September 2nd (Morning)

I was positive that I read 15° this morning on the laptop before leaving. But, I stepped outside and immediately turned around to get my jacket! Turns out it was about 9 or 10°, NOT 15°! But, the sun was bright and the sky was blue. I did notice out the bedroom window when I got up, though, that the street lights were on… Granted, 10 minutes later they were off, but still that morning darkness is creeping in sooner than I’d hoped. I suppose this is one year I will actually AGREE with daylight savings time!

The ride was really good, but man the ride to work is tough! I get a bit of flats here and there, and a couple of downhills, but really about 75% of the way I am grinding out a climb… Ugghh… I don’t think I’m doing any more climbing on this new route than before when I took the Billy Minor North trail through Peterson’s creek, but I am doing more climbing on trails whereas before the majority of the climbing was on streets. I think on a street, I can just get into a zone and go. On trails, however, I’m constantly bouncing, hitting sudden steep sections, corners, etc. Harder to get into a zone that way. But, I still won’t change it. It hasn’t killed me yet!

Going through Peterson’s Creek was way better this morning than yesterday. More controlled down, and I focused on my line up the other side before I even really started through the creek. I managed a good speed through the creek and made it pretty much to the top of the west bank (I’ve only ever done this once yet). I thought I was free and clear, and ready to whoop out in excitement for making this tough, technical section when suddenly I veered too sharply, pushed too hard on the downstroke, and popped my front wheel up high and fast, all of this causing me to lean back and over and I had to dab and grab on to a nearby tree to not fall over (and, of course, got sap on my glove in doing so). Dang it, I had this!!! Tomorrow I guess… The good news is that I’m getting consistently closer every time, and in both directions. There’s also a section prior to descending into the valley where I have to traverse down and around a tree that’s across the trail. I would constantly have to dab or walk it, but I’ve been able to consistently pull it off in a smooth and controlled motion, which is exciting to see the progress.

I’m very happy to have discovered this new trail. The physical challenges are still there, but now with these technical challenges, I feel that I’m really starting to improve my mountain biking skills. There are a couple of sections of the trail that I still cannot beat, but with time I think I will get there.