a small tour over some familiar trails, and took numerous breaks. It was heavenly. I do still miss mountain biking, and I look forward to the point in time when my family is old enough that I can get out riding on a regular basis.

Our route took us up to the Swtichbacks, then up to Snakes and Ladders. Down that trail, we then ended up on Skull, then back to the cars. We were out for over 2 hours, and I loved every minute of it.

Two legs turning two wheels is pretty simple. A lot can happen when you turn off your brain and concentrate on one thing only. I sometimes enter a zen state and have a completely empty mind. Yesterday wasn’t that kind of day and I don’t mind one bit.

Morning Maintenance

Sox had a brunch thing that she was taking Sprout to, so I had some free time this morning. Yesterday I decided that I would use it to go for a bike ride. Wouldn’t you know it though, I woke up this morning feeling completely unenthused by the idea!

Sox convinced me to head out anyway, and I did. I had a hard time deciding on which bike to take, so I opted for the easiest one to grab. This turned out to be the Bullit, since my hardtail still had the trailer attached to it.

Once on the trails I was amazed at how few people were out. I saw one other rider while riding, and a bunch of other people doing some trail maintenance. Strange since it was almost sunny, and kinda warm (compared to the rest of the week).

I rode a lot of the roads, mainly just to get the blood flowing. I chose some of my favorite downhill trails as a way to remind me of how much I liked riding. There is something about Snakes and Ladders that always makes me ride fast and have a blast.

Over the course of the ride I worked up a good sweat, but I wouldn’t call it a great ride. I am glad I went though, as it gave me a chance to take a couple pictures too.

Mountain Rain

I was feeling like mountain biking this week, and after sending some email, I got a couple other people interested in going today too.

When I got up this morning, it wasn’t looking all that nice out. This was unfortunate, but since there were other people coming, and I really, needed some activity, I gathered my gear and headed out to the dump where it was raining pretty good.

Nobody showed :0 Not fair.

Since I was geared up, and already out there I decided to take a small spin and see how that went. I wasn’t looking forward to riding alone in the rain. Its not so bad if you have someone to talk to, but taking a break while getting soaked pretty much sucks.

I climbed a few hills, and passed a few other groups of riders out there. I mainly stuck to the lower trails to avoid anything too technical. I was wearing my armour, and my full face helmet, but I still wanted to avoid injury.

I stopped in a clearing right before a stream crossing, and contemplated what I was doing. I wasn’t having much fun, I wasn’t even remotely enjoying the ride, but I was getting exercise. I bailed on the next set of trails, and made my way back to the truck. I was a little disappointed, partly in myself.

I do need to get back into a regular exercise routine. That was pretty evident today.

I had some errands to run along the way home, and I grabbed some lunch along the way. Once home I realized I was disappointed, but I was still glad to have gotten out there.

Guards Great

I took the Bullit for a spin at the dump today, and it was awesome.

I wore my new leg armour that I ordered after Christmas and that just arrived recently. I got some Troy Lee Designs Combat Guards, and they are so much better than my older TLD leg armour.

It was a bit of a quick burn on the trails, yet it was still a blast. I still have my technical edge, and my fitness is pretty good, so I had quite a bit of confidence on the ride. I did a couple rock faces, and a few small jumps along the way. The sun on my back felt great too.

Bike Hops

I got out for a ride today.  There is something about a New Years day ride that is always fun.  It didn’t look like it was going to be good though.  When I woke up I could feel a cold setting in (sore throat and slight sinus congestion). It was also pouring as I was loading the truck, and I have certainly turned into a fair weather rider.  I can’t believe I just said that, but it is true.

Still, I threw my gear and my bike in, and headed out to the dump. I met up with Sean and Bosley, and we waited a bit for Darryll who never showed.  We geared up and went out for a short ride, more for Bosley than for us.  I haven’t ridden any bike since early November, and haven’t ridden a mountain bike in much longer than that.   I was expecting to be slow but it didn’t turn out that way.

I was able to keep up to Sean fairly well, and had fun.  Some of the DH sections I was able to do a couple bunny hops and get up some speed. 

Surprisingly, I had fun.  I got really wet, muddy, and a little cold, but it was fun. Perhaps I should get out a little more often. 🙂