Nate (week 2)

For the past week meisel and I have been following a very similar process to what we were doing in the first week. We have been looking for unique riding areas predominantly in northeast ohio. For us the biggest change between the two weeks is how sore our legs are. During the first half dozen rides we felt comfortable racing up hills and standing up in the pedals for hours on end. Now we are starting to feel generally tired from our high levels of activity. We have attempted to institute more nutritious diets with larger caloric intake in order to combat this. It has not been difficult to increase food consumption or the amount of sleep we get. On thursday we decided to heed our mentor's advice from before project began and took some more rest then we initially planned (4 days in that one week rather then 2). We took friday, saturday, sunday, and monday off. (although i sneaked in a quick 40 mile road ride) Week two was more of the same (we aren't complaining at all) more beautiful scenery, more technical trails, and because of the weather more mud. I think eric is going to talk more about our individual rides so I'll proceed to give some big picture stuff. One of the biggest obstacles that eric is working on overcoming is balance. Negotiating large roots while climbing at relatively slow speeds requires great balance. You must be able to stand still on the bike while jumping the front wheel up a foot or so and then raising the back wheel up, all while climbing a steep incline. This isn't as big an issue for me because I have much more experience on the bike. My goals are more directed at refining specific techniques. By the end of the week i want to be able to jump more cleanly over large logs so that I can descend all single path trails with much more confidence. I am also trying to work on the speed and efficiency of my movements so that I can prepare for a summer full of races. Overall we are very content with our project and are throughly enjoying it. This week we are going to bust out the camera and try to capture all the beautiful scenery and difficult trails we have been experiencing.