10 days off....

10 days off the bike equates to nothing good. After the Stampede it has been a strange mix of odd weather and general tasks that have kept me off the bike. I had a window open on Wednesday evening so I headed out on the road bike.

I headed out of town and was feeling okay. Not really sure how far I wanted to ride I stuck pretty close to town with a chance to turn back at any given time. After a few miles I decided to just keep going. I headed out of town and out towards the dam. I wasn't riding hard, and my heart just wasn't into it. It was good to be riding, but mentally it was far from a training ride. It was simply...a ride. Rolled into the house with about 20 miles at a sub 15mph pace. Like I said, just a ride.

Last night a few of us headed to Luton Park. We were hearing that the trail was in awesome shape so I was pretty excited. Nate and I were the first ones there so we geared up and rode the Blue (inner loop only) before everyone got there. That little loop is pretty flat with a few twisty areas. Other than almost taking my head off on a low tree it was a good little warmup.

Mike, Matt, and a few others joined and we headed out for a full loop. The funniest thing I see is random skid marks on the trail. Areas where people get off kilter a bit and mash the brake levers putting their bike into an out of control skid off the trail. Tonight was no different. There is a little root and you have to be going left when you go over it. There was a deep skid into a stump towards the right. Looked a fairly serious "oh shit" moment for someone. 

Luton was dialed. Corners were sticky. No sand. Grip on every climb. Awesome. The best part of Luton is the variety. Each loop is a little different and has unique offerings. The yellow has a few gnarly (ish) corners. The black loop is longer and has a good mix of climbing and fast descents that feel like a roller coaster. The red weaves back and forth making you fee like you are close to other riders even though Mike was pulling away from me. Then you ride a fast off camber flow section to the green loop. One out and back then a little climb and you are done. Great trail.

I did have a slight problem. After the first lap my legs didn't want to work anymore. It didn't stop me from doing another lap, but the legs were blown. Taking 10 days off then putting miles into them all at once took its toll. I was slow, but it was still good to be out there!

Reports are that Island Lake on Sunday is a go! Meaning....I will be in Brighton attempting to be fast!