Good week of riding...

No clever tag line today. I guess being clever isn't working out all that well...
On Sunday, I went with D to ride Lake Hodges (see pics of that trail below.) Now, let me give you some background. D is a total trooper. She's new to mountain biking, and it's hard for her. I know that it's hard for just about everybody at first, but it's been a really long time since I was in that position. Like 12 years. And I had a few solid years of road racing under my belt at that time, along with a childhood background in BMX. Picking it up at 30 has got to be so much harder.
Anyway, she had the epiphany that I knew was coming. There's just this point, somewhere near the top of the initial learning curve, that stuff clicks. You're just not as afraid, and you just get the idea that you can actually do this. Well, Sunday was her day. She rode just about everything, including these rutted out whoop-dee-doos that had previously freaked her out. Net result? She had a great time, for the first time. She wasn't as tired 'cause she wasn't riding all tensed up. She had this huge grin on her face back at the car!
To top it off, yesterday she asked me to load her bike on the car, 'cause she was gonna cut out of work a little early and go for a ride! I had a massage that afternooon, so I couldn't go. I talked to her as she was leaving the parking area after her ride, and there was some serious enthusiasm going on. She told me that she rode the entire thing, 15 miles or so, in 2 hours. And she rode all of the obstacles! D's proudest moment, though, was staying right behind a trio of guys. after a bit, they actually stopped to let her by. I couldn't have taken the smile off of her face if I had tried!
I'm sooo proud of her.
On Monday, I went out for a solo ride myself, up at Laguna. This is a beautiful alpine area about 45 minutes east of Sandy Eggo, at about 5400'. It was cold. Not like the cold I'd experienced living in Colorado, but 34 degrees is pretty fucking cold around here. Oh, and did I mention the cloud cover was at about 5000'? Yup, riding in the clouds.
In short, it was a spectacular ride. I felt awesome, and I'm loving the new WTB ExiWolf tire on the front, especially now that I'm riding it at around 20 psi. Nice.
Still looking forward to the big move, most likely right after July 4th. I know that D is gonna like the type of riding in S.A., and I'm gonna like not dealing with as many people!
Alright, this nonsense has gone on long enough.
Out.

Los