Weekend MTB Rides

[thekarens]

She hit the snake after flying over the hump and continued tearing down the trail. I came to a dead stop. She came back and moved it off the trail. I just knew it would cause someone an accident if it was left there.

[Catrin]

Finally, after a month off the mountain bike I finally got in 2 hours on the trails today Guilliana23 and I hit the beginner trail at my favorite park so she could check it out for the first time and we had fun! I like the new rear tire, it is quite a lot more aggressive/knobbier than my front tire and I could tell the difference. No crashes, though I did skid on a small mud spot that I was trying to avoid but was able to control what happened next. Guilliana23 did great! We rode Pine Loop a couple of times and also hit part of the NT Connector.

My knee was a little cranky, but I could tell some good improvement, I think the ride was just what it needed. My next ride I will return to the intermediate trail that got me last time and kick it's azz The dust is gone, and I am defiantly getting some traction now so there shouldn't be a repeat - or at least not for the same reason!

The trails had many, many hikers on them, far more than I've seen before. Some didn't seem to be aware they weren't just hiking trails, but they found that out pretty quickly. It will likely be like that for the next month as we reach the peak period for fall color.

[tzvia]

Been avoiding the mountain bike for about a month, just too hot for the local trails. Much easier to grab the road bike and head to where there are some ocean breezes.

But this weekend the temps actually dropped down into the 80s for the first time in several months. So I took down the MTB yesterday, replaced the worn rear tire, set it up tubeless and gave the chain a good clean and lube. And today I rode the local mountains (the trailhead is one mile from the house). Lots of hill climbs, with one that's 12% grade (ouch). It got warmer as I climbed, to the upper 90s but not bad. Once I turned south and started heading down, towards the ocean, it got cooler again and felt great. Lots of dust and sand over hardpack, from a long dry summer, it slowed me down on the way back as I climbed back up and into the valley. I could feel the temperature rise until my cycle computer read 100f. Didn't feel that hot...

Aaahhh, Fall. My favorite time of year. I can ride the local mountains again.