It dawned on me today that the Clairebarian has never ridden on a proper set of jelly legs. She’s played multiple games of hockey on the same day and done multiple days of sports back-to-back but it’s simply not the same thing.
I’m certain any reader of MEATengines knows what I’m talking about. Day-three legs are very stiff in the morning but after moving around a bit they’re just a bit jelly-like. Pedaling becomes about rhythm and efficiency and all-out power moments need to be conserved. I’m very impressed with how my tiny leg has been holding up, but even more impressed with the consistent efforts of my little person.
Today it was back up to the top of Sobo no Michi and then the little pedal further to the top of Hunky Dory. I teased another run up Above and Beyond but the bicycle-viking wasn’t biting on it. We were on a ride guided by our friends Vik and Sharon, who are local to the area, and Claire was a bit nervous about the prospect early on. I’m certain you also know what it’s like to be the slowest in a ride group by a margin though maybe not with tiny legs and a bike that weighs half as much as you.
Sobo no Michi was a grind but she made it with one dab and a positive attitude and it was awesome when at the top of New Vanilla she was jazzed about going up a bit higher. Attitude is everything in mountain biking. We enjoyed a whole network of trails put together in a different way than we would have – the best part of following someone with some local knowledge – and (other than Space Nuggets) today Hunky Dory received top grades when both Claire’s wheels came off the ground and she didn’t crash celebrating the moment.
If I had to pick a #Cumberlandworx Day 3 highlight it was the top of Sobo no Michi when we played a hilarious supporting role in another group’s ride dynamic. They had passed us as a train of maybe nine or ten riders about five switchbacks earlier. They were moving briskly and as is our typical schtick I told Claire to jump on the last rider’s wheel, “don’t let them think they’ve beat you!”
It solicited a solid laugh from the front of the group and they playfully picked up their pace. The beautiful byproduct of our exchange was when their twin cabooses flamed out hard before the top. Claire caught one of them and almost reeled in a second, with his whole group cheering loudly. It brought back many fond memories of Easters spent riding Cumberland. Your friends are all jerks, but they’re sweet jerks, and that’s why you love them.
The Clairebarian says that Day 4 legs start off feeling like “even more jelly-legs” but now they’re just numb, so I think we’re ready to ride.