Thursday 6 August 2009

some biking, some sad

The biking- biking has been going pretty well- still haven't gotten into a twice-a-week commute yet, but I've been getting out in the hills once a week to keep up appearances of training. I've given up tracking my times since I've started adding bits and pieces of trail to the ride depending on how much of a hurry I'm in, how nice the weather is, how good I'm feeling...

Last time I went mountain biking I decided to do some exploring and took a left instead of a right. I cruised down a fun singletrack/fireroad descent for a long time, starting to think that maybe I should have thought this out a little better. I saw what I thought was a return trail off to my right, and when I hit a fence I thrashed through some spiky plants and thistles to get over to it, only to find a stream with no trail on the other side. I crossed over and poked around a little, but nothing. All I ended up with was wet feet. Since I had to go back the same way I came down, I was a little down, but it turned out to be great. It's a mile and a half of steady uphill with some steeper sections, and it's at the right gradient that I can sit and spin/grind up it for most of the way. This is great- most of the hills on my usual loop require standing, swearing, and finally stopping and walking on a singlespeed. This one I can get in a groove, and it should be really good training for the race in September.

The sad- I read today that Susan, the fat cyclist's wife, died last night. It's a testament to the writing on that blog that I'm so crushed about this. Reading about his journey over the last year or so since I discovered his blog has been inspirational, and I hope he and his family find some peace in a tragic time.

1 comment:

  1. Nick, I'm like you in both ways... I keep modifying where I ride and why so much that tracking progress is tricky. I was also deeply saddened to read of Susan's death last night, and a little surprised at how much it has affected me too.

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