Mud, Danger, and Poop

It's friggin' nice out there! But despite the nice weather, I'm still riding the 'cross bike to help combat the effects of 'Cross Withdrawal. I know it's not the most efficient way of training for the road season, but I'm not really concerned. Plus, I don't have money to buy a coach, power meter, or anything else that spits out silly acronyms like V02, W, Sec, Min, Set, Rep, or Dist. Here are some things I learned on today's ride:

1- The Valley
The equestian park where I do most of my 'cross riding is in a valley. It might also be called a depression, gully, basin, or dingle. Whatever you want to call it, make sure it means place between to significant hills where water tends to pool. That shit was soaked today. The ground was so saturated with water that I was throwing up a pretty muddy rooster tail everywhere I rode. The main hill that I ride up proved to be unrideable and forced me to jog through the 3-inch deep mud. Also, the mud took a toll on my handling as well. I didn't fall in the mud, but the "lines" I chose are more akin to a toddler's Crayola scribble than something a cyclist should take credit for.

2- I'm an Idiot
I'll admit that I love a challenge. Riding in the mud is one challenge that I absolutely love. Another is "catching up" with riders in front of me. Today's rabbit was a guy on an older model Look 585 riding on the W&OD. I didn't do any sketchy business or put the other rider at risk. It would've been hard to do that as I was trying to catch up to him on the horse trail that runs parallel to the bike path. I made it home safe and I'm sure the other guy did too, but just now I realized that riding really fast on a sketchy gravelly trail with eyes anywhere but directly in front of you can be a little hazardous to your health. Yowsa indeed, but it was totally worth it.

3- Horses
There were prints in the mud from horse hooves. Sweet! That means that I am one step closer to drunkenly racing one (and losing). Unfortunately this also means there was a good bit more animal feces at the park. The next time I go back there, I'll have to remember not to open my mouth so wide. Pain faces are great for pictures, but they're also great for poopy mouths.