Chris and I ventured out to Rowlett Creek Preserve for a ride. Rowlett is typically a long distance ride (6+ miles) with a myriad of obstacles - mostly roots, logs, a few dips (at least on the loops we usually do). Unfortunately, the first major obstacle I came to proved to be a bit much for me. It was a medium sized log on Loop 3. I got my front tire over it, but the back tire was a different story all together. At that point, I went forward and slightly to the left (which is *not* a good thing when your bike has more or less come to stop). The result - a new scrap on my left knee, 2 new bruises on my left thigh, and a solid bump on the head (thank goodness for helmets!). <groan> Worse yet, it totally rattled my confidence (as if I had any after the ride at Arbor Hills on Sunday). I balked at most of the rest of the logs ... until the back side of Loop 1 (no, you don't necessarily ride the loops in numerical order). I finally remembered that momentum was the key along with executing one of Chris' favorite phrases - "pedal like you stole it". Well, it worked! I made it over the last 2 major logs we encountered as well as some other tricky rooty dips. Yea!
In the end, it ended up being about a 35 minute ride totaling about 4 1/2 miles. The bummer is that I pretty much only broke a sweat because it was slightly warm. I probably didn't get very far into Zone 2 as far as a cardio work out goes. But, at least I can feel a little superior to anyone who spent their evening vegetating in front of the TV, right?
We don't have any trail rides scheduled again until next week which is probably a good thing. I think I need a little recovery time. We're slated for spin class Saturday morning and Sunday morning (Cycle 90!), and I'm really looking forward to the work out.
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