On Tuesday I got out for a quick 35 mile multi-surface road ride. There was little that was impressive about the ride: it was more pavement than dirt, featured little elevation gain and it wasn’t all that long. What was impressive about it was it was a perfect sunny day, there was little wind, I felt strangely good on the bike, and the bike itself [the Trek Boone Disc 5] continues to impress and woo me with its charms, whether I am on dirt, gravel or paved roads.
This year more than ever, I am embracing time on the dirt roads and lower traffic paved roads of central Michigan. I love riding singletrack and there’s no complete substitute for the mental enema that riding singletrack in the woods provides, but riding dirt and gravel roads sure comes close and with a lot less back pain; something that sadly comes before mental enemas for me these days.
There aren’t many rides that I do these days that I can say this about, but I really felt good the entire ride. Things came together so well I found myself disappointed at the ride’s end. “I should turn here and tack on another ten of fifteen miles” I said to myself. Then the “glass half empty” in me reared its head and I found myself saying “Yeah, and that’s when you’ll flat, break a chain or get hit by a runaway herd of chickens.” So I didn’t.
It was probably best I didn’t as there was a host of other things that I needed to get done, especially since I wanted to go fish hunting (or “fishing” as I hear some call it) for a couple of hours later in the evening, which I did and successfully hunted and caught a couple of Rock Bass.
Multi-surface riding. It’s not everyone’s cup of joe, but it works for me… at least right now.
Later.