Day 258: Playing Mountain Biker at Lunch

I got really lucky today since the bad weather broke up and I was able to ride in the sun, and also with a good buddy of mine. We waited until the temperatures to rise up a bit since this morning they were brutal. At sunrise the temperatures were in the 30’s, and that’s not what I wanted to ride in given that I’m still nursing my second cold of the season.

I did wake up feeling reasonably well this morning. I’m still sniffling and coughing, but I'm definitely on the mend. If I can stay warm and dry while riding during the course of the next few days, then I’ll be over this cold by Monday, I say hopefully.

“B” and I rode up Railroad Grade at a mellow pace today, and that was really good for me. I’m a bit of a Type “A” personality, so having a friend along for the ride today reminded me to slow it down, and to instead focus on getting well. That’s just how it played out today, except for the downhill on Panoramic Highway. It was there that we reached over 39 mph on or mountain bikes! I think that’s the fastest that I’ve ever ridden on a mountain bike. It must be gravity. ;-)

From there we rode back to the WTB world headquarters via some fun trails that are rarely used, and yet they are really fun, and chocked full of little obstacles. The trails are solid, and drain really well, so our riding on them doesn’t have an environmental impact given all of the wet weather that we’ve been having.

My biggest issue today was riding with brakes that are spotty at best. I’m down to my last functional mountain bike, and its brakes are intermittently completely gone. It’s very exciting to say the least. Multiple times today I grabbed the brakes and they went all of the way to the handlebars. Pumping them brought them back to some degree, but phew, I felt lucky to not have a mishap.

The good news is that two of my mountain bikes are coming back into the lineup tomorrow, and that's not a moment too soon. All of my bikes have been in need of repair, and I’m now slowly getting them back into proper order.

We had a nice ride today, and it included one of my favorite Bay Area views from Diaz Ridge which is just above Homestead Valley. It’s just stunning up there on days like today.

Thanks for the ride “B.