And the rocks still win...

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It's always fun to get together with friends and ride, no agenda - just ride some fun single track and play on the rocks.Wednesday night proved no exception to that as Tracy H and Kristi O and I met up at Cheyenne Mountain State Park for some quality single track time. Kristi was riding her new bike for the first time and I don't think the grin ever left her face! Our original plan had been to ride the race course from Sunday, sans Sundance and work on some of the technical sections we'd had issues with during the race. Well, Tracy beat us there and had been treated (?) to tales of the big black bear that was at the junction of Medicine Wheel and Blackmere. Two riders individually warned us about the bear, so we changed things up a little - instead of hitting the race course right away, we meandered up the north side of the park, through the campgrounds, then back down to the main parking lot. The goal was to give the bear plenty of time to vanish into the woods before we got to Medicine wheel. Since we didn't see it, I think the plan worked. It also helped that we were being pretty loud...

Then it was time to work on some skills. I've spent plenty of time at CMSP working on various sections of trail and different skills. Even so, I still had some issues during the race on Blackmere and Medicine Wheel. So whenever we got to a rock that proved challenging, it was time to practice. There were a few things that we got easily, but other rocks were a little more stubborn. I still didn't make it through the rock garden on Blackmere - Nick told me what the line was, but I need to see him ride it. And then there was Medicine Wheel. There was one section in the race that I missed every time - and this ride was no exception! I walked the line a few times, but still didn't make it any further. We all tried everything at least three times - figuring three was enough to get a sense for the line, but not enough to start getting frustrated and sloppy. Definitely need to head back for another session of rock fun - watching other riders working through problems helps with learning the lines. It was a great evening of no stress, no agenda riding, even though there was a little carnage and I've added to my bruise collection!

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