NICE

S. Taylor blew into town for 24OP and boy am I glad he did. He got me out on what turned into a near-perfect day.

The route – Redington->Chiva->Italian Trap->AZT->Milagrosa. If you only had one day to ride here, this would be your ride.

Plenty of water around. Stream crossings, mud (?!), full tanks. Temperature was sublimely perfect throughout our six hours on the trail. Never hot, never cold.

Sometimes I wonder if there’s a point to all the suffering I endure on a bike. Racing is such a dubious prospect, and even when such goals are achieved, the after effects are often hollow and wanting. What then, is the point of training your body to endure?

I don’t have the answers, except that I know it flows in my blood, and to deny it would be to deny myself. But every once in a while a ride comes along that makes me realize I’ve been training my entire life… for today, for this ride.

That’s a big bird.

Is that day a big race or one where limits are pushed beyond previously accepted values?

Perhaps not.

Today it was everything falling into place at once.

Trail
Body
Weather
Mind
Bike
Company

It was the experience that came without suffering. I did what I’ve trained myself to do, through long and hard years. You can talk about ‘flow’ on a nice piece of trail, but sometimes everything flows.

“…what a nice ride…” x103