mountain biking is fun, i should do it more often

it's sad to say, but i hardly ever get to ride my mountain bike anymore. way back in the stone ages, when i first bought one, i would ride my mountain bike 3 or 4 times a week off-road, and once or twice a week on road. of course, that's when i had tons of free time.

however, i did get off-road today. i waited until the lunch hour, which brought along some warm temps, and then headed off to lost valley. it's quite a haul for me to ride out there, but theoretically a race will be held there sunday and it would be nice to at least see the trail before go-time. i haven't been to lost valley since the race last year.

this year's new section is almost identical to last years new section. twisty, lots of turns, a bit of up and down, a bit bumpy. however, it's not quite ready for prime time. there are plenty of mud holes, most of which have been covered in a very nice array of branches to make them at least ridable. even so, the lead up and aftermath of every mud hole is, surprise-surprise, muddy. after the new section, there were the typical muddy sections...the pines, the lead up to the rock waterfall and the climb out of it, and some sections of the gravel roads were covered with run-off. but, i made the most of it. my second time around, i ran into none other than mike barro of momentum cycles. we had a great time riding the loop together, and i pretty much forgot about the splatter on my body and bike. i always forget how nice it is to actually ride with someone. i for one really like lost valley, as it's a great race to hit wide open and there can even be pacelines going on. the new section will be a huge asset to the trail when it gets all broken in.

i'm probably not going to be too keen about racing sunday if it actually rains thursday as forecast. in fact, rain is forecast for sunday, too. certainly, i will find something else to do if that happens. i'm hoping that this year does not turn out like last year, where rain was a constant threat. i do not intend on chasing any points or series this year, so i'm not obligating myself to do any races, but i sure would be bummed to miss more races.