Follow Up

So after that little fiasco of motivation a week ago I should provide an update:

I finally hauled all my mountain bike crap out and drove up to Lincoln Woods. By the time I arrived it had gotten considerably colder than I was expecting, but I managed to stay warm by riding uphill. The really scary part was riding downhill thanks to all the fallen leaves. There's always a part of the fall season after the leaves have dropped but before the trails pack out again. Well, not really pack out, but the leaves break down under tires, feet, etc. until traction is somewhat restored. As of Tuesday, November 11th, traction had not been restored. There was a 6" accumulation of nice, dry, slippery leaves on all the trails. This made it impossible to see baby heads, slick rock, mud, roots, or really anything other than leaves. Simply discerning the trail was tough most of the time. The only option was to just go with the flow, braking where possible and riding it out the rest of the time. I could tell when I was off trail by the softness of the ground. I rode a couple of my favorite trails and while I didn't fall I was really sketched out. Sad to say I decided to call it after only 45 minutes or so.

And now it's practically winter. The road rig is set up on the trainer, this year with a pad underneath the whole works. Much quieter. The mountain bike needs to go into the shop for some work on the rear brake. I've got a kinked brake line and the lever feels squishy. There might be a couple more mountain bike rides before the snow flies and the mud returns, but it's touch and go at this point. Time to get fat... er.