convalescence?

Knee woes continue here in Manitou Springs. Everyday the upper reaches of Pike’s call to me, and every day I fail to heed that call.

But at least I’m riding. Short, low and weak. But riding. I feel great every time I head out, which is always a good thing. But just as things get rolling, it’s time to roll back home.

These rides often find me at Red Rock Canyon. Might have something to do with the 15 minute easy spin to get there. Fortunately it’s still ‘fresh’ to me, and not at all tedious.

I guess the scenery is OK, too. It’s like a little mini-Sedona, except the technical features have yet to be exploited.

A few other rides, lately, including a technical session with the master himself, banditriders, visiting from Junction.

Couldn’t get the camera out fast enough to catch him in action. But here he is cleaning a nice stair section on Templeton Trail:

Great riding there. We did some searching for the local “steeps” and “hucks” but came up with zilch. Not to worry–Templeton has plenty to like. I rode at least 3 sections I hadn’t on previous runs, either from watching KF ride them first, or because I wasn’t riding solo.

Paula had a good race at the Garden this weekend. The start was ~5 min from our place, making it a great race to follow on the bike. She picked up some rent paying cash from her 4th place finish.

I think/hope my knee is on the upward trend, but there have been some setbacks. I really don’t know what to think about the cause. The pain is seemingly so random that it’s hard to put a finger on it, and thus, hard to know how to react. Still, I made a few changes to the bike that may or may not be helping. I’ve struggled on and off with similar knee problems over the years, but this is the first it has cropped up in 3+ years. About the only thing I know for certain is that I have to pull back on the reins or the pain will settle in for the long run.

I rarely link other reading, but this post from GET’s blisterfree is a good read:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grand-enchantment-trail/message/91

Finally, the GDR starts tomorrow. Updates will start pouring in here:

http://greatdividerace.blogspot.com/

2500 nonstop miles of dirt roads, numb hands, sore butts, aching feet, tight IT’s and great scenery. Best of luck to the guys laying it all out there. My money is on Pete B to take the win and the new record he so richly deserves. The vageries of the route have no sense of ‘entitlement’, naturally, so it’s far from a sure thing.