the fever

There was alot of talk about running in my last post, well not really much talk about it more like announcing a few running races I would like to enter. Anyway it got me out running today rather than on the bike. It was a bit rough going at first but the longer I ran the better I felt. I didn't expect to go out and feel great especially since I've not ran since the 10k race I entered almost 2 weeks ago. I've meant to do more running but that new Niner sitting in the bike room has cast it's spell on me for sure. The more I ride that thing the more in tune I feel with the trail. The bad thing is and Alan called it, the Karate Monkey has been hanging on the wall since the arrival of the Niner. What worse is since I bought the Air 9 I've started seriously thinking about getting another Niner. Both the Jet 9 and the RIP 9 have caught my attention.

I've not had a full suspension bike for several years now but in the last couple of months I've had an itch for something big and full squish to bomb down every trail in the area. I'm actually so anxious to build up a full squish 29er that I've decided to put off restoring the old Schwinn I bought from my Dad. I figure by the time it would be finished it would be too cold to ride it anyway. Atop a full squish bike on the other hand would be a great way to spend the winter. I have no idea how long it will take me to come up with the cash but I'm sitting at work right now working overtime just for that very reason.

Yesterday instead of riding around here I headed over to Johnson City to meet up with AKS and hit the newly renovated ETSU trails. Wow was I impressed, Ben the local club's trail guy has put a ton of work into those trails and really made the most of the small space. I almost didn't recognize the place and was thoroughly impressed with the additional amount of trail that has been added over the past year.
The ETSU trails were where Moonshine & I grew up and learned about mountain biking. My first real true experience with singletrack & mountain biking was at Buffalo Mountain and Haw Ridge in Knoxville but ETSU is where I really started to get hooked on the sport that would eventually consume all of my available freetime and take all my extra money. Moonshine was just a pup when I started getting serious about riding. Back then she was off the hook running around our small apartment leaping over the furniture. I quickly realized walking and hiking weren't enough to burn her energy supply. I started taking her on rides with me and my friends and she would run circles around us through the woods as we rode. With almost no training it was if she was bred to run singletrack. Riding ETSU yesterday brought back many memories of her and I catching a few miles on the dirt before the sun went down on a weekday afternoon. Maybe I'll go back next week and take her along to see what she thinks of Ben's handy work.