so i spent the weekend up in lake george, ny. i had a great time. i stayed at the sagamore (my first time actually 'staying' there) with mama clarkenstein, baby clarkenstein, and my parents. since they (my parents) have moved down to south carolina, i haven't seen them in a while. the weather was great and the lake was a perfect temp. i didn't do any riding up there... in fact i had no intention to ride. all i wanted to do was relax with the fam and drink some beers in the sun. mission accomplished - and i added two new beers to my list of 'tried' beers - switchback ale and sagamore ale. both real solid brews.
anyway - i got home in record time and baby clark slept pretty much the whole time. as i unloaded the car's final bag into the living room, mama clarkenstein turned and said the magic words "why don't you go out for a ride - its beautiful out".
its not that i'm repressed/abused and only get out when i'm 'given permission'... its not like that at all. but with a four month old, riding time has been very thin - and understandably so. but with a go ahead from the significant other presented, i stopped for a second (probably with a dumb look on my face of 'really?'), put down the last bag, and ran upstairs to change into my riding shorts. i threw the bike on the car, tossed some water in the camelback, and hit the road to six mile.
i drove the 5.5 miles to the rt 27 entrance, popped the trunk, threw on my brain bucket and shoes, squeezed the tires to make sure there was actually air in them, locked the car, and took off into the trailhead.
the weather was great - nice and warm, and real sunny. the light was great on the trails - the trail was peppered with sunbeams that made it thru the trees. the conditions were dry - almost too dry, but at six mile, these are probably the last days we will have for a while of dry trails... so i am not complaining. i came out into the powerline crossing - a normally hot spot with beating sun and no wind - but today it was great. there was a nice stiff breeze that cooled me off going through that full blown sunlight.
i cruised through the trails - six mile is just all about flow - and i was just feeling good flowing along. i wasn't racing, i wasn't going slow either - i just was riding. a total surprise that within 20 minutes of pulling into my parking spot i was rolling over dirt. i came across some hikers, a trio of kids playing in the stream, and a kamikaze squirrel that decided to bail out of a tree onto the trail about ten feet in front of me. i got in my loop, and got back to the car feeling pretty good - not toasted, not burnt, not too sweaty, not too hot. just right.
all in all, a non-eventful relaxing cruise.
here's some pics -
1. bike getting a little help from the sun
2. i can really frame a pic, i swear
3. i am officially a dork, but a stoked dork at that
anyway - i got home in record time and baby clark slept pretty much the whole time. as i unloaded the car's final bag into the living room, mama clarkenstein turned and said the magic words "why don't you go out for a ride - its beautiful out".
its not that i'm repressed/abused and only get out when i'm 'given permission'... its not like that at all. but with a four month old, riding time has been very thin - and understandably so. but with a go ahead from the significant other presented, i stopped for a second (probably with a dumb look on my face of 'really?'), put down the last bag, and ran upstairs to change into my riding shorts. i threw the bike on the car, tossed some water in the camelback, and hit the road to six mile.
i drove the 5.5 miles to the rt 27 entrance, popped the trunk, threw on my brain bucket and shoes, squeezed the tires to make sure there was actually air in them, locked the car, and took off into the trailhead.
the weather was great - nice and warm, and real sunny. the light was great on the trails - the trail was peppered with sunbeams that made it thru the trees. the conditions were dry - almost too dry, but at six mile, these are probably the last days we will have for a while of dry trails... so i am not complaining. i came out into the powerline crossing - a normally hot spot with beating sun and no wind - but today it was great. there was a nice stiff breeze that cooled me off going through that full blown sunlight.
i cruised through the trails - six mile is just all about flow - and i was just feeling good flowing along. i wasn't racing, i wasn't going slow either - i just was riding. a total surprise that within 20 minutes of pulling into my parking spot i was rolling over dirt. i came across some hikers, a trio of kids playing in the stream, and a kamikaze squirrel that decided to bail out of a tree onto the trail about ten feet in front of me. i got in my loop, and got back to the car feeling pretty good - not toasted, not burnt, not too sweaty, not too hot. just right.
all in all, a non-eventful relaxing cruise.
here's some pics -
1. bike getting a little help from the sun
2. i can really frame a pic, i swear
3. i am officially a dork, but a stoked dork at that
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