June 2nd (Afternoon) and June 3rd (Morning)

June 2nd (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 bottle of water, 1 cup of coffee

o   Afternoon: 1 bottle of water

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multi grain toast with peanut butter (no butter), 1 banana, 2 vanilla Oreo’s

o   Afternoon: Perogies with potatoes, bacon bits and sour cream

 

Well, after a lunch like that, I was in no shape to ride today! I guess, by the time I actually would’ve gotten on my bike I was feeling better, but I felt very sick all afternoon ‘till about 4pm. And then the rains came down. So, those two items along with the fact that Corrie was already in town with the bike rack (ready for after Taryn’s soccer practice today), I bummed a ride with her and we went for dinner together instead and then to Taryn’s soccer practice (which was actually cancelled due to the rain, and as they have yet to cancel for rain this really was a nasty downpour!). On the way, Taryn lamented as to why she always had to play soccer in the rain... Poor girl! We tried to console her that soon enough the sun would shine and seemingly not stop for a few months, but obviously we’ve been experiencing more rain lately than normal I would think?

 

June 3rd (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 glass of water, 1 glass of milk

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 bacon and cheese burger (big mistake), fries, 2 pieces of white toast with peanut butter (no margarine)

o   Morning Of: Nothing

 

Well, I really should’ve just had the plain burger last night. It would’ve been a few dollars cheaper, and less heavy on my gut! This mornings’ ride was actually pretty good for the first stretch to Lansdowne. I made the two steeps for the third time in a row, and the down-and-up switchback. I stopped, however, on the second trail dip and cleared the branches and brush that were constantly grabbing my arms so I guess I can’t say I made that one... :) The rest of the ride was fast and flowing to Valleyview road, and then on the streets I felt pretty good, pushing myself to a fast time of 18-3/4 minutes (my best time yet is 18.5 minutes).

 

However, the fat and grease and cheese of last night’s binge burger finally caught up with me through the Kenna Cartwright park. I was slow, tired, and very sore. I rode the Reservoir trail the whole way as I usually have done (other than yesterday), but felt pretty exhausted. Still no rest stops, so that’s cool. But every gear felt tough, no matter how easy it actually was. It doesn’t help that the mud and dirt have made my chain rather squeeky and groany by today (normally one good waxing on the weekend lasts the whole week). I guess I’ll have to remedy that tonight for sure. Still, I made a decent time of 32-3/4 minutes which is about average for me so far. However, I will second guess my burger choices in the future!

 

June 1st (Afternoon) and June 2nd (Morning)

June 1st (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 bottle of water, 1 cup of coffee

o   Afternoon: 1 bottle of water

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multi grain toast with peanut butter (no butter), 1 small bag of Sun Chips, 1 banana

o   Afternoon: 1-1/2 tuna sandwiches, 1 piece of sesame seed toast with peanut butter (no butter)

 

His name is Brian.

 

Let me back up here. Back on the 6th and 7th of May, I noticed a biker behind me as I left Juniper in the mornings. Also, on the 13th of May I noticed a biker that ripped up the trail going down into Peterson’s creek, and then I followed him up the other side (noting that he walked the same sections I did). I also caught up with him right at Rose Hill that same day and followed him most of the way into Juniper. And, more recently, on the 31st of May I finally stopped on my way out of Juniper to talk with him briefly, learned that he commutes to TRU, and then I left.

 

Today, as I rode down into Peterson’s creek (which was still pretty tricky and I missed the same switchbacks and the steepest section just before the second one), I noticed him riding up the other side. As I started at the bottom, I noted the time as he was just cresting the top (I wanted to see how far I was behind him this time). I had a decent climb up. I say “decent” simply due to the distance made, I feel anything but decent as I climb that nasty hill! With about 1/4 of the climb left, I noticed a jogger and her yappy dog coming up behind me, so I figured I’d better get moving so I didn’t get passed by her! As I started the final stretch (which about 1/2 way up used to be my 4th stop), another biker came over the top, stopped and waited for me. Well, now the pressure was on! With a jogger hot behind me and a biker waiting for me to get out of the way, I pushed harder than I normally do. I made the stretch, but seriously felt like puking at the top! Ugghh...

