April 15th (Aft) and April 16th (Morning)

April 15th (Afternoon)

Today was an awesome 20° (the perfect temperature in my opinion), and slightly overcast with wind. A perfect day for riding as it is warm enough, but the overcast and wind help you cool down faster. Granted, pushing against the wind on the paved streets wasn’t too much fun, but that only lasted for a small portion of the ride.

I felt really good today, and the ride went pretty well. I decided to take Springhill right to the bottom and then ride up to the Peterson’s creek entrance (even though the first day I rode I felt like the ride up to the entrance was too long...). This time, I started riding up and suddenly I was there, hah! I guess that’s a sign of progress when the hill that was a bit brutal the first time wasn’t anything to sneeze at now! Hah! Anyways, taking this route shaved 3 minutes off of the overall ride, so that was cool!

The way down into Peterson’s creek was a good ride. I felt faster and yet still in control. I still missed 2-1/2 switchbacks in the middle (the 1/2 being that I had my foot down on the third switchback). However, as I did come around the one with my foot down, I think I finally saw that I will make it pretty soon. No smoking brakes today that I could smell, so my ‘feathering’ technique must be getting better. That and I think by going a bit faster and not having them clamped for so long helps quite a bit. The ride back up was painful as ever, but I did feel better and walked probably only 1/3 of the hill in all. I decided to actually tie my shoes tight today (I live in Canada where shoes are removed upon entering a house, so I have all my shoes loose to allow this quickly). This helped a lot as I wasn’t wasting any energy by my foot moving around in my shoe. A small thing, but something I had really overlooked for some reason. The rest of the ride was fun as usual. I didn’t make the 2nd to last hill at Rose Hill like I did on Monday. On Monday I was in a 2:3 combo and was able to power up it, but today I shifted down to 2:1 and lost traction? We’ll see about this afternoon if it’s a gearing issue or if the hill is just looser with more riding.

I took some pictures of the trail today with my phone, so I’ll attach them here:

The trail down into Peterson’s creek on the West side:

And back up the other (East) side: 

A really cool peak/valley section just before Rose Hill (there’s 4 valleys and 5 peaks in all):

April 16th (Morning)

Not much to report this morning different. My numbers were on par with yesterdays, so that’s neat! I did hit 74kmh down from Juniper today, so I’m not sure what I’m doing differently. Does saddle height also affect downhill speed? Possibly, as I can get more power to the wheel when starting.

The last 2 or 3 mornings, I have been a bit hesitant to 'want' to ride while getting ready. Not that I'm dreading it or anything, but just not excited to get out there. And then, I peddle up my driveway and the sun is bright, the air crisp and fresh, and I quickly remember how much I really am enjoying this every day! The ride was again beautiful this morning. Sunny, calm and 5°. I did make the Hugh Allan hill again in the middle ring (2:1 combo), but I don’t remember my legs burning as much yesterday! Is it because my brain forgot the pain, or maybe because I’m just more tired today? Not sure, but we’ll have to see how Monday is and then maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday I’ll start from TRU!

Well, just one more ride and then the weekend! I might head out tomorrow morning and see if I can find a trail that takes me down from Juniper so I can get some good singletrack riding in the morning as well. We’ll see, as I really did like the results of a complete weekend of rest last time, so I’m not sure yet if I will or not. Ok, if I’m not back before Monday, have a great weekend!