With the break in the weather, we had the opportunity to get out on a couple of very different rides.  On Monday, A1 and Melinda met us at the corner of Old Redwood Hwy. and Mark West Springs Road for a mellow 40 miler.  Some of us had been off of our bikes for a while, so we wanted something not too challenging, but adventurous at the same time.  Well, I picked out a great loop, thank you very much.  The weather cooperated with just a couple very tiny sprinkles from time to time.  After the ride we feasted on soft tacos at Taqueria El Sombrero #2 on Piner Road.

On Tuesday, Claire suggested that I go out and test myself on my single speed mountain bike since I have the 8 hour race at Boggs coming up in a month.  Well, I did just that.  I ended up with 45 miles up in Annadel in almost exactly 5 hours.  I did the same loop twice and hurt pretty good on the second loop.  I was cramping a tiny bit in the legs and a little more than a tiny bit in my triceps.  Luckily, I have small triceps so it didn’t hurt very bad.  It was good and muddy in some sections of the park, and after trying to dodge those on the first loop, I was too tired to steer around them on the second loop.  Here is a link to my ride.  A funny thing did happen at the end of the ride.  Right when I stopped and leaned my bike up against the bus, I heard a hissing sound and my rear tire went flat.  I was pretty much totally knackered at that point and was extremely glad that I wasn’t still out on the trail trying to fix it.