Autumn Flow

Hmm, what a difference a few days can make. From the hot spell Sunday afternoon to definite fall feelings yesterday and almost chilly today. Seeing the rain coming forth, I figured if I wanted to get any trail riding this week, I better make sure to get my ass out there yesterday. I can't say as I regret the decision! The weather was pretty much all you could ask for being just cool enough that arm warmers felt nice and you could still unzip the jersey to get plenty of airflow without being cold.

I parked at Ashworth pool and hit Rollercoaster on my first run through. The line is flowing faster and I'm hoping as the new section burns in it will continue to get better. After running there, I headed over dirty express to Denman's for a backwards loop. Just inside the entrance I ran into Steve checking out the handling of his new single speed Tricross on the trails. We both had no other plans than to enjoy the day so I turned around and we hit a forward loop together. He slowed a bit to walk most of the logs as I'd probably have done as well, but for the most part, the flow was just about right for fun and still being able to chat a bit.

We headed back to the science center where I lead a couple laps of Hillside. I am getting better at the trail flow up there, but still ran once route twice accidentally before finding the screaming drop I was looking for. I made sure to help Steve fully enjoy his gearing by hitting all the "good" climbs sans 1 or 2. Surprisingly, I felt pretty lively while climbing and riding last night. My legs had plenty of pep even though I kept myself pretty much in check all night and never ran that hard. I figured I'd be paying back Saturday's effort from Track and Back.

We looped through Rollercoaster again before parting ways. I did a reverse loop on coaster. It wasn't as fun as riding it forward, but still gave me some good work on hill climbing and was a good cool down for the day. I hit the parking lot right about 6:30 as dusk was starting to set in and ended basically a perfect afternoon. There were a lot of like minded people out enjoying the day right along with me which was great to see.