July 7th (Morning)
Getting warmer! 16°, no breeze, and nothing but sun! Beautiful morning to be sure, but man I was sweating pretty good. I had a really good ride today, blasting through the pipeline section at Rose Hill faster than I have yet I’m sure. I made all the hills again. I’m still pretty slow on the corners going through Frolek’s land and would like to improve that. I did remember to oil my chain/derailleur pulleys this morning, so at least it was a nice quiet ride again. As I was leaving Frolek’s and entering Peterson’s Creek park, I noticed a deer standing a few hundred yards away staring at me. Kind of neat, in the still of the morning, and the two of us just staring at each other. I didn’t see her even move the entire time. I would’ve tried taking a picture, but she was too far off for my cell phone camera to probably even be able to pick her up in a picture.
3 stops going up Peterson’s Creek again. I rode a bit more today than I have been doing the last little while. About midway up, I jumped on and rode up into the sandy section ‘till I spun out and then walked again. So that was cool to get a bit more riding on this crazy hill again.
And, of course, the Springhill and Hugh Allan hills were the same as they always are! I did concentrate on spinning again more than grinding and once again my knee felt OK at the end. Also, my seat was still nice and high from yesterday as I finally did mark it! I find it still hard to remember to pull on the pedals with each stroke. I have had my SPD’s for a while now, but still have to consciously remind myself to pull, push, pull, push... When I do, the faster cadence is achieved and I find myself spinning up the hills easier. When I don’t, the grinding begins again...
July 6th (Afternoon)
Uff da! A hot 29° this afternoon. The sun was beating down hard, with no breeze, so it was a warm one for sure. Coming down into Peterson’s Creek was a decent effort. I got off on both switchbacks that I usually do, but at least I rode the section between them still. Going up was good, I made it deep into the sandy switchback, and then stopped and hung out in the shade of the Saskatoon bush again. Not much for shade, but I do feel about a degree or two cooler there. Brian was just cresting the top when I stopped there, but I never did catch up to him after that. The rest of the ride up was good, 3 stops again so that is becoming easier with every effort. At the top, I phoned Corrie as she was ready to ride out to meet me. I figured if she left then, we’d meet around Rose Hill somewhere.
Frolek’s land was the same as ever, and the pipeline section at Rose Hill was good and fast. I didn’t make the 2nd to last hill as I tried granny gear today and it was too low, and my momentum wasn’t enough, and I ended up having to pedal hard from near the bottom and didn’t get very far. I think I’ll stick with the bigger gear here and stand and crank here as that is how I’ve been successful with this hill before. Granny gear, however, on the last hill was good. I made a great distance up, right into the steepest section until my front tire started popping up on me and the rear tire started spinning...
I did meet Corrie just near the bottom of the first downhill past the Rose Hill road. She was a very welcome sight biking up towards me, the best looking biker I’ve seen on these trails by far! But, she forgot to grab some water, so she was pretty thirsty and drank my camel back dry... Hah! We rode together down the main trail and then took the singletrack north and out to the lookout area where we’ve hiked a few times. We stopped there to gather in the scenery for a bit, then continued on home. I was pretty impressed, as she handles the bike really well for not riding at all. I think if she were to bike a lot, she’d be giving me a run for my money pretty soon on some of the technical sections... :) Apparently she saw both Phil and Brian as they came the other way about 5 minutes ahead of me. We got home, and she walked straight into the pool, clothes and all! Of course, I joined her after quickly throwing on my swimsuit... Hey, I have to wear these shorts again tomorrow!
Best riding partner ever! :) We stood at the lookout point here and soaked in the great view!
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