Double Serving of Palmer

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Instead of stuffing ourselves with turkey this Thanksgiving weekend, Nick and I had two fun days in Palmer Park with a side of the Incline. Oh, we had a "turkey" dinner all right, but not a traditional style Thanksgiving at all. Enough for the two of us - and the fun days in Palmer Park only highlighted how lucky we really are. Good health, fun trails and people who enjoy the same lifestyle as Nick and I.
Focus on the trail - look where you're going...
Thursday was the first helping of Palmer Park - just the two of us, playing on rocks. The trails were almost deserted, allowing us to ride as fast as we wanted without worrying about being rude. We rode from home, then started exploring trails I don't ride by myself. A few laps through Little Moab to warm up, then it was time for some big rocks and more technical riding. I was just happy I'd ridden the crack in Little Moab each lap - this is the first year I've been able to ride that and this was the first ride where I didn't freak out on the first attempt. Knew the lines, trusted my bike and told myself what to do. On Templeton, Nick took me through things I haven't ridden before - and wouldn't have been brave enough to try. While he was riding very comfortably, I was working hard. The tempo and the technical combined to make it a very challenging ride. I did have a few goober moments - called myself some names as I tipped over in the easiest sections, but overall, it was a great ride.I was finding flow on the rocks and the tight turns and trusting both Nick and my Stumpy to try things I haven't done before. Now I just need to be able to ride through the kind of stuff at speed and I'll be even happier! (and so will Nick...)

Didn't get him on any technical rocks - but a great view from Templeton
 Saturday was an even nicer and warmer day. We met up with Alicia and Jesse for more rocky fun, riding early in the morning to avoid mud as it go warmer. As Nick put it when we rolled from the parking lot - "Let's go play bikes!" And that's what we did. More Little Moab - this time Nick made me ride the crack and the rock slab... Yikes! But I had a good spot from Nick and a good wheel to follow thanks to Jesse. Having two guys to chase around was so much fun. I could see different lines, different methods of getting through obstacles. It was also a mellower ride. Conversation pace on the climbs and plenty of time to practice things if we wanted. Alicia took a huge line on Cheyenne trail that I didn't even know was there till yesterday! Nick also took us down a section of Templeton that I've been on once - during the Fall Series years ago. Back then, I thought it wasn't ridable. This time, I took Nick's advice to paint a line on the rocks, then follow my line and rode almost all of it. I've gotten a lot better at throwing around that big bike and have been working on using it to my advantage on some of the technical riding. It showed, but man - my arms get tired quick with that bike!

The rocks looked bigger from my perspective!
Can't beat such a great holiday weekend! Got to ride fun trails, the park was quiet both days and we got to ride with friends. Hopefully, more playing on bikes to come...

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