XC

The Whistler trip wiped me out. Wafting up the mountain's face on a gondola doesn't mean downhill is an easy ride. My body was knackered and beaten. Still, the faff of suiting up in all that cumbersome plastic protection left me hungry for the freedom and simplicity of cross country. So, since we got back, I've squeezed a couple of rides in. Me and Dave are starting to get a good thing going every Wednesday eve : night riding at 'Rancho. This week I debuted my lovely new Exposure Lights Maxx D. Spangles bought it last year and let it mature in it's case for a while. Once he realised night riding wasn't for him he kindly sent it my way. Such an awesome piece of kit. Combined with my Diablo helmet mounted light the trail was positively floodlit.

Today I met up with Adam at Annadel. I'm always a little nervous riding with Adam and his crew. Those boys are super fit. Built like a whippet and strong as an ox, I'm always a good few clicks behind Ad', struggling not to be too much of a drag. But a good workout is always guaranteed and today was no exception. We dropped in from Channel Drive which made a pleasant change from my usual route with Jaime. Hitting North Burma, with it's cool little jumps, and Cobblestone with it's lovely flow mixed with challenging rocky tech sections made for a great ride. Brutal though. The churning of dust left the poor Nomad parched of lube and grinding like a motherfecker. Me and Ad' both took spills too. I managed to break my fall by planting my man boob on the end of the bars and scraping it's length until I hit a whimpering stop. If only I was wearing my gladiator suit :o(