Catching Up

It's been a while since my last post, so I figured I'd write down a few thoughts and experiences since the 12 Hours of Temecula post.

1. We've now reached the halfway point for the year and I'm at 1,340 miles. That's 340 more than my goal! I'm pretty stoked about this especially since I missed about three weeks due to vacation and a work trip.

I'm hoping to match that number for the second half, but I'm not sure I can. I had extra motivation to train and ride for distance in the first half of the year due to the three races I did, and as of now I have nothing scheduled for the second half of 2007. We'll see what happens.


2. Saw a rattlesnake on The Luge this past Thursday. I was riding with Matt and came across some hikers on The Luge (who hikes on The Luge?!?) and slowed down to pass them. Right after I passed I saw him. Well over two feet long and right smack dab in the middle of the trail.

One of the hikers threw some rocks at him and after he calmed down, he slithered into the brush. That's the third full grown rattler I've seen in the past year.


3. I finally conquered everything in Santiago Oaks/Weir Canyon. There were a few short sections that I found tough on the up and tough on the down, but I finally cleared 100% of the trail.

The biggest win was probably the technical section about halfway through Chutes, right before Waterfall. That left hand turn with all the steps and rocks has always seemed too risky to ride for me, but I finally did it and came out on top.


The first half of the year ends with a high considering how confident I am on technical stuff right now. I realize that the laws of mountain biking dictate that I will ride this high and get more and more confident until I crash, at which point I lose all my confidence. Haha.

Let's hope I don't get too hurt when I finally do eat it.