This mornings goal was to just get back onto the pony, one pedal in front of the other. I just needed to see how it felt to ride again, since it seems like it's been a while. I'm finally off all of the anti-biotics, and I'm hoping the bod rebounds in some magic way. Not yet tho -- and until then, I feel a little touch-and-go, and a little careful to not burn myself to a crisp. Fun is the name of the game.
Well, I guess I did ride on Wednesday ;-) Wednesday's ride with Ez, while furiously fun and delightful, found me feeling FLAT. I had to remind myself that FLAT is far better than EMPTY or WASTED. So I guess it was a success ;-) We rode some rolly flat stuff, and eventually got our ponies to the base of Rattlesnake. Riding up Rattlesnake I was reminded about what a blessing Granny Gear can be. I'm expecting to spend a tremendous amount of time in GG next weekend -- so it was good practice ;-) It did feel good to clear all the rocky stuff, tho! Even the scary one! That was a success! Go team!!
Eszter, of course, was outta sight. Literally.
This mornings ride was just to re-experience the pony, pedaling, music, new tires ... all that pony-lovn'-jazz. The bike is together and all sussed out, minus one issue. I made a poor choice in rear tire. While it plays billy-goat in the choss and messy funk, it rolls kinda slow over smoother ground and makes me feel like I'm dragging cinder-blocks behind me. That's not a good feeling. Gotta find a good, fast, nimble, and yet messy-lovin' tire. Suggestions? (Jones AcX is on there now).
I made it to the top of what I didn't think I was even remotely interested in climbing ;-) I took my time, and even got off to walk a bit. It was a spectacular mid-day up on top. The rain storms were just about to blow in. The light was fantastic. The air was cool and I had goose bumps as I started back down the hill.
I hung out with this little critter for a while:
Back home in under 2 hours without obviously trying. I think that's mostly due to finding a bit of synchronicity along the way. As I started bombing down the messy, long descent, Dvorak's Symphony #9-Alegro con Fuoco started playing it's way thru the ipod, into the skull, and flowed directly through my body and into my bike. What happened then was a flowing, strong symphony of speed and grace ... barreling down through the forest, grin wide across my heart and soul.
Then... a nap. The perfect day.
jj
10 comments:
Hi JJ! What sort of tricks do you have going with your front tire? It says "Bontrager" on one end and "Rampage" on the other. (?) Those guys aren't related.
It's really hard to beat the good old Ignitor on the back. I'm running an Ardent right now, just wore out an AcX. I think I still like the Ignitor at least as well but I didn't have issues with any of 'em. I didn't notice the AcX being slow. I am liking the Rampage on the front. I think us lighter riders have slightly different tire needs than the heavier guys do.
I hope you get all better really soon! Patti and I chose not to do the aid station thing this year at VT, too little time and too little summer left to sacrifice a day. Sorry we'll not see you two.
HA! Gary -- of course you would notice that little tricky front tire bit. Ed noticed that when Scot put the tire on the bike last weekend. Must be some sort of goof up somewhere. The front tire IS a rampage. The rear one is the Jones.... Maybe it's just me ;-) Heheheh... I'll take her out tomorrow for another ride.
I won't see you at Aid!!?? Forget it, then. Now I don't want to do it ;-) I was sooo looking forward to seeing you two. What do you have going on the whole week after the VT? We might come and see YOU.
Hope you guys are enjoying your SUMMER!!!
Big HUGS!
jj
JJ - what in the world are you doing with that HUGE-mungus front tire on there? Did you break up with the Ignitor? Did your suspension fork stop working and you are trying to compensate for it? :) Ha!
If you want good grip, fast rolling, and reasonable durability, you might try 2.25 Racing Ralphs with Snake Skin sidewalls...not the regular sidewalls. At your small stature (compliment) you could run very low pressure have have great grip.
ahhh...napage...a great way to end a long weekend. :)
You know if the pony is still feeling slow it may be the Rampage and not the AcX. Mine is pretty noisy on the pavement and it feels slow but when it's gnarly I like it. Just a thought cuz I don't think the AcX is particularly slow.
We'll be around here after VT. If you have an extra day or two come on over. We'd love to have you and you could both recover and eat some of Patti's fabulous cookin'. We have a really nice house to sell you too :-).
I rode Canyon Creek Trail, (below Alpine Tunnel) on Sunday. Sweet trail but wearing good hike-bike-shoes are a good idea. The idea of doing the whole VT course sounds daunting, I must be gettin' old.
Hope you're feeling much better!
I like the crossmark. I know Ed shuns that tire, but it is like giving your bike a red bull and it hooks up surprisingly well (better than my new ardent).
Rule number one, which you know, but obviously need to be reminded about is don't try something new when the ride counts. This rule never stopped me, but I've got some stories about how it didn't work out. You should just throw on something you've used before.
And yea, that front tire is funny.
Antonin is smiling in his grave, although I'm sure he never envisioned mountain biking to his music!
DB: okokokokok..... back to what i know.
Pablo: okokokok.... back to what i know ;-)))))
Gary: come be my riding partner for the night time! ;-))) it'll be slow, and we can use that time talking and catching up.
Itty: ;-)) I think you should listen to Ravel's Bolero while hucky the fuzzybunny. heheh.
jj
I'm a Nano fan now and I'd also 2nd DaveB's Racing Ralph snakeskin suggestion.
The Conti Mtn King 2.4 rolls fast up front compared to a Rampage/Nevagal at a slightly smaller volume.
JJ - I was also going to suggest a Nano. I keep going back to the Nano rear / Ignitor front combo. It feels fast and just works.
I hope you have an excellent night ride in the VT.
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