Gotta get back on the horse that threw you

This morning I made it out to Hall Ranch. I didn't have much time so the plan was to take the Tomac on a shakedown ride before Big Fall Ride this Sunday. Kids to school, down to the bike shop and I find a broken spoke on the rear of the Tomac. I had about an hour so I was going to take the full squisher up Antelope, down the rock garden, and back thru town.

With the broken spoke, though, I was relegated to the SS. My normal SS ride is out and back on Picture Rock, but I wanted to hit Hall since we'll wrap up our Big Fall Ride on PR. Truth be told, I kinda didn't want to take the SS up and over Hall since, last time I did, I burped my front tire and ended up ass over teakettle in the rocks. It left me hurtin' for days. Well, when the syrens of the rock garden call, you've got to answer.

I pushed the gear up Antelope and topped out. I lowered my saddle a couple inches, took a breather, and headed down. This time a bit more carefully than last time. Admittedly, a little slower and more in tune with the rigid GT. I made it down in one piece - a clean run without touching the ground. All good. Sigh of relief?

Oh, and speaking of sigh of relief, the "redstone" section of the lower rock garden by the parking lot is in fine condition. The dirt is hard packed and you can hit the corners hard. Much, much better than the old off camber gravel version.