Finally Friday

For some reason, Bent Creek was packed last night. I had way more company than I usually do. At one point I was riding along, lost in my world of thought. I was riding one of my favorite trails and moving along at a nice pace. Suddenly, there was a for in the trail, a blue one, with a wheel attached, and a bike and a person. I locked the brakes and pulled over. I apologized repeatedly and told the guy that I had been daydreaming. He said that it was ok, and that he understood.

The temps were mild, right around 60 and I was feeling good. 2 weeks until the stage race, I'm excited. And ready.

I rode up Ingles Field to check out the "experimental deforestation" that is happening up there. Below is the picture at 5 points:

I wonder how much silt that is going to send into the are waterways when it rains?
Contact Pisgah Area Sorba for more advocacy info.

I was towards the end of my ride when stopped to check my saddle. As I was getting back on a group of 5 guys rode up from behind. I started to speed up, but then pulled over to let them pass. It turns out that I knew a couple of them. One guy dropped back and chatted with me, then suddenly, the pace picked up. Then we were hammering. I hung on, figuring that I would try to stay with them for a few minutes. We stayed together for the most part, and it was starting to get dark. Up a steep pitch, I held it steady, passed one, passed another, then passed a third. I'm not writing this to impress anyone, but simply to say, that a month ago, I would not have been able to keep that pace.

That is the first time that I have gone at XC pace in a group, on the Siren. I was really impressed. I was following wheels closely and had to follow their lines. I did not want to brake for fear of breaking momentum and slowing the guys behind me. The bike was snappy on the climbs and solid in the corners. It has taken a little time to get used to the handling, or rather be confident enough in my skills to use the bike and trust it. Last night was that point where everything clicked and we worked together like a well oiled machine. Sweet!!

Have a great day.