“Walking” my mountain bike...

Yesterday, following a morning ride with my wife, I felt so good that I decided to go the The Canyons and ride the Mid-Mountain trail down to the Spiro trail in Park City during the early afternoon. I rode my bike from my home to the gondola, and in minutes, was ready to roll at 8,000 feet. All went well until I hit a trail closure right where The Canyons is building its new Iron Mountain lift. Then a several mile long detour, rough and steep series of switchbacks got the very best out of me and forced me to “walk” my bike for several miles.

I assumed that I was getting older and had reached a significant threshold forcing me to dismount when the going was really over my physical abilities. I was tired, dusty and literally out of steam until I finally began my descent towards the Park City side of the mountain. Only when I rejoined the asphalt, did I realized that my front derailleur had been set all along in the middle position and that it had forced me to labor like a slave during the entire ride. I felt good in realizing that I wasn't finished after all!