Back in the Saddle

Dang, it's been a while! Close to 5 months, in fact, since I last rode a bike. My full suspension BMC is still at the shop, getting some much needed TLC (can you believe in 4+ years I've never had the cables replaced?), so the choice I had to make was whether to ride my road bike, or single speed mountain bike today. And the bike I chose was ....... the single speed mountain bike. Honestly, it wasn't much of a choice. With temperatures in the mid-60's and the Bonneville Shoreline Trail a 20 minute ride from my office, it would have been wrong to not ride dirt for lunch today.

Climbing E Street made me second guess my choice because it hurt. A lot. But I made it up to 11th Avenue, where I turned east. 11th was fine, until I crossed Virginia, passed Popperton Park, and started to climb through the neighborhood below the U. That hurt. Thankfully it didn't last long and I found myself on dirt as I dropped down to Dry Creek. Lower Dry Creek was fine, except for the technical rocky section which forced me to put a foot down. From the switchback at the top on up to the overlook, however, was quite painful. I made it up though, and didn't even stop at the top to take in the view. Until I hit the rocky section a bit higher up, at which point I again put a foot down. Dang rocks! My tech skills are minimal on the BMC, and close to non-existant on the rigid single, so a little dab here and there doesn't make me feel too bad.

I was feeling good as I approached the Wall, so hit the bottom of the climb with a bit of speed. It didn't last long, but I was able to make it up ok, though I'm sure my heart rate was at the highest level it's been in a long time as I went over the top! I kept going, albeit at a drastically reduced pace, as I recovered from the effort. From that point on I felt great, as the trail was mostly downhill as I descended into City Creek. I felt a bit squirrely on the loose descent, but am blaming that on the rigid bike and not any real or perceived lack of dh skills.

All-in-all I'd say it was a good first ride, and I'm looking forward to a repeat tomorrow. My legs felt good, with most of the pain related to the high intensity cardio efforts, so I'm hopefull it won't take too long for my bike fitness to return.