I went on a 4 hr ride with Coach today but didn't have the performance that I wanted, I ended up on the edge of bonking when it was all said and done.....maybe I was over the edge. I didn't take my camelbak (bad idea) and then ended up leaving my Hammer Gel in the truck. I started off running too much tire pressure, add a few soft spots with wet tires and that made for a rough start. After letting a little air out of my rear tire I was riding better. We started at the campground and headed up to lot 17 and then took the grass service roads over to N Poosey. The grass roads were not cut super short so it took a lot of power to get thru and it isn't a short distance to get there either, the return trip was worse because we were tired and riding straight into a strong headwind. Once over at N Poosey Coach took me on a trail that I hadn't been on before, he told me there was a steep hill on it but I had no idea what I was in for. We came up over the top and my eyes got HUGE and my rear squeezed tight!!! I tried to take the outside line but saw real quick if I dropped in it would not be good so I stopped and watched Coach finish his descent. He turned around to see me at the top of the hill and yells "what are you doing?" I told him I took a bad line so he yelled "well go back and do it again". I have to admit it was very nerve racking, as I rolled up to it Coach yelled "keep your weight back". I rolled over the edge and rolled over a small rock toward the top and was committed to the ride down. I feathered the brakes but didn't let myself go too fast, it would be real easy to get out of control (and I like control). I was behind my saddle completely and my rear was hitting my back tire and I still felt like I could go over the handle bars if not careful. When I got to the bottom Coach said "Turn around and look at it" so I did and then he smiles and says "Good thing you rode it before you saw that isn't it?" It was intense, the more I ride it I hope it is no big deal, it was obvious it was no big deal to him and probably not to several of our riders but it shook me up a bit.
We went to another hill that Coach said he hadn't been able to climb for years, it was a doosey. We ended up throwing off some rocks that were momentum killers and it was easy to see what line you needed to take. Coach ended up climbing up the hard part, I only made it up about 1/3 of the way before I spun out. I tried several times but kept spinning out, it was pretty soft. I think if it was dry it is very climbable now. I walked my bike up the rocky section and then turned around and rode down, now that was fun!! We went back up all the way to the top of the service road and then rode all the way down together, now I know about more places to go and play.....if I can remember how to get there.
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