Lots to update, little time.

So the fast and quick of the past few weeks.

I spend the second weekend of October driving across the state of Arkansas to pick up my new bike. Yep, I got a new bike! I'm one of the first people to throw a leg over a new 2014 Epic Comp. I'll be posting up an impression of it once I get the SWAT gear for it and put in 500ish miles on it. (probably around the first of the year)

First New bike in 3 years!

The fourth weekend of October was spent doing the Bentonville epic. I was promised 34ish miles of the best  trails that NWA has to offer. What I received was 10ish miles of great single track and 25 miles of rouge trails that are not developed but have great potential.  I really like the rouge trails for the first 5 miles, then I grew tired of it and just wanted the ride to end.  After 2 hours of riding with the group I went into endurance mode and finish as quickly as I could.

Great group of fast riders. That's exposed bed rock in a creek bed, not snow. 

During this ride I had a slow over the bar (OTB) crash. On my way down I tried to catch myself, bad idea. I heard my bad (left) shoulder pop, which was followed by  pain flooding in. The caller bone defiantly moved, but it looks like it's in a position that will cause less long term pain.  I was able to finish the ride and took a week off to let it heal up. It does not bother me when I ride, but bothers me anytime I allow it to sit still too long.  I looked up rotator cuff tear and my symptoms are consistent with that type of injury. I'm going to continue to ride until it start to bother me on bike. May it heal up quickly and be a thing of the past.  

The second weekend of November I decided to try out the Saturday Morning group ride. Man, I lose fitness quickly when I only do 2 rides a week for 1.5 months. I hung with the group for the first Hr then quickly fell off the back of the pack, and finish up the ride with Gustavo. 4Hr, 63.1 miles and 3307 ft of climbing will sap the legs of all energy. I got home and supper rehydrated to prep my body for my long ride on the MTB Sunday.

Gustavo getting it done up 4 Corners Road!

I don't know how, but I woke up Sunday tired, started the ride tired, but as soon as the tires found dirt I came back from the dead. Everything felt right, everything felt fast, I was one with the bike. For the first time I felt 100% comfortable on my new 29er FS rig! Sadly this ride would end, only 2 hrs in, with a broken chain. I don't blame the chain or the bike, but me. I shifted a few gears and needed to do a quick pedal kick to get over some stuff. The bike leap over the obstacle, but I had no more chain. I guess it was not finished shifting when I need to clear the obstacle.

Saying good buy to Mt. Sequoyah on my way over to Mt. Kessler.

Top of the first step on Mt. Kessler Road. Already climbed 200 ft, ready for 300 ft more? All in one mile?

The tunnel of color that is riding in the Ozarks in Nov. 

This past weekend was full of trail building and a much needed long MTB ride. We had 15-20 people out bench cutting 2 miles of trail on Saturday, and man did they ride fast on Sunday. If you did not know any better, you would think these trails have been there for months.

Awesome rock feature. Be sure to check your speed, or be prepared to go flying!

I ran into several familiar faces on my long MTB ride, as you would expect on a 70F Sunday in November! It was nice to ride for a while, run into someone, chat on the trial side for a while, then continue riding.

Over Look on Mt Kessler, 2 weeks into "No Shave November" 

I am now back to training, and for the first time in years I'm doing specific workouts. Not just go ride for X amount of time, but real intervals and hill repeats. After only 2 weeks I'm already seeing big improvements!

Why did I start back training so early? Simple, the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series has announced the dates of 4 of the, now, 5 endurance races for next year. The first race is in just over 3 months which leads me with little time to regain fitness.  I'll be putting my goals out publicly once the dates for all 5 races are announced. But as one thing changes, so another stays the same. My first race next year will be Iron Mountain MTB Endurance Race on 23 Feb, but Ouachita Challenge remains my big A race for next year.

As always I just need to Ride More, Ride Harder, and Get Faster.