Five days until the first race of the NORBA/Tailwinds series. Brian and I hit the trail yesterday for the first time this year...actaully got up tp 70 degrees! We of course went over to Maybury, our home course. Conditions were great for opening day of the trail. It's been a long Spring thaw and a lot of the trails are just now dry enough to ride. I know mountain biking is associted with mud but I'll choose to skip this topic today.
Back to riding. Yesterday went really well for me. Given I did a hard 2+ hour road ride Sunday and only got 3 hours of broken sleep that night due to my daughter not wanting to sleep, I did really well. I am happy with my split times and that I completed 4 loops, no breaks, of the 6.5 mile trail and still had some juice left in the tank. My overall time was very comparable to what I was doing mid summer last season. My goal over the winter was to come out this Spring where I left off at the end of last season. I can say I am right there where I wanted to be, if not ahead.
What sucks is that the weather this week is looking shakey. Rain later today, tomorrow and maybe even Friday. For the race weekend they are talking a 30-40% rain/snow mix for both Saturday and Sunday with temps only getting up to the mid 40's.....it was 70 yesterday. But we live and ride in Michigan and this happens. So me racing depends on how much rain we get in the next few days. I'll race in 30 degrees but if it's raining I am not sure I want to out myself and my bike through that. One, don't want to destroy my bike and be replacing parts this early in the season and two, I don't need to be getting sick.
I've been getting off the trainer and getting outside on my road bike the past 5 weeks. The head winds have been rutal every time but I just keep telling myself it's good training. Nothing like battling 15-20mph head winds for 60-75 minutes before you get to turn around and reap the benefits of the tailwind. I miss my wind cutting bladed spoke wheels but again I keep telling myself it's good training.
In the end I am happy with yesterday's effort on the trail and am looking forward to another season of riding and racing. Now that I have gotten out to ride before the first race my nerves have calmed down and I feel more confident about my first race in the Expert Class. Also after talking to Mark from Team Misfit Psycles I feel more confident about running a 1X9 setup this year against the big boys. I had thoughts about bolting up a big ring and front derailuer for more options but I am definitely just going to swap to a 34T in the front for the faster courses.
I'll be back Monday the 14th to post up race results whether I race or not.
Keep your head up and your tires down.
Aryn
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