A little dirt on the tires

Last week the only exercise I got was an exercise in frustration.  I finally got my new bike and was excited to take it out on the trails while I was on Christmas break, only to have my two older boys (AKA babysitters) go out of town and my husband (who hasn't worked a full week in over a month) work every day that we were in town.  The one day he made it home in time for me to get out on the trails was the same day that the temperature rose, melting the snow and turning the dirt trails to mud.  Not wanting to be the person who rode through the mud and rutted up the trails for the other users, I sat home and sulked.  Once I got over sulking, I did take J. roller skating and swimming, but that was as active as I got.

He bought himself rollerblades with the gift card he won for selling so much Cub Scout popcorn.  Now he has big plans for us rollerblading together on the bike path.  When I suggested maybe we'd ride our bikes on the bike path, he told me, "I really think we need to focus on one thing at a time."

We spent New Year's Eve with family in Kansas City, so Saturday was spent driving, unloading the car, and putting things away.  Today, though, I finally got a chance to get out on the new bike for a little bit.    I wasn't sure what kind of shape the trails would be in.  I'd been watching the temperature all day as I ran kids to and from practices, and it had stayed about 32, so I was cautiously optimistic. 

Like I said, it was 32.  There was some wind, but it wasn't too bad.  Now, I've finally more or less figured out what to wear for a cold weather run, but I'm still fumbling around with winter bike clothes.  Today I went with running tights over bike shorts, and my lower half was warm enough.  I wore a long sleeved technical T with a fleece top over it, covered by my new jacket.  My new water-resistant jacket, which isn't breathable.  I was comfortable to warm while riding, but when I got home, the outside of my fleece top was soaked.  I'm not sure if that wicked away from my skin and then had nowhere to go or what, but it probably wasn't the best situation if I was riding longer.  So, I'm not sure what to do there.  I guess next time I'll try unzipping the pit zips to see if that helps. 

I'm lucky enough to live a short bike ride from some good (good for me, anyway) singletrack, so I rode over to check things out.  Most of the trails were still frozen, though I walked my bike around several soggy spots.  I'm still not real sure on trail etiquette, when it's ok to get muddy (other than a creek crossing), etc, and since I was there without a guru I erred on the side of caution.  I also erred on the side of caution on things like downhills, especially when they had a sharp turn at the bottom.

Or, um...just when they were steep.  Because I'm still a chicken.

I mostly took it slow and easy and focused on getting to know my bike.  It rode so much better than my hybrid on these trails!  I spent about an hour on the bike.  Just like the last time I rode here, I did get braver as I went along.  This is my biggest concern with adventure racing, though.  I can run, I can hike forever, I can paddle a canoe servicably, I can follow someone else who can navigate...but nobody can do the bike part for me.  And I really, really don't want to be a weak link.

We're lucky to have several different trails in the same area.

I'll do what I can to fill that hole in my "resume".  I'm doing a "Dirty Girls" mountain bike clinic (and not just because I like the sound of that, lol), and I'm going to get out on the trails every chance I get.  Hopefully, with experience, I'll improve and at least do my crashing in more challenging areas than in the past. :)  For today, I'll have to be satisfied with getting out there and finally getting a little dirt on the tires.