TGIF

I haven’t been on the bike for ten long days.  I’ve been sick and nursing my injury; so getting better has been my priority.  In the interim I have been aggressively fundraising for Soldier On and acquiring new parts for N+1 (which is a few weeks away at best).

Today didn’t start off too well; cycling-wise.  While driving to work I heard a rattle on my windscreen which I assumed to be the missing plastic tyre lever I most likely placed on my bonnet while fitting my tubeless tyres the night before.  Oh how I was wrong.  When I turned on my wipers I saw a black object fly across my windscreen and onto the car next to me on Northbourne Ave.

It did not dawn on me until I was at Sparrow Hill this afternoon that the black object was in fact the 15mm thru-axle that secures my front wheel to my forks; Rookie_Error indeed!  Three bike shops later and quite a few phone calls I tracked one down at Bike Culture at O’Conner.

Two hours after I left work, I finally arrived back at Sparrow Hill for my first ride in ten days.  I intended to ride a couple of laps of the course for this Sunday’s CORC XC Race; but after one lap I headed across the highway into Kowen Forest.  I was not disappointed.  The free-flowing trails spoke to me as daylight quickly faded and night-time set in.  I switched on my lights and had the entire forest to myself for a brief moment in time.  Just me, my bike and the trails.  All of my troubles disappeared into the pine trees.

Today I was reminded why I started riding mountain bikes…  Because it’s fun to ride.