The Legs Wear the Pants

Rode to work on Tuesday and fixed a flat on my way home. I had a goathead somehow make it through my cross tire and liner. And the Stan's wouldn't seal up fast enough so I wound up taking the whole thing apart. It finally sealed up and I rode home. Wednesday was run day and I knocked out about 5.5 miles in the Foothills. Friday I was planning on an East Mountains epic in Tijeras and was shooting for about 60 miles. I even stashed a jug of water at the Cedro campground to avoid running out of water like my last attempt. I started from the ranger station and by the time I got to the Tunnel trail head I could tell my legs weren't waking up. Up Tunnel, which went smoothly and I seemed to do a good job of maintaining momentum and conserving energy. Up Otero which went ok. Up Gnasty and then I didn't clean the bit of Blue Ribbon that I rode pretty easily a few weeks ago. Half a package of shot blocks on the forest service road, then Drop In, Cajun Pine, Wild Turkey, and maybe something else over to Mars Court. Eventually I made it back to Wild Turkey again for the rocky climb to Mars Court. This is where I realized my legs just weren't up to the task, as I stopped a few times on the same trail I had cleaned a week or two prior. I reminded my legs faster is easier. I told them they just needed to find a groove. I assured them that this is the most fun they'd have all week. I offered them a selection of treats from my camelbak. They wanted none of it. They told me that 60 miles was a bad idea. I pleaded that it was Friday and I had the day off. I resolved to prove the legs wrong and trudged over to Mahogany. Ponderosa was fun and I ran into a skunk on the trail. Thankfully I scared the little shit and it took off instead of trying to spray me. Back on Mahogany I started thinking about bailing and the thought wouldn't go away. Hit 242 and instead of continuing on Pokerchip I took the gravel to 252 up to the Cedro campground. My water jug was cold enough that I chilled for a few and gulped some down. Packed the gallon into my pack, blasted down the gravel, and took the pavement back to the ranger station.