Andrea and I spent the Thanksgiving extended weekend at my parents in Cottage Grove. We had an enjoyable thanksgiving weekend and even got out for a couple of rides.
We had contemplated going out early Thursday morning, but decided to sleep in instead. We decided our next chance would be on Saturday because Andrea would be pulling a marathon shopping spree on Friday starting at 4:00 AM. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not setting an alarm and we didn't get up until after the kids were running around. We didn't want to leave and let my parents take care of getting breakfast for the kids so we hung out until a little after 11:00. We made the drive to Lebannon Hills and met up with Dana and Jodi who had arrive shortly before we did. The conditions were near perfect with temps in the mid 30s with a slight breeze. The trail was in great shape with a light dusting of snow in a few areas not touched by sun. We rode the intermediate, X, XX, X, and intermediate to complete one lap. We stopped a few time so the ladies could build up enough courage to clear some of the larger log climbs and the camel back. Good job ladies! It was a fun ride and we would have liked to do another lap, but it was getting a little late and we needed get back to the house to relieve my mom.
Sunday morning we finally got up early and was at the trail a little after 7:15 AM. The sun was just coming up and the air was cool and crisp around 25 degrees. We started out fairly slow but soon picked it up to a reasonable pace. We rode the intermediate, X, intermediate-out loop in a little over 38 minutes. The conditions were perfect and the trail was in great shape besides being frozen. Andrea was pushing a good pace and flowing nicely through the turns. On the completion of the first lap we made one circle around the parking lot and headed back in for another lap. Andrea picked up the pace and was working it fairly hard on the first section especially on the climbs. part way through the lap we were both getting a little tired and our pace slowed slightly but we still kept a decent pace. After the X section we entered the "dream" section of the trail and I told Andrea to let the bike go and use the berms to carry momentum. We railed the entire section and had a blast. A little before the end of the trail after the intermediate section dumps out onto the beginner loop Andrea hit a small hidden section of ice around a turn and went down hard on her right side. The sun from the day before must have brought some of the frost to the surface and it refroze over night. After flipping the bars back around and straitening the stem we were back on our bikes. We made the decision ride the beginner loop to spin the legs out and quickly packed up the bike to get back for breakfast.
Great rides and some fun time with friends this past weekend. I hope the weather holds out so we can get out some more before the season ends.
We had contemplated going out early Thursday morning, but decided to sleep in instead. We decided our next chance would be on Saturday because Andrea would be pulling a marathon shopping spree on Friday starting at 4:00 AM. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not setting an alarm and we didn't get up until after the kids were running around. We didn't want to leave and let my parents take care of getting breakfast for the kids so we hung out until a little after 11:00. We made the drive to Lebannon Hills and met up with Dana and Jodi who had arrive shortly before we did. The conditions were near perfect with temps in the mid 30s with a slight breeze. The trail was in great shape with a light dusting of snow in a few areas not touched by sun. We rode the intermediate, X, XX, X, and intermediate to complete one lap. We stopped a few time so the ladies could build up enough courage to clear some of the larger log climbs and the camel back. Good job ladies! It was a fun ride and we would have liked to do another lap, but it was getting a little late and we needed get back to the house to relieve my mom.
Sunday morning we finally got up early and was at the trail a little after 7:15 AM. The sun was just coming up and the air was cool and crisp around 25 degrees. We started out fairly slow but soon picked it up to a reasonable pace. We rode the intermediate, X, intermediate-out loop in a little over 38 minutes. The conditions were perfect and the trail was in great shape besides being frozen. Andrea was pushing a good pace and flowing nicely through the turns. On the completion of the first lap we made one circle around the parking lot and headed back in for another lap. Andrea picked up the pace and was working it fairly hard on the first section especially on the climbs. part way through the lap we were both getting a little tired and our pace slowed slightly but we still kept a decent pace. After the X section we entered the "dream" section of the trail and I told Andrea to let the bike go and use the berms to carry momentum. We railed the entire section and had a blast. A little before the end of the trail after the intermediate section dumps out onto the beginner loop Andrea hit a small hidden section of ice around a turn and went down hard on her right side. The sun from the day before must have brought some of the frost to the surface and it refroze over night. After flipping the bars back around and straitening the stem we were back on our bikes. We made the decision ride the beginner loop to spin the legs out and quickly packed up the bike to get back for breakfast.
Great rides and some fun time with friends this past weekend. I hope the weather holds out so we can get out some more before the season ends.
