We got a late start to our ride today - 8:30 AM and it was already 84 degrees. Thom and I split up on our ride today, since I didn't feel like doing the 25%+ grades to get to the ridge and was not feeling great in the heat. We rode to "Cow Corner" together and then he headed up to the ridge and I continued on to the Water Tower descent. I absolutely love descending this trail when there are no hikers on it. Initially it has sweeping turns with good sight lines, but right by the water tower it gets super steep with some switchbacks. It's a fire road, so the switchbacks aren't hard to navigate and you have to cut your speed as you head into it to be sure there aren't any hikers or equestrians that you couldn't see. Today it was totally open and I flew down it, hitting 28 mph! Once you can see into the second switchback, you can just let the bike go. That was enough to convince me that I had another lap in me despite the heat. On the second lap I did have a couple of hikers that I needed to slow for on the descent, but that's okay. There was plenty of room to pass them, but I think flying by is rude.

I also discovered that I can change my rear shock while riding. On the first lap Thom and I were talking about it. I routinely change the front one from climbing to cross county mode, occasionally put it into downhill, but not often. I had had difficulty finding the lever for the rear one. You really cant' see it, you have to go by feel. By following the top tube down to the shock, you just automatically hit the lever. Climbing mode is very stiff! When it is in climbing mode, it's easier to find it using your left hand to put it back into cross country. On some of the flattish sections I practiced just moving it back and forth. This is my first fully suspended bike, with a dropper saddle, so I'm still figuring out what I can do with it. It's a lot to coordinate sometimes as you start a descent - put the the bike in the middle ring. Change the shocks to descending mode, drop the saddle - all as the bike is moving and picking up speed.

It was 92 when we finished our ride at 9:45. Yeah, it was short, just 7.25 miles, but with 1050 feet of climbing.

Veronica