Erratic Steering

Today I went on another awesome lunch ride in the Timp Foothills with some guys from work and some other friends. We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather while it lasts (no arm or leg warmers needed).

By the way, I wore my new Twin Six jersey for the first time. Now I have exactly 2 jerseys that fit me and exactly 2 that don't. I need (want?) more cycling clothes, but after buying the Superfly last month, I better lay low for another month. Besides, the cycling season is all but over, so maybe I'll save it for a trainer (buying a trainer is so depressing) or maybe some snowshoes.

Back to the lunch ride. We climbed up the normal route past the water towers, up Betty and then East on "Kenny's Belt Route" (I think this is the name), which starts out fairly mellow and then there's some fairly steep climbing. My heart rate over the first 4 minutes on the Belt Route tells the story: 122 (right after taking a breather at the trail fork), 128, 133, 137, 141, 146, 149, 152, 158 (okay, starting to feel it), 159, 161, 161, 162, 166, 169, 170 (can someone put me out of my misery?), 169, 168, 167, 168, 167 (trying to recover by pedaling slower to ease the pain), 168, 169 (grade picks up again), 167, 166, 165 (the worst is over as the trail starts to flatten out).

During the period when my heart was at 165+ (and probably for a while after that), the two guys behind me were probably wondering if I'd ever ridden a mountain bike before as I was weaving all over the trail. I'm hoping that as my riding skills improve, I won't be spending so much wasted energy trying to keep my bike straight on the trail.