spinning solo

Poor H was still all tied up Sunday so I was solo for the second day in a row.  I wasn't going to let that stop me from MTBing, though!  My little Subaru is just big enough for me to stuff my MTB in the back - I don't have a trailer hitch for our rack nor do we have one of those over-the-hatchback racks - and that's what I did.  My little Subaru is also too much of a beater these days for me to want to attempt I-80 through Parley's Canyon (which I find terrifying even in a car that can go fast without shaking to pieces) so it would be over Guardsman Pass both ways.  Some people find that road scary but I don't, especially since the speed limit is 15 m.p.h. on it.

Since I was riding solo I felt no compunction about cutting off the part of the ride that I like the least: riding on the paved bike path from our in-town parking spot out to Quinn's Trailhead.  Don't mistake me - it's a fantastic bike path.  But it's a long slog of an uphill at the end of the ride and I just wasn't feeling it.  I parked at Quinn's, one of only a few cars there, and got my wheels on dirt a little after 9 a.m.  The temperature was quite nice and the sun was bright in a clear sky.

With no one to take photos, here's one from a year ago.

I was even wearing that same shirt this Sunday, so it counts.

There were very few people out there on the trails with me, perhaps because it was Father's Day?  I only came across folks once I was on the second half of the ride, on Rambler.  I didn't meet anyone on the Sweet Sixteen switchbacks and I climbed them pretty well, feeling like I was getting a little faster than I've been.  I rode the downhill side a little less well for some reason, but then redeemed myself on a good climb up the Staircase.  From there it was an easy net-downhill back to the car where my beer and snacks were waiting for me.  You always have to have beer and snacks post-ride, even if you only are toasting with yourself.