It’s the time to get out and enjoy things, even if it means not sleeping so much.  Yesterday, I woke up at 530 to run the fun section of Rattlesnake Creek before work.  I’ve got it pretty dialed now, picked the right spot to bushwack down from the road, and got to avoid all the wood,  Sealed up the deck and ran down to the parking lot without getting out once. Fun.  Then I went in a tried to work, but productivity was suffering because of the general bluebirdness of the world outside.  I bagged things early at 1600, ran home, packed, stuffed food down, got the bike ready and headed out at 1630 to catch up with the Solstice Ride.

The annual ride left from town at 1600, and I’d never done the route, so I had incentive to push the TT pace out Miller Creek to catch on before the route finding started.  I caught another guy in a similar position, and we rolled onto the first turn just as the group was heading up.  I pushed thing too hard too early, and felt horrid on the fire road climb, but the outstanding, faint, technical singletrack was enough to rally any mountain biker, and I felt great for the rest of the ride, and even cleared beer hill (clean it, get a free beer).

John is the instigator and leader of the ride, and killed it all day on the Cannondale.  I rode my first White Rim on the same frame, and know that 38c and the 25mm travel headshok don’t do that much.  John rediscovered and rebuilt the singletrack at the heart of the ride over a decade ago, which I can only imagine took many trips to sort out (it crosses so many clear cuts and logging roads, and even now is hard to see in places).  He ought to be proud of his baby.

The riding was fantastic.  My tastes have been forever corrupted by Arizona, but in my book too many Missoula trails are too buff, wide, and overly user friendly.  This trail was a nice change.

The 50 mile ride finished was a twilight descent of Braxton and the Pattee Canyon road, from whence we adjourned for food and drink.  It never really got hot (though on the climb my body was in no position to understand that), and was nice enough to sit around outside in shorts at 2300.  Summer, I’m ready.

PS:
Thank goodness:
http://www.npr.org/v2/?i=127992900&m=128075124&t=audio