Single Minded.

The last week was full to the top and overflowing with early mornings, long days, and packed schedules.  Saturday was a 04:00 to 21:00 hour day.  No rest for the weary.

But Sunday.  Sunday was a quiet morning.  Breakfast cereal.  Devotions and contemplation.  Then wool.  It was a morning for wool, singlespeeds, and singletrack.  And a single minded pursuit of pedaling over God's earth as it prepared for rain. 

Ramble Ride #2

A while back I came up with an idea.  It floated to the surface of my brain like the triangle in the Magic 8 Ball (look it up) and there it was.  Ramble Ride.  The idea of a Ramble Ride, to recap, was to string together a series of smaller rides into a bigger loop that includes some bike path or road work to connect the dots, then schedule in a twinkie stop at a watering hole.  Pace is friendly.  Ramble Rides are 'No-Drop' rides.

Sounds innocent enough, but the Sierra Pelona Ramble #1 is deceptively hard.  36 miles and enough climbing to work ya.  I was looking for another route for #2 and I had 75% of it figured, but I could not connect it up.  Then, recently a buddy led a ride onto some private property he had access to.  At the end of the ride, which ended up on National Forest land, I ended up discovering a road that I thought had been lost to a housing development.  I had ridden it years ago, but now, finding it to be still there opened up a route to complete the loop.  Oh Baby!  The Ramble Ride #2 is on!

I love the concept.  It takes some creativity, lets you get some bigger rides by stringing together the combos, and feels more social with the snack stop, etc.  I think this one will be around 35 miles too, but will not have a ton of elevation gain.  It re-connects me to some old stomping grounds, lets the new folks see more bits of the countryside, and gives me something to look forward to.

Even before I have this one ridden I am thinking about Ramble Ride #3.  Fun stuff.

Tom Ritchey: Faith, compassion, bikes, and coffee

Don't know much about Project Rwanda?  Or the character of the man who began the project?  One of the founding father's of MTBs talks about forgiveness, compassion, opportunity, and the power of the eternal, human soul.

http://projectrwanda.org/news/tom-ritchey-pedaling-home

I need to meet that man someday.  God bless ya, TR. 

PS:  The Timbercomp rocked.

Baggies or no Baggies?

That is the question.  Whether tis nobler to wear the skin tight lycra or drape on da' bags?  Hmmm.  About 3 years ago I traded in my lycra for baggies and since then, I have worn either a combo short/baggy or a separate short/board short thingie instead of just the regular old lycra riding short.

I came to love the pockets, not so much to carry things while I ride, but just to put my car keys in, cell phone, etc as I am putting around after and before a ride.  And, the extra protection is kinda nice for brushy trails or falling down.

But there have been a few times that I would default back to just lycra for whatever reason and something would tickle my brain a bit, something just at the edges of my sub-conscious...I felt faster without the bags on.

Huh.

So, for most of this fall/winter I rode in nothing else but the most excellent set of bib knickers that I had ever worn...see more here...and just recently, with some Jan temps in the high 70s, I slid into some short/baggy combos and went riding.  Ahh....hmmm...I felt...well, dowdy.  There is a word for ya.

Do bag ladies ride MTBs?  Not sure.  I felt less than sleek.  I felt cumbersome and not fast.  Now I doubt I was actually slower, but who wants to feel slower, regardless?

This may take some adjustments to my kit and I doubt it will be cheap.  Used baggies, anyone?  Sightly worn by a bag lady on a bike.  Bottle not included.