Quiet night in front of Jamie & Morgan’s house. Warm city night. Spring is happening too fast for me.

Tim Barnack is to call me this morning to arrange a ride. Gracie called about 5 times and ended up sacking her schedule to ride. Tim calls and we after a Gracie call agree to meet @ his house @ 12:00 at the base of the park climb.

Tim and Scott both raced the 34 mile Snake gap race. Gracie “raced” the first section. And me who suffered the 34 miles. This is my riding company plus i am on their home turf. I will be dissed for my comment about ease of technical riding here. Almost the entire 17 miles & 1963′ vert were technical. Put this area in your books if you want to challenge your riding skills. The local SORBA club of which Tim is president has built some great challenging trails. Arrowhead: section that dropped down thru rocks that we rode back up thru. Big downhill thru & over some big rock sections. Am learning that suspension and body position handles most. Legs & lungs have just so much ommph. As long as a rider pedals the suspension can move up & over a rock within reason. Momentum is your friend.

Big Yes to Monte Sano. I have been riding trails that I rate highly. The climbs are short, sometimes steep, but they keep coming. Can’t settle into a grunt climb mode. I like these trails better than Pisgah.

Shower @ Gracie’s again, really muddy today, we all were. Back to Jamie & Morgan’s for night hopefully.

Jamie told me about “warm showers”, people who have opened their bathrooms to touring cyclists. I joined. I stated that I am a “dirtie” rather than a “roadie”. How will I be treated I will learn. Maybe touring cyclists are more congenial than the road racers?

Lights of Huntsville blazing in the valley below my free campsite.

Set my time pieces ahead to daylight. Woke in the dark. Meeting Gracie @ 9:30 so i had a schedule to meet. Nobody up in XG. Drove to bike parking TH. Got to thinking that I might have moved a time zone West. Checked the rand Mcnally and  learned AL is central time. Putzed around @ Gracie arrived @ real 9:30.

We headed out on Monte Santo trails, Gracie is a skilled & strong rider: 11 years younger, great shape, and living successfully w/ MS. Trails are a bit technical but nowhere near so as Snake Gap. Good riding, picking better lines over tech stuff. Learned @ Pisgah to let the 5.5″ of suspension help me out more than I let it previously. Hip whipping the turns. 14.76 miles & 1510′ vert.

No leaves on trees. Spring woods flowers coming up to bloom. A bit overcast & humid. Sunburned my arms

Followed Gracie down the mtn, she showed me Jamie & Morgan’s house where I will stay out front tonight. I offered to show pictures of my trip and Gracie is working on that.

Gracie let me mow her yard.

Humid day, temp almost 80.

Monte Santo is on top of a short mountain several hundred feet above Huntsville. Bike trails are hand made twisting around trees & dealing w/ rocks like PA rocks. I was concerned on how technical it would be, I was envisioning trails rougher than Snake gap but rode everything.

Didn’t sleep deeply last night but I was cramp free. Warm night, no down blanket till early in AM. Did internet stuff @ Bear Creek bike shop parking lot.

Bought $1.95 / gal diesel in Dalton b4 leaving.

Today is rest day to let heart rest from 2 hard days of riding. researched Chat. bike shops for chain rings. Found East Ridge open, w/ rings, & on way to Huntsville, AL. Just badgered wrench on difference or same between Shimano XT and the lower LX which is what they had for sale. Bought baby & mid rings and decided to run the drive train as is until chain starts to skip on cluster and replace the whole bundle at that time. Rode Snake Gap w/o skipping.

Into Alabama, drove a bit of back woods 2 lane until hit big road into town. Decided to camp @ Monte Santo SP for tonight and learn lay of land tomorrow.

Called Tim Barnack whom I met @ race. We set up a ride for Tuesday. Called Gracie and wished her happy Birthday plus 1. We chatted thru 3 dropped calls and set up a ride for tomorrow. She called back and told me she found a place for me to stay.

Pulled into XG and was greeted by XG host. He put me in a primitive spot which is what I wanted. A former XH host stopped by later and told me these sites were for tents only, no campers and that the ranger would make me move. Before I could move the host arrived and told me the news and said that because of their mistake they were putting me up in the high priced sites for free. So I am overlooking lights of Huntsville.

XG host has a very old mtn bike and asked for my help in fixing a problem he had with it because he saw my bike on the van. Solved that problem and raised the seat for him. Big smile on his face w/ the higher seat.

The peach flavored branch water is soooo good but so little. No tequila smell or taste there.

Warm day into mid 70s, window down, vents open. Put the sweater away, shorts to appear soon.

Monte Santo trails are technical w/ lots of rocks and a bit of vertical. Will learn of my skills tomorrow.