Took the new bike out for its inaugural mudbath today. Yes, it's a Cannondale. Flame me if you
must, but there will be no spanking. As to the red v yellow debate, orange is faster than both of
'em put together.
MacDaddy took me out to Whoop-de-do, the trail used for the 24-hour race at last year's Gorge Games
(so I'm told). We had a vanishingly small window of opportunity, so I only got to do a short
section, but got a good sampling of how my new ride handles.
The first mile of the trail is uphill. With my new expansive gear selection, I was flying up the
hill like Cinderella in her pumpkin until I fell into a ditch. Even a shiny new bike will not erase
the klutz factor.
At the top of the hill, we stopped for a breather. (I would have lovely panoramic photos to share of
the clouds roiling up the Columbia Gorge, but apparently nobody bothered to shut off the camera
after the hike yesterday, so it was dead.) Following an old logging road across an open section of
ridge, we took the full brunt of the wind. At one point, I got pushed out of one track, over the
bump in the middle into the other, then up the berm a bit. I had not considered this possible hazard
of a lighter bike. 😉
We headed next into a lovely oak grove, complete with large low-hanging branches overarching the
trail. The forest quickly turned to pine and the kind of trail I adore: tight & twisty on a soft
bed of pine needles. Too soon, we came to another windy ridge crossing and opted to turn around and
head back.
I conquered a small log that had given me trouble on the way in (it was wet and I did that nasty
slide to the side thing), and was feeling pretty good about that when we hit the last mile down to
the car. This is where I had my first real surprise. I was not prepared for how fast this bike was
going to take off down hill. I didn't realize how much difference a new/decent freewheel could make.
It was really quite hair-raising, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. 🙂
gabrielle