Back in the Saddle again

9.5 miles
46 degrees

We had a great Halloween weekend with way too much candy. Even though it was cold today during lunch I decided to go for a ride just to get in some exercise before all of that candy clogs my arteries. Actually, I really wanted to go today. I took my bikes in, both of them, on Saturday to have them worked on. I had a full tune-up and bottom bracket cleaning on the mountain bike, plus I made them replace my faulty chain. They also trued up my back wheel and fixed the broken spoke, re-adjusted the derailers, and lubed up the cables. Everything seems to be working well. I was even able to climb the hill today in something other than my lowest gear without the chain popping and slipping. The road bike was a simple repair, adjusting the brakes. I felt dumb taking the bike in for such a minor repair but when the shop guys couldn't figure it out, I felt better about it. They had to strip off the top of the rubber brake pads so it wouldn't rub up against my tire. Strange fix. I'll try a different pad next time.

Anyway, I had a good ride today. I went back to Two Moon Park and was able to fly through it without having to "baby" the gears and chain. I had a lot of fun and tried a few new trails. One of them Sarah and I found yesterday as we went for a Sunday walk with the girls. Its called Dull Knife and I'm fairly certain its called such because the guy who blazed the trail did so with a dull knife so he did only the bare minimum. It was a tight fit with me on top of my bike in some places. I consistantly got smacked by new growth and small limbs. Its a cool trail. I just hope I never encounter anyone going the other direction on that trail. There's no visibility and nowhere to swerve. It could get ugly real quick.