 

However, as I came to the Frolek’s fence, the biker was there. So, again we stopped and chatted for a while, and this time I actually introduced myself and found out that he rides the same trails to Juniper (across Frolek’s land) as I normally do. So, we rode together home. It was fun, I discovered I was as fast or faster on the flats and hills, but he definitely was faster/better on the technical and downhill portions. He showed me two bypass trails that I hadn’t seen or tried before, so that was neat. The one trail is just after Frolek’s land where the dozer wrecked the transition from the road to single-track (where I have to clamber up the 8’ sand cliff now to get to the trail). The bypass is a bit further down the road, and is a hefty climb back up, so I’m not sure if I like it better (other than the bonus of being able to stay on the bike). As it is a new trail just being developed, it’s still pretty grassy and sandy, but ride-able at least! And the second bypass is at the final hill on the pipeline section at Rose Hill (the climb I’ve never made). The bypass trail heads south, with a bit of climbing (but doable climbing) and then switches back and heads north again, dropping right at where the pipeline trail intersects Rose Hill road. It was a really neat trail, though, narrow and right along the side of the hill (meaning if you got too close to the edge and fell off, you’d slide a good 10+ feet ‘till stopping and then would have a hefty hike back up!).

 

So that was fun to have some company on this ride. I learned that he has been riding for about 15 years, but just started commuting a few months ago and just started commuting via the trails for about a month. I guess he does a yearly ride with his buddies for about 5 days through the Chilcotin mountains, towing a trailer with gear. He said last year he was very ill prepared and paid for it dearly, so this year he started commuting as a training process for this year’s ride. It was neat to be able to keep up with him, but I noticed he often preferred to spin in an easy gear where I liked to crank it up a bit faster in a harder gear. So I’m sure if he chose the same gearing as I was, he would’ve been just as fast on the flats and climbs. I’m sure we’ll meet up a few times in the future now as well, so we’ll probably have a few rides together yet.

 

June 2nd (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 glass of milk

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: Chicken, peas and potatoes, 1 toasted English muffin with peanut butter (no margarine)

o   Morning Of: Nothing

 

Another successful trail ride out of Juniper! I made the two steeps again, the down-and-up switchback and the two trail dips, so that was sweet! I felt like I was hitting some good speeds on the double-track again since the rains left me a few sand piles that slowed me down. Now that I know the sand locations and can mostly avoid them, I’m getting my speed back up again. Also, with the front rotor having the extra power, I’m able to really let it go on the final downhill portion where I normally held back not trusting my ability to slow down enough for the corners.

 

Coming through Kenna Cartwright park, something possessed me to attempt the Kinnikinick trial today. I’m not sure what evil forces conspired against me, but my bike violently turned and lurched up the trail and there was nothing I could do to stop it... :) Anyways, enough of the dramatics. I did the trail and it was pretty brutal and it was pretty fun, all at the same time. Two climbs stymied me and made me walk, but the last 3/4’s of the trail I did make. Basically, the difference between this trail and the Reservoir trail is that the Reservoir trial winds its way up the side of Mt. Dufferin. Kinnikinick, on the other hand, basically goes straight up and over. And as such, it has about 6 very steep sections of trail to conquer. As I only failed two, I felt pretty good about myself! Plus, my time in the end was about 2 minutes shorter than my average time when I take the Reservoir. Will I do this trail every day? Not sure yet, maybe! It was a neat trail for sure, and climbing a steep, narrow trail is good for my control and endurance that I need on the Peterson Creek trail, so we’ll see if those evil forces grab me again another morning...

 

May 31st (Afternoon) and June 1st (Morning)

May 31st (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 bottle of water, 1 cup of coffee

o   Afternoon: 1 bottle of water

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multigrain toast with butter and peanut butter (less butter than normal), 1 banana and 2 vanilla Oreo’s

o   Afternoon: 3 pieces of pizza

I’ve noticed that I’m drinking less water during the day, I wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing??? Anyways, today’s ride was technically good but physically tiresome. I made the stretch down into Peterson’s Creek up to the first troublesome switchback, but then rode the section between it and the next one which I haven’t done yet since the big rain. So, really, this was my stretch through here since the trail was torn up. On the way back up I made it right to the bottom of the sandy switchback. I also made it passed the stump at the top where my normal 4th stop is and thus made it in only 3 stops again for the 2nd time. The whole time I had to convince my brain to shut up and quit whining. Once that was accomplished, my body kept going like I know it can! :)

Again, I just took the regular route across Frolek’s land. There was a big rain storm that I was following, probably about 20 minutes behind it or less, so the trail was pretty wet with lots of puddles. Actually, a rainbow came out at one time, so I tried snapping a picture with my cell phone and will post it here. It was pretty cool!

