which is why I haven’t posted in awhile … I wanted to reflect more on Boyne, but really … I said enough in my other posts …
Work has been rough, and personal scheduling has been stressful…. so, I just sat back and let the chaos blow over ..
Last night though, was fantastic.
I was supposed to ride ILRA with the Scurrs and FJ, but the pickup needs a new driveshaft and Nick was somewhat stranded at home. Also, I was pretty beat and didn’t want to have to drive all the way home from ILRA at 9:00 …
Nick and Mike had made plans to meet at Stoney Creek HS for a somewhat mellow ride (mike’s still recovering from a broken rib) .. So, I drove home, changed my clothes and we headed out for what turned out to be one of the best rides I’ve had this year.
We didn’t do a TON of miles, but we were out for well over 2 hours. We just rode and hung out. We chatted with folks on the trail and the boys looked at reroute options and talked about projects for the trailday this weekend. And I rode HARD. And I had a ton of fun doing it.
As usual, we entered the park and went for the Pines. Mike led the train, and I was on his tail all the way through. Nick was right behind me. I was quick and confident – and smiling the whole way. After the Pines, we decided to hit some doubletrack and I kept up pretty well, even on the one big hill .. but I fell behind on recovery. Mike and Nick were at an intersection talking to a couple with a map. Stony Creek is terrible to try to navigate, and even worse sometimes if you have a map 😉 .. when I caught up, Mike was pointing them toward the pines … So, we led them there and rode the pines a second time. This time, I was even closer on Mike’s tail since I was warmed up (and a little less .. uh … relaxed ).
The pines section ends with a long, shallow climb that kind of kicks my butt. I finished hard, with my lungs trying to escape my body. I suggested we just ride more doubletrack and skip the snake/rollercoaster singletrack. While contimplating options, Nick and Mike wanted to look at the snake enterance for reroute options. So, while they were talking, I sat on the bench and had some hammer gel. After I caught my breath, I got on the bike and started toward the snake. As I passed them, I said “I changed my mind, I’ll see you at the top” … Mike was right behind me on his bike, Nick had to get his bike (which was down on the doubletrack) and he managed to catch us just as we got to the last push up. It wasn’t my best ride up the snake, but I held on pretty well …
We hung out on top for a bit, and then headed into the rollercoaster. We’d picked up a pal named Mark who knew us from Tree Farm tuesday rides a couple of years ago. I led the rollercoaster train, with the three boys behind me. I felt strong and confident and didn’t feel pressured or crowded. I knew they were close behind me, but they weren’t having ‘picnic’ conversation, so I thought I was doing an OK job. Toward the end of the middle section, I asked how the pace was, and they were all cool, so I continued to lead through the third section.
What a rush. I pushed myself hard, and had an absolute BLAST doing it. I rode hard, not because I had three boys behind me, but because I wanted to ride hard. I made it over my uphill logpile in section 2, and apparently, so did the other three behind me. I stalled on top, but thanks to my pal Phresh, I knew what to do – stood up and pedaled … got me right over the top. w00t!
Not quite ready to be done yet, we rode the same doubletrack as we rode earlier, and headed back for one more lap of the Pines. We stopped on the top of the big doubletrack hill for a scooby snack and a breather, and then headed toward the pines with silly grins on our faces. We made Nick lead the train this time, but really, he just rode off into the sunset while Mike and I rode a cool-down lap. Mike and I were much slower on this lap than the previous two, but it was schwoopy and fun. On that final climb, I locked out my front shock and stood up, and hauled ass right outta there .. too awesome.
The weather was PERFECT .. just over 80 degrees and really low humidity. My riding buddies were just fantastic and the trail couldn’t have been in better shape. It was nice to ride and chill and hang out with my bike, and not have to be someplace else; or not be so tired, hot, cold, whatever, that I just wanted to be done. No, I couldn’t have asked for a better night, a better ride.
