So nice to have my Kaitai back. For now, it is my weekday ride and the Reno, my weekend distance ride.
One of my favorite local places is "The Berm" - a mile long earthen sea wall tasked with keeping the Pacific out of the seaside links. The south end of the berm leads to a rutted gravel "road" -Mori Point Road- heading east or -further south- the trails leading up to Mori Point, itself.
At the start of the main climb up are two tree stumps looking north where I often stop and just drink in the beauty of where I'm luck enough to live. I've missed riding the berm since my Fisher has been in the shop so that's the first place I headed for last night. As I approached the stumps it hit me that the Kaitai is a fine off-road bike that I don't take off-road enough. So.... what the heck, I decided to just climb that trail to the top of the Point. Or try to anyway
Seems this loose dirt path is deeply rutted in many places with an exposed irrigation pipe running its length (irrigation pipe? huh?). I learned I am not a dirt climber. Yet. I'd slip, I'd slide, I'd fall. Repeat often. Finally scapred up the inside of my left knee, falling flat on my face as a cutie jogger went by. I had the biggest smile on my face. It was so much fun!
But on this night, the trail won and I turned around to go back down to Mori Point Road -no small feat in itself- and found a less steep trail off to the side that parallels the road. I often take this path west but never east. Last night I did. I take my victories where I find them.
I will go back, though, and I *will* climb that hill. Maybe pumping my tires up to 90psi isn't the best idea for this sort of thing....