Playing in the dirt

February 8, 2023

Back to Caliche Flats

A thing I like about trail days is that the ride is a much shorter time commitment than road days, leaving more space for whatever else I’m trying to fit into the day. The trails are right outside our door, and we don’t need to go out for a long time to get a workout. On the roads we’re more focused on upping our mileage and will frequently drive somewhere new for a nice long ride.

Today I burn time laboring overlong on the journal, talking to the neighbors and other business. After lunch Barry succeeds in distracting me from my distractions and we pedal out towards the Caliche Flats trail where Brigitte and I went a couple days ago. We load up the route I saved from that ride and go out to practice the washes.

There’s a whole sequence to riding through a wash – drop to first gear, drop the seat, get low, watch where you’re going, pop the seat at the bottom and plenty more things. We do laps back and forth on the tricky ones and it’s pretty fun! I’m getting better at trusting the bike and not braking so much.

At one steep wash with an S curve I ride up to it four times and freeze at the top every time. No shame in walking, someday I’ll figure it out.

It’s difficult to pay close attention to the black arrows on the little Wahoo map when you’re watching the trail to spot the next turn or hazard. Early in the ride we miss a turn and are off the intended route following the blue arrows Wahoo shows to try to get you back on track. The black arrows never reappear. We just wander around for a while exploring different trails as our devices beep at us and gamely keep trying to shepherd us back.

On one turn I fall off to the side but it’s a soft landing in the dirt, no damage. It’s kind of a relief to get that first fall out of the way. Calling this ride a success!

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Today's ride: 8 miles (13 km)
Total: 184 miles (296 km)

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Kathleen ClassenI am so impressed! You have me thinking!
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamKathleen, this has been percolating in my head for some time. The last few years we've been to many places in the west where the road cycling was not very appealing and most of the bikers were out having fun on the trails. With all the lovely trails here I can't resist.
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1 year ago