I was able to get out to Tranquility last night and ride a couple laps. It was one of those rides where all the insignificant details disappear. Parts, new and old, clothing, accessories, tire pressures (well, for a little while), they all molded together to what I can only describe with my finite mind as flow. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion as to what the flow is, but I think we can all agree that the flow is good.
That's not to say I didn't have my share of sidetracks. On the first lap I landed a bunny hop on an off-camber portion of the trail, blowing the tire bead off the rim and causing the wheel to become untrue. I flipped my bike over, deflated the tire, adjusted spoke tension, reseated the bead, and re-inflated and was back on the trial in about 13 minutes. Finished out the lap and the smile never left my face.
During that lap, however, I did come across a bunch of trash on the long uphill (counterclockwise) portion of the trail.
Apparently a pack of wild hyenas stole someone's precious tobacco spitter collection and scattered them all over the trail. I grabbed a trash bag out of my vehicle and started lap two. I encountered a nice fellow on a blue RIP9 (lucky!) who rode with me until we got to the clean-up site and then carried the trash bag out to the parking lot since he was leaving. Thanks buddy! Finished out the second lap, same big smile on my face. Ended up riding two of my fastest laps there ever, subtracting the duration of the stops on each lap. I hope you all took advantage of the beautiful night, too.
1 comment:
Thanks a.b. for the cleanup and narrative!
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