Tuesday’s ride was certainly a great day to get back on the bike and hit some dirt, in fact, it was the first time for me in 2010 to be riding a fat tire.  I had done a few road rides on the 700cc in January, but sometimes you just miss the smell of dirt - or is that horse manure

This was logged as “Lunch time ride #26″ for me.  I went out on the Single speed hardtail, sporting 32/20 gearing. Yes, I know for some of you hardcore types, this is a whimpy ratio, but it works for me. (where were you on Tuesday?).

I headed out from Building A’s, well correct that, Building 7’s workout room around 11:15 or so, greeting our lovely workout instructor on my way out the door.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  The ride up on Arastradero Road, was decent.  Riding up the the backside, just on the other side of 280, I was sucking wind, as well as carbon monoxide from the cars accellerating to get up the hill.  Just as a reminder to all the cyclists out there, please, obey all the rules of the road, stop at stop signs.  I don’t want any angry motorists looking to run me off the road because they’ve encountered a discourteous rider.

Once I got in the park, I was mildly surprised to find that the ground conditions were great.  I was actually expecting a lot more mud, considering all the rain that we’ve had in the past few weeks.  I had expected some of the single track (narrow trails on dirt - for my roadie friends out there ;-), to be closed off for “seasonal weather”, however the loop was open.  For the route that I take, the single track is a climb.  For those who have never riden a single speed mountain bike, it’s a full body workout experience, as with the ratio we run, it’s usually something a little bit harder, ergo, you’re forced to pedal out of the saddle.  With the way I’ve configured my bike, it’s like doing pushups and climbing stairs at the same time.

The running I have been doing in my cycle off season has certainly helped with my stamina, but it surely didn’t help my tired arms much.  But on this route, there was now an opportunity for me to relax a little bit as I dropped back down on to a flat section.  Gearing now on a fire road, with a slight ascent.

After doing this a while, you get to ride more single track.  To a mountain rider, single tracks are like a wet dream.  Anyways, I ended running into equestrians.  I have mixed feelings about equestrians, because so many of those riders don’t believe in sharing the trails.  But in all honesty, I take every opportunity to be a good ambassador of my sport.  So when I encounter a horse, I stop, still, and let the rider pass by.  On some occasions, I’ll even get off, unless the equestrian tells me its okay otherwise.

The rest of the ride was as fun as I had remembered it.  There were some light patches of muddied areas, but what’s riding offroad without getting a little soil on you ;-).  The whole ride was about 1hr long, I burned 584 calories according to Ms. Garmin. Hope you enjoyed my post.  I hope next time you’ll be able to join me, until then, enjoy the ride and the photos.

Ride On Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/24922018