I should've snapped a shot sooner, as when it first came out the clouds were quite black behind it. Oh well, this is still a decent shot I guess!

The pipeline hills at Rose Hill were pretty tough, and they’re getting pretty churned up and sandy. So now I’m going pretty slow down, which means no speed or momentum to make the next hill up and thus I walked the final two again. The final stretch to Juniper, however, was as fun as ever. It hasn’t changed really at all with the rain, other than becoming narrower as the vegetation gets taller and wider.

All in all, however, the ride was very slow. I had a whopping time of 46.5 minutes, one of my worst yet (and no headwind or detours to blame). My average is typically around 44 minutes, so I’d better get working on that number!

June 1st (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 glass of milk

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: 2 farmer sausage sandwiches, 2 pieces of sesame seed toast with margarine and peanut butter

o   Morning Of: Nothing

This morning’s ride was pretty tiresome as well. What is it about Tuesday’s? Monday mornings are always so much fun, and then Tuesday mornings seem to be pretty brutal. I looked back, and while it hasn’t happened every Tuesday, for the most part my slowest times are on a Tuesday. This is really odd, and I have to wonder why? Is it because Monday feels so good that I overdo it and ride too hard? Anyways, I had a decent time of 20 minutes to Lansdowne, but I really had to mentally push to get that time as I just wanted to go slow and easy! It helped to have another biker about 2 blocks behind me...

However, even though physically I wasn’t having a great ride, I had a perfect technical section coming out of Juniper. For the first time yet, I made both the steep sections! Granted, I need to either lower my seat next time like I used to do or stick my butt on the back tire as I was way too much over my front tire and was asking for an endo for sure! But, I made both of them with confidence. And then, I made the down-and-up switchback again for the 2nd time in a row, and made both of the trail dips without getting grabbed by any annoying tree branches this time. All in all, a great section, my best yet! So even if I didn’t feel that great later, this really pumped me up this morning.

Going up into Kenna Cartwright I was closing in on an older lady walking her two dogs. As I didn’t want to scare them, I tried clearing my throat well in time, which made the one dog (some Labradoodle-type mutt) turn, bark and then start charging me. I wasn’t too worried, until the lady turned and started yelling at him and running towards us! So, I figured I’d do the safe thing and just stop. As soon as I stopped moving, he just stood there, but when I moved or said anything, he’d start barking at me! Hah! Oh well, the lady was somewhat embarrassed, but hey, I think I know what it’s like to have a dog that acts like an idiot! Plus, he was just doing his job and protecting her. After a brief conversation with her, I kept on and continued the ride, which went well. I met two other bikers coming down the Reservoir trail but other than that it was quiet and peaceful as always. My little chipmunk buddy wasn’t there, so maybe he found a safer breakfast spot this morning.

My front rotor is getting full power again, but still pulses/jerks. Although, I don’t think it is as bad as last time so maybe I’ll try more sanding this weekend. Maybe I just didn’t sand it down enough to fully get rid of the “sticky” spot? Regardless, I love the power I have with the bigger rotor and have to be sure to treat it with respect as it now probably has enough power to throw me over if I’m not careful!

May 28th (Afternoon) and May 31st (Morning)

May 28th (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 bottle of water, 1 cup of coffee

o   Afternoon: 1-1/2 bottles of water

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multi grain toast with butter and peanut butter, 1 banana, 2 vanilla Oreo’s

o   Afternoon: 1 macaroni and beef casserole, 1 bag of Dorito’s, 1 orange

 

Today was really good, actually. Lots of slick mud going up the temporary road beside the old Merrit highway as I go to connect to Springhill, but I made it and sprayed a bunch of mud all the way back down! The way down into Peterson’s creek was my best since the rain tore it up, I made it all the way to the troublesome switchbacks, but still walked the section between them. However, going back up the other side I made good distances up to the first two stops, and then actually made it all the way up on the final stretch, making my total number of stops down to 3 finally! I was stoked about that accomplishment for sure, and then just about got knocked back over the edge by an excited, overly friendly German Shepherd at the top! I still say it was only 3 stops anyways... :)

 

I took the regular route across Frolek’s land today rather than going to the upper trails. Dave says the “Sticks and Bones” trail up top is basically gone now from the logging, so it’s no wonder why I missed it before. I’ll probably go up there again next week just to see and try out some more trails and have a bit of exploring fun, rather than my typical “all business” ride home. Can I really say my ride is “all business”? Not really, I still have fun whatever I do!

