Slush Ride #1

Busy, busy week here, but still managed to get some hours in at the gym, on the trainer and on the trail. Today I got up to MMCC for a ride. While it was no doubt cold, it was also no doubt fun. MMCC is about a half hour North of MP, and they had just a bit more snow there than we had. It was still only a dusting and 23.99" LESS than parts of Illinois had the past few days. Good they can have it!

I finally managed to find my Lake winter shoes in amongst the unpacked boxes in our basement. JOY! I also manged to finally get my recently Stans gooed wheels to hold air. BONUS! So I had warm toes, firm wheels, and trails that alternated between snow covered, frozen hard pack dirt/sand, and leaves. The pace was VERY casual and I was just happy to be out and on the trail.

Took the Ti El Mariachi today and as always, I was glad I did. Other than the some Avid brakes that could use a bleeding and some pads replaced, the bike was spot on. I took the Dos Niner the last time I went up to ride MMCC, and it was good, but I still just LOVE my Ti El M. While I love/have loved my Dos Niner, and don't doubt that the Spearfish will one day pull part time duties with me, I still just love a great hard tail frame and the Ti El M is the shiznit.


It was cold for sure with temps never really getting to the 30 degree mark, so I told myself that I would see what the trails were like, do a lap, and if it sucked leave after a lap. But the trails were freaking AWESOME. The snow was dry, the ground was frozen, and the tires were hooking up on everything. Usually riding these trails is super fast Jedi/Endor type riding, today it was more Empire/At-At Walker lurching type riding. And I was super OK with that, because it was nice just to be out on the bike, in Michigan. In DECEMBER!

I ended up with two hours of ride time, a bottle filled with slushy Gatorade, and some sweet endorphins coursing through my bod. A chilly, but great day to be out on the mountain bike.

Later.