Training In The Rain

So today's ride was supposed to be a 3-4 hour effort in Indian Creek with a night exit using a helmet light. It started to rain very lightly this afternoon but not to be deterred, I headed up to Waterton Canyon only to be turned away at the gate by, well... the gate with a big sign on it stating that the canyon road and parking lot were being maintained... bummer!!

So the next closest ride was Deer Creek Canyon... back in the truck and 15 minutes later I pull into the parking lot which has 5 or 6 other cars in it. Perfect, I think, no traffic to contend with on the trail. Rain in Colorado sends people inside... we don't see much rain so most of us don't know how to act when it does.

If you follow my blog you will notice that I am very cautious about wet conditions and mountain biking on wet trails. The reason that I avoid the trails when it's wet is that the tires tend to break down the trail surface when it's muddy so I just don't do it. Trails are too hard to come by and too hard to repair and maintain to treat them badly. Today I felt like the light rain would have little effect on the trail surface, I was right the tires didn't have any affect on the trail surface.

It had been about 2 years since I'd ridden this single track and I forgot what I had been missing. This trail is quite steep on the lower end with some rocky technical sections on it. The upper part of the trail system is just spectacular with good smooth single track and great little climbs and descents. The light rain made the otherwise sticky rocks, slick and treacherous.

I make 2 laps around each of the upper 2 loops and then head back to the truck. Total ride time 1:45. This was a nice little work out with no people to contend with and just enough rain to make the trail perfectly tacky.

Life is Short... Enjoy the Ride