That’s how I described myself after today’s ride. I was lucky when I started my ride since I had beaten the rain. The first ten minutes or so my hands were pretty cold and I was doing what I could to warm them up. Once I started climbing some hills the blood got flowing and they warmed up.

I took fireroads up quite a way and descended down North Ridge and South Ridge trails. I certianly could stand to ride more though since I found myself walking a lot of the uphill portions. My legs just don’t have the strength they used to so getting the big bike to the top now seems to take a lot more effort than it used to.

One thing I love about riding in the wet is that the technique come back fairly quickly. Using body english and lunging the bike to get over roots. No front brakes to get down slippery rocks. Avoiding mud on corners. I love being able to see a tree root and be able to accurately envision what will happen to my wheel if I hit it in a certain way.

Just today I was slithering down a steep rocky section when I started to go off course. I purposely rolled over an off camber tree root knowing my tire would slip. This slip got me centred on the trail again.

Nearing what was supposed to be the end of my ride I took a wrong turn on a new trail. This took me down a fun trail with lots of berms. At first I wasn’t going fast enough to actually use the berms. A few pedal strokes and I could hit higher in the berm. The next one that I hit I was going a little too hard and felt the bike start doing a two wheel drift around the corner. All of a sudden the tires bit into solid ground, I shot out of the corner and straightened out. Very fun, and a good little adrenaline rush.

My brakes were feeling awesome today and that little bit of confidence was a nice bonus. I knew I could attack the trail and not worry about whether I could slow down or not. I’m glad I changed those front pads and after a slight adjustment, the rear brakes felt balanced with the front.

As I exited the trees and made my way to Shock Treatment the rain started. It wasn’t a hard rain, but it made me pick up the pace to get back to the truck quicker. I couldn’t have timed that ride any better.

A nice hot shower and home and good cup of coffee were the perfect caps to the ride. Those and a foot long sub from Subway. 🙂

At the first climb I could tell it had been a long time since I rode last. My legs definitely are not as strong as they used to be, so hefting my Bullit up the hills was a chore.

I also found that my bike felt jarring and harsh. The suspension seemed stiff, but it was actually fine. It turned out I had filled the tires too full, so after deflating the tires a bit, the ride quality improved dramatically.

My brakes were feeling a little off. I think the pads need replacing. Due to wonky brakes I chose to stay on the lower trails in case I needed to do some walking. This lead to a very fun ride.

The lower trails are the old-school trails to me. I know them well. They are still a blast, especially when the ground is soft and muddy from rain. You just never know when you are railing a corned if the ground will hold, or if the tires will break loose. If they break loose, can I recover?

After 1.5 hours I was done. My legs were toast, my bike was muddy. It was time to go. The shower when I got home felt wonderful and well deserved.

There was one unfortunate thing that happened on the ride though. I took my camera out of my pack to take a picture of a stunning stream. Picture a rushing babbling stream flowing over moss covered rocks. I planned to keep a small aperture so that I could get the water blurred. Woops, no card in the camera. Oh well. It made me focus on the ride, and the trails, not look for photo opportunities.