Thursday, February 19, 2009

I'm no longer trying to look cute


So it wasn't too cold last week, I was just being a wimp. And I missed out on a chance to ride in the snow. Dumbass. Who cares about beards of frost or a bit of frost nip. They make you look tough, which is much more important than looking cute.

I have been riding pretty regularly now. Tuesday night rides are becoming a regular thing, I hope. It gets me out with others and pushes me to ride faster at least once a week. I need that. I really, really need that. Wednesdays and Fridays I take Niko to the dog park and do laps, dodging doggies and poop along the way. Long rides on the weekend will top it off.

I'm back to riding my regular old mountain bike, but with a new rear cassette. Yay! I installed it myself! With the help of Carlos. And mine now has more teeth. Which helps me exert less energy when I pedal. Thus allowing me to go faster and catch up with the rest of you bitches! Look out. I'm talking to you Garcia.

Riding around in the new snow on my Nokian tires (um they are 2.1s not 2.3s like I was saying before) is actually not that difficult in Far North Bicentennial Park. (Man I wish there was a nickname for that park) So many people ride on these trails in winter that it get's packed down pretty quickly, which is good for those of us without fat bikes.

If you stray from the middle of the trail though, you begin to get a lesson in balance. First the front tire sinks into the deep powder to my right side, the entire bike is thrust off the trail, the back tire sinks in as I steer the front tire back onto the 12 inch wide hard-packed singletrack, and (if I'm lucky) the rear tire follows and I keep riding. It's a great ab workout. That's not always the case though and sometimes I end up face first in the snow.

It has only taken a few weeks of regular riding for me to start feeling strong. Now I just need to hold onto this motivation until August.

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