Blanket's Creek - 3-22-2010

March 22nd, the first day of Spring, and perfect conditions to venture out for some exercise.  Our group of 5 were not alone, the parking lot was full, so I would estimate about 50-60 riders at Blankets when we got started.  On previous visits (10/3/2009 and 10/25/2009) we rode the dwelling loop trail  and this time we decided on the Van Michael Trail.  The trail was renamed in 2008, formerly Area 51, it was renamed by SORBA in recognition a sponsor that donated $10,000.00 to the organization.

Van Micheal turned out to be the most technical trail that I have ridden to date.  The uphill was intense and provided well designed trails that took full advantage of the natural terrain.  The downhill was extreme and required a great deal of precision where hair-pin turns and steep drop-offs tested your ability to keep the momentum going.  This is still early in the season, so I was a bit weak from a cardio perspective, but don't regret tackling this trail at bit!

We took a few snapshots in the parking lot, didn't take the camera on the trail this time, probably a good thing considering the difficulty.

Fun Plans for 2010

Winter was not without some outdoor fun with some skiing in Whistler, British Columbia to keep up the adventure.  Interestingly enough, Whistler is big into mountain biking during the non-winter months when the Whistler Mountain Bike Park  opens on May 15th.

It's starting to warm up and plans for a fun 2010 are under way.  As always, we need to get cooperation for Mother Nature, so a little rescheduling and  we'll get to the trails and have some new adventures.

The plan is to hit some of the trails from fall 2009, then venture out from there.  Last Saturday we did a warm up at Big Creek which was great ride; Blankets Creek and Chicopee Woods for the following weeks. The hope was to get out this weekend (3/13), but rain all last week will probably equate to bad riding conditions.  We'll see how today goes (hopefully no rain) and we might decide on an impromptu ride tomorrow.  We would also like to ride the trails at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA and also venture to Bull Mountain Trail in Dahlonega.

In addition to mountain biking we are lined up to participate in a few other events; the Southeast Warrior Dash on May 22nd where we have a group large group planning to compete (I think they're just doing it for the beer party at the end).  Mountain biking is fun, but running isn't my favorite activity.

 Training has begun for the June 5th iron man sprint at Lake Lanier Islands My First & My Next Triathlon at Lake Lanier Islands.  So a two week rest between the Warrior Dash and this event, then more running, swimming, and some road biking.
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