With the rest of the day I'll be grabbing the doggies and heading to my parents for a quick stop before hitting up Meriden for a preride. I was super excited for the opportunity to preride as it seems a good part of the course is on private land, but then that excitement faded quickly and turned to sheer terror. I got a message from the guy heading up the preride and he listed a couple other guys that would be riding with us... one name stood out - Charlie B. I didn't need to google the other guys to know that I would be in way over my head with this.... YIKES. But Fabian (who brought back the Wrath) was kind enough to ease my terror by offering to take me out ahead of the other guys... I'm sure it's as much for them as it is for me, as I would certainly not want to slow them down... but I'm super grateful for that.
I'm excited though. I rode out at Foxboro yesterday (since I haven't been on the bike in a bit) and I got a nice dose of rocks!! Just what I was looking for, get back to jamming through rock gardens to prepare for the adventure ahead. Overall I think it might prove to be a good training ground - to be determined after the preride of course... but I feel with the climbs available, the rocks to be navigated and the mileage I can get, it might be just what I need. I did take a couple "wrong turns" out there last night (it was much larger than I remembered) but with more time on the trails I think I can throw together a sweet ride.
It was a TOTALLY different experience riding there last night than it was my previous visit (which was about a year ago). Number one difference would be riding the HiFi versus the 4300. Of course I'd like to think that improved skill/fitness played a part, and I'm sure it did, but having the full suspension certainly saved me from the abuse you get riding a hardtail over there. Although, as I was packing up my bike I chatted with two guys - one who was riding a RIGID hardtail... singlespeed. All I could say to that was that he certainly must like punishment!
They have some group rides over there on Tuesdays that I will have to check out. If I get into the swing of things I could be getting in on some Tuesday/Thursday fun with the group ride scene... sounds like a plan!
So I'll let you know how the preride goes next week. In the meantime, enjoy the next installment of the Kingdom Trails adventures for Media Friday and have a fun and safe holiday weekend!!!
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