Despite the fact that my ankle seems to be in a constant state of not healing, I've been getting
after it pretty good. I've decided to spend my weekends on the mountain bike since 1. I need to improve my technical riding and 2. it's way more fun than road riding and pretty soon winter will dictate that I ge
t back on the road ride. So why not enjoy the rest of fall on my fat tire ride?
I've had the chance to ride with two awesome athletes the past couple of weekends.
Two weeks ago I got out for a two hour spin with Jen Shultis of Team EMS. It didn't get above 28 degrees all day and we were frozen up pretty good by the end. Jen showed me around some of the trails near Bedford and Lexington which were super fun to ride and go through
some spots of historical significance; another cool perk of riding in New England. All sorts of
Revol
utionary War memorials.
Last weekend I met up with Kate Walton, who raced a the pro level on EMS's downhill mountain bike team, and since downhills are something I've resolved to work on, I'm thankful that she took it easy on me. We road the trails at
Willowdale and Bradley Palmer which sits in between Ipswich and Topsfield. The amount of quality riding around here never ceases to amaze me. These trails were so much fun, not overly technical but rolling with lots of singletrack. One of those trails systems where it pays to get lost because you never know what you'll find but you'll easily find your way out too.
This week
was pretty intense in the gym, adding in the aforementioned Gym Jones exercises as well as spin class and I got out today for another hour and a half on the mountain bike. I'm officially whupped and with some snow coming tonight, I'm taking the day off tomorrow to do Christmas activities with the family.
I'm going to add a few mountain bikes races to the docket next year in addition to any multi-sport or
trail running races that I do. I'm getting more and more confident on the bike and I think it's time to see what it's like to race them. Plus if my ankle needs to be rehabbed longer than I planned, than it will help to have another few goals in mind if I can't get back to running when I want. If winter takes it's sweet ass time getting here I'm take advantage by riding the mountain bike...but once the snow and ice stick around, I'll start building endurance on my road bike. As well as spin at least once a week. So if anyone knows of any good mountain bike races out there that I should do, I'd love to hear it!
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