more riding, less walking

What we learned, at our pre-ToU spectating MTB ride at Round Valley, is that when I'm not afraid of falling off a cliff, I'm actually improving as a MTB rider.  Yay for me!  We decided to do our now-regular loop and, as the stats will show, I went faster and further than I have in the past.  I'm also climbing more of the switchbacks than I have; I still have to walk some of them, but I'm riding more than before.

Cruising through the sagebrush

Distance: 18.72 miles, time: 1 hour 59 minutes, average speed: 9.4 m.p.h., H's fastest speed: 28.5 m.p.h.  Our total climbing came to 1,338 feet, including what we're calling "Hammerhead Hill," which H rode right up like a champ again.  We checked the GPS afterwards, wondering what sort of a grade it has ... short but steep, Hammerhead has a maximum grade of 41.3%.  That is CRAZY steep.  We got a picture of me pushing my MTB up it, to try to show just how steep it is:

I'm nearly bent double, trying to

shove my bike up this thing

We were psyched after that ride, with me getting some confidence back and riding better than I have all summer.  I know H would like to do some more challenging stuff, but it's sure a lot more fun when I'm managing to ride more than I am walking.