Ouch! Bone Bender 2011

Back in town and I joined Rich Anderson to ride the Bone Bender 6hr as a duo team. First time on a MTB for probably 6 months and with the exception of a couple easy spin hours this past week, first time on a bike for 4 months. Baptism by fire.

I asked Rich to do the first lap because I didn't have much confidence about my rusty technical skills in traffic. Also, I really didn't think I was up to 4 laps either! I was right. Although my laps were decent given the circumstances, I had a good calf cramping moment on my last lap. This is actually the first time I have ever had a muscle lock up while riding. Of course, my bike fitness is crap, so its no surprise that riding hard for 2.5 hours was more than I could handle.

My technique seemed to be okay after some time on the trails. Everyone seemed to think the trail was really technical, I guess I didn't. Sure, it had technical bits that I didn't ride, but I didn't really feel like they defined the course. On any given course there are usually some technical bits that I can't ride, so this trail was about the same as anything else for me.

It was good to see everyone. It seems like I've been gone for a really long time. In reality, I probably wouldn't have seen most of these people at all over the last few months anyway, so its weird that it feels like I was returning from a long absence.

Anyway, probably won't be doing much riding/racing this year. Guess I better figure out something else to write about...