Over the course of three days, I was able to ride Salem Lake twice, and with prime weather. It all started with my getting out of work early on Friday and heading over to the park to ride in the early afternoon. I had two hours before I had to be anywhere, so I hit the trail with very few people there. It was quiet and, relatively warm at 48 degrees. I had debated about how to gear up for the temperature and opted for sleeves and fingerless gloves, but forgot my baselayer.
The ‘front side’ was fast, more hardpack than mud and the ‘back side’ was the exact opposite, muddy and sloppy and forcing a slog through the trail. Good stuff. At one point, I ground to a halt on a climb in the clay/mud and had to walk the last few yards to the peak of the hill.
Lots of spinning my tires in the slop. Again, good stuff.
Friday stats:
14.11 distance (two laps)
10.18 avg speed
16.87 mph max
83:10 time
Cycling on my mind, I was able to catch the end of the CX worlds men’s race on the internet. Stybar edged out Nys and Americans Jonathan Page (12th) and Jeremy Powers (16th) represented well. Those were the two Americans I was rooting for, so to see them come in as the first two Yanks made me feel good. Sad about Page, who was with the lead group until he had a flat and had to pull his way back. Still, a good way to get the biking mind going.
To be honest, I didn’t want to ride on Sunday; but it was hard to resist the near-70 degree, sunny weather. I geared up differently, only wearing the base layer and my kit – no tights or warmers. I also tried my new shoes again, but this time without the inserts. That turned out to be a good decision.
There were lots of folks out at the lake and I ran into a pal of mine, Brian, who was finishing a run. I also got into a couple friendly conversations with folks and pumped up the tires for a little girl’s bike before I ever got started. Good stuff.
The course was about the same as before, with a fast and slow side, but the trails weren’t as sloshy as two days earlier. I stronger and was pushing pretty hard at the end of the ride, listening to some reggae and jamming right along. As I was coming up to the hill I hate, a tween-ish kid on a bmx/trick bike started racing me to the top. He pulled away and I gave him plenty of space on the descent, where he accelerated. I made my way down, a little faster than usual, and found a false flat on the next turn. I decided to finish strong and kept accelerating. Of course, my gearing took over and I only saw the boy again when I was pulling the car out of the lot. Yep, turns out I can be petty, too.
Sunday Stats:
14.17 distance (two laps)
12.20 mph avg speed
19.30 mph max
71 avg cadence
69:42 time
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