After skipping a day, I went to the trail again after work on Tuesday. Was sore at first, but got over it quickly and was able to ride pretty fast. Unfortunately, riding fast would be my undoing early on.

In a curvy section, there is a small water hole that is between two trees. On Sunday I tightroped along the edge of the water, scraped by one of the trees, and went on my way. Today I was going too fast, caught a handlebar on a tree and was pushed into the water. I attempted to steer out of the water, and I immediately fell down with a big splash because it was too slick for that.

The impact threw me away from the mud for the most part, but the bike wasn't so lucky. I rode away laughing. Both tires threw mud on me for the next few minutes, so I was covered by the time I was done.

Encountered a couple of nice ladies going for a walk, and that's all I saw on the trail today. Somebody had weed-eated the grown up parts that I saw Sunday.

This was a good ride and I really enjoyed it. Was on the bike an hour.

Went again today, rode the same distance, was on the bike an hour. My back was hurting badly at work today but I thought maybe a nice bumpy ride was the fix for it. It was. That's 3 rides in five days after not getting on the bike at all for weeks.

I have really enjoyed this week because of that bike.

If my old body feels up to it, I'll go again tomorrow to get in one more ride. I have nook, uh, things to do on Saturday and it's supposed to rain Sunday.

I keep thinking that one day I'll click on this topic and one of these lines will serve as the intro to a Penthouse Forum letter.

Dear Penthouse forum...

Today was a bad day of work and woman problems.

My answer to all of this was to take the trusty Trek to the trail to sweat out my troubles. And did I ever sweat. Went 13.5 miles, was on the bike 90 minutes. Really enjoyed myself and I might have gone a little more if it wasn't getting dark.

The trail was dry all over, which was surprising. And it has been several years since I've seen this many grasshoppers.

But a kickass time was had.

Cleaned out my office this morning in anticipation of my last week at Hoob ISD and I was a sweaty mess when I was done. It was quite warm and humid for this old man. Because of that, I decided to pre-hydrate a little bit in anticipation of a ride.

Went to the trail and went the usual route. Noticed that I wasn't thirsty but I felt hot. Made myself drink anyway.

Was on the bike 59 minutes, rode 8.84 miles. Nearly ran over a runner early on. I was going too fast on a curvy area with low visibility because the vegetation was so tall there. After thinking about it for a minute, I wished I could have apologized to the guy because I was at fault. Nothing else happened, and it was a fun ride.

Went to a truck stop afterward for a drink and a fat clerk took one look at me and laughed. She was on her way to her smoke break. She won Dumbass of the Day.

Gee, has it been a week? Went at the end of the day today, rode the usual 8.75 miles and absolutely loved it. No idea why there weren't others there. It wasn't that hot.

I felt stronger than I did last week and was able to keep it in higher gears. The bad news is, I had a little bit of knee pain today. Nothing to keep me sidelined, though.

A friend of mine is now taking care of this trail and it's in really good shape for old man mountain biking.

Stopped at the same truck stop as last Sunday, saw a couple of bull dykes kissing in the parking lot. I need to find a different place to get my Diet Cokes.

My bike is a light shade of gray from the layer of dust that has formed on it from sitting in the back of the garage for a couple of years.

It happens to us all Sweet G. Mine has suffered from cobwebs like Lily Munster used for decorating. Or was it Morticia Addams? I forget.

Noticed I had a flat today, and there was a spot on the porch where the sealant had leaked out. Aired up the tire and pedaled up the road to check on a milf that lives down there. She wasn't home.

On my way back, I noticed that Skeeter the dog was in the road waiting for me with his sweet sister Paisley. Paisley came running up, and I gave her a good ear scratching, then took off to face Skeeter. That damned dog did everything he could to bite my feet. I kicked him in the nose twice but not nearly hard enough. By the time I got home, my heartrate was over 200.

Back in the house, I got to thinking about the ex-wife laughing about the movie American Flyers and Eddie the dog chasing after the bikes. I watched that clip three times, laughing each time. Thanks, YouTube.

both

Got up and rode the local trail at 11:00 or so. In the parking lot, I encountered a couple who were about 35. They flat-out wouldn't stop talking about riding. It was their first time here. It took some effort, but I finally got rid of them.

