Second Chances

Tonight I had a great ride in the dirt. Post work at Boyce with the Mamasita. The trails were primo. Dry and/or tacky. A couple muddy areas, but overall just fantastic! I got a nice 1:45 of riding in covering about 14.5 miles.

One of the things I love most about mountain biking opposed to other types of cycling is the chances you get to redeem yourself each ride or IMPROVE yourself in the skills department. I've been a little rusty this spring. Too much time on the road and not enough dirt. But each ride I get more of my "feel" for the trail back.

There is one short little rocky climb up near the slag pile at Boyce that I've done HUNDREDS of times! Twice this year including tonight I let my eyes look where I did NOT want to be. Lost momentum and spun out. (BOOOO!) BUT I made sure I included that climb on a second loop. This time... Bingo! Just like old times.

Another example- Remember a couple weeks ago when I bit hard on new log pile and hyperextended my thumb a bit? Yeah, I've dismounted that log pile since then. I dismounted once tonight, but it was gnawing at me that I did. Soooo. I also included that trail on my next loop. The next time I nailed it, no problem! See what I mean? I love that feeling!

On the downside, it looks like the Mamasita's Reba is going to need a "third chance"! It just had new seals put in recently (I should say "complete seals", since the original was shipped minus one part) and the lock out fixed. Tonight I didn't feel like I was getting full travel, then after I got off the dirt and attempted to put the lock-out on for the pavement back to the Soob- nothing! Then I look down and see oil on the crown and leg of the fork. Grrrrrr!

My Dos Niner's '06 Reba is great. No major problems. The Mamasita's Reba Race has been plagued with problems. Luckily the Mamasita is the back up to the Dos Niner for Leesburg, and I'm getting some travel out of it, so I'm gonna avoid the stress of having it fixed until after the race. But I have to say, my patience with it is wearing thin.

But hey, you ride, shit breaks. It will be taken care of in do time. I'm not going to let an equipment issue put a damper on a great spring ride on single track. I'm just gonna look at the bright side- it wasn't on the Dos Niner and I know that Master Tom will get the Reba going again in the future. OR help me get a Fox put on if I can sneak that one under Wifey's radar! ;)

Came home to find some different flavors of Salsa on the porch. Always a bonus to get a sweet ride in and then find a box full of spicy shwag on your porch. The Big Nacho at Salsa HQ sent out a couple banners for my pit and some other goodies. Muchos gracias.

Time for some rest. Low key saddle time tomorrow in one form or another. Might be some time on the "hell trail", er, I mean rail trail.

Later.