Bear Creek/Pinhoti

Ok, FINALLY I got in some miles on the bike.

I managed to get in two mid-week rides on the road bike, after replacing the big ring. It was worn out so I got another one a week or so back, but good luck finding a 9-speed chainring anywhere. The 10/11-speed that I could find just wouldn't work. I ended up pulling the old chainring off of the hulk of my brother's old Cannondale. It was worn, but not nearly as worn as the one I replaced.

After getting in those mid-week miles, I felt OK on Saturday so Sunday I figured I'd rede at Bear Creek with the frere and Mark Baldwin.

Whoo!! No good. I woke up with a sore throat and it never improved all day. I'm not sure if I was sick or if it's just pear/cherry allergies, but damn, it was no good.

I felt absolutely terribly climbing Bear Creek. The guys had to wait for me a few times.

The only time I had time or energy to take a photo was at the Bear Creek Overlook.

Tearing back down Bear Creek was great except that I dropped my chain twice. Damnit, the clutch was off, apparently. Did I bump it? Did it flop into the off-position on it's own? I'm still not used to having to check that.

I felt a bit better on P1 but I had to stop to pee and I fell off a bit even before stopping. It looked like someone had done some work on the switchbacks out there fairly recently. They felt really nice.

I had trouble shredding though. The frere would just roll away from me. Too much hiking and too many road miles I guess.

Ugh.

P2 wasn't much better. I fell off and never caught. The guys had to wait for me at the entrance to the singletrack. I did manage to hang on all the way down P2 except that we caught a guy who'd gone in ahead of us and it took a while to get by him.

Oddly, enough, I was feeling pretty good at that point, and I was able to push as hard as I wanted over Painter Gap on Shakerag Road. It seemed like my cardio was just starting to get going, right as the rest of me was getting tired.

Awful.

We grabbed some lunch at Pizza King, which I'd only been to once before, like 15 years ago. Kaylee and Wren met us and it was really fun to watch Mark and Wren together. I've known him for so long, but I'd never really seen him be a dad. Ha! Good stuff. Made me smile.

Goodness, what a day. I hope it was just a bad day. Whether it was or not, I know what I need to do: 120 on the road during the week, or the off-road equivalent. 30-50 off road on the weekend. Family-type hike/ride on the other day of the weekend. Get to it Dave. It's tough to fit that into my work schedule though. I guess, in general, these days, it's tough to make financial, family, and fitness ends all meet.