SCOLETRAIN

The End

Yesterday I got back out to Standing Rock county park for the final day that the mountain bike trails are open for the 2009 season. It was the second time in the last few days that I was able to ride my commuter bike (S-Works 29'er hard tail) on some single-track to get the bike dialed in more. I had one nice leaf clearing experience when I went down in a root strewn corner landing on my non-damaged body side. For an expensive commuter bike it is actually a pretty light(21.1 lbs, 19" frame) big wheeled bike with a few parts and pieces I need to replace and it definitely handles lots better than my 2008 Stumpy Comp 29'er that had a longer wheelbase in the tighter single-track sections we have at Standing Rock.

This week will again be a mix of commuting and continuing home projects before winter actually shows its ugly face. No snow in the forecast so far and it's very much needed as people are getting anxious to snowboard and xc ski in our area. It's been hard to stay away from riding, but with my week long junk food eating marathon I need to keep pedaling to burn off all the bad calories that I've consumed lately.

My race schedule that I posted a few days ago keeps on changing as I've been manipulating it daily. My big focus for 2010 is the NUE Series and I would like to get at least four races in to qualify for a series overall. Three of the races look to be very doable with the NUE Wilderness 100 catching my attention as a replacement race for 24-9 next season. The Trans Iowa gravel grinder is also haunting me again as I've been thinking about it ever since I DNF'd two years ago, but it conflicts with the NUE Cohutta 100. Pedal on...