saturday I went to schaffer farms with my brother marc for a few hours on the bike... actually for an hour forty-five on the bike perhaps for an hour forty rollingsaturday afternoon after of morning of soccer with the boys I went to the city bikes chevy chase shop to grab my new jamis exile single speed with rock shox reba fork
as much as I love the clubhouse vibe of the bike shop
there was only enough time for a quick hello to my friends at the shop as I grabbed my new freshly assembled ride
with the bike on the roof of the car I went immediately to pick up my brother for a quick trip out to germantown maryland for some fun on the rolling singletrack of schaffer farms
gambril was our initial intention...
but the weather
the short window of opportunity
and the newness of the bike
all these factors out schaffer as a more rational ride option that the water shed
we loaded the bikes up and moved out to the trails with a bit of immediacy
the weather was calling for afternoon rain
and with the looks of the clouds overhead I did not care to challenge that claim
we arrive to a less than packed parking lot and wasted no time getting out on the bikes
my brother is fit, fast, and rolling on his specialized double banger
while I am still trying to get my engines started for the season on a brand new bike that I have not done so much as ridden around the parking lot on
but... I attacked the trails just the same
the feeling of the new bike had some of the awkwardness that any new bike may have
going from the 22 inch frame rigid karate monkey single speed to the 21 inch jamis exile single speed with front suspension is certainly going to have a less than identical feel
heck... if things were identical why would I be moving to a new single speed race bike?
immediately I was feeling a tad cramped
not sure of the top tube length but... I was feeling a little cramped in the cockpit
but... figured I would roll with things before I got all hyped on adjusting the saddle and rushing to the store for a new stem
a few turns into the ride and I was feeling pretty okay on the new ride
a tad cramped but pretty okay
the balance of weight is completely different
I felt myself riding this machine in a fashion that I normally do not ride the karate monkey in
I was out of the saddle and hanging over the back wheel in a way that I am not sure I ever felt I had to do on the karate monkey
the larger steeper log barriers called for a cross dismount
as the short cockpit had me feeling that an endo was going to toss me over the falls
a feeling that I was not looking to experinece in full
not looking to get wet from rain or going over the falls to get tossed around in the wash
we looped around and doubled back through some of the inside singletrack loops and hammered the open field
at an hour thirty five I felt my energy starting to wain
so I picked up the intensity
tried to fight the weakness by hitting things head on
thought I could just "leave it on the trail"
but realized that there was nothing but junk in the trunk and that it would be best to just end things at an hour forty five instead of seeking out another 20-30 minutes of looping back to break the two hour mark
we rolled back to the parking lot each feeling pretty good about the ride
the duration was not quite what we had hoped
but the intensity was high and the rain held out
there was little to no time wasted chatting each other up at each cross roads as we see each other enough that we do not need to probe the other's brain
we loaded the car up and headed back home to our respective families
I made dinner for my kids that they told me that they did not want to eat
they took a few bites but did not care for things
I thought I was uber dad making tuna surprise
but it turns out... just because kids like tuna and kids like mac and cheese that they are going to like mac and cheese with tuna
that night lisa and I had a babysitter
lisa was heading out to dinner with friends and was then scheduled to meet me at a party
she bailed on the party
so I ended up getting in a few more miles on the bike
this time those miles were in the rain
in the rain... wet and drunk
wet and drunk sporting more lights than a christmas tree
a good weekend
yoga for the wife
a goal and a winning game for my older son;s soccer game where they are told not to keep score
trail riding for me
and all sorts of family gatherings around the dinner table
a good weekend
sunday was soaked with rain just as the weatherman had predicted
we did well to hit the trails when we did
sunday was a perfect day for staying in doors
I wonder how the race at Dragon's Back went for people?