Minor injuries that can become game changers....
Our little trek last Saturday left me a little beat up. The Cutler trail is considerably steeper than the North Ogden Divide trail. As such, it works you pretty good going up and coming down. Still, I've done this countless times, but for whatever reason this time left me a little tight after 24 hours. I decided to take Monday off form all things training and attempted a moderately paced tempo ride this evening. Throw in some smoke from a local wild land fire and it was less then a good idea. Fighting the wind all the way home (not unusual for evening rides this time of year), I was starting to smoke my left knee. Before I "bent" anything else, I called for a bailout - 3 miles from home.
As much as I want to push through, I've learned the hard way about not listening to the machine. An extra 20 minutes, with 500 feet of climbing and the wonderful "welcome to North Fork" headwind, can make the difference between having to sit out the rest of the week, and simple changes to a routine. I should have been smart enough to have done more of a recovery ride than any kind of a tempo ride. I'll have to make some adjustments to my plan for the next few days, but somehow I also need to stay on my road bike. It still doesn't feel natural quite yet. In a matter of only a couple more weeks, Ill need to start looking at all day rides, over tall elevations, with heat. This is no time to get hurt.
The above pic is from our hike Saturday. The guy you can barely see through the brush is cranking a 29er, clipped in, on his way to the top. Kill'n it! It gets very loose and rocky immediately after this point.
Set backs happen. And of course, that always takes me to a comfort food - or next best thing. 461 has aged well, and is it smooth.
Ride HARD!
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