10.22.2002
RAINY DAY FLASHBACK
It's quite chilly today with a light steady rain. This is quite odd for my part of New Mexico, where usually you get a 5 minute deluge, and then sunshine - lots of rainbows to be seen around these parts. I imagine most people who have lived here all their lives don't even notice them that much. I do though. Today is a lot like the first time I ever rode a mountain bike offroad. It was late October, and I had spent the previous month or so, scraping together various parts to cobble my own ride, as I had previously been a "roadie", and not a very fast roadie either. So the saturday morning shop ride comes, and it is maybe 50 degrees at about 8 in the AM, with a steady light rain, that only enhances the lack of warmth. There are maybe 8 or 10 of us out for the ride, and I am the lone newbie. I'm in for either a really great or really miserable initiation into the world of Mountain Biking. We're riding "The Dumps", a patch of trsils frequented by Motocrossers, on the outskirts of South Park, the soil is riddled with clay, and the rain makes for a combination of poor traction, and clogged tires. The rain is steady, and the heat I'm generating is doing a fine job of fogging my glasses. Half my water goes to keeping my lenses clear enough to see. At the end of 2 hours, I'm soaked to the bone, cold as hell, and covered with mud, a good bit of which I seem to have ingested. I'm Hooked.
Thin is, that over time, I spend less time on the bike and more time around them in the shop. Diversions, money, and school all conspire to keep my riding to a minimum. Finally after I leave the shop, I don't even own a bike any longer. Until this past summer. I discover probably the best thing going in the area - The Cibola National Forest, in McGafee, sweet trails, the kind east coasters only see in Magazines. A beautiful combo of technical single track, and plush scenic trails. Plus I remind myself that Moab is only a 5 HOUR DRIVE from home. I picked up a Gary Fisher Sugar 3+ Full suspension rig, and Ann my lovely wife is sporting a Trek Fuel 90 WS - she'll be kicking my ass soundly as soon as she gets over the fear of desending. But it has been a great rediscovery of something I though might be lost. Now if I can Just Get Dave, Matty P, and Char Char out here in the spring to ride Moab.... hmmmm need to start lobbying soon.
go and tell me all about it
It's quite chilly today with a light steady rain. This is quite odd for my part of New Mexico, where usually you get a 5 minute deluge, and then sunshine - lots of rainbows to be seen around these parts. I imagine most people who have lived here all their lives don't even notice them that much. I do though. Today is a lot like the first time I ever rode a mountain bike offroad. It was late October, and I had spent the previous month or so, scraping together various parts to cobble my own ride, as I had previously been a "roadie", and not a very fast roadie either. So the saturday morning shop ride comes, and it is maybe 50 degrees at about 8 in the AM, with a steady light rain, that only enhances the lack of warmth. There are maybe 8 or 10 of us out for the ride, and I am the lone newbie. I'm in for either a really great or really miserable initiation into the world of Mountain Biking. We're riding "The Dumps", a patch of trsils frequented by Motocrossers, on the outskirts of South Park, the soil is riddled with clay, and the rain makes for a combination of poor traction, and clogged tires. The rain is steady, and the heat I'm generating is doing a fine job of fogging my glasses. Half my water goes to keeping my lenses clear enough to see. At the end of 2 hours, I'm soaked to the bone, cold as hell, and covered with mud, a good bit of which I seem to have ingested. I'm Hooked.
Thin is, that over time, I spend less time on the bike and more time around them in the shop. Diversions, money, and school all conspire to keep my riding to a minimum. Finally after I leave the shop, I don't even own a bike any longer. Until this past summer. I discover probably the best thing going in the area - The Cibola National Forest, in McGafee, sweet trails, the kind east coasters only see in Magazines. A beautiful combo of technical single track, and plush scenic trails. Plus I remind myself that Moab is only a 5 HOUR DRIVE from home. I picked up a Gary Fisher Sugar 3+ Full suspension rig, and Ann my lovely wife is sporting a Trek Fuel 90 WS - she'll be kicking my ass soundly as soon as she gets over the fear of desending. But it has been a great rediscovery of something I though might be lost. Now if I can Just Get Dave, Matty P, and Char Char out here in the spring to ride Moab.... hmmmm need to start lobbying soon.
go and tell me all about it
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