Learning to play in the dirt

   After the experience I had Sunday morning, I decided to try and train myself into some kind of form on this dirt thing.   I put the Schwalbe Albert tires on my Hunq to make it usable off road, and even hope to do some off road touring in the future.  But much to my disappointment, I continue to learn very, very slowly.  I got up a little confidence this past weekend, but I was really in over my head on the Ft. Custer trails.  There are three trail systems nearby for dirt riding, the Custer trails which ate my lunch Sunday, the Yankee Springs trails that did likewise earlier in the year and then there is Al Sabo nature preserve which is supposed to be easier. I tried that one and that is where the screaming little girl in me can get out and be left for dead.
   I went out to the preserve which is not really a preserve, but land left fallow around the pump station for the city wells. In it there are some gently rolling forest land and prairie grass fields which are maintained as walking and biking trails.  Most are nearly flat

and offer no real challenge.  Some develop into hilly areas which become roller coaster like

in their playful meanderings through the forest.     

That is about as technical as they get and seem to be just challenging enough for a beginner like me to use as a  proving ground.  The most challenging parts are the thick sandy washouts which were really frightening at first,

but I soon learned to trust the big ole' fat tires and speed right up to float over them.

Riding on 2" tires is new to me, and learning to trust them was more of a challenge than anything.  I am used to avoiding this type of terrain at all costs and the unnatural instinct to look for smooth ground is hard to shake.  But I made a couple practice runs around the 7 mile course and decided that a few more runs around and I would be ready for something a little more challenging.

    After I got done, I felt better

the Hunqa yawned and is waiting for me to figure this out so he can have some fun.