There's always more to ride

On Thursday I was back at Foxboro ready for more.  The weather was amazing and I hit the trail wearing just a bike jersey (rest assured, I had shorts on as well).  As I took off my legs felt a little sluggish from the day before but I hoped that as they got warmed up they would perk up.  Before long I ran into a rider off the side of the trail attending to his wheel.  I stopped to offer help and he explained he had been having tube issues lately - apparently he had not seated his tire and the tube popped out the side??  Haven't witnessed that before but he was happy working (and not too far from his car) so he sent me on my way.

Off I went as I sought the new segments I had come across the day before.  Not only did I hit that section again, but I found even more new stuff!!  This side seemed to see less traffic - but the trails were sweet!!  Came across some nice rollers to play on.

The first one is steep, best ridden from the other direction I'm sure, but I was still able to power up and over.

Next three

 I probably came up from the "wrong" side of this rock formation, but it was fun anyway.  I hit it both ways and it was naturally easier from the other direction... but I kinda liked climbing up the steep face.

A little ways down the trail there was a nice "up and over" built for a fallen tree.  It was around a little turn and caught my off guard, but it was easily ridden (from this side).

There was a little bit of a drop off coming off the back side, making it a little more challenging to cross from this side.  From this side you need to have your momentum up in order to clear it (otherwise you are slamming your crank into a rock/log).

Getting to the trail (after getting out of work at the regular time) I had plenty of time for a ride.  I threw my light in my jersey pocket (with battery and all this time!!) just in case I rode for longer - but didn't need it.  I did manage to hit up the segment I unwittingly rode on Wednesday and I wasn't too confident that my performance would be much better than the day before.  During the climb I felt slower... so I did what I could to gas it on anything level and then on the decline before the final push to, and through, the parking lot.  As I reached the peak I felt blah about it but caught a glimpse of some riders through the woods so I pushed on for the decent (and chase).

The rider ahead of me had a dog with her, so I hung back not to freak the dog out.  As we hit the bottom I paused as a nice stick logged itself between my wheel and derailleur.  Luckily, everything seemed to be fine and I kept on riding... hitting up some more "new" trails.... this time I had a vague recollection of some of the trails I was riding, so I think at one time or another I had explored this section - but it certainly hadn't been on the normal route... Foxboro it freakin big.  Plenty of varied terrain to choose from - and many options as far as stringing together a ride.  Even without a "planned" route the place never fails to keep me entertained, or give me a great ride.

As I got home I anxiously loaded up my data in Strava... what would it show me??  I was interested to see where these new sections were that I had encountered today, but I was also curious as to how I performed on the climb segment.  KOM baby!!  I was psyched!!  Feels like I could have (should have) been able to get up that climb faster - so it will continue to be a measuring point for me as I continue to grow stronger.