July 13th (Morning)
It’s amazing how much a little rain can cool this place down! It was another cooler morning, 13° by the time I got to work, and no sun (overcast). The ride through Juniper was good. The small tree that was in the way yesterday morning had been dragged off the trail already, so I didn’t have to clean it up this morning. There were a few more fresh piles of bear scat, so those bears are still quite active on this stretch. The pipeline section at Rose Hill was really good and fast! I forgot to check my speed, but I’m sure I was close to mid 40’s on the first downhill. I made all the hills through this stretch, but at the end where I have started taking the bypass trail another tree had fallen across this trail. And a big tree, no dragging this one out of the way! So, instead, I took the old regular route across the hill and then did the hike-a-bike over the cliff at the end. Not a bad way to ride, but I did actually enjoy that little bypass section.
Frolek’s land was good, a bit slower than I think I could’ve done. However, going down into Peterson’s Creek was pretty fast. A good ride, still have to get my foot out on the sandy switchback, but other than that a pretty good run down. Going back up was really good, probably one of my best efforts yet. I made the first two switchbacks and all the way up ‘till the first nasty switchback. I then walked a good little distance, but got back on and rode a couple nasty little sections that I typically struggle with (gulley’s, steep, traction issues). I then rode up into the sandy switchback, and with the rain yesterday, I had a ton of grip so I kept pushing and made it right up to the switchback (3rd from the top)! It was awesome! I walked a bit more, then rode the rest, so only two stops going up. While this is a good achievement, I still walk way too much of this trail. Once I start riding some of the tough, technical and steep sections, I’m sure I’ll drop back down to 3 stops at least. But for now, a good ride up for sure.
The remaining ride up Springhill and Hugh Allan was pretty good. I got to the half way point of Springhill and realized I had just finished the tough part of the hill and didn’t really think about it much. I was sort of daydreaming a bit, so that was cool. Hugh Allan was tough as another head wind seemingly came out of nowhere and made the hill a brute climb at the end. My knee was starting to hurt again this morning.
July 12th (Afternoon)
Well, it rained quite a bit today since this morning, but it had finished by the time I got on the bike. From work, looking down into the valley and towards Juniper, I figured that I most likely would be able to ride with no rain the whole way, so that was good. The trails were a bit wet with the odd little puddle here or there, but that was it. With all the dry weather the last couple of weeks, I think the land just soaked up any moisture that came down as fast as it dropped.
Anyways, again I went my regular route down into Peterson’s Creek as the light was red at Summit, so I didn’t go down to the North side trail. However, the ride down was pretty good really. I dismounted on the first tough switchback, but then rode the next section clipped in (no foot out like I’ve done every day for the past while). I did get my foot out for the next switchback, but all in all I was happy with the ride. Going up, though, was another first! Only TWO STOPS! I was pumped! I made the regular first stretch up into the sandy switchback before I dug in pretty deep. However, I did ride right up to my Saskatoon berry bush, something I haven’t done yet (the rain soaked sand had some good grip today). Half way up, I heard some crashing through the bushes below me, but I couldn’t see what was making the noise. Maybe a bear? Coyotes are usually pretty quiet. I guess it could’ve been a deer as well? Anyways, as I stopped and caught my breath, I scanned the hill below me but didn’t see anything, not even a bit of movement, so maybe I was just hearing things. After that, I rode on towards the rocky, steep section that is normally my second stop on the way up. This time I started the climb up the steep section and before I knew it, I was half way up the section! So, I pushed a bit harder and suddenly I was over the steep section and riding on! I couldn’t believe it! Not wanting to test my luck, I knew I still had about 1/3 of the hill to go, I didn’t want to get too excited. However, I made the next bit of trail up to what is normally my 3rd stop, just before the steepest section of the trail. I stopped there and caught my breath, smiling as I knew that the final stretch was very much a doable one and, if I did it, I would be down to 2 stops. I walked up the steep hill, then rode on the final stretch, cresting the top with a whoop of triumph! TWO STOPS!
It seems like just yesterday I was somewhere around 7 or 8 stops, so many that I couldn’t remember all of them by the time I got to the top. And then, I managed to work it down to 4 and figured I would probably be at 4 for quite some time. But, suddenly, I dropped it to 3 and now 2? I’m not sure if I’ll be able to manage 2 stops every time (I felt pretty good today), but if I can start getting 2 stops more often than not, that will be a great achievement for sure. If I can find a good line through the sandy switchback, maybe I could even drop another stop yet? Or, I wonder if I’ll ever manage the steepest section near the top without stopping? Let the dreaming begin...
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