I also noticed a couple of gals about to walk, and one was wearing a fairly heavy coat with the hood pulled over her head. It was damn 90 degrees outdamnside. They didn't look like they were "in" to men at all. I was trying to imagine what it smelled like down there.

The ride itself went fairly well. Was on the bike 1:24, rode 11.45 miles. Encountered the two walkers on the advanced section and they were actually friendly to old Hoob.

Back in the parking lot, the young couple was there and they were chatty as all getout. Once again, I had a difficult time getting rid of them. They turned out to not be accomplished riders at all, they just loved trails. I can relate to that.

This was my 75th time to ride at this trail. It was fun.

Went to the local trail Saturday morning, the goal was to get a ride in and be done by 11:00. Was derailed by yet another talker. This guy spent the night in the parking lot in his van. He was from Euless. He had just finished riding and liked the trail.

Took the advanced part again, did a lot better but I really need improvement. Getting old stinks and makes it more difficult. Gave some thought about trying the "aw hell no" section tomorrow if I felt up to it.

The last three miles are easy riding, and during that time I was thinking about Blood, Sweat, and Tears and wondering if the lead singer was still alive. At some point my sweaty hand slipped off the handlebars and I fell down with a bigass crash. In my fall I contorted myself and strained a muscle in my ribs or something like it. And my ankle is sore.

I really am a dumbass. And David Clayton-Thomas is still alive.

We mostly live in houses, btw.

It's harder to shoot a moving target. Just sayin'.

zig and zag. That's what I was yelling to Rickon when he was running for his life from Ramsay

I'm working a four day week for now, so I went for a long ride on Friday afternoon. Was on the bike 1:33, went 14.6 miles. It was as much fun as I've ever had on a bicycle.

My bit today was to keep trying hills that I never make it up and vary the gear settings to see what would work. One mamabear that I've never conquered was ridden today on my third try. I also made it over a couple of other obstacles that I've chickened out on. No idea why I have days like this, but I'm glad I do.

In my old job, I was walking 5 or 6 miles a day. At this job, I'm walking 2 at the most. I can already tell the difference in my tummy after just two weeks.

Went again on Sunday, encountered some guy in the parking lot who was talkative. He was also very light in the loafers. I excused myself and said I needed to text my girlfriend before I hit the trail.

Wasn't nearly as skilled or strong today, still enjoyed myself. While riding, I hatched a plan to work extra on Monday, leave early on Tuesday and get a ride in before dark.

That plan got squashed about halfway through. When I was about as far from the trailhead as I could get, I noticed the back tire was going flat. Quickly shifted into haul ass mode but didn't make it before I had to dismount. Walked about a mile. Found a cut through that saved a couple of miles of walking.

Just now ordered a canister of air to carry with me on a ride. I should know better than to not have that.

Was on the bike 1 hour, 15 minutes, rode 9.25 miles. The queer guy was gone when I got back to the parking lot.

The stuff I had planned on doing today fell through, so I turned my attention to my bike. Pulled 10 thorns out of the back tire. Couldn't get the tire to catch on the rim, so I took it to the shop in Southlake. To my surprise, they fixed it right then and there. I really figured I wasn't going to get to ride at all this weekend, now I might get to go twice.

Went to the local trail and as usual I had trouble with some of the climbs. Attempted one section four times and didn't come close to making it. Still really enjoyed myself and wasn't ready to stop when I got to the end.

At the end of the difficult section I was going too slow over a rocky area and fell and landed on a really large rock with my hip, then rolled over into some sort of brush. This cut up my arm and I bled quite a bit the rest of the way. Old man skin strikes again. Maybe I should wear long sleeves from now on. Or maybe bubble wrap.

A kickass time was had.

Went to the local trail late Sunday afternoon, it was 96 degrees. Rode the advanced part and decided that if I didn't make a hill, I would just walk it this time. Really wasn't "in" to riding at first, then at some point noticed that I was unnecessarily going over rocks and other obstacles that I didn't have to run in to. So maybe I was more "in" to it than I thought.

