Back At It

After a full week of temperatures that were 10-20 degrees below normal, today we actually surpassed the average high for this time of year. But the wind! We had sustained wind speeds above 25 mph, with gusts over 30. Today provided a perfect scenario for a mountain bike ride. Surely it would be a more pleasant experience than being buffeted on the open road.

And then I went to Glacial Blue Hills, where I have never ridden well, and I made a mess of it. I have no complaints about the performance of my new Giant Anthem mountain bike. I know we’re going to be friends. The problem was my almost total lack of confidence in my mountain biking skills, which have been untested for a long time. Today’s ride was my first time on singletrack since September 23, 2017!

I didn’t intend to stay away for so long; it just sort of happened. I’m back now. I suck, but I’m back. Glacial Blue Hills was probably the wrong choice for my comeback ride. It has the benefit of being the closest trail system to my house and of being dry enough to ride this early in the spring. I will, however, be much happier when I return to less technical New Fane.

So, not much fun during my 60 minutes at Glacial Blue Hills today. I really needed the road ride that followed later in the afternoon. Wind speeds had died down a lot by then, and I spent a comfortable 70 minutes on familiar roads to feel a little more like myself again. I’m still a long way from fit, though. This was just my 8th day of outdoor riding this year, and I have racked up only 200 miles. By this date in 2021 I had done 19 rides for a total of 439 miles. Skills and fitness will return, but not soon.