Lessons Learned

This morning we woke up on the western edge of Kansas City and slowly repacked all the gear.  Without even thinking about it (even though someone we met at Switchgrass suggested checking the trail conditions) we hopped in the truck and headed to Smithville Lake, where we started our journey but got rained out.  When we arrived at the trail head we saw a sign that said open, so we unloaded the bikes and started pedalling away… Only to find that the singletrack was closed.  Well, heading home without hitting even one trail before turning North would have been a sin, so we consulted MTB Project and hit the road for the Stocksdale trail.

This is a fairly short loop that follows a little gully with a fair number of swoopy sections and some fun little rocky bits.  Nothing too challenging, but at least we had dirt under our tires.

By the time we finished a lap it was already after noon so we loaded up the bikes, grabbed a bite to eat, and hit the road.  Along the way we listened to a few episodes of Mountain Bike Radio‘s various podcasts (including the JRA episode we were present for recording) and had good conversations about things that were discussed on the shows.

Then we got home… And I got to deal with my 50lb meatball, Cleopatra.  She was super excited to see me and settled right back in to her normal snuggling habbits.

Now it’s time to get a little shut-eye so I can return to my daily grind for the last day of the week.

Winding Down

So last night we made it to our hotel at about 2a.m. and I caught barely a wink of sleep before I heard people moving through the hallways.  And I thought I’d sleep better… Right.

Anyhow, we woke up, ate, and loaded our gear for Switchgrass.  It was about an hour drive, but once we got there we hit the trail pretty quickly.

One thing was apparent when I tried pushing myself to keep up with Mike… It just wasn’t going to happen.  Apparently the prior couple of days riding at elevation did a number on my legs and I just couldn’t keep the bike going in the direction I wanted to.  No confidence.  The feeling like I was in autopilot mode, blindly pedalling along at hour 11 of a 12 hour race.  So I made a bee-line back to the truck and relaxed while Mike finished his ride.

What I can say is the trail seemed like a lot of fun.  A few sand pits here and there, and some loose rock, but lots of hardpack and velcro-like sandstone to grip our tires as well.  I’ll definitely be back when I have fresher legs.

Tomorrow we’ll hit something else on the way out of KC… Then off to see my puppy.

Adjusting on the Fly

As with just about any trip I’ve taken over the last handful of years I’ve needed to remain somewhat flexible.  That’s the beauty of being human though, the ability to think, make critical decisions, and adjust to the environment in front of you.

Today I had a great opportunity to get some dirt under my tires with Matt and Andrea, two of the hosts from the Just Riding Along podcast on Mountain Bike Radio, and that was a lot of fun.  They took us up to Green Mountain and didn’t push us too hard knowing that we were flat landers who already had a fair amount of mileage on our legs at elevation.  There was some slow climbs, some wheezing, and some fast descents.  There was some heckling about our accents and some delicious food and drink afterwards.  We even got to look at some pretty bikes.

After another quick stop, we talked some more, looked at the weather for Fort Collins, and decided to load up and start heading towards home and hit the Switchgrass IMBA Epic trail system.

Looking at the constantly evolving forecast I’m glad we made that decision.

More Wind

This morning I woke up as I do any other time I sleep in a tent, listening to animals making all kinds of noises around sunset.  I woke up looking forward to riding Oil Well Flats near Cañon City per Joe Tonsager of JPaks recommendations.

Mike bonked early so we split off before inwent up and around Island in the Sky and boy was it worth it, even with the ridiculous wind (I was fairly well protected where I was standing in the video).  I was blown off trail a few times, and even picked up some cactus thorns.

After finishing the ride we headed north to Denver to meet up with some friends and see what trouble we can get into there.

Pokey Things

Today was a good day.
Last night was interesting to say the least.  40+MPH gusts filled my tent with sand, end every time it would hit my feet I’d wake up.

We started our day doddling around the trail with and only a general idea of where we were heading.  At some point we met a local and he helped us ride some sections that a few had said it would be difficult to ride due to high water in the reservoir.  There wasn’t a lot of elevation in the 35 miles we rode, but it was good ride none the less.

It felt great to get dirt under our tires and we made a new friend.  I’d definitely come back  to Lake Pueblo State Park to ride.

Flexibility

Things happen.  People get hurt or sick in the days and weeks before a trip.  Ma Nature doesn’t always cooperate.  And when traveling in a smaller group you can make decisions on the fly.

Friday after work Mike and I were on the road to Kansas City.  Our original plan was to hit a few trails around KC then head south for Mount Ida/Hot Springs in Arkansas.  As luck would have it during the week prior they were having heavy rains and flash flooding which would make creek crossings on the WOMBLE and LOViT trails difficult at best.  So we refocused further north, planning to hit the trails around Bentonville and NE Arkansas… But more rain kept us looking further north yet, so we were going to stay in Kansas City.

Great.

Well… Not really.  Around 1:40 it started raining, and by 4:40 it was coming down pretty good.  So what do we do?  We wake up a few hours later, pack up, and look to Colorado.

On the drive down I reached out to friends and made plans to move north along the Front Range.  After about 9 hours on the road we found ourselves in Pueblo, snagged a campground, and went out for a quick loop.

Needless to say I’m quite excited to see what the next few days have in store for us.