Went through several dozen spider webs on the easy section. Kinda hard to believe nobody had ridden that part during the day. There were no spider webs at all on the harder sections.

Nothing bad happened, I sweated a lot, and I forgot about my dumb woman troubles for a while. Rode 11.49 miles, was on the bike 1:27.

It has been two weeks since I last rode.

After trying and failing to get a ride in on Friday, I did get to go today. It was raining in the area and I actually drove through a shower on my way to the trail, but it never rained there.

It went really well but I could tell I had lost a little bit of strength in my legs. Two rides in a row without wrecking.

Instead of putting my "computer" on the odometer feature, I kept it on the timer the entire time. The advanced section took 26 minutes to navigate. Was on the bike 1:27.

This old man, he had fun.

Rode Saturday afternoon, was 101 degrees when I took off. Felt kinda funny for about 20 minutes but I got over it. Had too much air in the tires and had trouble with climbs. By now, I really should know better than to max out the tires on pressure.

I have one curvy hill that I use to measure my leg strength each day. If I can easily go up it in fifth gear, I'm having a good day. Was traveling up it and nearly had a head-on collision with a woman who was going the wrong way.

She was kind of a big-boned girl but wasn't bad-looking. She was wearing long sleeves and tights. I don't know why people wear stuff like that when it's that hot.

No wrecks, was on the bike 1:28.

Who the hell goes outside in this shit? It’s hibernation season

H'es right, forum.

You are both right.

Got up this morning and I was sore as all getout and figured riding was out. Went outside and noticed the bike was still on the rack, took it down and rode it back to the house. Noticed that it didn't hurt at all. Hmmm.

Went late this afternoon, it was right at 100 degrees when I took off. At some point the chain jumped off of the derailleur and locked me up. Fixed it and went on. About a mile later it did it again, but this time the force of me pedaling broke the sumbitch clean off. What in the world. I was about as far from the trailhead as possible, as usual.

Sigh, time for another walk through the woods. Fortunately I know the place well enough to figure out some cut-throughs. Rode 7 miles, walked a mile and a half.

This is going to be expensive and I'm not going to get to ride for who knows how long.

Finally had time to take the Trek to the shop on Sunday. The part is going to cost $40, labor is $20. That is less than I thought it would be. I was expecting $150.

If I didn't have after school stuff going on several days this week, I could probably get a ride in on Wednesday. In reality, I'll do well to be able to pick the thing up on Saturday.

On my way home, I encountered a former boss at Bucc-ee's. She and her family are devoted horse owners. I realized that there are more expensive pasttimes than mine.

I have a friend who says that every time I ride, something crazy happens.

Got my bike out of the shop today, the cost was only $47. Went for a ride before dark, and about 30 yards into my ride, a big old fucking snake was blocking my path. I shot a picture of it with my phone. It was way too big to ride over or even fly by, so I went back to the parking lot and waited a couple of minutes. Sure enough, he had moved on. Nothing else happened and I had a good ride. Since it was getting close to sundown, I just did the 8.75 mile ride.

Posted a picture of it on Facebook and it was pointed out to me that it was a damned diamondback rattlesnake. Yikessssssss.

A kickass time was had.

Should have ridden last weekend but I wussed out, claiming I needed to rest. I regretted that decision.

I did go today, first time in three weeks.

Even though I wasn't in riding shape, I decided to attempt the advanced part and I did ok at it. The biggest climb? I made it, sort of. There is a big rock with a tree next to it at the top, and sometimes I end up hitting the rock and ending up against the tree and I have to put my foot down. Having made it up the hill I said out loud, "If this damn tree gets me this time, I am a queer." It got me.

Experimented with different gears on some of the climbs, also took a few rocky sections multiple times for the heck of it. No snakes were seen. No people, either.

Having a fun day like today makes me think about how much I would be riding if I had retired.

After the Cowboys game I got dressed and went to the trail. Rain was in the area but I was confident it was going to miss me. Not only did it hit me, but the showers had increased quite a bit and I got soaked. Rode the last two miles in the rain. The trail was getting kinda muddy at the very end.

Because I had to get off the trail, I only went 6.4 miles, was on the bike 42 minutes. Still happy I got to get on the bike though.

