Making use of my sexy new bicycle
After Pocatello enters the 3 month hotter-than-hell season, it is important to get started on your bike ride as early in the day as possible. However, sometimes this just doesn’t happen either because of scheduling conflicts, or you’re just lazy and want to sleep in on Sunday. It was a bit of both for me on Sunday, June 28 which had a high temperature of 101 F.
No worries! Just load up with 3 to 4 liters of water (some to drink, some to squirt on yourself) and head out at noon! Yeehaw! That’s what I did. I took my time, took breaks, drank a lot of water, and had fun. My objective was to cycle around on the trail that starts on the corner of American Road and Buckskin Road, and do a little exploring. It kind of reminded me of one of those Australian outback nature shows, where you can see waves of heat in the distance and lizards scurrying.
Pocatello is in a semi-arid desert region
So, yeah, got a fairly good 1 hour workout. Said hi to a trail runner who exclaimed that he was surprised to see anyone out besides himself in the intense heat. I offered him some water, but he said he was fine.
One interesting thing I re-discovered was the basic rule of not touching your front brake when you happen to be downhilling on loose terrain. The above mentioned trail has sections of powdery dirt that has been beaten into the consistency of sand or snow, and “feels” quite similar in traction terms. While coming downhill, I was using mostly rear brake and a bit of front brake, and as soon as my front tire hit the deep, loose soil it performed the cha-cha. Yeah, rear brake only on the sketchy sections. Just leave your front brake alone. :-)
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