 

Due to the rain ripping up the pipeline hills trail at Rose Hill, I missed the final two hills again. Hopefully these trails will get improved soon with the hikers/bikers and more rain, but until then, it looks like I have a bit of work cut out for me for sure!

 

May 31st (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 glass of milk, 2 glasses of water, 1 glass of Iced Tea

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 piece of pizza, 1 piece of white toast with margarine and peanut butter (I had a bigger lunch, so not much for supper)

o   Morning Of: Nothing

 

This weekend I sanded down my front rotor and pads, and even took a drill bit and hand chamfered the vent holes (as per a tip I read online for helping to eliminate brake noise and howls). I took the bike up to the top of Omineca and rode it back down, trying to break in the rotor again (in an attempt to eliminate the “jerky” stops due to a sticky section of the rotor). However, by the time I made it back to the house, they weren’t yet broken in and I could already feel the sticky spot again. I took it down another few hills but as the rotor broke in more and more, the jerkiness returned. I may have to take it to the bike shop and get their advice/thoughts as to what I’m doing wrong.

 

Anyways, in spite of this, my ride this morning was great. I felt really good right from the start. At the trailhead coming out of Juniper, I saw the same biker that I had seen before, so this time I stopped and talked with him for a minute. It turns out he works at TRU and rides to/from work as well, so that’s cool! If I get to know him a bit, I’ll have to ride with him to TRU soon and then ride the rest of the way to work. This would mean my goal of riding the entire way would be realized, am I ready for that yet? I don’t really know for sure! :) I guess if I rode with him, we would probably split ways after the Peterson Creek trail and I would take Springhill up to work. Hmmm.... It would mean no more Kenna Cartwright park, though, and I am enjoying those trails! As I left, another mountain biker pulled up as well and started talking to him, so I’m not sure if they ride together as well, or what. But it would be fun for a bunch of us to ride together for sure.

 

As my front brake still isn’t fully broken in yet and I don’t have full power, I decided to walk the two steeps coming out of Juniper. However, the more I walk these the dumber I feel as they are looking easier and easier. Tomorrow I will ride both, I WILL! I did, however, make the down-and-up switchback easily, so that was cool! I just picked my line and let it go and it was fine. Unfortunately, the second dip in the trail got me a bit off balance and I had a bit of a fight with a fallen tree which decided to throw one of its branches out at me at the last minute to grab my arm... :( If it tries that again, I will break the thing off, it doesn’t know who it’s messing with here!!!

 

I made good time (19 minutes) to Lansdowne, and a really good time (32.5 minutes) from TRU to work (my previous best was 33.5 minutes set last Wednesday). Dana was talking about a few bears they’ve seen in their backyard, so I was for sure looking out every where trying to keep my eyes open for any chance encounter I might have! Apparently some ignorant hiker has been rumoured to be leaving piles of dog food around on the trails “to attract the deer”... Yeah, OK! Another candidate for a Darwinian award soon I’m sure. So, armed with this new information, every little noise behind me made me whip my head around! I was a bit jumpy for sure, but I still contend that the “chance” encounter with the elusive black bear still beats the “guaranteed” encounter I had every morning with some angry or distracted motorist... I did, however, just about run over a little chipmunk. He had a stash of seeds on a little flat rock and was enjoying his breakfast and either didn’t care about me or didn’t dare risk losing his stash, and as such he didn’t move until the last second (about when I actually saw him and told him that if he valued his little life he’d best get moving). Luckily for him, he ran to the left (if he’d chosen the right, I would’ve most likely run him over). I did avoid his breakfast platter, so it was still there for him whenever he probably ventured back to it.

 

May 27th (Afternoon) and May 28th (Morning)

May 27th (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 bottle of water

o   Afternoon: 2 bottles of water

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multi grain toast with butter and peanut butter, 1 banana

o   Afternoon: Roast beef with scalloped potatoes, rice and peas, 1 bag of Doritos

Today is Amberly Adema’s birthday (a friend of Taryn’s). So, the Adema’s had a party after work for her, and therefore I did not ride (well, other than the five minutes from work to the Adema’s). Instead, I went to the party and hung out with the Adema’s and the Douglas’ which was fun. Still raining out too...