Got home and the landlords were putting sprinklers in their yard. I live 15 miles from the rail and it never did rain here.

Reading your blog makes me long for a job where I could schedule to do things when I'm away from work. I can't figure out if I'm overworked or if I'm just really crappy at my job and need 60 hours to do what most would do in 40.

I was doing great with free time until I changed jobs and now have a one hour commute. It's amazing how that has messed things up.

I watch their games in the nude too.

People watch the games wearing clothes? Animals!

For some reason this gave me an image of me sitting on a terry-cloth towel in my comfy chair. While nekkid.

My sickness and other stuff has caused a five week layoff.

Finally, I rode the advanced trail today. It was fun, but I'm out of shape. Was on the bike 95 minutes, rode 11.45 miles.

Today I named one stretch of trail "Chickenshit pass." The first time I tried it, I wrecked. The next time I tried it, I made it. So why I have chickened out the past 30 or so rides?

Seven weeks later, I go again. There was a pickup in the lot with two guys just sitting in it and I was a bit suspicious of them. One was holding a small dog. I waved and they waved back. I forgot all about them, of course.

About three miles in, I realize that I'm in some trouble because of being out of shape. The bail-out spot is at 4.5 miles but I kept going and got some second wind. I really wanted to stop.

About a mile from the end, I encountered two people walking. It was the two that were in the pickup. It was actually a young couple and the girl was absolutely gorgeous. They were lost and were concerned about getting caught on the trail after dark. I told them how to get back to the parking lot.

Back at the parking lot I saw they weren't there, so I headed off to make sure they were ok. They were.

Was on the bike 80 minutes, rode 10.6 miles. My ass = kicked.

Attempted to go for a Saturday afternoon ride, got to the local trail and discovered it was closed because of some sort of running event. Jacksboro is 25 miles away and I'd never been, so I head west to Fort Richardson State Park.

I needed to renew my yearly pass, did. Asked the guy about the trail and he said it's 9 miles. Perfect. Asked if it was a loop or an "up and back" and he said it was one way. Looked at the map and it was obviously a loop around Lake Jacksboro. Noticed the camping area was closed due to construction. I have fond memories of slot 16 there.

This trail was just a rock road around the lake, but it might come in handy to ride if we go through a muddy stretch and I need to get a ride in. There were some hills to deal with, so it wasn't a total cakewalk. About 7.5 miles in I rode by a sign with a map on it, stopped to look at it and realized I had read the map wrong earlier. Oh no. This was a damn up and back. And I was tired as hell and a long way from home.

Was on the bike 1:36, rode 15 miles. Really that's not that much if I'm in shape. But I'm not.

I've been told forever that the place to eat in Jacksboro was Herd's Burgers, went there. It was ok.

Went to the local trail on Sunday afternoon. Noticed the wind was shifting so I knew it would get cold before long.

Was sore from yesterday, made the decision to take on the advanced section, then bailed out to the intermediate section. I should do this more often. It gives me an extra mile and avoids the danger.

Rode 9.75 miles, was on the bike 1:06. I am sore. And old.

I kinda think the bike is in decent shape mechanically for holiday riding if the weather will cooperate. I really need to lose some weight.

It's probably perfect riding weather today. When you start to sweat it would feel like A/C.

LOL.

I've got 41 here and the windchill is balls cold.

Light workout, then an hour ride. I think it was 50 degrees when I started.

Not really into it for most of the ride, then finished sorta strong. I guess my old muscles warmed up at some point.

Supposed to be pretty nice all week. Bet the trails are empty for the holidays, too!

Yep, I agree. The plan is to skip Tuesday, then go Christmas day. I have volunteered to help out a newspaper on Thursday, and it's supposed to rain after that, unfortunately.

I went again on Monday (today) and went on a longer ride. I'm in a little better shape but not great. Had to stop a couple of times on climbs and let my heartrate go down. Today I did something I should have done before: The tires had too much air in them, and I stopped at some point and let some out. Climbing was much easier after that even though there were a lot of slick leaves to deal with.

Was on the bike 1:32, went 11.75 miles. It was fun.