March 27, 2007 - Tuesday night at the Beav.
Tonight was the first bike ride in almost two weeks! I was under the weather this weekend (stayed home sick on Monday) and almost went home sick today...but, by this afternoon I was feeling pretty good. I got out of work a bit late...so I got home a bit late. The Beaver Lake trails are 20 minutes (by bike) from my house...but I really wanted to spend as much time as possible on single track...so I put the bike on the car and drove to the Beaver Lake park. The trail system was only 3/4 of a mile from there. The last time I rode there I discovered a great new flowy and fast trail leading out of the trail system. I immediately was reminded that most trails are not flowy and fast in both directions. My ride began with some climbing. Once my body remembered the mountain bike gig (high heart rates, steep climbs, and fast flowy downhills) the trail system became very fun. There was a bit more mud (in some places) than I like to ride in. I rode harder than I normally would because I forgot my light battery and knew I had to be out of the trails by 7:30pm to get back to the car before dark...I really don't like being on a time crunch...especially since any mechanical could easily have left me in the dark.

The last time I felt the uneasy panic was when my rear derailleur was ripped off my bike (by an evil branch) at Lake Sawyer. We (my Godson Joseph and I) had about 30 minutes of light and I wasn't sure how long it was going to take us to get out of the trails. So I turned my Juliana into a single speed and we rode out (ruined a good chain...but we got out before dark).

Tonight's ride was only 1.5 hours...but it was fun! I rode very well...better than I expected...the technical came back quick. I made a few climbs that I didn't expect to...of course hearing noises in the woods (and recalling all the mommy bear and cub stories) kept me moving.

As a side, this week on the BBTC e-mail list they were telling stories about the strangest things they have seen on a trail. I'd love to recount all the great stories they were telling...but after the first story, I realized that if I continued to read these stories...my solo mountain biking days would be over...so I promptly deleted the thread. I figured all the bear sightings this month is enough to keep my blood flowing on the bike.


Easter Monday:
Finished the fence. I wouldn't let myself call it a day until every last board was nailed on. It was so tempting to take a break. But the fence is finished (all twelve sections). Five from last month and seven from this weekend.

Easter Saturday:
Spent the day picking up more supplies and building fence. Katie came by for five hours of fence tutorials! Her help was awesome. It is so much easier to build fence with two people! It is a good thing that she didn't come on day one of the project or I would never have been willing to continue on by myself!