At the bottom of a steep learning curve

I took a personal day Thursday to take care of really important things go preride the race course for Conquer Castlewood.  Seeing as I've never actually ridden out there, I thought it might be a good idea, and you know how last weekend's attempt went (granted, I was going to ride at a different park, but let's not get too hung up on the details).  The weather forecast through Friday had been full of sunshine, so I was excited to finally have a clear day to ride.

***Speaking of Conquer Castlewood, I was interviewed by a local newspaper about my hopes for the race.  You can read all about my grand ambitions in the Ballwin-Ellisville Patch.***

I woke up to a very overcast sky, but weather.com put the chances of precipitation at 10%.  I liked those odds.  After getting J to school, reading a few blogs, and doing some fighting with the new bike rack (first time putting it on my car...it'll get easier, right?), I headed towards Castlewood State Park. It's about an hour away, and forty minutes into the drive raindrops started hitting my windshield.  Really?? I stayed positive since it was just sprinkling and kept driving.

More rain.  I started to turn around a couple of times, but I was practically there.  And the roads weren't that wet. At the upper trails at Castlewood are a nice rocky mix.  With all the tree cover, surely it would be ok to ride there.  By the time I was closing in on the park, the rain was falling steadily.  I went back and forth about turning around. Maybe it'll stop.  Maybe it'll be ok. I'm practically there.  I decided to stop at Qdoba for lunch and re-evaluate the situation after eating.

After eating, it was pouring, so I headed back home, where that b*tch weather.com assured me the skies were still clear.  Some sprinkles of rain hit my windshield near the local university trails, but overall she was right.  I felt pretty safe going out to these trails because I knew a semi-local bike shop had hosted a Specialized demo the night before and the trails were supposed to be in good shape.

Ummmmm???

Those are not my tire marks.  I'm new enough at all this that I don't know the different between OK-to-ride-in mud and you're-gonna-tear-up-the-trails mud, so I played it safe and walked around anything squishy.  There was a lot of trail that was nice and solid, but it was hard to really get going because then you'd come around a turn and have to hop off.  A lot of these spots were at the bottom of an incline, so I got a lot of practice at starting uphill from a dead stop.

I said it was hard to really get going because of the mud, but it was also hard to get going because I'm such a wimp.  It's frustrating.  OK, I haven't been riding very long, but I feel like I should be better--braver--than what I am.  Add to that the fact that my brakes were noisy (squealy...does that mean I need new pads?), so I constantly had the sound of chickensh*t ringing in my ears. 

Overall, there were a few things that went well.  I was out riding, for one.  I managed the switchbacks OK, albeit slowly.  I hopped a couple small logs without incident, and I never once almost pitched myself over the handlebars because I squeezed the brakes too hard. 

On the other hand, I took a dip too slowly and then didn't pedal through it, so I lost momentum before I climbed all the way out.  My bike stopped, I didn't, and I think I've established now that my bike is male, because I have a nasty bruise that only my husband is going to see.

Dirt, not bruise

I rode for about an hour and a half, didn't crash, got a little dirty, and made it out of the woods just as it started to sprinkle.  Not bad for a day's "work".

P.S.  Good luck to my friends Patrick and Jim, who are doing the Berryman 50 mile.  Have "fun", boys! :)