Beaver

I rode Beaver last night. Had a really good ride. Rode for an hour and a half. I had good energy considering the amount of climbing on Sunday's ride. Beaver is a good measure of my skill and strength even though it isn't overly technical. I was riding in my middle chain ring quite a bit.

Sunday, August 16, 2009
Ann, Brandelle, Mitch, Dave and I rode a few secluded trails off of I-90. It took me 1hour 30 minutes to climb/push the Ventana (42 lbs of Ventana) up to the end of the road. Then another 20 minutes of pushing up a trail. The rest of the group didn't think Washington trail was worth the hike a bike. I disagree, it was a fun trail and a little tamer than the next trail. The next trail was Oregon (I think). It was steep in places, a little muddy, tight steep switch backs with a few big (maybe too big to roll) drops mixed in. It was a fun trail. I walked some of the switchback, partly because I was off the bike to get over a drop and then didn't have good room to mount and prepare for the switch back. The trails up there are tough; but they were really fun! It would be a good trail to ride once it drys up a bit more. I really love the Ventana! It handles the steep really well. The bottom bracket is low (which I like); but I need to be careful that I don't try to roll over something that the bottom bracket gets stuck on. Finished the ride with a stop at a garage sale where I bought a fertilizer spreader for cheap. Then mowed the law, showered and went to see a movie. Fun day!

Saturday, August 15, 2009
I've been pretty tired this week, so I headed for the spa. It was a good choice.

Thursday, August 13, 2009
Freeride Thursday was all about drops. I did well on the practice drops. I'm still nervous about drop # 2 in the drop zone. I've ridden it once on the Nomad (I think it was on the Nomad). I landed on my front wheel. The remedy is just to make sure I do a good manual off the drop. It doesn't look scary from the side or from below. From the top (as you approach ) it looks like you are going to drop into the abyss. I need to get back to the colonnade for some drop practice.

Saturday, August 8, 2009
A few us us rode Capitol Forest. I was really apprehensive not about the ride; but about the group. 2 of us live out on the East side and one in Seattle. The Seattle person suggested we carpool from Seattle. She was set on carpooling and I wanted to drive by myself. My hope for the day (because I was pretty tired going into the weekend) was that we could spend more time riding and less time commuting. I took care of myself (at least to a limited amount), all things considered. I packed enough food for 2 meals, thankfully since we didn't leave the trail head till after 7pm! Next time, I need to meet them at the trail head at a specific time. I arrived at the P&R in Federal way really early (normal for me), one person was significantly late. Then it took a while to load up and actually drive to Olympia. We made one stop on the way. A 2 hour commute took close to 3 hours. We arrived at 12:30 and as we put our gear on, I was trying to scarf down my lunch (knowing it would be close to 2:00pm before we stopped for a meal. The ride was fun; but the people interactions were stressful due to the expectations of the people. One person really was looking for a social all day event (hence the carpooling). Next time I'll drive myself and not worry about hurting someone's feelings. Also, because we carpooled from Federal Way, I didn't feel I could leave early. I didn't ride the last run; but ended up waiting in the parking lot for a hour when the other vehicle was big enough to get everyone back to the P&R...it was a weird and stressful day. I spent 6 hours commuting when it should have been 4 hours. I left home at 9:00am and got home at 9:00pm. The stress of the day outwayed any fun.

August 6, 2009
The Thursday Night FreeRide was all about the pump track and track stands. I do both well, although I'm noticing that I don't have much endurance considering it is August. What is, is.

slow worms

August 4, 2009
I rode the worm with Fredrika. We took it slow and rode all of the worm. I climbed well. I was riding a bit faster than Fredrika (she is trying to take it easy these days); so I got quite a bit of rest. This was good because I could push hard on a hill and then rest. I was tired, probably from not enough sleep the last couple of nights. I rode well, but found myself over steering. I didn't try anything overly technical. Tonight we ride Sawyer. I slept well last night (about 7.5 hours); but I still feel a bit fatigued (probably due to last nights ride). We (Ann, Fredrika and I) booked a weekend at Captitol Forest (to practice the Super D course) as well as a long weekend at Whistler. I'm hoping we can ride the Super D course at least twice each day. I struggled with a couple of the Super D climbs last time (2 weeks ago); thus, I've been riding some hilly areas trying to get stronger on the climbs. The positive thing about the climbs is that they come after long descents; thus, although I stand on the descents, my legs are a bit rested.

Monday, August 3, 2009
I can't believe it is August! Monday was a rest day, which included the dentist installing a permanent crown, a trip to the nursery and some gardening. I finally went to the nursery to pick up plants for the pots on my deck (I know, most people do this either late spring or early summer). I found a rose to replace one that died in the front yard, as well as a few perennials (I always seem to pick up a few of these). I also decided to plant herbs in one of the pots on the deck. I'm hoping the herbs will winter well. I may have to move the herb pot somewhere it wont freeze. The flowers on the front porch are stunning, those pots turned out the best (of course I planted them first; thus they got first choice of the plants). I finished by mowing the lawn. I was drenched with sweat by the time I finished. Not bad for a rest day!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

I rode the worm with Fredrika. We took it easy and sessioned a few technical areas. We only rode the worm and it was plenty with the heat. We started at 2:00pm and didn't see another soul on the trail. We were out for 2 hours; but actual ride time was less. Today we are riding at 10:00am.