sometimes I like Mondays

Sometimes I'm glad I have a job just so I can have some forced recovery. Otherwise, I'd be on trails every day, and would be whipped and sore every day instead of just a few days a week. And this is just the beginning of the season. It's now Tuesday night, and I finally feel relaxed, if not recovered.

I got out for an unexpected short Saturday exploratory ride when a friend offered to take Oliver and her boy to that famous restaurant/arcade. When I got home from riding, Kim and Lee Ann were chilling on the back porch, so it was "top off the boys" time for a couple more hours of riding and skootering the alleys and neighborhood, trying to drain the last energy out of the 4 and 5 year olds.

Sunday was a special treat ride. A place, everyone has described as "actually fun to ride", unlike what we're used to I guess. Tomi and Shawn planned a Rattling Creek ride and invited me along. The trails were fun. The premiere ridge trail of the system reminded me of the type of trail/terrain like Massanutten West, but without the big climb to get there. There was hardly any climbing of the sort we're used to. Nothing even close to a hike-a-bike. We rode about 22-25 miles (I'm guessing) on GW-like trails, with Schaeffer-like climbs. OK, probably tougher climbs than Schaeffer, but I can't think of a similar place., I kept waiting for the ride to get harder, but it never really did. I started over-riding everything, trying to bust moves on sections that didn't require any move. So, I was frequently landing off the trail or on a bad line, and dabbing very unnecessarily. I felt like an idiot putting a foot down anywhere on these trails. 'Twas also a good day for many breaks, and lounging in the sun at an overlook. The kind of peaceful rest that rarely comes on a Michaux ride.

When I got home from Tomi's, my excess energy was put to the test. Oliver and Kim had just woken up from napping, and it was time to play wear out the kid again. I didn't even put the bike away, just took it off the roof, gathered Oliver and 2 neighbor kids, and off we went on a ride around Wilson College, down to the fishing creek, down the dirt road, back thru the alleys, back to the house, back down the alleys again, home again, a little soccer, more kids join, more riding, more balls in the yard. Finally Oliver was coaxed into the neighbors picnic with a group of other kids, and I sat down for the first time, and finally downed some food in the garage, about 3 hours after getting home. Whipped good.

Was glad yesterday was a Monday.