Crash!

There really was very little reason to get out and go for a ride today. First of all, it was deathly hot today. The kind of heat they tell you not to go out in because you seriously might die. Secondly, because of the heat, I decided that the intervals I was planning for today needed not to be done. And thirdly, I'm just about a week out from the Wilderness 101 and if there are any matches to be burned, they certainly don't need to be burned right now.

Anyway, being that I was excited to ride my hardtail again for the first time in a couple weeks, I got out and hit the trails anyway. Even from the beginning I found it hard to breath. It's been a rather humid week, but today was just the icing on the cake. Oppressive doesn't even begin to describe it today.

So.... about halfway through the ride, I accelerate to get up to a log crossing (of which I've ridden and cleared dozens of times now), get up, and quickly loose my wheel to one side of the log while I fly through the air in the other direction. Now, I'm not one to say that I'm some crazy ninja, but damn am I good at falling. I really believe spending years training mixed martial arts gave me the ability to land softly on almost any part of my body and "roll" out of almost anything. Just a natural reaction I guess, but I was up and on my feet before I knew it. I wish I had video of it because it must have looked awesome. I picked up the bike (which was fine) and got on with the rest of the ride.

After that, not much happened. Just smacked my hand on a tree, hit my knee on a rock, and wished I'd stayed home and taken a nap:). One important thing did occur to me though. I've gone on and on about how much I like my HIFI and how sold I am on full suspension mountain bikes, and today really justified it for me. Riding the hardtail again was nice, but after feeling the efficiency of a full sus bike, I can't see myself racing long races on anything else. Sure the HIFI is heavier, but it rolls over so much, and extrememly smoothly. It flows on singletrak, and handles beautifully. Before the ride today I was debating on which bike to ride for the W101. I'm not 100% positive I'll be on the HIFI.

Tomorrow I'll more than likely try to get out early and head for a group road ride if I don't have work. If I do have to work, I might hit the trails for a bit if the temps are too much, or ride the road if they're not. No matter what, it'll be a pretty easy day. Sunday is up to Waywayanda State Park to ride some rocks for extra practice, then all next week will be focused to rest, recovery, and getting set to slay the Wilderness 101.