May 28th (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 2 glasses of milk, 1 Dr. Pepper

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: 4 pieces of pizza, assorted veggies with dip, 2 pieces of sesame seed toast with margarine and peanut butter

o   Morning Of: Nothing

Well, it rained all night again, but at least this morning it stopped so I was able to ride with just the moisture splashing up, and not also coming down! There is still a heavy cloud cover, with rain forecasted through 'till Sunday. All this moisture is good for sure for our lawns, but man does it make the trail riding “interesting” to say the least.

This cell phone picture really doesn't do it justice. It ain't the muddiest I've been by a long shot, but fairly muddy for trying to go to work! :) Maybe I should've taken a picture of me instead...

However, I had a great run down from Juniper. On the two sections where the trees cover the path, I stayed on the bike with just a foot down and made it around them (no trails around the trees other than what I’ve “made” up ‘till now by just riding it each day). I just about went and made the first steep, but couldn’t get my foot clipped in time, so I bailed. I couldn’t clip in for the second steep either, but I stopped and backed up and tried again and then did make it, so that was cool! The rest of the trail was really good, I made the 2x6 bridge and the 2 dips with ease it seemed, even though the down-and-up switchback foiled me again. I think because it has foiled me so many times now, I’ve lost confidence and just need to ride it again (beat my mind, don’t give up when I want to do so). I mean, I’m what’s the worst thing that could happen? I could get muddy? Oh no... The rest of the double-track to Valleyview was really good. I came down the final section actually pretty fast, with my new front rotor allowing me to control and modulate my speed with confidence I haven’t had on that section before, so that was awesome! Speaking of that rotor, I’ve been told that I didn’t break it in properly and probably created a “burned” spot on the rotor that is grabbier than the rest. I will lightly sand the pads and the rotor this weekend and break it in again to see if I can get rid of the pulsing/jerking motion for next week.

The section of trails through the Kenna Cartwright park went really well, I made it with no stops again for the second day so that’s awesome. Again, mentally I was dying for a break, but I was able to convince myself to shut up and keep riding, so that is great progress in my opinion! The trails were pretty soggy, but the forest was so quiet and serene really with the low hanging clouds. The only noise being my grunting and groaning, but the bike has worked great all week, even covered in mud, so the ride is great. On Monday I think I’ll try the Kinnikinnick trail all the way to see if I can do it or not. It looks pretty intimidating-ly steep (I know that’s not a word, but whatever) so I’m not sure if I can make it or not, and therefore I’ll leave it for Monday when I’m fresh and hopefully the trail is dried out a bit after the rain.

May 26th (Afternoon) and May 27th (Morning)

May 26th (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 bottle of water

o   Afternoon: 2 bottles of water, 2 glasses of Pepsi

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multi grain toast with butter and peanut butter, 1 banana

o   Afternoon: 1 Chicken Ceasar wrap with fries

 

Today Taryn had soccer practice in Valleyview. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to take my morning trails in reverse and get some fun downhill trails through Kenna Cartwright park (instead of all just climbing). The wind was blowing like crazy in pretty much every and any direction (seriously, it didn’t seem to matter which direction I was riding, I was getting blasted by wind). I took the power line trail at the end of Copperhead Drive and then rode down and connected to the “Red Fox” trail and took that down to the main Reservoir trail. The ride was fun, but it was over way too quickly and then I had to contend with traffic from Home Depot all the way down Columbia and then across on Valleyview road. The stretch on Valleyview road was pretty brutal against the wind, but at least there is a bike lane so I don’t have to worry about going too fast. My time was pretty bad at 33 minutes (I think this route used to be about 25 or less, so even with the added time through KC park, 33 minutes is slow). But, the ride through the trails was a fun change up for sure. I’m getting rather bored of my typical run home! :)

 

May 27th (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 glass of Iced Tea, 1 glass of milk

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 helping of macaroni and beef casserole, 2 pieces of sesame white toast with margarine and peanut butter, 1 small bowl of Life cereal

o   Morning Of: Nothing

 

