The lack of good weather days for road riding is definitely getting to me, but worst case scenario I still have my rollers and Todd’s classes that get some leg-moving time in. The thing that is really getting to me is the lack of mountain biking. Sure we had the Snake Creek Gap race recently, so you would think I would have had enough of the singletrack lifestyle for a while, but all that did is make me want more riding (and less mud).

Between the cold and the near constant precipitation, every trail in the area is useless right now. Montgomery Bell is actually closed. Everything else is constant freeze/thaw cycle, which means I could theoretically ride before the sun was up, but if you happened to still be on the trail once the ground reached warmed a little you would be riding in wet muck (and destroying the trail).

I want a long day on a dry trail with the sun coming through the trees, and the temperature warm enough that I don’t have to dress for an arctic expedition.

I want my water bottles to still contain liquid after an hour of riding, not slush.

I want short sleeve jerseys and shorts instead of wool socks, booties, shorts, leg warmers, windproof tights, base layer, jersey, arm warmers, windproof jacket, helmet liner, and insulated gloves.

The cold, demoralizing weather has also made it hard to stick to a training plan. Corner sprints last Friday? No chance, it was snowing. I can get time in on the rollers, but that soul-sucking contraption is tolerable for an hour of tempo at best. My CTL has risen very very slowly (if at all) over the past several weeks due to missed or shortened workouts. I have another FTP test scheduled in a week and a half, and I’m not looking forward to the results.

I used to pride myself on being from the Great White North (okay, just Iowa) and being able to handle the cold. Not any more. My transition to southerner started with greens and pulled pork, continued with a reluctant acceptance of people who say “y’all”, and has apparently been finalized with a hatred of the cold.

Unlike my first time out there, I didn’t have any full OTB (over the bars) events, but did have one fall onto my right elbow in a relatively easy spot. Some sections were frustrating. The pace was higher than I was used to, and I had to unclip and walk sections that I have cleaned before. The light rain on the rocks didn’t make it easier, either.

The crash of the day went to Gabrielle, who was kind enough to spare me one day’s proof of my squirrelly noob status, but modest enough to execute her maneuver out of sight of everyone.

I would say more, but Dan at EastSide Cycles already beat me to it. Click the image, or the link below to read Dan’s ride report from yesterday.

http://eastsidecyclist.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-monday.html

Gabrielle. I’m sure your leg looks like you intercepted a Major League fastball to the femur today, but you rode like a champ yesterday.

I will post a short video of Jonathan attempting the Pinnacle Climb on the slightly wet and slick rocks. I tried three times and made it only as far as the second ledge. Jonathan cleaned it on his fourth try, but video proof will have to wait until next time.

The learning curve for mountain biking is steep and unforgiving. I have bled on the trail, and on my bike. I have bruises in various states of yellowed-healing.  My chainstay is pock-marked with tiny indentations from harsh landings and rough line choices.

Last saturday was supposed to be my first mountain bike race at Lock 4 in Gallatin, Tennessee. Due to a rain-related-reschedule, we went back out to Montgomery Bell again. Yellow (advanced) trail this time.

I’ve been feeling more and more comfortable on the bike each time out. As a result the new bike is starting to feel less like an adversary that I need to control and more like a partner on the trail. Instead of walking over obstacles that gave me pause, I was riding into them. If I had to put a foot down, I turned around and backed up 50-100 feet and rode through that section again. One section that I walked through last time out got ridden twice in each direction while Jonathan shortened his new chain. By the last pass I no longer felt tense and apprehensive while braking on the downhill turn, dropping into the creek, and climbing the rock ledge on the other side. An uphilll log crossing proved particularly difficult, and took several tries before I finally made it over without dabbing a foot (still not pretty, but I did it)

As we continued on the speeds and confidence increased. The Yellow trail at Montgomery Bell is a masterpiece of singletrack design in middle Tennessee. Smooth tread, fully benched against the slope of the terrain, covered in a mat of pine needles. The more notorious sections have names like Chain Reaction and Flume Zoom. Both of these being one steep drop-in after another linked by tight bermed corners that experienced riders can “chain” together with minimal pedaling. We were going the wrong way on this section, and had climbed to the top before realizing that this pitch was obviously meant to be ridden down. And fast. So we did. Then we went around to the trailhead to refill water bottles and ran the entire thing again.

Riding at speed around the perimeter trail at the end of the day was when I felt everything really click for the first time. I wasn’t reacting to specific obstacles or changes in the terrain, I was just flowing. The rear of the bike would sometimes slide out, but I had the confidence to let it hook back up and continue the corner. I was no longer braking just because I was going fast, but because I needed to change my speed. I hopped over a log with both wheels and landed without so much as a chain slap. It was a short lived few moments, but for that time I felt like I knew what I was doing.

Flow.

That learning curve seems just a little less steep now.