May rides, may they all be wonderful

[north woods gal]

Hope you're feeling better for the weekend, Crankin. A pleasant ride would make for a nice Mother's Day. That's my plan, anyway.

Cool and windy for us, these last couple days with highs in the 50s. Don't mind the temp, but that wind always kicks in my allergies, this time of year. Huge improvement living, here, though, compared to living in farm country as I have most of my life. My allergies really knocked me for a loop in that environment.

Well, I think I'm ready to give a single speed a try for my trail riding. My local guy recommended a 30 up front and a 20 in the rear for riding our constantly up and down trails, in our area, especially considering that our trails are all laced with a few really steep climbs along the way, not to mention soft spots with sand. He's right. My Krampus has a 30 in the front, so I've been setting the rear cog at 19 teeth or 21 teeth and giving it a try. Whoa! Talk about workout, but it's a doable workout. I can just crest my steepest climbs, standing in the pedals all the way in the 19, but the 21 is just a touch more manageable. Not much, but it's noticeable.

Overall, sticking with one speed for trail work has been a real adjustment in my technique. It's not just the need to stand in the pedals to climb, it's adjusting to making the tight twists and turns along the trail without being able to drop a gear or two to make the turns. With that gear combo, there's very little spinning I can do with my pedaling on my trails. Even on the flatter sections. I never get a chance to get up to spinning speed before hitting a twist or something to dodge or climb. It's all power pedaling, now. Also, one speed makes my approach to each section a bit different than with the geared bikes. Lots more planning ahead and getting up to speed before I hit the steeps. All in all, going with one gear has been a fun experiment and I do think it's made my more aware and a better rider. For sure, it's made me a STRONGER rider. I can feel it in the legs in the morning.

The same gear combo still works on our neighborhood paved roads, by the way, given that our roads are also all hills. Will try more road riding in that gear combo a bit farther out to see how it does, though. The experiment continues.