Saturday Ride

I felt to good from the ride yesterday, decided to bring the FX along for breakfast. After breakfast I headed from Hy-Vee (N 16th), down the river trail.

Had to check out the progress on the new bridge. Railings being installed.

Stopped at the Trail Center, then over to Indian Creek. Did not want to ride a full lap of CB, I rode North to S 16th.

Had to ride and check out the new diagonal link to South Expressway. The trail is done pretty well. The one thing I do not like, way too many street crossings. There are crosswalks painted on the street - no "bicycle crossing" sign nor bike stop signs.

Back up to S 16th, over the the new trail along the south side of the railroad yard. Finally, about a reverse of our Sunday Morning Ride route. Good ride - little over 15 miles.

Trails Under Water

Yesterday, I took a ride from XW shop, to Manawa, Trail Center, and return. Besides riding my bike, wanted to see how bad the trails are.

As you can see - sections of the trails are under water. When I got back to the Shop, I learned that the race had been postponed to a later weekend. The river was also way up and lots of garbage floating on the river.

Rode the new trail bike - since I had to pick it up at the shop (adjustment). Weather good, light wind, feeling good (but not the energy I had Wednesday!).

Lake Manawa Tail Work

The delayed trail work at Lake Manawa took place last evening. Over a dozen of the Trail Crew attended. Under guidance of our Trail Leader, we made quick work of trail clean-up.

Goal was clear dead falls from the recent storms, weed-wack the trail, and lopped branches to trim the trail canopy. Steve manned the mower, giving the trail a hair-cut.

Thanks to everyone than helped.

Damp Wednesday Morning Ride

Not sure if we were going to ride yesterday. When I got up, it was raining, and kept raining until about 6am.

At 7am at the shop, it was just overcast, cool, and damp. Randy was waiting when I arrived. Blaine & Zach showed shortly. But, Zach is not planning to ride (wuss).

I lead out the ride towards Manawa. Must be the altitude riding over the weekend because I was riding strong.

Stopped at Manawa to checkout the mountain bike trails - they were a mess (mud, standing water, etc.) Sure hope the trail dries out for the race Saturday!

On the way over to the Trail Center, we encountered some mist/drizzle. Explored West of the Trail Center, finding a dirt trail to the river. Time to head back to the shop. Good ride, in spite of the weather. Thanks for the good ride, guys.

BHFTF Wrap-up

The 2008 edition of the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival is history. I rode on the Mickelson, completed a singletrack ride, and survived the Beer-Muda Triangle.

Sunday afternoon, we made it back from the ride just in time for the raffle and hot food available. Here's a photo of me with some of my swag.

Sunday was completed with the BHFTF Film Fest. Good films, good food, good beer, and great people.

I was thinking of riding Monday morning - the same trail from Sunday. When I stuck my head out of the hotel room door, it was cold, drizzling, and breezing. Besides, my legs were a little sore. So, I decided to pack up the car and head to home. Stopped at Founder's Park and left a DVD of my photos.

Will I be back next year? Most likely. The group (locals, staff, and participants) are great. Everyone seemed to rolled with the punches. Schedules were altered to facilitate racing, tours, and BBQ.

We had some pretty nasty weather for riding, but we survived, even had fun. Something about mountain bikers - we feed on each other's enthusiasm. When you are down, feeling bad about your riding, somebody seems to sense it and says something that gives you that little emotional lift.

It was great to see my friends from last year. Also great to meet so many new friends. Safe riding - see you down the trail.

Oh yeh, my photos and report of BHFTF are posted on my web site: http://www.tomwinfield.com/bike/mtn-bike/mtb_festivals/BHFTF08.html

1 Year Old

A year ago today I posted my first blog entry -- right here from the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival.

I hope it has been interesting for others. I have been enjoying writing the sporadic missives.

"Short Climb"

The folks in the Black Hills have a demented sense of what is a "short climb".

Today I rode the Centennial Trail in the area of Pactola Reservoir. There were 8 of us Festival riders and 3 guides. When I was discussing a potential singletrack ride, everyone told me that this one ride for beginners was a good ride, mostly downhill with a couple of short climbs.

As I was riding, and then walking, my bike up the climb, I took this photo. now, it looks like the climb ends just up the hill. WRONG- when you turn the corner, it keeps climbing.

Yes, there were some nice downhill sections. On the first downhill, I seemed to have forgotten about watching up the trail, not my front tire. After a break, I got myself back on track. With that, I started riding better and enjoying the ride.

Then came the next climb. Once again, it was "hike-a-bike" time. I was getting frustrated with the climb. When I got back to a downhill section, I had problems ride any kind of line. I was losing my confidence. Worst, I was getting frustrated with myself - to the tune of thinking singletrack in the Black Hills is something I should give up on - stay on the River Trail or the Mickelson.

Then, one of the other riders told me that he felt I was doing very well - handling the bike well. Don't give up. That encouragement helped me.

Now I have to decide if I want to just pack up to head home, or train this trail one more time tomorrow.