The rain came down hard all night. In the morning, however, it was only drizzling. Not wanting to be a “fair weather rider”, I hopped on the bike and headed towards my trail head. Well, the rain had made a soupy mess, and by the time I got to the two steep sections coming out of Juniper, my tires were packed with mud! I couldn’t see much, either, with my glasses getting covered in rain drops. So, I pulled them off and continued down the trails. I missed quite a few sections (steep downhill’s, the up-and-down switchback, the first and second dips), so it was a rather brutal section. But, I got onto the double track and started to pick up some speed. Unfortunately, I picked up a bit too much speed and started to slide out on a corner. Feeling like I wasn’t going to make it, I made a last minute decision and directed the bike down a piece of single-track that was conveniently there for me to bail onto! However, it quickly became apparent that this trail was not for a guy with my skill (or lack thereof) on such a wet day! The trail rode right along the edge of a clay cliff that dropped about 20 feet straight down on my right, and, and then continued to drop down about another 100 feet or so to the valley bottom below! I came up to the edge of a steep downhill that rode precariously near the edge and I said “No way” and turned around! With the trail as greasy as it was, I did not feel like challenging fate that morning. So, I turned around and made my way back sheepishly to my double-track trail. The rest of the ride was good, but with my detour and stopping to clean my glasses constantly, I was about 2-1/2 minutes longer to the bus stop than normal. Ugghhh...

 

Going through Kenna Cartwright park again was good. I wasted a lot of energy going up spinning in some pretty muddy sections, but I made the entire climb with no stops or breaks so that was cool. I got to work very wet and very muddy. I think I’m going to start leaving a container of Wet Ones at work for days like today!

 

May 25th (Afternoon) and May 26th (Morning)

May 25th (Afternoon)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1-1/2 bottle of water, 1 cup of coffee

o   Afternoon: 1-1/2 bottle of water

·         Food Intake

o   Morning: 2 pieces of multi-grain toast with butter and peanut butter, 1 banana

o   Afternoon: Pork chop with rice and peas

 

Today’s ride was pretty good, actually. Physically, I’m feeling really well lately. The bike is running well, although the front rotor definitely has an annoying “sticky” spot (that’s the best way to describe it) which means a very bumpy ride when trying to stop! I will be looking into this today to see if there’s something I can do to fix it. I think if I leave it, it might start doing damage to the fork (the constant jerk every revolution of the rotor I’m sure will significantly reduce the life of the fork tubes and stanchions! :)

 

Anyways, going down into Peterson’s Creek was pretty tough again with the trail as rough as it is now (see Friday’s notes). But, the new rotor works great, and I felt like I had more than enough control to go at whatever speed I wanted, so that is cool. Going back up, I made it up to the sandy section again (about 20-30 feet further than my normal distance, but not a record yet). I also made it further at my next stop and my final stop, so that’s encouraging. Once I got to the top of the ravine/canyon, I decided to keep going up and to see where the upper trails went. So, I followed the trail up instead of across Frolek’s land. And I followed it up... And up... And up some more! Wow, there was a lot of climbing, but really I felt pretty good. I got off at one point to climb over a fallen tree, and another to wipe sweat away (I wasn’t wearing my gloves this afternoon), but that’s it. The road at the top was pretty rough from the logging I think. It made it very difficult to try and spot trails heading off of it, as I had to concentrate so hard on all the little rocks, dips, loose sections and sticks/logs in the way. So, finally, at the end, just before coming into Rose Hill subdivision, I found a trail heading down so I took it. About half the way down, I came to a fork and took the left trail, but should’ve gone right! I ended up right at the bottom of the biggest hill on my Rose Hill pipeline section, the hill I never make... So, after all that extra climbing, I still got to go up this dumb hill! :) Oh well... The rest of the ride was good, through to Juniper with no extra surprises or new trails.

 

May 26th (Morning)

·         Fluids Intake

o   Evening Before: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 1 glass of milk, 1 can of Dr. Pepper

o   Morning Of: Nothing

·         Food Intake

o   Evening Before: 2 buns with farmer’s sausage, fried potatoes

o   Morning Of: Nothing

 

I again took the trails down from Juniper and they went really well. I made the second steep, and the down-and-up switchback (although my foot was out again). The first dip in the trail just about sent me for a loop, I must’ve been day dreaming or something... From Valleyview to Lansdowne I was in the big ring again the whole way, so this is good to see it so consistent now. I went early so I could catch the 7am bus, as I needed to be at work early, and it worked out really well. In fact, I may do this a lot from now on.

 

For the second day I took the trails through Kenna Cartwright again. I took the Reservoir trail all the way again up ‘till Doc Findlay. However, this time I turned off of Doc Findlay onto Red Fox tail (or something like that), which took me more direct to the power line trails, and I avoided 2 very steep, hard climbs! This route dropped about 1.5-2 minutes and about .8 less kilometres.